The Mega Pawsitive Fundraiser

[1CatOverTheLine]

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Yet another brilliant day here today, with almost everything blooming at once. At one back corner of the lawn, three wild apples bloom behind the Chinese Redbud:

in sunlight so bright that the camera shutter didn't want to open on auto!
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[tarasgirl06]

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Yet another brilliant day here today, with almost everything blooming at once. At one back corner of the lawn, three wild apples bloom behind the Chinese Redbud:

View attachment 231816

in sunlight so bright that the camera shutter didn't want to open on auto!
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THAT does it, 1CatOverTheLine -- I want your cats AND your land. How gorgeous! Thanks for sharing so we can all be insanely jealous/enjoy the beauty.

 

[1CatOverTheLine]

THAT does it, 1CatOverTheLine -- I want your cats AND your land. How gorgeous! Thanks for sharing so we can all be insanely jealous/enjoy the beauty.

tarasgirl06 - Remember, you get the Winters too - and the real estate tax bill and the school tax bill and the library Tax bill and the cat food bill and the Snowshoe.



Seriously, though - New York's no better than California for some things. I figure I'm lucky to have enough left over to buy a few Tulips.

 

[Furballsmom]

LOL 1CatOverTheLine forgot to mention the gasoline and motor oil bill for the mongo huge massive ginormous zero clearance lawn mower

Did you all know that there is an ongoing update for the charity in post #1? Just one more reason to love this site!!

So, Poppycat aka The Big Guy says hello to you-all from a beautiful day in Denver where everything is gorgeous, and everything; bumblebees and tiger swallowtail butterflies, hummys and finches, robins, mourning doves, redtailed hawks playing in the sky, is enjoying getting on with things, and !!I!! am the incredibly fortunate human who gets to see all this right from the backyard which is at the edge of a growing metro city. It's amazing. ...and so is he...

 

[tarasgirl06]

tarasgirl06 - Remember, you get the Winters too - and the real estate tax bill and the school tax bill and the library Tax bill and the cat food bill and the Snowshoe.



Seriously, though - New York's no better than California for some things. I figure I'm lucky to have enough left over to buy a few Tulips.

View attachment 231866

I've never been to NY, but I actually LIKE places where there are four distinct seasons -- we had that in the Mojave, with fall colors in the leaves, snow in the winter, beautiful flowers in the spring, and heat -- and heat, and heat! -- in the summer. We had monsoons there, too, in summer, which often brought thunderstorms -- welcome rain-wise, but not so much lightning-wise. A couple of days after I moved in up there, we had a lightning strike on a joshua tree and a real estate sign on the undeveloped land next to us -- and I didn't even know, because there are no windows on that side of the house. If the neighbor across the road hadn't seen it and called the fire dept. in the little town closest to us, who knows?!!
And oh, yeah, we get all those taxes, too, whether or not we use the services. Like everyone else, I guess. We have some of the highest taxes in the US. But the Snowshoe? *How I wish*.

 

[1CatOverTheLine]

But the Snowshoe? *How I wish*.View attachment 231871

tarasgirl06 - Sishya really was an Heartbreaker; Lord what a beautiful girl.

I think you'd rather like rural New York and even rural New England, really, save for the Winters which can be a little long. That said, it's never snowed here in August. On the plus side, sometimes during rush hour here I'll stand outside and wave to both cars.

Furballsmom - That tractor has never used a single drop of gasoline in the twelve years I've owned it.

It turned out to be a stunner of a day here, and Thursday and Friday look the same. Rain through the week-end, much needed and much appreciated by the greenscape, and for once - with all the trimming finished - the old place doesn't look half bad.

A special shout-out to Shane Kent - How about some photos from Cottage Country, Shane?
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[tarasgirl06]

1CatOverTheLine Oh, I think I'd love both locations -- it's the heat I don't like. I love cool, cloudy, rainy days and snow, for me, is magical!
*And yes, Seesh was a little angel-cat. You would have loved her! She especially loved men, although I was her feeder, brusher, clipper of claws and all, so she loved me, too.*

*Seesh and Tarifa in the Mojave, January 2007*

 

[Furballsmom]

Hmmmm, ...a massive huge eco friendly zero clearance lawn mower??
We've gone with an reel mower, which is terrific exercise and therefore is beneficial for all sorts of things!

 

[1CatOverTheLine]

1CatOverTheLine Oh, I think I'd love both locations -- it's the heat I don't like. I love cool, cloudy, rainy days and snow, for me, is magical!

tarasgirl06 - Part of the reason that I so enjoy this location is that it's between the two lakes (Ontario and Erie), with the river in the back yard. Now, for instance, it's 70º F in Buffalo, and I'm perhaps an hour away from the temperature dropping down into the 40s. "Air conditioning" here is keeping some of the windows open.

1CatOverTheLine *And yes, Seesh was a little angel-cat. You would have loved her! She especially loved men, although I was her feeder, brusher, clipper of claws and all, so she loved me, too.*View attachment 231881 *Seesh and Tarifa in the Mojave, January 2007*

I know her only from the photographs you've shared, and from your descriptions or her, but I feel enough like I knew her to share your pain at losing her. Don't worry - she knows that she was always Loved, and that she is still Loved, my Friend.

Edited:

Hmmmm, ...a massive huge eco friendly zero clearance lawn mower??

Furballsmom - Nope - even simpler than that; diesel.



