My Feral And Rescued Cats

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tarasgirl06

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Thank you for explaining that, catapult catapult ! I'd always known they look similar, but never knew the difference technically. Yes, Jcatbird Jcatbird , all flowers are gorgeous! I especially like very dark-colored flowers. My folks had a black calla lily until their gardener killed it. He thought it was "bad" somehow. Ridiculous. It was beautiful and I've never seen another.
Being a true crime buff, I've always been fascinated with the Black Dahlia. And the flowers themselves are very beautiful!
Very sorry your orchids were killed. WHO would do that??? *sigh* So many things about people that are just unfathomable and best left alone, for our own sanity, except that we need to understand in order to do something about the problem of sociopaths, psychopaths and their ilk.
Right now I have a very big, heavy blue/cream laptop on what is already shaping into a hot, uncomfortable day.
Here's another limited-time Dyson refurb:
Refurbished: Dyson V8 Animal+ Cordless Vacuum | Purple - Newegg.com
 
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rubysmama

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rubysmama rubysmama There are evergreen azaleas. In general, rhododendrons have larger leaves. Primary difference - azaleas have 5 stamens inside their flowers while rhododendrons have 10. Botanically, all azaleas are rhododendrons, not all rhododendrons are azaleas.
Thanks for that explanation, C catapault . Definitely more than 5, so rhododendron, right.

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Jcatbird

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rubysmama rubysmama Oh! I love Rhododendrons but don’t see them here. I have seen them up along the Blue Ridge Parkway in the mountains. The azaleas that loose their leaves are my favorite of azaleas. Those are the ones that come from the natives and are either beautifully scented or beautifully colored or both. The Flame Azalea and Honeysuckle azaleas can be found deep in the woods here. I have one Flame here. Where I used to live had huge colonies of the honeysuckle ones. These days I see them in stores for sale once in awhile. Most of the azaleas I have here are old hybrids. Nice but nothing like a native or a Rhododendron. My problem is that I want one of every flower! :lol: OR maybe a bouquet!:bouquet:
You saw a Lady Slipper in the wild? :bunnydance:Those don’t grow this far south. How exciting! I would love to have been with you! I hope you get to see another skmeday. If you do, I also hope you have your camera!

Just so everyone reading here knows, nearly every country has orchids on the protected list. Without the proper paperwork or specific permission don’t dig them up or pick the flowers! You cannot bring one from one country to another unless it comes from a nursery (and paperwork) or you have government permission, permits, plants are properly labeled with genus/species and you have license and a broker. All plants must be inspected by the Department of Agricultre here too. Complicated process but it protects them from being lost to nature. Some are totally are forbidden no matter what paperwork you have. I had a lady from another country bring her children to my nursery so they could experience orchids. In their home they could not even touch one! I let them touch, pick, smell and hold all the flowers. They did a school project on the ones here. It was a delight to share the plants with this family. It made me appreciate the orchids even more than I did before meeting them. When they got home they sent me an orchid book from their country. It had pictures of the species there. I can’t read the language but I treasure it as one of my favorite books!

I look forward to having orchids in my life again. Every time you eat anything with vanilla in it, think of orchids! Vanilla planifolia seed pods give us our vanilla extract.
 

Jcatbird

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C catapault So..... you are a plant lover as well as a cat lover! ;) I think that stands true for many here. Your explanation about the Rhododendrons was very informative! Thank you!

