Random Kid Art

I couldn't help but smile when I looked down and saw the way T happened to leave a few of his Cheerios.

A Boo-kay

For K, since you said you have no flowers nearby. I picked these in the yard a couple weeks ago and am finally getting around to "giving" them to you!

A Sad Tail

Today one of the little kittens is not doing so well. Not well at all.

Yesterday there was a huge thuderstorm with torrential rain. Incidentally, it has been a very wet month. So strange to see this area green in June! Anyway, I worried about the babies. If the wind shifted at all, which it did, water would quickly fill the kitten container and might drown them. Brent offered to go out and see if he could figure out something to rig up to offer a little protection. When he got back inside, he was absolutely soaked but had found something to cover the pot.
I asked him if Tib said thank you. I believe she did, he said. He said she seemed to understand that he was trying to help them.

When the rains abated, there was one little kitten that seemed more wet than the others. By the next afternoon he was not moving, barely breathing. The other kittens were fluffing up, becoming more active, but this one was not. Brent tried to get it to latch on, but it could/would not. It is so sad. Makes me look forward to heaven even more, where there will be no getting sick, no dying or death. Tibs keeps licking the kitten, but it does not respond or move.
I'm kind of dreading what we will find in the morning.

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Postscript: It's been a couple days since I first started writing this post. Sadly, the little kitty did not make it. It has been laid to rest in a corner of the yard.

The other three are doing well. Their eyes are still closed. How quickly they are growing.

Feline Phenomenon

I've never been adopted by an animal before. I remember as a child wondering what it would be like to have a puppy follow me home. No puppy ever did. However, several weeks ago, a kitty adopted our family. She was really an overgrown kitten-- a little (no, a lot) shy, a little wistful and fairly tenacious. Betsy and Tacy, the cats I've had since I moved to Idaho, seemed to benignly accept her, and she went from watching from the fringes to staking out her favorite napping spot in one of the flower beds. She's always seemed to like the kids, coming out from her hiding places when they play outside and lingering near them. Tobiah loves cats, and whenever he sees her, he staggers toward her, arms outstretched, saying "Dee-dee! Dee-dee!" She always let him come much closer than the rest of us.

I named Betsy and Tacy for the Betsy-Tacy book series, so when this new kitty seemed to be sticking around, it seemed only logical that she should have the name of Tib, the third friend in the books. The name seemed to fit, though we generally call her Tibs now.

She was meowing when I took this picture.

Tibs continued to stay around, and gradually we noticed she seemed to be gaining weight. Rather, her tummy suddenly started greatly protruding. Hmm, we said. This could get interesting.

Sure enough, two nights ago Brent came in from taking the garbage out and announced, "We have grandbabies." Tibs was giving birth! It was an interesting birthing spot choice--in one of the large arborvitae pots. These pots are a handy size for collecting clippings, so we kept them when we bought the bushes. This pot had been sitting next to the garage for some time-- it still contained last year's lavender and hyssop that I had trimmed back. The more we thought about it, the smarter this spot seemed--it's in a fenced in part of the yard, eliminating the threat of the wandering neighborhood dogs, it keeps the babies contained (no pun intended) and keeps the family all somewhat protected. As Tibs is a shy, semi-wild cat, and Brent had discovered her in the actual act of giving birth, I thought I'd wait a bit and give her a little space before going to see the babies myself that night.

We waited till just before bed, then went quietly out with a flashlight. Tibs was scared and ran and hid under the canoe when we came close and the tiny mewing sounds coming from the pot told us the kittens were upset she had left. Four bitty white and black kittens, clumsily huddling together in a little heap.

The next day, we checked on them often. Tibs was actually cautiously friendly to us. She's back to being skinny. We showed Katya and Tobiah the kittens but didn't let them get too close. Katya smiled and was interested but then wanted to run and play.

Watching Tibs with her kittens makes me wonder if all newborn mammals are similar--all they want to do is nurse and cuddle close to mom. Tibs takes short breaks to eat, stretch her legs, then right back to the babies. She is always near them.

It's exciting to have new babies around. We did nothing to encourage Tibs to stay when she first appeared--didn't try to make friends with her or pet her, but she has clearly chosen us. It's hard not feel at least a little like watching over these tiny somethings, so vulnerable and helpless. It will be fun to watch them grow. Here are a couple photos of them. It's curious how they look so similar to each other. As Brent says, if she wasn't fixed and female, Tacy could pass for the father.

This photo was taken when the kittens were a little more than 12 hours old, and the following one was taken a few hours later.

Memorial Day Field Trip

Someone told Brent the lilies on the Camas Prairie marsh were blooming, so on Memorial Day we drove up to see them. It was our first afternoon venture in a long time--usually we start our excursions in the mornings so as to leave afternoons for naps. But this time we packed lunches for a picnic and set off. It was a very warm sunny day but as we approached the mountains, a solid bank of black clouds glowered at us. The farther we drove, the darker it got, and soon it was raining. It was still a pretty drive, everything was so green and there were lots of tiny wildflowers.



