Boo has been in our lives for almost 19 years, ...................

Boo came to us, during the time that our children were small,.............she,  just a small kitten, sitting out by our fence with a small meek meow. She brought us much joy...........in her sweet loving ways...........she gave us a small litter of kittens to also love..............she gave up city life and moved out with us to the country, where she survived a horrific coyote attack . She watched all of the children grow up and leave and also out lived all of her children. Her latest days were spent much of the time napping on the foot of our bed. 19 years seems like such a long time,.............I thought, until at the vets office this week, I had a only few short minutes left to hold this wonderful creature............before the death needle of the vet would take her away. After all of these years, her kidneys had started to fail.

Now there is an empty spot on the foot of our bed.

On the same day, I took Abbey along. Abbey was one of a group of kittens that came to the farm when we first moved out to the country. For 10 years she has explored the woods and brought back mice and has left them lying neatly by the door. She claimed the shelf and the top of the dryer in the laundry room as her favorite sleeping spot.She would sit with me outside in the late afternoons. She was gentle and sweet. Again, time seems not long at all when you realize that something so dear will soon be gone.

After exploratory surgery, the very next day after Boo's death,  Abbey received that dreaded needle of the vet......................

she had cancer.

I listen to the lonely call of the doves as I sit outside...............missing this beloved cat.

There is no cure for a broken heart................except for time, perhaps...............

Life has always filled me with awe....................

and yet, death has done the same.................

It seems that one gets to know and have time to look forward to a new life about to arrive...........

Yet death holds no announcement..............it can pop up when one least expects it.

I guess, some would say, that it's a good lesson on why we should enjoy what we have each day that we are given the chance to do so.

And I am truly grateful for all of the time and the memories that these two creatures brought my way, perhaps I am just a little selfish is wanting just a little more time with them.

 

Can you believe it??.............

   I am posting about the large amount of rain we have been getting, instead of the lack of it??

It has been wonderful!





This is a cotton field across from my mother's home. There was so much rain water in it that it reached all the way to the main road. The wind was making waves lap in it!

 

Here on the grounds, the rain has made every thing grow. The pumpkin vines almost swallow Sophie!

The flowers in the various gardens are blooming their brightest.

This is the first year I tried working with Bachelor Buttons. They have done well.

The chrysanthemums are still blooming.

There is color every where!

With all of the moisture, comes the mowing and weeding to be done. Look at Sophie's face. She has been out in the pumpkin patch with me since early this morning. She wants me to finish so that we can go for a long walk.

How is the weather treating you?

What is growing and blooming in your gardens?

I would love to hear!

There is a weathered old well house that the wind has blown shingles off from the roof .................

and the sun has baked off the paint................

but inside...............although covered in thick dust...........the cement floor is cool even on the hottest days and the water runs sweet and clear. It is not uncommon for me to find that a mouse, a bird, or even a rattlesnake has found it's shelter there off and on. This past week, I found this baby raccoon lying on the floor. There is a hole in the ceiling of the well house, and I could tell that is where this little one fell from. Amazingly, it was not injured. When I picked it up, it was very warm and very full............so I know that the mother was taking care of it.

I scooped it up to enjoy this rare moment of actually getting to hold a baby coon in my hands! Then off to the studio for a picture...............

or two.

If you ever look into your grandmother's photo albums..............there is always a baby photo with their bare bottom showing.............so here is on official baby coon's bottom.............look at that striped tail!

It was so cuddly.................I almost wanted to keep it.................

but I know better. Back off to the well house, where carefully, it was placed back up into the top with the others that  I could hear chirping away in their coon talk. I got on the very top rung of the ladder to just take a look and saw a large furry form.............lying very still, then in the half darkness.............glowing eyes of the mother. I go out to check every day and I hear the moving about and noises above me.............glad that the baby was reunited.

These are the moments in life that I don't take for granted and am forever thankful for.

As most of you know..............I devote much of my planting time to pumpkins and Zinnias.

This year I wanted to try something new. I planted some Dahlia bulbs............and they have sprouted.........

and have bloomed. Their blooms are about the size of a small dessert plate!

How about you?

Do you have any critters dropping by?

What kind of flowers are you growing this year?

I would love to hear!

My Creature Feature...............Just when I think I have nothing new to show you or to tell you

something always comes crawling along

and captures my interest. As most of you know about me by now...........I love the world of nature.......especially reptiles and insects. Snakes I do not handle.........although I got too close to one like this one, a few years ago,  and was bitten on the hand. It is a Coachwhip, non venomous, and very fast.

The bite was not the usuall two fangs, but it left a ring of small holes on the top of my hand.

This one did not want me to get too close, so it quickly dashed up the tall mesquite tree that grows in the back yard. These snakes are excellent tree climbers.

They can easily stretch to another tree or limb without falling.

I love snakes....................only for their design and beauty. I know what you might be thinking............snakes have no beauty..............

but if you look close enough at any thing................every thing has it's own beauty............and we all look and find that in a different way.

 Just click onto the photo.............you'll see what I mean.

Just like the very common Horned Toad in our area. It certainly is not a toad............but a lizard covered in horns and spikes. I refer to them as little prairie dragons.

They blend in well with their territory and are famous for eating red ants.

Their skin and spikes are thick enough that they can sit in the middle of an ant den and enjoy a full day buffet without getting stung.

They are very gentle and don't bite. Sometimes, if they are frightend, they puff up like puffer fish and stay real still.

Out in the deepest part of the woods, I found this gigantic spider home.

The web stretches at least a foot wide. I am curious as to what kind of spider lives here.

I do not handle spiders, but I love the color and design that they possess.

They are such interesting creatures.

As you can see, they live in the deep hole in the mesquite tree.

I knocked on the door, but they would not come out.

I think not seeing them is alright..............their web is spooky enough

don't you think?

So............are there any bug lovers among you there??

What about snakes or any other creature???

I would love to hear!