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[Furballsmom]

Ah, I see,
As a positive thought, I have every vegetable that we planted already coming up from seed, in less than 10 days woohoo. That must be a record, of one type or other for speediest sprouting LOL

 

[1CatOverTheLine]

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Fifty-two degrees here while the clock climbs two in the morning, and the windows are open despite the faintly cool air. The fragrance of lilacs permeates the whole of the house, fills the spaces in the garden, and hangs in the air across the yard. Somewhere out beyond the range of vision, Mama Fox and her four kits are doubtless roaming the threshold between lawn and the woods; I hope they enjoy the scent of lilacs as much as do I.
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[raysmyheart]

Today is a wonderful chance to get into my yard and take care of lawn mowing, everything is growing so fast. A day outside, I couldn't think of anything nicer today!

Of course, Speedy and I will have a walk later and maybe I will ride past the local farmstand to see how things are taking shape! You know, they will be opening in a few short weeks!

 

[tarasgirl06]

Furballsmom Sounds like some delicious meals are in your future!
1CatOverTheLine Oh, yes, she is and will always be in my heart. Such a subtle little soul, playful, full of love and eternally kittenish. We will be together in due time!

 

[Shane Kent]

1CatOverTheLine - I will most definitely try to get some nice photos and videos to share when I go there this weekend. I tired to get a photo of a cute little mink a few weeks ago but the little critter doesn't stand still so I will try to get it on video. Last year the mink came out from under the dock with a large crayfish as if to show his catch off to my wife and I. I think the mink was actually just keeping the crayfish out of the water until it died but it was very cute to see.

There is an Italian food supplier across the street from my work. A guy from a well known Italian deli downtown Ottawa opened a food truck on their property recently. His sandwiches are a work of art and across the street from where I work is most definitely a Mega Pawsitive.

It is a beautiful day in Ottawa today, hope everyone has a terrific Thursday

 

[1CatOverTheLine]

There is an Italian food supplier across the street from my work. A guy from a well known Italian deli downtown Ottawa opened a food truck on their property recently. His sandwiches are a work of art and across the street from where I work is most definitely a Mega Pawsitive.

It is a beautiful day in Ottawa today, hope everyone has a terrific Thursday

Shane Kent - Downtown Buffalo, less than fifty miles west of here, has developed an ever-growing tradition of food trucks for, "Food Truck Tuesdays," in Larkin Square, with live entertainment as well:

downtown buffalo "food trucks" - Google Search

An interesting concept, unless you're a restauranteur in the business district, one supposes.


Here it was the briefest of misty showers late this morning, reinforcing the green of the landscape as May begins to tumble into June:

A few leftover clouds are still flitting across the sky, and the temperature, at 70º F, is still very pleasant indeed.
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[Furballsmom]

Hi everyone! That photo #4895 1CatOverTheLine somehow looks like a surreal landscape, don't you think? The trees look like they're floating

tarasgirl06 you're literally one of the most positive people I've ever met, bless your heart!

@Alejandra Rico I've been thinking about you, how are you?

And my positivity is; I got to see what I think was a young turkey vulture on the ground just off to the side of the road with (something) - geez they're big! and the clouds are giving us some shade so that the 86 degree temp is dropping and it may rain again

 

[tarasgirl06]

Furballsmom Thanks! *I'm human, though, and actually I'm suffering from a case of Fresh Homegrown Vegetable Envy right now.* I'm one of those bizarre people that actually LOVES vegetables.
1CatOverTheLine Just LOOK at those happy, healthy trees! What a postcard that would make.

 

[Shane Kent]

Furballsmom I could not agree more about Tarasgirl and Alejandra, both very beeeeautiful people.

Not the black cat I was looking for but it didn't cost much and worth the photo value

 

[tarasgirl06]

Awww, gee, thanks! Shane Kent so nice to see another collector of feline-themed bric-a-brac! I guess I've been doing that all my life, as my relatives would give me these as gifts and then I started collecting them myself. I have some from each grandmother, my mom of course, gifts from friends, and my own PURR-chases One I really loved but no longer have is one of those large vintage black panthers. Do you know the ones I mean? Your black lion reminds me of them a bit. And I have one crystal cat, from Orrefors of Sweden, with the tail up, that belonged to my mom. (That's it on the right) I love the tiny tabby! And yes, I have several tiny tabbies, too.

 

[1CatOverTheLine]

1CatOverTheLine Just LOOK at those happy, healthy trees!

tarasgirl06 - I can't take much credit for health, really. Here's what it looked like fifteen years ago:

I hacked through it in Autumn, examining the trees for size and health, and blazed the "keepers" with flagging tape to form a little park-like lawn at the south edge of the property. The second Winter, I went through it slowly, with a Beaver blade and a chainsaw, and just kept bundling the underbrush and branches, and hauling them to the kerb (the Town graciously picks up and chips anything left neatly at the roadside). By the third Autumn, I was ready to till between the standing trees. I brought in a little topsoil, box scraped the area in the first photo - about 235 feet by 610 feet - and convinced the groundskeeper at the golf course just down the road to loan me his topdresser and his expertise.

By the end of year five, it vaguely resembled a lawn, though I made some mistakes as to what I kept and what I cut. I've lost three Poplars to old age, one to a 90 mph wind gust, and an Ash and Willow to lighting strikes. Now, with the appearance of the Emerald Ash Borer, the five tallest trees will, soon or late, meet their demise as well. It's only these last four years that I've begun trenching and shaping beds, rounding up, laying landscape fabric and mulching them. What's left there is primarily second growth in front and old growth at the back, but save for limbing them up and waxing the cuts, their health is Mother Nature's doing, not mine.

Edited to add: tarasgirl06 - Wow - quite a collection!
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