"I win"

Just like any teenager,

 Audrey doesn't take "No" for an answer.

"No" from her mom, Annie, when she attempts to take over her favorite basket.

And....sometimes she wins.

This time mom gave up and went to the bed.

I placed my hydrangea outside for a few days to climatise it to the out-doors but the sun was too warm (imagine that) and the leaves dried up so back it comes and now I have to get it back to a healthier state.

I would like to plant it near the well this summer. 

The cardinals have arrived so I'm heading out with some sunflower seeds.

We have wonderful weather today and the sun is shining.

Best not waste it.

hugs, Deb

C is for companion or.......contrary.

 

                                       The trio
C is for companion and Audrey enjoys the company of her mom, Annie and her Aunt Sierra. Well, at least most days. Since the loss of our Lily and moving to the mouse-house, there have been changes in the hierarchy and Audrey now has to get used to her mom being the Top Cat. That means, that sometimes, Audrey is treated with disrespect from her mom. Such as this morning.

Audrey was just about to get comfortable in the favorite wicker basket when mom appeared, had a sniff of her hydrangea, then with a hiss and a swat quickly sent her scurrying from her comfort spot to settle in herself. Poor Audrey. When it comes to her mom, her feelings can get hurt. Yes, she has a sensitive side.

Maybe C should stand for Contrary, Audrey thinks.   

All is calm again, the sun is shining, it's heading to +20 today and I have lots of out-door work to do. 

Have a nice day, everyone.
hugs, Deb

Capturing a sunny morn at the mouse-house.

The Forsythia will be blooming soon.

Annie & Sierra watch as the crows come in to the feeders.

We've been cleaning up the back of the property; cutting dead branches, raking leaves and moving some rocks around.

The ground is covered with moss-covered rocks and, although I don't want to disturb them, I did pick one to put at the well.

Once the sun went behind the clouds, we worked off our lunch.

Who needs to go to the gym when there's work to do?

These leaves will stay as ground coverage.  I'm raking only on the walking path.

I'm getting there.

Enjoy your day, 

Hugs, Deb

B is for burrow and best buds.

"OK, Audrey...it's back to your lessons."
"The letter B is for Burrow, which you seem to love to do. You do become invisible, there's no doubt about that.  And I can never find you. I look for hours, calling your name. Sometimes I panic and fear I will never see you again. But I know you can't hear me in your little dark cave or you would answer me like a good kitty, right?" *kiss, kiss, hug, hug*


                                          "Ever wonder who ties her shoelaces for her?"

But, of course, it's not always all about Audrey.

The weekend was a busy one. We had visits and breakfast out with little Gwynn, shopped for mouse-house home-improvement supplies and I raked for hours to clear a path to the back stone fence.

Now I'm surfing pinterest for ideas on creating a walk-way. 

Oh, the fun never stops.

I should have big muscles by the end of this Spring if it doesn't kill me.

My little Red is becoming very friendly and hangs out of his drive-thru to watch me tidy up the lot.

I shared a piece of 12 grain bread with him today and now we are best buds.

"BEST BUDS."  "Hear that, Audrey?"

hugs, Deb

A gift to cherish

Last week I received a lovely gift from one of my followers.  

Inside a little box with a sticker that read "You're the cat's meow''

was this beautiful tea-cup and saucer.

Inside a card Lana wrote, "This cup and saucer is one I have had for years but it reminded me of your new home and I wanted you to have it."

I was so thrilled and touched by this gift.

And then I noticed something wrapped up in pretty paper. When I opened it, sitting in my car, I started to cry.

Just look at this.

A beautiful tag with Ed and Lily's photograph and embellished with charms.

and on the back...

Two little faces I love with all my heart.

A beautiful tag done up with their photos and a touching quote by Elizabeth Barrett Browning.

Thank you so much, Lana. I know that when these two beloved cats passed away that you were very touched and saddened. I hope you know how much I appreciate this gift and I will always treasure it.

And, I will think of your kindness when I enjoy a cup of tea in this pretty cup.

I wish you had a blog, Lana, as I would love to meet you and your kitties, too.

For now, I send a big hug to you and your little fur babies.

hugs, Deb

Challenging Audrey

We woke up to -3 this morning. That's too cold. :( That first cup of  hot coffee tasted great.

I fed the birds at the feeders, then, while walking around the property, I noticed that the chipmunks have made a home under the old logs from the building we had to take down in the Fall. We are keeping the logs that are structurally safe to re-use to build a smaller building when the time is right. For now, it will hopefully keep the chipmunks safe from the hawk that paid a visit last week and maybe we'll get to see some baby chipmunks soon.

Audrey greeted the morning waaaaaay too early again today. I think she, too, is on hawk-alert as she bounds from window to window catching every movement in the branches of the old maples and then lands on top of the fridge to scream for her first meal of the day. That, of course, wakes up the mouse household.

I fear that Audrey might be getting bored so today was her first lesson in learning the alphabet. This gal loves a challenge to exercise her pea...er...her brain.

"So Audrey...today we learn the letter A".
  A stands for Audacious. Audacious Audrey.(showing an impudent lack of respect)

                      "So far....this blows."

"I'm going back to hawk-watch"

=^..^=

hugs, Deb

Spending some change & Greta's Organic Gardens.

"Ha ha...my meal ticket's been filling up the swear jar lately.

Oh ya, she's watching from the window for that dastardly hawk that came around last week.

