Baxter's Big Adventure

I may have mentioned in the past that Baxter wants nothing more than to go outside. He will do anything to get off of the deck, which does now seem to be escape proof. (fingers crossed)

I bought him a harness and leash a few months ago and tried to take him for a walk. It seems, though, that cats, or at least some cats, don't quite get the concept of going for a walk. On a cat-related forum online I read that I should try to just put the harness and leash on him, take him outside, and let him go. So today I did:

At first he acted as if the leash weighed hundreds of pounds, hunkered down and did not move.  But then he was distracted by everything and started wandering. I did not hold the leash; the idea is that if the cat starts to go where he shouldn't, I just step on the leash and stop him. He ended up being so intent on capturing the lizard that was evading him in a small rock wall that he didn't even wander. He had a nice half hour or so of excitement and now he is showing his appreciation by falling asleep on my foot.

As for me, I was rewarded by what will be my first peony of the season!

Peonies are my favorite flowers! Except for roses! And lacecap hydrangeas!

I might have many favorites.



And now, for something completely different: last Wednesday night I had occasion to go to the top of the Queen building in Sandy Springs.

If you live in the Atlanta area, you are familiar with the King and Queen buildings; you can see them from 400 and from I 285.

But have you seen them from the top?

The very top of the Queen

The King seen from atop the Queen

It was fun to see a 360 degree view of Atlanta, but the building tops wouldn't make great tourist attractions. I noticed a sort of unpleasant, sewer-type of odor. I was correct:  all of the exhaust pipes from the entire 31 floors of offices and, ahem, rest rooms, lead to the roof.


Go and smell the roses instead.  

Hydrangeas and an Air Horn

Lacecap Hydrangea:

I don't remember the names of any of my hydrangeas and the little tags that came with them are long gone. But a hydrangea by any name would be as lovely.

I LOVE them!

Also, while watching coverage of the terrible tornadoes last night in Missouri, I thought that maybe it would be a good idea for anyone in the path of natural disasters (earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, flooding) to have on hand an air horn. I would hate to be buried under layers of a building turned to rubble and not be able to shout loudly enough to be found. An air horn would take care of that. I used to have one that I bought for my daughters to carry in their cars, but they both thought I was crazy and never took it. So it's somewhere in the house, I think. I should find it and put it in the cubby that we think of as our tornado shelter.

Otherwise, I'll have to get another, and I don't remember where they are sold.

Peonies!

In years past, I've had armfuls of peonies, and I just love them. But the past two years, I had exactly NO peonies. The drought killed some of the plants, and the rest just didn't flower. The watering restrictions were so strict that it wasn't possible to water enough to help much. This year I've gotten a few of my favorite flowers. Peonies aren't a given this far south; the winters aren't generally cold enough long enough for some plants and flowers. Lilacs stand almost no chance, and the varieties that do grow here aren't anything like the lush lilac shrubs of the north.
But I won't complain. This year I have my favorite flowers: peonies.

(and one rose)

But wait! Did I say peonies are my favorite? I forgot the roses. Even through the drought I had roses, and I love them the most.

Especially my David Austin antique roses:

Oh, did I say roses are my favorite? I forgot my true favorite, the lacecap hydrangeas!

Well, OK. I love them ALL. I have no favorites.