This is not our cat – © Colehauscats.com
First off, let us be clear about one thing: This is not our cat. More about Sweet Teese to come.
No more dirt covering sidewalks – © Colehauscats.com
While we were on hiatus and away from the Internets, Mom finished her long, three year project of removing yards and yards of extra dirt from around Colehaus. The extra dirt came from years of decomposed bark mulch of which she used to be a huge fan. No one tells you you’re actually adding mountains of future dirt to your plot of land, dirt that will rot fences and foundations, slide down to cover sidewalks and bury plants and bushes and choke tree trunks. And the bark slivers embedded under the skin! *shudders*
Mom’s 3 year dirt removal project done – © Colehauscats.com
Along the way however, earthworms will love it and earthworms are much appreciated around here. The native soil has vastly improved away the original century-old, overused cow pastureland, to workable and almost loamy in spots. Roots are protected from drying out and from freezing completely in the winter. Weeds are suppressed (for the most part), and bark mulch adds a finished look to the beds that would otherwise be sun-hardened, clay-packed dirt.
Mom asks, “But did we need so much of it?” No.
Enough yard work babbling. On to the interesting stuff, already!
Not our cat – © Colehauscats.com
Did we mention this is not our cat? Yes? Okay, good. Just wanted that to be clear.
Old Happy looking better – © Colehauscats.com
Old Happy is still around and looking better every day. We are certain she is partially blind and mostly deaf and we feel so lucky to be able to provide food and a safe haven for her…
Patches’ babies 2017 – © Colehauscats.com
… especially because Happy is a four times over grandmother this year! Say hi to great, great, great granddaughter Patches and her three babies.
Raccoon Patches and one of her babies 2017 – © Colehauscats.com
We’d wondered if we’d see babies this year. Mom had noticed a raccoon that had ratty-looking fur with a section missing on her back hanging around during daytime hours over a month ago, which means nothing but can also mean it’s a pregnant female looking for extra food to help supplement her diet. So far, we’ve been right five years running!
Patches is a gentle mama and her babies are roly-poly fur balls. And yes, Mom keeps forefront in her mind these are wild animals. She’d never stick her fingers out there, no matter what.
Elusive kitty still elusive – © Colehauscats.com
The new-ish kitty with the pretty fur is still coming around occasionally and still just as elusive as ever. We’ve yet to get within thirty feet of him and we’re not sure if that’s ever going to change. We don’t know that it is a him, exactly. We’re just running with the notion that it is, kind of like running with scissors – we know we shouldn’t but sometimes the thrill of doing so gets the best of us.
Visiting boy cat – © Colehauscats.com
Here’s someone new, walking along the back fence. Um, no mistaking what gender he is.
Another visiting boy cat – © Colehauscats.com
And another visiting boy cat. Yes, it’s a he and he’s marking our back bushes as his. Thanks, gray guy.
Visiting feral boy – © Colehauscats.com
This boy showed up about a month ago and while his fur doesn’t look bad, he is every bit as skittish as any feral we’ve come to know. We’re also wildly happy to report he’s staying, on and off, in one of the feral shelters (Spitty’s Place), and seems to really like it.
Visiting feral boy – © Colehauscats.com
Notice his round face and beefy jowls? That apple-shaped head is usually a sign he’s unneutered. Thankfully, there doesn’t seem to be many females around; non-spayed females, that is, but that won’t stop Mom from trying to gain his trust. Perhaps a snip might be in his future. And a name, too. Let’s call him… Mac.
We’ve got more to report but this post has already gone long so, we’ll save some things for later. In the meanwhile, here’s some photos from around the garden. Thank you for visiting us and reading!
Blueberries – © Colehauscats.com
Blue Hydrangea – © Colehauscats.com
Pink Dianthus – © Colehauscats.com
Red Strawberries – © Colehauscats.com
Wild Daisies – © Colehauscats.com
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Previously on Colehaus Cats:
2016 – No post
2015 – Ruby Tuesday
2014 – Who’s Knocking?
2013 – No post
2012 – No post
You have some lovely flowers in your garden and we love the Pink Dianthus as they are such a pretty colour.
You have an amazing, beautiful yard. And hi to all your visitors too.
your yard is so lovely….and such a safe place (though mom has a serious urge to come visit with her trap – hahaha)
Your yard is lovely and here’s hoping you can get Mac snipped. We discovered an orange boy in our neighborhood who is also not neutered. We don’t see him often but hope in time we will, so we can TNR him too.
Oh what a wonderful job your mom did of tidying up and beautifying your garden!! We hope those visiting critters don’t dig in your plants or spray your pretty flowers.
Hugs madi your bfff
My gosh, hope both of those bog boys get to get snipped. They are both gorgeous handsome boys. Me, I would be screaming my tail off if they were here. I dislike any cat coming to my yard no matter how handsome.
you sure have a lot of visiting kitties!!!!!! Love how you made everything more beautiful than it was!
Moving dirt is never fun, but it’s better than moving rock or digging out tree stumps. Sounds like we do very similar activities in our yard. We’ve dumped yards of bark in our yard over the years but out soil is very sandy (we’re very near a river). We also have blueberries, but between the heat and the birds, we’re not getting many.
Your kitty visitor seems to have found all the comfy spots. Hopefully none of the other mancats will be much of a bother.
Now we see where Quint gets his love of color from! Gorgeous gardens! Anytime we spy a new cat in the ‘hood, The Hubby will yell out, “Stay away from this yard, cat…or she’ll trap you and take your ‘……’ (rhymes with halls)!” So far, his words have been taken to heart, because none of the roving cats come back with any kind of frequency. Rather irreverent, but it’s true…I’ll TNR every cat I can!
Lots of pretty things in your neck of the woods. We’re happy that Happy is doing well.
Wow, you have a lot of visitors around your house! And yes, at least two of those boys look like they need a snip.
guyz….momz time a way paid off…yur gardnz soooper awesum…..her did a grate grate job N we guess dad…. mite a helped huh 😉 !! any way, very kewl N wavez two everee one round de colehaus houz….nice two meet ewe all ~~~~~ 🙂 ♥♥
Your mom has been very busy we see. How beautiful your backyard~ We have planted blueberry in the pot and we’ve been harvesting yummy berries for 2 years now.
That feral boy is such a hunk!
Emma and Buster
Your yard looks amazing. The outdoor kitties are all cute, I would love to own that white one with the black tail.
Your yard looks beautiful. Maybe that’s why you have so many visitors. 🙂
We enjoyed your post. Your yard and your neighborhood is lovely.
Whoa1 You’ve got a whole cat colony AND raccoon colony out there. TW’s old BF used to use lots of the bark mulch and wood chips in the yard.
Your garden is looking lovely and worth all the effort you put into it. You have a lot of good looking visitors.
your yard is SO lovely! And mowzers those are DEFINITELy unneutered boycats!
Your lovely yard is a beautiful sanctuary for wildlife and ferals ! Purrs
Wow, your garden looks awesome! So many beautiful plantings, and a safe and peaceful haven. I suppose it’s no wonder so many friends come to visit. 🙂