Jenno’s Ool

Saturday, March 31, 2007

Herb and Veggie Garden

A bright and sunny day like today shouldn't go to waste, so this morning was slated for outdoor activities around the house. I finally got a new tank of propane for the BBQ and cleaned off the grill racks. This, of course, means that most meat eaten from here on in will most likely come off the grill rather then the oven or fry pan.

I also wanted to get the back garden ready for when the veggies and herbs will be ready for planting. Much clearing of last season's dead bits was in order: cleared out the old tomato vines, pepper plant, chard leaves and quite a bit of pruning of old herbs.

We tried cilantro (coriander) last year but didn't really enjoy it so we'll most likely give it a pass this year. We also discovered that we overbought a lot of other herbs and just didn't use them fast enough. I'll keep the amount of plants I buy down this year and space them out properly instead.

We'll be doing tomatoes again this year but no yellow ones; they had tougher skin and the flavour wasn't as pleasant as the red ones we had. We'll probably try for peppers again too, but planted to the left of the tomatoes rather than the right where they were last year and subsequently, in the shade all the time. Oh, and only one Swiss chard plant this year if I can't find spinach.

Posted by Jennifer at 5:57 PM | Comments (0)  

Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Thanks

Thanks to all those who have expressed sympathy, called, emailed, gave real and/or virtual hugs or any combination of the above during the last few days since Maya's death. It does mean a lot to both of us here; well, to Jon and me anyway, Goober's pretty much (seemingly) unaffected.

On a lighter note, as a "thank you" to the myriad of other cat lovers out there, let me present ROFLCAT. It is a collection of photos of cats and kittens doing what they do best - getting into trouble, looking cute ... essentially being cats. One of my favourite images is this one:

Nothing like a cat drowning in a chair to give me the giggles!

Posted by Jennifer at 8:40 PM | Comments (0)  

Monday, March 26, 2007

R.I.P. Maya

After being sick for the better part of a month, Maya passed away sometime early this morning.

Her sickness wasn't related to the pet food scare that has affected others - our animals were not eating any of the brands involved with the recall.

We weren't sure just what was causing her to throw up then refuse to eat until an x-ray last Friday revealed an unknown mass in the vicinity of her small intestine. The mass was most likely cancer and had grown very rapidly in the last week or so from being undetectable to about the size of a golf ball.

Because she had stopped eating and drinking, I had to force feed her high calorie food and a protein gel. Once she stopped drinking, she needed water syringed down her throat as dehydration became a problem. She didn't enjoy these treatments, but despite the complaints, she tolerated them well enough and didn't try to avoid them (or me).

She was a young cat and would have been 6 yrs old this August so losing her is harder than if she had lived a full life. Despite her neuroses, like needing to suckle polar fleece twice a day and not grooming, she was a good companion and will be missed.

So far, Goober's behaviour has not changed at all.

Update: Jon has now posted his eulogy for Maya on his blog.

Posted by Jennifer at 3:24 PM | Comments (0)