A Photo A Day: December 18th

A Photo a Day : December 13th

August Photo Challenge: Animals

Wow- if kids are hard to photograph Kittens are impossible! These were the results of an hours session- and finally I remembered the advice to use toys to keep their attention- it worked somewhat- I should've put my camera onto an action setting- that would've taken quicker shots- as it was as soon as I'd focused they were on to something else- usually just as the camera snapped!

I think the first one captures Lolly's adorableness, and Sasha (the tabby) well- that one's a tiny tiger in the making- always stalking something. We've named these guys thinking they were girls- but now that they've grown we see they are both boys! Sasha is adequately manly we think- in a Russian sense anyhow- but Lolly is a bit feminine. The girls and I are content to call him by that sweet little moniker, though, with a face that cute I think it suits him!

joining in with the monthly Photo Challenge- check it out here

Lately

::Salad every night- this is the first year that I've grown lettuce that actually turns into heads for me- I suppose I've spaced them well enough apart- My nephew was shocked to see me pull up a head of romaine by the roots- he'd assumed I'd just take a few leaves here and there- but I'm enjoying the novelty of having a head of lettuce from my garden that looks like it came from the store- so I'm pulling away- must plant more this week so we can have some in fall too.

::Kittens Sasha and Lolly have made our place a lot more cuddly these past few weeks- we thought they were girls, but now that they've grown up a bit I think they're actually both boys- either way Lolly and Sash are both unisex names I suppose...

::The herb garden is thriving- and so are my little 'potions' as K calls them- so far this year I've tinctured Yarrow, and a trio of Monarda, Echinacea, and Thyme for winter colds- I made some last year and it works amazingly well, frequent small doses at the first sign of the cold- and it takes care of business.

::Borage is growing everywhere in the garden- and it's so lovely to see the plants buzzing with bees- also lovely are a few bright blue blossoms in your drink. Borage is a ancient curative for melancholy, which is not hard to imagine when you look at the beautiful flowers.

::The herb drying is in full swing- Chamomile flowers, Thyme, Monarda, Yarrow, Dill, Milky Oats, Plantain and Nettle have all graced the screen so far- still to come: Summer Savory, Oregano, Sage, Echinacea, Licorice Mint, Motherwort, Peppermint...

::Cut flowers every week, now that things are really blooming- my current favorite are bright blue Bachelor's Buttons and creamy white Yarrow.

::The Wheat and Barley are growing suprisingly well in our garden- next comes the hard part deciding how we're going to harvest and thresh it.

The "Brothers"

Very randomly today- some photos of N with the cat brothers (which is what Nana calls them- and N finds it hilarious- we were never the type to call our cats our babies- but we did have them before kids, and they will sometimes sit up at the table as though expecting lunch served to them- I think they're just hoping one day I'll get so distracted I actually will serve them up there). I'm finding it hard to post  (or take) photos and I think the weather is really getting me down (though the vile green stuff coming out of Baby A's nose is not really photogenic either... so there's that happening too). Anyhow I plan on a few more garden related posts in the coming weeks- kids garden activities and maybe a herb of the week style post too- plus some pottery work in progress posts- just as soon as I have more work in progress- or less nasal congestion- whichever comes first.

this week

This week, or was it last week- we had company last week and it's all a bit blurry, or maybe that's just my baby brain, which seems to have seriously amped up in forgetfulness this last month- I've never burned so many pot bottoms.

We made more blueberry muffins for the freezer, and a few more jars of Dills; harvested and ate the first of the rainbow carrots, so pretty to look at, and delicious to eat; rediscovered some old favorites from the costume box; picked a few zinnias (those are 'candy cane mix' and some 'envy' which make a perfect bouquet if you ask me); enjoyed a few sunsets out by the garden; have been eating fresh ripe tomatoes at every meal- at last!! (could that be contributing to my heartburn I wonder???); and have been spending a bit of time courting these three semi-tame cats we've moved onto the farm to keep the rodent population down and replace our beloved Fats, who disappeared last fall (yes three cats to replace one- he was quite the cat).

