All About Dynamite. How we ended up adopting a shelter cat this week.

This is Dynamite the cat.  She is our new rescued shelter cat.  This was not at all what I had
planned on my to do list this past week.  Which is why I feel this week I will sit down and actually try to plan out my week.  I think most likely this was caused by my children, most likely my daughter. I was not going  to get another cat for at least a year.  As I am still very grief stricken from the death of my previous cat (Amber) who passed away about 4 months ago to breast cancer.   So let me tell you all about how we ended up with Dynamite.

This is how Dynamites story begins.  My daughter needed a cat cuddle fix, and asked me to take her to Petco.  It was National adopt a pet weekend.  We saw this really cute little kitten, who happened to be four months old and had the same coloring as our cat Amber.  This little kittens name was
Aphrodite.  We held her, we thought she was so cute.  We couldn't adopt her that day because I needed to think and ask my husband if he would be OK with it.  Little kittens are a lot of work.
We waited the weekend and then Monday afternoon we went back planning on possibly adopting Aphrodite.  My husband said he would be OK with it and we were a little excited.  Guess what?  You guessed it Aphrodite had already been adopted.  My daughter was really pretty sad.  Being the nice mom that I am I said, well why don't we look at one of the other cats.  So the first cat we looked at was a long haired cat.  I was no, don't want a long haired cat.  We were getting ready to leave and the worker at Petco started talking to Dynamite.  I thought it would be nice to let this poor cat come visit us too.  So out comes Dynamite.

We thought Dynamite was a boy.  But no Dynamite is a girl.

She is a very big girl.  She came up to us and sat on us and just wanted love.

I looked at her pet tag and it said she is about 2 years old, and loves to 

cuddle, loves people and loves to talk.

These are all the qualities that I want in a cat. 

My daughter and I went home and we decided we should adopt this cat.

We got my husbands approval.  We went back to the Petco store

on Wednesday with my son and we took Dynamite home. 

As my son says "Who wouldn't want a cat named Dynamite.  That is just the greatest name."

Dynamite is adjusting really well to us.  She is visiting and cuddling with

everyone in our family.  She doesn't talk as much as I thought but that is OK.

She likes to sit by my computer and help me do my blogging.

She even gets up and cuddles with my husband just like our Amber used to do.

I'm not sure how really ready I was for this new cat.  There are moments

when I catch myself calling her Amber.  There are moments when she is cuddling with me

that I close my eyes and pretend just for a moment that it's my old cat Amber.

I am doing exactly what I thought I would do and I'm comparing her to Amber.

It's funny even her adoption story and Amber's adoption story are very similar.

With Amber we went in to adopt a kitten we had seen and when we got there the kitten was

already gone and then there was Amber a little bit older but just as sweet. 

Kittens get adopted fast, but older cats can wait in a shelter for longer times.  I think that

is why I always end up with a little bit older cat.  Because I feel like I am saving a life.

I feel a little bad as many people over the last few months offered me kittens, and cats, and I 

kept saying no. So I'm sorry if you offered me a cat and I didn't take it and you might feel I have somehow slighted you.  This was not a really planned out adoption.  This was something that just seemed to happen and I think we all feel it was what was supposed to happen.  This cat

just fits with us. 

G.G. 

If you are thinking about getting a cat, please think about adopting a shelter cat.

Help save a life. 

My Garden Walk. Looking back at the changes over the last seven weeks.

Here are some photos to show you the changes in the garden

from the first week of the Tulip Festival to the last week.

Some weeks looked exactly the same so that is why I don't

have seven photos of each area.

I think the cool wet weather really helped the Tulips look

beautiful this year.

This is sort of the center of the garden.  The first week to

the seventh week.

The Italian Gardens from the top half of the garden from 

the first week to the seventh week.

This is near the entrance to the gardens from the first week to the

seventh week.

I liked the bikes that they had in the gardens during the tulip festival.

G.G.

My Garden Walk Week 9. A walk in th rain.

We have had lots of rain the past few weeks.

Trying to find a day to walk and not get rained on is hard.

Oseteospermum Blue Eyed Beauty.

Peony

After the Tulips come the Iris.

I really like this purple and white Iris.

Clematis.

Flowers of a Golden Chain Tree.

I love getting photo of very small flowers.

I love the areas in the secret garden. 

I could just sit here and meditate its so beautiful.

The Tulips still are blooming here too.

There are not many photos this week, because the rain started again.

G.G.

My Garden Walk. Week 8 the tulips are almost gone, the trees are all starting to bloom.

The tulips lasted a long time, but now they are fading fast. 

With the end of the Tulip Festival you would think there is 

nothing left to see in the gardens, but really there are so 

many other plants and trees getting ready to bloom.

One thing that I love is that there are not as many 

people walking around the gardens now.  

 When I go for a walk  now,I feel like I have the gardens to myself.

Allium

Snowball bush or Viburnum bush.

Columbine.

Wisteria by the waterfalls.

Finally a bee on a flower photo.  This

year I want to capture a lot of bee photos,

and it seems since I want to do that the bees are hiding.

Purplelicious.  A young Wisteria plant and Allium plants.

I love the pansies on the carousel horses.

Anemone.

The tulips are still doing well in the secret gardens.

Ranunculus.

I love how the Clematis is growing up a tree.

Another Bee photo.

Bachelor Button.

I love seeing all the different birds in the gardens, and 

just walking around and hearing them.

A Hummingbird Hawk Moth.

I missed seeing the goose family when the babies were little, but 

they are still cute.

Hope you enjoyed my favorite photos.

G.G.