They're back!

I took this about a half hour ago. I hadn't seen many hummers yet this year, and when I did, it was usually only one or two a day, and then they'd be gone. The last couple days there'd been a few more, and this morning there were lots. I watched for a break in the feeding, and then I quickly washed and refilled the feeder, which was getting emptied down. Within a couple minutes, it was like this out there.

Now if only they'd learn to share instead of wasting time fighting about whose feeder is it, they'd end up getting a lot more to eat! It's kinda funny... if they happen to land on opposite sides of the feeder so they can't see each other, they get along fine. :-)

They seem to be late coming through this year. I hope that means that winter, and particularly frost, is going to be later, too!

Look!

See what Courtney and Mommy found in their garden the other day!

I think she liked it! :-)

They didn't keep it, though. Instead, they let him go back in the garden "so his mommy could find him".

(Photos by Mommy)

A splash of yellow

This pretty goldfinch was just singing away for the longest time at the top our our hackberry tree. I couldn't resist getting a few pics.

Here I even caught him with his mouth open singing.

Want to hear what he sounds like? Turn up your volume and ignore the crickets.

Grandma's little gardener

I guess this is more child labor, but just try to take that hose away from her! Such an eager worker she is!

In action:

Those in front of the window really got watered! :-)

It's really orange!

Here's our first New Queen watermelon, picked yesterday. It's so hard to tell when a watermelon is ripe. I even did a Google search to find out. Here is some pretty good information. This melon seemed to fit the criteria, as far as I could tell. But after cutting into it and tasting it, I'd say I should have waited maybe a few more days. It just wasn't as sweet as I think it should've been, and though there were dark brown seeds, there were many that were full size but still mostly white. Also, the center of the melon is a little pale yet. So, I'll try to do better on the next one. At least you get to see the orange color!

Stiiiiiill sewing!

A week and a half ago, Jess posted on her blog about the business card envelope I'd made for her. Turns out her blog readers thought it was pretty cool, and many left comments saying they hoped I'd make more and sell them in our Etsy shop. Hey, I aim to please! And it sounded to me like a pretty good addition to our product line, so I whipped up a bunch of them and shipped to Jess on Saturday. She should receive them today, and they'll be available for purchase in the shop as soon as she has time to photograph and list them. She's been awfully busy with freelance design jobs lately, and since they do make "a little" (ha!) more money than the Etsy shop, they take priority with her time. ;-) Anyway, here's a peek for you at our newest product.

They're pretty quick and fun to make.

Speaking of Jess's 'real' work, did I ever show you her design portfolio? I don't think I did. Anyway, if you're interested in seeing samples of her work, check out Jessica Jones Design.

Little Miss Fancy Feet

I almost forgot to post this. It's a couple weeks old (taken the day she worked so hard in the "sweat shop") and Courtney was into different sandals the last time I saw her, but it's still pretty cute.

Courtney had a 'thing' about these sandals. For awhile, she would wear only these.

Like her "model" pose?

Here's a closer look at those special sandals.

I like the tan lines that she got from wearing her other sandals... and especially those little brown toes. :-)

She could even put these fancy sandals on all by herself. It was a tough job, though.

And they make her feet so "hot". ;-)

Poll Results

The results of the poll "Have you ever enjoyed the 'life's little pleasure' of looking for kittens in the barn, haystack, etc.?" are as follows:

• Yes! It was fun! (8 votes)
• No, but I think I would love it. (0 votes)
• No, doesn't sound pleasurable to me. (0 votes)
• No. Can I come look for yours sometime? (1 vote)

Wow, everybody's a kitten hunter or a wannabe! Must be because most of my blog readers are family and friends, and most of us grew up in this rural area. To the one person who wants to come and look for mine... you're welcome anytime! In fact, now would be a good time. They've been missing for 2 or 3 days now. Mama must have them out for a hunting/survival-training trip. I hope they survive!

I had company again!

This time it was people, not cats. :-) People that I'd never met in person before.

It's been nearly a year since I met Cindy over the internet. She tracked me down at my blog via a comment I'd left on Jess's blog and discovered we had many things in common... not the least of which are granddaughters that are close to the same age, have dark curly hair, and even look somewhat alike. She emailed me, and we've been corresponding and growing closer as friends ever since.

Another thing we have in common is Minnesota. Cindy and her husband, Mark, live in Fresno, California... but Mark grew up in MN, not all that far from here! He's kind of a "displaced farmer" and really misses MN and farm life. (If you recall a few of my posts last winter in which I mention a "Mark", that was him. I just had to let him see pics of all the "lovely" SNOW he was missing out on. ;-) )

Cindy and Mark came to MN for Mark's class reunion last weekend, so they decided to also come and visit me on Monday! How fun! We had a great visit, and it was so good to actually meet in person. Here are Mark and Cindy.

