Mr Mo and Miss Nimbus are getting ready for the Superbowl, when the Seattle Seahawks face the Denver Broncos. They heard the cheering last Sunday when the team left for New Jersey. Seattle is pretty excited, along with the entire Northwest, as there are many fans in Alaska and other neighboring states.
Miss Nimbus favors Marshawn Lynch and Mr Mo is a fan of Doug Baldwin, but there are so many great athletes on the team it is hard to choose!
Here they are showing team colors!
mo dreaming of a win
super stretch nimbus
Feline beast mode!
Go Hawks!
Hello Mo fans!
It was a good year for Mr Mo and Miss Nimbus. Mo was a December kitten, born unusually late in the year, and I sang him Christmas carols on the way home in the car so he would not be scared. He snuggled right up to my neck to stay warm and has continued this practice for the nine years of companionship we have enjoyed thus far.
double cat snooze
Here they are napping in peaceful togetherness. They do sometimes get a bit feisty, usually with Mr Mo going on the offensive and chasing the temptress Miss Nimbus hither and yon. They have been well behaved with this year’s Christmas tree, a small table top version that is quite cute.
Miss Nimbus will celebrate five years with us this summer; they are both delights.
I have installed a stone circle on the porch to keep the magic alive until the summer sun returns. Hooray for the solstice!
stone fairy circle
The lawn goes from a flattened straw yellow to a perky deep green with just a few weeks of rain. It is now nearly tall enough to mow again, after the standard long stretch of dormancy. The sunny days of lounging on the porch are over.
summer rocked
The dustbath season for the cats ended with the rains and they welcomed the heat coming on indoors. Mo roasts himself by lying atop the heat vent while it is blasting out hot air.
roasted cat toes
Here is Mr Mo surveying the garden, supervising a final barbeque of the summer.
lord of the garden
Summer continues with Seattle’s fabulous weather, warm enough to enjoy without becoming uncomfortable. While the rest of the country is battling heat waves, we are in the 70’s and 80’s. Life is good.
Many flowers are in bloom this year in the garden, they are now numbering some two dozen different species. The old fashioned day lily is a garden staple in many areas of the country.
Day lily twins
The cats are enjoying the summer and have me well trained to pet them just the way they like it, and groom all that shedding hair off them. Mo likes having his chin scratched and Miss Nimbus likes me scratching the top of her head.
I have found time for a few side trips to Eastern Washington and Oregon, enjoying garden inspiration and great scenery along the way. Here are some shots from Tucquala Lake north of Roslyn, WA. It is the headwaters of the Cle Elum River, heading down to the lake of the same name, which was recently stocked with salmon.
Looking north at Tucquala Lake
Tucquala Lake
Spring has eased into summer and the garden is in bloom and producing a few edibles. The steady supply of strawberries are yielding to raspberries.
The bead studio has been cleaned and activated, but only a few sessions have resulted so far. As usual, it is blues and greens that are chosen first for warming up.
The cats and spring flowers are featured here.
salt and pepper cats outside the kitchen
volunteer flowers springing from the walk
Mo guarding the porch
I noticed one shrub had badly eaten leaves, the poor plant looked like Swiss cheese. While examining the plant I saw a leaf cutter bee in action. They are solitary bees so I hope with plenty of water and fertilizer the plant can stay ahead of the bee. Check the above link to Wikipedia for an article on the bees with a photo.
leaf cutter bee damage
What a yawn!
The cats are enjoying the lovely spring weather we are having and have been extra affectionate and snuggle up with me every chance they get. Here is Mo caught in the middle of a yawn and the pair of them snoozing by a shady window.
Double snooze by the window
The spring flowers are blooming, the vegetable garden has a good start; altogether it’s a wonderful time of year.
Mo looked pretty surprised when he saw me evicting a stray tomcat, but we will all appreciate having that foul smelling, bad tempered freeloader gone for good.
