Garden & Animals Challenge: Show Your Photos and Stories – Win a Total of €100 in Store Credit

Please remember to share the challenge on your social media pages and also point out the voting option for the Community Choice Prize. 

Dear community,

after the delicious cooking challenge, we’re continuing with a new community activity all about your everyday life in the great outdoors and with your animal companions.

📸🌿🐾📅 Activity period: September 29, 2025 to October 15, 2025, 11:59 PM (inclusive)

🎁 Prizes
We will raffle off €100 in Crazypatterns shopping credit among all valid entries. The winners will be announced here in the forum. This time we will choose the winners not only by random selection, but also by the number of likes and by a jury’s selection. 

- Community‑Choice: 3 × €20 = €60 / the 3 entries with the most likes win / cutoff date 10/15/2025, 11:59 PM
- Jury Picks: 2 × €10 = €20 / Jury = Operator and Moderator
- Random Selection: 2 × €10 = €20 / 2 participating entries will be chosen at random

✅ How to take part:

1. Post your entry here in the thread (or open a new topic and refer to this thread).
   
2. Use the template below and attach your own photos (1–3 pictures are welcome).
   
3. Tell a short story about the subject (for whom/why/when – 2–4 sentences).
   
4. Multiple entries per person are welcome!
   

📝 Template to copy

• Subject / Title: …
  
• Who or what can be seen? …
  
• Short story (2–4 sentences): …
  
• Location/date (optional): …
  
• Photos: (please attach)
  

💡 Inspiration

• Fresh vegetables & fruit from your garden = anything that can still be found in the garden in fall or that has been pickled / preserved / canned. Of course, you can also show how you are getting your garden ready for winter.
  
• Flowers & herbs in full splendor, if still present, or trees with colorful fall foliage
  
• Farm animals: goats, sheep, chickens (eggs welcome too), ducks …
  
• Dogs (action, training, cuddling) & cats (chilling, playing, watching)
  
• Birds in the garden or on the balcony
  
• Rabbits, guinea pigs & co.
  
• Bees, butterflies and other busy garden residents
  

🔎 Rules / Checklist

• Your own work & your own photos. No stock or AI images.
  
• Subjects photographed earlier are okay, as long as you present them during the activity period.
  
• No external/commercial links. (Mentioning inspiration without a link is ok.)
  
• Animal welfare comes first: please no stress for your animals, no risky situations.
  
• Be friendly and observe netiquette.
  
• Entries with incomplete information or rule violations may be excluded.
  
• Prizes are non-transferable; cash payment excluded.
  
• Legal recourse is excluded.
  

📣 Schedule & Notification

• Submission deadline: October 15, 2025 (inclusive).
  
• Drawing & announcement of the winners afterward here in the forum.
  
• Notification: The winners will also receive an email about the credit. 
  

We’re looking forward to lots of new photos + stories from the community! 🌼🐕🐈🦋

Warm regards
Your Crazypatterns Team

This is Miley. 9 years old.
Since we live in an attic apartment, unfortunately we don’t have a garden. But she still likes to enjoy the sun. At least partly🤣

It’s not exactly a garden, but I had this little visitor at work.

A glance out the living room window to enjoy the last rays of sunshine, and right away this fluttering fellow flies in, landing briefly on the balcony table. He spreads his wings as if he knew we wanted to snap a photo of his full beauty. Photo in the bag, and just like that, the peacock butterfly was gone again. 😉 Awesome

Not my own, but when the neighbors are on vacation, I sometimes look after him.
Tiny, but already quite the loudmouth ... By now he’s all grown up and likes to come visit.

    

What’s in the photos?
Birds I photographed from our living room window:

a family of blue tits



Sparrowhawk—a rather rare sight around here.



Nuthatch

1. My little princess Mina
Mina is very small and delicate for a Persian cat, even if her long fur makes her look otherwise.
She came to live with us when she was 2 years old and has now reached the ripe old age of 15—we hope she’ll stay with us for a long time to come. She’s our fifth family member. :)
                
  
2. This year’s harvest from my garden
After a pretty mixed garden year in 2024, this year’s harvest from my garden was absolutely amazing.
      
     
  
I’m really proud of my little harvest, and processing it was fun, too. :)

🌸🐔☀️
My little story:
For me, a garden isn’t just about the splendor of the flowers—it’s also about watching my chickens go about their business. While the dahlias and lupines bloom in full color, the curious ladies scratch around among the flower beds and inspect everything very closely.

The beauty lies in this blend of nature and life—flowers for the eyes, animals for the heart, and a chance for me to slow down.

My photos: brightly colored blooms 🌺, a proud hen 🐓, and one brooding in her nest.
That’s my summer happiness in the garden.

