Waterfalls and Bear Paws

June 17, 2016 | Allison

Last week we went on a gorgeous (and rather tiring) hike with some friends. It included lots of water and waterfalls. Perfect!

Note: I edited some of these pictures. 😀 Just making sure you weren’t like, “WHOA, how does Allison take that good of pictures in a badly lit-forest?” Well yeah, I don’t. 😛

waterfall 7 (768x1024) — I love this one!

Along the path there was this gorgeous waterfall hidden away in a little hollow. It felt like a private picnic spot or something. So pretty!

waterfall 3 (768x1024) — Mini waterfall off to the side

Look at all of this liquid energy! Churning, frothing, bubbling water. Ahh…

I really like this picture of mountain laurel. BOKEH! XD

Meet our friends’ dog, Penny, who swam around in the river a couple of times. She was awfully hard to get a picture of. XD

Guess what? We saw THREE black bears on our hike! There are bears where I live, but it’s very rare (for us at least) to see one. So we were super excited to get to see three on one hike! They were pretty cute. 😀 They didn’t even seem to notice us, even though the first one was fairly close to the path. I got some rather bad quality videos and pictures, but at least you can see the bears on them.

-Allison(hike) 148 (1024x768) — I’m pretty sure the cub is drinking milk from its mother in this photo. Isn’t it funny how the mama bear is sprawled out all nice and comfy (or not) on the ground?

I was going to add a GIF, but it took too long and wasn’t very good anyway. Heh heh, so much for that. XD I might show you some bear videos in a post later.

Have you ever seen a bear? Do you like hiking? What was your favorite picture in this post?

***Allison***

P. S. CutePolarBear, it’s your turn for WordCrafters! Visit the WordCrafters 2 page to read the story so far. GO WORDCRAFTERS! 😀

P. P. S. Wanna hear something funny? You know the Baby Changing Station thingies in public bathrooms? Once I saw one where the “C” had been scraped off the sign, so it read: “Baby hanging Station.” How awful! (But you have to admit, still hilarious. XD )

Dorothy Explores

June 3, 2016 | Allison

Hey guys! Back in this post when I first showed you the doll I made, I said I would do a photoshoot of her sometime. Well, here you are! And by the way, I named her Dorothy. 🙂 Like from Wizard of Oz, you know?

First, Dorothy stopped to smell the roses.

-Allison(doll, mystery pictures, bunnies) 052 (1024x768) — *Sniff, sniff* “Hmm, smells like water. Blech.”

-Allison(doll, mystery pictures, bunnies) 053 (1024x768) — “Ahh, this is the life. Laying upon a bed of roses. OUCH! More like a bed of thorns….”

-Allison(doll, mystery pictures, bunnies) 054 (1024x768) — “The brave explorer Dorothy attains new heights in her adventure. She can see for miles – or at least yards – from her perch.”

She’s quite the climber, Dorothy is, and before long she was climbing hither and yon up every flower stalk and tree in sight.

-Allison(doll, mystery pictures, bunnies) 059 (1024x768) — “Steady, steady ol’ girl. TOTO! Where are you when I need you?”

-Allison(doll, mystery pictures, bunnies) 062 (1024x768) — *Grunt, puff, wheeze*

She even took a short zip down the zipline, a.k.a. clothesline.

-Allison(doll, mystery pictures, bunnies) 064 (1024x768) — “I’M FLYIIIIIIIIIIING!”

I had to help her onto the swing, though. She’s not as good at jumping as she is at climbing.

-Allison(doll, mystery pictures, bunnies) 065 (1024x768) — “Yikes. Stay still, will ya’?”

-Allison(doll, mystery pictures, bunnies) 066 (1024x768) — “Ahh, the wind in my hair.”

After all the physical exertion, Dorothy needed a rest – for about 17 seconds.

-Allison(doll, mystery pictures, bunnies) 069 (1024x768) — “I am seriously exhausted. I may never get up again. Ooh, on second thought…”

Then she was up and going again. She collected several random objects, and claimed she was going to put on a hat fashion show. *Shrugs* What could I do?

