My weary soul was safely tucked in bed, resting - - but I forced my reluctant and aching body outside to do some long-neglected work.
It was late afternoon and intriguingly warm (the nights are still chilly). I grabbed an old rusty pair of shears (clippers?) with which I was determined to attack the forces of unbridled nature that surround me.
What??
Thorns. I'm talking about weird, wild, nasty bushes loaded with dangerous thorns. There are no flowers on these monstrosities, only thorns. They eagerly populate the back part of my property all the way up to the forest.
Last summer they were so thick that I was afraid to go near them. By autumn I summoned the courage to tackle a few of them, but my inspiration quickly waned.
So here I am, in early spring, chopping the hell out of them - trying to keep them away from the house. With only work gloves, clippers (shears?), and help from the Almighty Lord.
I only threw that in to piss off the atheists.
There was a strange, sort-of-smokey haze all afternoon. It lingered in the air like the finale of a smouldering brush fire. I don't know what the source was, but it looked eerie.
Was there any doubt that I would capture the essence of the afternoon with my El Cheapo camera?
I'll give you a moment to catch your breath and ponder the situation.
I have a lot more photos of the thorns but I'll spare you.
How about the weird afternoon haze?
The roof of my shack (lower right)
I'm guilty of talking about the damn cats too much, but it's EXTREMELY rare to get a photo of all three of them together. I snapped these quickie pics when I let them out on the back porch this morning.
Bosco and Scruffy on the porch and Scratch (Kitzee) eating some grass.
Here are the trio of felines running to the carpet. The previous owners of this place left a hideous old carpet on the back porch. The cats enjoy laying on it to catch the morning sun.
Purrrfect harmony.
At least for the moment.
The three of them were probably happy to just get out in the fresh air and feel the sun. And talk about getting a pinch in the ass.....and not in a good way!
ReplyDeleteAfter this endlessly cold and damp winter, the kitties are overjoyed to be outside in the sunshine. They think they're in Texas again.
DeleteI've been mauled by the thorns, but so far they haven't gotten my ass
(...not yet, anyway...)
Looks like your kitties appreciate that carpet. Never too many pictures of cats. Be careful in the thorns.
ReplyDeleteIt almost feels like Texas today, Paula - it's windy, very warm, with low humidity (for a change!!). Those thorns really are dangerous. I hate them.
DeleteCute cats. I had this flash in my mind of you cutting back the thorn bushes in only a pair of work gloves - you would get a seamless tan that way.
ReplyDeleteA tempting idea, but I'd also get an endless barrage of thorns in unwanted places. I'll work on my seamless tan AFTER I get rid of the thorns (although by then it might be winter...)
DeleteThe thorn bushes do seem quite daunting. Something to tackle little by little, for sure. Was quite hazy. We had fog here this morning--fog over the snowbanks--LOL! Love seeing the three cats together. I have no doubt they would love that carpeting to lounge upon in the sunshine. :)
ReplyDeleteWhen I first saw all those thorn "bushes" I thought perhaps they were rose bushes - - but none of them have ever produced any flowers. They're extremely annoying - not to mention dangerous.
DeleteIt was nice and warm today (near 75) and the kitties are loving it.
Those are precious images of Kitzee and the foundlings! I'm curious if they observe a pecking order when they're all together?
ReplyDeleteErie pictures, indeed. Are y'all permitted to burn? (The previous owners of this place left a burn barrel, but I'm reluctant to try it w/o a fire extinguisher at the ready.)
Either that, or would spraying oven cleaner all over them help?
My eldest cat Kitzee (12 yrs. old) isn't particularly fond of the other two, but they get along reasonably well. Bosco enjoys teasing her, and Kitzee occasionally slaps Bosco around (but she's not vicious - she merely asserts her superiority).
DeleteI wish I had a burn barrel. Burning is allowed here but you have to have a permit - and I admittedly know nothing about it.
Spray oven cleaner on the burn barrel and your entire neighborhood will blow up like Hiroshima.
