Gardens at Effingham: Where Cats Write the Tales

Latest posts

  • A Mother’s Day to Remember-Cali Cat Has Kittens

    A Mother’s Day to Remember-Cali Cat Has Kittens

    Mother’s Day Surprise A glorious May Mother’s Day, replete with brilliant blue skies and wisps of sun-drenched clouds, became gardens requiring enormous clean-up once the storm had passed. We had walked in the mid-afternoon, savoring the sun and remarking on the cerulean blue sky. But we had no longer returned home before the skies grew […]

  • “Okay,Who Gave the Cat a Pen?”

    “Okay,Who Gave the Cat a Pen?”

    Ah ha! Captured! That stray pen–twirling, whirling, edging ever closer its way towards me. And Paper? Well, that’s a given. I’m already sitting on top of a stack of papers. ’Tis my place (always) to sit atop her papers, especially when she’s writing, especially the papers she’s trying to use.  And besides, what use does she […]

  • When Peaches Meow: Musings with “Most Beloved”

    When Peaches Meow: Musings with “Most Beloved”

    The Orchard Years I look up and above to the picture Mom gifted me of my 11-year-old self, hand across the back of our Labrador Retriever’s shoulder, and Dusty (our rescued groundhog) pulling at his jaw. I was sitting, plaintive smile, faraway look in my eyes even then, blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail, […]

  • Three Ways To Know When Summer Ends and Fall Begins (According to the Cat)

    Three Ways To Know When Summer Ends and Fall Begins (According to the Cat)

    #1. The cat is subsumed by melancholy “Oh yet to relish, to sleep, to bathe in the heat of the midday sun–” –sighs the cat Oh yet to languish, to sip, to savor a cup of catmint tea–” –bemoans the cat Act 1, Scene 1: Bay Window in the Breakfast Room. Most Beloved upon seeing […]

  • Hungry Hawks and Plump Kittens

    Hungry Hawks and Plump Kittens

    The kittens, at 7 months now, flush beautifully with their full winter coats. Poofy and gorgeously striped, they frequent the food bowl together, an inherent pecking order amongst them, one often under the forsythia while the other one eats.

  • Cat Naps and Winter Dreams: Is it Spring Yet?

    Cat Naps and Winter Dreams: Is it Spring Yet?

    Winter Daydreams Eagerly await mail for seed and flower garden catalogs to arrive Bring in mail and start an ongoing (and ever-towering) stack of winter dreams Pile up all garden books, magazines, journals, and catalogs Gather a soft, snuggly blanket (preferably one that looks good against all my white fur) Get excited and open several […]

  • A Cat Sleeps in Our Garden

    A Cat Sleeps in Our Garden

    A Cat Sleeps in Our Gardens Days fall short now, time cutting across day’s light, night coming too fast—before supper, before work can be done, before we are ready. Gardens have been put to sleep—by us, or by nature—and while inside we work by light, outside, this early darkness awakens late fall’s chill.  Against this […]

  • Celebrate the Seasons! Gorgeous Garden Photos by Most Beloved

    Celebrate the Seasons! Gorgeous Garden Photos by Most Beloved

    A Note from Most Beloved Sometimes, I journal my cat tales. Sometimes, (okay, quite a bit of time) I nap. Oftentimes, I munch and crunch on num-nums while journaling. And the rest of the time? Time when I’m not napping, paw-printing my way through my cat tales, and snacking on num-nums? I snap photographs of […]

  • Ode to Joy of Being a Cat

    Ode to Joy of Being a Cat

    From the Journals of Most Beloved: Ode to Joy of Being a Cat From the Journals of Most Beloved Ode to Joy of Being a Cat Scherzo. Forte. Crescendo without dénouement. Succession of notes, days metered in the click-click of 4/4, key of A (for August heat), unstable and trilling, repetition the same and in […]

