My Garden – Mon Jardin – Mi Jardin – Mein Garten – Daily Adventures & Thoughts

No matter the language, my garden is my paradise. To watch the lovely birds that nest in the trees and bushes. The bees, butterflies are such a joy to see.

Tag Archives: Cat


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Sharing the beauty of flowers, ocean waves .. and little Duncan communicates with JaneE

Sunday, October 7, 2012

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  So I haven’t been blogging for a little while.  It does take a little bit of discipline.  And it is eerily like exercising.  As I was doing last year … for months…. then skipped a week.  And well, um, time does go by quickly.  Tomorrow is always the better day.

So I just want to share some lovely pictures from my garden.  I now have 5 roses in my yard … including one tea-rose.  It is so beautiful and is aptly named “Perfume”.  The other roses are so pretty to look at, but lacking in scent.

We are still enjoying lovely sunny weather but the grounds do need rain.  As do the salmon up-island.  There is quite serious concerns about the Chinook, waiting to spawn and for now are filling an estuary … instant meals for the seals.

Lucky me .. ordered and received 6 yards of that lovely miracle mulch.  Finely ground leaves, twigs (no bark!) and have been busy loading up containers and placing a thick layer on all of the perennials that edge our property.   Great way to burn calories, I say.

I was going to write about gratefulness today .. this being Thanksgiving weekend and all.  And I’ve been thinking about all many, many things in my life that I am truly thankful for.  Too many to list, but I will mention a few.

  • Today is quiet .. bliss.  Normally there is heavy construction taking place in the neighbourhood .. thus taking away the joy of being outside in my garden.
  • Today is sunny . .and I will go outside soon .. time to plant my garlic. And this year I will clearly label what is planted where!
  • Thankful that I have my good health and can bend and stretch and shovel .. all the attributes needed by a gardener.
  • Grateful that our two cats, Duncan (brother of our little Youbou, who we lost a few weeks ago) and JaneE (our little girl cat) have started communicating to  each other.
  • Thankful for good friends .. wonderful to discuss the world with and learn more about gardening and how to grow various plants.
  • My lovely DH ..
  • Happy to see the lovely birds flitting about the yard .. chirping, drinking at the little water containers in the yard.
  • Ecstatic to watch eagles, hawks, seagulls and, yes, even crows …. soaring overhead.  A reminder to look up at the skies from time to time.
  • Lucky to be surrounded by so very many beautiful places to wander, here on the island.  Wild ocean beaches.  Cool woods.  Sandy paths.  Nature Sanctuaries.  So many places to visit and enjoy the natural beauty that is here.

Yesterday I was outside in the sun, enjoying a cup of Yorkshire Tea .. when I noticed JaneE wandering in front of a mirrored window that I had just left leaning against a container.   At first she was very cool and ignored her reflection.  But, curiosity got the better of her and finally she stopped, and just stared at this “other” cat!

She sniffed all around, couldn’t find out where this other cat was, so she walked around to the back to see if the cat was there.

Then Duncan noticed that JaneE was outside.  He seemed quite agitated and ran over to where she was sitting and stopped.  She just stared back at him.  He began a conversation, composed of short and long meow-chatter.  Ending with a mournful howling sound that brought tears to my eyes.

I know that he was communicating with JaneE, wondering where his little brother was.  He still misses him.  We hope that eventually, they will communicate more and perhaps, some day, they will cuddle up to each other.  Companionship.

So many more things to be grateful for.  But time is marching on and the sun beckons me outside.  That garlic won’t plant themselves.


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We said our final goodbyes to our special little cat a few days ago.

Saturday, September 15, 2011

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I’m finding this very hard to write and I’ve had a difficult time the past few days.  We were so proud of our little cat Youbou, who had been making marvellous progress in being able to move his lame leg, with the assistance of acupuncture.  He rarely needed to have Prednisone for the ailment since the treatments began.

Was it a year ago or so when dh noticed that Youbou was limping up the driveway?  And he wasn’t able to walk.

We took him for all kinds of tests and nothing was found that would have caused this.  He just wasn’t able to move his right leg and just dragged himself around.  When we started the acupuncture, we saw such an immediate improvement.  Suddenly he was racing around the house . . a very happy little cat.  And the day when he was able to push open the kitchen door was a proud moment indeed.

Our life was settled into a routine and once a month I would take him for his acupuncture treatment.  This would continue for a long time, I thought.  However, life had a way of changing that story and in the wee hours of Wednesday last, we were awakened by the sounds of howling from the kitchen and there we found Youbou in the throes of a major seizure.  I quickly bundled him up and we drove to the nearby veterinary hospital.

They immediately looked after him and once he was examined, we were able to visit with him.  We were advised of the state of his condition and learned that such seizures were not normal in cats.  Leaving him in their expert care, we returned home.  All this took place in about half an hour.

A few hours of sleep and a few calls to the veterinarian in charge and we went to the hospital to see if we could visit with him.  He was given the best care and the young assistants took such good care of him, monitoring his condition constantly.

By this point, he was not in good shape and we learned that he had been like this for hours and so we made the decision to end his pain.  It was not taken lightly, this decision.  But seeing how he was suffering so badly, it was inhumane to let him continue  in such a terrorized state, we were able to end that in a peaceful way.  He would not have recovered to his normal way of life.

We were taken to a little room where Youbou was brought in and we said our goodbyes as the good doctor gently administered the final medication.

Inconsolable am I.   I’ve spent hours going through my photos and am sharing some happy memories.

I’ve dealt with pet loss over the years, as has everyone else.  But the sudden unexpectedness of this has hit me pretty hard.

Youbou’s “older” brother, Duncan is lost and is continuously going to the places that they shared, looking and looking.  He’ll sit in his sofa and look over at Y’s .. but he’s not there.  JaneE looks lost.  Every morning and every suppertime, Y and J were like bookends .. each looking through their side of the kitchen french door.   His little noseprints are still there ..

I know this is part of life, but sometimes I think it might be better to not have the capacity for love … as the loss just rips away at my heart.

We are spending more comfort time with Duncan and JaneE .. they didn’t have a chance to say their goodbyes to Youbou, it just wasn’t possible.

And I know this will pass.  But for now .. I am just struggling through the pain.  We all miss him so very much .. he was only 8 years old … and I thought we had many more years together.  All of our pets live long and happy lives with us, they are treasured members of the family.

So goodbye little Youbou .. we loved you so very much and always will.