Our New Herb Garden

 This is a sphere our daughter-in-law, wife of our youngest son, welded. She welded this sphere out of horse shoes our son removed from horses to replace their worn horse shoes. Every amazing item our beloved daughter-in-law welds is composed of used horse shoes she has to clean of rust and dirt before she can even begin to create her works of art. There is a whole lot of hard and very dirty work involved in simply making the horse shoes usable in her horse shoe compositions.

 My husband built the pergola in the background last year. This year he made an herb garden. The main feature of our new herb garden is the two spheres welded by our daughter-in-law, and the herbs.

 We are going to mount the spheres on tree stumps from our woods, soon.

 The herb garden also borders the driveway and our front yard. The sidewalk divides the herb garden from the front yard and walkway from the driveway.

 My old cat Miss Marple likes to sun herself in the new herb garden.

Even more is going on in the back yard and gardens. Our deck was rebuilt last year, we are in the process of making an outdoor kitchen/cooking/eating area now. Life in this part of Washington is coming to terms with the high and dry summer heat and learning to live with it and love it.We will have a covered eating area near the barbecue and smoker.This corner of our new (replaced) deck is where I've placed pots of herbs and flowers that will be moved later when our outdoor kitchen is done. My new chicken house is the building seen here in the background.

Life here has been glorious, we're so happy and blessed to live here. We're enjoying the many blessings of being near our sons and their families and also, now that we're retired , we're enjoying and appreciating the ability to set our schedule and time for ourselves. ( Hey, if we want to take a nap or just kick back and read a good book, we can !)

We have made many changes to our new home and farm for the better. We've improved our pastures, made vegetable and herb and flower gardens. My husband has invested much time and money in making our bee yard better for the bees and for increasing our honey production. Our poultry yard provides more eggs than we can use, but we're able to share the bounty with family and neighbors. My sheep have increased beyond my wildest dreams simply because sheep really do thrive on pasture ... amazing ! My husband and I love our new home more than we could have ever anticipated and I am thankful beyond what I can express. God is so good !

Oh Christmas Tree

 We're still getting settled in our new home and have many boxes stored in the barn we've yet to unpack. Many of the boxes are full of Christmas decorations . We knew we had a lot of Christmas decorations but boy oh boy, is it possible to have too many ? Especially since our new home is less than half the size of our home at Cedar Pond. ( Picture is of our youngest grandson helping my husband place the first few decorations on our tree.)

 We bought a new artificial tree for our first Christmas here. Yes, we have many beautiful trees growing in our forest that'd be perfect for us, but the woodstove in our new home keeps the whole house roasty-toasty and we did not want to worry about keeping the tree stand filled with water when we knew it would dry out every day with the heat and our cats and dogs drinking out of it. We chose this tree because it is narrow and nine feet tall, filling the window but not crowding us out of our new little living room.

Blizzard, our 20 pound cat, stretched out under the tree .

 We have a new puppy . She was born to a Labrador Retriever one of our granddaughters owns. We got her when she was 8 weeks old and now she is 8 months old. Her name is Luna and we love her. She discovered a long time ago she can peek into the house from the windows overlooking the deck. Our two cats seem to enjoy mocking the dogs from indoors. Here is Miss Marple almost taunting Luna. If Luna were indoors Miss Marple would be hiding under the bed or in the closet.

 The view of the tree from outside on a cold snowy winter's evening. You can see our other cat Blizzard looking out the window.

"The shining sparkling ornaments strung on our Christmas tree , Reach out and take me by the hand to years that used to be."  *  'To The Years That Used To Be '  from poem by Annette Victorin

Random Happenings Around Cedar Pond

 It's that time of year I spend a lot of time watching and evaluating my Jacob sheep. This is Gudrid. Her four horns are a bit wonky but I like them, and I like her. I also like her fleece. I have a new ram and am hoping Cedar Pond's Gudrid and  Puddleduck Jonas will produce some amazing lambs for me. I am excited about spring 2016 lambs already.

 My husband was painting the second story of our house front, directly over the skylights in the sunroom. The cats were fascinated and watched him the whole time he was up there.

 Blizzard ...

 ... and Miss Marple.

 I finished my chicken embroidery on a piece of linen. I am still not sure what I am going to do with it. Add words ? Make a pillow or tea cozy with it ? Put it away in a drawer and forget about it ?

