[speaker001:] So, what kind of neat hobbies do you have?
[speaker002:] Well, I like gardening a lot, I like to be outside, um.
[speaker001:] I like gardening, I wish I had a green thumb, though.
[speaker002:] [LAUGHTER].
[speaker001:] I've got a brown thumb. That's what everything turns.
[speaker002:] Oh [LAUGHTER], is, but, do you tr-, keep trying anyway?
[speaker001:] I keep trying, uh, you know, you just can't, can't give up on it, uh, I, uh, I bought some, uh, plants from Michigan Bulb Company [LAUGHTER] they send them to you all ready alive.
[speaker002:] No, no, I've never had any luck with their's.
[speaker001:] Oh really.
[speaker002:] Right.
[speaker001:] I guess, I guess these are going to croak too.
[speaker002:] [LAUGHTER].
[speaker001:] Since I've got cats, I decided to get some catnip.
[speaker002:] Oh.
[speaker001:] Lots and lots of catnip, so it's, it's still green, and it's been two days so I'm encouraged [LAUGHTER].
[speaker002:] [LAUGHTER] No, I, I haven't had, had good luck with that company, uh, I think some of it depends how long things stay in the mail, probably.
[speaker001:] Yeah.
[speaker002:] But, I've had to, to get my money back from them and had better luck with, with some of the, the more expensive companies.
[speaker001:] Yeah, there's a, uh,
[speaker002:] Because they,
[speaker001:] I don't know, do you have Lowe's up there?
[speaker002:] Uh, well,
[speaker001:] Its, uh, building, uh, contra-, or building supplies place.
[speaker002:] No.
[speaker001:] Um, they, they also have a garden shop and,
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] they, they offer just as good a guarantee, if you buy it from them.
[speaker002:] Oh, that's great,
[speaker001:] Yeah.
[speaker002:] now our local stores don't, don't offer any guarantee.
[speaker001:] Um.
[speaker002:] But some of the, the mail order ones that I've dealt with for roses and that, they offer through, through the first Summer.
[speaker001:] Yeah.
[speaker002:] Which at least if they, if they take off the first year, they're probably going to come up unless there's, uh, a terrible freeze or something.
[speaker001:] Yeah, yeah, yeah, something like that. Uh, I got a whole bunch of bulbs along with this stuff, so, I'm going to wait on those.
[speaker002:] Oh, they're bulbs for Spring or Fall?
[speaker001:] Uh, probably Spring, but, uh, I don't much care about things like that. I'll, I'll make a little sort of greenhouse, a miniature greenhouse to put all this stuff in.
[speaker002:] [LAUGHTER].
[speaker001:] Something, something, to keep me occupied, you see.
[speaker002:] Uh-huh, uh-huh.
[speaker001:] I'll, uh, buy some plastic and make a little house and,
[speaker002:] [LAUGHTER] Cute.
[speaker001:] yeah, and watch the cats tear it up.
[speaker002:] Right. I don't know that, do cats bother bulbs? I think more the mice or other rodents.
[speaker001:] They, they just like to get in and dig.
[speaker002:] Oh, I see so if you have fresh dirt, they'll [LAUGHTER],
[speaker001:] Oh, they love to dig. I had, I had some, uh, I don't know what kind they are, I've already forgotten, just regular old flower seeds and I planted them and I was so, I was so thrilled because they came up, I mean nice green shoots coming up all over the place. And then my cats got into it and started digging and that took care of that.
[speaker002:] Uh, gee.
[speaker001:] So, I have to hang these things high, so they can't get to them. Especially the catnip.
[speaker002:] How many cats do you have?
[speaker001:] Three.
[speaker002:] Oh okay.
[speaker001:] [LAUGHTER].
[speaker002:] Actually I just, put a, uh, little fence around my yard, uh, um, which is I suppose, technically illegal, but I had so many groundhogs last year that I think they'll let me get by with it, and it, it's got this one inch mesh and what I've noticed it's kept the cats out and I love it [LAUGHTER].
[speaker001:] Um, yeah, yeah, because they, they like to get in and fertilize things too. But, uh, why would it be illegal?
[speaker002:] Well, because we have these tow-, uh, I live in a townhouse and anyway all of our areas have associations that you have to get permission.
[speaker001:] Oh, uh, yeah, right.
[speaker002:] And, you know, they want, uh, privacy fences.
[speaker001:] Well, if nobody, yeah, if nobody complains you're all right.
[speaker002:] Right, right. Well they do walking tours too, so.
[speaker001:] Um.
[speaker002:] But at least, because I back up to, um, a hillside where the, uh, wild animals are, I think I can probably justify it.
[speaker001:] Um, yeah, an, and if somebody raises a stink about it you can always go before the association and argue your case anyway.
[speaker002:] Right, right, I me-,
[speaker001:] You know, you don't have to put up with all these wild critters coming into your property.
[speaker002:] [LAUGHTER] Right, the first year, the deer ate my garden, and I was just astounded. I'm going deer, right here in the city [LAUGHTER].
[speaker001:] Yeah, right here, Bambi [LAUGHTER].
[speaker002:] [LAUGHTER] Exactly.
[speaker001:] Uh, gosh.
[speaker002:] And so,
[speaker001:] Well, let's see, other than gardening which I fiddle at, I'm not very good at, what else do I, mostly just computer stuff.
[speaker002:] Oh.
[speaker001:] I just like playing with my computer and doing stuff on that. Uh, cooking, that's not really a hobby, it's a necessity.
[speaker002:] [LAUGHTER].
[speaker001:] But, but I enjoy it. I like to think that I'm a very good cook.
[speaker002:] Oh, great.