Oh man, you should hear what she calls him.

Cover your ears. hahaha!"

                                            "I'm gonna wash her mouth out."

Well, it's true that I am on hawk-alert and not too happy about it but I did have enough change left over to head over to Greta's Organic Gardens http://www.seeds-organic.com/to meet 85 beautiful ladies and bring home a dozen of today's fresh eggs. Cost - $6.00.
Greta has been growing and selling organic seed for 20 years to over 1,000 Canadian customers. She only starts her seed sale in May each year so the seeds can be planted immediately.

I had been hoping to find an egg supplier close by and Greta's Organics sells the freshest eggs around. It was very neat to meet the 'ladies' who provide dozens of customers daily with their tasty eggs. It's a small but wonderful farm and we'll be back for their Open House in May to pick out our veggie and herb seeds.

Friendly and very healthy-looking chickens. They are fed only organic seed.
I already have a favorite.

Lovely.

"See you again soon, ladies."

hugs, Deb

An unwanted visitor to the mouse-house.

We had a visiting hawk on our property last week. I noticed the feeders were quiet around mid-day and looked up to see a dark shadow in a tree. Then it came down to the lower branches of a Douglas Fir tree and hid inside for a time. I thought that was odd but then the Mourning Doves spend a lot of their day in there. Soon it flew up to the top of a tree again and then left. The feeders remained very quiet for hours after except for a few Chickadees. I wondered if that meant they are a little dumb in the bird world. I  can just hear them now..."after you...no, after you"Thankfully, there has been no hawk sightings the last few days. I decided to keep all the ground feed tucked under the trees instead of out in the open from now on. I'm pretty protective of our resident birds.

                                         From the mouse-house kitchen window.

Today was a wet, windy and miserable day but I ended up having a great one.

 I  had an over-due visit and coffee with my lovely friend, Susan. I was her cat-sitter for years (Lucky =^..^= & Addy =^..^=)  and we were walking buddies before I moved and both miss our walks and talks. You can visit Susan at http://proseccoandpolkadots.blogspot.ca/

I replenished the bird seed cupboard which will keep my mornings filled with happy birds, and once the sun appeared, planted gladiolus bulbs along our front fence in honour of Earth Day.

                                                                     (source)

This property just may be a little piece of heaven some day. *smile*

hugs, Deb

Music of the morning..

Sometimes I wish I had my friend Sue from  http://proseccoandpolkadots.blogspot.ca/here to identify the call of the birds that is like music to the ears each morning. After coffee is poured, I open the kitchen window and am serenaded by the birds amongst the maples making their presence known. Some I know, some I don't. It is such a nice welcoming to a new day.

There is a flock of juncos that have decided to stay awhile and enjoy their free meals at the feeders. They are grey with a white chest and their tail is fan-like when they lift off. They are a nice addition to the crows, blue-jays, cardinals, downy wood-peckers, gold-finch, wrens, sparrows, starlings & chickadees.

The kitties are hoping for more sun as they miss their sun-puddles and the extra activity at the feeders.

They are spending more time this week snoopervising in the garage.

Annie spends her day watching over old Kane. She is 'little Florence Nightingale' in a cat costume.

She always has to be caring (in her mind) for an oldster, but in this case,  Kane would rather she just go and find a ball to bat. He doesn't care too much for cats. haha!

It is raining again today so I am hoping the burn ban will be lifted soon so we can continue to clean up the grounds. It is frustrating when we are here to work but our hands are tied.

hugs, Deb

Always stop for tea.

It poured rain all day today but that was ok by me. It was time to get back to a few projects in the mouse-house.

Of course, others had a different idea on how to spend this rainy day.

Annie

French toast was in order.

Oh, yum yum.

Then Kane needed a bath.

"Mmmmmm...you smell nice, puppy.''

The mouse-house needed a cleaning...

swish...swish... ALL DONE!

(source)

and baking some yummy banana muffins was in order, too.

                                                          To go with tea, of course.

Because no matter what the weather, there is always time for tea. Right, ladies. :)

hugs, Deb

Sunday morning's spot of milk.

6 a.m.  Sunday morning ritual.  Watch the crows arrive and then a spot of milk.

hugs, Deb

A week in full.

I'm glad I mentioned on my previous post that I am raking this property to within an inch of it's life. In my comments, Marty mentioned that I should leave some of those old leaves on the ground as some birds are nourished by the critters that live in there. Well, I am more than happy to do that....yessiree. There are still lots of leaves on the ground and I am delighted to move on to another project now.

The old well pump got a make-over this week.

Prepping for paint.

I remember the well being painted white when I was a youngster so now I love it's new look. I can see it from the kitchen window.

Now I need some grass and flowers. :)

I also added one more feeder for my feathered friends. It's not the most functional design but it's pretty and my Chickadees like it. This little one came over to see it within seconds of me hanging it.

I have morning glory seeds sprouting and will plant them along the fence at the well.
We had another burn but now there is a burn-ban on as it is very dry here.
Gwynn and her mom dropped by for a morning and she enjoyed some 'Spring' at the mouse-house.

We had a full week of warm weather and lots of sun-shine. It was time for me to bring Lily home and lay her to rest beside her Ed. This is never easy for me; I relive the day I said good-bye to her all over again. It's rough, but I want her home and close to me again. So, now she rests beside the love of her life and I will plant some Lily of the Valley there in May.

Rest in Peace, my Lily-bug.

hug, Deb