Why I have to vacuum the hammock.

Dog and Cats get along...

This afternoon I puttered.

I was making dry sticks smaller for my wood stove.

Bart was in his yard with me. Our cat colony was gathering for their supper.

The neighborhood dogs were all stirred up because the Georgia Power meter reader was doing his job. He uses a remote to read our meters so he doesn't have the dogs or plants obstacle courses. I don't know what he does about my neighbor's meter but just the fact that he rides behind their house to get to the meter at the Spanish Mansion a block away (where only ghosts live) is enough to set them (rightfully) off.

Inside our shelter of trees and shrubs, we can only hear the dogs. When they went off on a second threat, perhaps "that other dog" out on a walk, Bart was in his guarding mode. Behind me, I heard him growl at an intruder. I turned and saw him go after a grey streak of a cat in his yard on the other side of the wood pile. He tried for it again and I hollered at him. I admit I slapped his nose and scolded him for chasing a cat. As far as I could tell, he'd been chasing Genrallee who was now safely on the top of the wall.

I sent Bart inside, finished my sticks (interrupted by taking pictures of the yellow fungus on the sticks) and went outside the Bartyard hunting for more yellow. I found yellow, white, green, grey and red.

Returning through the cat patio, Fitch(a cat) growled at Generallee. Something was up. He was as nervous as a cat and jumped into the house when I opened the patio door. Bart jumped out. I kept looking for more yellow. I found some, and orange, and green.

When we finally went inside, Bart grabbed his special toy and dropped it at the feet of Generallee.

Dog apologized to cat. Cat went about his business, less nervous than before (the other cats all still say he smells different.)

Bart was totally relieved when Bond got home and accepted the apology.

Kitty in a Crown

Great start to a beautiful day!

Pieface pulled me out from between the down comforter and the heated waterbed early this morning with his high pitched demand for breakfast. Usually I just leave him shouting, but I didn't think it was fair to wake up our prodigal son in the downstairs bedroom, what with our promise he could sleep in after taking the red-eye from the other side of the nation. I wasn't sure he could sleep through screaming dogs as well as he can wailing sirens.

Once the dog was quietly munching his kibbles I could hear a faint cry, "Help me! find me! Find Popeye!" (Popeye is the accepted kitten in my post June 23, 2009. Named after the scrappy cartoon character with an anchor tattoo. Popeye was "anchored" to the vine when I found him.) He'd been missing for two cold nights and out of sick bay for only a week. We'd been hoping this bouncy little fellow had found a new home and not a bad end. The way he sounded, it had been a close call.

I trapped Pieface in the patio pepper plant corral; the site of our failed garden experiment (a huge plant and one pepper grown in a big bag of pot soil). I didn't need his kind of help if Popeye was inside the dog's fence, and he was: in the crown of a gnarly cedar. He must have met Pieface on Tuesday and wisely taken, then kept, refuge in the tree. And though he was relieved to see me, he could not find the courage to climb down. I had to climb up. Lucky for us, the extension ladder was still behind the house and the tree was sturdy. Bond steadied the ladder and I didn't have to persuade Popeye to come down to me, just to let go of the tree.

Like it or not, Popeye went back in sick bay in case his new cough is contagious.

Later, Bond presented our sleepy guest coffee and the image of

his parents with a big ladder and Pieface up a tree.

That's some bird dog!

Empty Nest Illumination

I should not wear my 7 light headlamp when cleaning the house. It shows the fine white powder on the vertical surfaces of the furniture. I kept warm cleaning and polishing yesterday. Washing walls today? Empty rooms get musty; empty nest syndrome.

Bigger nest than necessary.

Yellow Snow; South Georgia Style

I am so glad I moved this Ginko tree from our other house when it was only five feet tall. Perhaps I'll transplant one of it's babies back there after we have tamed the bamboo. This was a gift from some bird, I suppose, because I haven't seen another in town. A fabulous gift of yellow wrapping.

You DID want this wood in the cart, didn't you?

Sometimes Mother Nature is too cooperative!

I didn't have time before it started raining to burn the privet I'd cut out of the driveway, so I covered the load on our brand new cart and left it next to our burn spot. I didn't hesitate to leave the cart out in the rain because we'd painted the tubing (red) and added extra stain to the wood. The cover was to keep the load dry.

At 5:30 AM the wind dropped the thirty years old, two years dead tulip poplar. It was on our 'round tuit list to be removed as soon as we had funds to hire a tree crew with a bucket truck because it was next to the house. Luckily it missed the house, the fence, the car, and the many trees around it.

My foot and zebra pajama leg should give you an idea just how big the trunk is.

BUT it landed slap dab in the middle of our garden cart.

At least we won't have to move the leftover twigs. If we only had a cart to move the firewood.....

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