Summer Fun

One of my clients gave us this pop-up backyard pool as a gift. We call it the "Big Blue Blob"

It's really not that big, but that's ok. It holds enough water to cool off in! Unfortunately, it's going to leave a "Big Brown Blob" in the grass when I remove it. Good thing our grass (weeds) grows back fast :)

Saturday Morning Squirrel Watching

 Inside

Outside :)

Happy Saturday!

Froggy Footprints

Several mornings lately when I go out to the driveway, I'm finding track marks in the dew drops on my new car! 

I could not tell at first what was crawling around on my car in the night and I was worried it would scratch the paint.

Not sure what was happening here. 

Maybe a nightly critter hoedown under the moon?

Finally after a few days of this,

 I could make out the hoofers telltale shape.

Looks like my car is playing dance floor to a froggy free style routine!

At least the paint is safe. Dance on little frog, dance on!

Zoom Zoom!

After 12 long years my old wagon finally became a liability. It had to go before it drained my wallet.
So out with the old and in with the new....well almost like new.

This is my new to me anyway, 2011 Mazda 3 hatchback! I have never owned such a sporty car, but it called my name and followed me home. Makes me feel sort of young again :)
Zoom Zoom!

The Hitchhiker Fish

 

Look what we found by surprise, a baby American Flag-Fish! Last summer when we were gathering native minnows and fish from the canal near our house, I also brought back some plants and vegetation to keep in a large tub on the patio. I wanted to grow some plants and algae to feed the fish in the tanks. The only fish I put in the tub were a couple of mosquito fish, to eat any mosquito larva that developed.

Well, lo and behold, this week when cleaning out the tub, I found the mosquito fish doing well and this tiny Flag-Fish. It's a female, only a half inch long. Since Flag-Fish are egg layers, I assume her egg was attached to some of the plants and it hatched in the tub.

We had no idea she was in there and now she has been relocated to a more luxurious residence in my large aquarium. There is a larger female already there to keep her company, so we hope she likes her new home :)

His Favorite Thing

 

Semi-Wordless Wednesday

We had a wonderful Christmas and this was his favorite gift,

 a Furby Boom.

        I admit, I didn't really know why he wanted one or what it did, but it's kind of cute.

Hope everyone is having a Happy New Year's day!

Afternoon Cat Nap

 

It's hot here, real hot! Our outdoor stray "Scat Cat" stretches out on the front porch to sleep. I love that he fell asleep on his catnip mouse! He comes to eat and visit, plays with his mouse but still won't let me touch him. At least he's comfortable and feeling safe enough here to have a good long nap :)

Please Don't Feed the Animals.

Earlier this week, we went out for a walk along the canal by our house.  Other than this waterbird perched on a branch, we could not see much of anything in the water.

Most of the canal was covered over by thick water lettuce. So since it was almost lunch time, we decided to get some chicken and have lunch at the park.

Which was then abruptly interrupted by this guy!  Five minutes after sitting down, out of the woods he came marching. Nose in the air and heading right for our table. Seems KFC is potent raccoon bait!
He had no fear at all, so I assume someone has been feeding him. Really bad idea! Dangerous for us and for him.  We said our goodbyes and went home to eat our chicken in peace.

Our Backyard Hawk

I think I was interrupting his dinner.

He seemed annoyed with the timing of my photo opt :)

Clara Too

Two years ago in November I told you about loosing our Clara kitten.  She was just over a year old when she died. We were very sad here for a while, Clara was such a tiny ball fire and fun.

Well, last week we took in another little orphan who just happens to be black and white like Clara.
My son instantly named her Clara Too, but she will most likely just be called Clara. Fortunately this little girl was older and stronger when she was found in a drain pipe.

She's about four weeks old now and I will be starting to wean her off bottle feedings soon. Today she figured out that her tiny litter box is not for playing in or for sleeping in. So no more messy towels to wash I hope!

We don't know for sure yet that she is completely healthy, but so far she is doing quite well. I think she is going to be bigger and fluffier than Clara one, and I don't think she will fool the other cats at all by using the same name ;)  She's awfully cute though, don't you think?

Our New Addition

Meet Mishka, he's our new addition. Mishka is 10 years old and was given up by a friend who has become too ill to care for him. He is a beautiful Siberian Forest Cat and so far is fitting in well.

Compared to my other cats, he is a giant! Even though he only weighs about 15 pounds, he is so very long and tall. When he stretches out, he covers the entire length of our dining room table!

Culvert Cat

This is Scat Cat's favorite sleeping spot these days. Unless it's raining and the water is flowing!
He still won't let me touch him, but he seems ok otherwise.

An Object In Motion...

Our weather has been so wonderful here this winter! Not too hot, not too cold, just perfect for outdoor sword fights.

I wonder how many knights did battle in bright blue Crocs, carrying an orange shield? I bet he's trying to blind his opponent with color. Pretty sneaky if you ask me, lol!

Happy Birthday Tree 2011

My son just turned seven and this is the second photo next to his Starfruit tree.
He was given that tree for his sixth birthday by a family friend. Last year a bloggy pal (thanks Lin!) suggested I take a photo of him next to it every year. So we did.  Last year it looked like this:

You'll notice that the tree is in a different location now. I had to move it because it was going to grow too close to the electrical line above it.  That may have slowed down it's growth some, plus last winter we had three freezes and I lost some of the top. It has recovered and seems to be growing well, as is my son!

Rainbow Overhead

We were under the rainbow!
It was really a double rainbow and the colors were
much more brilliant than this photo shows.
I felt lucky all day!

Night Blooming Cactus

In the early morning, I almost missed the bloom again!

Just Hanging Around

Waiting for my peanuts!

He Can Stand!

This week Toby stood up to eat!

Out for a walk.

Vernal Equinox 2011

Seen way off in the distance by our dog very early in the morning.

Sun is coming up. Dog has alerted the neighborhood.

Dog is now spinning in rabid circles,

occasionally making an amazing aerial attempt to catch it!

Welcome Spring!

Death Defying Tree

During the 2004 hurricanes, this tree in our yard almost split in two. I thought for sure it would die by now, but so far it's hanging on.

I think the patterns in the exposed trunk of the tree are interesting. The trunk is cut in half from where the main branches start to sprout, all the way to the ground.

The tree does lean over some but has yet to fall or rot out completely. This is also the tree where I feed the birds and the squirrels. They love all the nooks and crannies in the trunk filled with bugs and hidden nuts.

Who knows how long it will live, but at least it's leaning away from the house if it does decide to fall!