A friendly visitor to the garden

There are cats that roam the neighborhood near the allotment garden, and every now and then they make their way into the garden to wander around. Last summer my garden was graced by a visit from one such cat, a black and white cat that is very friendly and docile. He found a cozy place on the floor of my greenhouse and promptly went to sleep for half an hour or so. After his nap he stretched and then moseyed on his way to visit someone else's garden.

The other day the same cat returned to the garden and found his way into my greenhouse. At this time of year the greenhouse is quite a nice place to be, cozy and warm. He jumped up onto one of the metal benches, made himself comfortable, and went to sleep for a half hour. Like last summer, I was able to snap a few photos of him. He is an affectionate and nice cat; he lets himself be petted and does not go after the birds in the garden (he is well-fed at home). Quite the opposite; it is the birds, mostly magpies and crows, that have harassed him to the point where he is forced to leave the garden. I have seen it happen once. They grab at his tail; when they did this last summer he did not fight back, rather choosing to leave the premises. 

I look forward to his visits. I am a cat lover, having had several cats up through the years. Becoming friends with this cat has made me want another cat, so we'll see what time brings. In any case, I hope he'll be a frequent visitor during the summer months. 

I Worried, a poem by Mary Oliver

I Worried

by Mary Oliver

I worried a lot. Will the garden grow, will the rivers

flow in the right direction, will the earth turn

as it was taught, and if not how shall

I correct it?

Was I right, was I wrong, will I be forgiven,

can I do better?

Will I ever be able to sing, even the sparrows

can do it and I am, well,

hopeless.

Is my eyesight fading or am I just imagining it,

am I going to get rheumatism,

lockjaw, dementia?

Finally I saw that worrying had come to nothing.

And gave it up. And took my old body

and went out into the morning,

and sang.

Spot on

Par for the course for Wiley Miller and Non Sequitur to be spot on. Today's comic strip.......

My device by Michael Leunig

Sums up my thoughts and feelings about being disconnected from the world of cell phones and computers (at least for a few hours) when I am lucky enough to spend time outdoors or in my garden. The cartoon is called My device and was drawn by Michael Leunig. 

My blog posts about My Brilliant Friend

For those of you who are just now discovering the HBO series My Brilliant Friend, I can say that you are in for a real treat. I've watched all three seasons to date; the fourth season has been announced and production is underway, with new actresses to play the parts of Elena and Lila. I'm very much looking forward to the new season. The series is directed by Saverio Costanzo, Alice Rohrwacher, and Daniele Luchetti. And if you want to start with the books by Elena Ferrante on which the series is based, you can find them on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. 

Here are two posts I wrote in 2019 and 2020 about the books and the series respectively; I'm posting them again today: 

A New Yorker in Oslo: Elena Ferrante's brilliant Neapolitan quadrilogy (paulamdeangelis.blogspot.com)

A New Yorker in Oslo: My Brilliant Friend is a brilliant HBO series (paulamdeangelis.blogspot.com)