🦋🐛🐝🐞🪲
Home is where my garden is 🌻🌼🌹

I love these charming little creatures 🦋
and am always happy to have them 🦋 in my garden. My garden is home to many plants that attract 🦋, as well as a little house for them to spend the winter.
I find this painted lady butterfly on the zinnia particularly beautiful. 🦋


 

The other day by the pond in the garden... a water frog enjoying the sun

Its fellow frog preferred to stay in safe cover—perfect camouflage.

And another little sun-worshipper. She’s enjoying the last rays of sunshine before the dreary weather sets in. Our little Bella.

Our Charlie—he can’t help but grin after he’s climbed into the hammock.😊

A heron on the prowl, photographed during a walk.

I harvested a “Carrot King” from my garden.

Life with cats is never boring. We had two cats who were very smart—especially when it came to filling their bellies.


This is Schnurri, our first tomcat. He quickly figured out that there was fresh prey to be had in the birdhouse. So he climbed up the tree trunk and lay in wait inside the birdhouse. Of course, the birdhouse was taken down after this snapshot was taken. We certainly didn’t want to do that to our feathered friends!


Schnurri’s successor, Puschel, was no less cunning. He knew exactly which kitchen cabinet the treats were kept in. The fact that it was a wall cabinet didn’t bother him much: he’d jump onto the base cabinet and deftly open the door.

Unfortunately, both kittens are no longer with us, and I’m now too old to get a new one.
 

Title:
The last child always has fur!

Who’s featured:
A member of our family—a so-called “mustard dog” (everyone added their own “mustard” to the mix).

Story:
When I had to say goodbye to my soulmate, a little wire-haired dachshund, as he crossed the Rainbow Bridge in 2015, I was certain I’d never get another dog.
Exactly six months after his death, while I was at work, a pop-up window from an animal shelter appeared, showing a little white dog who touched my heart immediately. My husband was also all for it. The application process and the home visit by an animal welfare representative took only three days. On the fourth day, we brought our little protégé—who was 1.5 years old at the time—home with us. It was one of the best decisions of our lives. Sometimes I think my late wire-haired dachshund sent him to us. He came from a Slovakian kill shelter and was full of pellets, which we had surgically removed right away.
Now he’s been enriching our lives for 10 years, and we hope there are many more years to come.

These are my two heartbreakers, Diego (tabby) and Sancho... two brothers who have been part of our family since February of this year.
You can tell they’re brothers especially by the way they interact with each other. We’ve had cats before—always two at a time—but none of them were as affectionate with each other, and when one calls, the other comes running right away
The heart on the sole of Sancho’s paw is his very own, natural tattoo :)

The terrace is Charly’s kingdom, and his wooden box is his throne. This is where he loves to spend his days, because he loves to chill out and watch the colorful hustle and bustle around him. Sometimes, when he’s had enough of watching, he falls into the deepest sleep—often in the most impossible positions: sometimes hanging halfway out of the box, sometimes completely twisted, but always content. For Charly, there’s no better place in the world to unwind.

  

These photos were taken in July during great heat in the garden.
Today is Lizard Day! I had just filled my watering can for the first time, then, as usual, I also filled the small bowl next to the water barrel. I know that a pair lives right there. When I came back to refill it, both of them were there, one after the other. First the male, then the female. They just looked at me and continued drinking contentedly. They seem to have figured out where the water comes from and tolerate us.

It’s bad again this year. Set up water bowls in your gardens! The animals really need them! And we need the amphibians, too.

Our Milow literally crawls right into people’s hearts, and here he thought it was super funny in front of the cornfield


As we all know, after a downpour comes the rainbow—in real life, with such vibrant colors


And—though they’ve become so rare—they are still beautiful every time. A vibrant pheasant right outside our garden window


And these beautiful creatures—I love butterflies—here on a chrysanthemum


Very well camouflaged—I almost didn’t see it: a dragonfly in July on a concrete slab


And a nighttime visitor—a hedgehog, quite prickly :)


There’s so much to discover—keep your eyes open :)

 

Our Everything
This is Kiha, our rock in everyday life. She helps us cope with everyday situations that trigger fear or anxiety in the children. That’s how she makes everyday life easier for us as a family.

The photo was taken while waiting at the bus stop.

