All For Love....Pet Parade Party

We participated in

The Katillac Shacks
Design Gives Back Pet Scarf Project this Summer.
~~~~~~~~~~
One, because we LOVE animals!
Two, because or beloved dog,
Missy was an abandoned
doggy left on the streets to die.
She was beaten with a broken rib,
practically starved down to her bones,
and left dirty and belittled.
We saw her and fell in love with her at first sight!

We adopted her into our home...
gave her a bath and our daughter's bed to sleep on,
food, water and toy's!
She has been with us now for two years.
She is a wonderful girl.. and protective.
Most of all she loves us.

And... we love her!

By doing the scarf project we helped raise
$2,000 for pets in need!
Please stop by
The Katillac Shack
Leave a comment at the Katillac Shack blog!
Each comment by
October 1st is worth $1.00,
which will be donated to
The Pet Pantry
and a chance to win $100.00
gift certificate to Hobby Lobby!
You can also link up to the others who
participated in this wonderful project!!
Do it for the love of PETS!

Autumn Evenings....

My favorite season is finally here!
Yet, the day's are still fairly warm here in Sunny California.
I can feel the Autumn breezes in the evening. We adore the cooler weather.
The perfect time to sit down and work on a project.

I am taking up crewel embroidery this Fall....
I found this great vintage floral pillow kit at an Estate Sale for one buck!
Can't beat that.

Miss Freckles cut up some yummy veggies
for a delightful Autumn stew.

There is nothing like comfort foods, family and quiet times.
These are the moments most people take for granted.
Not my family!

I do hope you are having a splendid Autumn evening with your family.
This is a great time to slow down and take it all in!

Keeping A Nature Notebook...

A wonderful way to share the love of God's creation

through nature is keeping a Nature Studies Notebook.
We found this really pretty nature notebook
at Barnes & Nobles Bookstore.
Picture below!

I even got one myself !!
That way we feed off each others inspiration
and share something together that is meaningful to us.
We are also planning regular Nature walks within our area.

Freckles found a butterfly in the yard the other day...
She was wounded and could no longer fly.
Unfortunately she died within an hour of finding her.
So we placed her in a box with another butterfly
found by my son many years ago.

Freckles then sat down to draw her butterfly in her Nature Notebook.
These are moments that are priceless.
You can find many ideas for Nature Note booking
in The Charlotte Mason Companion by Karen Andreola.
Start your Nature Study today!!!

Summer's End....

It has finally come to an end.
Summer 2009 is officially over. Over the weekend
we took in the last day's of Summer.

We enjoyed the last Summer day with friends,
fellowship, fresh air, and frolic.

Freckles & her gal friends enjoyed
a refreshing dip in the pool.

Several friends shared their bounty from their Summer gardens.
Thank you!

The last watermelon of the season.
Oh so sweet!

And yet, another sort of Katydid.
Mr. Darling caught her at the Seminary...
she looked like a leaf bug... much different than the others we found last week.
We put her in the bug carrier to study her for a couple of days.

To Freckle's surprise, Katy The Katydid decided
to lay her eggs in the doorway of the bug carrier!
I guess we will be the proud parents of
Katydiddy babies next Spring!

This Summer has come to an end,
while a new Season has been given.
Happy Fall!

Nature Walk

The kids and I went to our local park yesterday, for a little nature walk.
We were pleased to find some fall leaves, acorns and conifers.

My kids were so sweet to lay in the damp grass
in order for me to snap the cutest photo ever!

We only walked part of the trails there...

since it was so darn hot.
That's fine though, more trails ahead for
another walk on a cooler day.

I can feel it !!
Fall is coming!
Not soon enough, but it is coming!

We enjoyed our walk.
Mostly we enjoyed God's beautiful creations.
We just soak it all up!

Freckle's Club Cottage.....

Welcome !
The last several day's Miss Freckles & I
have been cleaning out the little play house that is in the yard.
We have already been here a year and she never goes in there.
Maybe because, it is so dirty and boring.

Well, we might as well take advantage of the play house while we are here.
We went in and swept, washed the floors and windows, etc....
brought in some sweet goodies that she had packed away.

And, made it nice and homey for her to play in.
Or when she has guests, they can have tea in her
little "Club Cottage",
as she calls it.
She said it sounded better than Club House.
I agree.

We put up a shelf, brought in her little chaise couch,
a wicker chair, some pictures and toys

We will add in a little cupboard later, to put in her dishes and play food,
along with some games, just in case she & her friends want to play something.

For now, we are pleased. She now wants to go in and play.
A little sprucing up, is all it took. Plus, I put her baby doll crib together today.
We will post again soon, once we add in a few more things.

For now, we must go!
The baby is asleep.
Shhhhhh!

Bugs In Our Backyard...

It was quite an interesting week last week...
We have started up our nature study this year with Bugs!!!
It just so happens an injured guest came into our home looking for shelter.
I thought it was a grasshopper.
"No!!" Freckles, proclaimed!
She ran to get her Bug Book.
Low and behold she found out it was a Fork Tailed Katydid.
I was pretty proud of her for her research.

~Autumn Night Music~
Summer is waning;
nights are gaining;
Evening trees have lost their song.
Katydids, the last to strum,
are packing up and moving on.
Music lovers, don't despair!
Autumn tunes are in the air.
Just tonight I heard a breeze
practicing inside the trees.
There is music after Summer
with a different kind of strummer!
~Constance Levy

Two day's later, another guest came tapping at my kitchen window.

What the heck! I thought.
Again, Freckles ran to get her bug book to confirm
this crazy one was a Flying Praying Mantis.
I have seen big green one's before, but never a brown flying one.
Another proud Mama Moment!

We placed it under a cloche to investigate him further.
It was pretty neat.
Yet, the thing looked pathetic with his little head
and big eyes looking out at me through the glass as if he were crying,
"Let me out!!"

NOTE* No Bugs were harmed during this time.