Discussing garden plans...

...over coffee and nuts. I had a friend over this morning to help me decide what to do with my garden (weeds)-in-the-making...


He scrambled up beside me to give me his input...


While he nibbled peanuts and I sipped coffee...


We looked out over the garden and talked about all the possibilities... More flowers? If so, what kind? What colors? How about some vegetables? And maybe some herbs?

After much discussion and throwing ideas back and forth, he looked up at me with his big brown eyes and told me...

...that as long as I make sure he has a never-ending supply of peanuts, he doesn't care what I plant in the garden!

Today was magical... Our first Chip joined me on the patio this morning. Unlike other years, where Chips have been abundant, I'm sad to report this year is quite different. We've had a few new neighbors move in, and they are LOVELY and so are their KITTIES. I just wish their kitties lived indoors like ours. After being cooped up all winter I love spending time in our little yard, and one of the things I enjoy most are the birds, squirrels, and chipmunks that visit our feeders and birdbaths. Sadly, I've seen several Chips being stalked and/or carried off by well fed housecats in the past month, so I'm afraid we won't have as many wildlife visitors as we have in past years. I gave Chip a serious talking to this morning and told him to be extra careful while scurrying around for food in the yard...

Hoping you are all enjoying beautiful spring weather like we are in New England!!

COMMENT UPDATE: Thanks to all of you who have offered suggestions. I actually did have a nice chat with one of the neighbors (the one with 3 cats who love to hang out in my yard) and she told me to feel free to squirt them with the hose. We just turned on the water outside this past week, so I've not been able to do any squirting thus far, and to be honest, when the cats see me they usually take off running since whenever I spot them in the yard I clap my hands and "shooo shoooo" them. Of course the same cat(s) are right back an hour later, laying in wait next to the Chip holes, so I'm afraid it's a losing battle. And no, Claudia, I haven't been able to get any cats to drop a Chip once they've caught one. Obviously if I'm in the house and happen to see it through the window there's nothing I can do but rap on the window, which does no good. When I've been out in the yard, the clapping and shooing just causes them to run off with the poor Chip rather than drop them. You would think our fenced-in yard would be a deterrent for cats, but they they easily jump the fence or come in through the holes at ground level, not to mention that our backyard gate pickets are spaced quite far apart. So my Chips and Sammies are just going to have to be very careful this summer, and for those who aren't, my heart is going to break a bit every time I see one of them being carried off, I'm afraid.

Donna