Aspiration

Cindy planted this dwarf Pomegranate tree in a pot in the middle of May and placed it on our front porch.  Thinking the big pot pretty much overshadowed the small plant, she named the plant "Aspiration", hoping it would eventually grow into its pot.

Planted in Mid May

Since then, the plant has flourished, doubling in size, and now it even has a couple of flowers.

Doing Fine Today

Since it's a dwarf variety it should probably grow to about three feet tall and three feet wide, but because it's in a pot, it might be a little smaller when it's fully grown.  It's supposed to thrive in hot, dry summers, which is definitely what it will get here.

We'll see if it's up to producing full-sized fruit someday.

Can't They Read?

Another Western Fence Lizard got into the house a couple of days ago.  We were lucky to catch this one before any of the cats got to it.  We tried to persuade it to run into a paper grocery bag; the lizard decided it would rather ride on the handle of the bag instead, and when we got to the screen door, he decided he would much rather run up the door than remain on the bag.

I opened the door, he ran up to the top and onto the outside; problem solved.

Outside, Please

However, that still left the problem of how these lizards were getting into the house in the first place.  We decided they probably can't read, since the welcome mat clearly indicates that there are multiple cats in the house, just waiting to welcome them.

The Welcome Mat Is Out

We're hoping that some weatherstripping at the bottom of the door will discourage future visits from the lizard population.

Don't Know How This Happened...

We're not sure how this happened, but our cat, Jenna, found a Western Fence Lizard that had incautiously ventured into the house.  Fortunately, Cindy saw the tail hanging out of Jenna's mouth and managed to get her away from the lizard before the cat could actually kill the lizard.

Then the hunt was on for us to try to find the lizard again before Jenna could get back to it.  We finally found it in a corner of the living room and managed to trap it.  The lizard played dead while I scooped it up in a plastic bag and deposited it under a bush in the front yard; it apparently took to its heels, minus its tail, shortly after that because it was gone when I went back a few minutes later.

Western Fence Lizard

I didn't get a picture of the lizard because I was intent on getting it OUTSIDE the house as quickly as possible.

This picture is of a different Western Fence Lizard from a few years ago; that lizard had lost both its tail and a back foot, but survived very well minus those appendages.  We're hoping the current lizard was relatively undamaged, and that it will be a little more wary about coming into the house where those creatures with sharp teeth and claws live.

O.K., So I Talk To Birds....

Our friend Colleen came over recently to see the vegetable garden, and as we were showing her around, I noticed a Wrentit land on the bird feeder.  Since these small songbirds have a very distinctive call but are shrubbery dwellers who are difficult to see, I started talking to it, welcoming it to our feeder.

Colleen asked Cindy, "Who's Kay talking to?" since she didn't see anybody else around.  "Oh, Kay talks to birds," was Cindy's reply.

Well, yes I do that.  A few days before I had been talking to this very handsome Toucan at the Living Coast Discovery Center.

And a couple of weeks before that we spent about twenty minutes apologizing to a Moray Eel at the Birch Aquarium.  We had just commented that the Moray Eel was one of the ugliest critters we had ever seen, when the fish, which already looked pretty depressed, began to look even more dejected.  Its head drooped down and it looked so sad we felt we had to apologize to it for insensitivity.

Many years ago I talked a peacock on Peacock Island in Berlin into opening his fan of tail feathers for us to admire.  That one took some doing; I had to tell him that I thought he was one of the handsomest peacocks on the island, but that another peacock close by was also very handsome, and eventually he opened up and strutted around to show off his fan of gorgeous tail feathers.  I guess peacocks are susceptible to flattery, too.

So, yes, I do talk to birds, and other critters, too.  I'm only going to worry if they start answering me back.