Once In A Lifetime Moment

We had one of those yesterday morning. I was out on the front porch tending my plethora of houseplants when I looked up and saw something I never in a million years expected to find on my lawn.

At first I thought it was a bird (my eyesight is not good to say the least) but then I realized it had spots running in rows down it's back and that's when it hit me, this was no bird this was BAMBI!!! I'm actually very surprised that I was the one to discover him because I am usually in my own little world when working with my plants and it practically takes gun shots to get my attention.

Isn't this the most precious, beautiful baby you've ever seen. One thing for sure his mommy will never be told he looks like Winston Churchill or Yoda (yes, I actually told someone that once, tact is not my strong suit).

G said that Toby the dog had been sniffing something in the grass but G couldn't see what it was and figured Toby being a dog he probably didn't want to know so he didn't check it out. Toby was his typically curious but very gentle self, he didn't bark or try to harm the baby, just wanted to say hello. He had actually come back in the house and was no longer interested in the baby.

We're not sure where mom went but I don't believe she could have been far because when he ran away, he was very wobbly and was listing side ways, so we're thinking he must have been pretty new. He was also very tiny. So I'm thinking he couldn't be very old, a day at the most.

edited to add G's comment: What Pamela didn't tell you is that she bent down beside Bambi and petted him. I had visions of this 12 point buck laying in our living room with Toby and going to the door wanting to be let out. And I can just hear the complaints from our neighbors! "Your deer ate all the buds off of my lilies last night." But when Pamela stood up, Bambi ran away and I must admit, I am very disappointed I won't get my very own pet deer.

In the Garden this Week.

G and I seperated out a clump of these daylilies 3 years ago, we planted most of them but had so many that we couldn't find places for all of them. We were so tired of digging holes that we didn't even bother to plant them, we just sat them on the ground. They lived and thanks to Toby's viligent watch over our yard they actually got a chance to bloom this year.

Not much inside the greenhouse this time of year but I love

the look of Terra Cotta and just had to snap this photo.

Red verbena, it will be many times this size by the end of the season.

These started off as one very tiny division I was given about 6 yrs. ago.

I divided it about 3 yrs. ago and this is what I got. G keeps promising me a shade house.

If I ever do get that shade house I am going to divide some of these and pot them

up to sell at the market.

We were living in Florida when I brought the parent plant to this hydrangea home and asked G to plant it he asked "Why? it's nothing more than a dead stick". I told him to just trust me. Many people don't understand the difference between dead and dormant.

The stick only looked dead but was actually dormant.

I gave my mom a division from the parent plant and she planted it at her house. That was almost 25 yrs. ago. About 3 yrs. after we moved here to NC I got a division from her and planted it here. So in a sense that dead stick has traveled 500 miles and 3 states from where it first started. That's pretty good for a dead stick, don't ya think.

I like the way no two are the same color. Sometimes one

bloom head will have several colors together.

My coneflowers are just beginning to open.

Gaillardia just beginning to open.

Gaillardia's common name is indian blanket.

This plant was labeled Gaillardia but as you can see it looks nothing like one. I'm not sure what it is but the color is striking. This pic doesn't do it justice, it's is actually a deep copper. I'm kind of glad it was mislabeled because it's not a color I would have knowingly chosen and I would have missed out on it's amazing richness.

The neighbors lilac myrtle hangs over our fence. It always blooms

so beautifully. I am not so lucky with myrtles.

These are some of the asiatic lilies I have planted along the

back of the house. They too are just beginning to bloom.

Found this fellow on the sidewalk behind the house. Not exactly sure how he got there but I'm thinking that Toby the dog had something to do with it. I looked him over but found no injuries but he was being very still for a large such a large frog.

I picked him up and took him down to the pond in our back yard, I had to hold him with both hands like a Burger King Whooper, he was that huge. Then I brought Toby inside for the rest of the day so the poor guy could find his way to where he was going without the interference of a curious dog.

Finding frogs in our pond says a lot for the quality of the water because frog are very sensitive to the eco systems where they live. They can't live in polluted water. It amazes me that our pond will support frogs considering it is surrounded by 14 houses most of which use some kind of lawn chemicals.

Poor Sick Kitty

I would like to introduce Callie to you. She's our 10 yr. old Calico. Our daughter J found her in the middle of the road where she had been hit by a car and left. She was bleeding from a head wound and the vet didn't expect her to live through the night. J called me after taking Callie to the vet and begged me to allow her to keep her if she lived. I made her promise that she would pay all the vet bills. Much to the suprise of all Callied lived. J paid all her bills. The vet told us that she wasn't certain Callie was out of the woods just yet and that we should quarantine her for the first month. That was 9 yrs. ago. Callie still doesn't like to have her head touched, in fact she doesn't let anyone but family touch her and then only for a few moments. She is not a lap sitter and she doesn't allow people to pick her up, not ever. She will allow me to pick her up to put her on the table where she eats but only because of the food. Otherwise it's hands off.

Both our cats are indoor/outdoor, in fact somedays I feel as though my only purpose in life is to open and close the door for the cats. For the most part we don't have any problems with injuries or fighting but sometimes things do happen. Callie came home the last week with a very bad limp.

