"Every blade of grass, each leaf, each separate floret, and petal, is an inscription speaking of hope. "(Richard Jefferies 1848-1887)
Oh to be a pair of turtle doves, puttering about on the lawn....Oh to be a
cat, watching doves toddle about on the ground. Oh the excitement. Oh to be
FRANK the cat from the hill....
To ogle Doves sitting in the feed pan. Out on their date. While a
cat watches. A cat like
Frank.
While the
Cranesbill explodes all through the garden. Surprises here and there.
Frank slides himself onto the greenhouse to start his day. His wonderful
cat sort of day.
Frank from the hill.. I've named this one
"Frank", as in
Frank Sinatra, cause he lounges on the greenhouse, and if he could croon, he would, while watching the turtle doves. I don't think he's singing to them, however.... He favours the greenhouse most mornings. His oasis.
Frank watches the
Cranesbill growing. And The
Moai, humming , into the wind. I'm sure he's debating where the Cranesbill will grow best: Sandy soil. Normal soil. Shade. Partial shade. I am sure he debates this at length. While he croons his day away.
Frank is not too keen on
Smokey OR Spencer.They don't care too much for flowers. The Cranesbill blooms in the spring, sometimes later on in the season. But I don't think Frank worries about that too much. He just flops on the roof. He surveys.
"Among human beings a cat is merely a cat; among cats a cat is a prowling shadow in a jungle." (Capek 1890-1938)
A Turtle Dove is lovely to watch. Yum yum.
Says Frank. As he
twitches his tail.
Cranesbill floats in the wind, looks great in the rain, and
BEES love it. Not sure the cats care about how it floats. Or about bees. They do chase bees sometimes. They hide in the Cranesbill to chase the
bees. Then the bees chase them......
Looks like it's not just
Frank who is interested in the Doves. .......or the big world outside.
Bunny sees
Frank. He twitches his tail at her.
Bunny doesn't like his lounge act
much.
The cats are fully aware, of course, that at the same time Cranesbill is starting to pop out of the dirt, so is the
MOUNTAIN BLUET ( CENTAUREA). Of course they are. They see all and know all. Especially
Frank.
Also known as Bachelor's buttons, it's considered a
WEED by some. For
shame.
A weed????? It came originally from Europe, likes lots of sun and some rain in which to thrive. It's a
hairy thing. Kind of like a cat. Like
Frank. Who has a big thick coat.
Frank is more interested in the
DOVES than flowers.. He naps all morning on the greenhouse. He waves his paws in the air when he dreams. He must
think he is a Dove.
At the same time,
Cordelia keeps her eye on
Frank. She hides behind the Cranesbill
which is : is rabbit resistant, masses well, and reminds Frank that life is pretty good on the roof.
CENTAUREA often shows up as a mistake, like it did here, in my garden. Just sort of popped up one day.
Like Frank did. Just one small plant , that decided to live in the dirt, and now it's spreading through the garden. A weed? Shame Shame.
I love it. The
bees go crazy for it. It grows up to 30-80 centimetres tall. And yes, it's
hairy. Looks a lot like a thistle.
Or like a cat. Like
Frank.
Besides which there are troughs of
Sweet peas . There are miles of sweet peas . Well, almost miles.
Frank watched me stuff seeds into the dirt. Grow .
Grow.
Grow.
Frank sniffs into the wind from his perch. He must sense the Doves.
Those
Doves hanging out in the cherry tree.......... opposite
Frank on the roof.
Much to
Frank's dismay. He climbs up higher ,to the
top of the greenhouse. Thinking he'll be closer to the
action. He croons away.
Smokey is wiser. He naps on the bench. He yawns at
Frank.
And
CORDELIA is the wisest of all. She sees
Frank teeter away on the roof.
"Sitting silently, doing nothing, spring comes, and the grass grows by itself." (Basho 1644-1694)
Only the
MOAI is silent about it all. Buried up to its ears in green stuff.
And the prolific
CENTAUREA: It now grows all the way up and around the fence.
BEE haven.The flowerheads are very much like knapweeds. Fuzzy
and hairy.
Like a cat, remember.
Like Frank.
Frank the Cat from the hill, who is having a
lovely day. Waves his paws from the roof and sings....
"Stay quiet; refuse nothing; flowers grow only because they tranquilly allow the sun's rays to reach them. You must do the same." (Juliana Krudener 1764-1824)
