Hagrid

I am not feeling very peaceful right now.  Why?  Because of a cat named Hagrid (named after the Harry Potter character in case you were wondering.  Oh, and yes, he looks like him).   By way of background, Hagrid is a cat we adopted from the animal shelter.  He had been one of about 18 cats rescued from a house.  Hagrid is a cat who thinks he is a dog.  He is a huge Maine Coon cat and has extra toes, is very vocal and terribly smart and ultimately affectionate.  But incredibly klutzy, adventurous, mischievous and generally a big fluff ball wrecking crew.  Let me put it this way.  I have had many cats in my life.  I won’t say how many lest one think I am a crazy cat person.  But Hagrid is one of a kind.  For purposes of this note, let me just say that he breaks things.  Lots of things.

I spent my last weekend happily and joyfully planting tomato, lettuce and eggplant seeds in little pots.  I carefully created an eco-system for them in my living room.  (Since I live in a house better sized these days for one adult instead of two adults, one 7 year old, two dogs, one cat, one chinchilla and until recently (sadly) a fish, this was quite a feat). I found the perfect window and went to work.  To hold the pots and their watering trays,  I set up a series of platforms consisting of a three step ladder, a nightstand and the radiator.  Then I put plastic around it all to produce the greenhouse effect to provide a conducive environment for germination.  Once the sprouts appeared, my totally cool grow lamp would be pressed into service.

Now back to Hagrid.  The planting extravaganza took place on Sunday.   By that evening, he had managed to sneak into my biosphere and knock over four pots.  I sighed but cleaned up, vacuumed the dirt up, mopped up the water and re-planted the seedlings. I was annoyed but generally “okay.”    Then we taped up the plastic to prevent another intrusion.  All was well.  Until tonight.  I walked into the living room and spotted that all was not well in plantland.  The cat from hell (that would be Hagrid) had managed to infiltrate the carefully taped up protective barrier and knocked over eight, YES 8!!!  pots.  Well, let’s just say I was not only annoyed but down right !!!%%%%^^^*&&&&&&.  And then some.  Before I could scream “HAGRID (and what I wanted to do to him)!!!” he had made himself scarce and bolted from the room.

So another clean up job, with much less peace than the last time, and I moved the entire set up to my son’s room where the door could be closed.  So I end this note with dreams of a time when I have a real greenhouse outside……………………..

Click on “Pea Pods” for additional photos of my planting endeavors, Hagrid and makeshift greenhouse.