Flora & Fauna – Page 7

Planting a Pollinator Garden

October in central Massachusetts can be a weather roller coaster. The morning mist from the Quaboag River will hang over the yard until lunchtime. The sun warms up the south side, bringing much appreciated solar drying power to the laundry. How quickly the sunlight falls late afternoon. By dinnertime, it’s quiet of birdsong. Even the crickets are already in bed! Despite the thermometer’s theatrics, the urge to garden has come on with intensity. So now, the goal is to establish a pollinator garden bed for planting in springtime. The elements will be our friend and create the space for insects to find the foods they need to thrive and grow.

Here’s the area to be cleared. It’s filled with sea oats, phlox, and a yucca. Every year, I knock down the tall plants and pile them on the compost heap. The sea oats are an unusual plant, but only ornamental. Insects and birds leave them alone. The phlox does get pollinators on it. But, there’s a larger patch nearby so the loss is not permanent. The yucca is a pest that only spreads itself around taking up a lot of space. It’s another ornamental that looks out of place in the landscape.

The first task is to clear out the plants, chopping them down close to the ground. I used the cut-down vegetation as a base for under the cardboard that will be the overlay for creating a new layer of soil. The goal is to smother what is under it and build an area for seed planting in the spring.

The cardboard will hopefully provide a compostable barrier between the soil as it is and how it will be. The soil layers will consist of peat moss, chopped straw, composted cow manure, and some raised bed soil mix. On top of these are a thick layer of horse manure, and leaves. The plan is to let the winter season start the decay process of building a new area for planting. No seeds will be planted at this time. The entire patch needs to blend and start to compost. The horse manure needs at least a month to decay so I’ll let old man winter do the work.

The latest reading I’ve done around creating a pollinator-friendly yard is to not rake leaves. I normally use the mower to shred the leaves and let them stay in the soil overwinter as a poor man’s mulch. Hmm, this will be a switch of habit to not mow, but rake and store. That will be a challenge as the wind loves to blow the leaves everywhere. I may layover burlap to keep the bed contained. This barrier may also dissuade my cats from visiting the area. Those pesky felines already visited the new soil and probably used it as a kitty litter box, How to keep them out is a wonder.

The cost went into some of the soil building. The cardboard and horse manure are free. It took only a few hours to set up this space as it is. The real fun will be in figuring out which seed blend to order. Some seeds need that wintertime to sprout in springtime. If so, I’ll put them in a bad and leave out in the sun porch to experience freezing and thawing. The goal is to seed when the sap moves in March 2021.

Tesoro Explores the Garden

The third-year with Tesoro and second with Stellina is moving forward as this chapter is written in July. The winter was normal weather-wise for central Massachusetts and the cats confined indoors. This year’s goal has been to have Tesoro sitting quietly on my lap. He’s extremely reluctant to be picked up at all. I should have known, when he came from the shelter, the caretaker nabbed him from behind by throwing a towel over his head. Oh! It was an emotional moment when I took him home. The want was in missing my dear departed Sweetie and needing the comfort a domestic animal brings to a home.

We crossed a contact bridge last July when Tesoro developed an allergy to the pine shavings mixed into his cat litter pan. The discomfort was so intense he’d pulled out the hair around his neck. There he sat looking at me with pink skin patches revealed and tufts of white cat hair on the floor. The treatment was to change the litter and apply an herbal salve to the scraps. By this time, he had started sitting next to me on the love seat routinely. He accepted petting in his cube and now responded to a beckoning gesture to come over for ear scratches. I was surprised when I invited him to come close and he let me put the remedy on a few times each day. The healing happened J

Stella likes to lie right on my shoulder should I be watching TV or reading in the evening. She cuddles right up close and snoozes away. Tesoro watches from his chair. Once, he decided to walk over and give it a whirl. What a shocker when he jumped on the love seat and wandered over nesting his big self in Stella’s spot. His courage lasted for a few minutes.

A few times, I’ve been able to pick him up and place him on my lap. The first year, he would panic and scratch his way free. Now, it’s more of a be still while the hooman pets me here. More often, I can put him aside without a scrambling scene. The beckoning gesture calls him back for petting. Slowly, he accepts this is part of the day now.

Once the warm weather returned, both cats were able to go outside during the day. Tesoro roams around the garden with ease now. Lately, he has discovered the feline joy of rodent hunting and snagged several victims. I don’t believe he has encountered Elvis, the neighbor’s cat yet. His coat is silky smooth now. He walks around with his tail always up in the air giving the okay sign.

He is semi-feral and anxious. His eyes will dart around when I come too close. The concern is if we had to suddenly get out due to a storm or fire, he would not be able to be taken out of the home in a carrier. The first year, he had the habit of peeing on blankets from time to time. The shelter said he came from a house where the cats were hoarded and he was one of twenty. He must have learned this was an alternative to a traditional cat box during this time in his life. The first time it happened, I was baffled as to why there was moisture on the quilt I’d tossed on the floor one Saturday morning. In those days, he hid under the bed and scooted out cautiously if I was present. When the bed is made, folded extra blankets are put at the end. Sometimes, he would pee on top of them. Once, he peed on my pillow. Once he peed right on the bed while I was sleeping in it. Maybe the second time I caught him in the act, I scared him so well he rarely did this destructive thing again. Other unwanted habits? The water dish became a source of interest and could be heard roving around the kitchen floor. Tesoro often knocked the dish around until all the contents spilled out. Finally, I developed a strategy to secure the bowl which has been successful. It’s on a shelf liner, inside a larger casserole dish.

