Forgive me, cat lovers. I respect the cat. But I don't respect the cat that doesn't respect my garden. Michael Pollan's article in yesterday's NYT magazine has inspired me to try and push my little veggie patch to greater productivty, so I meandered downstairs to take a gander this morning. It had been a week since I was away, but apparently that's plenty of time for the neighborhood cats to claim a corner as their new toilet.  The smell hit as soon as I stepped outside. I think it permanently nestled into every  fold of my brain. And little Almond Roccas clustered in the empty corner where I had already ripped up some bolted greens.

These cats will make way for the embolded urban garden. The litter box effect does not jibe with the vision I have of buried irrigation, copper flashing, and a luciously productive year-round garden. So they better step off the soil.