Saturday, June 21, 2008

Persistence



It's time once again to fight the battle of the ivy. No matter how often I try to dig it up away from the house, no matter how often I scrape it out from under the shingles or away
from the paving, it comes back.


And when it comes back, this is what happens.






And this, too.

Wouldn't it be nice if everything I planted grew as strong and beautiful?

Actually, my little garden plot is doing very well so far, thank you. The wild flowers are crowding one another quite a bit, due to the hard rain we got right after I planted the seeds. But I think wild flowers will survive that. The sun flowers around the back of the garden are looking fine, and the butterfly bush I planted last year seems to be almost ready to blossom. So I'm a happy camper. The veggies haven't really got started yet.

I give credit for the success to the fact that I laid wire mesh over the garden after planting, so my neighbor's cats were thwarted in attempts to use my garden for their litter box.
That's what has happened many times in previous years. No amount of pepper, nor any other means of keeping them away has worked. Now if only I could find a means of keeping them off my car. I always have little kitty footprints over the hood, windows, top and trunk, and I don't dare leave a window open or I find one curled up on the seat. Don't understand why, if you have a pet, you don't keep it in the house except for exercise time. My neighbor has five cats, and the only time she ever sees them is when they come home to eat, then they run right out again, looking for ways to harass the neighbors.

Well, this didn't start out as a bitchy blog, so I'd better end right here.

5 comments:

Chesapeake Bay Woman said...

Ivy and cats actually have a lot in common. They are both very prolific and there's not much you can do to deter them. No matter how much you try, they still come back.

bobbie said...

This is so true.

Dianne said...

it must be back breaking to pull all that out and away from the house

as for the cats - I want to smack people who don't keep their pets inside - safe and healthy. Idiots!

Crayons said...

Hi Bobbie,
Between out-of-control ivy and a troupe of outdoors cats, I can understand your sentiment.

Sometimes I try to change my perspective on things, and that helps. I might be tempted to see the ivy as an opportunity to keep my body limber by stretching and pull? Well, maybe not.

Yrsa said...

I must say I do envy your problems with Ivy. Over here it is hard work to get it last over the summer and when autumn comes - what to do? If you leave it outside it is soon gone due to the cold, if you take it´inside it still hardly ever survives through the winter. And I just love Ivy. But, in your shoes, I´d probably like it less...