Tesoro likes to wail. Often, it’s early in the evening and he’s wondering when Stella is coming in for the day. Or, he sits near the food dish and yowls. It seems to come out whenever the mood strikes. This habit wasn’t an influence from Stella. She has her squeaky little kitten meow and the occasional hiss when things get too frisky for her liking.

There were plenty of times in the first year I wondered what on earth to do to reach this animal. A reiki master friend of mine did send him energy to stir him out from under the bed. It was successful in animating him to play and show himself without being so self-conscious. I won’t be sentimental and say love conquers all. Maybe it’s the relationship habit I have of giving others their space. I might witness and wonder about motives but to each his own. Still, he needs to continue to drop his reactive nature and accept things as they are. Stella has provided the model for normal hooman+cat interactions. It’s something inside of him that needs to shift.

For those who discover their cat is semi-feral, good luck with sorting out your relationship. It’s been tough going and not what I wanted in a companion house cat.

The story goes on….

Tesoro Beats the Bogeyman

Or, How to accommodate a scaredy-cat

This article is the second chapter reflecting on how an anxious cat began to adjust to a new situation. Tesoro appears to be like any other house cat. The appetite is strong, especially for Gerber Foods turkey. Ten-hour naps twice daily are the norm. The hooman is a source of curiosity. Of course, anything brought into the house is for him. One evening, I arrived home with a dirty sweaty saddle pad intended for the washing machine. Didn’t he rub his little self all over the thing and have a look of glee on his face? There’s a wild cat inside of him after all.

He is highly self-involved, but as the animal communicator said, the days can be too long. When he was adopted, I asked if he had a companion that could come along as well. No, his friends had already gone. The experts say, find a way to play with the cat to build a rapport. Tesoro would not chase a string or move at all when confronted with wriggling feathery toys. The closest we came to peaceful interactions came in the early evening when he liked to sit at the top of the staircase and observe. Bounce a ball his way? We started a ritual with me standing at the bottom of the stairwell, tossing soft bouncy colorful balls up near his perch. He watched carefully as they bounced down and were caught by the hooman. I thought he might give chase. He does like to tackle a spring coil spiral toy that flies across a wood floor with ease.

In January 2018, about one year later, a new kitty was brought into the home. The notion he needed to see a normally socialized cat in action took over. Plus, what’s wrong with a playmate? Stellina, aka “Stella” came home on a day when the outdoor temperature was 4 ° F at midday. Despite her age of two she meows with the voice of a kitten. She came from a home with too many cats. Apparently, she liked to play and pester the older housecats. Grey cats, the pagan in me remembers some comment about having a grey cat in the home. They have a special magic all their own and are wise. Stellina means little star in Italian. Just look at her. What other name could she have!

Her dainty size tells me she might have been the runt of the litter. The dinky tail doesn’t really match her stout body and small head. The first month or so was bumpy between the two. Tesoro wasn’t exactly hospitable. My tiny cottage has only a few doors so separation isn’t all that easy to accomplish. At night, I confined Stella in my bedroom to give them space to chill out. Maybe it was the third month when living with each other normalized. As I had hoped, Stella enjoyed sitting on my lap and being petted. Tesoro would watch us from his favorite chair. She sleeps on my bed each night. We play chase the string often. A bounced ball is something to run after! Tesoro observed in his sedate manner.

One Saturday in April, Stella stepped out into the back yard. The walkout basement door includes a pet flap. Ever the curious, rather bold little kitty, I let her come out with me as I tended the yard. She ran underneath the nearby shed and stayed there about an hour. Okay, so being outdoors was a new experience. Kitty treats coaxed her out so I could bring her back inside. It was a little chilly after all, but her first adventure.

There’s a notion I foster that cats need to behave like cats for their whole health. As gruesome as it is, chasing prey is natural as is eating grass, climbing trees and wandering around. Elvis, the orange tabby cat who lives two houses away, routinely sits around the back yard. He was down near the big maple trees the very day I moved in ten years ago. It’s part of his loop. The conditions are good in our big yard for a cat being outside. At the end of the yard are the railroad tracks. A big field with huge rock maple trees marks the property line on one side and a young forest on the other. There’s a house in their somewhere with don’t bother me kind of neighbors. So, on mild days going forward, Stella joined me outside. At night, she is expected to be indoors. Mostly, she is waiting first in line for dinner so coaxing her indoors is not a problem. Occasionally, she has a lapse into total cat hunting mode and resists coming indoors.

The two eventually accepted one another. Tesoro has come to love Stella. She accepts him but has a hissy fit when things get too close. She is definitely the alpha. Tesoro’s fear of the basement stopped him from following her outdoors. He would stand at the top and yowl down for her. I used to say, go on big guy, go on down and find out where she goes. On sunny days, the front storm door is propped open to allow the air to flow through the house. Tesoro would wander onto the steps and enjoy sitting outside. Sometimes, he would poke around the grass but never strayed far. Stella would roam in past him through the front door and go on out the back door. Sometimes, he watched her in the yard from the window perch. He wanted to go too but his inner cat said no.

On a Sunday last fall, I started winding up the garden chores for the day. The Amtrak went by signaling it was late afternoon already. Walking up towards the house, I saw Tesoro slinking down towards the back yard! He was looking at everything, found the open basement door, and dashed in. WOW! He sniffed around and ran up the dreaded stairs! The boogeyman was no more. Once he went up, he understood it’s okay to go down. In fact, he started sleeping on the pile of dirty laundry overnight.

Stella is our queen. By being herself, she opened Tesoro up to ideas he never would have considered. He does join us in playtime now. Stella showed him how to tackle a wriggling string and tell it who is boss. It worked, my idea of Tesoro being a semi-feral cat not socialized to the norms of living with the hooman and needing to see healthy interactions worked out.