Fall preview

There's nothing like pumpkins in a pumpkin patch to make a person realize fall is just around the corner. This particular patch belongs to my neighbor across the street. She's a passionate gardener. While I'm up in the treehouse with my foot on the sewing machine pedal, she's out in her garden with hers on the shovel. I'm wondering if she talks to her plants like I talk to my dolls.....

Anyway, this gardening neighbor is away on vacation this week, and I'm looking after a few of her flowers as well as her two cats.....Henry and Clarence. I walk over each day and feed them and give them a little TLC. Mostly they just sit by the front door and meow to go out. They're outside cats, but this week they're having a little time-out, and I'm sure they're wondering what they've done wrong.


Here is Henry, sitting on our back deck during one of his frequent visits. I wouldn't mind having these two guys over here for the week, but I'd probably spoil them worse than they're spoiled at home, and then there would be no getting them back across the street.

Clarence, a big orange tabby, is quite the trickster. He can jump up and pull the front door handle down with his paw. Luckily I was warned about this, or he would be out roaming by now. And what I didn't mention is that, in addition to the pumpkin patch on the side of the house, there's a huge veggie garden in the back with an electric fence to keep night critters out. So my duties include feeding the cats, changing their water, checking the litter box......and most importantly, guarding the front door so that little trickster doesn't put one over on me. I'm not complaining though. I've been told to help myself to the veggies. But I just have to remember to go in and out before 6 p.m. so I'm not fried by the fence.....