I carry a small bag of embroidery projects with embroidery floss, scissors and extra needles for those times I find myself waiting somewhere away from home. The doctor's office, the auto shop, or while visiting people. If I have some stitchery to do it keeps my hands busy and my mind free to concentrate on conversation or prayer. 

We now know why our fountain is losing water more rapidly than it should. Just glad Ella and Fella can't actually get into the fountain to splash and swim ! ( You know that is what they're contemplating.)

 

We finally got some rain this past weekend, along with a windstorm that knocked out our power and kept us without electricity over night. We survived , but many in our area sustained a lot of damage to their homes and the winds whooshed their way over the mountains to eastern Washington without much rain fanning the flames and spreading the already devastating wildfires there.

 

September is here and I am so happy about this. It has been a very hot , dry, and busy summer , but my favorite season is almost here and along with September cooler weather has come. Yay !!!!

The Rest Of The Story ?

 Oh glorious spot in the sunshine , perfect place on the bed for a cat nap.

 What you don't see is how Blizzard woke Miss Marple out of a sound sleep and bullied her out of her spot.

I am pretty sure "the rest of the story" is coming.

Rain !

Days of extremely high temperatures have left me wilting . All my time seems to be spent watering the gardens and livestock, only to begin again. It's too hot to bake or can the fruit and veggies . We don't have air conditioning except in our bedroom... and tempting as this is, I cannot justify spending the summer days there.

Yesterday thunderstorms rolled in bringing with them abundant rain. Today is a very fine day for baking and gazing out the window, and I am loving it ! "For ground that drinks the rain which often falls upon it and brings forth vegetation useful to those for whose sake it is also tilled, receive a blessing from God." Hebrews 6 : 7

Let Me Sleep In !

 Zzzzzzzzzzzz.................

 ....zzzzz ?

Some of us aren't early-birds , please , please, pretty please ...let me sleep in !?!

Tea & Crafts With the Cats

I poured myself some tea to sip from my Gracie Chintz china cup while adding some finishing touches to a flock of little sheep . I had some help with my crafting.

Yes, after finishing some of the sheep I took them into my sun-room to photograph in natural light so I could post them for sale in my Etsy shop and look, peek-a-boo ! Miss Marple was supervising the whole procedure making sure none of the little sheep strayed from position. She is very good at whacking them around if they do. Sometimes she even helps them get away , to their detriment. Good thing there is a shepherd there to guard them. ( And I don't mean the little porcelain one. )

On the very same day I finished up a few wool needle-felted balls. I had help there too.

Blizzard personally checks each and every wool ball out by batting and rolling it around. If the ball has jingles in it he double and triple checks it , enjoying my game of seeking it out after he is done. You can see Blizzard is sitting next to a blue bin where the wee little sheep are placed for their protection after they are completed. I have learned the hard way NOT to leave the little sheep unattended if the cats are prowling the house.

Just minding her own business ? Hardly, she is supervising the terrarium projects I have going on...

...with some help from Blizzard. I'm not sure if they think the resin mouse in the terrarium is real, but I do know they'd love to sink their paws into the mosses . If you look closely at the window behind Miss Marple you can see the cats have thoroughly decorated the window with little nose prints, the higher row of prints being those of Blizzard. I suspect the terrarium will be thusly dotted soon.

And then there are my weaving projects. I completed 3 rugs last week all with plenty of help from Blizzard. He holds the loom down for me. At 16 plus pounds, he's very good at this.

"Cats can work out mathematically the exact place to sit that will cause the most inconvenience." Pam Brown  ~ But that being quoted, you can tell I love having my cats in, out, and round-about me. As I write this Blizzard is holding my husband down in the recliner , stretched full out on my husband's lap. They are taking their evening nap together. "Dogs have their days but cats have 365." Lillian Jackson Braun

I enjoy this teacup, one of a set of 4 rose-chintz patterns from Gracie China. It is not only beautiful, with it's rose patterns, but when I hold it up to the light it is slightly transparent. Also, this is a sturdy teacup , a quality I need when working around my cats who love to check out my dishes but pay them no mind if they decide to have a spat about who gets to sit closest to me. I have had to remember to place my teacups firmly toward the middle of the work table to spare them such disasters. We don't have too many broken dishes from the cats, I am the klutz, but several close calls taught me well.