tarasgirl06 tarasgirl06 A black Calla? I have seen many but not a black one. If I ever do, I will be sure to let you know! How can any Calla be bad? Surperstition. :disappointed:
The people who destroyed the plants were really trying to scare me away from rescuing. What they did had the opposite effect. It only stregththened my resolve.
There is a flip side to human behavior too. I was nearly wiped out of business once before by a hurricane. I had packed my van for the usual weekend trip with my daughter to sell orchids but my greenhouse was flattened. I decided to go ahead and go to the city that weekend. It turned out that the city paper had noted the loss in print. That weekend I was greeted by many dozens of people, some customers and some unknown to me, who wanted to help me to rebuild. Some orchid growers sent boxes of plants anonymously and some people offered building materials, labor or moral support. One lady left a fifty dollar bill in my daughter’s hand and then ran away so I could not refuse it. :sunshine:To this day, I do not know who she was. I will never forget what she looked like as she laughed and ran across the streets. It took me a few minutes to realize what she had done but when I did, it was all I could do to hold in the tears. So very, very kind and loving! Sarah and I did manage to rebuild but we did it on the anonymous boxes, rejuvenated squished plants and the love of others. Humanity can exhibit the most wonderful traits. I like to think that those are the dominant genes.
My friends that just brought me plants are like that. They did make the trip back home safely. Exhausted but safe.
I spoke to them today and most of the conversation was about the kitties! :lol: I have sent them a link to the site! I hope they join us here. I know they have been here to visit. BJ, Smokey, Banjo and the others made a good impression. They have a kitty that is now 20 years old. Still going strong and , as most kitties, a picky eater! Lol

tabbytom tabbytom I agree! That close up of the Rhododendron is a beauty! Purrfect!
 

Jcatbird

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I was in the cat room and just enjoying visiting with all the kitties. Sometimes I just like to sit on the floor to be “one of the Clowder.” I very fortunate that the kitties don’t mind and I often get to see some precious interactions....... or funny ones.


If you think this is just cute because Flowers is laying on a cat blanket, true but.....listen to the thoughts of the kitties!
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Go away Banjo. This is my spot tonight. Go find your own cat face to lay on.
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How can I lay on it when it’s in the window sill?
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Hehe. Not my problem. I own the blanket and crate tonight.
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Dolly wants a cat face to snuggle too!
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I think there is another way to do this.
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Can Dad outsmart Flowers?
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Bj heads into the crate to lay on the faces inside.
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Everyone is watching but no one moves.. Lolololol
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Oops! Caught!
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Evicted!
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I think I need to do more snuggling with Flowers.
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As I said,”This is my spot tonight!”
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And it is! :flail: The cat faces blanket belongs to Flowers tonight! There was no hissing,no growling, no swatting, just, “the look”! Cat speak if I have ever seen it! It may be unspoken but we all understood the meaning!

The eye of the cat speaks volumes!

Have a great night everyone! :heartshape:
 

Jcatbird

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My! What big cats you have! :shocked:.................:lol:
I know those cat faces seem big but I have one cat that can make me disappear entirely! Wait until you see the post tomorrow night! ;) Of course, he may just be a magician by trade.

My garden is always a happy place and now it’s growing!
I forgot to post this photo. It is Dendrobium creumenatum. It’s a sweet small flower but neat because it flowers about nine days after a storm where the temperature drops about ten degrees. Fragrant but the flowers will be done after about a day so it was photograph today or wait. Lol After the next storm, I can hope for more flowers! Common name, pigeon orchid or white dove. It may not be a cat but the cats do love bird watching so..... :lol:
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tabbytom

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I know those cat faces seem big but I have one cat that can make me disappear entirely! Wait until you see the post tomorrow night! ;) Of course, he may just be a magician by trade
It got me puzzled as I’ve never seen these cats before and also thought the photo was taken from a different perspective so the nearer ones are larger :lol:
Those are nice pretty white flowers.
 

Jcatbird

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tabbytom tabbytom We grow them very large here in Sarah’s garden! After your post, I started thinking about it. Those faces kind of remind me of Flowers babies.
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Perhaps that is why she claimed that blanket.
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She was an extremely protective feral mom.
She knew exactly how to raise healthy babies.
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Of course, the first time I saw her babies, they were emerging from flower pots so..... maybe she knew how to fertilize to make baby flowers grown very large?
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This is ,” the look!” Lol
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rubysmama

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You saw a Lady Slipper in the wild? :bunnydance:Those don’t grow this far south. How exciting! I would love to have been with you! I hope you get to see another skmeday. If you do, I also hope you have your camera!
It was exciting. And something you almost never saw, so even though I was pretty young, I knew seeing one was special. These days, since I avoid woodsy areas due to my fear of ticks, the chances of seeing another Lady Slipper are very low..

