After we found out our cat Maia was sick, we threw discipline to the wind and allowed her to eat, drink or do basically whatever her kitty heart desired. Oddly, one of her favorite things to do is eat grass; odd, because it usually makes her sick. That is, unless it happens to be wheatgrass, which is fine for cats (and humans) to enjoy anytime:



Because Maia suffers from kidney disease, the vet recommended a source of running water that would encourage her to drink more. But we found a new way to pamper her last time we went to buy cat food: an ingenious "aqua garden" that grows wheatgrass hydroponically in the fountain:



Cat, you don't know how good you have it.

As Mariah mentioned in her recent post, amaryllis are a nearly foolproof way to enjoy vibrant color in the dead of winter - or in my case, in that maddening early-spring period when your plants are just taking TOO LONG to wake up after their winter's nap. In another week or two, these guys - pictured here in early March:



. . . will look like this:



It's not difficult. After you enjoy your blooms, cut the stalks back to about 6 inches, but leave the foliage alone. Continue to water the bulbs and keep them in a sunny spot. When it's quite warm (June) you can bring them outside; I used to plant them in the garden, but now I just bring the whole big pot outside and nestle it among the daylilies that grow like mad on the side of my house. Or you can just leave them on your windowsill, but the leaves do grow to be rather unsightly - they get very long and then buckle into a mess.

When summer is over, bring the bulbs back indoors and repot them. (The dates here are quite loose; last year I forgot about mine until several frosts had passed, and I was sure I had killed them, but they bounced back admirably.)

This next part sounds cruel, but it makes more sense when you understand that the amaryllis grows naturally in the desert. You need to duplicate the desert environment: withhold water, light and heat (though don't let it freeze; an unheated basement is ideal) to allow the bulb to enter the period of dormancy that will allow it to replenish itself and bloom again. I set my pot in a corner of the basement and drape an opaque trash bag over it.

About 6 weeks later (again - very loose dates!) cut off the dead foliage, water thoroughly, and set in a sunny spot. Do not water it again until, several weeks later, you begin to see some wide green shoots poking through the soil. It never fails to amaze me, but they come back with gusto. Every year the bulbs grow larger, and after 3 to 4 years they will divide, giving you an extra bulb to add to your collection. Or, if you're feeling generous, give it to a friend - but don't forget to tell her how to take care ot it!