In Memory - Neelix, Sinda, Bella & George

 I have wanted to do a post in memory of the furry friends we've lost here over the past years. 

I'll start with Neelix - we got this sweet boy from the Humane Society and he was very tiny and very sick - in fact our vet said they shouldn't have released him to us - but we were so in love with him - we "fixed him up" and he was the best farm cat ever. And he grew and he grew - at one point he weighed 17 pounds!   He used to find The Shepherd when he got home from work, demand a piggy back ride on his shoulders and help him do the chores every evening.

He loved lambing time and could always be found checking out what was happening in the barn. 

 He was also very laid back and could often be found sleeping on his back in the middle of the living room - so secure in his position. 

He went to the rainbow bridge in August 2008 -
He's still at the top in number of posts - only "from the garden"  and "Shetland Sheep" out do him. 

This is my Sinda - affectionately known as Sissy -   I got her from some friends when she was 8 or 10 weeks old in the Spring of 1990

A little bit quirky and a lot-a-bit fun - 

On February 5, 2011, at the age of 21, she succumbed to kidney failure, leaving me "catless" for the first time since 1975.  

 This Handsome Boy is George - We got him and his little sister Gracie in July 2011.

They were just the sweetest pair -  you can read more about them if you click on the label - "The Mrreows"

 
 And then came Bella - who I laughing have called our "transgender" cat - Bella "migrated" here from a neighboring farm - well we fed her, and they didn't... "Her" I say - she seemed so feminine - but when I took "Her" to the vet for something, She was pronounced to be a "He" - so what can I say - we left the name Bella - as he was quite a beautiful cat, and you know, Bela Lugosi -

Bella disappeared the spring of 2015 - I kind of think he might have gotten trapped in The Shepherd's work trailer and then jumped out along the way, as we heard that a cat looking very similar appeared at the Water District office a couple miles away.  Didn't go check though - he had already made a new home there.

George disappeared last August - not a good month for us and kitties - 8 years almost to the day that we lost Neelix to the Bridge.

I keep hoping that George just got waylaid and will come home some day, but he was pretty much a momma's boy and never stayed out more than a day.  Gracie and I miss him a lot - she's pretty lonely since both of us are gone all day long and she's here by herself.  Thinking about adopting someone new, but we'll see. 

You can read more about our furry friends by clicking on their names in the "Labels" on the sidebar.  Thanks for indulging me on my memories. 

At the corner of Noisy and Loud - just a bit of a Rant

When we moved into this house approximately 23 years ago, it was a nice quiet neighborhood - you could have called it bucolic.

Slowly that has changed - just a little bit at a time As the crow flies, we are about half to 3/4 of a mile from the train tracks.  They have been adding another train here and there (where it used to be one or two trains a day, now it is one every couple of hours! - and most of them are coal or oil transport trains - long, loud and heavy) Add to that the three crossing gates that are in our area and the trains seem to blow their whistle about 5 times for each crossing.  I've come to decide that train engineers are sadists.  I mean, come on, it's the middle of the night, there is a drop down crossing gate that's got flashing red lights and bells  - do they really need to blow their whistle 5 times? 

And then there is the airport.  The crow has to fly about 2.5 miles to get to the airport from our house with our close proximity to Vancouver BC, and the horrible traffic to get to Sea-Tac airport, Bellingham International Airport has really taken a step up in the past 20 years with many planes coming and going every day.  And, dare I mention Interstate 5?. 


This map is a snip from a map put out by the US Bureau of Transportation that was printed in the Bellingham Herald a few weeks ago.  Do you see the dark red "ground zero" spot that I've circled - yup, that's just about where we live - at the corner of Noisy and Loud. 

The Empress Tree in full bloom

Lavender rosebud azalea

Happy Saturday!

Oh my goodness it's been a busy week.

Our accounting/office manager at work has gone to Tahiti far a big vacation so I am working extra hours.  Really makes me appreciate my part time schedule.

We got a couple of brochure projects that I have been working on back from the printer this week.  It is exciting to see something that I put a lot of hours into come out looking nice...really nice, actually.

I walked through the garden yesterday and took bunches of pictures.  I haven't figured out how to post more than one per post from my phone, but they are so pretty I may just do that and, of course, today is chores day, I'd better get with it!

The garden is going in

The Shepherd planted out in his garden yesterday.  He's mixing corn and pumpkin in one row.  The second one back is his purple cauliflower.  The broccoli is still in the greenhouse, having been planted a little later. 

The sheep are growing like Topsy.  You can see pictures of them on my instagram account .. my instagram name is menolly44. 

Happy MOTHER'S Day all. 

The colors of spring

I have been driving down our neighbor's driveway to see the sheep this spring and I have been getting a different view of our yard that is very pretty.  Love this yellow azalea that we don't see from our driveway.