Gardening With George

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My niece's cat George spends most of his time in the house, but once in a while he agrees to go outside and see what kind of mischief he can make. Here he is sprawling in a patch of weeds when he should be pulling them up. But my niece says he's not too bright and just prefers to be a layabout. He illustrates this facet of his personality quite well. What you can't see in the picture, though, is how utterly sweet he is.

If he had an inclination to work rather than to be waited upon, he would pitch in and help get the family garden spot ready. He does enjoy singing at the birds who visit and if he tried a little harder providing things to attract the birds rather than just singing, he'd be able to entice many feathered visitors to the garden. But no, he's quite content to let things be. He doesn't stray too far from my niece and any sound on the street will send him scurrying back into the house very quickly, even though he is completely safe in the fenced back yard. His brother Clifford is extremely afraid of the outdoors and usually never ventures further than the last step on the porch. Their sister, Misty, however, is fearless and loves her gardening duties. She is the designated Official Bird Watcher and warns my sister and niece when any feathered intruder approaches by singing at the poor creature until she is forced to chase it off the premises.

It is too bad good reliable help is so hard to find these days...

For more information: Gardening in the Pacific Northwest, and here, and here too, Birds of the Pacific Northwest, Weather for Western Washington.

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