05/16/2025 – Finally Friday

Not an anteater this month © Colehauscats.com
Not an anteater this month © Colehauscats.com

Pia would like you all to know she’s feeling very much better since someone forced her to give up ants as snacks. She’d also like you to know she’s announcing this under duress, because Mom told her to do so. She’s in her anger stage. Pleading and bargaining for ant snacks will come soon, we’re certain. We’re prepared.

Ants are being held at bay, seemingly, at the moment, and outside only. You only thought Mom had 4 projects going at once when in fact, ant elimination is and will always be Project #1. This makes for a very unhappy anteater named Pia, but a very happy Mom and Dad.

Unhappy Pia is unhappy © Colehauscats.com
Unhappy Pia is unhappy © Colehauscats.com

Shoot us your worst glare, ginger girl. We will spend our entire lifetime trying to assure you never eat another ant.

~ ~ ~ ~

1st Raccoon Mama of 2025 © Colehauscats.com
1st Raccoon Mama of 2025 © Colehauscats.com

We’re pleased to announce the first Raccoon Mama of 2025 to visit Colehaus. The portly, often time visitor raccoon Chubbs has been bringing her around lately, teaching her the ropes. We’re pretty sure this one’s nursing kits and under Chubbs’ guidance, she’s been showing up after daybreak early in the mornings. She has that somewhat ratty, not well groomed fur look about her, one of a few signs she’s caring for babies and not about herself.

Sometime mid-to-late June she’ll bring them to our backyard and teach them about the fountain and the sometimes food source in the feeders. We haven’t named her; Mom calls all the raccoons “sweetie” except for Chubbs who may or may not be this young first time mama’s mother or auntie. Mom keeps thinking of something starting with the letter B, not Betty, Bertha, Boudica, or Beauregard. We’ll think of something. Until then, she’s sweetie.

~ ~ ~ ~

A Colehaus Cats flashback:

2024 – No post
2023 – No post
2022History Repeating
2021 – No post
2020 – No post
2019 – No post
2018A Story as Told by Ruby
2017 – No post
2016MultiCat Monday
2015 – No post
2014Olivia – Then and Now
2013 – No post
2012Color Cats

Posted in Pia, Visitors | Tagged , | 4 Comments

05/14/2025 – That’s a Change

Tessa not grumpy for once © Colehauscats.com
Tessa not grumpy for once © Colehauscats.com

Quick! Mark your calendars! Tessa is NOT grumpy for the briefest of brief moments. In fact, moments before this photo was taken (for evidence), she was actually snuggling with Dad with a full-on purr loud enough to be heard halfway across the room. And then, she cozied down onto a blanket that later, much later, Pia pooped on.

Such is life.

BTW: Today is Tessa’s Gotcha Day. Back in 2012, this gray and white tuxie wrapped her paws around our hearts. For all the trouble she’s been over the years, she’s still got it.

~ ~ ~ ~

A Colehaus Cats flashback:

2024 – No post
2023 – No post
2022 – No post
2021Preferences
2020 – No post
2019 – No post
2018Monday Mayhem
2017 – No post
2016 – No post
2015 – No post
2014One Word Wednesday
2013Ruby Tuesday
2012When It Rains . . .

Posted in Tessa | Tagged | 8 Comments

05/12/2025 – Around Colehaus

Backyard fountain, 2023 © Colehauscats.com
Backyard fountain, 2023 © Colehauscats.com

Long time Colehaus Cats readers know we have a big fountain in our backyard. It was Dad’s dream back in 2002 and ever since, it’s been instrumental in providing water and shelter for multiple kinds of wildlife as well as a big stress reliever (mostly) for us humans.

Coming from living on a near quarter acre rental house surrounded with grass, we decided early on our own backyard would have zero grass. Mom could dabble in her wildest perennial and evergreen garden dreams and Dad would have wide walkways and a fountain dominating half the space.

7 years ago, Mom was thinking of how to create balance and dreamed up an idea for an arbor, a size-appropriate arbor to the big fountain, meaning not a dinky little arbor out of an Amazon-delivered box.

And then life happened. Layoffs and worry and lots of food bank trips. Mom went back to work, working 2 jobs at once for a short while. Through it all, the arbor dream was pushed down countless times and Mom kept squirreling away every penny not needed for living. Literally, pennies.

Slowly, pennies, nickels, and dimes build into dollars. This year, the arbor became real.

Our arbor, 2025 © Colehauscats.com
Our arbor, 2025 © Colehauscats.com

We found an honest, very hard working, creative outdoor woodworker on the NextDoor app and worked with him all last month to make Mom’s arbor a reality.

The finished arbor, 2025 © Colehauscats.com
The finished arbor, 2025 © Colehauscats.com

We stained the wood black, no painting, and the contractor installed water diversion pipe and dry wells to keep everything as maintenance free as possible going forward. Other than a few little tweaks here and there, it’s done. Mom can’t stop looking at it. Now, maybe, all her work and days spent separating gravel from dirt makes sense. And just in time for the garden to start blooming.

Eastside walkway, 2025 © Colehauscats.com
Eastside walkway, 2025 © Colehauscats.com
Star Magnolia, 2025 © Colehauscats.com
Star Magnolia, 2025 © Colehauscats.com
Orange red Tulips with orange white daffodils, 2025 © Colehauscats.com
Orange red Tulips with orange white daffodils, 2025 © Colehauscats.com
Purple Primrose, 2025 © Colehauscats.com
Purple Primrose, 2025 © Colehauscats.com
Species Tulip and mystery woodland perennial, 2025 © Colehauscats.com
Species Tulip and mystery woodland perennial, 2025 © Colehauscats.com
Baby pink Azalea, 2025 © Colehauscats.com
Baby pink Azalea, 2025 © Colehauscats.com
Pure white Azalea, 2025 © Colehauscats.com
Pure white Azalea, 2025 © Colehauscats.com
Pink Orange Exbury Azalea, 2025 © Colehauscats.com
Pink Orange Exbury Azalea, 2025 © Colehauscats.com
Purple Columbine from seed, 2025 © Colehauscats.com
Purple Columbine from seed, 2025 © Colehauscats.com
Flaming Orange Exbury Azalea, 2025 © Colehauscats.com
Flaming Orange Exbury Azalea, 2025 © Colehauscats.com

Project #1 is nearly complete. Project #2, the downed bird feeder, is slowly being figured out, Project #3 is in process (more gravel/dirt separation), and the moving Dad downstairs project is still in the planning phase for this coming fall.

Many thanks to our contractor, to the Colehaus cats who not so patiently waited for Mom to get out of the dirt and come inside for snuggles and hugs, and to you for visiting here, for your generosity and kind words of encouragement, advice, and simple check-in notes saying Hi. We appreciate every one of you. Thanks for visiting today!

Quint waiting for a hug © Colehauscats.com
Quint waiting for a hug © Colehauscats.com

Okay Quint, let’s make up for some of those lost hugs.

~ ~ ~ ~

A Colehaus Cats flashback:

2024 – No post
2023Is it Friday?
2022 – No post
2021Why Not Wednesday
2020 – No post
2019 – No post
2018 – No post
2017Like Mother, Like Daughter
2016 – No post
2015Ruby Tuesday
2014Pia and the Abyss
2013 – No post
2012 – No post

Posted in At Colehaus, Quint, Yard and Garden | Tagged , , | 6 Comments