Below: My latest tomato harvest
I also harvested some oregano from the garden. I didn't use the tomatoes for spaghetti, but I did use fresh oregano instead of dried. I may need to dry some herbs for summer.Anyone have any good ideas on how to dry herbs? (Natural (or old-fashioned) ways without buying any extra machines).
Now onto Luka...
I believe that I have the strangest cat ever. I love my little Luka, and she is a tad feisty. I believe she’s between 5-6 months old and growing strong… into a beautiful black cat. I wanted to dress her up in a pet outfit for Halloween, but Cam said, “she’s already in her costume.” SADNESS! LoL.
As she’s gotten older, she’s sleeping a bit more… but not as much as an adult cat. She still wrecks havoc in the house. Let me list her “bad” deeds this week (so far):
(1) Knocked over two potted plants—dirt splattered everywhere
(2) Killed one of those plants
(3) Knocked over my favorite rose vase and broke it. The vase smashed into millions of pieces on the ground
(4) Sunk her teeth into me… A LOT! Biting seems to be an every day thing.
Here’s how I’ve tried to punish her… unsuccessfully, I might add.
(1) Time out in the bathroom for 30 minutes
(2) A loud “NO” with a clap of my hand
(3) Moved her to the hallway and closed the door for 1 hour (withholding attention)
Yup, she doesn’t care what I do. Oh well. I still love her. She does have many lovable qualities:
(1) She has never scratched the furniture or couch with her claws. She is loyal to her scratching post
(2) She cuddles with me at night
(3) She wakes me up at the right time every morning, purring. She gets lots of rubs and kisses, and she likes to lick my face and give me a "bath" in the morning.
(4) She loves every single toy that I've ever given her.. Has never disliked one single toy.
(5) Loves every type of cat food that we've tried.
And tada... Her strangest habit... When she's on the bed, she likes to sleep on her back with her paws in the air... Isn't that funny? I've never seen any other cat do this...
Below: This picture was taken right when she woke up. She was already moving her upper body a bit...
She does have a cute little white belly. But anyway, I thought I'd share. I love my little kitten, despite how bad she can be.My parents say that she's only fiesty and hyper when I am home. When I am away for the day, she is very quiet and is very docile.
Hmm, I guess she just misses her mommy.
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17 comments:
My mom dries her herbs in the oven on a cookie sheet at a very low temperature like 200 or you could tie a piece of twine or string around a bunch of them & hang them to dry in a cool dark place like a garage. Your tomato harvest looks pretty good for this time of the year. Luka is a very pretty kitten. My cat is pretty feisty too, lol. He also likes to lay upside down on the carpet & sleep or curled in a ball on his side with his head sideways. :) Good luck on trying to discipline a cat. They say dogs have owners & cats have servants.
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Linda
You can dry herbs in a brown paper bag. Make sure the plant cuttings are not damp, put them in the bag and place in a spot that is warm and dry.
I just picked the last of my tomatoes yesterday, kind of a sad event but there is always next year.
Luka is funny, I have never seen a cat sleep like that.
I dry my herbs on my food dehydrator but have done the oven method "perennialgardner" describes- You need to grow some catnip for kitty- My cat loves hoegrown nip
If you have too....a water bottle sprayed at Luka when she bites might be effective and harmless. Usually after the first time, the sound or look of the bottle gets them to quit.
It sounds like Luka is a handful but she's so cute!
One thing you might try to discipline her is to squirt her with a water gun when she does something bad. That might sound a little bit mean but I have heard this works.
When I dried my basil I did what perennial gardener mentioned. I tied some bunches together and hung them upside down. They dried wonderfully and then I just crumbled them all up.
Luka IS the perfect Halloween cat!
We've used the water spray bottle pretty effectively to discipline our cat. He also sleeps on his back with his tummy exposed - but only in the summer when it's hot.
I've dried some herbs in the micro wave. A few seconds at a time on paper towels. I've also did the oven trick & hung them upside down. It's what ever you are comfortable with.
Luka looks like a Halloween kitty for sure.
Good looking maters there!
I just take thread and intertwine it around the bottom of the stems of herbs and hang them in the pantry. I must keep them closed up from kitty paws. lol... They dry in a few weeks then I crumble it all up and put into old spice bottles or canning jars without canning of course, just for storage..
My Cheetah kitty lays on her back all stretched out in the sunbeam when it comes through the sunroom windows. She loves the heat. Sheba does not lay on her back much. My moms Maine Coon cat loves to lie on his back and sleep for hours. A squirt gun or bottle may or may not work on your feisty Luka. My mom squirts her Coon and he opens his mouth to catch the water. Most cats will respond to the squirt though. I clap and yell their name loudly, look them in the eye while pointing at them and give out a loud NO and that seems to get my two furry babies attention. You do need to get a handle on the biting though as that sounds very painful. Puppy’s chew on things and loose their baby teeth but I am not sure kittens loose their teeth or not. All my kitties have been older kittens when they found me so not sure if they loose their teeth or not. Maybe she will outgrow that bad habit but if she thinks it is play, she may not so you better try to break her of it now while she is still impressionable... Once a cat gets set in their ways, it is a bit difficult to break them of bad habits.
As far as Luka breaking things, well, they are just things. Luka is a living breathing thing that cannot be replaced; those other things can be replaced or lived without... :-) And those other things don’t snuggle at night… tee hee…
I just tie my herbs together and hang them upside down in a cool, dry place - right now that would be the hall closet. If it's humid, they will just go bad though.
Luka is too cute. And that belly! I bet that makes up for all the "punky" things she does.
I love your kitty. What a cutie!
To get more of the fresh herb taste, I've heard people freeze their herbs. Absolutely blanch them first --very, very important! After blanching freeze with a little water as herb-cubes or use wax paper to separate portions or layers.
Marnie
Lots of veggies still. Luka is so lucky to have such a good mommy who is very tolerant.
dp,
Oh Luka is a cat! My vet suggested that we play with the cat several times a day...15 minutes at a time, with cat toys so he didn't continue to think biting was play. There are toys on sticks with feathery things that they will jump around and play with.
Good luck.
My herbs always get eaten before we need to dry them!
Gail
You, have a Pepper on your hands there. He doesn't mean to do bad things. They just happen and Mama forgives him. LOL...He just about finished off my dinging room chair backs. But still, I let him live.
Any harvest now, is a good thing. I still have beans and peppers and all manner of herbs.
I don't know how others do it but I don't stand on any ceremony on my herbs. I pull the leaves off and just lay them on a tea towel until they are nice and dry. The heat from the kitchen dries them just fine. Then I put them in those little plastic snack, zip lock bags, label them, and put them in a large glass jar with a lid. That's it. I do grind some of them up in mixtures.
And some, I just cut off a bunch, near the bottom of the plant,,,the leaves, stems and all and hang upside down with a piece of twine, on a hook on the back of my laundry room door. They dry just fine.
Very cute kitty! I love the way she sleeps!
Very nice post - and I love picture of your tomatoes. They look very natural and healthy
Cats are the best. One of mine loves to eat plants. He once ate an entire indoor palm while I was at work (minus the trunk and branches of course). Anyhow, they are always exciting. Try a spray bottle with water in it to get her to stop doing things you don't like. She'll still do them when you're away, but maybe not in front of you. ha.
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