Breaking Cat News by Georgia Dunn for May 31, 2020

Oh, the poor little plants! They had no chance at all. (You would think the Woman would know better by now.)

I see the mice have dressed for dinner and left their stripes behind! Also, love that night-sky blue. Gorgeous. Mmmm….

Remember me to one who lives there . . .

Sorry to say this, but woohoo! Elvis sunflower is back! Such an epic poof. And the lovely robber mice ladies are back too

Odd face of the day: Elvis bottom left.

The Return of Sunflower Elvis.

How do the boys feel about cactus?

Agnes provides a bit of dinner music on the world’s tiniest saxophone. Very talented ladies, these Robber Mice. I’d love to see them as a jazz quartet! Natasha on drums, Alice on guitar, and Violet on keyboard …

SUNDAY FUNDAY!!!

So lucky our 3 kitties have absolutely no interest in our plants

Appearing tonight at the diner – opening act, Simon and Garfunkel; headliners, Pucky and the Nighthawks.

I have a couple of square foot stand of catnip that has recovered from winter and is over a foot tall. Some migrated into my aloe vera pot that I bring into the spare bedroom that has generous sun puddles for the winter. My cat thinks the spare bedroom is very relaxing.

If it was catnip, I’d understand, but cats don’t care for any of those plants. Not the first outside cat has ever touched mine.

Another example of the triumph of optimism over experience. The herbs are, as the more percipient might have guessed, doomed.

But it’s nice to see the word “twee” popping up again.

Is it by night or 24 hours?

Oh, naughty Puck, babe, has such teeth, dear

And he keeps them pearly white

A fork and knife has our Puck, babe

And he takes them, ah, out at night

You know when that cat bites with his teeth, babe

Tiny plants are filled with dread

Wailin’ sax, oh, plays Robber Mouse, babe

When they should all be asleep in bed

But on the sill, huh, huh, whoo Sunday evening, un huh

Wait four Robber Mice, whoa, big as life, eek

And someone’s sneakin’ ’round the corner

Could that someone be Puck the Knife?

Look out, herbs, Pucky’s back! oh yeah!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8iPUK0AGRo

Mack the Knife – Bobby Darin

Songwriters: Kurt Weill / Bertolt Brecht / Marc Blitzstein

I did something like this. I started with plants, not seeds, but I had, “Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme.” I also had a variety of other herbs, including oregano, basil, Fennel, cilantro… And a lovely collection of peppers, including Tabasco, Jalapeño, Cayenne, and Habanero. Alas, I never got to try them. Just as the approached being ready…they vanished. I asked around the garden department and was told birds were the cause. I scoffed, saying I should have charred feathers… Seriously, it turns out that birds love them, and are not affected by the capsaicin. This is by design. The birds have a tasty treat, the seeds exit in the rear, and new plants are spread. Other animals, who would not be as efficient, are discouraged from eating them,

Oh, Pucky, you’re a bad, bad, boy. But I’m sure the siren call of the saxophone led you to the irresistible greenery.

I’m waiting for my stimulus check. Buying a small greenhouse for the backyard. I cannot grow anything outside in this freaking Outback! There will be catnip, several plants, so I can rotate them :)

I wondered if that was where they were going in panel #2.

And Chef Puckardee!

I believe Mr. Simon would tip his hat to you for that shout-out in panel 2, Ms. Dunn.

If you’re going to plant parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme, at least have the decency not to line them up in that order.

Bon Appetite, Pucky.

Pucky toe beans!

Eat plants? Great cat! You gone vegan or what?

Pucky’s four course meal, lined up on the sill. Does he finish each pot before moving on to the next one or does he graze between them sampling a bit here, a bite there?

::munch, munch, munch::

swallow

::munch, munch … ::

Good one on the crawl Burt!

That’s my boy! The trademark Elvis flare!

Georgia has been spying on our household. My spouse (aka Ms Sprout) plants all sorts of herbs for me to cook with but the cats nom them when we’re not looking then barf on the fresh cleaned rugs.

I have the same problem with my chickens.

They free range all day and they found my pots of arugula and herbs and just went to town! I had to move them to the back deck, silly chickens lol!

Angry ELVIS POOF in panel 5 lol!

Oh, Elvis! <3

About forty years ago we once left our cat (Pooka) alone overnight. When we came home the next day every potted plant I had had been ripped from its pot and strewn throughout the house, including the dirt. Pooka met us at the door and loudly informed us of what she had done and why she had done it. I apologized and was eventually forgiven. We have had several more cats through the years but nary a potted plant.

Simon and Garfunkle, who else?

Are you going to Pucky’s buffet?

Parsley, sage, rosemary, grow fine!

Have a fine salad of edible herbs,

They are open all day, any time!

…….

Tell him to fix me a quick pesto sauce

Parsley, sage rosemary, and thyme,

A few small leaves us surely no loss,

Eaten under the midnight moonshine!

…….

Oh, let me listen to Agnes’ sax

Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme,

Everyone come to eat and relax,

Tasty, savory, plants are so fine!

The Woman needs inside shutters :)

“Presumably at Scarborough Fair” got me snorting coffee and laughing so hard, I woke up everyone else!