-Allison(doll, mystery pictures, bunnies) 058 (1024x768) — “The fashionable Dorothy sashays down the runway, a lovely puff of rose-ness adorning her gleaming red hair.”

-Allison(doll, mystery pictures, bunnies) 068 (1024x768) — “Hey look! I’m a rabbit. A lopsided Holland Lop or something.”

-Allison(doll, mystery pictures, bunnies) 070 (1024x768) — “And hup, two, three, four. My trusty helmet and I are ready for action, Cap’n.”

-Allison(doll, mystery pictures, bunnies) 071 (1024x768) — “Dorothy the fairy flutters down the runway, tinkling merrily and sprinkling fairy dust.”

Dorothy wants to know which hat won the contest. Her personal favorite was the maple key because it gave her bunny ears. She loves bunny ears – and bunnies too.

So that was her day of exploring. I’m worn out, but she isn’t. 😀 Dolls… they never get tired, do they?

What was your favorite part of her exploration? Hmm… do you think I should make a Toto dog for her? That might be fun!

***Allison***

P. S. You’ve got to check out Aria’s amazing addition to WordCrafters 2! You’re going to have a lot of fun with this story, guys. 🙂 Oh, and Zielle, it’s your turn to write a chapter next!

BIPBC #6: Epic Puddle Splashing + Random Pics

May 6, 2016May 6, 2016 | Allison

Howdy, and welcome to Allison’s BIBPC entry #6! XD The theme this time was “Action”! Behold, action! (I’m entering the first picture.)

Ha ha, isn’t that great!

Story behind the picture: I took this a couple of years ago after there was a flash flood which resulted in ginormous puddles near our creek! (Another time, I don’t know if it was that time, we floated down the flash-flood-swollen creek in an inner tube. Which proceeded to pop. XD XD XD ) My siblings thought it would be neat if I could take pictures of them splooshing through the water, and they were right! In the picture I’m entering, Megan and Jefferson are glorying in mud-puddle bliss. Look at the expression on Jeff’s face! (If you can see it.) Pure joy. 😀 Oh, and I think it was this same flash-flood when the boys drove our three-wheeler through the water. XD Ahh, good times.

Since this is a pretty short post, I thought I’d add a few more random photos I took recently.

003 (1280x960) — Maggie rolling her cares away. XD She looks like a headless dog. O.o

-Allison(cardboard roll shelf, Willow) 032 (1280x960) — A random picture of gone-to-seed asparagus. XD

-Allison(cardboard roll shelf, Willow) 016 (1280x960) — Willow my adorable fluffy rabbit! ♥

009 (1280x960) — Dandelion in the golden sun

005 (1280x960) — Gorgeous spring-green leaves!

Which picture was your favorite?

Have a ~~good~~ ~~great~~ ~~amazing~~ STUPENDOUS day! 😀 ♥

***Allison***

Jinx’s Diary: Part 2

March 14, 2016March 17, 2016 | Allison

Jinx is back with the rest of his diary! (See part 1 here.)

My favorite entry on here is the first (rather lengthy) one. XD

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Dear Diary, 3-12-12 to 5-1-12

I have spent a long time compiling an ensiclowpeedia (I spelled that my self) of human words and their meanings. Now I am ready to present it to you!

Humans – First I shall give you a complete description of humans in case you have never seen one up close. Humans stand on their hind-legs, and they use their front legs to do all sorts of things, like feeding me. Each of their four paws are split into five thin pieces. The longer ones on their front paws they call “fingers” and the shorter ones on their hind paws they call “toes.” Humans have long fur on the tops of their heads, but they barely have any on the rest of their body! (Sounds kind of like those ugly hairless cats to me – BLECCH!) I have noticed that the lady humans generally have longer head-fur and they put all sorts of things in it. They say it’s to keep it tidy, but I think it makes it look messier. Humans’ noses are not at all like the delicate instruments we cats have. Some human noses are HUGE, and some are not too big, but you can be assured that the ugliest cat nose will beat the pretties human nose any day. Humans’ lips are very strange too. They are usually a thick line of light pink, unless a human paints its lips with a different color. Gross!

