Happy Halloween!!!

Wow - November 1st!! already!  This year seems to have gone fast - cant believe the last time I how long ago since I posted - will try to do better this year!

A rather disappointing Halloween in our area.  In spite of pretty good weather, we only had 5 kiddies around.  When we first moved out here we got upwards of 80 kids.  And the whole townsite was lit up - almost everyone decorated their house.  A lot of the rural kids would  come here because the houses were close together. it was great!  This year hardly anyone did more than put out a pumpkin.  And I think over  half just went out or turned out the lights. 

Meanwhile - I have a bucket full of chocolate bars and a giant box of chips - oh whatever will I do with all those treats????  lol

But, we did have a lovely thanksgiving a couple of weeks ago - Jamie and Julie made it out and Kris and his girlfriend Melissa and her daughter came too.  They brought their new puppy Zoe - who was as good as gold.  We had and  great dinner - I like preparing everything except the turkey the day before, so lots of time for visiting and having a glass or two of wine. 

We  have come to the conclusion that our cat, Buddy, isn't coming home.  We put him out last Friday morning (a week ago) and have not seen him since.  We've looked and looked - Rick's walked the bush a dozen times without a sign of him.  There are some fisher trails in the swampy area and fishers can be nasty.  It makes me worried for Lucy who does go out wandering all day- but the other 4 ladies rarely go more than 50 feet from the house, so they're probably okay.  And Lucy's mean as a snake, so hopefully she can take care of herself.

Looking forward to this Friday, though - Phil and Janet are coming out to tuck away the Rialta for the winter.  It'll be good to see them!

pictures of our cheesily decorated Halloween house!   BOO!

its been a while

well, it's been literally MONTHS since I've blogged here - just got out of the habit I suppose. 

nothing terribly new - still have all 6 cats - Tigger, Missy, Nibbles, Buddy, Lucy and Allie (Allie being our rescue from this time last winter) 

Allie's really come a long way in a year.  Once she got in the house last year, she really didn't go out until the warm weather and even now, she doesn't go far from the house or stay out long.  One day this Fall, we left her outside and went out for the afternoon - when we got home, she was in a panic and she raced up to Kris' room and didn't come down until the next day.  We haven't done that again!

Christmas was great - Jamie and Julie came up with some lovely gifts and we had a super day.  Kris really surprised Rick with a very nice pellet rifle for Christmas - I never really like guns and ammunition at Christmas, but seems to have worked its way into the day.  Everything's coming up camo, these days.

Jamie and Julie have acquired a new cat to be friends with Julie's elderly cat, Maggie.  Apparently on Christmas Eve, Julie's parents (who have 8 cats - they're crazier than we are.....)  found a cat in their carport - it was minus 25 or something and the poor thing was half frozen and starving.  Of course, they brought her in and fed her and two days later took her into the vets for a checkup.  She as frostbite in one ear and some other issues, but seems to be getting better and has taken up her new life in Jamie and Julie's apartment - lucky cat!!! 

Real  estate is picking up after a quiet December - I always say, we could practically shut our cell phones off in December (maybe one year we will!!!) but they're ringing once again - out showing a house today and listed several last week - so starting off to be a busy year.

Hope all is well with everyone and will try to update more often!!   HAPPY NEW YEAR!

 

yes, we're still feeding the deer

 

 

apparently turkeys like the same food - who knew????

feeding time at the zoo

Supper time with 6 cats can be a bit hectic - it is the busiest and noisiest time in the kitchen!!! 

Here are (from left to right) Nibbles, Lucy and Allie eating supper in the kitchen (Tigger and Missy eat in separate rooms and Buddy eats whenever and wherever he pleases)  I didn't notice until I took this picture, how well these three match my kitchen floor!!!

Grazing on dry food in the living room.   That's Missy beside her basket house, Lucy with her face in the food bowl, Tigger sitting and Allie lieing down waiting her turn.  Sometimes they get nasty, but mostly just hang out waiting for a go at the trough!! 

