Update on Leo

Thank you all so much for your words of concern for my Leo. After much soul searching, my daughter has convinced me to give him the appetite pill, along with the antibiodic. Leo does seem to be improving and the appetite pill seems to be working. He ate pretty good yesterday and he is starting to follow me around like he use to. I can tell he is still not 100% yet, but I do think he is on his way back. I love this cat so much.

I picked 5 pounds of tomatoes tonight

I stopped by the garden on the way home and I picked a big bag of rippening tomatoes. I weighed them when I got home and it was 5 pounds. I will be swimming in tomatoes pretty soon. I have to say, my Okra, Broccoli and Butternut squash plants are looking good so far, growing nicely. Did I tell you I have one cantalope plant that is growing a lonely fruit? Don't have a clue as to where it came from. After cutting back my zucchini plants to practically nothing, would you believe they are growing up again, with actual fruit growing? The peppers are getting big again. The green beans are on their fourth harvest, but I don't like the taste of them now. I will probably pull them out without harvesting this last round. That is about it for my latest garden report

Poor Leo - sick again

My poor Leo. He has been so lethargic and eating very little for the past week. He still was using the cat box with regular deposits, but he didn't follow me everywhere or greet me at the door or care to come visit with anyone who came into the house. This was so out of character for him. As you all know, he has feline leukemia and with his actions, I had him dead and buried. My daughter took him to the vets for me yesterday (she told me I was over-reacting) and I had all kinds of blood tests done, everything is normal. So, the feline leukemia is NOT rearing it's ugly head. He was running a fever so he was given a shot of antibiotics and given a Vitamin B-12 shot to perk his appetite. The vet checked his mouth, felt his stomach, said everything looked quite normal, just a fever. I guess the feline leukemia cats tend to do this. So, Leo is on more antibiotics by mouth and more pills to help with his appetite. I don't know if I'm going to give him the appetite pills. I guess I feel that if he is feeling better, he will eat. I just hate giving medicine to the cat if he doesn't need it. I sure am hoping to see an improvement in him soon. If you've read this post this far, you must be a cat lover too.

I'm so excited

I am going to meet one of the ladies I've known online since 2004 on Sunday. She and her husband are on a cruise and will be in Boston on Sunday. We are going to meet and have dinner together. I've only met one other lady from being online, and she and I have remained friends since the year 2000.

Tell me who you've met in real life from being online.

Garden - vertical planting

Back in July I said I would report back on how I thought the vertical garden was for me this year. Well, for the most part, I think it was a disappointment for me. The zucchini and squash did not seem to like it, anywhere I had to tie them up, the plant died. The plants on the vertical cages (tomatoe type cages) did not grow as full or produce any vegetables at all. I lost all my cuke plants, both in my garden and my daughter's. They did not like it at all. One of the other gardeners had planted cuke plants in a raised bed and even though they started out great, as the plant started to set veggies, the plants died. I am also disappointed in the tomatoe cages I used this year. They really did not support the weight of a fully loaded tomatoe plant, the cages bend under the weight of the rippening tomatoes.

I've got to find something else for next year if I am to grow squash and cukes. My tomatoe plants are so tall, 6 feet tall, all loaded with green tomatoes. After the theft last month, the plants have gone on to give me more tomatoes than I'll ever be able to eat. My one heirloom plant, the Brandwine, did not set any fruit at all, having suffered the broken branches of the thiefs. Funny, it has grown taller since the theft, but has not set any flowers at all. All along I"ve been tempted to pull it up, but just couldn't for some reason.

The okra, brocolli and butternut squash plants are growing marvelously at this time. They were planted from seed on Aug. 5th. Since they are cold weather plants, I am hoping for some yield from them this year.

Oh yes, my green bean plants have been so proflic, I've picked all I can possibly eat, given away lots, and the plants are still producing beans like crazy. Next year, I will add some type of support for them even though they are a bush bean.

My flowers are just lovely and have been my one constant joy of the garden this summer.

I will report that garden theft has hit most everyone in the community garden. Sometimes, entire plants have been pulled up (herbs). I am going to give the garden a go next year, but if the theft continues, I don't think I will have the desire to continue. Too much work to just have outsiders climb the fence in the clock of darkness and STEAL the veggies!