Rosehaven Cottage

Happy Birthday Dexter and Dee Dee!

Today, September 6th, is the birthday of the two "Originals", Dexter and Dee Dee. As brother and sister from the same litter, they both turn 7 years old today! [photo at left taken by Hubby]

We love them both so very much that it's hard to remember life before Dexter and Dee Dee were a part of it. They are such loyal little companions that we often joke that they are "dogs in cat-suits".

Each chose their human very early on in life. Dexter chose me as his human, while Dee Dee chose Hubby as her human. Still, they are both equal opportunity kitties when it comes to being lovable to both of us.

As a special birthday tribute, we share some favorite photos of them both as kittens and as grown-up kitties. Happy Birthday!

Above left: Dexter as a kitten looking soooooo cute!
Above right: Dexter drinking from the bathroom faucet (photo taken by Hubby)

Above left: Dee Dee as a kitten. Even then she always found a box to lay in.
Above right: Dee Dee as an adult "scootching on the smooth" (she loves newly smoothed out bedsheets and blankets).

Click here for the story on how Dexter and Dee Dee came to live at Rosehaven Cottage.

Did you know that Dexter has his own line of clothing and accessories? Click here to see.

Did you know that Dee Dee has her own line of clothing and accessories too? Click here to see.

A Different Light in the Garden

About a four hour drive north of Rosehaven Cottage, a forest fire is burning just 6 miles from the sleepy town where my mother grew up. The town is Greenville, located in part of Northern California's former logging country in the Indian Valley of Plumas County. Greenville is where I spent precious childhood moments visiting my Grammy until she passed away from ovarian cancer when I was 10 years old. It is also the place where I have continued to visit and where I've created happy memories in my adulthood.

I am not only feeling the emotional effects of that forest fire, but also the environmental effects of it. The sky over Rosehaven Cottage has been hazy and brown all day because of the smoke that is drifting from seemingly so far away.

The light in the garden was very different as the sun pulsated through the haze. I found the light to be rather intriguing from a photographic standpoint. The colors around the garden took on the hues of amber and terra cotta--hues of autumn. The amber light reflected off the peach flagstones, the butter yellow walls of Rosehaven Cottage, the cool blue surface of the pond and the skins of the pomegranates in a magical way.

Above left and right: Pomegranates weigh down the branches of their bush over the pond.

Above: Pomegranates against Rosehaven Cottage

Above: Pomegranates and pomegranate blossom on slate

Above: A little 3 inch long lizard on flagstone regarding me as I photograph it.

Above: Barley or millet that sprouted from the winter birdseed (which I let grow and go to seed).

Regardless of how magical it makes my photographs look, it brings me sadness to know that the places that I love so dearly are in danger of or are actually burning right now. Those places include what I consider to be the most beautiful National Park in the United States--Mt. Lassen Volcanic National Park. According to news reports, the fast-moving fire has claimed over 18,000 acres and is only 5% percent contained when it was originally estimated at being 15% contained. Over 1,000 firefighters have been called up to fight the forest fire that started on private land. I pray that many miracles big and small will happen to end this and the other fires that are burning throughout the state of California. I also pray for the safety of those brave men and women that are fighting the fires and for their families that love them and are concerned for them right now.

Click here for the local online news story on this fire or Click here for the SF Bay Area news story on this fire

Reflections at Pond's Edge

Today has been a day of soul-searching, self-reflection, and pondering. Fortunately, I have gardens that are conducive to those activities.

The fish obliged me as I sat at the pond's edge and sprinkled food flakes into the water for them to eat. Dexter, on his leash, sprawled out behind my chair while Tom Tom wandered along his patrol paths sniffing the "message boards" of the felines in the neighborhood. The dragonflies are still out and about in our climate, so they came out and zipped back and forth in a canopy above me. I've managed to go completely bug bite free this summer thanks to those beloved dragonflies.

Sometimes, one just needs to take time and think. And that's exactly what I did.

Walking the Cat and Finding Bits of Red

Above Left: Dexter, my beautiful tabby, walking on his red leash in the garden.

Above right: Red canna lilies growing by the pond add a bright punch of red here and there.

Above: A red pomegranate almost ready to harvest hangs down from the bush with the pond in the background.

Above: My wonderfully gorgeous 17 lb. tabby, Dexter, absolutely loves to walk on a leash out in the garden, so I obliged him this evening and toted my camera along. I realized that I was photographing bits of red after I got back into the house and reviewed the photos. The color of his leash must have seeped into my subconscious somehow.

Click here to see Dexter's line of clothing and accessories