Sunday Kittens

Another thing I saw and took pictures of at the farm today were kittens.  There are a lot of them, but the black kitten and white kitten are the two that caught my eye...

This black one is the one I think I'd take home if my husband would let me! He says that we can't get a second cat until we get a second dog, and I won't let us get a second dog until we can fence in the back yard.  He would allow for an "outside" cat, but I am afraid  it would either get run over or chased off by neighborhood strays.  That's why we made Terra an inside cat.  Our other friends who live in town haven't had much luck with having outdoor cats...they've either gotten run over or run away.  

Oh...why can't cats stay kittens forever?
I still love my own cat though...and she's trying to snuggle up with me right now as I type!

Sunday Flowers

We have church at our friend's farmhouse.  This morning, while we were hanging out and enjoying the nice weather outside before church started, these new hydrangeas they'd just planted caught my eye and I was inspired to take some pictures (and go all Instagram!).

These hydrangeas had a story behind them though.  My friends Rachel and Tricia went to NYC last weekend for the National Stationary Show.  They had a booth there for their line of stationary, Fawnsberg.  

Apparently one of the other booths had some hydrangeas for decoration, and when the show was over they were going to throw them out (since they had flown there from Florida and weren't able to bring the flowers back with them on the plane).  So Rachel and Tricia's Dad decided to bring them home and plant them in front of their porch (there were six plants in all).  No sense wasting perfectly good hydrangeas, right?  I guess there was a LOT of stuff that people threw out after the show...like display stuff and even furniture.  Gah!...such a waste!  If I'd known, I'd have called my brother (he lives in NYC) and had him go down there with his truck.

Back to the flowers.  The question is...will they remain pink or turn blue? (Hydrangeas change color depending on the acidity of the soil.)  Either way, they are really pretty!

Terra's Sister

There is a kitten at the farm right now that looks almost exactly like Terra when she was younger...

That's because she is Terra's younger "sister". The little girl at the farm has named her "Hannah".

One of the little girls at church yesterday actually thought it was Terra and asked me, "Why did you bring your kitty today?" I had to explain to her that it was Terra's "little sister".

Her eyes are a slightly different color (Terra's are more of a yellowish green), and the edges of her ears are darker. And of course, since she's younger (and an outside cat) she is a lot skinnier than Terra is right now.

But, despite being a "barn cat" she is a very friendly little cat. She still has a bit of the typical barn cat skittishness (just the slight noise of my camera turning on or focusing seemed to spook her a bit), but despite that, she is one of the few newer cats at the farm that is most likely to snuggle up next to you and let you pet her! Most of the other cats barely tolerate people to get close to them.

Crazy Kitten

Remember Sammy from the farm? Cute innocent little kitty, right?

But under the cute exterior is a cat full of mischief! He likes to "attack" Leon, one of the other cats (I'm surprised Leon stands for it and doesn't teach the little guy a lesson)...

He even stalks the chickens! He did end up chasing this one. Again, he was lucky that object of his ambush didn't turn and teach him lesson! And lucky as well that the rooster wasn't around!

All in all though, he is a really cute kitten...

Sammy, Sonya, and Taffy

These are the newest additions to my friends' farm. Sammy the kitten, Sonya the goat (brown), and Taffy the baby goat (white). I went out to the goat pen and Sammy was sitting on the fence in true cat-like fashion (He's still so little! How did he get way up there?)...and so I decided to take some pictures...

Pottery Fix

The hubby and I got our pottery fix this weekend at our friends' house. They live on a farm and have a seperate building that serves as a studio/office/workshop. And in the studio, they have two pottery wheels and a kiln. We spent the day Saturday out there and played on the wheels. I made 6 pots and CJ made a cute little bud vase. He has big hands, but he makes the tiniest little pieces on the wheel!

(Luna thinking "Mommy...are you done yet?")

We have our own pottery wheel at home that my mom and grandma bought for us as a wedding present (I took a pottery class with my mom and some friends a few months before I got married)... but I don't use it as much as I'd like to. It tends to take a back seat to my other crafts (sewing and painting), especially now that I'm crafting more as a business lately than as a hobby. Plus, pottery is rather messy. I've thought about asking our friend/landlord about possibly setting it up in the basement where there is a concrete floor and a utility sink. I've also debated about taking my wheel out to "the farm" as well. It's more motivating when you know there's a kiln you can fire your work in the same building rather than having to wory about transporting your work in order to fire it (and worrying about breaking it the entire way). Plus, with three wheels, we can have a "pottery party"!

I don't know...I haven't decided anything yet...except that I miss practicing my pottery skills!

Church at "the Farm"

CJ and I had church at "the Farm" yesterday. It's so wonderful out there. No traffic noise...no screaming neighbors...and the only gunshots you might hear are hunters (and not "gangta's"). We read and discussed the book of James, had dinner picnic-style on "the island" in the middle of the pond, and generally just enjoyed the great outdoors and the beauty of God's creation.

My husband...the child magnet!...or as we call him "the baby whisperer".

Kim's sisters, Rachel and Tricia, ready for a nap after dinner.

Karl fishin' with the kids (I love how they all happen to be color coordinated!)

Buggy holding a fish his daddy caught.

Lydia swimming in the pond. (I promised the kids that next week I'd bring my swimsuit so I could go swimming with them.)