Cool Mornings and Open Windows

That's right - we finally are feeling a tad bit more fall in the air! And that means it was cooler outside that it was inside this morning and I opened the windows in the dining area so we could enjoy the sounds of the birds chirping in our backyard. Even Smokey is starting to enjoy the new sights and sounds of his new yard.

Meowee Christmas!

 
Merry Christmas, everyone! Hope you all have had a wonderful day filled with love, laughter and peace.

It's nice someone is enjoying the great, hot outdoors. See the green grass? We pay a nice price to keep it going for our bee classes. Who wants to learn about bees or light a smoker when the grass is brown and crunchy. I get scared just thinking about it.

Peaches, Kitty & a Friend

Finally getting to enjoy a couple of the peaches from our tree. Nothing like last year but still adds a nice sweet and slightly tart flavor to our fruit salads. Doubt we'll get enough for any peach preserves this year, sadly.

I would like to send a shout-out to Donna P. who is still reading my blog AND following our Gretchen Bee Ranch blog as well. I ran into Donna at the vet's office when I went to pick up Smokey at the end of the day. It was his annual visit for shots and he got a nice little flea dip. Anyway, I want to say hi and thank you to Donna for her encouragement about the blogs. We met when I taught some computer classes here at the Seguin Library many years ago and it ALWAYS warms my heart to see students again. Especially when they remember me and let me know how we met. So, thank you, Donna. You made my whole week last week and I really appreciate your kind words and your continued support of the blogs! Hope you and your family have a great week!

Rain, Rain - Come Our Way

Warmer, dryer weather means it's time to get to watering of the plants and grass. This is one of Smokey's favorite pastimes - watching the watering of anything in the yard. He is fascinated with sprinklers and loves to be just out of reach of the water. Here he is watching as I prepare the tractor, which I love to watch also, as it winds its way around the yard, aided only by the water pressure.

On a less funny note, we went on record for one of the driest month of March in history. Not good. We sure need some rain!

Peaceful Sleep of a Kitty

Ah, to be this chilled out, right? I came home yesterday to this sight and it brought a smile to my face, which I sure needed; rough day at work, friends. Smokey is capable of falling asleep almost anywhere, at anytime and at any moment. And when he sleeps, he is OUT to the world. Plus he has interesting positions, like this one. I think it's adorable. He is like our kid - mischievous, loving, chatty, demanding, hilarious and almost bringing home a friend. Last night I couldn't stop laughing because he has a new "friend" who hangs out with him and even follows him up to the back door! Before I went to bed, I looked out the front door and who's sitting in the middle of the street but Smokey and friend. Just sitting, staring at each other, wagging tails...crazy cats. I wish I knew what they were doing out there. Speak of the devil, here he is sitting next to me. Probably means he wants me to go hang out with him. Or snuggle time. Or food. He's a simple cat. Y'all have a great day today!

Arctic Blast

Today we are currently at 34 degrees and it's sunny. It sure makes a big difference, I can tell you that. The weatherman says it's the first time we've been above freezing since Tuesday. That's a long time for South Texas. :-) It's been a fun evening and day of looking out the window to see what's new and listening to the news and seeing pictures of other local areas. We didn't get much but it is still a nice weather event to see. And the snow looked different. I went out with Smokey this morning to take a look and snap pictures - noticed the snow was super dry and more like small prefect pellets rather than the fluffy stuff. Interesting.

Chilly Nights Mean One Thing...

While I'm in my own cold climate traveling for work, it seems you guys are also enjoying some chilliness back at home in good ole Seguin! That's one of the few times Smokey will want to curl up inside. That cat loves the great outdoors typically. Once it hits 30s or 20s, he's on his favorite spot - Mark's jeans and bee suits. :-) Y'all stay warm! I'm in Virginia and it's in the low 20s at night and 30s during the day. Hardly a snow storm, however. Boy was I disappointed! Here's all I got -

Nice Napping Weather

Hi everyone. I hope you had a chance to enjoy the lovely weather of the weekend since we are now cloudy and cold again. What strange weather. This is Smokey's idea of how to work with a beautiful sunny day. He got tired of sitting at the door, hoping Mark would let him in to hang out in the bee house. The next time I looked out the kitchen window, he was napping. He's a riot. But not very bright at times as he chose a terrible spot for a snooze.

I haven't posted lately because I haven't had the heart. Last Friday, we had a big round of layoffs at work and it was very sad. I lost my entire team of trainers and I miss them so. Please send positive thoughts and prayers out to all the families affected by this round of layoffs. It wasn't our first there but it was a very significant one, especially for our IT department. If you are local, you've probably been hearing about the layoffs already. We are all still a bit stunned by all that occurred Friday. :-(

Green, Green, Green

I like being home b/c I can snuggle with my honey and my kitty. Everything's a nice green these days with all the rain we are finally getting.

Smokey

Can't post a long one today but I did want to share a shot of Smokey at least. Ever the faithful kitty, always there to escort us around the yard. Or to chase us in a little game of tag. Or just to sit with us as we enjoy the deck. If only it wasn't a sauna outside. :(

Squirrely

Quicky post for the evening since I not only have to pack for a short trip but I also said I would limit my online time tonight. Here's a little fella that spent half his time digging into his pecan and the other half of this time twitching his tail at my poor little Smokey, who happened to be snoozing on the grass under this squirrel. Smokey took no notice of all the squirrel yelling. Have you heard them chattering away? They can be sort of loud about it. We have tons of squirrels in the neighborhood.

This is Smokey enjoying the upper 90s temperatures in the shade and with a breeze blowing. At least the grass is cool. He loves it outside. Not to worry, it looks like he might be dead, plastered to the ground, but I assure you he is fine.

Seguin Photo Blog turns 3!

Today is the Seguin Photo Blog's 3rd birthday and for my 250th post, I would like to provide an update on the garden with a few pictures. Smokey has found a new snoozing spot in the garden. He really seems to enjoy hanging out in the tub and the real garden.

Our tomatoes are abundant and we await the first ripe one so we can cut into it. They still smell wonderful. Our squash is also starting to produce but Mark noticed that one of the little squash was shriveling up so he researched it and read that it was due to the plants not getting polinated. So funny our bees did not seem to notice the squash yet I guess. So Mark used a q-tip to cross pollinate himself and at that time, he did see a bee so between the bee and Mark, the squash should be okay. :)

Smokey & a Rosebush

This past weekend, we managed to get outside for a bit though I think my sinuses nearly made me want to remove my head. Smokey just loves it when we are outside. He performed many feats of bravery and insanity to entertain us and entice us to play with him. Here he decided to climb into the rosebush I was trying to photograph. What a funny nut.

Today I am in Lewisburg, PA. The closest photo blog I can find is for Bellefonte, PA. It's definitely fun to explore new parts of your own country. I have not been in this area before. During a jaunt out to find sushi for dinner, my coworkers and I stumbled across the downtown area of Lewisburg and we hope to do some exploring before leaving tomorrow afternoon. It looked lovely at night!