DROP-OFF

Growing up in the country, we were accustomed to having dogs and cats "dropped" on us.  One would think that living in town, on a corner lot, being surrounded by a fence,  we would be safe from drop-offs.  However, last year,  my brother Les looked out the kitchen window just in time to see a person dropping kittens across the fence.  That took a lot of chutzpah!

Please, no more cats!  We had eleven at one time:  Puff, Spot, Louise, Francis Albert Sinatra (AKA Ole Blue Eye as he has one blue and one green eye), Snowball, Polka Dot, Sasha Fierce, Topo, Professor, Socks and last, but not least, the most spoiled of all: Stormy.

None of the cats like me but they adore Les and Gerald. The only time the cats come around me is when I am picking flowers. Gerald said it's because they have "marked" the spots and don't want me there, bothering "their" spots. 

As I was picking violets this year, Stormy sprawled out over the flowers, anywhere I attempted to pick.  As we have violets all over the yard, I kept moving from spot to spot to pick, but the cat would get right in front of me. He jumped in the peonies to try to prevent my picking those flowers.  Last week, as I was picking flowers for a bouquet to take to the cemetery for Mother's Day, Stormy was in the rose garden as I tried to pick flowers there.  I told Gerald I was going to throw him in the honeysuckle vines as a defense.  Finally, I had to pick him up and deposit him in the garage.  Les asked, "Is that the briar patch?"

For years we  have had a bed of Lilies of the Valley along the side of the garage.  The cats ruined a section because they had reclined in the plants and killed the flowers.  Last year we put up a fence, to no avail, as the cats still reclined there.  I read to sprinkle cayenne pepper to keep out squirrels from the garden so I tried that in the bed of Lilies of the Valley and the cats stayed away. TRIUMPH, I thought!   I  transplanted plants from other sections of the bed, but nothing would grow in the "reclining spot".

This year Gerald bought top soil and potting soil spread it over the area;   I planted new Lily of the Valley plants in the "reclining spot" and so far, no cats are residing there and the plants are faring well!