Catching up

Well, it's been awhile since I posted. Let's take this in categories again. Let's start with

Walking the dogs

Bunnies continue to tease along our normal route, sometimes lolopping across the road just a quick dash away.



See the bunny?
Every time we pass this spot, they all have to make absolutely positive there are no bunnies NOW!

The new cowlettes are still skinny, and some quite scabby looking, but always interested, and will come all the way across their big meadow to see what we're doing.



Our usual route around the neighborhood runs a kind of gauntlet between two large, black, furry dogs at two different homes. One, Whiskey, is usually loose, and occasionally comes to check us out, or barks at us. His home is near the first corner, which means it's the pee-mail drop, for him and for our dogs. If he's too interested, we have to skip it, much to the boys' chagrin. ("What are you doing? It's over HERE! This way! Augh. You just don't get it, do you? Why are we even going on patrol if we're not going to gather the info??")

Whiskey's people also have a few horses. They are semi-interested in us, sometimes. I finally remembered to take a picture or two, there by the pee-mail drop.


"Well, maybe I'll just saunter a little closer and sniff you out a bit."

The other big black dog, Bear, belongs to the nice farmers around the corner. He's almost always tied up outside their lovely yellow farmhouse in the shade of their magnificent trees, and just gives us a bark and maybe a tail wave on our first pass. Today, he was loose during our return, since his people were across the road at their barn. We decided to split up, and have H go get the car while the dogs and I stayed out of range. We weren't sure which dog it was, and didn't want to risk Whiskey's attentions all the way back to his house. I could see the dog trot happily up to H, they greeted each other, and the dog walked along away with him as I went the other way. A few minutes later, H called to me and waved me back along. The owners held him and waved to us as we went by. Very nice people, but very hard to understand, as they have thick accents. Maybe Swedish? Dutch? Something like that. It's always a challenge to have a conversation with them, since neither side seems to quite know what we're responding to, nor how to respond to it!

We've watched a pair of eagles raise their young and hunt pigeons over their property for the last few years. We heard them screaming this morning, but didn't see them. It's amazing we haven't been able to find their nest, since they start at about 4' across, and get bigger every year. Some as big as a volkswagen, I learned at the bird event a few months ago. You'd think you'd see that in the leafless winter trees!

Anyway, on another dog walk, in Ferndale, I saw this tree on a corner.

(Sorry for the fuzziness. My lens was dirty.)
It looked like a sort of cartoon elephant sitting on the hillside.
To me.
Don't you see it? :)

On a sunny, windy day, we walked down to the pier in Blaine. It was a low tide. Be glad they haven't worked out smell-o-rama on blogs, yet! :P


Did I say it was sunny and windy?

Proof positive that I have no pride. ;D

The picnic area on the end of the pier, looking across at Semiahmoo.

Pogo likes to bark and lunge at the seagulls as they take off from the rail here.

How cute is that Wabi?! Man, she's cute!

Here's a bunch of pictures of my darling funny little chimera dog. Just because. :D

That's the look I get when she joins me in the studio and demands her affections be returned. How can I resist? I don't even try!

Wabi and Brilly and their respective pillows.


What follows is a series depicting a little love-in between Wabi and H, with some jealous cats checking out the party.


*sigh* I love that little dog! :)

CATS

Yes, cats. That's right. You know you want it! Well, here they are, in all their inherently photogenic beauty.
Rowdy boy, crouching between my feet, hoping to cause me to give him Glove Love (petting him with the grooming mitt).


Coco. Be still my heart!




Meepy. Be still, Meepy! LOL!

Colorful character, that guy, huh?

Bad Cat, flaunting the Off The Table rule.


Family get-togethers
1. BBQ at V and G's

Ah, it's so nice to have such pleasant weather! Reason enough to heat up the barby and hang outside with the fam.
V and young Henry, checking out all the attention from the granps.


A swing in front of the swing!

Wheee!
Me next!!

He's practically walking now!


Add your own caption for this one. I dare ya!


Mm! It's ready to eat! Yum.


P showed up, too. Granpa H shows his experience in child care.


V grabs a quick bite.

heh heh!

What do you think of that, young Mr. Henry?


V demonstrates the wide range of facial expressions possible. Very useful in baby entertainment. Makes them giggle.

Makes me giggle a bit, myself!

2. Henry's First Birthday Party - at our house

Hm. Maybe I should at least vaccuum before they get here. What do you think?


Another side-effect of the warmer weather and having 7 furry animals living in one house! :P

Meanwhile, out on the deck, a hatch of tiny golden spiders is slowly tumbling apart like spilled beads.

