Updates

Greenhouse project

Last weekend, we finally got the area for the greenhouse cleared. Stumps, bushes, shrubs, rocks, as well as old fence panels and posts that had to be removed have been removed, and we now have a "blank canvas" to work on. This means that as soon as we have time and decent weather, we will be able to take more fun and constructive steps towards our goal!

Blank canvas... Ready for more interesting steps!

We did have a little bit of protest from Kashew, who did not seem to agree with us removing her scratching post. :(  I must say, though, that she has many other "scratching posts" in the garden, and probably even some out in the forest nearby. So I do believe she'll be alright. ;)

Sorry Kashew. :( I promise I'll grow catnip for you this summer. 

We are hoping the weekend will bring good weather. Next steps include removing the top layer of grass on the area, digging out channels for water hose and electricity wire, digging out holes for the foundation posts and moving sand onto the area as an underlayer to the future paving stones. 

It's going forward... slowly but surely!

Windowsill gardening

While the greenhouse project is a lot of work, my preparations to the gardening season must also be given some care. This will be my second summer with a real vegetable garden, and I still have a lot to learn. One of the things I am trying to get a good balance on is what to sow indoor and when. Reading on the seed envelopes is a good start, but judging how the weather will turn and how much time will go before all those small plants can come outside can be one big puzzle. 

I have in any case sowed many things, and we will see what happens. Learning by doing... trials and errors. I'll get there!

I was having the issue that my seedlings were looking for light, even though they are sitting right by south or east windows. This resulted in long, thin and week seedlings... and a good deal of disappointment. 

A good friend of mine who is also into gardening gave me a couple of good tricks. One of them consists of making a shield with aluminium foil for the light to reflect on. This gives a more evenly distributed light around the young plants and helps them grow stronger. 

Aluminium foil shields - Light traps!

I was amazed at the difference in amount of light on my plants after I installed the shields! Now I do not have to turn the plants many times a day to try and get them to grow straight! 

Another good advice my friend gave me was to also consider the temperature in the room. Seeds need warmth and moisture to sprout, but seedlings can tolerate cooler temperatures. After sprouting, they can be moved to a different location, like a spare room, where the balance between light and lower temperatures will actually make the plant grow at a slower rate, which will hopefully allow for stronger, healthier plants. When the weather allows it and the plants can come outside (or in the greenhouse!) in the heat and full light, they will pick up their growing. So I have been preparing a new "nursing station" in my bedroom, where we always keep it quite fresh.  I already had trays there with seeds and seedlings, but I now organized it differently. I have not yet moved the plants around, but the place is ready with a light shield and all! When I have a moment, I will move the sprouted stuff in the bedroom, and the not-yet-sprouted stuff in the dining room. 

Thank you my friend for good and valuable advice.  :)

Kashew's early life

In 2005, while we were still living in Canada, my husband and I adopted two adorable (I may be biased!) cats: Kashew and Tiana.

Kashew was the first to enter our lives. She was found wandering alone on a campground, at about 3 weeks old. She was crying and shivering, and seriously underweight. Our vet clinic at the time took her in and bottle fed her, day and night, weekdays and weekends.

I had a good contact with the staff, and they knew I was looking into adopting two kittens. One day, I walked in the clinic to get some special cat food for my mother's cat. The woman at the front desk greeted me, and then took this tiny bundle of fur and put it on the desk in front of me, saying "We've got this little furball, if you are interested".

I looked at the fierce little kitten. Picked it up, listened and watched it as it meowed and squirmed like a baby lion in danger. I looked at its fur. Orange... not yellow, not ginger... no.... orange. A beautiful, flaming orange. The kittens eyes were still a little sick from infection that was being treated. And it meowed, and yelled and squirmed... I put it down again. I will say with honesty, this wasn't love at first sight. Sure it was cute, and I also do love kittens from the moment I look at them... but this was not "my kitten". I always liked the mellow, easy going kind of cats... plus, I do prefer having female cats around, as they tend to be cleaner and less territorial. I was living in apartment, after all! Yellow / ginger / orange cats are most often male.

"Cute but fierce little guy" I said. Thank you. I'll think about it. I must talk to my partner first.

"It's a she", answered the woman.

"A she? are you sure?"

"Yes, I assure you... this is a little girl"

I picked up the little lion cub. Yes, I looked for myself. And yes, it was indeed a little girl.

On that moment, I thought... This means something. This cat is special. I asked for her story, where she came from, how healthy she was, or how healthy did they think she would be.
My heart melted. This little one fought for her life, got a staff to help her make it. Was still not out of the wood, and here I was, judging her solely by what I thought was her gender, and by her reaction to a total human stranger.
This tiny (she really was tiny) kitten needed the love and care of a family, and I wanted us to be that family.

And so we adopted the little furball. But it was only a month after my first contact with her that I was allowed to take her home. She needed to be over 1 lbs. At 2 months old, she weighed 1,2 lbs (still 0.8 lbs under ideal kitten weight at that age)

During the month waiting, I visited her at the clinic very often. She was My kitten, and I felt very protective of her. She got used to me and became much more affectionate.
Today, Kashew is a very healthy, spoiled, loved, furry and affectionate nearly-7 years old lady cat. As for her personality? Well, let's just say I was right. She IS a special cat! But that will be for another post.