Clothes – Since the humans don’t have proper fur, they need artificial fur to stay warm. They call this artificial fur “clothing” or “clothes.” The humans (some more than others) seem to take pride in having several different sets of artificial fur in quite unnatural colors. Often the fur will have designs or pictures stamped on it. It seems to me it would be a lot easier if the humans just stuck to one kind of fur, like we do!

Washing Machine – the humans seem somehow reluctant to lick themselves or their fur clean, so instead they have a strange machine to clean their “clothes” for them. They dump their dirty sets of fur in a hole in the machine, shut a lid, and push several buttons. When the machine turns on, it makes a terrifying whirring sound.

Baths – Just as the washing machine is the human’s way of cleaning their artificial fur, baths are their way of cleaning the rest of themselves. You know what a normal cat-bath is – a lick or two and your done – but I’ll bet you’d be astonished at a human bath! First, the humans take off their artificial fur, then – here comes the shocker – they get into WATER! Yes, you heard me right, the humans actually take their baths in WATER! I can’t stand getting caught in a sprinkle, much less getting drenched on purpose! Humans are strange, strange beings.

Vacuum Cleaner – You know I said the washing machine was terrifying? Well it is NOTHING compared to the dreaded “vacuum cleaner.” It is an awful machine the humans use for cleaning their floors. (Humans are obsessed with cleaning things.) They pull a long black string out of the end of it, stick the end of the string into the wall, and (gulp!) turn it on! Then… then the machine starts emitting an exceedingly earsplitting roar, and the mouth at the end of it’s long neck sucks up anything and everything in its path. No doubt it could… GULP!… suck up a cat! I – I’ve never tried an experiment to see if that would work, and I never want to. Let’s move on to the next subject.

Food, etc. – Humans have very strange eating habits. I will explain what the things are, and then put the human word in parentheses. They sit up at this long piece of wood (table), and put several strange tools and utensils (silverware) in front of them to eat with. The humans not only have strange eating utensils, but they also eat strange things and eat them in a strange way. For example, I will tell you about their meal today. First they all sat around the “table,” then they closed their eyes and bowed their heads and and the man human talked for a bit, and then they began eating. They were having “hot-dogs” which seem to be a favorite among humans. Though I have learned to thoroughly hate dogs, I think it repulsive that humans actually cook and eat them. I mean, one moment they’re hugging and petting a dog, and the next moment they sit down to a meal of “hot dogs!” But I digress… Most of the humans used their paws to hold a “fork” or “spoon” to eat their food, but some just used their paws, which seems wisest to me. There was other food too: some large crispy, yellowish flakes, and some crunchy orange sticks that they dipped in white gooey stuff and ate.

Dear Diary, 6-15-12

The lady and girl humans went “shopping” and came back with a FISH! Of all the things that could live in my house, why a FISH? They call him Billy – I could have chosen a better name, but of course they didn’t ask me. I have to admit, he is kind of a pretty color – a dark, almost purple, blue – but you also have to admit that he is a VERY boring pet. All he does is swim and eat. Now I, on the other hand, am handsome and interesting and… but I guess I won’t list all of my good traits or it would take too long.

Dear Diary, 7-11-12

There has been an infestation of mice, and I hardly have time to write, I am so busy catching mice! Ah, the glories of being a cat! One other thing – I seem to be getting just a touch wider from my mouse feasts. Nah, it’s probably my imagination.

Dear Diary, 8-21-12

The humans have noticed that I gained a little bit of weight. I think I heard one LAUGHING at me! Of all the nerve! What’s a cat to do if he can’t do his job without being laughed at?!

Dear Diary, 9-29-12

I’m going to list all my nicknames. (I can’t be sure I spelled them right, because human sounds are hard to translate into Catese.) Jinxy, Jinxy-boy, Spooch (I hate this one!), Kitty Moocher, Cat, Good Boy, Bad Boy. My personal favorite is “Bad Boy.” It just rolls off the tongue like mouse pie. Ahh! But for some reason, the humans don’t look happy when they call me that, and they usually say it really loudly. I wonder why?

