Tag Archives: cozy

December 2023: Wrapping Up Another Year

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December brought quiet beauty in the muted colors of the remaining leaves. With so many browns everywhere, the remaining greens, yellows, oranges, and reds really popped. The color bled out of the last of the hosta leaves, leaving them collapsed, pale, and skeletal. The heuchera leaves remain colorful as they sit tucked into the leaves fallen around them. And the blackberry leaves are some of the most tenacious, turning both darker and more golden before they will eventually fall away.

I didn’t really work on anything in my garden in December, even though there is still some clean up to do. Instead, I put up my outdoor Christmas lights, and John and I got a Christmas tree. Again this year we got a commercial tree that had been farmed in Northern Indiana. I believe that the days of our stripper pit Christmas trees are probably gone, sigh. Still, the tree we got was tall and skinny and perfect for our house, so we were happy with it.

Another December project was making some new cat houses for the outdoor cats. I always worry about keeping them warm enough in winter. Ever since our first winter with outdoor cats hanging around I’ve had some insulated cat houses with built-in electric heating pads, but Spike has claimed them all and does not share. A couple years ago I made a couple cat shelters using plastic tubs for Mark and Junior. But all of these shelters seem drafty to me and I’m doubtful that they’re enough to keep the chill wind out.

So this year I decided to upgrade to Feralvillas, which are ready-to-assemble cat shelters that some people make in a small shop. I ordered them online, they arrived quickly, and they were super easy to assemble. The cats enter the Feralvilla on a lower level and from inside they can move to an upper level that is enclosed, sheltered from the wind, and completely insulated. I anticipated that cats would be cats and would show me who’s boss by waiting to use these nice things I’d gotten for them, but the cats were using them the first night that they were available. They must be good. I got one for each cat, and the cats appear to have sorted out whose house is whose.