They even brought me gifts! Besides their regular jobs, they also make fused-glass items. This is a wine bottle that they melted down in their kiln and made it into a little serving tray for nuts, candy, or whatever. Isn't it cool?

Below is a set of glass coasters that they also made. So pretty!

(You're right, Cindy... glass is hard to photograph!)

If you'd like, you can see many more of their glass items in their Etsy shop, One in Every Color, or on their website, Around the Block Designs. Cindy is also a wonderful quilter, and she has designed and had published a couple of quilt patterns, which are also available in their Etsy shop or on their website. I just may have to learn how to quilt someday!

Thanks again for the gifts, Cindy and Mark, but especially for coming to visit me!

No words needed :-)

CHEESE!

The Great Pretender

(Click to enlarge.)

Taking a bath can be just as fun as swimming!

I had company today!

Mama kitty brought the babies up to the house for a visit!

They're hardly "babies" anymore! (When Courtney and I go out to look for them and they're not there, Courtney calls them "stinkers". Gee, I wonder where she heard that word. Note to Grandma: be careful what you say these days, as it could come back to haunt you!)

My taming efforts have paid off. I can pet them all (except Mama, but I did manage to touch her once, as she'll come to eat when I'm standing right there... much progress there, too) and even pick up the black one and the mostly-orange one... so I declare them officially 'tame'. Now that they've made it to the house, they'll soon officially become 'pests'. But Courtney will love it. ;-)

Mama kitty wasn't too far away during the movie-making above.

She wouldn't be so odd-looking if it weren't for the light-colored hair on her chin.

Even though Mama appeared as a stray, I'm hereby declaring them all 'mine'. :-)

The end

Of the day lilies, that is. This is the last one of the year.

Aphids be gone!

There's been a lot of crop dusting going on the last week or so. Planes are spraying the soybean fields for aphids.

Turn up your volume... so you can hear what the plane almost drowns out. :-)

Pretty thrilling!

Currently blooming

In the wildflower bed.

And my moss roses.

Child labor

Here's Grandma's little sewing assistant. Having mastered (and grown bored with) the "scrap helper" position (putting fabric scraps into the wastebasket), she got promoted to "pin-taker-outer". See how busy she is here!

She worked so diligently. And look how carefully (and where) she placed all the pins. :-)

Notice they're pushed in all the way, too. Heheh... we may need to do a bit of "re-training" here.

Oh, and in case you're wondering... Grandma did poke herself with a pin and draw a little blood just before this movie was made. At least now Courtney knows what can happen if she's not careful. ;-)

Grandma's little gardener

Checking the carrots.

Yep, they're looking pretty big!

Ahhh.... what's over there?

Pretty bachelor buttons!

They smell sooooo good!

Silly Putty?

Yeah, that's my mouth. No, that's not Silly Putty... though it sure looks like it. It is some kind of putty. Yesterday I went to my periodontist, and he did a bit of gum grafting. He cut a little tissue from the roof of my mouth and grafted it onto an area where the gum was receding and exposing the root of one tooth. There's another bit of putty on the roof of my mouth where he took the "patch" from. It's just to protect the sore areas, and it'll come off in a day or two. I've had this procedure done before... 17 years ago... only I had 6 or 8 done that time. So this was a breeze compared to that, although that time was not such a big deal, either. Not even all that sore. I go back next week to get the stitches out. Amazing what they can do to hold you together nowadays, huh? ;-)

(I do put the most interesting views of myself on this blog, don't I?) ;-)

Can't wait!

Do you see what I see?

Look over here.

Here's a closeup.

Mmmmm! Watermelons! But not just any watermelons... these are New Queen melons. I raised some a few years ago, and they were the best watermelons I've ever eaten! They don't get very big... maybe 10 inches or so, if I remember right. And their flesh is orange! They get very sweet and crisp. Yum! I can't wait for them to get ripe!

I should have a pretty good crop of them, too.

They mature early, which is a good thing, since my garden got planted so late. Hopefully the heat in the forecast will bring them along nicely. I'll try to remember to take a pic of the inside for you. Then your mouth can water, too. :-)

Success!

Just this morning.....

Poll Results

The results of the poll "Have you ever left a comment on this blog?" are as follows:

• Yes (6 votes)
• No, I'm too shy (0 votes)

Apparently the non-commenters are also non-voters. ;-)

THANKS!! to those who do vote and especially comment!! When I hear from you, I feel like my efforts are worthwhile. When nobody comments, I feel like nobody cares and I wonder why I'm wasting my time doing this. *sniffle* ;-)

Run, run, run!

See Courtney run! Courtney LOVES to run! Courtney runs FAST!

Especially if she thinks Grandma's going to look for the kittens without her. We had a little battle of the wills just before this. Courtney wanted to blow bubbles, but Grandma wanted to go look for the kittens first. Grandma won. Courtney was not too happy about that... note the look on her face... not her usual big smile. ;-) But she got over it quickly, and not finding the kittens, we soon went back and got the bubble stuff.