Fit for a Princess!

  Ms. Nycto, the Bayou Princess, has suddenly been exiled to the garden patch.  Since she and Ms. Put, the Bayou Queen, are not particularly happy when they are near each other, I have to find ways of separating the pair.  Cats can be so very fickle!  Ms. Nycto had spent the winter nights sleeping on the foot of my bed since Ms. Put had claimed the rest of the house.  I had no problem with this as a big fluffy cat can be the nicest foot warmer in the world!  Now, however, that has all changed.  Ms. Put realized that another cat had found a nice, comfy spot in "HER" house and she was not at all a happy camper.  Ms. Put took over the bed and poor Princess has been booted all the way outside!  Keep in mind that this was not by my choice!  I loved having Nycto with me but the Queen rules.

  Since the weather has warmed, things were not too bleak for the Princess, though.  She found that the straw covering my pineapple plants made for a cushy bed.  The area was protected from any predators by the garden fence and from the north wind by the house.  I guess it was about as comfortable as one could find if stranded outside but all things come to an end.  The pineapples started growing again and the coverings needed to be cleared.  I got busy and cleaned the gardens of all the frost-preventing straw and never thought about Ms. Nycto's bed.  

  Come nighttime, poor Princess was without sleeping quarters. She opted to sleep on the porch rail snuggled in an old oyster sack. I felt terrible!  The next morning saw me trying to make her a place that was at least as comfortable as her straw mattress.  Pondering the situation, I hit upon an idea.  Since she could no longer sleep in the corner of the garden near the pineapples due to their pointy leaves, I would raise her above the ground!  She would have a hammock!  A bit of ingenuity came into play and soon a raised wire platform was suspended from the cucumber fence to the herb shelf,  Over this, the cleaned oyster sack was folded as a mattress.  Ahh, yes!  Now for the test.  Would Princess love her bed or would she prove to be miffed by my efforts.

  I am pleased to say that the idea was a success.  Ms. Nycto loves her new perch in the garden.  She has the freedom to roam when she wishes but still has a nice comfy bed.  In fact, she spends most of the day lounging on her bed.  I do think she likes being a bit higher so she can see what is happening around her.  She also has access to the greenhouse during rainstorms or cool nights.  I think this might be a solution to the cat-fight over sleeping quarters!  Once again, the old Queen rules.