We quarantined her to the house and thought it was getting better but then over the weekend we noticed that she was once again in a lot of pain. Sunday night she curled up next to me (and you have to understand Callie does not touch anyone on purpose and would never think of actually curling up next someone) and acted as though she was seeking comfort. I gently prodded her leg and discovered that the knee joint was particularly painful to her. She actually put her paw on my hand as though to say; "stop! that hurts!" I decided a trip to the vet was in order so G and I took her in on Monday morning.

Turns out that she had injured her knee joint and very badly. I was helping to hold Callie down as the vet examined the leg and was able to see that Callie has a lot of play in the knee, in fact if I didn't know better I would have thought she didn't have a knee. The vet said she probably injured it as a result of jumping from a high place. That makes sense because both Callie and Nigel like to go up on the roof. Swifts nest in our chimney and raise young each spring and summer, both cats would love nothing more than to dine on a nice, young, tender baby bird but the swifts are smart and nest too far down the chimney for the cats to reach.

The vet has confined Callie to bed rest. She is not to jump at all for at least 3 weeks. Callie is not pleased one little bit about any of this. First her knee hurts and now she is forced to stay in a lowly dog crate of all places. But as you can see we are doing out best to keep her comfortable. G bought her a large supply of tuna as a get-well present. Honestly the tuna is a foil for the meds the vet prescribed but Callie doesn't seem to mind that part. I made her a nice thick bed from two new foam cushion inserts, I covered it with an old towel and then put the fleece blanket on top, hopefully it will keep the leg more comfortable than sleep on the hard cage bottom.

So for the next 3-4 weeks she has to be confined to the crate. After that I thinking she'll be staying inside for several more months. I realize this could have happened t inside the house just as easily as it happend outside but I can observe in the house much better and make sure she get her rest when need be.

Callie stoned on Tramadol.

The vet was very nice and gave Callie some pain killers called Tramadol. If you are familiar with this drug you'll know that it also has the added side effect of mood elevation. In other words it acts like a pain-killer slash anti-depressant. It did make Callie a bit excitable so I am spreading the doses out so as not to cause her undue anxiety, she's already neurotic. But she's also very sweet in her own way and we love her. Hopefully this will heal on it on and we won't have to put her through a surgery to stabilize the joint.

Hi, my name is...

Hi, my name is Nigel. Mom said I should come and introduce myself to all her blog friends in cyberspace. About 4 months ago mom saw me wondering about on the deck. At first she thought I was a feral cat that she feeds because I look a lot like him, but then she saw my white paws and realized I was just a kitten. Mom thinks the feral cat might be my dad.

It was really cold outside and raining as well. She was concerned about me so she came out and tried to talk to me but I was very frightened, humans weren’t always nice to me and so I wasn't sure of her intentions. Then she brought me some food and I was so grateful because it had been a long time since I had eaten. Mom hated leaving me out there in the wet and cold but since I wouldn't let her touch me there wasn't much more she could do.

Later that night when Daddy got home from work mom was telling him about me, she decided to take a look outside to see if I was still hanging around. She flipped on the light next to the back door and saw me huddled up next to it. She opened the door to see if I would come inside, I was so cold and the warm air coming from the house felt so good so I stepped over the threshold, I hadn't intended to stay but then mom slammed the door shut and I was trapped. I freaked! I started crying and tried to claw my way back out the glass door but it no use. Mom decided to give me some space and time to calm down. She left me by the door crying and went through the house closing up all the doors except the one to her office, and then she got some more food, water and a spare little pan and put them in there.

The next part was the worst and I think mom really hated doing it but since I wouldn’t come to her she had no choice. She got the broom and as gently as she could she herded me into her office with it. She left out dry food 24/7 and would bring me canned food twice a day, then about the second day I was in there she started to pet me while I ate, on the fourth day she picked me up but I was so scared I hid my face in her arm. Over the next several days she would hold me each time she fed me and then she started bringing me out and carried me about the house. She introduced me slowly to more sights, sounds and smells of the house. She let me stay in her office for over a week just getting used to the smells and sounds of the house. Finally she allowed me to start coming out on my own but she still limited my access to the house by closing off doors to rooms where I didn’t need to go just yet. I still had to spend the night in the office but I didn’t mind because mom’s office has lots of cozy places to curl up.

Today I’m a different kitten. I love to be cuddled and I give lots of kisses and hugs to mom and daddy. I’m still freighted of strangers and mom doesn’t allow me to go outside because I get frightened very easily and she’s concerned I might run away but I’m much calmer these days.

Mom says I do have a few characteristics that make me a challenge at times but she says they make me charming as well. I have an itchy paw and I’m always looking for things to knock off table tops to play with. I dig in mom’s plants, and I chew them as well but she’s learning new ways thwart me; she’s going to share some of them with you later. I also like to torment Callie, she’s the other cat that lives here and sometime mom gets the squirt bottle after me because of it, I HATE that!

I also do some things that Mom and Daddy think are really cute. I have my own teddy bear, M left him behind one day and I claimed as my own. I carry him about the house in my mouth. I also like to play with balls and anything that rolls, including mom’s thread spools. I like to watch the water swirl around in the toilet, sometimes I look at the side of the toilet and try to figure out where it’s going.

I’m glad mom trapped me inside the house that night four months ago because Mom adores me and I adore her.

BTW Nigel, means black in Old English, it can also mean someone who has no friends. As you can see the black part fits well, fortunately the friends part not so much anymore.

All material copyrighted by Pamela Stewart. No portion may be used without written premission of the author.