When we reached Camas Prairie, we saw no sign of marsh or lilies, though the mountains were beautiful and the rain had stopped. It was beginning to clear. Here is a picture I took out the window as we drove. We remarked how black the soil was here.

Finally we found the marsh and there were the blue lilies. It was a beautiful sight.

It was definitely a wetland. There was water on both sides of the road, so it was hard to find a spot to get up close to see the flowers. But we found a place to pull off and we stopped and looked and listened.

It was a happy place for birds, several kinds I had never seen before. There were still spatters of rain coming down and it was much too wet and chilly for a picnic, so we had our picnic in the car. We moved Katya to the front seat and I sat in the back to help Tobiah and we ate our lunches with the windows open wide enough to hear the birds but not enough for the swarms of baby mosquitoes to come in. Katya thought it was great fun to be in the front seat and didn't mind at all that we couldn't eat outside.

The sun was coming out now and Brent took Katya to see the flowers and take a few pictures while Tobiah and I stayed behind to finish our lunches.

We drove on and did a little more exploring. We stopped at a mini rest area where a meadow lark was extremely close by, gloriously singing, and there was space for the kids to stretch their legs a bit. Katya had her first encounter with an outhouse. She was a little alarmed at the toilet but I tried to make things as quick and low key as possible, and she actually did well. It helped that it was well ventilated and nearly bugless. There must have been a home on the site long ago--there were two lonely pink tulips blooming that Katya was very interested in and had to closely investigate. We didn't stay long--the mosquitoes were after us.

Then we drove a little more and got out at another pretty spot--this time it was dry enough we could walk farther into the flowers and try to get some family pictures.

In the first picture Katya is yelling/saying something while Tobiah tries to reach for one of the flowers. If you click on the picture, you can see that the black speck to the left in the distance is a bird sitting on some grass.

In the next picture, we all have nice smiles but the mosquitoes were trying to attack Brent and got into the frame.

Brent in a cute picture with the kids.

This is one I took as we were walking back to the car--poor Katya was itching her bites. Thankfully, these bites did not seem to have much itching power as the day went on--we were swarmed every time we got out of the car, but none of us were much bothered by itching afterward.

It was a beautiful place. One of those where you wish you could drive down the road just a little further to see what else there is to see, but time and child endurance were limiting.

When we got home I asked Katya what her favorite part of the day had been. Her response? Our picnic in the car.

Audience, Sibling Bonds, Color on Color

1. My throat was feeling sore, so I took my mug into the bathroom to gargle some saltwater. Both kids follow me. I tried not to laugh as they watched me gargle, transfixed in fascination. K came and stood next me, imitating me. She turned to T and informed him as he gazed open-mouthed, "The ladies are having their saltwater."

2. I love the bond that is developing between K and T. Sometimes it has a downside--whatever toy one is playing with is sure to be exactly the one the other needs right now. Often they are more interested in playing with each other's toys than their own. It is cute to watch T seriously use K's play dishes, as he "eats" a little meal with a bowl and spoon, stopping to stir now and then. At meals, especially if B isn't home, if one gets restless and starts acting out--the other is highly entertained and wants to imitate. Drives me crazy and makes me feel a bit outnumbered, but it's funny how easily they seem to communicate at these times. They also enjoy doing a version of wrestling--I always think of puppies in slow motion. K has found that if she lies down on the floor near T, he will often think it is an opportunity to climb on top of her, beginning the mini-tackle. K has started getting a lot more organized in her play and gets frustrated when T does something different from what she dictates, but this is an ongoing learning process.

3. One rainy/sunny day recently, we had two rainbows in one day. I was standing at the window, admiring the second one of the day as it gleamed behind the quaking aspen trees next door. As I watched, I noticed the trees were alive with bright yellow finches, flitting through the branches and the fluttering leaves.

ABC Wednesday

S is for...

seasons

These are trees in my neighborhood. I've enjoyed watching them change as the seasons go by. I thought the fall pictures had been taken of the same trees as the others but discovered otherwise when I went to put this post together. But at least all the trees are the same kind--quaking aspen.
With this post my entire ABC Wednesday alphabet is completed! It has been a fun, challenging project and many thanks to Mrs. Nesbitt for hosting it!

ABC Wednesday

R is for...

Ribbon

Amazing how many different ways ribbon can be used as adornment!

To embroider a pillow..

In an advertisement in 1952..

To keep the hair in place..

To decorate a bowl in 1790..


As a painting on a wall in a French chateau..

And to make a statement with a wall hanging..

The possibilities, it seems, are endless.

For more Rs, visit ABC Wednesday.