back to the garden

I have a little garden on my porch roof. It's not a proper porch and I worry when I walk out there that it will finally give way under my feet. But my landlord said it was fine, and it feels sturdy, and the crumbling paint and lack of railings are just psychological problems.

I am growing beets, and lettuce, and spinach and chard in little pots and big pots and old cat litter tubs that are the perfect size for root vegetables, especially after they've been cleaned thoroughly in case cat litter is full of toxic chemicals. Tomatoes if they survive my indifference to their needs. All the little leaves are getting big, especially the beets. Every morning I peek outside to water everything and see what has grown how much since yesterday. They collect all the sunlight I can't enjoy when I'm working.

Sometimes one of the cats wants to follow me outside. I have a little leash thing now so I can tie them to the house but they can still wander out quite a ways. The moment they're tied up, though, they lose their interest in the outside world. This is fine. It keeps them from jumping off the roof, which is my only worry. Maybe they know there's a book about flying cats, maybe they think that's them.