Lovely! You did a great job.

I live in a rural area that has no cat bylaws. I wrote my neighbor a very respectful letter outlining the damage her cats are doing in my yard . This is the second time I have asked her nicely . Her cats have sprayed all over my porch, defecated in my garden and dug up new lawn to use as a litterbox. I have had to reach my garden soil with gravel and pull out plants. The cats are now digging and defecating along the side of my house. I have tried to use humane deterrents to no avail . I agree on the trespassing but where I live you would have no chance of prosecution. I would have to go civilly and that costs a fortune. On top of all this, the person has dogs that are holding the neighborhood hostage . We contemplated selling our dream retirement home. My wife is in tears and she's my sweetie. We have been together 62 years.No one messes with my sweetie. I thought about the 1 plus 1 rule. Where the person violates one rule ...there must be other violations. I used to be in law enforcement ...its been a long time. I felt like that Clint Eastwood in Grand Torino....good movie . I am game for Fluffy's owner doing 15 to 20 in the slammer for 3 strikes, but I think civil liberties might have something to say about that. So am utilizing every bylaw and law to take this neighbor to task . So far , they will have to rip out fence they erected in greenbelt, rip down at least 4 encroaching buildings and redo the fencing.This neighbor is facing penalties for other issues that are going to cost them thousands of dollars. Bylaws is all over the dog situation and other neighbors are now fed up and on board with the whole operation . Oh yes, I should mention there is about to be a stop work order on a bunch of expensive renos this neighbor has done which should amount to thousands too. Do you feel lucky.....damn, I think that was Dirty Harry. I digress. There should be laws that require cat owners to keep them indoors or confined to their yard ( I don't really give a hoot how they accomplish this ...check out Pintrest or something) . I also think they should have mandatory licensing and rabies vaccines for cats...just like dogs. Maybe people also....too far? This neighbor also gets multiple cats of both genders and fails to spay or neuter them. This is reprehensible. Outdoor cats have a short lifepan here because of the wildlife , but this neighbor just gets new cats ( or they are being manufactured....who the heck knows) . It seems they are disposable. Disgusting because its just plain wrong . Did I mention that animal welfare is involved?I have no idea who called them ...my Motorola brick phone was on the fritz last week. I should really get one of those new fangled flip phones . Then I could post on Space Page...or is that Face Page ..or Face book....I am too old for this.. None of this is the animals' fault. This is about a totally irresponsible pet owner. Such people claim to be animal lovers . If they cared a whit about Fluffy, they would not let him out to get eaten by coyotes, pick up parasites or get run over by a car. Nope , these people are animal collectors ....big difference . They own the animal much like they own a Ford pickup or an instant pot or maybe a Grand Torino . So there you have it. For these neighbors, life is about to become very expensive . Fluffy and Fido are going to be very expensive . I can now clean up Fluffy's crap, pee and other bodily fluids with a sense of satisfaction.My sweetie feels a bit better now and she's back to making me those morning glory muffins with my coffee. Recipe is on Pintrest folks ...just reduce the cinnamon a tad. It gives me gas. This whole Fluffy and Fido thing ...this too shall pass. Just like the muffins . My grandson says I should just chill. I told him I just put on a sweater because my circulation bad.

Oh my gosh, Denise, those are some real beauties!!! You are definitely doing something right! My orchids are soooo neglected, you put me to shame. Have not repotted anything in 4 years, truly. Shameful. Have not fertilized in a couple or three months, and barely water once weekly, even in this awful, awful heat. Shame on me. Despite me, my orchids are mostly surviving, not thriving. I have been busy with life, and what little time I have, I have been spending it in the veggie garden, or trying to get the yard under control. In better times (when I used to repot on occassion), I used combinations of medium charcoal chunks, tree fern fiber, and then I'd throw in stuff like coconut chips and aerolite. I would just mix it together in a large plastic storage container. Stuff that I thought might need a bit more moisture I might put a little canadian peat moss. Really no set formula. The main thing I would avoid is bark, as that rots and makes repotting necessary every couple of years if you want the plant to survive at all. I am too lazy for fir bark. As a matter of fact, that's why my orchids have survived so many years of no repotting. There is mostly charcoal and tree fern fiber in all the pots. A few might have coconut chips. I used to get the stuff from my local nursery, or if I needed a lot, from OFE (are they still around?). Michael, I too find catts to be the toughest of the orchids. They tolerate more cold and more light variation than any of the others. I have all of mine in pots, but they are in a covered (some kind of lexan-type stuff) screened house. Last year we got down to 33-34 several times in winter and I never brought them inside. They survived. Some of my phals really suffered (I am sooo bad), and have not fully recovered. Obviously, I would not recommend this, but it probably won't change this winter either (sooo bad). My MIL is a snowbird and hangs the few phals I've given her in their pots, under a ligustrum standard 6 months of the year and they bloom for her every year. Not great, great, but they do bloom enough to suit her. Keep in mind you are in 9a, and I am borderline 10a, so you will probably be carting them in several times a winter. My advice is to not get too many to make this a big job. Phals are much more sensitive to cold than catts. Phals also need more regular watering to do well. If you attach your plants to driftwood, you will probably need to water quite a bit more. All things to consider. Anna

Cats will sometimes develop a taste for orchids. Bitter Apple, a spray readily available at pet stores may be sprayed on the orchids without hurting the orchids. The spray must be periodically re-applied, however. Other cat lovers who also grow orchids swear by providing kitty with a pot of grass for their own so they leave the orchids alone.