Sunday, April 18, 2010

Tux's day out!

Yesterday was almost a complete write off - Dave and I barely rolled out of bed around noon, and neither of us had an energy to do anything at all. I couldn't even make it up to Mom's to deliver the new monitor we go her.

Instead, Dave hid out in his studio and tinkered around repairing an old lap-top and I stretched out on the couch, watched historical dramas and finished up Dad's first sock.

I'm very pleased I went with plain stocking stitch, and it wasn't nearly as tedious as I thought it would be. I just knit mindlessly away and watched my movies and before I knew it, it was done.

I really should cast on for the next one, but I'm really itching to cast on for something new.

To curb that urge, today I went outside and enjoyed the nice sunny weather. Everything is in bloom. My lawn has exploded with Grape Hyacinths that were planted by some tenant long ago.

They are absolutely every where. I don't remember having this many last year - but that's probably because the landlord had the lawn mowed already. (edit: 20 minutes after posting - lawn crew showed up and hyacinths are mostly gone)



The few tulips that found room in between the mass of wild roses have bloomed (and yes Mom, I immediately picked them all! They are in a jar in my kitchen now.)




And even the pot of pansies that I bought and killed (lack of care) last year proved they are hardier than I thought, and have made an appearance.

While I was out enjoying the sun, I didn't quite shut the door and someone decided he wanted to take a peek outside. So I brought him all the way out.
Normally, the cats are indoor only.

None of them have any street smarts, I have too many neighbours with dogs (of which they are all terrified) and last year, a neighbourhood cat was doused in gasoline and lit on fire by some horrible person they've yet to find.

But Tux is fat, and slow, and as long as I'm out there to keep an eye on him, he can't get into too much trouble.

He loved it. He explored. Tried to scale a fence (but he's too fat and too slow). He tried to eat my whole lawn - and the shrub.

He even wandered down the side of the house to see what Dave was up to:

All in all, we were outside for a good half hour before a dog barked somewhere and he decided it was time to go back inside.

Rocky was very upset and sat in the window and howled the whole time we were outside. But Rocky is too fast for me to let out on his own. Unlike Tux, he'd make it over that fence.

It looks like I'm going to have to invest in a couple of leashes to stake out in the yard. I wonder if I can train them to go for walk down the street?

8 comments:

Kiki said...

Tux looks like he's enjoying himself! I don't blame you for not wanting to let the kitties outside, they tend to wander and yes, there are some real sickos out there just waiting for opportunities. Both our dogs are old and wouldn't wander even if they could, but we still keep an eye on them when they are in our fenced yard.

Knitting Linguist said...

That's a happy-looking cat! Good luck with the leash thing; I've had two cats who insisted on walking the dog with me, but they were both indoor-outdoor kitties. :)

lexa said...

My cats don't go out, either. They'd probably get run over since I'm right in town, and they've never, ever been outside. Plus Nova Scotia is experiencing a coyote problem right now, they are very aggressive (unusual) and have been attacking people (they even killed a young Ontario woman in Cape Breton last fall, I think it was). Much better to keep them inside, but Pumba will try to escape if he can, so I have to be careful with him. Like Tux he's fat and slow, old to boot, and he always meows and gives himself away if he manages to get past me and out the door.

Minding My Own Stitches said...

Congratulations on your first sock! It looks very much like the kind of sock all the men in my life would like - plain, sensible, comfortable and well made.

Jeanne said...

Sounds like Tux had a very nice weekend!

Great pictures - and love the socks.

TheBlackSheep said...

The grape hyacinths seem to be in this year. We have tons of them out in the fields and they're beautiful. I think they sort of expand all by themselves too, because I'm sure no one planted any in the cow pastures, but they're all over the place.

You might want to rethink the leash thing if you've got dogs roaming free in your neighbourhood. If you do have a cat eating dog and your cat's on a leash, he can't run away and is probably doomed. Those kind of dogs are too quick to stop, even if you're there. Poor Tux would'nt stant a chance!

Lee said...

I don't blame you either, at our old house it wasn't safe for the cats to go outside. When we moved they wanted to go outside even more and we live in a great place for outdoor pets, but I was still hesitant because I didn't think they would know what to do outside, but turns out I was worried for nothing their intincts came to them and now they do wonderful outside. But they still come in to sleep and eat.

RobinH said...

In my experience, 'walking the cat' involves and intensive period of the human being trained to follow the cat around while the cat does whatever the cat wants to do... YMMV!

Great socks!