Katie's Notepad

This, I love.
Becky bought a little white board to hang Katie's schoolroom so she and Laura can write messages to their little sister.
Every morning, there is a loving good morning from early bird Laura to Kate.
Then the not so loving response from Katie back at Laura...

Here is a translation:

Did you really have to erase my poem, "Stinkbug Invasion" just to write, "good morning tootsie roll?"

Katie

You may be able to imagine what's happening with the stinkbug population of Central Virginia by the title of Katie's poem.

Cake!

Becky made this mesmerizing design on the cake.
I don't know how it tastes because I started my diet today.
This is going to be a hard decision to stick with.

Spider

Here's an Orb Weaver spider and his shadow.

Fall, Finally

Isn't this a cozy sight?
I wanted to share with you the feeling of being out in the chilly fog, and looking onto the warmth of the light shining out from the windows.
A camera can't do the job thoroughly though.
I went out to bush hog after the cold front had blasted through, leaving in its wake a dense fog that was spooky as all get out.
I mowed around the trails, alone, very far from the safe and comfy house.
The vegetation had grown to a shocking height since summer, so it was extra scary expecting a bear to jump out from behind any number of cedar trees.
At one point I even imagined a pack of coyotes throwing caution to the wind and attacking the tractor. But that pack turned out to be just Snowflake and her cohorts taking a shortcut through the woods to surprise me.
With the cold, the fog, and the early darkness, I could feel that fall has moved in.

After the Storm

A beautiful storm blew in this evening, just as I was going to bush hog the trails.
It had been a rainy day, but the skies were bright blue when we heard thunder and looked around.
To the west was a dark brown mass of clouds coming fast. It was beautiful.
After it passed by, the world looked pristine with the colors lit up by the bright sun, against a dark gray sky.
Then there were double rainbows.

Tree Kittens

I love these little folks!
Gooseberry is the littler one with out a white nose, and with greener eyes.
She's a type A kitty who only lets you hold her if she's ready for a nap.
Tom is a mellow sweet heart.
When they're asleep, I resort to looking at my blog pictures of them.
My niece and nephew like to see pictures, so that gives me an excuse to add more.
Yesterday's foray into the wilderness resulted in an introduction of the kitties to an inquisitive squirrel.
Lottie moves so fast I couldn't get a good shot.
Trust me, it was cute.
These little peaceable kingdom moments that go against nature make me glad to have a glimpse into the Eden that we were meant for.

Chicks

Here are Laura's Golden Comet pullet chicks.
They live in Azkabantam, a little chicken coop which Big Dan built for the yard. It's on skids, so it can be moved with the tractor.
There's a little yard for the hens to run in.
Hopefully having been brought up in captivity will help them to be content not to free range.
When chicks are brought up wild and free by a mother hen, they don't appreciate being penned.
So far all 16 chicks are alive and well.
Five more weeks of heat lamp before they're completely capable of dealing with the cold.

You Can't Have Just One

The top three photos show our new(est) kitten, Tom!
After I picked up little Gooseberry with the intention of keeping her outdoors eventually, I very quickly realized that I would never go through with my evil plan good intentions.
But upon further consideration, I knew I really wanted my next cat to NOT be indoors like Sirius and Debbie. So I decided to look for a wilderness adventure buddy for her.
I had determined I wanted a kitten her age, a boy, who is gray and white, like Gooseberry.
This kitty was in the one litter I found on Craigslist.
When I called, the lady said there was only one kitten left. Phew, that made it so I could keep my precious Gooseberry inside with me forever, knowing I had given the second kitten idea a whirl.
Nope.
The one kitten was this little fellow.
Already they're getting as thick as thieves.
I'm sure that as soon as the big cats give up their plans to assassinate these little folks, I'll feel comfortable moving them to the shed right near the house.

Evolution of a Shiner

At Saturday's game against Nottoway, Becky and rival player Tiffany collided and bumped heads.
Tiffany went down and Becky just wobbled, but a few days later it looks as though Tiffany was the winner after all.
Becky did stay in the game for 10 more minutes before being subbed out to get an ice pack.
Then she proceeded to go out for an evening on the town, then a sleep-over, then church, before finally coming home.
The first picture is Sunday evening.
Then Monday evening.
By next Saturday, she may be able to intimidate the Buckingham players into submission even before the game starts...

Picking Up Hitch Hikers

Meet Gooseberry, the newest addition to Providence Farm.
We were racing up a back road on the way to youth group tonight when a scraggly little creature ran across the road in front of us.
I yelled, "Stop the car! I want it!" while Dan was still wondering what "it" had been.
Fortunately, he had slowed down enough for me to open the door and start my jump before the word "kitten" had reached his ears from the back seat.
I ran back toward the kitten, sure I sounded like a T-Rex to such a tiny creature, but when I said "kitty, kitty," she ran to me, meowing loudly.
While we were at youth group, Dan took her to Food Lion to get Kitten Chow and some soft kitten food, as she's a little thin.
Gooseberry will camp in Laura's room tonight with a makeshift litter box, food, water, and love.
We plan to keep her outdoors eventually, to which I say, "The best laid plans of mice and men..."
She seems well taken care of and well socialized. We found her in a place where no houses are anywhere nearby, and no more kittens were around, as far as we could tell. If she was dumped, it was recently. The only other possibility that we can imagine is that she climbed into an engine because of this cold front, and happened to jump out at that spot.
The girls named her Gooseberry after a cat in a book. That cat also is gray, with big green eyes.