How my kitties changed my gardening habits forever!
Savoring each season, improving our lives, kitty incarceration, and the miracle of a weedless garden in April!
Wednesday, April 24th, 2024
Wow. It’s the end of April. Where did the year go?
If you’re like me (and for your sake, I hope you are), you savor every single day of springtime. Why? Because, when summer comes, you realize spring is past and fall is just around the corner! And that’s sad, because it also means summer is almost over! In other words, learn to cherish every single season!
Life it better when we enjoy every minute.
On its face, how can that statement not be accurate? Consider vacations (yes, I’ll get back to the kitties and weeds soon) — I have always found that the months leading up to a vacation are as good, perhaps even better, than the vacation itself. Why? Because mindfulness and attention directed toward something pleasant and joyful is what makes a person happy! Anticipation ain’t so bad, either — if you know what I mean. (wink, wink)
On the first day of our family trips to the beach, the lake, the mountains, or wherever — I would find myself thinking, “Oh! It’s almost over!” Because it was. That’s how 5 or 7 or 10 day long vacations are. Poof! Whoosh! Done.
The same is true of seasons.
On a cold day in January, when I’m splattered with icy rain and wind while battling the chickens, trying to get their wet fluffy butts into the coop because for some reason they decided to roost under the deck that night (of all nights) — I think to myself, “One day, I’ll be hot and tired of spending an hour a day watering my garden in the middle of August, and I’ll be missing the rain.”
Similarly, on those hot days in the summer, I say to myself, “March, six months from now you’ll wonder if you’ll ever wear shorts again, so enjoy it while you can!”
And so it goes. I’m always either luxuriating in the season of the moment, or I’m reminding myself that six months from now I’ll wish I could have a taste of what I’m feeling right now. And just like that, my viewpoint shifts and I reclaim my appreciation for what’s real in that moment!
I’m mostly sharing this attitude or way of managing my reaction to seasonal weather because it’s a huge source of empowerment and increased happiness in my life. And, it also leads into the primary story I wish to share today…
My aversion to kitty incarceration is why my garden will never be the same!
I’ll admit it. I am 100% opposed to cat incarceration.
But, that’s me. Other people happily lock up their kitties, leaving them home alone for most of the day while they (the human) go out into the world and enjoy the exploration, stimulation, camaraderie, and physical exertion they deny their captive feline.
If that sounds harsh, consider that I’m simply stating fact.
It’s highly questionable to suggest a cat (especially a younger, healthy and growing kitty) can truly be happy in a 1,000-2,000 square foot prison cell, regardless of how many pretty colored toys you offer them. Or that a “cattery” is anything other than added torture, as you make sure to show them exactly what they’re missing.
It’s worth considering that when their skin is rippling and twitching, while they chatter away at a bird they can’t chase (and you think it’s cute) — they’re actually expressing intense frustration and a deeply visceral level of distress.
My kitties, who do get outside everyday, are intensely frustrated in the early morning hours when I’m not yet ready to open the door for them, and because I respect their needs I am comfortable acknowledging their irritation with being stuck inside.
On the other hand, people who want to believe their decision to incarcerate their kitty is okay, the better choice, morally righteous, wise, responsible, or just plain necessary — for them it’s harder to accept reality.
None of us want to think, “I’m causing my beloved pet distress.” It’s easier to tell ourselves, “Ahhh, that’s so cute!”
Honestly, I get it. Despite my own opinion and decision to allow my kitties outside, I respect the carefully made decisions of “kitty captors.”
After all, the goal is to protect the kitty, right? Or, you’re trying to walk the fine line between the joys of having a pet cat and protecting wild, migratory songbirds, hummingbirds, small mammals, frogs, insect and the like. Or, perhaps you live in a community that has rules against outdoor cats. So, yes! I get it.
Don’t be too turned off by me sharing my particular perspective.
This is how we grow and evolve as a people and individuals, right? By listening to people who think differently than ourselves. I’ve done that plenty! My Mom, for example, loved wild birds. But, when we owned kitties in my childhood, we always lived in rentals that didn’t allow animals. So, our kitties were outdoor all year round (in snowy, cold Reno, Nevada!), and my Mom was always super upset when they’d catch a bird (not so much when they caught a rodent).
In other words, none of us have an easy decision to make, when it comes to how we care for our kitties. There are pros and cons to all options. Such as the undeniable fact that there be dangers out there in the wilderness!
