okra: Cat Circus

Luca went outside again this evening, while we lounged in the backyard. She had a lot of fun, playing with Hannah again. She also discovered another potential playmate. There are tons of cats on the other side of our back fence. The guy behind us had at least one cat before he rescued a litter of 6 kittens late last summer. He has a greenhouse, where he kept the kittens when they were little. I could see them climbing around on the plant tables, peering out the big panes of glass. He claimed that he was going to take them to the shelter later, but I can see that he must have gotten attached to them. And I can see why. They are quite personable; I was secretly hoping that he would keep them. The yard stretching out behind us is like a cat circus. At any given moment there are cats running around, pouncing on things, running up trees, goofily chasing after bugs and leaves, rolling in the grass, chasing each other, or causing some other sort of mischief. The other neighbor cats seem to have joined in; the family next to the man with the greenhouse has two cats as well, who seem unable to resist a good time. I suspect that Mister hangs out over there, too. And now the cat circus may well soon claim Luca. One of the smaller cats ran up to the fence to visit with Luca. Luca wasn't quite sure about this, there was some growling, but she did act a little playful before it got dark and she had to be scooped up and carried back into the house.

In other news, I had two more landscapers look at my yard yesterday. I should have estimates from them within the next two weeks, and then I'll have to make a decision! That might prove to be difficult. I liked all of them. They each had interesting ideas. The first landscaper suggested using industrial strength vinegar to kill the vinca that has taken over my garden, as I'm not very keen on using pesticides that could drain into nearby streams. I thought that was interesting. Though, I'm not sure vinegar would be so great for fish either. But maybe better than RoundUp? The second landscaper had some interesting ideas for the garden area. I liked her emphasis on sculpting the soil to create a well drained and interesting flower bed. The third landscaper had some really cool sounding ideas for a new pathway. He suggested wrapping the pathway around so that it would also run alongside the driveway, giving us room to get out of the car with out tromping down the grass. He also suggested using large slabs of natural stone to create a path, rather than creating a solid walkway of pavers. It's going to be a tough decision. Although, I haven't seen the price tags on the last two yet, haha.