I would like to mention a blog I love, written by a cat lover who also enjoys her tea time. Deb at  'Just Cats'* writes not only about her cats, but also about the cats she encounters in her cat-sitting business. She also has some very good tips and info regarding cat care, and some common problems people face with their cats & kittens. "The smallest feline is a masterpiece." Leonardo da Vinci

I am linking up once again with these ladies for Tea-Time Tuesday :

• Sandi at Rose Chintz Cottage *
• Terri at Artful Affirmations *
• Martha at Martha's Favorites *
• Bernideen at Bernideen's Tea time Blog *

Cat Entertainment On A Rainy Day

 It's a rainy day here in the Pacific Northwest and I decided to move my parakeet back into the sunroom. The parakeet enjoys the front porch all summer long .Since she is back indoors the cats took full advantage of her entertainment value. Miss Marple napped on top of the cage ,

 Blizzard across from the cage. He knows he can survey the bird AND Miss Marple from here.

 Looks like a cat stare-down , doesn't it ? But Miss Marple with all her claws intact is no match for a muscle-bound 16 pound cat, even if he is de-clawed. Blizzard dominates her and all our big dogs. Soon the stare-down is over and Miss Marple leaves. Blizzard is ready to...

 pounce ! What grace, what feline precision. He lands exactly where he planned.

In front of the parakeet cage. Betty, the parakeet isn't even startled. She knows what you & I know,

Smarty pants Blizzard can't open the cage door. She'd better watch out though, he can open all the bedroom doors and I see he is pondering the parakeet. Now I'd better go get a wire clip , I don't want my cat entertainment to turn into a cat snack .

Can I Blame My Sister ?

Blizzard, our cat, was subdued and had hidden himself away. I should have realized Thursday morning when he did not open our bedroom door ( yes, he can open firmly shut doors ) to let our other cat Miss Marple  precede him into our bedroom so they could jump into bed with me after my husband left for work , that something was wrong. Our home was too quiet and I did not have him sprawling on my lap as I watched the news on t.v. the previous night.

When Blizzard vomited his food and paid no attention to all the things he loves to do I was concerned. Later, when my grandchildren were holding him they discovered small puddles of urine wherever he had reclined. Blizzard is a very conscientious and tidy cat when it comes to such things so I immediately suspected he was in need of veterinary care. I made an appointment yesterday morning with the vet. Before I left for the vet I watched him for awhile. He would jump into his litter box and seem to strain to urinate. During one attempt he yowled and screamed in a way I had never heard from him. Blizzard was in pain and not able to pass urine. I carted him off to the vet after he crawled into his crate. Blizzard loves the crate. Blizzard was easy to examine. He is very friendly and the vet's office did not scare him at all. Not much scares him. He seemed mighty happy when the vet took him away to the back room for a few hours of observation.

One of the questions the vet asked was if there had been any changes in our home, any upsets, any big differences ? Wow, I realized then that Blizzard must be missing my sister. Bliz fell in love with her and spent many hours watching her, carrying her hair bands around ,stealing her pens and pencils, her phone charger, and at night he would open her door and jump into bed with her.( Surely she would love a 16 pound cat sleeping on her ? ) He would stalk her anytime she was home. My sister moved out this month into her own home and I noticed the first few days she was gone he would stay by her door and watch. I think it finally sunk in that she was not coming back here to stay. If a cat could be despondent, Blizzard was the perfect example.

Blizzard's affliction is one they ( veterinarians & scientists ) think can be brought on by stress or change that disturbs a cat. If left untreated for very long ( a few days) it can be fatal. His problem has a long name, but is fairly common in male cats. Of course I can't prove it, but I know my cat, and I would say he is missing my sister. What do you think ? Can I blame it on her? :)

Blizzard had a lazer treatment to his bladder and is on meds. He is not a happy camper right now and I will be giving pills to a cat twice a day for several days. I love that silly cat though and hope he mends quickly. Besides, Miss Marple needs him to open our bedroom door in the morning so they can cuddle with me.

Christmas~ Hard Work For Cats

 It is such hard work being a cat during the Christmas Season. Resisting the sparkly, dangling things hanging off a tree. ( Birds ?)

 And let us not forget how hard it is to hold down the batting used for decorating and the wrapping paper when the people in the house keep moving it about !Not to mention the strings of lights....

It is such hard work a cat needs a nap. Now if only the dogs would appreciate our work and give us more room on the cat bed!