[speaker001:] Um, hobbies, that's about it. I don't have much time for hobbies, uh, between being a student and trying to run a business on the side, you don't have a lot of time.
[speaker002:] Right that keeps you busy.
[speaker001:] Yeah, and raising cats.
[speaker002:] [LAUGHTER] I mean that could become a hobby.
[speaker001:] Well, it's, it started out as a hobby actually.
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] Uh, it just, it developed into sort of a business, uh, you know, we breed them and all that, but, we didn't, you know, we didn't really start it for the money, it was just, they were fun to have around and we figured if we're going to have them we might as well have some purebreds an. And now it developed in to going to cat shows and finding studs for them, and, you know, all this kind of stuff.
[speaker002:] Uh-huh. What kind of cats are they?
[speaker001:] Uh, I've got a, uh, a Bombay, a Turkish Van and a Himalayan Persian.
[speaker002:] Wow.
[speaker001:] Yeah, the Himie is probably the sweetest one. She's, she's just a little sweetheart.
[speaker002:] [LAUGHTER].
[speaker001:] We, uh, the, the Bombay had a litter, uh, last October and w-, I just got her back from the vet this morning, getting her spayed. Only going to breed them once.
[speaker002:] Oh, okay.
[speaker001:] And, uh, she's not, she's not feeling too great today.
[speaker002:] Um, is that typical, to only breed them once?
[speaker001:] No, uh, m-, most breeders are in it for the money, so they'll bree-, they'll breed them twice a year and I,
[speaker002:] Uh-huh, uh-huh.
[speaker001:] I just think that it's kind of, I don't know, it's kind of cruel. You know, they just, they just breed these, they breed them before they're ready, uh, and,
[speaker002:] Right.
[speaker001:] you're never, you're never rea-, and, and they, they do a lot of inbreeding too, and so you end up with, you know, kind of strange kittens.
[speaker002:] Uh-huh, uh-huh.
[speaker001:] And I just don't like that.
[speaker002:] So will, you, uh, breed one of the litter, then next year?
[speaker001:] We're, we sold all that litter,
[speaker002:] Oh.
[speaker001:] um, we, there's not that much call to, for Bombays.
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] Um, they're, they're registered but they're not, they're not, uh, they're not show cats.
[speaker002:] Oh, I see.
[speaker001:] Uh, so all you can do is sell them as pet quality.
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] Uh, so what you've got is a registered pet. And, not too many people want Bombays. They want things like Himie Persians and Turkish Vans.
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] Turkish Vans, if you've never seen one, I mean, you wouldn't know that it was a pure bred. It's just, uh, medium size short hair cat. It's got, he's mostly white with, uh, brown and black patches.
[speaker002:] Oh.
[speaker001:] But they have nice personalities and they're very inquisitive. Um, now the Himie, we'll probably breed her a couple of times and we'll, we'll end up keeping one out of each litter and then breeding those.
[speaker002:] Right.
[speaker001:] It's just the stud fees are so much, though. It'll cost about three hundred dollars for a stud for her. We, we want to breed her with a champion, so.
[speaker002:] Right. Now these are long haired?
[speaker001:] Yeah, the Persian is,
[speaker002:] Uh-huh, uh-huh.
[speaker001:] and the other two are short hairs.
[speaker002:] Right. Uh, that's nice.
[speaker001:] Yeah, she's, uh, she's sweet. Going to have some nice kittens, I hope.
[speaker002:] Uh-huh [LAUGHTER].
[speaker001:] She's, uh, she's, if yo-, if you know what a Himalayan is, generally they look something like, uh, well they come in a lot of different colors. People don't realize it but they're sort of like, uh, Siamese in a way. They have the, uh, they have the gloves on the paws and they're, they're usually two colored. Uh, but this one is, uh, is she's, pre-, predominantly, uh, black but she has chocolate, uh, paws, chocolate stomach and silver on her hindquarters.
[speaker002:] Gee.
[speaker001:] And yeah, she's, she's quite attractive looking.
[speaker002:] Uh-huh, uh-huh.
[speaker001:] Hope, hope the stud will find her attractive.
[speaker002:] [LAUGHTER] And that she has kittens that look like her.
[speaker001:] And, and that she has a whole bunch of kittens. But we have to be careful, uh, you know, we have to get a particular color point, uh, stud. You can't just breed them with anything. We have to get a, uh, we have to get a silver point Himie, so that the silver will be predominate in the kittens.
[speaker002:] I see.
[speaker001:] That's, it, that's the fun part, trying to figure out what you've got to breed them with, can't just go out there and say, okay, you guys breed, you know [LAUGHTER].
[speaker002:] [LAUGHTER] You can't just tell them that anyway, but [LAUGHTER].
[speaker001:] That's right.
[speaker002:] Oh dear. Well it really sounds like, uh, uh, a business more than a hobby.
[speaker001:] Well actually, I mean, it, it is a business in a way, but it, it's a lot of fun as a hobby. Especially when you go to shows and get to see all the different cats. We're, we're about to get another breed, we're go-, we're going to buy a Devon Rex. And I didn't, I don't like Devon Rexes at first.
[speaker002:] What is it.
[speaker001:] It's a, well actually it's a mutant. It, it comes from England and, uh, fr-, in the county of Devon.
[speaker002:] Oh.
[speaker001:] And it's a mutant cat. And they're, they're pretty expensive, we're going to, we're going to shell out probably about a thousand bucks for one. Um, they're very thin, they're, they're, they're long and lanky and skinny.
[speaker002:] Um.
[speaker001:] And they have real short hair. It's curly, as a matter of fact.
[speaker002:] Huh, interesting.
[speaker001:] Um, yeah, it, it, it's a strange looking cat. Uh, I didn't like them at first. They've got great big ears,