These kittens started out life at our neighbours place and have been a bit hard to get to know, they are pretty shy- deemed "wild cats" by N, we have finally been able to pet them- while we feed them- well two out of the three, anyhow, but it's taken a couple of weeks of just being near them, trying to encourage N not to chase them away. They do seem to know when feeding time is anyhow...typical opportunistic cats. They are all silver tabbies and so pretty, just like Fats was. They've already brought us a couple of 'mouse presents' as N calls them so at least we know they're working hard!

Best Friends

These two are the best of friends- exploring together- hugging, scrapping occaisonaly. N has even started trying very hard to pronounce 'Kitty' properly. It makes me think that this little cat might need a proper name- one that is a bit more solid sounding than 'kitty', more permanent less like what you'd call a stray cat. I was kind of thinking that Prudence would be a good name for her though it might have to be a name that starts with K so as not to confuse poor N- Katerina, Kabira, Katy, Kasey, Callie- I don't know.

I'm a big fan of formal human names for cats- the other two are Nelson and Ferdinand, and our other outside cat is Fats- which is inaccurate now that he's ouside and a healthy weight- but we keep it because it sounds tough- and suits him somehow.

This Kitten is tiny- she's not technically a kitten anymore actually- but she's kept her minute size, and it makes her an ideal pet for the babe as she's the one cat that N can actually lift. We weren't sure if we were going to keep her when we took her in last summer but it seems like she's sticking around- so what do you think we should name this little lady?

It's already thursday?!?

Ah well- if nothing else here's a picture of my kid using the cat as a pillow.

We've been sleeping this week- I'd finally hit the wall of sleep deprivation on Sunday night- and went to bed shivery and nauseous feeling - with N, at 8 pm. And since then I've been taking naps with her too- this whole night waking- toddler teething thing has caught up to me and as much as I was getting accomplished during her nap time- it wasn't really serving me well. I felt as sleep deprived as I did when she was weeks old- which was okay then because people assumed I wasn't up for much and they encouraged me to nap with her and feed my family peanut butter for supper and stuff like that. So this week has been for sleeping, and it's amazing how a couple of days of naps coupled with no happy toddler face staring at you at 4 am can re stock your shelves so to speak.

As you can imagine not too much else is going on here- just a batch of cookies, a pot of soup, some loaves of sourdough, and a very interesting pasta that used salsa as a sauce and had elk sausage and shrimp in it- yum, yum.

Many blurry photos...one happy babe

also I've figured out how to get a non-blurry photo,

chocolate- of course- garaunteed to slow down any kid, at least temporarily.

and, as proof that it is really the season of peace- the cats give a demonstration of good will (albeit short lived)


hope your christmas was fun and family filled.

Friday the 13th, and a black cat to boot

You'll have to excuse the blurry photos- capturing a baby and a kitten clearly is tough work- especially on their first meeting. They've mellowed out since this meeting. N instantly had a face of happiness that I've never seen before-a squidgy-eyed super-happy-and-isn't-this-the-best look, she was almost shaking with joy.

K found this kitten while he was driving to work, it was on the side of the road- and it has a few cuts on it's face and head- he said it's eyes were bleeding when he first got to it. Probably it hitched a ride under a car, then fell out. It's sweet, though I'm not sure we're keeping this kitten, a friend of mine fell in love with it- so perhaps she will be the new owner. For now it's sleeping out in our shop- chasing us around while we work.

Colour Week- Orange

No post on orange would be complete without the sweet pea's favorite orange toy- Nelson the cat. I swear she knew his name before she knew her own. Nelson can be a bit moody sometimes (my nieces will attest to that)- but with our babe he's been an angel from the moment we brought her home. Possibly he's so starved for attention that he'll take anything- even if it means getting his ears pulled- but I prefer to believe he loves her as much as she loves him.