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Featured: Ninja Finds a Forever Home (And Other Black Cats in Fall)
Ninja Finds a Forever Home Ninja is Happy to Find a Friend From the Journals of Most Beloved: Ninja’s Story October Greetings and All that Jazz- Chilly night here mid-October and yikes! Days are short now. Not much daylight to lounge about basking in the golden rays of the sun. The dark descends quickly now. […]
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From the Journals of Most Beloved
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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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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The Cat Writes a Poem-A Cat Tale for Spring
From the Journals of Most Beloved- Spring Journals A mid-spring’s day, a perfect day, a day neither hot nor cold; exactly as I like it Watching birds. Robin. 2 mourning doves. A small song sparrow. Courtship of the mourning doves. Choosing a nesting spot. The intentional delivery of a well-chosen site, one safe and out […]
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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 […]
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From the Journals of Most Beloved-Dreaming of Roses
Somewhere between here and there– Autumn in the Midwest November now-Late fall, crunchy leaves, shades of muted yellows and browns, trees standing stark against this November gray. In the midst of a dreary rain on a late fall afternoon, one must dream forward to an invincible spring, one where everywhere the gardens awaken. Only a […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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Welcome to Gardens at Effingham
A delightful, whimsical look at Midwest Gardening told through the stories, musings, and journals of the cats who live there. Meet “Most Beloved” What greater gift than the love of a cat. Charles Dickens
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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 […]
Gardens at Effingham: Where Cats Tell the Tales 