Dear Diary, 10-20-12

This will be my last entry in you, Diary #1, because this your last page. I’ll have to start a Diary #2, I suppose. But before I leave, I just want to say that I enjoyed my time with you. Maybe one day this Diary will become famous, and I will make sure to give some of the credit to your lovely smooth paper and straight lines. Farewell, dearest Diary!

Yours truly, Jinx The Marvelous

_______________________________________________________________

XD What was your favorite part?

Oh, and in case you were wondering, we no longer have Billy the fish because he died. 😦 But we do have a tank of fish on our windowsill. Here are two pictures of Jinx looking longingly at them. (Sorry ’bout the cloudy water. )

004 (1280x960) — If I could just… reach through… that glass… *Slurp*

***Allison***

Jinx’s Diary: Part 1

March 5, 2016March 6, 2016 | Allison

Hello, folks! Years ago I wrote a little story called “Jinx’s Diary.” It’s about Jinx, our cat, and his musings on life, from catching his first mouse to compiling an encyclopedia of human oddities. I recently got it out and revised it for a… ahem, a project we’re working on (more about that when we finish it :D), and I thought I’d share it with you too!

(Note: When Jinx mentions his “handwriting,” it’s because on the Word Processor I changed the fonts to make parts of it look sloppy or neat, but on WordPress, fonts don’t work. 😦 So, when he says “my handwriting is better” it had a neater font than before. You’ll just have to imagine it, I guess. 😀 )

Now presenting, “Jinx’s Diary: Part 1.” Enjoy!

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DeaR DiaRY 8-22-11

i LeaRNeD HoW To WRiTe BuT MoM HaS To HeLP WiTH SPeLLiNG

DeaR DiaRY 8-28-11

ToDAY i PlaYeD WiTH MY SiBLiNGS. i aLSo PlaYeD WiTH THe DoGS. TheY aRe NiCe.

dear diary 9-4-11

I got some cheese from mr and mrs today. i like cheese. i learned lots of small letters. THESE ARE BIG LETTERS and these are small letters.

Dear Diary, 9-11-11

Mom says I have improved in writing. She told me about PUCSHUACHION. That is a big word, but I spelled it myself.

Dear Diary 9-18-11

Mr. and Mrs. are doing something with a bent piece of plastic. Pictures are on one side and there are buttons with letters like the ones I am writing on the side they set on the table. There is also something they call a mouse that they move with their paws. I think Mom needs to teach the humans about mice, because I saw that thing, and it was NOT a mouse. It didn’t even have fur! Sometimes they stroke its back and the pictures and letters on the plastic go down and down. I do not know what the plastic thing is. Oh. I just asked Mom and she says it is a CUMPOOTER. I spelled that myself. Mom lets me spell some words by myself. I am going to stop writing now because my paws hurt.

Dear Diary, 9-25-11

Mom taught us how to catch mice today. She graded us on our learning. Here is the order from highest grade to lowest grade: Meatloaf, Pork Chop (that’s me!), Roast Beef, and Sausage. Sausage only lost because she tripped and scared away the mice. She falls down a lot because she is clumsy. But I can’t see Sausage anymore, because some humans came and took her away. Some other humans took Meatloaf. Now only Roast Beef and I are left, and I am very sad. I wonder where my sisters went. I hope I can see them soon. Did you notice that my writing is better? I have been practicing so it won’t be so jiggly.

Dear Diary, 10-10-11

I have not written for a while because something very exciting happened. One day some people came into the house. There were several small humans and a big one. They started playing with me and the dogs. They laughed a lot. Then they picked me up and put me in their big rolling thing that Mrs. calls a CAR, and they took me away! I was scared, and I wondered when they would bring me back to Mom. They took me into their house and put me down. I did not know what to do, so I hid. They got lots of rolly things and stringy things for me to play with. They were very kind but also VERY loud. My ears hurt after they shouted and laughed at me. I miss Mom and Roast Beef a lot, but it is exciting here

