Author: Clare at CatsEatDogs

Weekly Photos 36/52.

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At last the weather has cooled off a little and the mornings are almost chilly and damp.  This means that we are seeing lots of turtles in the woods and lots and lots of mushrooms!  I am still pulling a handful of cherry tomatoes off the vines every day and my chili plants have started to flower, but I am not sure I will have the pleasure of any chilies now that it has turned a bit more, chilly (!).                 1.  Some rather lovely clouds, look how the lower ones have flat bottoms, like they are resting on some invisible shelf. 2.  Little mushrooms with dewy stalks. 3.  Street outlets. 4.  A gaggle of mushrooms. 5.  Sunset and party lights. 6.  The gaggle the next day. 7.  A local furniture store. I hope you had a lovely week and that the week ahead is going well.        

August 2014 Photo a Day

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August was a month of hot days, school holidays, day trips and returning to school.  I used the prompts from Fat Mum Slim’s Photo a Day challenge and here are my photos from last month. 1.  Landscape 2.  Lunch   3.  S is for…. Soccer ball, abandonded in the park. 4.  In the Middle. 5.  Three. 6. Grateful for… My little spot on the interwebs! 7.  Spot. 8.  Pet Peeve.  Crazy crisp/chip flavours.  These were yukky, in case you are interested! 9.  Mix.  Silver fabric and sewing machine mixed to make a bag. 10.  Art.  The art of finding treasure in the creek.  The watch is one of our favourite finds so far. 11. Mirror.  In the grass reflecting the clouds. 12. Gather. 13.  Inside.  Wanting to look inside this lot! 14.  Give.  Thanks Grandma for giving us some Dandelion and Burdock sweets. 15.  Clouds. 16.  Clean.  This old dinosaur needs a clean. 17.  Dinner. 18.  Arrow. 19.  To-Do.  Get a film in this vintage camera and get snapping the ole fashioned way. 20.  Before …

August Break 25-31 and Weekly photos 35/52.

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Last week saw the end of The August Break for 2014, Susannah always comes up with interesting prompts and tips and techniques which is a great bonus.  So here are the grand finale photos, until next year. 25.  Little. 26.  Morning.   27.  Lines. 28.  Something New.  A batch of new beads to play with! 29.  Nature. 30.  Soft.   Another hot week here in St Louis, hopefully now that we have entered September the weather will start to cool off a little.  I am ready for all things Autumn – pumpkins, apples, cinnamon and everything they can be put in! Here are a few snaps from last week.   1.  My mushroom obsession continues! 2.  The local library had a tie craft event, it was a big success and the kids all made cool shirts.  I had a go at Japanese Shibori dyeing, and I want to do more and when I do, I will be sure to share. 3. & 4. Vintage doll carry boxes in an antique mall. Have a lovely week! …

Through The Lens Thursday 35. Texture.

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This week in the world of Through The Lens Thursday, the prompt is texture.  I was all set to head into the woods ready to throw myself onto the damp leafy path to catch a photo of a newly grown mushroom or get a shot of some interesting tree bark.  Then I opened my back door to check on the tomatoes and there was our only surviving sunflower gently turning to seed to feed the pretty yellow bird which likes to sit on the flower and have a snack. What beautiful texture right here, the flowers in the middle of the flower, the drying petals and the forming seeds.  We will harvest some seeds when they are ready and hopefully have a lovely yellow sunflower crop next summer. Have you been growing this summer or are you planning to grow (depending on which season you are heading into)?  I have kale and beetroot seedlings peeking through for a lovely Fall crop.  

15 reasons I am a good Mum.

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I read this post over at Writing Wishing via Miss Elaine-ous Life and decided to take Alison and Elaine up on the offer to write about why I am a good Mum, in my humble opinion. We are often so self doubting in the parenting department, each book and advice filled blog telling us something we should or absolutely should not be doing.  Are we doing too much or too little?  Pushing the kids too much or not enough?  Phew, it is exhausting to think about.  So, let’s have a little think about all the fab things we do and how well we do them. Are you a Mum? I bet there are a million reasons why you are a good Mum, want to share? Leave a comment or write a post and leave me a link in the comments.  Don’t be modest, go for it! Here are 15 of my Good Mum moments. 1. My 13 year old still talks to me and walks with me and sometimes even listens to me.  We went to Warped …

The August Break 18-24 and Weekly Photos 34/52.

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Last week was hot hot and more hot with a lot of humidity.  That thick, custardy air which hits you in the face like a hair dryer when you open the door.  Lovely.  We have been sweating out all of our toxins, so we will have beautiful skin by the time Autumn arrives.  In the meantime, lots of sweaty laundry. On the morning walks to school we have been spotting snakes and turtles of various sizes and the mushrooms are abundant which always makes me happy! The August Break continues, we are almost at the end of August, can you believe it!  Here are photos 18 through 24. 18.  Jump.  Self timer on the camera and tripod and boing boing boing! 19.  Black and White.  One of the lovely mushrooms we spotted this week. 20.  Peaceful.  A new mag and sketchbook and lavender looking for a peaceful moment. 21.  Treasures. Rocks from the beach, I always look for unusual shapes and rocks with holes.  Marbles from the creek and acorns from the woods. 22.  Shadow. …

Through The Lens Thursday 34. Green.

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For Through the Lens Thursday this week, the prompt is ‘Green’, so a nice easy one to find.  I wandered into the rain drenched garden (big big storms last night) and snapped a few green items.  The green tomatoes are turning red very kindly as they are ripening just slowly enough that we haven’t had to make tomato based food for a week straight, then no more.  These are cherry tomato plants and I pick 3 or 4 a day which usually get eaten right off the plant or popped in a salad or onto a pizza.  I still have plants full of tomatoes which the squirrels and groundhogs are sharing nicely, so we can look forward to homegrown tomatoes for the rest of the summer! I like the little droplet on this photo as the plants are just drying from all the rain. Thanks as always to Greta at Gfunkified and Alison at Writing Wishing for devising Through the Lens Thursday and helping us all improve our photo skills. Next week is Texture, so that will …

The August Break 11-17 and Weekly Photos 33/52

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11.  Handwriting.  Chalk board on the door. 12.  On the Table. 13.  My Guilty Pleasure.  I was supposed to be running… 14.  Hands. 15.  Blue.  Truck and flag. 16.  Look Down.  Vintage ‘Life’ magazines in a box in a junk shop. 17.  Bookshelf.  Polaroid camera and car amid my book pile. The August Break prompts are getting my creativity flowing.   I like to be sure I take photos and make something or draw something every day even if what I make is a sandwich!   This week I roasted corn on the fire pit after we had hot dogs and s’mores for lunch.  The corn is destined for chowder and in the freezer at the minute. I listed a few new necklaces on my Etsy shop and the dog demanded I take his handsome photo! Have a lovely week!