THE CATS WHO VISIT.

"Cats make the perfect audience...." -Elle Newmark

I don't know how it happened. But one day, there was this lovely white cat who came down the hill to visit. For two years, I called her "White Cat", till I learned her real name, and Cordelia and I became friends for 18 years. Then the others followed....

     d'Artagnon

Hobbes

“Human beings are drawn to cats because they are all we are not — self-contained, elegant in everything they do, relaxed, assured, glad of company, yet still possessing secret lives.”- Pam Brown

Rona and Hobbes at the window

 

Teddy follows Rona

The Best Friends

Sweet Simon

                                         

Teddy

Patience (2024) Housemate of Cordelia

"Arise from sleep, old cat, And with great yawns and stretching, amble out for love..."-Issa,Haiku

                       Spencer and his fan club           

"The cat offers itself..."-James Burroughs

                             

Spencer and his brother, Smokey (2017) Mr. Spencer has been coming over to visit, for about 14 years. Faithfully shows up at 5 am, then 10 am, if it's sunny out, and between 4 and pm, and often at 11 pm before he heads for his home.

Smokey used to come bounding over the terrace wall. Funny, happy cat. We still miss seeing him.
       

Little d'Artagnon, with her lovely blue collar to match her blue eyes. Her collar has a little bell that rings "Ding-a-ling-a-ling". Have no idea, really, what her name is but d'Artagnon seems fitting. She LOVES Mr. Spencer. Follows him around like a little puppy. 

                                                        

,

Sweet Simon usually stays under his favourite bush when the others are around. 

                            

Edwina only comes around once-in-a-while. She loves the back steps, so much so, that Rona and Spencer have to wait their turn ...

"The smallest feline is a masterpiece..." -Leonardo da Vinci

Beautiful Cordelia ( 2026). She lived for 18 years and came every day. At one point, she brought her housemate, Patience. He was like a lion. He roared. They were the first of the cats who visit...and it's all so amazing still.

Photographs 2026 

SERENITY...

"If you cannot find peace within yourself, you will not find it anywhere else..." -Marvin Gaye

"And joy is everywhere; it is in the earth's green covering of grass; in the blue serenity of the sky..."-Rabindranath Tagore

"Every breath we take, every step we make, can be filled with peace, joy and love..." -Nhat Hanh

"Tomorrow is a new day. Begin it well and serenely..." 

                                -Ralph Waldo Emerson

 "From serenity comes gentleness, comes lasting strength..." 

                       -Pam Brown

"Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough. Give your best anyway..." -Mother Teresa

"It is the stillness that will save and transform the world..." 

                                                                                                -Eckhart Tolle

         "Grant me the serenity ..." -Reinhold Niehubr

"The order and serenity of our minds, the spirit of patience and tender mercy in our hearts..."

           -James Martineau

      "Serenity is an open door..." -Byron Katie

               "Speak peace to the soul..." - Ezra Taft Benson

"You have to be still for a moment to even notice there is silence outside..." -Eckhart Tolle

Photographs 2026

"I will awaken the dawn..."-Psalm 108:2

OASIS...

"The gardener cultivates wildness, 

                but does so carefully and respectfully, 

in full recognition of its mystery..." -Michael Pollan

"A garden always has a point..."- Elizabeth Hoyt

"To dream a garden...

...then to plant it..."-Stanley Crawford

"Gardening gives you an appreciation...
 

Rona

for the strength of life,

                    but it also shows you its fragility..." -Matt Puchalski

                                       

"Have you ever heard

                the wonderful silence

                                            just before the dawn?

Or the quiet and calm 

                         just before a storm ends? 

The hush of a country road at night...

            all very beautiful

                         if you listen carefully." 

                                                                                              -Norton Juster

Sweet Simon

"Create space simply 'to be'..."-Gabriella Goddard

rogue sunflowers

"Find a moment of stillness, give your heart a chance 

                      to tell you where you really want to be..." -Dodinsky

native cranesbill

"With each breath you take, 

                        you create space around your heart...

purple columbine                                    

...close your eyes. Notice. 

                   Trust that you choose 

                         what enters this space."- unknown

"Peace is always right here..." - Carol Tuttle

strawberry

"...it's a place where I find myself...

                                     ... when I need to lose myself..."

                                                                                           -Alice Sebold

Photographs 2026

"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you."-John 14:27