Hope no one steps on them going in and out the door!

They're here! Finn comes in hungry, and shares his little dumpling thingie snacks with H and I.


Birthday Boy is feeling a little cranky, and wants some sharesies, too!


Dinner is out of the way; on to CAKE!
I made a vegan coconut carrot cake with pecans and raisins. I thought the cake was a little dry, but otherwise yummy! The frosting was even good (coconut oil "buttercream" frosting, which would melt right off the cake today, but stuck long enough on that day).

Note, the candles are still lit, and Finn is already preparing to receive his piece! LOL!

What do you think, Henry? Ready to blow out the candles?


Blow. Blow, not drool. Well, maybe a little help, then.


We adults were still licking our forks when Finn was asking to watch us play Otto (a computer game). He would rather watch than play, for some reason he can't articulate. We adjourned to the studio to do as we were bidden.
H takes a turn at level Snoth. Finn is rapt. And wrapped in my wrist pad!


Somehow, V and G have lost focus on the game, and are looking around at my stuff.


We had a good time, as usual. Henry got another chair-choo-choo ride, but I didn't get pictures of that. We never did get out on the deck, so the spiders were safe. I know you were worried about that.

Around the homestead

*warning to CC: identifiable spider pictures below, but tiny. Others may click to enlarge a bit, but they're lousy, fuzzy, photos anyway, so you really needn't bother.*

A few weeks ago now, the apples were blooming. Is there anything more simply lovely?


There are polliwogs in the pond this year! They're big. H thinks maybe bull-frogs.

What? You can't see it? Too murky, you say?
Look closer...

See it now?

Other critters are hatching, too. I found this unidentified egg on the edge of the driveway.

(pudgy finger for scale)

The broom is blooming on the mound. Pretty this time of year.


A little vetch flower joins it's bigger cousins.


The wild roses are starting to bloom and perfume the air.


Random wildflower of some kind.


This is an ant nest! It's hard to believe that I would fail to notice my big fathead shadow right in the picture! Such a great photographer! Duh.


We have this struggling little tree, I think it's a dawn redwood, in a pot on the deck.


H thought it looked like the woman in Christina's World, by Andrew Wyeth.


Going through my pictures later, I found this other oddly similar visual reference.

P gets all shussy on the x-country ski machine in the shop.
P, let's see another angle on that magnificent form!

(You'll notice a certain emptiness and disarray in the background. Moving out was in progress that day.)

WARNING: Here are the spider pictures. Two of them.


Here they come.



Look away if you're CC.


Okay, this is it, now.
This guy was on the deck. He's little, in reality, and so brightly marked. Too bad my phone camera isn't quite up to doing macros!

"Whatchoo lookin' at, you behemoth? You don't scare me!"

Love the glowing eyes!


Gardening
I promised PJ pictures to answer the age-old question, "Mary, Mary, quite contrary, how does your garden grow?" To be properly contrary, I'd promise then not do it, but I'm neither as Mary nor quite as contrary as I once was, so here you go.

Taken May 11.



Squash just sprouting.


Peas in the foreground.

Taken May 23rd.

Peas have about tripled in size!


Collard greens. Mm!


Bok choi.


Golden beets, struggling along.

Taken June 3.

From the other side, so bok choi nearest, then beets, then collards, and the peas in the back.


Collards are doing fabulously!


Golden beets doing better!


Gotta thin those carrots!


The peas are reaching for their first string! They're probably there right now.

I missed getting pics of the squashes. They've got leaves the size of silver dollars, but that's about it so far. Several are volunteers from last year's, not surprisingly, since we couldn't keep up, and some we just plowed back in, with their bazillion seeds.

Going (back) to the dogs

Finally, yes, we have returned to the subject of the dogs. Quit smirking. You knew it was coming. Yeah yeah. You're so smart! ;P

Well, they're always happy to see YOU, anyway!


I really only brought you back here to show you what the food routine has come to. And this is just the food, not the feeding, which is a 7 ring circus! But beautifully directed, nonetheless, as any of you who've seen it can attest.

Here are the bowls, lined up with supplements a-ready.


Not including the pumpkin to keep Meepy's bowls in order, nor the yogurt to help Happy's gut in its labors, here are the meds and supplements, and the toothbrushing equipment, and the various ointments for Wabi's eye, Happy's chest, and her hoo-hoo. Now, this seems simple enough, right??


Okay, you can go now. I'm done. Don't forget to leave a comment! :D