We found a tiny little hedgehog in our garden 4 weeks ago—way too light (84g). We found someone right around the corner who works for the hedgehog rescue and brought him to her.
The hedgehog rescue center nursed her up to 356g, and we took her—who was named Inge—back in last week so she could continue gaining weight.
Once she reaches 500g, she’ll be ready to be released back into the wild 😃

We hope she’ll stay in our garden 😊


Built especially for her



She sometimes peeks out from among the leaves in her new home 🥰

Our two household stars: Elmo (red-and-white Norwegian Forest Cat, 4 1/2 years old and weighing 8.5 kg)
and Loki (cream-colored Maine Coon, 3 years old and weighing 9 kg)
These two are the absolute center of our family and are always up to no good.
They’ve gotten along great from the very beginning and are as thick as thieves. Of course, they also roughhouse and romp around, but that’s just part of being tomcats.

This big grasshopper just had to be in the photo.
Spotted here in the park on the banks of the Rhine this summer.

Every year, our lawn is blanketed in pink by our Japanese ornamental cherry tree. Our guinea pig, Muffin, also really enjoys being nestled among the pink blossoms. 
 

Title: Guests in Our Garden

If you walk through the garden with your eyes open, you’ll find one or two visitors.

    
    
These are Lina (tabby) and Lady (black), my sister’s cats.
Lina always likes to be warm, and Lady lies down everywhere.

A few years ago, we turned an old cabinet into an outdoor aviary for our two budgies.

What we hadn’t considered: Mice love birdseed, too.
That’s why mice kept climbing through the mesh and feasting to their hearts’ content.

Afterward, they were so fat that they couldn’t crawl back outside through the mesh because they no longer fit through the small holes.

So almost every morning, we had the “fun” of having to let the mice go, while at the same time making sure the birds didn’t fly away.

Well, that’s how everyone has their fun—and hopefully you will, too.

 

Please remember to like your favorite posts. This counts toward the Community Choice: The posts with the most likes win the Community Choice prizes.
More info in the first post above.

• Subject / Title: My two old boys 
  
• Who or what can be seen? Two dogs 
  
• Short story: Here you can see my two old boys, Jack  (Sparrow) and Blacky! 
  The two of them are 13 and 14 years old and have been with us since they were little! 
  Both love spending time outside, enjoying the sun, and sniffing around to read the newspaper! Of course, they still enjoy meeting dogs and people, and most of all they love treats ☺️😍 But their walks don’t go very far anymore, because their old bones are often tired or aching! And so we’re enjoying our time together for as long as we can 🫶🏼
  
• Augsburg 
  
• :
  

Hi, I’m Lucy, about 2 years old, and I’ve got my cat buddy Pauli (5) and my human caregivers completely under control.
Love, Lucy

Subject 
Lavender as a butterfly favorite

Who or what can be seen?
My lavender planting in the garden hasn’t really wanted to thrive, probably because our soil is too heavy and rich for it. So I was all the more delighted when the last surviving plant, which I had planted on our "stone wall," grew and seemed to be doing well.
Then, one beautiful day, when numerous butterflies were fluttering around on the lavender, I had to make a little video. It was such a sunny day, the butterflies were flitting around like crazy, the birds were chirping.....it was wonderful. For you, I have a still photo of that wonderful moment; I hope you can make out the white butterflies clearly.



 

• Image / Title: All-You-Can-Eat at the Trash Buffet
  
• Who or what is shown? A hungry family of wild boars that has discovered our trash cans as a midnight snack.
  
• Short story (2–4 sentences): While others are asleep at this hour, the herd has gathered for a grand feast. Each trash can is expertly tipped over and thoroughly inspected—after all, a tasty treat might still be hiding somewhere. Photographed from our bathroom window.
  
• Location/Date (optional): on the outskirts of Berlin, July 2025
  
• Photos:  
  
  

Bush Pilots

I love watching insects and beetles in my garden. I could watch them for hours. 

My three goblins, Matze, Kalli, and Pepper, at the “Harvest Festival” in their barn. Many people are scared of them, but they’re actually so clever and sweet.


​​​​​​​

My Wonderful Commute to Work

I love taking photos of nature. Especially in this fall weather, when the morning fog and frost cover everything and it feels like you’re right in the middle of an enchanted forest💖🌹🍁🍂🌾
I took these photos on October 1st on my way to work.
Lately, I’ve been leaving a little earlier so I have enough time to take photos like these and enjoy the moment 🚲🌫🌄

This is Fussel (Maine Coon, 13 years old), my soulmate cat. Whenever I’m not feeling well, he never leaves my side—he follows me everywhere I go. 


And these are Emil (British Shorthair tomcat, 8 years old) and Yoshi (Shiba Inu, almost 5 years old). 

Yesterday, “our” green woodpecker showed up again.
He comes once a year.

And here’s number 2 of the neighborhood tigers. We’re already practicing looking really spooky for Halloween.



