Great Day in the Yard

The cat woke me up, bright and early.  This probably isn't necessary anymore, but I tie my door shut with a curtain tieback, looped over the door handle and a little hook beside the door.  It holds the door closed tightly enough that a certain poodle can't wander around at night, but leaves it open enough that the cat can come and go.

This morning, starting at about four, Himself went back and forth through the door for hours. It makes a small bump noise when he pushes the door with his nose, a small bump when his shoulders go through,  a small bump when his hips go through, and then a quiet squeak as the door pulls back shut.

Bump, bump, bump - squeak.
Bump, bump, bump - squeak.
Bump, bump, bump - squeak.
Bump, bump, bump - squeak.
Bump, bump, bump - squeak.
Bump, bump, bump - squeak.
Bump, bump, bump - squeak.
Bump, bump, bump - squeak.
Bump, bump, bump - squeak.
Bump, bump, bump - squeak.

Normally, it's so quiet that I don't even notice him coming and going when I'm awake, but after this went on forever, I finally got up and closed the door.  Himself then sat at the door and yowled for over a half an hour, until I decided that 6:00am isn't really that awful of a time to get up when you're on vacation - especially if you have something to do.

So, I got up and dug in the gardens.  It was the perfect weather for it, overcast with enough wind to keep the pesky mosquitos away.  I finished cutting back last year's perennials and pulling the weeds from all of the gardens.  I planted four tomato plants.  I discovered that the little bit of rain that we've had was what the rose bushes were waiting for.  Most of them are starting to show signs of life, so I whacked them back to remove the dead wood and let them focus their energy on new growth.

Just about the time that I was starting to think I'd had enough gardening, the skies opened up mid-afternoon and it poured.  So, I got cleaned up and went into town to exchange the clothes I'd bought yesterday for smaller sizes, picked up some groceries and then came home to make a fresh fruit smoothie to tie myself over until my friends and I head out for dinner later.

Days like this are why I always book off gardening time in June.

Except for the cat's early morning wake up call.  That, I could do without.