Time to bring in plants

We still haven't had a frost--hurray--but it had to be pretty close last night. I brought in my plants yesterday anyway. I was cold outside, so I'm sure they were too. It stayed in the 40º's, but it was too close to comfort for me.

I always love bringing them in. If they were people they would have a glow about them. They seem happy to come inside where it is warmer, and there is no wind. They are obviously tired of the summer breezes which have begun to take on a blustery feel. My plants seem very relieved to be indoors. I've placed them all in the back porch, which isn't heated, but the south-facing windows and proximity to the rest of the house will keep it warm enough. But I can't help but think, wait til the plants meet the cats.

I know I have written about the girls before--all six of them--although Mama lives outside. And Emily, our senior member, rarely goes in that room nor does she bother with the plants. But then there are the terrible-two kittens--four of them. They love playing with the babies of my spider plant. They flick them with their paws and consider it great fun.

They have taken to sitting atop my grape ivy and in between the arms of my Christmas cactus. I have sprinkled cinnamon on all of the plants. I read somewhere that cats don't like the smell of cinnamon. I hope that works. So far, so good, but it will likely be a long winter. That means a good workout for the spray bottle. Just one look at the spray bottle and the girls freak out.

Anyway, I love the look of the porch, all decorated with too many plants. I go out there to read, draw, write on my laptop, or talk on the phone. It is always a joy to be around all of them again. It is like trying to trick myself into forgetting what time of year it really is.

The room had been so empty. Every time I step down into that room, I just want to take a deep breath. I'm glad to have my plants back. I just hope nothing slithery decided to take a ride into the house with them.

Ozarks frost

A friend mentioned to me yesterday that we were supposed to have our first frost, here in the Ozarks. I checked my favorite weather map at Intellicast.com to learn that he was probably incorrect. Nevertheless I'm grateful for his warning because I did begin the arduous process of bringing my favorite plants indoors. I didn't bring them all in, however.

There are lots of chores to do before it gets really cold and this is a good time to do them. It has been cold enough that those pesky chiggers aren't so prevalent--and neither are the many, many spiders we had late summer--so working in the yard might just be fun.

I live in a small ranch house with north-facing windows. It is pretty dark, which I am not happy about. It is built to stay cool in the heat of the summer, but I really miss the bright sunshine in the room. And there are no windows in the kitchen (which I will always hate) but it is an open concept with the kitchen sink overlooking the dining room and living room. The saving grace is the large south-facing window just beyond the kitchen where I can keep some plants. There is also a lovely sun porch, which is the ideal place for my plants. It isn't heated, but it benefits from the warmth of the rest of the house.

I also have five cats--four of which are two-year old litter-mate kittens, who like nothing more than to get into everything--so I'm a little apprehensive about this plant thing. The girls just love to knock things off tables and jump onto things, plus the unmentionable cat problem with dirt. I'm going to try to dust the plants with cinnamon. I read someplace that cats don't like cinnamon and that will keep them away. Yeah right!

So far, none of those things have ever worked for me. I recall the hot pepper to keep squirrels off the bird feeders. Hah! They ate it. I suspect my cats are at least as naughty as squirrels.

While we are not expected to have our first frost where I live--it has occurred in other places in the Ozarks already--until later in the month, I have some time to bring in the remainder. Perhaps if I sneak a few in at a time the girls' curiosity won't overwhelm their good sense of right and wrong (as if they had that anyway).

Today is predicted to be 70º and the sun is already shining brightly. I can't think of anything I would rather do than some re-potting, cleaning up and generally working with greenery.