July 21, 2017
Dear Everyone:
A few decades ago, “Jeannie” and I shared an apartment in
Walnut
Creek. We lived on the
second floor, with a generous deck off the living room.
One day, she called me at work to say, “There’s a little kitty on
our deck. How do you suppose
she got up there?”
To which I responded: “Don’t feed
it!”
To which she replied, “Oh.
You mean that can of tuna fish may have been a mistake?”
Which is how “Jeannie” acquired her first
Maine Coon cat.
“Monroe”, as she eventually came to be known, lived with
“Jeannie” for many, many years until it was time for her to go to Kitty
Heaven.
Eventually, “Jeannie” decided it was time to get a new cat, which
involved a road trip to
Lincoln,
California, where she acquired a new Maine Coon through the
Maine Coon Adoption (MCA)
organization. This one was a
rescue
cat, already named Lucy.
They spent many happy years together until it was time for Lucy, as
well, to take her place in Kitty Heaven.
Now “Jeannie” is again cat-less.
She really wants another Maine Coon.
Every couple of months the MCA holds an adoption “fair” at a
local establishment which, ironically, caters to people who like birds.
We’ve stopped by several times.
In each case, they had lots of cats but none of them actual Maine
Coons.
But they also had many lovely things to put in your yard or garden.
Among them were garden flags.
You may have seen one.
A vertical rod, with a horizontal arm meant to suspend a cloth
flag with some decorative motif on it.
Typically, the vertical rod ends in a couple of prongs that can
be dug into the ground to hold the whole thing up.
I rather liked the idea of the flags, which are usually about 12-15
inches wide and 18-20 inches long.
They can be changed in a matter of minutes, depending on your
mood, the season or holiday.
Unfortunately, I have neither a garden nor a yard in which to stick the
holder.
This particular store also sold flat stands that would let you place the
flag holder on a concrete surface.
Unfortunately, when I investigated further, I realized that the
flat stand and the vertical holders were not compatible.
The one on display only worked because someone with power tools
and a very heavy hammer had succeeded in forcing the prongs into the
base. So, I left,
disappointed.
Nevertheless, I liked the idea of the garden flags.
I have a small trough in front of my entry way, with “seasonal”
flowers and a couple of artful stylized “insects” that have been there
since the first year I lived here.
Frankly, I was bored with the “art” and so, I suspected, are the
neighbors. Time for a
change.
At a completely different store, in a completely different city, I found
a flag holder for about half what the first store would have charged,
along with a nice flag depicting some songbirds.
All I needed was a way to hold it up in front of the kitchen
window.
Another trip to a nursery, where I looked for a suitable pot.
I found a large selection of delightful pots that appeared to be
made of poured concrete,
but which turned out to be made of
fiberglass and
were light enough to pick up with one hand.
Then it was off to the Big Orange Hardware Warehouse Store.
I was thinking I could fill the pot with sand.
But instead I discovered that for less than $5.00 I could get a
very heavy bag of “pea
gravel”. All I had to do
was wrestle it into a shopping cart, pay for it, then wrestle it from
the cart into the trunk of my car.
Once home, I scooped half the gravel into the aforementioned
fiberglass pot, which I had placed on a small folding hand truck that I
have found useful in thousands of ways.
With the bag half-full, I could move it more easily out of the trunk and
up to the entrance of my condo.
Moved the pot into place.
Poured the rest of the gravel into the pot.
Shoved the flag holder down into the gravel.
Added some “seasonal” flowers and the new flag.
And presto! A whole new
look.
The old trough is now on the patio, complete with last season’s flowers,
until I decide what to do with it.
My upstairs neighbor came by the other day, returning from taking
her two dogs on their lunch-time walk, and gave the new ensemble her
approval. She was tired of
the old “insect” art, too.
Now, of course, I’ll be constantly on the lookout for new flags.
And, in the meantime, “Jeannie” is still hunting for a new Maine Coon
cat. But not until after she
returns from her planned trip to
Italy in September.
Love, as always,
Pete
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