Yesterday, when it looked like the predicted thunderstorms were actually going to pass over us, we shut down our computers and enjoyed the show.

We didn’t get anything too severe, so it turned out to be unnecessary, but why take chances? 😀

We did get some wonderful, much needed rain, though!

First up, here is a kitten fix for you to enjoy. 🙂

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After getting his eyes washed, Dave typically likes to cuddle and go for a nap on whatever human is handy. I caught him mid yawn. He looks so fierce! 😀

After the storm, I checked the yard (no branches fell! Amazing!) and saw the most adorable pile of kittens through the sun room window. The kittens are big enough that they can easily hop onto the swing bench, and it’s now their favourite spot for napping. Even the mamas prefer it – if there’s room enough for them! There are 9 of the kittens in the picture; only the tuxedo is missing from the shot. 🙂

I caught this swallowtail on one of my mother’s flowers, in among the rose stems. I’ve been seeing quite a few swallowtails, and was glad to finally get a picture.

Seeing how things are growing where I’d cleared away last year has been quite interesting, in places. Here are a couple of pictures from cleaning up the maple grove, last year.

Note the two stumps forming a bit of a V shape on the right front in the above photo. They are growing out the sides of an old tree stump that had been cut to ground level, many years ago.

Note the single, tall stump near the spruce.

These were trees I’d removed due to their proximity to the power line. At full growth, their branches would be far too close.

They were among the taller stumps I’d left to cut to ground level once I had a chain saw – only to have the chainsaw stop working before I got to these ones.

Here is what they look like now; first the single stump by the spruce tree.

That “stump” is now almost completely buried in fresh leaves!

As for the other two…

They, too, are a mass of new growth!

It’s a different variety of elm, too. It had some really huge leaves, compared to the other!

We have decided to leave them be, and will just continue to keep them short, so they never become a problem with the power lines. I’ve had to kill enough trees, and will be thinning out even more this summer. It’s nice to be able to keep ones I would otherwise have to get rid of.

This morning, while doing my rounds, I was greeted by a cacophony of bird screeching and yelling. Eventually, I was able to see that the noise was coming from ravens. Here is one of them, at the top of the main power pole, with a crow.

What a difference in sizes! There were other ravens, including one that kept dive bombing these two, until they finally flew away.

This pole is at least 30 feet high.

Ravens are a bird I never saw, when growing up here. Now we see them fairly regularly. Another bird I grew up seeing in flocks, all the time – the beautiful, black and white magpies – seem to be gone, now! I recall seeing one or two last year, but have yet to see any at all, this year.

I did my rounds earlier than usual this morning, as my daughters and I headed into the city. Things are going to be different this month, and we’ve decided we need to split our monthly shop into two. There were just too many larger items on the list this month to fit it all into the van at once. We got 4 Costco containers of cat litter, for example. Last month, we got three and ran out of them just a day ago. With the kittens getting bigger, and none being adopted yet, it’s going to be needed!

We also had several places to go to on top of our usual shopping. I finally broke down and bought myself some new shoes.

They seem a bit done, don’t you think? 😀

If all goes to plan, we will have company this weekend, then we hope to make another trip into the city to do the rest of the monthly shopping, early next week. We’ll be making several trips into the city this month, including for my husband’s cardiology appointment at the middle of the month.

That’s if they don’t call and reschedule it again. 😦

Meanwhile, another thunderstorm is predicted for tonight, then we are supposed to hit temperatures in the 30C range over the weekend. It’s going to be a challenge to get work done outside, before it gets too hot!

The Re-Farmer