Sometimes I just like to sit on the floor to be “one of the Clowder.”
Can't think of a more purrfect way to spend some time. :catlove:

She was an extremely protective feral mom.
She knew exactly how to raise healthy babies.
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Oh, I just love the picture. :hearthrob:
 

maggiedemi

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Every time you eat anything with vanilla in it, think of orchids! Vanilla planifolia seed pods give us our vanilla extract.
Well now you got my attention! You know that I prefer veggies over flowers. But a flower like that is interesting to a foodie like me. Tell me more about these vanilla orchids please. Do you have any? :think:

Humanity can exhibit the most wonderful traits.
This happened to me the other day. I was feeling depressed about all the cruelty in the world. And then bang, somebody said the sweetest words to me. It restored my faith in humans a little bit. I wish more people would say sweet things when they think of it. :)

Go find your own cat face to lay on.
Hee hee. This made me crack up. :lol:
 

tarasgirl06

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I also love to sit or lay in the midst of cats! It's interesting to see things from nearer their PURRspective, and I'm hoping they see me as closer to their equal like that.
What beautiful small white orchids! I never knew orchids had scent as the only ones I've ever been around were those ones on spindly stalks that are common at florists and even grocery stores. No scent there! I really loved the black calla lily -- it was truly very close to being black. I doubt most people have ever seen one. No idea how it got there -- it was probably planted by the original owners of the house, who were the only owners before my parents.
Flowers is another beauty, as are her babies - and the entire clowder. In all of nature, the cat stands out, IMHO, as "nature's masterpiece"--don't you agree?
Yes, kind words are very powerful. I woke up today crying like I had lost one of my own and I realized that I HAD -- we all have, because we are all here together and one/every loss SHOULD be felt by all of us. Until every one of us feels that, there is something very wrong that needs to be addressed in every one of us examining our own heart.
 
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Jcatbird

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tabbytom tabbytom The Flower babies were cute and a handful! Lol They were a whole bouquet! It took a Clowder to raise those little ones! As I socialized Flowers, some of the other females were very helpful. I can see why living as a colony can be the very best of worlds.

I may be little but I can destroy this blanket.
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I got this door open, now I just have to open the cage....
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Hey! Is anybody home?
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I may be in a cage but I can still see what’s in this drawer!
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We weren’t doing anything! Just sitting here.
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I will not go to sleep until I capture the mouse!
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Does the human know I got both doors open?
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Outside! Oh boy!
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The human knows.
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A play pen?
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Don’t mind me......
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Just heading to the play pen!
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Whooo hoooo! This is how you play in a play pen!
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Jump! Yell! Wild kitten time!
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We are kittens, hear us roar!
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Yaaaaay!
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Wheeeee!
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Let’s take this place apart!
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Uhhhh. I think another mom cat is watching us.
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Maybe we better behave a little while. She might tell mom!
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I’m going back to the cage where we’re in control!
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Hey, Iris! I think we’re being watched again. Look!
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Kittens! I am your new babysitter. My name is Thrasher.
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If you challenge me, you’ll get a thrashing! Let your mom rest.
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Somebody help! I’m being held pwisoner!
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I don’t want a thrashing!
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What’s a thrashing?
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Look! There’s another way out!
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Hi Thrasher! I hug you!
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Okay guys, give me a paw up!
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It’s okay Flowers. We have the whole Clowder helping out. Clowd control. :lol:
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Jcatbird

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rubysmama rubysmama I’m with you on the dislike of ticks! Uggghhhh! I still go into the woods but I have learned some great tick tricks that help. Tuck your pants leg into your socks. Dark colors help. I wear hiking boots. Cover your head. Wear long sleeves with a tight fitting cuff. Although I don’t generally use repellants, the Deet formulas work better in some places for some bugs. Try not to shake branches above you. Never sit directly on the ground. Especially near a water source. Using a walking stick to shake brush ahead of you can keep everything away. I swing the stick back and forth from left to right and back again. In all my years of walking jungle, woods and being on creeks and rivers, only once have I found many ticks and that was before I learned all the tricks. Only a couple in all the years since. Only one in the past twenty years and it was not on me. I hope you get to see another slipper. I understand it may be a bedroom slipper with a Ruby in it but that’s even better.;):lovecat2:
 

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