DIY – five-one-oh

How to Reform your Killer Cat

May 31, 2015January 23, 2016 five-one-oh3 Comments

Our cat wears a harness and a leash when he’s outside. Why? He’s a killer.

I love gardening and Jan loves birds. As soon as we had our own yard, we started to create a habitat garden to attract birds and insects. A couple of years later, an abandoned cat adopted us. At first we tried to run him off the property, but we eventually gave in to his charms, took him in, and named him Theo.

Theo was used to spending his days outdoors frolicking, so we left him outside while we went to work. We knew we had a conflict of interest in the cat vs. bird department, but thought it was probably okay since he’s a male, and females are generally the hunters of the feline world. Wrong! After the second time he came into the house, bird in mouth, saying “oh, look at the present I have brought for you!” we attached a bell to his collar. This turned out to be about as effective as trying to stop a flood with a box of cotton balls.

We decided the only thing left to do was to keep him in the house all the time, essentially converting our house into a prison … not only for the cat, but for us, too. No longer could we open our doors and windows to the warm air and sweet smells of our own yard. To make things worse, Theo was so distraught at being cooped up that he started tearing the house up, scratching the doors and rugs, and yowling his head off 24/7. The only saving grace was the knowledge that the birds were safe.

Bottom line, no matter how convenient it might be to let your cat out, and no matter how much joy your kitty might get from wandering unfettered through the neighborhood, it’s irresponsible for cat owners to allow their pets to kill birds. And don’t kid yourself – that’s what cats do – for fun! Most of the birds in our yard are native to this region. They belong here. Obviously, the cat does not. Songbirds are disappearing from North America (and the rest of the planet) at an alarming rate. According to an article in National Geographic, “some widespread [bird] species generally thought to be secure have decreased in number as much as 80 percent since 1967, and the 19 others in the report have lost half their populations.” The article lists the causes for this shocking loss of birds as global warming, habitat loss, wind turbines, and cats.

In her book, the California Wildlife Habitat Garden, Nancy Bauer describes how a homeowner designed a cat run made of redwood planks and wire that connects cat doors in the house to an aerial system of caged walkways through the treetops. Nice-but I’m a designer and this garden is also our habitat. We prefer to keep the beautiful setting we have created. We considered a catio: an enclosed outdoor space where we could trap the cat while we opened the doors and windows. Again, aesthetics trumped comfort. Finally, we came up with the idea of outfitting Theo with a harness and leash.

We bought an inexpensive adjustable cat harness and leash at the pet store and added about 6 additional feet to the leash, using twine. The salesperson cautioned us to stay with the cat when he’s tied up so he doesn’t choke himself. The first time we tried the harness Theo hated it, went a little crazy, and twisted out of it-but it didn’t take long before he caught on. We upgraded to a nicer harness from the dog department because the cheap model tangled his fur. Now, Theo is excited to get into his harness, knowing he’s going outside. We sometimes tie him near the doors so we can see him and have the house open.

Now everybody is able to enjoy the bit of nature outside our doors and the birds are safe from our little killing machine.

TELL US ABOUT IT! Sometimes trying to uphold “the greater good” in your day-to-day life can be impractical at best, or just a flat-out pain in the butt, and it is tempting to fall into the “tragedy of the commons” trap – i.e., I am just one person, so the effect I have overall doesn’t really make a difference. We’d like to hear from you about how you have dealt with these kinds of challenges.

Click on an image below to start a slideshow.

Achillea millefolium-Common Yarrow attracts butterflies and other insects.

Eriogonum latifolium-Coast Buckwheat is attractive to pollinators.

When the Coffeeberry blooms, it's covered in bees.

Theo wearing his harness on the front porch

Habitat Garden featuring a nesting box and seed feeder

Theo looking out from under the Leopard Lilies

Happy Haunting

October 30, 2014November 11, 2014 five-one-oh2 Comments

On Halloween, we like to set a spoooooky scene for our neighbors without making the wee little trick-or-treaters run off screaming in terror. Jack-o-lanterns are always a big hit, and the more the better. It takes some work ripping out their guts and carving them, but it’s totally worth it once they are all lit up and putting on a glow-fest. We use real candles that last all night, which also makes for that fabulous only-on-Halloween warm pumpkin-breath scent in the air.

We add some extra mystery to the scene by hanging scary curtains we make out of cheesecloth (from the housewares section of our local hardware store). We tack it to the top of the window frames and cut it into vertical strips. Finally we snip, tear and make holes in each strip, rubbing the cheesecloth to fray the edges. Fun, and theraputic, too! A candelabra at each window sets the scene.

The final touches include music: Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D minor and, for Frankenstein’s sake, let’s not forget the cocktails. It is a holiday, after all. Our Halloween favorite, we modify from Absinthe Brasserie and Bar in San Francisco.

Daedalus

2 ounces Irish whiskey
Juice of half an orange
1/2 ounce ginger syrup
Dash of orange bitters
Orange Twist

Shake the liquid ingredients vigorously with ice. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Run the orange peel around the rim, twist it over the drink, and drop it in. Slurp discriminately. There is candy to pass out, but you don’t want to be passed out with it.

Creativity Shines in Oakland’s Golden Gate Neighborhood

October 21, 2014January 23, 2016 five-one-ohLeave a comment

When the first homes were built, the Golden Gate neighborhood was a town named Klinknerville. The name was changed to Golden Gate before it was annexed by the City of Oakland in 1897. It’s in the northwest corner of the City, east of Emeryville and south of Berkeley. Real Estate agents like to call that general area NOBE, but you and I know better. If not, I recommend this post; Please Don’t Call it NOBE, by Sarah Han.

What I love about Golden Gate and several other Oakland neighborhoods is their creative flair. I think it’s because they have diverse populations: diverse ages, standards of living and ethnicities. Residents are willing to make unconventional design choices, which spark creativity up and down the streets.

Of the many inspiring entrance treatments I’ve seen in Golden Gate, I’ve selected three to feature here. It’s likely the entrance in the top photo was originally designed as a storefront. The building is on the main commercial street, San Pablo Avenue, but this entry is on the side street. I love slate blue with brick, the vine that softens the flat entrance and, of course, the radio flyer planter.

I’m going to make up a story for the gateway in the photo on the left. The shingled fence with gate was built first. Then the designer decided they wanted a very tall fence at the property line (let’s not make judgments about their relationship with the next-door neighbors) and designed an attractive slatted fence extension. Finally, the designer wanted the two parts to be better integrated and created this arched and slatted overhead structure. However it happened, I like it. Take note of the elegant paving and the stunning River Birch near the gateway.

It would be easier to imitate the simple treatment of number 1009. The address is hand-painted on terracotta pots filled with leafy succulents. The idea is clever but wouldn’t work nearly as well without the smart color choices and the striking Zen tile on the wall near the door (from which they probably removed the original address). When planting in small pots like these, use very drought tolerant plants or you’ll need to water every day. These are filled with Portulacaria afra, Elephant food.

Historic Information Source: Wikipedia, Golden Gate, Oakland, California

Note added November 12, 2014: Since writing this post, I’ve learned there are (at least) two different ideas about the extents of the Golden Gate neighborhood. According to Oakland Wiki, the area I considered to be Golden Gate, is actually three neighborhoods: Golden Gate, Gaskill, and Paradise Park. By that map, the entrances I’ve featured in this post are in the Gaskill neighborhood. Either way, they are still shining.