Pets and Gardens
We share our life with three of the most interesting personalities I’ve ever known.
The king-pin of the trio is Misha, our soft-coated black Lab. He’s big, eighty-five pounds at last weigh-in, he’s goofy, devoted and very protective.
Next is Puttsy. He is an overweight orange and white cat that we swear is part dog. Puttsy is one of the most affectionate cats ever born, but not too fond of people (other than his Mum and Dad of course).
Then there is Tansy. What can I say about her? She is a little princess, the Audrey Hepburn of cats. Tansy is an adventurer, full of spirit and very loving. She rules the house, or at least, Misha and Puttsy.
Puttsy and Tansy are housecats. They are allowed outside only when we are out with them and they know they are not allowed off the patio. Putts is more much more obedient and follows that rule fairly closely, especially since he learned that he cannot walk on the duckweed floating on top of the pond. Tansy on the other hand, is seldom allowed off our laps when outside because she has yet to learn to strictly abide by the ‘only on the patio rule’.
Misha is a runner, a digger and very territorial. He takes great exception to anyone and anything coming onto our property. For those reasons, he is on a twenty-five foot chain when we are outside working, or he is on his lead going for one of his three to five walks per day. The rest of the time Misha is inside the house with us. The chain probably sounds cruel to some of you, but it is for his protection and he’s not on it all the time. Misha’s health and safety are paramount to us.
Our second priority is protecting our flowers beds from Misha’s rather crude attempts at gardening, watering and fertilizing. I learned the hard way not to place gardens or containers within his reach. The solutions I came up with involve hanging baskets and pot brackets on the wall of the house. I found too that Misha will avoid the side tables, so that is a safe place for potted plants. At one corner of the patio we have placed a concrete bench. In four years Misha and his chain have yet to move it when running around it at full speed. On top of that uncomfortable seat is another safe spot for a container garden or two. He has a favourite spot that he likes to dig - our shade garden!! I cannot count the number of plants he has removed, along with some weeds. Out of frustration I moved the plants to another location and filled the digging spot with a couple of boulders that he can’t move. That was the theory, which has since proven (several times) to be a rather poor theory. But Misha and I have reached a compromise and he now lays mostly on the grass in the shade garden. His attempts at transplanting and weeding have been curtailed for the most part.
As for Misha helping with the watering, the hose is always nearby, so a quick rinse with water dilutes his efforts and saves the lawn from developing brown spots. The fertilizer issue really isn’t an issue at all. Everyday we go on a hunting expedition and clean up any mounds of fertilizer. Again, a quick rinsing of the spot with the garden hose and lawn is saved.
Speaking of fertilizing, something we never do is fertilize the lawn surrounding the patio, not even with organic fertilizers. We have adopted the same rule for pesticides and herbicides (organic or not). We prefer not to take a chance with overspray or drifting, and our pets’ health. The added benefit of having a chemical-free zone is that it also protects the health of the wild birds that come to our feeders. If only we could find a way to protect them from all the feral cats in the village (besides Misha), we’d have the perfect bird sanctuary.
If you share your gardens with pets, think of their health and set up your own chemical free zone. Not only will their health benefit but so will yours.
We share our life with three of the most interesting personalities I’ve ever known.
The king-pin of the trio is Misha, our soft-coated black Lab. He’s big, eighty-five pounds at last weigh-in, he’s goofy, devoted and very protective.
Next is Puttsy. He is an overweight orange and white cat that we swear is part dog. Puttsy is one of the most affectionate cats ever born, but not too fond of people (other than his Mum and Dad of course).
Then there is Tansy. What can I say about her? She is a little princess, the Audrey Hepburn of cats. Tansy is an adventurer, full of spirit and very loving. She rules the house, or at least, Misha and Puttsy.
Puttsy and Tansy are housecats. They are allowed outside only when we are out with them and they know they are not allowed off the patio. Putts is more much more obedient and follows that rule fairly closely, especially since he learned that he cannot walk on the duckweed floating on top of the pond. Tansy on the other hand, is seldom allowed off our laps when outside because she has yet to learn to strictly abide by the ‘only on the patio rule’.
Misha is a runner, a digger and very territorial. He takes great exception to anyone and anything coming onto our property. For those reasons, he is on a twenty-five foot chain when we are outside working, or he is on his lead going for one of his three to five walks per day. The rest of the time Misha is inside the house with us. The chain probably sounds cruel to some of you, but it is for his protection and he’s not on it all the time. Misha’s health and safety are paramount to us.
Our second priority is protecting our flowers beds from Misha’s rather crude attempts at gardening, watering and fertilizing. I learned the hard way not to place gardens or containers within his reach. The solutions I came up with involve hanging baskets and pot brackets on the wall of the house. I found too that Misha will avoid the side tables, so that is a safe place for potted plants. At one corner of the patio we have placed a concrete bench. In four years Misha and his chain have yet to move it when running around it at full speed. On top of that uncomfortable seat is another safe spot for a container garden or two. He has a favourite spot that he likes to dig - our shade garden!! I cannot count the number of plants he has removed, along with some weeds. Out of frustration I moved the plants to another location and filled the digging spot with a couple of boulders that he can’t move. That was the theory, which has since proven (several times) to be a rather poor theory. But Misha and I have reached a compromise and he now lays mostly on the grass in the shade garden. His attempts at transplanting and weeding have been curtailed for the most part.
As for Misha helping with the watering, the hose is always nearby, so a quick rinse with water dilutes his efforts and saves the lawn from developing brown spots. The fertilizer issue really isn’t an issue at all. Everyday we go on a hunting expedition and clean up any mounds of fertilizer. Again, a quick rinsing of the spot with the garden hose and lawn is saved.
Speaking of fertilizing, something we never do is fertilize the lawn surrounding the patio, not even with organic fertilizers. We have adopted the same rule for pesticides and herbicides (organic or not). We prefer not to take a chance with overspray or drifting, and our pets’ health. The added benefit of having a chemical-free zone is that it also protects the health of the wild birds that come to our feeders. If only we could find a way to protect them from all the feral cats in the village (besides Misha), we’d have the perfect bird sanctuary.
If you share your gardens with pets, think of their health and set up your own chemical free zone. Not only will their health benefit but so will yours.
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