Slow Saxophone! Brought Bob Seger to mind…and one of the robber mice playing it is the best :)

Many, many years ago, when mine was a three generation household, my mother took pride and joy in her Boston fern and her spider plant. They hung from the ceiling and draped to the floor. Then, through a series of unfortunate events, we acquired mice. To counter the mice, we acquired Smoky (Methuselah). He used to deposit a dead mouse at my mother’s feet each morning, as if to say he was earning his keep. Unfortunately, he also had a taste for Boston ferns and spider plants and eventually nommed them right back to the soil.

OT: It’s going to be quite a day. Paul is in a foul mood, Yum Yum is in a foul mood, and the apartment is too small for me to find a quiet place to hide.

What was the woman thinking? Im with Elvis.

I love the pull-chain on the sun in Panel 6 that turns it into the neon sign in Panel 7. ♥

I spy 4 Robber Mice!

Poor woman, she’ll soon have no more thyme left.

The face on the rosemary in panel 2 is so sweet, and multiple faces on the thyme. Then in panel 6, the thyme faces seem concerned.

Awww, the Woman has that Earth-mother, peasant thing going on. I want her to have all my babies!

Why, Woman? Why do you set yourself up for failure this way? A nice big heavy covered terrarium might give your little mini-garden at least a fighting chance.

I just planted my own herb garden yesterday — I’ve got parley, rosemary and thyme (no one in the house likes sage) as well as other herbs. I just hope the ferals don’t see it as their buffet….

Poor Pucky. He wants to pig out and it looks like the Robber Mice are going to take it all.

This is why we have no indoor plants in our house. Because cats.

My brother put a nice little Obituary in the local paper for our Mom yesterday. It was sure nice to see my family name in the newspaper for once without the obligatory followup sentence: “…wanted for questioning concerning….”

P.S., Where did you think I got my rather unusual sense of humor from? My thanks to all of you for your kindness and sympathy. We are going to have a celebration for Mom in August, hopefully when things have settle down. It will be a humdinger!

Oh, the whole Robber Mice gang! So adorable!

See, I’m like the Woman here—if I ever start a herb garden, it’ll be for parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme…JUST so I can make that Scarborough Fair reference. :P

SUCH adorable PJs, Pucky-

Not sure about cats, but the local deer turn up their noses at rosemary, oregano and sage. I suspect the strong smell/taste turns them off. I never see any damage to the thyme but they devour the parsley!

Welcome to Pucky’s Cat Catfé

Puck: Welcome, everyone, to Pucky’s Cat Catfé, where you can enjoy a good meal, and if you’re not careful, you might learn something. Today we have Beatrix from the Bookstore speaking about the age-old struggle of Herbs vs. Spices.

Bea: Thank you, Puck. According to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, herbs come from the green leafy part of the plant, while spices come from the root, stem, seed, fruit, flower or bark of the tree or plant.

Puck: I see. And how do you use herbs and spices in cooking?

Bea: Well, Puck, herbs can be used either fresh or dried, and often have a delicate flavor. You often see them in salads, as garnishes, and in sauces like pesto and spaghetti. Spices, on the other paw, are almost always dried, and have a strong flavor.

Puck: Thank you, Bea. And I see we have some samples of both herbs and spices. Ladies, how did you obtain these delicious items.

Agnes, Alice, Natasha, and Violet: We’ll never tell!

" … baby, I’m out of time!" – Mick ‘n’ Keith, August 1966

Does anyone else think the steam rising from Lupin’s cup looks a little too angular? I thought it might be spelling something, but I couldn’t make it out.

I remember singing that song regularly in my middle-school music class yet having no idea it was less than 30 years old at the time, but nonetheless understanding it was about a guy telling his ex where to head in.

Wonderful Herb Garden Adventure. Made strip bigger to see characters in last panel. Unfortunately forgot how to return setting to smaller size. Any clues for old Banjo Gordy?

Those four are safe for cats, but you might be surprised at some of the the ones that are toxic: https://leafandpaw.com/2017/11/22/the-pet-safe-kitchen-herbs/

With three cats in the house we can’t have any plants. I gave up trying.

OMG! Today IS Talk in Complete Sentences Day.

I’m speechless.

Love the knife and fork that Puck has. I only did the cat grass once. My two fuzzies ate them and I did the clean up afterwards……..

I like a salad for dinner from time to time. :)

Had to look up “twee.” Now I know.

That’s the best Elvis poof yet!

Mice eat herbs?

OT: Spreadsheets

You want some fries to go with that, Puck?

I know from experience that rosemary is safe from cats. It’s the only plant to survive the devastation that is kitty cat in my house. I now have a huge rosemary bush outside after the plant spending a year on my table next to the cat food dishes. The faces the cats gave when trying to taste the plant was priceless.

Yup, that’s about how it is. Had a planter out on the porch years ago in which we were growing lettuce. This was back when Smokey was a year or two (she’s about twelve now). Smokey discovered the planter and it became a true wonder, a cat bed with lovely green treats. And last year and this we’ve had the problem of DC deciding the veggies under the grow lamp were a kitty salad bar. Had to find a way to out smart him until we could plant the garden.

You would think that Georgia would have learned by now not to leave any plants in the house…

Can I eat at Pucky’s All-You-Can-Eat Moonlight Buffet? I hope so I like herbs.

Also, I do love a poufy Elbiff, and at least he knows its entrapment!

PUCKY, NO