Posted on 02/01/2009 2:51:44 PM PST by girlangler
Some of my gardening freeper friends (and cat loving ones) may remember me posting about my new portable greenhouse on wheels.
It's a four level metal shelf on wheels, with a plastic cover that zips over it.
I am very pleased with it, and was able to actually get some tomato seeds to sprout in a few days using it.
I had bought some tomatoes at an indoor flea market recently, and they were the best tasting tomatoes. The guy who sold them to me told me they were vine ripened in Florida.
So, I took the seeds and put them in pots and sprouted them in my new toy, my portable greenhouse. I was so thrilled when I saw those sprouts, and went out a couple of days ago and carefully placed seeds for passion plant, phlox, bell peppers, and thyme in it.
It was about 59 degrees here today, and after a week of fighting off a flu bug, and anticipation of the coming gardening season, I rolled my portable greenhouse out to the porch, where I could take advantage of the sun.
About 30 minutes ago I went down and found my greenhouse overturned, with all the seeds, soil, pots, sprouts, and some flowers seeds I had placed in it in an open container all trashed and mixed into a pile.
Walking a WIDE swath around it, with a look as if to say "Man, that was an experience," was my cat. I know what he did, he decided I had put that new toy there for his benefit, so he'd just jump right on top of it.
There was no wind to knock it over, and I had the wheels locked. I could also tell by my cat's expression he did it.
My tom is like that. He thinks everything placed in his world is there strictly for his benefit.
Once, I had a friend visit, and she brought her big expensive bass boat. She parked it in the yard.
I have a guest apartment, so folks aren't really exposed to my cat, since he isn't allowed in there. My friend is allergic to cats, she said.
Later that day, I looked out my window and there was my cat, sprawled across the bass seat, with that look on his face. The look he gets when he just KNOWS that new perch was put there for his benefit. You could tell he really appreciated all the effort we went to, putting that new perch in the yard for him.
Today I swept up all my dirt and seeds, all mixed together. I put the dirt back in pots, and no doubt this spring I'll have some lovely plants, all mixed together. I won't know what they are (I had labeled the pots) but hopefully they'll all sprout and do well.
I did pick out the tomatoe seedlings, and repotted them. I put them back in the pots I had labeled "Florida Tomatoes."
You have to love cats. If you didn't, you'd want to kill them all (LOL).
He thinks everything placed in his world is there strictly for his benefit.
Proving once again that while dogs have owners, cats have servants.
If there isn’t a photo-required rule for pets yet, there ought to be.
It’s okay, I’m over being made at Tsali (the cat from Hell).
He’s a cat, and that’s what he does. I can grow more tomatoes. And I did save the sprouts (so far) and will put some root stimulator on them and hopefully bring them back to life.
Just hope Tsali learned his lesson and doesn’t do it again.
He does “cat” things all the time. I have learned not to leave a car door open when carrying in groceries (and certainly not the trunk). I have his schedule down pat, and several times have missed him and found him locked in the car (in the summer, when it can be deadly). I search the trunk every time it is opened.
He is quite a mouser, has totally wiped out the field mice and ground squirrel population here. He brings his kills and leaves them at the kitchen door, IF he can’t get in the house with them.
Despite his exploits, I would trust him more than my dog to alert me if the house was on fire, or an intruder tried to break in. He has excellent hearing, and senses.
I make him stay inside at night, for that reason, and because I don’t want him to get eaten by a coyote, fox, or stray dog. He’s mostly a housecat, but spends time outdoors when God arranges for the weather to suit him. It’s all about him. Everything happens for his benefit. If you leave an unwrapped box from Christmas on the floor, he shows his pleasure that it was arranged for his benefit. A paper sack left on the floor is a gift just for his pleasure.
That shiny tower on the porch was a gift from God, was placed there for his pleasure.
He has a litterbox, which he rarely uses. He prefers to go outside and do his business. And tulip (other bulb) beds make excellent litterboxes. He just KNOWS, everytime I fix a new flowerbed, I did it for HIS benefit!!! He can hardly wait for me to finish mulching, and gives me this look like “That is SO kind of you to make me this nice litterbox. Digging through grass is so DIFFICULT.”
Anyway, I thought I’d post this for the cat lovers on FR. I was SO mad at him when I found his handiwork today, but can’t stay mad at him long. He is a beautiful cat (my vet is a cat person and just brags and brags on what a dude he is).
Oh, I know that feeling. Sorry about your kitty. I came home one day and mine was stone cold blind, bumping into walls and couldn’t jump on the couch. It hurts, big time, to have to have them put down. I don’t envy you.
One of my dogs is getting up in years and I shudder everytime she has a breathing episode. The vet said she’s blowing her nose, but geez, it seems like she’s having a seizure.
I still think this old saying is great:
“Dogs have masters,
Cats have staff”.
Maybe not wrapped, but our new kitten forgot she was getting too big so she walked into this opened box on Christmas, found she could not turn around, and then just flipped over backwards and fell asleep right after this photo was taken.
Our whole home was placed here for her use.
~~~
more animals
But, I didn't write to talk about cats. I wanted to talk tomatoes. If the tomatoes you are starting came from greenhouse grown ones, more than likely they are a hybrid and won't grow true to type. Do you know if they are open pollinated or not? You might just be wasting your time. Try totallytomatoes.com for seeds. A packet isn't anything and you can try a bunch. Personally even though I grow different ones I keep coming back to Rutgers tomatoes. They do the best in my garden. What kind do you, and anyone else on the thread, grow?
Slayton looks a bit peeved!!!
I’ve seen Tsali with that look (LOL).
Sammy says,"R'uh, r"oh!"
Hope you get your tomatoes to grow.....:)
Cat torture is not out of the question ...
:o)
Time for a bullet and a walk behind the barn.
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