Things you can pack into 1/4 acre...

Well, I have found, you can pack a zoo and a farm into a 1/4 acre. I was pretty happy with one dog and one (mostly) outdoor cat. I was good with that. There was a stray cat, that lived on our porch, but, I held fast to the fact that it was a STRAY. As in NOT ours! Kaila, of course, named it. Her name is Melody, and it adores Kaila, as all creatures do. But, she wasn't ours, right? STRAY kitty!
As pictured below, Flashlight, our (mostly) outdoor kitty, is thinking about jumping. I would tell her not to do it, and things will get better, but, I doubt it. She seriously thinks she deserves a mansion, her own room and a minimum of four servants, but, in reality, she is stuck with us. A 9 year old girl she fights the dog for the privelage of sleeping in her bed, and who always forgets to change her litter box. And now, this.


The stray kitty recently proudly presented us with 4 more stray kitties, she had given birth to several weeks ago under the shed in our back yard. The kids are delighted, the dog is a wreck.

While they are kinda cute, I am still desprately holding onto the belief they are not ours. I keep hoping they move under the next door neighbor's porch or something, but, they haven't. For strays, they seem to understand property lines amazingly well.

And, of course, the kids named them. Lexi happily rattled off "This one is 'Fuzz Balls', this one is 'Fur Balls' and this one is 'Cute Balls' ". OMG. No, Lexi, you gotta rename them, dear.

Meanwhile, in honor of Kaila's birthday on the 5th, and Joe's birthday on the 24th, the next door neighbor was kind enough to gift them with Guinie Pigs. Seriously. Guinie Pigs. The dog literaly wet himself.

We went today, to get all the peraphenilia these particular rodents need; (to the tune of $85.00). While at the pet shop, the shop owner gave a stern lecture on what sorts of fruits and veggies they eat, and that tomatoes are bad for EVERY creature! WE HUMANS should not even eat them! She said this, as she stood in the window display. It was very dramatic, and I nodded solemnly and tried very hard to ignore Jasin's eye rolling, and the fact that he had just seen how much rodent cages cost.
Our neighbor very seriously told me this was a FAVOR, as she usually can sell them for $12.00 a piece, and her gift to the kids had just cost her $24.00. I swear, I was the picture of gratefulness, and did not attempt to choke her at any point. Besides, she is a GENIOUS! I am SO giving kittens to the next 4 children in the neighborhood who have birthdays. Her own child has one in August....

The fact that I love my children enough to give them an entire shelf on my book shelves speaks volumes about my love for them... and please ignore the fact that it's a mess. I seriously cleaned this morning. Evidently we cannot also pack a maid into 1/4 acre...

I have also given up my hanging flower baskets this year, for Topsy Turvy Tomatoe planters. And, while we were at it...


My front garden for pumpkins that grew because we left last fall's pumpkins there over the winter, and they just started to grow here. Kinda cool, actually!

And, why stop there?? My brother was nice enough to dig up the end of the driveway, so we (being me, as the kids certainly did not dirty themselves) could put in a veggie garden...


I am absurdly proud of the fact that my corn, tomoatoes, zucchini and green peppers are doing beautifully! The jury is still out on the cucumbers and carrots... thats why that part of the garden is not weeded. It finally was weeded the other day, after the acquisition of a garden hoe. I walked into the Home Depot looking for one, with my 4 kids in tow. I could not find one, so, spying a clerck, walked up to her and said "If I were a hoe, where would I be?" The look on her face was priceless. Ah well.