P. S. The humans call me “Jinx” now. What is wrong with “Pork Chop?”

Dear Diary, 10-28-11

Today an amazing thing happened. These tiny, wet, cold, white things just started falling out of the sky! It was… it was EXTRAORDINARY! (I don’t know why “extra ordinary” means “amazing,” but it does.) At first when I saw it I was scared because I thought the sky was crumbling into pieces. But the sky is still there, so I’m pretty sure it’s not that. I’m just going to call it sky-crumbles though, because I don’t know what it is. The humans were all excited and ran outside with lots of extra fabric on top of them to keep them warm. They stomped around and made white balls stacked on top of each other, and slid down hills on strange pieces of bright plastic. It looked like fun, so I went outside to see what it was like. Diary, do not ever, EVER step on white sky crumbles. They stick to your fur and melt and get you sopping wet. And I HATE getting wet. I stayed inside after that. The humans came in after a long time and made something in a bowl. They used sky crumbles and milk and some other things, and then they ATE it! Yes, the humans actually ate the sky crumbles.

P. S. I still haven’t seen Mom and Roast Beef. I am beginning to think that maybe I’ll never see them again. 😦 That was a sad face.

Dear Diary, 11-09-11

Nothing unusual has happened, except that I’ve been practicing my handwriting. Do you like it? I think it is very nice, but it takes me a long time to write. The humans are beginning to talk about “Thanksgiving,” whatever that means.

Dear Diary, 11-18-11

I found out what Thanksgiving was! It is a time when humans take time to remember all of their blessings (I have no idea what a “blessing” is, so don’t ask me) and also eat a lot of food. Food sounds good to me, even if I don’t know what a “blessing” is.

Dear Diary, 12-11-11

The humans have this noise on incessantly (new word!) that they call CHRISTMAS MUSIC. They seem to like it, especially when it is extra bad. It hurts my ears. The humans brought a TREE in the house today! It was a very tall evergreen tree. They put it in a room and hung all sorts of things on it, like lights and shiny balls. (I wanted to play with the shiny balls really badly, but I didn’t because the humans would not like that.) Then they gave the tree water and gazed at it admiringly. I don’t think bringing a tree in the house is a good idea AT ALL! What if a spider climbs out of the needles? It makes me shiver just thinking about it.

Dear Diary, 12-25-15

Today all the humans went wild! They tore open boxes wrapped with bright, glittering paper. They screeched and yelled and oohed and ahhed over everything they took out. They call this CHRISTMAS. Humans are very, very strange.

Dear Diary, 1-10-12

I have to write a “12” on the end of my date because it’s a new year! I met some beautiful lady cats around the barn today. I like them very much. I think I’ll marry one of them one day. (But don’t tell them I said that!)

Dear Diary, 1-23-12

Nothing much is going on except I visit sometimes with a beautiful lady cat named Rabbit. (Of all the nerve! To call a cat RABBIT!) She is the one I want to marry the most.

Dear Diary, 2-11-12

I am HEARTBROKEN! Rabbit doesn’t like me anymore! She is going to get married to another cat. He is huge and ugly and mean. I don’t like him at all, and Rabbit shouldn’t either. Well, if she doesn’t know a good cat when she sees one, then – then… Well, I’ll never speak to her again! Diary, I am extremely heartsick and sorrowful. Life is hardly worth living now that Rabbit doesn’t like me.

