[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

My Daughter had a a cat that never left the house and actually just stayed in one room for the 3 years it was with them. (There were 2 other cats in the house and they did not get along.)

I guess they have Catios (Outside cat enclosures) for cats that you do not want to roam. Can be pretty pricey.

Also, nice lemons! Good to be able to grow your own!

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

‘Expresso Vaccines’ and Lessons from the American Chestnut Tree Why a vaccine designed in two days faced less regulatory scrutiny than a venerable nut tree that sustained life for centuries

"A tree that once fed multitudes now faces a decade of federal red tape before a single seed can touch wild soil, while a brand-new genetic vaccine, cooked up in 48 hours and injected into billions, sailed through approval in under a year.

One restores a vanished forest, the other rewrote human cells on a planetary scale. Both are genetic modifications, yet one is treated as a potential ecological threat while the other is hailed as a modern miracle. Welcome to the “expresso lane” of modern biotechnology, where speed, risk, and scrutiny depend entirely on whose veins are on the line.

Reign of the Chestnut King

"In the ancient forests of Appalachia, the American Chestnut (Castanea dentata) once towered as the unmatched monarch. Stretching from the southern ridges to southern Canada, over four billion of these giants once dominated the forested landscape, comprising a quarter of all trees and nearly every one on untouched slopes. Soaring up to 130 feet high with trunks 14 feet thick, they could live for up to 800 years. This was no mere tree as it was the backbone of a thriving wilderness, stabilizing soils with deep roots and nourishing a web of life from squirrels to songbirds.

(The full article at Link.)

[Bon of Babble]

My son is (was) going to build a catio for my now housebound-forever kitty so she can have some outdoor time.

Was looking forward to it until he started a new job that he says is overwhelming him - so I may never see it!

I do have a porch room - and I’ve cheated a bit by letting her sit out on the back porch. Hard to bring in what was once an indoor-outdoor cat, she cries to be let out (she never left our backyard but the vet said not to even let her out there now).