 

You’ve created some great posts.
Please remember that the challenge only runs until October 15, 2025, at 11:59 PM (inclusive).
If you’d like to submit more posts, now is the time.

Please give your favorite posts a “Like” for the Community Choice prizes. 

• Subject / Title: Boat trip with dog
  
• Who or what is in the photo? My dog Teddy during a trip in an inflatable kayak. The last photo was taken on a different day.
  
• Short story (2–4 sentences): Teddy was actually supposed to sit in front of me in the boat. But after a while, he decided he’d rather climb up to the small platform at the front. Luckily, he’s afraid of water and stays put in the boat during our trips.
  
• Photos: 
  

• Subject / Title: Chick Parade
  
• Who or what is featured? Chicks that hatched in my apartment.
  
• Short story (2–4 sentences): My chicken-keeping journey began a few years ago with 5 unsexed chicks. The following year, I bought a mini incubator with 8 slots. Two years later, I found a brooding hen dead in her nest. I had the incubator fully loaded at the time, but still managed to get the 15 eggs that were under the hen halfway into the incubator (well-wrapped, because the lid no longer closed properly). An emergency call to the poultry breeding club made it possible for me to borrow a larger incubator the next morning. In the end, I had 19 chicks. My dog tolerates the little ones and even lets them walk all over him.
  
• Location/Date: at my apartment over the course of several years
  
• Photos:  
  

• Subject / Title: Garden Impressions / Summer in the Garden
  
• Who or what is in the photos? Pictures from my garden
  
• Short story (2–4 sentences): A friend’s dogs are in the first two photos. We sometimes meet in my garden during the summer to play music and board games. I found the wasp nest under a flipped-over piece of roofing membrane while working on the roof after taking a few days off.
  
• Photos:
  

5 flawless goldfinch eggs...
...already hatched...
...about to take flight...
...finally plucked up the courage and left the nest!
...here’s the nest—perfectly at eye level, but well-camouflaged and cat-proof!

For the third year in a row, a pair of goldfinches has built a nest right in the middle of our rosebush by the patio—always in the spring. I can carefully watch their development from the eggs all the way to when the chicks fly the nest—it’s so amazing!! A true gift from nature!

...We also get to see a green woodpecker every now and then—it’s really huge:


Even in winter, more and more goldfinches come to visit us and enjoy a tasty treat...

Our cat Wiggerl (BKH) also likes to hang out in our garden... but only when the weather is nice ☀️😇😆




But now that it’s fall and winter, and it’s slowly getting colder, Wiggerl likes to curl up on the couch in the warm living room:

...with my knitted socks as a pillow!

And here he is with the giant kohlrabi I harvested:

 

Our two dwarf rabbits, Rosi (lop-eared) and Stups, lead a wonderful rabbit life.
During the day they roam freely in the garden; at night they’re safe and cozy in their spacious hutch.
For over 20 years now, we’ve always had an older and a younger rabbit living together; the older one reliably passes on the rules (don’t hop away, go into the hutch in the evening, etc.) to the younger hopper!




Every now and then, we even have wild ducks as guests—here in the background:

Here’s our Flocki (may he rest in peace); he passed away at the ripe old age of 11:

Flocki and Stups:

School Garden Rescue

My daughter started school last year, and that’s when I noticed the overgrown school garden. My husband, my daughter, and I have spent the last few weekends restoring the school garden so it can be replanted as a vegetable garden.

Before:



After:

Please remember that the challenge runs only until October 15, 2025, at 11:59 PM (inclusive). If you still want to submit entries, you’ll have to hurry.
Please like your favorite entries for the Community Choice Awards.
Have fun!

Hi, I’m Theo, and look what’s going on here. In the picture, I was still little and very sick—I had FIP.

Just chilling out—you get tired after playing so much.

My brother Carl wanted to take a closer look at what tasty treat I’d just eaten ,,,,, 


I’d gotten a treat—it was so yummy—but of course everyone else got one, too.

Lots of treats later, good food, plenty of playtime and sleep—it all helped me grow up strong. Now I’ve become a big, healthy little tomcat, with all sorts of silly ideas in my head.

As you can see, I can still stick my tongue out just as cutely as I could when I was a kitten.

 

Kathy1605’s post can be found here in this thread.

Quote start
Mrs. Elfriede with her daughter, Aunt Amalie

• Elfriede was a gift from my daughter after my mother’s death; she is my absolute heart dog.
  
• We’re from beautiful Schwalmtal
  

End of quote

Please remember to share the challenge on your social media pages and to mention the voting option for the Community Choice Award. 

Dear community,
🎉 The winners have been announced!
Check quickly to see if you’re one of them:
👉 You can find the winners here.
Congratulations and thank you to everyone for your great entries.