While the Cat's Away...

Except the cat is never away. And they're rats, not mice. And their play days are now over.

Princess the cat has caught six rats in the past eight days. Now I just leave the broom and dustpan on the patio for the morning's reconnaissance and clean-up.

I am a bit suspicious that someone else is also doing a "clean-up". I think our local skunk cruises by in the night and takes advantage of a freshly killed free meal whenever possible.

I'm the one with the mouse project. Not the cat. And I started first. Mine began in ceramics class, as a way to use up a small block of clay. And then another small block of clay. And then maybe a bigger block for some gray mice. Just to keep the brown ones company...

Everyone Could Use a Drink

Not for the birds. Not even for the bees, although they are certainly welcome. But for the butterflies. Yes, they too like an occasional drink, though I don't think they worry about whether it is Happy Hour or not.

First, make a fake rock by covering a chunk of styrofoam with hypertufa (thereby entombing some of that excess packing material that all too often arrives uninvited). The styrofoam interior means that a normal person can lift it and carry it around. If it were a solid piece of hypertufa, it would not be so easy to move about the yard. Rock dimensions: approximately 8" x 9" x 14".

Then, make a mosaic inside of a small saucer for a planter. Since it is small, it really doesn't take much time and you get to use up some of those little left over bits from other mosaic projects. And if you happen to have on hand a stash of, say, chopstick rests that you picked up, say, a few years ago (ahem, say like at least fifteen), then it is easy to embellish the little mosaic.

Finally, attach the mosaic saucer to the fake rock with thinset, fill with water and wait for your little friends to belly up to the bar.