Mouse Thinkers and Other Things

Yes I know, strange title, I'll get on to that in a mo.

Firstly I want to bemoan the English weather (again!), all this crazy snow/frost then sun is really confusing my plants, the poor peas are defiantly looking the worst for wear, fingers crossed they'll make it but just in case I might start some more off in the greenhouse, I usually do this to replace what the slugs get in the early stages anyway. The Tulips are also looking very put out, just when I was enjoying the colour too!



On the other hand the cold turn in the weather has meant that Rich has been a bit more free to do some jobs around the house, as apposed to being bossed around by me in the garden. His latest triumph is the hearth in the living room, we are having our log burner hooked up in about 2 weeks (I cant wait!!!) and according to our fitter we needed to extend the hearth in front (in case burning logs fall out when you open the door and set fire to the carpet, I don't think in the whole 28 years Rich has lived in houses with log burners this has ever happened but whatever!) anyway he did a brilliant job, especially as he basically made it up on the fly, having never done anything like this before. here's the progress so far:



He needs to finish the quarry tiles on the top (yet another fantastic freecycle find!) but so far so good! Clever Rich!
I do realize this isn't technically a garden thing but as its about our log burner which is a better, greener way of heating our house (stick that up your arse British Gas!!) and we will be constructing a log store some where in the garden later on I thought I'd include it, also I wanted to show Mum and Dad a pic of how we're getting on, as they can't come and see it for themselves.

Now a not so quick note about the title...

...our cat Stella is a rescue cat from the Bath RSPCA, we've had her just over a year now and it hasn't been easy at times, she's a little unpredictable (the bitey little bugger!) both of us now sport some lovely scares on our hands and wrist were she's had a go at us, however we've never regretted taking her on, as Rich pointed out she just so damn cute!
There are time's though when it seems (as with most cats I imagine) like a one way street, you feed her, house her, buy her interesting and humorous toys and what do you get back, well bleeding wounds in my case (she likes Rich better than me, this is only because he works from home and feeds her, its cupboard love!) But slowly over the last 18 months she has begun to trust us and realized we are not going to hurt her, she also likes to come and sit next to me when I'm gardening which I love.



This morning however I feel she has sort of proven her worth. Our cottage backs on to open fields so we do get problems with mice coming in for little visits, up until now Stella has always been pretty nonplussed by rodents, she once brought a live mouse into the kitchen and let it go, then buggered off outside again not at all bothered by us running around shouting and trying to catch it with a saucepan.
This morning I let her in as normal then went for a shower, as I was in the bathroom I could hear her thundering around down stairs but as she quite often likes to run circuits around the house for no reason I ignored it, when I was dressed and went down for breakfast though, what should greet me but a dead mouse on the kitchen rug. It would appear that Stell had trotted down stairs and discovered this little bugger right in the middle of HER kitchen, I can only assume instinct kicked in and she dispatched it pretty neatly. Rich said after that she had come up to the bedroom and jumped on the bed meowing at him (which she never does) but being half asleep he'd ignored her. Poor Stella!

I really have nothing against mice, I kept them as pets when I was little so I'm not frightened of them (unlike spiders which are the work of the devil!) but mice in the kitchen around our food is where I draw the line and as far as I'm concerned their far game for Stella. Plus this mouse was a fat little bugger, what ever its been at it really stuffed itself.

Sorry I seem to have turned into one of those annoying woman who talk about their cats all the time, its only because I'm secretly quite proud of her. Stella got lots of tickles and a large bowl of milk, which she obviously prefers to eating mice, Rich said that she'd had a bit of a go though, as she's taken its head off, mmmmm mouse thinkers for breakfast!