Alligators?

That's what I feel like I'm up to me ears with... church newsletter and work end of year - and I'm having trouble with my computer! (Did you know that anti-virus programs don't like each other and will completely disable your computer! Sadder but wiser, and when I get my computer back from the shop, lighter of wallet...) I do have some "ideas" in the hopper - so don't give up on me, but it's gonna be a few days. :-)

ALL THINGS "ORANGE"...

I realized this weekend that we had a lot of
"orange things" on the farm right now...


What do you suppose Mr. Neelix is looking at in the pond?







Well, lookey here -


Two of the Japanese koi that John put in the pond last spring made it thru the summer, and heck, they are about 8 inches long!







Some of the bonsai have turned their fall colors - every thing looks kind of ragged right now - but the last few days of rain are beginning to work wonders.






The zinnias, damp with today's rain and some nasturchiums from earlier in the summer -

They looked so pretty earlier in the summer I thought I'd use that picture instead of taking another one this evening - it was getting kind of late to be taking pictures,

BUT,

Here are some of the pumpkins - they don't look so big here, but they are about the size of basket balls - and just as ORANGE!

Weekend Cat Blogging #67

Ebony & Ivory -

Our two sweet kitties, Mr. Neelix (in the orange & white) and Sinda (in the tuxedo) in a BRIEF moment of perfect harmony.

See more Weekend Cat Blogging at:

http://www.ptank.com/catsynth/index.php?m=09&y=06&entry=entry060916-121556

Thanks to Amar and Luna for hosting this week!

Off the Shelf (Book shelf, that is)

(or, since school has started, maybe it's time for some book reports...)

I just love to read. Mostly novels - historical romance, science fiction/fantasy, mystery - Much to John's dismay, I can spend a WHOLE evening or a WHOLE weekend reading! Here are some of the most recent books that I have been reading.

I love Diane Mott Davidson - not only do you get a great murder mystery, but you get recipes to boot - and some of them are very good.

Murder follows Davidson's main character Goldy Schultz, around like it did Jessica Fletcher from the Murder She Wrote TV series - Who knew so many murders could happen in such a small town... In this book, the dead woman is not only a friend of Goldy's , but the daughter of her neighbor - who begs Goldy to find out who killed her daughter. As per usual, you are kept hopping and guessing as to who the murderer might be.

Here we have my all time favorite pair of shoes - a burgandy high heel - suede on one side, swirled into patent leather on the other - I gotta tell you, I only got to wear these shoes about 5 times, (before my bunion got so bad that I couldn't get them on), but I'm never going to give them up. They are the most gorgeous shoes I've ever owned and like Kathleen Turner said to Michael Douglas, in "Romancing the Stone" - "those were Italian" (of course he had just chopped the heel off, and proclaimed - "and now they're practical")

Anyhow, I digress... Last month, I went to a "Literature Live" reading at our local Independent Book Store, Village Books. The author, Christina Dodd, told about how she had gotten "where she was" (ie - 32 books in 15 years) and read us the first chapter of her newest book, "Trouble in High Heels" - OF COURSE I HAD TO BUY THE BOOK - how could I not after hearing the first chapter! It's a very fun read - and has a surprise ending! After I finished it, I logged into the B'ham Public Library web site and promptly checked out 4 more of her books. They were good - I need to take them back (before I get a past due fine) and get some more.

Although I've watched all the "Joe Leaphorn" movies on Public TV, I've never read any of Tony Hillerman's books. It was in my Literary Guild catalog for something like $4.59 - how could I pass it up? It was easy to imagine the characters as they are played on the TV - & Jim Chee gets a little romance in this one - luckily for him, ex-Officer Bernadette Manuelito, doesn't give up easily - I think I may have to find some more Hillerman books to read.

Of course I've read a whole bunch of Nora Roberts - she's "repackaged" alot of her earlier Harlequin Romance novels in twos or threes (some of the family stories or trilogies) - pretty sneaky - what a money maker that is - she's already sold them once 20 years ago, now she's selling them again! And I'm buying 'em - Go figure.

I've also read a couple of books this summer, by a woman who is a new Shetland Sheep breeder - Syne Mitchell wrote four really enjoyable Science Fiction novels in the late '90's & 2002 - she is a great story teller and her characters are very compelling - her books can only be found in "used" book stores now, but Powell's books in Portland had all four - Here's her web site - read the first chapters of her books - it will leave you wanting more - http://www.sff.net/people/syne/index.htp

My sister Merrill just sent me "The Alpine Escape" by Mary Daheim. It falls "in the middle" of Daheim's twenty Emma Lord, Alpine mysteries - alphabetically named, like the Sue Grafton alphabet mysteries. It really kept my interest and had some great characters - certainly bears looking into some more of her books.

Well, have I bored you to death? Hope not - I hope this will make you want to put on a pot of tea and curl up under a nice fleece blanket with your favorite book...good reading!

OOPS! I forgot Debbie Macomber's newest book "6 Rainier Drive" Just finished that one today at lunch!

Weekend Cat blogging #66

Hello - welcome to Marietta Shetlands Farm, where Sinda thinks that John put the pond and waterfall in just for her drinking enjoyment. She stands in the waterfall and drinks out of the top - then complains because her feet are wet. Go Figure.

Any how, many more talented and adorable kitties can be seen at Chef Sarah Jane's blog - she is hosting this weekend's WCB. Thanks SJ - we appreciate all you've got to do.



http://chefsarahjane.blogspot.com/2006/09/weekend-cat-blogging-66-round-up.html



Besides Sinda & Neelix, here is the other kitty who lives on our farm. Always smiling - always ready to dance.

Bye, Bye d'Jango

Since we are keeping Cimarron & Gizmo (aka Wizard) John is putting in a fence to keep a little bit of space between them and the girls. As you can see, it looks like a government job - one guy working and three guys supervising...

He has almost finished their little barn - all he has left is the ramada (get it...RAMada...) so they can have a little shade or cover from the rain as they sit outside and survey their vast domain.




But, we can only keep the two and as with all things on the farm, someone has to go...

and d'Jango - your name's on the ticket.

This is the hardest part for me - it kind of keeps me from getting to know some of the sheep because I know they will not be staying.

We had some great hopes for this little fellow, but as you can see, instead of turning out, his horns have started to turn in - not a good thing, if you're a ram in the wild. Not a good thing if you're a ram on the farm - wethering would have stopped it, but with only 3/4 of an acre, there's no room for a wise ass wether - even if he did have lovely wool...


One last tousle with his buddies. Bye, Bye d'Jango. It was nice to know you.

Weekend Cat Blogging #65

This is one of my favorite pictures of Mr. Neelix - I took it last spring - and I even had a mouse pad made from it at KodakGallery.com (very cool site for storing & sharing pictures BTW)

He just looks so saucy...which he is...he likes to hide out in the cool spaces in the yard this time of the year. Soon he'll be back sleeping in the middle of the living room and watching TV with John. You can see more weekend cat blogging at Miss Ellies page - http://misselliespage.blogspot.com/2006/09/weekend-cat-blogging-65.html