A Dearth of Cats

Since I know it makes y'all weird, nervous, and thirsty when the cats don't appear on the blog often enough, I'm recycling and posting a few gratuitous photos of cats today. They've been absent because they've been busy.

Kitties don't wear wristwatches, but they might as well. We've established a pattern of them getting restless each morning about 8:00 a.m. It's then that Mike saddles up on the ATV and rides around the property and down into the woods to scare away any lurking critters and bad woofies, and then we fling open the doors and set free the cats.

This is only part of the schedule, however, because every day around 2:00 p.m., they both come in completely spent, fall asleep in a heap somewhere, and then we don't see them again (not at all) until dinner time. It's working well. Everyone is in early and safe for the night, and they're getting plenty of quality kitty time, hunting, and exercise. They've both lost a little bit of weight (not that they needed to, but the exercise has to be good for them), and they've completely taken care of our squirrel problem. The ones they didn't kill and eat, they've chased to the far side of the property. Initially, they were catching about a mouse an hour, and now...about a mouse a day. That tells me they've handled the mouse population nicely too. And just so you know, these two are thick as thieves while they're outside. It's good that they enjoy being together because they'll both be safer that way.

So all of that to say that these are working cats, and they're busily doing their jobs. No time for blogging, thank you. Except...

Smitty wanted me to be sure and tell you that he worked nearly all day yesterday writing their post for

It starts tomorrow. Smitty had to do all the work because Sadie can't spell for beans. It's a sad side effect of not attending school while she was a streetwalker cat. And, of course, I always have to help Smitty with the computer when he gets a mind to write a blog post. That meant I had no time for sewing yesterday. Between picking up the CSA and setting up the new washer and dryer, sewing went begging. But the new washer and dryer are in place now. We opted for the matching dryer too since our dryer needs three shots at each dryer load these days before the clothes are dry. There won't be time for laundry before the weekend, and besides, I'm going to have to study up on how to use these new machines. They're all modern and swoopy and shiny and sleek. The washer is a top-loader with a glass top so you can see the clothes washing inside...for those who lack enough to do, I suppose. Also, the dryer door opens down rather than to the side, and it too has a window. What will they think of next? So anyway...the washer-dryer debacle is on its way to being over and back to mundanity. (I thought maybe I'd made up a word there, but no. Merriam-Webster beat me to it.)

The only sewing I've done has been on Constance, and she's moving toward a finish. I'll have some time to finish up her left side this morning, and I imagine I'll get some time to work on the right there too. 

I'm excited to get her finished for her own sake, but I really want to get back to the Summer Holiday block already in progress. 

This is the last block for this quilt. If I time it right, I might be able to get the top sewn together before we leave on our trip in September.

It's another busy day today with some housework and grocery shopping to do. Our skies are still smoky and our weather is still hot. We're keeping it cool here at the Three Cats Ranch. Keep it cool out there today too, okay?