Meanwhile, Back on the Farm

It seems like I've missed several of my regular "What I See Wednesday" posts lately so I'll catch up a bit today with some pictures of what we've been up to around MoonCat Farms.

What I see when I take my tea out in the front yard and watch the sun come up:

Chandler & Cailen

We want toast too!

I've been shelling a bunch of these: (isn't this a beauty of a pea pod?)

Doing a bit of sewing on these pretty little squares when I'm in the mood (not often, lately):

Patiently explaining to Mr. MoonCat exactly WHY the mints must be kept in planters:

Harvesting and drying lots of these marigolds and calendula blooms:

Now I'm off to experiment with recipes I've been playing around with that incorporate some of the mint and calendula that I've been picking.  Happy Weekend my friends!

What I See Wednesday

I love Dahlias!

My Hydrangea's very forgiving of the abuse I heap upon it!

Porkchop and Celie playing with their new toy

Lovely Fuchsia

Cailen's very big stick

Proof is in the Potholes

This post is solely for my husband's benefit.  Mr. MoonCat is very firm and outspoken in his opinion (wrong that it may be and IS) that HIS dog Cailen can do no wrong.  He seems to think that MY dog Chandler is always at fault whenever there is anything wrong or amiss. 

We have a gopher problem here at MoonCat Farms.  The gophers here seem to be relatives of the one above from "Caddyshack" with the awesome Bill Murray.  Envision the little gopher dancing and singing "I'm Alright" and you will have a picture of what these poor dogs are seeing on a daily basis. Boredom is a bad thing for working cattle dogs that aren't actively working right now.  Do you see where this may be going? 

So, for your viewing enjoyment and my "HA - I have proof" amusement, I give you "The Boys":

"Cailen and Chandler - On the Hunt"

"Cailen - BUSTED"

"Chandler - Not smart enough to get rid of the evidence!"

All to no avail as I'm afraid this will be Mr. MoonCat by the end of the summer:

Bill Murray vs The Gopher

BTW, it is the 30th anniversary of the release of Caddyshack.  If you have never seen this movie, you are really missing out on a classic.  I don't think they intended the gopher and Bill Murray to completely steal the show, but they did.  Caddyshack

Critter Corner - Cailen

I've been remiss in my blog writing as well as introducing the critters that inhabit our world. Today I would like to introduce Cailen (pronounced Kuh-lin). He has many aliases though: Bubba, Pointy Eared Pest and Dingo Dog are some of the more often used. He's a pretty pooch that we love very much.

Cailen was Michael's dog before we met. He was just turning a year old when we got together and I think it hurt Michael's feelings that Bubba took to me right away and was minding me better than he was Michael. I've just had a lot more experience with working dogs than he had so it was easier to try to channel Cailen's natural herding abilities. I'm thinking my mastery of the "mean Mommy voice" also had a lot to do with it.

He's a very smart dog who is extremely quick and very play driven. I feel really bad that he is going to waste as a cow dog since we don't really have a herd to work him on at this point. We try to keep him entertained and from getting too bored by playing lots of games with him.

It really helps that he and Chandler absolutely love each other. They play constantly. It is funny to see a hound trying to be as athletic as Cailen. If Chandler didn't have Cailen to keep him moving, he'd be lounging on the couch eating bonbons. He could easily turn into a slug. Chandler has tried to teach Cailen the art of baying so they can be a really noisy pair at times.

This series shows them :

1) sitting like goods boys,

2) Cailen slamming on the brakes just before Chandler T-bones him at full speed, and

3) the aftermath of the crash (with Cailen having never let go of his toy).

These are our boys!