bumble and bee

new kitten musings


bee and bumble are new members of our household and and providing many hours of entertainment and laughter already plus, unfortunately, distractions for PhD composition. They wrestle, drag things all over the house and particularly love scaling a rolled up rug in the study and then looking around from their lofty perch as if to say 'look at what I did'! Although we live in an apartment, this is reassuring for the future of tree climbing as getting back down appears to be no problem, so we shan't have to engage a fire truck in order to rescue them, to comment on an urban or trashy newspaper cliche, or perhaps an urban myth!?

One of their favourite games (or perhaps more accurately, stalk, assault and attack practice) is one kit in a paper bag scuffling around to draw attention, the other pouncing on top. Chewing on human toes, fingers and knuckles in the early hours of the morning also seems to provide amusement for them, if not for us.

They had a few fleas when we got them and being adverse to chemicals and pharmaceuticals, I thought I'd try brewers yeast which was recommended on line. After smelling it, I wasn't sure if they'd be into it so rubbed a little on their fur. A licking fest ensued so no worries there. Try it if you have cats or dogs!

It appears washing cats isn't really necessary but both seem overly curious about the bath, balancing on the edge whenever I have one and both have tried a swim, a VERY short one. I don't imagine they will try that again in any rush, although they continue to sit on the edge until removed! Bedraggled, wet kittens look comically skinny so I. at least got a laugh out of it and Rob was left with the drying job. Thanks Rob!

Anyway, it's a little like being new parents ( and perhaps good practice) and I'm sure I am boring friends with pictures on facebook, or will be soon.

Apart form feeding and litter cleaning, they seem to be very easy care too, although we did have to give them worms tablets which led to me being ignored for half an hour and Rob going for the more sensible and successful method of just stuffing the half tablets in food. On that note, I'll share a link with any readers who are looking for a laugh - I almost fell off the couch with tears in my eyes, tho a few glasses of wine before hand may have added to the amusement factor! http://www.nanceestar.com/CatPill.html should hopefully lead you to 'How to give a cat a pill in twenty easy steps'. I particularly liked this one 

          'Get spouse to lie on cat with head just visible from below armpit. Put pill in end of drinking               straw, force mouth open with pencil and blow down drinking straw.

1. Check label to make sure pill not harmful to humans, drink glass of water to take taste away. Apply Band-Aid to spouse's forearm and remove blood from carpet with cold water and soap.' I will write more about the funny furry critters late, for now I have to forcibly extract myself from this machine and get on with my day in the real world.

a beginning and a dawn

And here we begin with a dawn. Was it early in the morning or late at night? Is the glass half full or is the glass half empty? What came first, the plant or the seed? It was still dark when I started pottering around my balcony garden - a space about one point five by six metres. Fortunately it is painted thick brick so there is the whole rim space to place plants where they are exposed to more sun, create some privacy from the houses up the hill and don't completely clutter up the ground.

It seemed so tiny after moving from a large garden and yet somehow I am growing more here than I ever achieved there. In this space, shared by a clothesline, a homemade bench seat (planks of wood and milk crates - I was not the original thief!), another seat and recycling bin, I am growing chocolate mint (most delicious), basil, coriander, rosemary, Italian parsley, lettuces, rocket and strawberries, a sweet chilli and a hot habanero one. There are also two pots of aloe vera which is very useful for one who mixes freckled, Scottish skin with the Tasmanian sun!

This still leaves room for several species of succulents (an obsession of mine), a small maple (which substituted as a christmas tree last year), some kind of lily, I think, lobelia, another flowering plant I don't know the name of marigolds and pots where hopefully dill, nasturtiums and sage will sprout soon.

According to Paul Francis Healy who's articles in the Saturday Magazine from The Mercury I enjoy each week, it is now time to plant the first lot of early maturung garlic, sew brassicas and late leeks, carrots, parsnip, beetroot, bush and climbing beans and potatos. Also I could sow cress, more lettuce, pak choi, spring onion, mizuna, mibuna (?), hon sai tai (?), spinach, silverbeet and rainbow chard. I am assuming the two unknoiwn plants are asian greens too. However, there is a point where I may be pushing the limits of space. I may try bok choy as I've had sucess with that before and it never lasts long in the fridge and rainbow chard as it looks great with its many coloured stems.

The 'garden' continues inside with many more succulents, a peace lily and other indoor plants. Anyway, nighttime gardening under the stars is quite enjoyable. I was awake to hear the birds begin their regular dawn chorus and see the sun rise over the Derwent Estuary and the city of Hobart, first light bringing out the sandstone of churchs and other buildings and lighting up the European trees of my neighbourhood (Mount Stuart).

There are far too few native trees in this suburb- I recently tried to keep a Christmas beetle but there were hardly any eucalypts in the street. I know they don't live long at the best of times, but it may have starved a little and it was very unimpressed with the chocolate mint and kept trying to run away from it, However, from the 180 degree windows I can see the gums of The Domain, Knockloftly Reserve and the distant Mount Direction. And I have a very small view of the summit of Mount Wellington. 

I hope my seeds come up soon. It is always exciting to see them push their first leaves through the soil!