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Sunday, April 22, 2018

It's a Jungle Out There...







That's what Iggy thinks, anyway. And after the start he had to his week, it's a reasonable opinion. On Monday, he ran into the street during the busy morning traffic. Our daughter was able to safely avoid him and pull over to effect a rescue. That was after she got elbow deep into the wheel well of her car where he ran to safety. She drove him the few blocks back to her home and secured him in an area with food and necessities; and away from her 3 cats who were not happy to see him. So she ran late for work that day, but Iggy lived to tell the story. Talk about drama!




She kept him overnight and loved him, but knew 4 cats are too many for her to care for and work, too! She asked if we would take him to the Humane Society for surrender while she was at work, and we agreed. But when we saw him, we just could not. So he came home to see how things might work with our other animals.





We named him Mimi at first, but a vet visit confirmed that we were wrong. So Iggy it is. He has all the other pets pretty well intimidated. Just one tiny hiss, and they give him quite a wide berth. Here is a meet up with Abby, who actually moved her pet bed closer to my husband just to get away from him- yet he followed her. If you look closely, you can see that frightening hiss is being delivered and Abby is frozen in place.





Of course Iggy provides constant laughs and many photo ops. Just so cute! It will be the peaceable kingdom here in time, I'm sure.






Our front garden area must feel like a jungle to Iggy- the vet estimated his age at 7 weeks and he weighed in at all of 1 1/2 pounds. By the way, when he was rescued, there was nobody around the area, and our daughter drove the neighborhood that evening to see is there was a mom-cat or any signs up for a lost kitten. He does eat food, so is likely newly weaned.





He's a tidy boy, and after a little romp out in the jungle- er, garden- he came in to get cleaned up.




Iggy seems pretty happy here. He even has his own porch fountain which is endlessly fascinating. Wait until the water is in it!




Currently our farm population is three horses, two cats, two dogs. Only one horse was born on the farm, a Quarter Horse my husband used to show and now rides each day (when both are sound). The other two, I call Patch and Brownie, are also rescues. My husband is boarding them to provide them with more favorable conditions than they were in. Both dogs and both cats are strays or rescues. We didn't plan to run a rescue ranch when we moved here, but we have a heart for animals and sometimes things just work out that way!





After a guy has spent the day exploring and tearing around the place, he just needs a nap and can hardly keep his eyes open. He did a little face-plant into the sofa, and it was lights out. Zzzzz......  Iggy is a ton of fun and a great little guy. He gets to stay.






Sunday, April 8, 2018

You Can Always Go... Downtown..




Things'll be great when you're downtown... everything's waiting for you. Remember that Petula Clark song? Well, we took her advice this week and things were great downtown in Ocala, Florida. The purpose of the visit was to see the wonderful exhibit of hand-dyed tapestries and quilts created by Kay Koeper Sorensen of Quilts + Color. Kay's exhibit, Florida Ice, is on display until April 26, at the City Hall. Should you happen to be able to visit, you can get further details at Kay's blog



Every piece just glows from within! Quite mesmerizing.



And Kay points out that each one is a treat for her to discover as her process goes along.



You can't pick a favorite because every one is so beautiful. And this is just a sampling.




Kay has included a bio, an artist statement, and a very interesting explanation of her process. I thought it would be particularly helpful to those visitors who may be unfamiliar with ice dyeing and wondering how she makes these beautiful pieces.



"Maybe you know some little places to go... downtown." We do! One of them is Harry's on the Square. New Orleans style with excellent food make it a popular restaurant. Mardi Gras all the time.



It's complete with interesting wall art.




Delicious food- I had the crab cakes. Yummy.


And more art on the historic brick walls. The building itself is old and nicely preserved, so the ambience is very appealing.



Ocala has a quaint downtown with attractive shops fronting on the historic square. Isn't this inviting?





The center of the square has this bandstand where music events, art walks, and  other gatherings are held.




And there are a couple of Horse Fever horses painted or finished creatively by local artists on display. Ocala is in the heart of Horse Country, rivaling Kentucky for the number of thoroughbred horses along with many other breeds such as Gypsy Vanners, Paso Finos, Quarter Horses, mini horses, and more. There's more to Florida than theme parks, and Ocala is in the center of a beautiful rural area.



The Olive Oil Market on the square not only offers tastings of oils and balsamic vinegar, but also has this striking display of salt lamps. They have such a warm glow and offer some health benefits, too. We brought one home.

So, maybe I'll see you there... we can forget all our troubles, forget all our cares, and go downtown!