10/10 Stars.

Well.  It has been a hot minute since you have seen this gorgeous cat.

Mama Kitty-mother to Norma Jean Riley.  Grandma to Rio.

Please try to keep up with my animals.

We have no idea how old she is.  We think fairly old.  And, yes.  She has a cauliflower ear and won’t be getting any new boyfriends any time soon.

***

Exciting things have come to pass, Reader!

First, I went on a trip all by myself and visited Sisters Meagan and Jess.  We had a lovely time just hanging out and visiting and they took me to all their lovely local spots.  Here are a few pictures for your viewing pleasure.

Meagan and I at a lovely lake.

We went on a hike and Meagan stopped to do a bit of fly fishing.

She caught nothing.

Jess and I on a lovely evening walk after dinner.

Meagan and I at a winery.

Twas a lovely visit.

***

David, the boys, and I went up into the mountains in search of The Purple Gold.

Yes.  Huckleberries.

I find huckleberry picking to be a loathsome activity, but it brings joy to David, so off we went.  I have two major problems with huckleberry picking.

1.  We don’t exactly ever know where any are, so we end up driving around aimlessly for hours on end and sometimes cannot find them.
2. I would prefer to not get attacked by a bear.

Up into the mountains we went.  We put the three dogs:  Niko, Norman, and Charlie, in the back of the side by side.

Norman, who feels the need for speed, would not sit in the side by side and kept jumping out.  He would run alongside or ahead of us.  He kept up with the side by side at 20 mph for quite a while.

Since I am 41 now, I worry about the dogs and for some reason think they are infant babies.  So, I made David stop so we could force Norman to rest.

He’s a good boy.

Huckleberry Helper: 10/10 Stars.

Me:  David!  Can you bring a gun?

David:  Why?

Me:  To protect us from bears.

David:  No.  That’s why we brought the dogs.  The bear will get them first and we can get away!

Me:

I am pleased to announce that not only did we find huckleberries, but no bears ate any of us.

We picked one whole liter, which doesn’t sound impressive, but it surely made us feel all fancy pants.

***

David’s grandma turned 100 years old, and his mother put on a lovely party for her.

She looks amazing and gets around so well still!  We have been so lucky to have her in our lives.

Here she is as a senior in high school.

So beautiful!

***

Summer is winding down, but I am still loving my days at home.  The dogs were doing so much better listening, so I decided to chance it and take them on my daily walk to check the cows.

They did a perfect job until the very end when Norman saw the horse and decided it was the Lord’s will for Norman to try and run that poor horse through a fence.

Fear not.  No animals were injured.

Norman.

Farm Dog:  0/10 stars.

And . . . I love him.

So, I must make the dogs stay inside now when I check on things.

Here’s a picture of Niko watching me from the loft window.

Happy Monday!