 

In other news, we had a after a fairly busy February/March real estate season - things seem to have slowed down a bit this past week - but I imagine it will ramp up once Easter is over

 

 

Happy Easter everyone!

hungry deer

 

 

 

 

I looked out the dining room window this evening and was quite surprised to this this pretty lady checking out the bird feeder.   We had just put down out some feed for them, but I guess she was a bit braver than the others.  Really neat to see her so close to the house.

Not much else new - Rick and I are keeping pretty busy - for this time of year anyway.  Always a "good thing" in our line of work!

lots of snow

Well, to prove Spring ISN'T, in fact, just around the corner, we had lots and lots of heavy wet snow on Wednesday.  Kris and I were outside around 11 on Wednesday night listening to the tree branches cracking under the weight of the snow.  We have a few large branches that came down across the driveway that Rick and Kris will have to clean up on the weekend.

Fortunately on Wednesday we didn't have any driving to do and so we just took a snow day and stayed off the roads. 

As for our 6 feline housemates, I would have to say they are all getting along amazingly well - especially since this is the winter where they are in most of the time.  Lucy and Allie don't go out very often - I think they may still worry that they won't get back in!!!  

today's pics  - SNOW

Spring around the corner????

I don't pay a LOT of attention to the various varmint predictions about Spring - but I THOUGHT all gophers agreed this year that Spring was just around the corner!!  hmmmm....doesn't really feel like that today!   We have about 6 inches or so and still coming down.

We hadn't planned to go anywhere today but had to touch bases with a client who doesn't have a phone, so a quick trip into Renfrew.  Roads weren't bad - not great, but not too bad - we took our time.

New family member Allie-cat is fitting quite well - no spats or problems with other cats - I'm actually surprised (pleasantly mind you, but still surprised).  It isn't always easy introducing a mature cat to a household, but this went well.  Allie kept to herself for a few days - she found a box in a closet off the laundry room with some old mitts and touques in it and that was her "safe" spot for a while, but now she's all over the house

It appears she has NOT been spayed (I guess it was wishful thinking on our part that she might have been spayed).  We've never really had a cat this age that wasn't spayed, so a bit of a new experience.  She's VERY friendly, just looking for a "special" friend.....   Anyway, appointment made for this Monday with  Dr. Witham (who we're seeing a lot of lately) who will take care of that little problem.  

Lucy, who was just spayed last week is doing well and seems to be back to normal - she was pretty quiet for the first few days.   (imagine - two spayings within two weeks!!!!!)

Real estate is remarkably busy for this time of year - I'm happy about it - but it's not usually like this in February! We're actually juggling our schedule to keep up with showings and meeting with clients. Not complaining!!!

Some pictures I snapped today

Buddy watching the bird feeder

 

 

 

Rick replacing the suet thingy (with Nibbles in lower right corner watching)

 

 

lots of deer tonite - even more showed up after I took this picture!  They're getting quite bold too - Kris said one was peeking in the garage yesterday evening when he was late putting out the food!

 



Finally!!! a name!!

We have all finally agreed upon a name for our newest feline member.  Although I was opting for Buttons (not very original, I know), Kris came up with "Allie" - so Allie-cat, she is.  She is still adapting and learning to get along with the other cats.  Just like the other cats, she loves sitting on the back of the couch and looking out the window - but so far, if she's on the couch, no one else will join her.

We had her into the vet last week - she's about 2 years old but Dr. Witham can't tell if she has been spayed or not - hopefully she was spayed by her previous people - guess time will tell.

 

Got some snow yesterday - which didn't stop Buddy from "birding" under the feeder - sad really

 

three cats on a couch on a winters day  - Buddy, Nibbles and Lucy (Lucy's getting spayed tomorrow)

 

 

bought some deer food - happy deer tonite (we have had up to 9 at one time)