Dear Diary, 2-26-12

I am so happy right now I could burst! No, Rabbit isn’t going to marry me (I solemnly vow never to say her name again) but I CAUGHT MY FIRST MOUSE! Well sure, I caught a mouse at survival class with Mom, but she helped me that time. This time I did it all by myself! It happened like this: I was walking around, looking for Rab… I mean I was just walking around doing nothing when I smelled something suspicious. Yes, that was definitely a strong mouse stench! I could have got so excited that I meowed and scared the mouse away like Roast Beef did once, but I didn’t. I kept as cu as a coolcumber – I mean as cool as a cucumber – and tiptoed ever so quietly towards the smell. Sure enough, there was the mouse! He was the biggest, cleverest, smartest mouse you ever did see, Diary – he was most as big as a rabbit… no a DOG… why, he was most as big as an EPHELAFONT! – but I caught him easy as pie. It was the slyest thing you ever did see, Diary. I just crept up, slowly and softly (that mouse never heard a thing), and then I POUNCED! I took a flying leap, probably 15 feet in the air, and then I just sailed down on top of him. Boy was he surprised! He just about died of fright when he saw me there, my razor-sharp teeth gleaming in the moonlight (uh, sunlight) and growling most ferociously. He probably thought I was a lion! (I have to admit, there was a strong resemblance.) Well then I just lit into him. I caught him up in my iron jaws and carried him for a while. Then I let him down and played a little game of cat and mouse. I would turn my back, and he would think he was free, but then I’d whirl around, quick as lightning, and swat him flying. Then I’d walk away and he’d get up again and run for home, but he never got anywhere. I took care of that. After a while the game got boring because I always won, so I just went and ATE him. My, he was delicious! He was the best thing I ever tasted! He had a strong, savory flavor, with a hint of citrus butter around the edges. My mouth is watering just remembering it! And now I’m afraid I can’t write anymore, Diary, because I’m off to catch another mouse!

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My favorite parts so far are the “sky crumbles” entry and when he catches his first mouse. XD What was your favorite part?

***Allison***

PFA #1: Hot Glue Snowflakes (and Bunny Slides)

January 16, 2016 | Allison

Okay, I guess I’ll need to explain the title… 😀 PFA stands for “Posts from the Forgotten Abyss” and it’s a new series I’m starting where I drag back a post from long ago that I like, and that no one had really noticed, and repost it, along with a new photo or tidbit so the post is not entirely the same. It’s kind of like Photos from of Old. (Which I will post more of probably in spring.) So! Today’s post I thought seemed appropriate for winter, and since we, sadly, do not have any snow, here’s a way to make your own!

But first, here is the new part of the post: bunny slides! I took some videos of Lily and Willow sliding down a little sliding board that we’ve had for years, and I turned parts of the videos into pictures – they’re so cute and funny!

A pile of fluff is going down!

↓Lily is going to be so mad at me for taking a picture of her in this highly undignified pose. XD

Wasn’t that hilarious? XD Okay, now I am about to transport you back about one year… hang on!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

These really look like snowflakes (well, giant, oversized ones) because of the color of hot glue. They are very easy to make and just take a few supplies. Let’s get started!

You will need:

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Hot glue gun (with hot glue)

Parchment paper

Sharpie (optional)

snowflake pattern to trace (optional)

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There are several different ways to do this. You can either

1. Draw a snowflake directly onto the parchment paper (the sharpie lines will show up on the finished snowflake)

2. Print out a simple snowflake drawing from your computer and place it under the parchment paper

3. Just use hot glue to make a snowflake freehand.

What ever way you do it, the basic idea is to make a snowflake by squirting out hot glue onto parchment paper and letting it dry.

Since it is hot glue, it won’t take long to dry (YAY!). If you want, you can sprinkle some glitter over the snowflake before it dries. When you’re sure the hot glue is dry enough, carefully peel it off the parchment paper. You may need to remove those annoying hot glue strings too.

To activate the cling, turn it upside down in the palm of your hand and run it under water. Gently shake the water off, but don’t dry it off. Press the snowflake to a window.

The water helps it stick to begin with, but even when the water dries, the snowflake stays on. You can also make little swirls, dots, and other snowy doodles to go along with your snowflakes.

Make a whole blizzard!

***Allison***

P. S. You get one point if you remembered the snowflake post. XD What do you think of this new series?

Merry Christmas from the Bunnies!

December 23, 2015December 23, 2015 | Allison

Squeeee! Christmas is only two days away! I hope you enjoy this “bloggy Christmas card” post from me and the bunnies!

The bunnies are so cute I can hardly stand it. 🙂 Just yesterday I was in Clementine’s pen (she’s by herself because she’s going to be a mother soon (!!!) ), and I heard some scrabbling coming from behind me. I turned around and saw Willow, my rabbit, balancing on the narrow wall separating the two stalls! She had jumped up all by herself, and it was ADORABLE!

(Whenever there’s a collage like this, you can click on each picture to see it bigger.) Look at Clemmie in the second picture at the top right corner – so cute!