Whoops! That might be pretty to look at ... but I meant spraying oven cleaner on your thorns. Once Tom was on a job and two snakes' heads popped up. All he had at the ready was a can of oven cleaner which he emptied all over them.
DeleteI initially thought you meant to spray the cats, which perhaps isn't a bad idea....(naw, I'm not that cruel).
DeleteWhen I lived in San Angelo, TX I found a snake in my kitchen (!!!) late one night. I carried him outside on a shovel. Fortunately no violence was involved.
I too hate stickery weeds and bushes. I suspect they were put on Earth to harass us while mosquitoes would go on vacation. Great cat photos, Jon. They look so relaxed --surely a calming influence.
ReplyDeleteI initially thought they were some kind of rose bushes, Geo, but unfortunately these weird "bushes" don't yield flowers. They are extremely thorny and annoying. In Texas the so-called antique roses grew wild and I loved them.
DeleteMy kitties are loving the weather. Today is warm, very windy, and unusually dry. They think I've moved back to TX...
" piss off the atheists " - like that .
ReplyDeleteMy words seem to be more effective when I don't put any thought into them.
Deletethe kitties look peaceful and serene out there on the carpet. too bad you were too busy tackling thorny bushes to enjoy it with them. that haze is intriguing, indeed.
ReplyDeleteI foolishly thought that when I moved to the wilderness I'd have plenty of time to relax. Instead, I seem to be busier than ever - tending to problems and complications.
DeleteThat haze was probably due to a fire somewhere. I always worry about fires here, but fortunately it rains a lot.
I find those hazy days a bit unnerving, don't know why. I like the idea of leaving your real self somewhere else while your body does the stuff "you" don't want to do! Doesn't look as if the cats have that problem though. Do cats ever have that problem? Is it even possible that cats should do something they don't want? (I leave that question with you. ....)
ReplyDeleteI suspect that the haze was the result of a brush fire. The past few days have been unusually dry and warm (rare for here).
DeleteI find myself mentally staying in bed a lot lately, while I force myself to do unwanted chores. I'd prefer to join the cats in the sun (although not on that carpet).
Hi Jon, well I can see how daunting it would be to keep those thorny buggers under control. I suppose they grow back unless you dig up the roots and wouldn't that be fun ? Nice to see the happy feline trio enjoying some fresh air.
ReplyDeleteOur snow is finally gone, but the temperatures are still on the cool side. I've been up at Sun Peaks ( a ski resort ) helping with volunteer search efforts for a 21 year old from Alberta who went missing in February. Search and Rescue have halted their efforts for now, so his family has been reaching out to anyone who can spare some time to help look for him. It's all over the Internet ... google Ryan Schutka. He simply vanished, so sad.
While I was cutting those thorn bushes, one of my first thoughts was "Why am I doing this? They will only grow back."
DeleteTrying to get the roots would be a nightmare.
What a tragic and disturbing story about the missing youth from Alberta. It's so kind and generous of you to participate in the search. I haven't heard the news story, but I will Google his name.
I just read some news articles about Ryan. I initially thought he was a missing hiker - - but he was merely coming home from a party. It definitely seems like foul play was involved. Such a very sad situation.
DeleteThat's the thing, Ryan was simply walking home which should have taken five minutes. That entire area has been dug up, search dogs have been deployed for weeks and weeks, heat seeking drones, tons of volunteers ... and still nothing.
DeleteI met his mother who greets every person who comes up to help look for Ryan. Search and Rescue is going to resume their efforts in early May hoping that once the snow up there starts to melt they'll possibly find him. It doesn't look good, and a lot of the local folks feel that foul play of some sort was involved.
A bus load of us are going up there tomorrow morning, myself included, just to keep trying since Sun Peaks had a record amount of snowfall this winter. I know the area. It's where my parents used to ski and where I go boarding. The whole thing has shaken everyone up since no one has simply vanished like this before.
you can't play musical chairs with a cat
ReplyDeletelovelovelove