On Vashon Island, the local vet office has a poster board with photos of “Lost Cats.” I humbly suggest renaming the board, “Coyote Snacks.” Not to be mean. Just accurate.
And so it was, this past December, that I faced a quandary. What to do with two 5-month old, very healthy, very active kitties in the middle of winter when the sun goes down by 4pm?
Walking my talk while having 5 month old kittens in December.
Where we live, outdoor cats get killed by cars, eagles, coyotes, dogs, owls, and occasionally even raccoons. Especially at night. They also threaten our beloved house elf (Dobby) who masquerades as a Boston Terrier in public (yes, he has his clothes), and they go after our chickens. I’m always saying…
“Beware! There are monsters in the forest and dragons in the sky!”
At the same time, my family has a strong ethos around the idea of “quality over quantity.”
We try (and sometimes fail) to ease our pets out of this life and into the next, before life becomes too uncomfortable. We choose to experience life to the fullest, knowing that some of our activities and adventures carry risk. And, we allow our chickens (and kitties) to experience the absolute pleasure and joy of freely ranging across our five acres of lush pastured and lightly forested property.
Which brings me back to fluffy, 5-6 pound morsels of kitty-flesh racing about in the dark with an “eat me” sign on their back written in owl-friendly glow in the dark ink.
It was 27 degrees and snowing, or sleeting, or just plain “colding!” Brrrrrrr! What was I going to do?!
After a few days of yowling kitties scratching at darkened windows and doors, I said, “I’ll bet hardly no one ever does this, but you’ve got to go out, so I guess I’ll chaperone you.” My family gave me the “you’re spoiling them” look, but I didn’t care.
Ten minutes later, bundled up, with scarf, gloves, hat, waterproof boots, and a headlamp — I carried two squirming feline midgets out to our massive (100 x 50 foot) fenced garden. (Now, when I chaperone them, it’s all over the property.)
Soon, I was bored. Rampaging kittens are cute and all, but as the time passed, I was itching to do something productive. I looked around. All I saw was garden, garden, garden. Hmmm…
The discovery of wintertime weeding has changed my life.
While there are a few things that can be done in the deep, dark of winter, most gardeners view winter as a season of rest. Spring is hectic, summer is long, fall is a bonanza of harvesting activities — and winter is when we rest.
But, not when you’re going out every night, for 2-3 hours, in all types of weather, so your kittens can romp about and not drive themselves (and the whole household) crazy! As a result, here’s what I discovered:
“When you weed and prune in the winter, springtime is NOT hectic.”
I have been having quite literally the BEST April of my life, as a gardener! Usually, and I know I’m not alone, April is a month of anxiety and stress. We’re behind on planting because we’re unable to keep up with the explosion of new, weedy growth, and many backs, necks, shoulders, and wrists suffer from overwork. While the weather is lovely and the scenery is beautiful, who can fully enjoy the blossoms and new leafy greens while feeling constantly behind schedule?
Spring is, for many people, a season of overwhelm.
But not for me. Not this year. And hopefully never again. Wintertime gardening is blissful for a number of reasons. First of all, it’s hard to motivate ourselves to go outside and be active during the colder months of the year. My desire to give my kitties what they needed overcame my natural reticence, and what did I learn?
Gardening keeps you warm!
Headlamps (embedded in your hat and charged overnight) are awesome!
Digging up weeds in the cold of winter is easy!
Small incremental weeding every night, for three months in a row, is a lot!
You can listen to a lot of audiobooks in 3 months time!
Headsets keep your ears warm (mine is Bose)!
Long story short: Springtime is awesome when you’re not struggling with weeds.
Be well everyone! And happy gardening, this year and beyond, because we truly do need to increase and improve our local food sources. And that begins in everyone’s backyard or deck garden.
This is very touching to me. I've almost always made the decision to let my cats out, sometimes supervised and sometimes not. The last one was a wild purebred who had to police her massive territory very seriously and got very bored if she had to stay in. I always managed to grab her struggling into the house for night!
One morning I let her out and she never came back. She was not quite 2 yrs. Through the luck of the neighbourhood and her microchip, I was able to find out she was seen running scared straight into traffic and died due to a hit and run driver.
How many of my cats have met their deaths indoors and how many outside? All I know is that I can't bear the full incarceration of cats. Cats are wild and only deign to join us for a short time! How precious.