Mr Mo, my black cat, has golden yellow eyes that are quite striking in contrast with his velvety black fur. Last summer I made a series of pet beads in colors of several animal friends, and the Mo series were mostly black with hints of gold and yellow, with clear encasing.
Here are three Mo beads mounted up as a necklace and earrings, with black seed beads providing dangling accents. It is always fun to have part of any jewelry be in motion when the wearer is.
Black bead dangles
Click on the photo for a close up of the earring and pendant set.
Below is a shot of the champion snoozer Mr Slikypants Mo, sound asleep with his feet in the air.
Mo snooze
Tags: AuraSunArts, beads, black, earrings, encasing, glass, Mr Mo, necklace, pet, seed
AuraSunArts, the mo report | mary | 
December 31, 2012 4:19 am | 
Comments (0)
Summer has continued through September in Seattle with hardly any rain, which we badly need. The warm weather allows me to continue beading. The shorter days mean that if it gets dark while I am at the torch, an assortment of insects such as those giant crane flies might get in and buzz around me. If they are drawn to the flame they are toast.
red white and blue
Here are a couple new rows of handmade beads: The ever popular red and black, colors that are just made for each other. Of course they have tiny hints of gold. Click on the photo for a closer view.
The dark blue beads were made on 9-11, the 11th anniversary of the attacks on our country. They have a black core, layered with translucent red which is nearly invisible against the black. Above that float specks of blue and periwinkle, with hints of white or white specks of sand and clear encasing. They are a subtle red, white and blue but the colors themselves can represent mourning, fire, police, firemen, lost souls. With hints of green and purple the sorrow is the color of a bruise.
A mourning cloak butterfly stopped by, a rich deep brown with yellow accents.
mourning cloak
Mr Mo stopped to check out another project in the works.
what's that Mo?
Tags: 9-11, AuraSunArts, beads, black, blue, butterfly, encasing, Mr Mo, rain, red, sand, summer, white
AuraSunArts, making glass beads | mary | September 29, 2012 3:41 pm | Comments (0)
Hello Mo fans!
The cats are enjoying a beautiful spring in Seattle, all the flowers and warm weather are a treat. Even Miss Nimbus has been allowed outside during daylight hours a few times. Here she is in the early morning light, waiting on the windowsill to come in for breakfast.
Miss Nimbus at dawn
Mr Mo is out surveying his domain from the old apple tree, now laying down on it’s side. The perch is not quite so fancy now.
Mo's apple perch now sideways
But the old apple tree had more to say, one last branch burst into bloom, the sweet and delicate fragrance of the pink and white blossoms as a parting farewell.
Gravenstein apple blossoms
And today we include a bit more beauty; some guest art for Mother’s Day, a painting my mom did of Tucquala Lake north of Roslyn WA.
Tucquala Lake
January brought a snow storm and then an ice storm. The snow was pretty and a rare type of snow that rolls up well into snowballs, so I made a pair of snow cats to decorate the back yard. They have leaves for eyes and whiskers made from apple twigs.
snowcats chillin
Seattle rarely gets much snow and it doesn’t usually stay around for long. The snow cats tipped over the next day and seemed destined for a quick melt.
Unfortunately a few days later an ice storm proved too heavy for the ancient mossy apple tree nearby, and it tipped back into the bramble patch, getting a final bit of revenge on the blackberry canes that had been trying to strangle it.
the old apple tree keels over
Mo used to enjoy sitting in the crotch of the apple tree, surveying his domain. I am now considering sculptural options the apple wood might offer. Can I save Mo’s catbird seat and make a shallow dish from that slice of the tree? The next slice down with the main trunk swelling out into three heavy limbs would make a lovely fluted vase or bowl. The main trunk of the tree could be turned on a lathe or sliced into boards.
I will have to read up more on wood grain and perhaps find answers at Rough Cut Woodworking with Tommy Mac. I don’t have any fancy wood shop tools like Tommy, but with some old fashioned hand chisels and my electric drill and some rough cutting with my chainsaw, I can get crackin’!
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