Time Spent with…

Pam and Pepper

Pulling up outside Pam and Pepper’s house, it was clear that I was interrupting

Very Important Cat Business (as if there’s any other kind of cat business).

Two rather fluffed-up individuals were engaged in a stand-off in the road and a couple more were supporting, or may have been heckling, from ringside seats on the pavement. They all shot me The Look: ‘This is Cat Business; move along, human’. Being well trained by my own cats, I assured the assembled company that I’d seen nothing and, in any case, would say nothing even under interrogation, then did as I was told and moved swiftly along to Pam and Pepper’s house. The lady herself was taking a nap on the bed when I arrived but was a gracious hostess and didn’t seem to mind me disturbing her sleep to introduce myself. A few biscuits helped to oil the wheels, as they often do, and very soon she and I were friends. I think she enjoyed having her photo taken - and as you can see, she was a great model. Pam tells Pepper’s story much better than I could, so I’ll let her tell it in her own words. Sit back, relax and let’s spend a little time with Pepper and Pam. Ear-marked to be adopted by a fellow Councillor, she went to stay temporarily with our neighbour’s 3 other rescue cats whist being neutered. Sadly, this Councillor had to undergo chemotherapy which meant she had to avoid contact with pets. We had a very old rescue cat, Smokey. She had been a member of our family for around 20 years and her days were now numbered through thyroid problems. Our neighbour persuaded us that Pepper would be a wonderful addition to our family – so over the road to us she came. Pepper is not a sociable cat with other cats and neither, for that matter, was Smokey. Whilst we did see Pepper licking Smokey, who was blind and deaf by this time, Smokey took the downstairs rooms and Pepper the upstairs rooms for the remaining few months of Smokey’s life. Smokey died peacefully on my husband’s lap one Christmas Eve. She is very sociable with our neighbours, who look after her when we go away. She is very easy to look after: a cat door so she can go in and out whenever she chooses, a pouch of food morning and evening with a handful of dry food for supper, a fresh bowl of water and that’s it! She spends most of her time asleep on our bed in the Winter (usually muscling in on one of our hot water bottles!) and in her special place under the gazebo in the garden where she can safely watch any visiting cats. She does not like other cats – even the friendly neighbourhood ones. She is not confrontational with them (as Smokey was) and prefers to let one of our neighbours’ cats, Poppy, fight the battles with any new immigrants who try to home in on the territory, which is actually quite clever! She is very sociable with humans though – especially me. Whenever I sit down – in the house or in the garden - she comes and flops on my knee. And she’s a heavy, stocky cat! She knows how to survive in comfort now. She will catch the odd baby mouse when the mood takes her but won’t risk anything bigger, such as a large bird, in case it hurts her. Fortunately for us she brings them in dead (Smokey used to bring them in alive for a few days of indoor sport). Pepper is a strong lass and one hefty swipe usually kills off her prey in one! If one does happen to make it inside alive, she soon loses interest. She is lovely with our granddaughters. One is nearly 7 and the other is 2. Not all cats like children but she loves them. I have taught the girls to respect her moods and let Pepper come to them rather than the other way around. They feed her when they are here and she will play their funny little games with them. The 2-year-old and Pepper are often soul mates in the middle of the night – wide awake with each other when everyone else is fast asleep! She’s a bit of a funny shape from having kittens too young and being under-nourished at that time. She won’t win any “Best in Show” prizes. But I love her. She comes and talks to me when I am sad (‘Eh’, ‘ih’ and ‘ah’ rather than ‘meow’!) and lets me talk to her. I guess we sense each other’s emotions even if we do speak different languages.

Let’s spend some time in

Pam and Pepper’s Garden…

Yes, I know, I know - this is ‘Time Spent with Cats’ but I find that cats,

and the people who love them, usually love their gardens too. Besides, where

better than a nice peaceful garden to spend time with cats?

Pam and I had the pleasure of sharing an office a few years back, where we quickly bonded over our mutual love of cats, gardening and nature. Having heard so much about Pepper back then, it was lovely to finally meet her but I couldn’t leave without having a look at Pam’s garden too, because we’d talked so much about it in the past and I know just what a labour of love it’s been and how much pleasure it brings her. It didn’t disappoint! I was particularly captivated by the world she’s created for her granchildren to enjoy, and couldn’t resist taking a few pictures of it to share with you. Pam’s garden hasn’t been the easiest to work with - it wraps around the house on a very steep slope (and I mean VERY steep!) with several different levels - and would have defeated all but the most determined and creative of gardeners. By working with the garden rather than against it, though, Pam’s used those different levels so there’s something of interest wherever you go, on each level. Secluded seating and relaxing areas areas are dotted about so that wherever you sit, you have a different view, and there’s planting that can be enjoyed in every season. Perhaps best of all though, especially if - like me - you’re basically a big child at heart, is Bluebell Wood, the fairy kingdom. The different levels of the garden make the perfect setting, with winding paths and secret spaces, and now that she has young grandchildren Pam’s created a spellbinding home for the Tooth Fairies and their friends. The fairies moved into Bluebell wood one night while Pam’s granddaughters were asleep; they each awoke to each find a letter from the fairies with a little book telling their story (Pam is a talented writer as well as having green fingers) and asking them to be friends. Visitors to Bluebell wood arrive via Wishing Well Way, where Gordon the gnome (the caretaker of Bluebell Wood) invites you to take a penny, which you then deposit in the wishing well and make a wish. Pam’s grandchildren love spending time in the garden with her and particularly enjoy making thoughtful gifts for the fairies, like the rain capes, shown below and again at the bottom of the page, and a pretty little gazebo that would make a lot of humans envious. And, of course, everyone in Bluebell Wood needs a place to live, whether that’s witches, below, or gnomes, some of whose houses are shown further below. It’s easy to see what an amazing place Bluebell Wood is for Pam’s grandchildren. It’s captured their imaginations, and the whole garden is not only a place to play and spend time with their grandparents but somewhere they can let their creativity run free. It’s also a place where they can increase their understanding of nature and, hopefully, inherit their grandma’s love of gardening - they already help around the garden and have a ‘tallest sunflower’ contest every year, so the early signs are good! Pepper had by now curled up for a nap on the rug in front of the fire, and it was time for me to head home. As I left the sanctuary of Pam’s garden, I found myself reflecting on the importance of gardens, nature and cats to our physical and emotional health. Pam and I had agreed earlier that we both find these three things essential to our wellbeing (and also that life within a cat just isn’t right). In fact, we’d both recommend those things to anyone else without hesitation. The pleasure of planting and nurturing things and watching them grow, and just having that contact with nature; these things can really help to sustain you, however difficult your day, or sometimes life, is. And as any cat will tell you, a garden is not just a piece of land; it’s your own territory and it can be whatever you make it. It can be your sanctuary, your playground, your projet, a place of contemplation, meditation or recovery; your ‘Happy Place’. And, sometimes. as we’ve seen in Pam’s garden, it can even be a whole other world!

Above and top right: A container pond helps to attract wildlife to the garden