It's all for the cats

The same snow has been on the ground for at least 3 days now and this morning the thermometer reading was at 4 degrees f. when we got up.  We still have a few more days before the temperature goes above freezing, and   Jimmy has been working outside between his medical appointments.  He hates the cold so I find it hard to understand why he stays in it so much, but I suspect it's to check that the heat tape and light bulb is still working under the house to protect the water pipes from freezing.

Jimmy has also been busy putting together his usual contraption for two old cats on the front porch.  If you pass by our house it looks like we have had a fire or some kind of disaster because our front porch is covered over with blue tarps to keep the wind and snow from blowing in on the cats.  The cats have two very nice dog houses and two buildings in the backyard which are all snuggly warm with some of my old bed comfortor's and blankets which I keep washed up for them.  Cats don't like to lay or sit on anything they think is dirty or is covered with their own hair, so they keep me busy washing up their bedding.

We have 2 cats and 1 kitten in the house and the rest of the cats live outside in the buildings and dog houses.  Don't ask me how many cats we have because the number changes from day to day depending on roaming cats who use our premises as a rest stop.

Getting back to the two old cats on the front porch....
Last night I finally put the electric heating throw blanket under them for the night and we had two very happy cats last night.  The reason Jimmy puts up tarps on the front porch is because the first time I put the electric throw under the two old cats it snowed a blowing snow, and in the morning the cats were covered in snow, but did not give up their warm spots.    Since the porch is now shielded by tarps and bamboo shades two  more cats have decided to sleep on the front porch as well.  I guess they heard that it's heated.

I feel like we might as well have a broken window with a pillow stuffed in it to keep the cold air out and, an old wringer washer sitting on our front porch...that's how bad it looks.  But it's all for two old cats who are approximately 14+ years old and one of them is Hopalong aka Catzilla from the blog, Catzilla and Friends.

Bird Watching

Popcorn Ball

Hoppy (nickname for Hopalong) really likes her new toy...
The Popcorn Ball
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I need a high speed camera...this cat is moving fast!!!
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The Popcorn Ball with all its charm and beauty is an excellent lure in reeling in those playful felines. Buy one today at the special low price of $19.99, AND if you act in the next 2 seconds you will receive two...yes two... at that same amazingly low price of $19.99 plus S&H ($45) and applicable state taxes (in most states 23%). But you must act quickly and if you took the time to read all this you're already too late.
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Where's that high speed camera when you need one!?!
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Look how much fun Hoppy is having trying to lure Jybow into going after the bait.
Even cats have fun fishing for other felines
with the new & exciting toy...
the Popcorn Ball
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Original post before pictures & captions were added:

Boo hoo....our snow is melting and it's melting FAST. We can see the ground and have green patches of grass everywhere. So what else is there to do when it's too wet to be outside? You make a cat toy, as suggested by my good friend Kerri, in order to use up some of my left over pieces of yarn.

I had more pictures to share, but blogger said to come back in 30 minutes and I being the impatient blogger that I am, I couldn't wait. When I get blogging on my mind I just load up my pictures and begin saying what I'm going to say. The pictures were just some blurry action shots anyway of Hopalong playing with the new toy. The cats love it and I call it their Popcorn Ball because I finally found a use for the crocheted stitch called the Popcorn Stitch.

I used one of the cats old plastic balls, one of those that have a jingle bell inside that they never played with...they just didn't like it. I crocheted a length of about 5 inches long and I made three rows of popcorn stitch and then I wrapped it around that little ball and attached a VERY LONG crocheted chain to it. It's made long so that Jimmy can sit in his chair and throw it halfway across the room and reel it back in. You know??? Like fishing for cats. It'll bring them out from wherever they're hiding.

I'm going to just do a little experimenting and see if I can load in those other pictures. I've never been any good at loading pictures after I've finished my post, but I'll give it a try.
It worked...see pictures and captions above...at the top. Yea, I know you already saw them :(

Well this has been my Sunday so far and I'm sniffling & sneezing again, but feel really good....I'm not sick, but I may be contagious, so everyone please stay away.

I just had a thought. What if I've become allergic to cats? :( :( :( :( :(

It rained buckets today

Today I woke up, looked out and thought that this would be a great day for a ride. I took my time, drank my morning cup of coffee, ate my cereal and proceeded to take my shower but when I started out the door to tell Jimmy that I wanted to go for a ride, a BIG black cloud appeared. While waiting I checked the bird-feeders and killed time pulling some weeds waiting for that cloud to pass over and when it got directly over head it cut loose with buckets of rain. I think that it even hailed for a second or two...very tiny little bits of ice.

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I hobbled quickly into the house as fast as I my legs would carry me just as it started to rain and decided to check my email. It began to really come down at this point and I watched, from my window, as a group of motorcyclists passed the house. They didn't look like they were having fun and one woman was covered with a plastic bag over her head...NO she wasn't driving...she was the back seat rider, hehehe. When the shower stopped Jimmy came in and told me that he counted 85 bikes in all but that they were not UBAD, our local Christian group (United Bikers Against Drugs) but another out-of-town Christian group.

Daisy stayed dry under the frog's umbrella between showers, while Hopalong sat in the chair behind her.

Despite all the rain we got the temperature was in the 80's and the sidewalks and rocks dried off quickly. There were large deep puddles of water in the grassy areas and pulling weeds was much easier. Jimmy & I took advantage of the wet soft soil in the flower beds and pulled all the weeds we could between showers and we even got wet...but it was fun working out in the rain. I took some pictures between showers, but these pictures were taken before it started to rain. My flowers are starting to bloom but they aren't as big as they should be because they had a lot of catching up to do. They were killed by that mean April freeze and had to start over.

Here's a close-up of one of the flowers that Jybow is standing near in the picture above. It seems that everytime I get set to take a picture, there's a cat in the way. They have to come and see what I'm doing and those of you that have cats, I'm sure understand what I mean.

Only one of the Rhododendron bushes is blooming and it's not very full of flowers. I think that the freeze also damaged some of the buds although this plant stays green year round. You can't see my azalea very well from here, but it's on the other side of these bushes and is very brown. I think most of it is dead and it's not recovering very well. It has VERY FEW green leaves on it...I think I can count them on both my hands & feet. Any suggestions on how I can save it? Should I prune it, cut it down, cut it back, give it food & water???

Here is a close-up of theRhododendron flower...Isn't it beautiful.

My neighbor has three Mountain Laurel's that are in full bloom...I don't think you could possibly fit another bloom on any of her plants, but todays pounding rain took its toll on them and knocked some of the old blooms off and soaked the rest. They kind of look water-logged. I wanted to take some close-up pictures of her Mt.Laurel's but I waited too late...maybe they'll perk up tomorrow.

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On another note: While I was writing this post, I happened to look up at the 11 p.m. news and saw my grandson Matt aiding in a horrific auto & tractor trailer accident on the interstate. Matt works for our county's ambulance service, but he wasn't there as an EMT, but as a fireman. He was using the "jaws of life" to cut someone free and the newsman said that I-75 had been closed for hours this afternoon due to the accident and clean-up afterwards. Matt is such a good boy and I'm so proud of the work he does. The pays not that good, but as Matt says, "It's not about the pay, but about the people you help."