An exciting day it was

Each morning before getting out of bed, dad quickly checks his emails on the phone. There was a message in German from Alexandra in Switzerland, letting him know there was something for him at her blog.

In the meantime he had breakfast and I had my morning snack, which was followed by a visit to the garden since there was no frost outside like the last previous days. It was still rather cold but the morning’s golden light that came skittering across the hills ridge and rooftops was a little warming when it finally landed upon me.

For now the days will be few for going outside until winter reaches its zenith and then it will be still several more weeks before the temperatures begin to rise again.

Cory Cat Blog—Society of Feline Gardeners

When I came back in, dad was also finished with breakfast and together we went back upstairs to the computer. Dad was clueless because he did not check until now what it was Alexandra had in store for us.

With great excitement dad told me all about the award I had received. I quickly had to inspect the monitor and see for myself.

Thank you Alexandra

Since the award comes with a condition that it should be passed along, dad and I had a long discussion as to restoring value and honor to the award by following Alexandra’s example of limiting the nominees. We decided to keep it to three, like in the Olympics. Since there are a number of blogs we are considering, we will release the winners for the ‘One Lovely Blog Award’ with our next post.

Alexandra has a wonderful blog, she not only talks about her cat, but also of per passion for gardening and decorating the house for the holiday season. She also does volunteer work at the local animal shelter, taking exceptional photographs of the animals in need of a home. I enjoy visiting her site to see what she is up to and I am never disappointed.

a rose from Alexandra’s blog Gwundergarten

So please visit her blog Gwundergarten and you will be surprised on several levels. As I already mentioned, her blog is diverse with varied interests and you do not have to know German to read her posts since the blog is bilingual. 

Remember there is still some time left to participate in the

calendar bookmark photo contest. 

A return to the garden

The rains came early this year so I have not been out as often as I would like to have been. Still when dad rakes the leaves off the lawn or sweeps the entrance, I am there giving him not only company but also supervising the progress of his work. Of course when I am in the front, dad makes sure that no passing dog brings any harm to me.

After a few days of no rain and cold temperatures, the front porch area has dried and the wind have blown any leaves from the Japanese maple trees that line the entrance walkway down towards the path. The afternoon sun is no longer as warm as it was just a few weeks ago, but the fresh air is wonderful.

Artistic filters added to make it look like a painting

When dad is home he always leaves the sliding door to the balcony a little open so that I can go outside whenever I wish and maybe even head down to the lawn area and chew a little on the grass. Sometimes I just like to sit between the blooming azaleas that mum takes care of and then look down to see if the neighbors mean black cat is making his way home through our backyard.

Cory Cat Blog—Society of Feline Gardeners

Dad finished the final design layout for the 2011 bookmark calendar pages and come this weekend we will post details on the drawing so that your photograph of your feline can qualify. The design is much more refined than the first draft that we had offered as a download earlier this month.

Of course I had to make sure dad was following my instructions and since he does work slow, yet methodical in the detail and proofing, I managed to get a few cat naps on his laptop, warming my belly and seeing to it that dad cannot place the damaged laptop into sleep mood. 

My patch of green

With an increase in temperatures, Indian Summer has arrived full blast and in some areas of our state, records where being shattered. This means there will a few more sun puddle days in which to soak up the warmth, now I just need to figure out how to store the heat for when it is winter. In the meantime it's a trip down from the balcony, along the railing of the deck, along the birdbath and down a few more stairs to the lawn that dad actually needs to rake because it is covered in leaves.

My patch of green heaven

This blade smells pretty good, lets see how it tastes

Ah, so refreshing. Just have to make sure I chew it well

or I'll be throwing up dinner later

Cory Cat Blog—Society of Feline Gardeners

Please join us this coming Saturday for an important announcement. We promise you will not be disappointed. 

After this coming weekend we will only be posting once or twice a week. The reason for this is that dad needs to get back to creating art and working on his three other blogs (see sidebar for links). Something he has not done most of the year, since he was in cardiovascular rehabilitation for almost five months to improve his heart condition. This way dad will also be able to visit you and comment as well.

Among the autumn leaves

The days have been growing much shorter and one needs to search for the few sun puddles that still remain, before the light disappears behind the trees.

Dad always leaves the sliding door a bit open so that I can go out onto the balcony where I can then view the entire backyard for any intruder. It is also the place I feel the safest when dad is busy inside the house and I just want some fresh air.

This afternoon there were only a few scrub jays among the manzanita trees making all kinds of noise, while only a handful of smaller birds came to the bird feeders for their dinner before searching for a spot to sleep for the night.

Whenever a leaf parted from a tree and tumbled towards the ground I became startled, then looking from where the sound came to make sure it was not a cat entering into my territory. Even when there is a sharp gust of wind the tree then bursts into a rustling crescendo that always seems to have me spooked.

Cory Cat Blog—Society of Feline Gardeners

Today with our first participation we joined the weekly event of the Society of Feline Gardeners and are looking forward to many more posts as I love joining dad or mum when they are in the garden.