It's Been Ages!

Yes, Richard and I are still here - so are all the animals.  We went through the winter with bouts of sickness - your basic cold/flu stuff, nothing bad, just annoying. 

The weather has been different this Spring - lots of rain and storms.  Even now, it is hindering our garden building.  We are making raised beds, since we live on a ridge and have no good soil. 

It has taken us nearly 4 weeks to finish the first bed - first, we had to cut down some trees.  Then we had to buy 4 truckloads of cement blocks (they weigh so much Richard could only haul 20 at a time and 2 trips take all day).  Then we got soil.  In between, we got a load of gravel for some places in the driveway.  Then came fertilizer and mulch.  Then we had a clear day to actually build the bed.  That took all day and some of the next day. We finished in the rain.  We waited a few days for the rain to subside, and then we got plants because it's too late to grow some things from seed; they won't mature before fall.   

 

5 tomato plants, 4 watemelon plants. 

 

This is my deck garden.  Last year's was somewhat successful, so I decided to try again.  Some things are to be planted in the ground, but we are waiting or the rain to end so we don't have to get all muddy.  So - left to right - bell peppers, habenero peppers, rocket salad, orange tree, jalepeno peppers, tomato.  On the rail - lemon tree, aloe vera plant, lime tree, winter hibiscus.  The lemon, lime and hibiscus might not make it. They had issues while in the house, I kept watering them, but when I went to re-pot them, I found their soil at the bottom was soaked, and I believe the roots rotted. 

 

No picture - but a few days later, I happened to be in town and got more plants which are on the deck for now - a peach tree, zucchini squash and cucumbers, plus an herb garden with basil, oregano, thyme and parsley.

 

And for the moments of beauty - a pot of purple petunias.  The hummingbirds are already dipping into them. 

The Animals Supervise Our Work...

Our animals are here in a strictly supervisory role.  I took pictures of the bosses doing their jobs.

Echo keeps a close eye on quality control while Richard rakes leaves.

Buddy maintains a micro-management position in the man-cave.

Dinah assures that all computer department personnel are ergonomically conforming to proper handling of feline snugglers and nap-takers. 

Emmy's management position requires her to oversee all aspects of the animal/human dynamic from the boss's chair.

Flint is in charge of sleeping arrangements, testing all furniture for potential nap adaptibility. 

Of course, there's a slacker...Christian sleeps.

And sleeps. 

Scenery...

Photos of the scenery as the colors change. The pictures were all taken in different days except the cloud formations.

The field on the way home from the bridge.

Going up the road towards the bridge past Mom and Pa's place.

The bend in the road before the bridge.

An interesting cloud formation.

The same cloud formation from a different angle and a few minutes later.

A jet streaming above the trees.  If you click on the photo, it will enlarge and you may see some small black dots around the jet.  They are actually turkey vultures in the foreground of the photo.

Busy Months...

It's been so hectic that I've not had much time to post.  Between church business (we're remodeling), a funeral of a much-loved church member, our camping trip, and various other pursuits, we've been busy.  I'll just  post a bunch of random photos of life here at Echo Ridge.

A sunrise over the bridge.

An eensy-weensy snake - it was a ringneck, harmless to humans.

Christian doing his faceplant nap.

Christian warming his back (that is a heating pad under him, turned on).

Buddy and the couch quilt blankie.

"That is NOT how you spell antidisestablishmentarianism!"

Contemplating his nap.

Cat nap.  With Dog.

Buddy sitting with Dad.

Buddy keeping an ear open for a truck, while Echo sleeps.

Dinah swats at Chistian to keep him away from her already eaten mouse.

Dinah and Christian sleep on a blundle of sewing.

Buddy plays with his cat toy.

Walking back from the mail box.

Baby Shower Today & Work Party...

We are having a work party at a church member's home this morning.  Just helping clean up and do a few things because both have had heart surgery in the past 2 years and need a little hand doing some heavier stuff. 

This afternoon, we have a baby shower.  The baby is a girl, so I made a girl diaper (cake) cradle. 

It is made from a pack of Parent's Choice (WalMart) newborn diapers.  The bottom is just the diapers lined up as they came out of the pack.  A quick ribbon around the whole thing... and done! The "feet" are rolled up diapers, pinned on. I had to put a piece of cardboard under there so the body diapers wouldn't collapse. The crown of the cradle is rolled diapers with a piece of cardboard arched underneath to hold its shape. I then draped 2 diapers over the top as a "bonnet" and pinned them down with quilt pins. Some appropriately placed ribbon hides the rubberbands holding the diapers together. Under the bonnet is filled with travel-sized lotion, baby wash, shampoo, a thermometer, medicine droppers and spoons, pacifiers, and the pain reliever meds, which didn't quite fit. The sides are banded together with baby headbands. The clips on the edge of the bonnet are baby barrettes.  I put a bow on the back of the bonnet, (not seen). Add some ribbon on top and it's done! 

I think it's pretty cute. :)

Hot Days, Bridge Walks, Wild Animals, etc...

It was hot for a few weeks, there...here is the temp gauge on the car - below the round dial - see it?  112 degrees! 

It was actually around 106 degrees or so - the car was sitting in a parking lot absorbing heat from the pavement. Once we got moving it went down.

We are walking earlier in the morning and starting to see the wild animals again. This armadillo was down in the field, the dogs walked right by and didn't notice it at all.

 

This buzzard was sitting on the rail, because down below, in the creek, were catfish remains. There were more buzzards, but they flew off when we walked up. This big guy wasn't going to give up breakfast until he had to.

Crepuscular (God rays) in the clouds.

A deer in my garden.

Another deer in my garden.

The moon at sunset, off my deck.

Normal Animals & Christian...

The cats like to sleep anywhere that affords them a view and keeps the other animals from bothering them.

  

Emmy liked sleeping on top of the car under the big cedar shade tree. She blends in so well it's hard to see her.

Chrsitian liked the car roof, too

 Dinah would come inside about every three days, find a nice pillow and take a nap.

Christian joins Dinah in a typical sleeping cat pose. (Yes, occasionally, Christian sleeps like a normal cat).

Sometimes, he plays like a normal cat (when he's not fighting with Dinah).

But then he reverts to his old habits...sleeping behind my sewing machine on a piece of batting.

Or in the recliner, paws up. 

Or soaking up the sun by the window.

The feet against the wall pose.

Helping me edit.

Back in the recliner, one paw up.

Trying to hog the whole bed.

Yes, he slept in that pose for about half an hour.

Oops, time to change position.

Being my cat scarf.

Finding a warm spot.

 

An even warmer spot!  Next to Echo.

The bodies weren't warm enough - he needed a blankie.

BACK OFF!  Because I'm top cat!