In a Vase, on Monday – Escape

Chris Mousseau

You know I have cats, right? And cats like to do cat things, like hop on tables. Nibble plants. Play with things that make crinkly noises. Which is why the strawflowers I dried last fall, the ones that escaped my cat Valjean’s midnight marauding, are high up on top of the dining room buffet-thingy, instead of on the living room console table where they started. They’re there, in a lovely bubbly vase (clear glass hobnail) surrounded by a few other dried flower and seed head vases that the cats would also love to play with. That’s all right though. 

Thanks Cathy, at Rambling in the Garden, for hosting this weekly blog meme.

22 Comments

  1. ‘Pebble-frog’ looks nice. And no kitty teeth marks in the candles!??! You’re fortunate they haven’t jumped up there. I had a Bengal Cat, who left no place without paw prints…he knocked steins over on top of the hutch, jumped from counter to top of fridge & the high book case. His antics at floor level were amusing, too…pulling my drawer open & deciding my socks looked better on the floor.

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    1. Oh my gosh! I consider myself lucky now!!! I’ve found that if a surface is cluttered with enough stuff, with no clear spot to land, the cats won’t attempt to jump on it. So far at least!

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  2. I still think in amazement of my Dixie Rose. In the eighteen years I had that cat, she never once jumped up on a table or counter, and never nibbled anything other than her food or the wheat grass I brought her. She refused all human food, too, preferring her cat food to steak, salmon, chicken. She was a strange one.

    I love your little bouquets, and the pebble vase. I think seed heads and dried flowers make wonderful displays.

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    1. Many years ago I had a cat similar to Dixie Rose (his name was Lou) – who also couldn’t be bothered with jumping up on counters or tables. He wouldn’t turn down a plate of chopped chicken or salmon though!

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  3. Cats just can’t help themselves. I envy them for being able to fully explore their environment with such purpose. Beautiful dried flowers and pods.

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  4. I love how the helichrysum keeps its colour, don’t you? And these dried blooms and seedpods are just as pretty as the fresh equivalent – thanks for sharing them. I have noted the Les Mis name of your cat – could you elaborate on your choice, perhaps?

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    1. Well now. When adopted, they were named Frodo and Luke. The names just didn’t sit well and I think the younger one was a bit embarrassed when I tried to call him Frodo. Luke became Jean Luc because he’s a huge orange tabby and the French spelling, to me signifies large, lumbering, sometimes dangerous yet sophisticated and playful on occasion – it suits him better. Frodo I called Jean Valjean – he’s smaller, more wiry, really clever and curious, wants to be held and on your lap constantly, and I just like the name 🙂

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      1. Thanks for elaborating, Chris – I am always interested in these small details, and it was obvious to me that there must be a reason behind such specific names

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  6. I’m glad your strawflowers survived a catastrophe, Chris. (I’n sorry – I couldn’t stop myself from the obvious pun.) Hopefully, the cats will mellow as they age – my, now elderly, cat used to go after my floral arrangements on a regular basis but she’s given up those pastimes.

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  9. Lovely! I have never tried drying everrlasting on the stems before… And I love Nigella and poppy seedheads. Nice reminders of your summer garden. 😃

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    1. Cathy! Try Drying Them!! The poppy and Nigella seedheads are so easy, right? Just let them dry out in the garden then cut them and bring them in (I’ve learned to shake out the seeds first…). Strawflowers need to be cut just as they’re starting to open and hung in a dark spot – so easy and like magic you have colour all winter!

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      1. I will try it Chris. Thanks for the tips. I have only pinched off the flower buds just as they start opening and dried them until now, but having them on stems will mean I can use them in vases. 👍

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