Cats and Auden have a symbiosis of course, his 'Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats' is power to that. So mother cat carrying her young makes me smile, Auden on the other hand was very intellectual in his poetic writing, not a good marriage but he loved cats. Myself, I have sowed seeds, tutted over my runner and french bean plants which are growing out of the cold frame and need to be moved on. Will there be frost in the future?
"Unendowed with wealth or pity,
Little birds with scarlet legs,
Sitting on their speckled eggs,
Eye each flu-infected city.
Altogether elsewhere, vast
Herds of reindeer move across
Miles and miles of golden moss,
Silently and very fast"
Little birds with scarlet legs,
Sitting on their speckled eggs,
Eye each flu-infected city.
Altogether elsewhere, vast
Herds of reindeer move across
Miles and miles of golden moss,
Silently and very fast"
.W.H. Auden
The Fall of Rome The rest of the poem
The Fall of Rome The rest of the poem
Love the cat picture.
ReplyDeleteHere we can get frosts right into May, none due here next week thank goodness
I will grow the beans against the south wall, which of course gets plenty of sun and retains the warmth, so a bit of a gamble.
DeleteMy neighbour at the bottom of the hill always put hers out in April, but leaned a plastic "lid" over them (against the bean poles) which stopped them being frosted - it's a frost pocket at the bottom of the hill where she was too.
DeleteLol,great cat picture!!.I wish I could get that made into an poster,its brilliant!,xx
ReplyDeleteIt made me giggle, you can pick these memes I believe they are called if you have friends who like fun on F/B.
DeleteI spotted the deliberate mistake! 'Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats' was of course by Thomas Stearns Eliot. You can't catch me out so easily Thelma!
ReplyDeleteStill a teacher ;) you are right of course. Funnily enough I was visualising the 'Four Quartets' on the old bookshelves (about 15 years ago) and the book on Cats. Books are becoming a theme in this lockdown.
DeleteFantastic picture and caption. Many years ago we had a cat and she had her kittens in the middle of the night under the stairs. Next morning we put her basket in the shed (where she usually slept) and carried her kittens carefully and put them cosily on the blanket while she watched us knowingly. Within half an hour they were back under the stairs. We let her stay - she had told us who was boss.
ReplyDeleteLove Auden's poetry.
It makes you laugh that photo, so apt. Lovely story about the mother cat and kittens. Have been photoing the kitten in the garden, following the bantams round trying to be brave. But she doesn't like them being in the front garden and miaows at them to go back to the safety of the back.
ReplyDeleteLove the photo of mama cat and kitten (she is just the same colour as our Alfie). Always liked Auden too. Just come in from wielding the mattock as it has Come On To Rain (thank heavens - been watering round twice a day for the past 3 weeks!)
ReplyDeleteWish it would rain here Jennie, after that awful winter of rain the garden is beginning to look drought ridden.
DeleteLoved the pretty cat and her kitten.
ReplyDeleteEven though we have had an early spring, frost can never be ruled out until May. I have many (too many) plants that are just waiting to get outside to the warm sunshine but Mother Nature likes to play tricks on gardeners.
We can also have snow in May, though it is very rare. Here I find the wind is a constant factor when it comes to raising delicate plants outside.
DeleteI especially enjoyed the Mama cat and kitten picture and caption. I was thinking about how cute it was and the expression on Mama and kitten's faces. I came back to the post once again, later, and it dawned on me that the caption pertains to all of us who are currently sheltering at home. That sweet picture had completely distracted me from all that is going on right now, at least for a moment.
ReplyDeleteWell distraction is a good thing. And animals are of course wondering where the human race has vanished to, as they explore our towns. She is a very pretty mother cat, and kittens are always cute.
ReplyDeleteSweet. So many humorous photos on the Internet these days.
ReplyDeleteThey do have a cheering effect though Tabor, there is a funny one from Banksy, who has drawn rats all over his bathroom, captioned 'his wife hates having him at home'
DeleteWell, we've been snowed on, all day. That young kitten is probably a male. Willful things, little boy cats.
ReplyDeleteThat's miserable Joanne, return of winter cold. Think I shall write about male animals today, they have a difficult life some of them and get eaten early.
ReplyDelete