  • Meet More Cats

    Meet More Cats

    Gardens at Effingham: Daddy Cat in the Rose Garden Gardens at Effingham Watch catsfrom your inbox

Meet More Cats

Daddy Cat in the Rose Garden
photograph of Daddy Cat, adult male tabby, napping on sun-warmed bricks in late afternoon
Daddy Cat
Photograph of a beautiful Maine Coon cat named Tess at Gardens at Effingham
Tessa Cat in the Afternoon
Striped adult female cat named Double-Dipped with her kitten in the sunshine
Double-Dipped and Her Kitten Enjoying the Sunshine
Daddy Cat Napping in Late Afternoon photograph of sleeping cat on warm brick sidewalk
Daddy Cat Napping in Late Afternoon
Photograph of Daddy Cat, a tabby, next to red roses with a stone wall backdrop

Gardens at Effingham:

Daddy Cat in the Rose Garden

Gardens at Effingham
photograph of Daddy Cat in Fall
Daddy Cat in Fall
A photo of an adult male striped cat with swirled marking. The dark whirls and swirls give Swirly a distinct look that separates him apart from the other cats. Gardens at Effingham
Swirly Cat
photo of "Who's This?" a young tabby sitting on an outdoor ledge looking into a window
Who’s This?
photo of Tessa Cat, a beautiful Maine Coon tabby adult female ct, in winter
Tessa Cat in Winter
Photograph of a light gray kitten and dark gray kitten sitting close together in the snow
Kittens in Snow
photograph of tabby kitten on rock in winter snow
Tabby Kitten in Snow
photo of kittens in winter snow
Kittens in Winter Snow
Photo of Cali Cat sitting on brick wall at Gardens at Effingham
Cali Cat
Photograph of Most Beloved, the small, white indoor cat at Gardens at Effingham, with her tongue stuck out
Most Beloved
Photo of Tessa Cat, a Maine Coon adult female cat, sitting in rose garden in winter snow
Beautiful Tessa
Photo of Tessa Cat, a Maine Coon female cat, and a kitten in the rose garden in early fall
Tessa and Kitten
photo of black and white adult male cat standing on the rocks next to the koi pond
Stashio Cat
Photo of Most Beloved, the only indoor cat at Gardens at Effingham, upside down with her tongue stuck out
Most Beloved

Meet More Cats

Cats at Gardens at Effingham
photo of Most Beloved cat upside down
Most Beloved Cat Practicing Yoga
Most Beloved cat practicing yoga
Most Beloved

Recent Posts

Ode to Joy of Being a Cat

From the Journals of Most Beloved: Ode to Joy of Being a Cat From the Journals of Most Beloved Ode to Joy of Being a Cat Scherzo. Forte. Crescendo without dénouement. Succession of notes, days metered in the click-click of 4/4, key of A (for August heat), unstable and trilling, repetition the same and in…

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Finding Spring in the Snow: Happiness is the Color of Daffodils

Daffodils in Early Spring With their creamy yellow centers surrounded by snow-white petals, Daffodils bring smiles of joy and unbridled happiness in anticipation of spring. Saturday and I’m dilly-dallying the day away. Frivolously, I might add, and contentedly I must add, for I am alone with she who loves and adores me. Just the two…

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Happy Highlights: Newborn Kittens Video!

Welcome to my journals! So good to see you here. I am “Most Beloved,” she who lives in the big house at Gardens at Effingham. I write a great many of the stories here, recording my observations, snapping photos, and keeping a daily journal about the gardens. My journals are my sketchbook where I keep…

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A Photo Gallery of Midwest Gardens in Bloom

Celebrate the Seasons through Flowers At Gardens at Effingham, we celebrate spring, summer, winter, and fall through the joy of our perennial gardens. Enjoy the gardens in full bloom through this photo gallery of the seasons. Spring Beauty Spring and summer bring a spectacular display of early, mid, and late blooming flowers, shrubs, and trees:…

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Beth Brown

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