HOW EMBARRASSING TO BE ratted out to the authorities by your feline roommate, but that’s what’s happened one January: Jack the Demon Cat couldn’t stand another moment of my incessant seed-shopping, and finally dialed 911. I’m not sure the officers understood the emergency till they arrived and saw my outfit. (Thanks, Andre Jordan, for making all my “issues” feel OK with the reassurance of your wacky-doodles.)
THE LECTURE that he’s been giving for a number of years is not-so-subtly called “Kill Your Lawn.” Ecological horticulturist Dan Jaffe Wilder knows that starting over and creating an entire native habitat instead of a lawn isn’t for everyone. But Dan just wants to grab our attention and get us to start to make some changes at least in the way we care for the turfgrass we do want in our landscapes. And maybe give up a little square footage of it to some other kind of more diverse planting, too, like the wild strawberries (Fragaria virginiana, inset). Alternative, more eco-focused styles of lawn care, along with some lawn alternatives is what he and I talked about on the podcast. Dan is Director of Applied Ecology at Norcross Wildlife Foundation in Wales, Massachusetts, and its 8,000-acre sanctuary. He’s also co-author with Mark Richardson of the book “Native Plants for New England Gardens.”
(Stream it below, read the illustrated transcript or subscribe free.)
So true to life! My cat (Jak) hasn’t called 911 yet but he definitely has his whiskers bent out of shape due to my lack of attention to him recently. He spends a lot of time in my lap trying to bat the catalogs out of the way so he can pat my face. Little does he know that one of the things ordered was a new supply of cat grass, just for him!
So true to life! My cat (Jak) hasn’t called 911 yet but he definitely has his whiskers bent out of shape due to my lack of attention to him recently. He spends a lot of time in my lap trying to bat the catalogs out of the way so he can pat my face. Little does he know that one of the things ordered was a new supply of cat grass seeds, just for him!
My cats would fully understand. Seed catalogs all over the table, leaving them no where to sprawl out. Outrageous nerve of me!
That is So good, so perfect — Margaret, you are not alone!
Truth. My cat Ruth, who is normally quite gentle, climbs up behind me and sinks her claws into my scalp when I am online seed shopping. Apparently I spend rather a lot of time in this task and she has had to resort to drastic measures.
I’m glad that I’m not the only one with this problem. I’ve cut back. But, there is just so much possibility in those seeds; it’s like magic! And how many springs will we have to see that wonder? (Next time, I just won’t let it slip to the husband)
Hi, Mrs. P — carpe diem, I agree!
Oh, Ruth, I don’t think I will share that with Jack! :)
That’s just glorious! My own cats, Dixie and Prune, sit like sentinels on either side of my desk as I attempt to place my seed orders. They have been known to interfere with the ordering in the most insistent ways.
Hi, Lickedspoon. My guy likes to lie in piles of seed catalogs (or anything paper). Impossible to order from them when he is reclining!
rufus just jumps into my lap when i’m at the computer and then lays on the keyboard until i give up and pet him, Taffy on the other hand will start to shred pieces of the pages with his mouth and spit them out when he’s hadit with my nonattention to him. Do you think at night when we’re asleep the felines are online comparing methods of retaliation with each other. At least i haven’t found online charges for huge orders of catnip or lobster let alone kitty porn