October 27th was National Black Cat Day. What a perfect opportunity for me to reminisce about my first black cat, 'Uncanny / Canny' (I liked both words / Couldn't make up my mind). I got eight-week-old Canny when I was in college. We shared an upstairs apartment in an old house with roommates Sandy, Gail, and Gail's small dog (pictured). Ange was around in those days, too. We stayed in that apartment for a year or so, but did what most college students frequently do; we moved and (of course) did not get back our security deposit back. Gail's dog had chewed a good portion of the bedroom carpet and I melted a huge candle onto the orange shag carpet in the living room. Long story; not important. Sandy, you must have done *something* to that apartment -- it wasn't all Gail and me, right?

We loved our larger place, but apparently Canny didn't. We kept him inside so he would acclimate to the new surroundings, but he would sneak out if someone opened the door. He kept trekking back to the old apartment, which was about six blocks down and two blocks over. When I'd walk to school in the morning, there he'd be, sitting on the porch of the old house. He would never fail to come down and greet me. On my way home, if I'd see him, I'd pick him up and carry him back to the new place. Canny would stay for a day or three, but eventually disappear again. Over the course of many weeks, this happened numerous times. Canny's territory seemed to be more important to him than anything else. So I finally talked to the girls who had moved into our old apartment about the 'Canny situation.' They loved having Canny around. He was, after all, a most awesome cat! So I reluctantly passed the torch to them knowing that he would be well taken care of.

So there you have it, my very first black cat, Uncanny/Canny, left home and never said goodbye. Could this be Ange's fault for relentlessly teasing him with a water spray bottle? Probably.

There are mixed opinions as to the exact date of National Black Cat Day. I went with October 27; being close to Halloween just seemed right. #loveblackcats

Logically, I know plant performance boils down to what zone you live in, weather/temperature, soil quality, fertilizer, water, and exposure to sun. In addition there are differences between evergreen, semi-evergreen, and dormant daylilies. But honestly, there are days I could swear a few of my daylilies have attitudes. The adage "bloom where you are planted" holds true for the vast majority of my plants, but there are definitely some holdouts. I can transplant one daylily and it joyfully continues to bloom away, seemingly unaffected by the change. I can do the same with another, and it will be sensitive, pout for a year and maybe even forego blooming entirely,  just to let me know that it is not happy with the change.

Just as attitude is important in the workplace, it is in my garden is as well. I like to keep my daylily family well-adjusted, happy, and all working toward the same mission -- unbridled bloom!

Pictured is 'Betty Woods,' a dormant, diploid double. She is most certainly beautiful, but despite her multiple awards Betty was a poster child for an indifferent attitude in my garden. After years of temperamental behavior she was adopted by my friend Becky. I am happy to report that she appears to be much happier in Becky's garden. Oddly enough, sometimes that's all it takes.

This photo represents one summer's worth of gardening measured in terms of garden gloves. Leftover, left-hand, left-useless gloves for right-hand-me. Wouldn't it be great if garden glove manufacturers would sell six-packs of left-hand gloves and six-packs of right-hand gloves? I would totally be buying that extra pack of right-hand ones.  Or maybe one pair of garden gloves should come with an extra right-hand one or left-hand one, depending on your handedness. I would even welcome the upcharge for the additional glove. But I suspect (like a whole lot of other things) I will just have to deal with this and carry on. After all, manufacturers must manufacture and consumers must consume.

My three burgundy  ornamental fountain grasses have grown to almost 5 feet tall in front of our sun room. For fall landscape plants, they really makes a bold statement. When I planted them in spring, they were so tiny it seemed like they would never fill up the large space they were in. As you can see, they not only filled up the space -- they almost ran out of space!

Pennisetum setaceum 'Rubrum' (commonly known as Red or Purple Fountain Grass) is native to Africa, southeast Asia and the Middle East. In the U.S. it is hardy in Zones 9-11. In all other zones it is considered an annual. The genus name comes from the Latin penna meaning feather and seta meaning bristle referring to the flowers looking like feathery bristles, and rubrum means red.

I have done next to nothing as far as taking care of this grass. I just made sure it was watered well until it was established. Other than that, I pretty much just admire it. At only $4.99 per plant, it was totally worth it. I don't buy too many annuals, but this burgundy fountain grass is always a must-have.

It's always a great day for me when I can complete a task faster and easier. This fall I had about 20 new daylilies to plant in my garden. Being picky-me, I carried a tape measure around the garden to measure exactly the amount of space that went between each plant. As I was working, the tape measure was getting all grimy and dirt was getting inside of it after being in the wheelbarrow and continually falling in the dirt. (Oops!)

Ange came up with an idea that was so simple, yet so perfect! He took my favorite shovel and put measurements on it with a permanent magic marker. This made my job SO much easier. No need to carry a tape measure around anymore -- and Ange got his tape measure back!