Saturday, November 28, 2009

Cat Training aka How To Train A Human


The recession has finally hit the cats. When I went grocery shopping with Rose this week I noticed their usual cat food "Gourmet" had gone up by 30c a tin which makes a price rise of 50c over the past year making it much too expensive. But I am pretty fussy what I feed my animals so spent some time with a can of Gourmet, comparing ingredients with other brands. Some had too much fat, not enough protein, others I am sure were composed of pure horse. Rose stood by patiently while I did this until in exasperation she said "You spend more time looking at what's in your cats' food rather than in your own. It's disgusting!"

I have to explain that Rose doesn't "get" the whole owning cats thing as she has a dog. However she is about to take ownership of a SPCA kitten within the next two weeks so a whole new world is about to open up to her. But she's certain that there are going to be rules with her new pet, it'll eat what it's given, no special brands, it won't sleep on the bed, it'll have to fit in with her life rather than the other way around. I have tried to explain that within a week of arriving her kitten will have her fully trained, seeing to its every whim and fitting her life around its existence. She just looked at me as if I was really just an eccentric cat lady.

So after five minutes of intense scrutiny I settled on good old Chef cat food but then had to choose what flavours to buy. I know my cats aren't too fond of fish so settled on chicken, lamb as well as a couple of cans of Chef classic. Rose shook her head in disbelief but never said a word. When we arrived home I began unpacking the groceries while we did some last minute chatting. Just as she was walking out the door Rose turned to me and said "I'm going to town again on Friday so if the cats don't like their new food give me a ring and I'll buy them something else".

I just hope her new kitten appreciates the training I have put into it's new pet when it finally arrives at its new home.

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Roses All The Way


Suddenly there are roses everywhere including a beautiful pink climber that is clambering up the northern wall of my bedroom. This was the only one I couldn't reach to prune so not surprisingly it's the most rampant. The rose is truly the Queen of Flowers in all its variations. I just wish I knew the names of all of the ones in the garden here but perhaps it is more fun to name them myself in which case I'll call this one "Fred".

Monday, November 16, 2009

The Big Flight


The cats are still pretty jumpy from weeks of being dive bombed by irate swallow parents. I managed to get a great shot of the babies a week ago by holding the camera over my head and snapping in their general direction. When a friend offered to get even closer we were startled by the four babies taking wing and flying out across the paddock. They each sat on a fence post while the parents flew from one to another before they all took to the sky again wheeling about in ever increasing circles. We were so worried that we'd frightened them away permanently but at 7.30pm that night and every night since the family arrive in a blast of excited chattering, the babies settling in the nest and the parents perching on the coat hooks on the opposite side of the back door. By morning they've all left for the day, only flying in under the carport every few hours or so.

From what I have been told swallows hatch two or three clutches per season and already Mr and Mrs have begun reinforcing the mud nest with dried grass, most of which is dropped around the door in amongst the piles of bird do do like some natural abstract sculpture. Perhaps I can enter it for some prestigious art award next year.