I usually run with a theme. I have still been largely at home, but my photos for this week are (for a change) not of my usual obsessions.
One day last week we had a brief and violent hail storm. Leaves and branches came down (as did trees for some unlucky people).
This one was taken while the wind was howling and the hail coming down.
And now to something different. It is starting to look a little (not a lot) like Christmas round here. So I went for a walk early yesterday morning.
I showed you this house's decorations last year. I was delighted to see them back again. I think their Christmas gnomes are simple, clever and charming.
These Christmas baubles were hanging from a tree beside my last photo of the day. I loved them too.
I said it was early in the day didn't I? This Santa, and his reindeer were obviously very tired and not up yet.
In other news we took the poor kittens back to the vet yesterday. They are better than they were, but not right. They don't have Feline Aids and the signs don't indicate that they have FIP either - both good things. We now have yet another (different) antibiotic to try. Cross your fingers for them please.
I hope your day and your week are filled with smiles - and fun.
Hi EC - hailstones like those are horrendous ... but always wonderful to see if there's no damage! Those Christmas gnomes are a delight and most definitely cheer the neighbourhood up - fun to see Father C and his crew still sleeping! Oh poor kitties - I wonder what's troubling them - so I too hope the new med works ... take care and have a peaceful week - cheers Hilary
ReplyDeleteHilary Melton-Butcher: A couple of years ago we had a horrendous hail storm that did millions of dollars in damage. Homes, cars and businesses were hit hard - and you can still see hail damaged cars on the street. I smiled to see the sleeping Santa and his solitary reindeer too. Fingers crossed this new medication finally works.
DeleteFingers tightly crossed for the furry ones, as well as for the two humans regaining your strength quickly!
ReplyDeleteI adore gnomes (although not the standard painted garden variety sold in stores). The type in your photos I think of as Scandinavian Tomte and are adorable.
That's one tuckered out Santa and reindeer. I guess they need the rest. :) And the hail is beautiful... when you avoid the damage!
Hugs to you and yours. May the kittens be up and driving you crazy soon!
River Fairchild: Those gnomes are gorgeous aren't they? Gnomes of charm.
DeleteFingers crossed for the furry beasts - though they already often drive me crazy(crazier).
Hail is the one thing I worry about more than anything else here, even tornadoes. I once found a hail stone in my backyard that was not quite as big as my fist. Just one luckily.
ReplyDeleteMike: I hear you. Our humungous hail storm in 2020 damaged (and often wrote off) nearly 50,000 cars and homes and businesses took a significant hit too.
DeleteImpressive hail stones. We had a similar storm years ago and had to have our roof replaced, as did many in our area. I hope these didn’t cause any damage. Cute decorations, I am seeing similar sights around here. Sorry that your poor kittens are still poorly, and hope the vet can find the cause.
ReplyDeleteDeniseinVA: I am sorry that you know first hand just how much damage a hail storm can do. Fingers crossed for the kittens. They have been unwell for far too long.
DeleteGreat shots of the hailstones andI hope the antibs work on the wee lads and glad you are feeling better.
ReplyDeletethose Xmas pics are so adorable. Especially the gnomes. So clever.
XO
WWW
Wisewebwoman: I agree - I think the gnome trees are super clever - and we all need fun. Fingers crossed for Batty and Odie. They are eating this morning which is a plus.
DeleteI hope the felines get better with this newest med, EC. It is hard to see your pets sick!
ReplyDeleteIt is beginning to look like Christmas around here too.
Marie Smith: It is. As you know it is very hard to watch.
DeleteThe Gnomes are best, funny EC. Wow, the size of the hail stones.
ReplyDeleteBob Bushell: Aren't they great?
DeleteThat's some serious hail.
ReplyDeleteClever to put gnomes on small trees like that.
Alex J. Cavanaugh: Very clever. I now see gnomes in those trees all year round.
DeleteNice to see the gnomes are back amuse the neighbours during the festive Holidays. The deflated Santa needs a breath of fresh air, lol...
ReplyDeleteThe hail looks pretty but I wonder what it does to the poor birds who are not under shelter. I'm glad that you didn't had damage.
Those poor little kitties are having a rough start in life but you are doing everything you can to help them. Bless your kind heart. I hope the new antibiotic helps them.
Take care,
Hugs,
Julia
Julia: Thank you. We wondered about the birds and the wildlife too. Even sheltering in trees wouldn't have been safe (or comfortable). When we saw tired Santa again quite late in the day he was still lying down on the job.
DeleteSimple, clever and charming. One could do worse. Delightful is always to walk with you my friend. I hope you have a beautiful weekend. And thank you for your kind comments always.
ReplyDeleteCloudia: Thank you. And yes, we could do a LOT worse than simple, clever and charming.
DeleteThose are quite the hail stones, goodness! I don't want to be bombarded by them. The gnomes are gorgeous - this is the kind of Christmas decoration I actually like. As you said, charming. I hope the kittens will get better now.
ReplyDeleteCarola Bartz: The hail storm didn't last long, but goodness it was loud. I was glad not to be out in it, and felt for those who were. I agree about the gnomes. A lot of Christmas decorations leave me cold, but not these.
DeleteSuch a chunky size haul on your photos. It must be causing some damage to houses. Cute Santa hats
ReplyDeleteroentare: Thank you. Some people sustained damage, but it was mostly minor.
DeleteLoved the photos. The gnomes are so cute. I hope you're having a great weekend.
ReplyDeleteRasmaSandra: Thank you.
DeleteThanks for the update on the kittens. I think of them every day and hope that time will heal all their issues. And I love those gnomes, they all make me smile. You are right, it does look a lot like Christmas there! :-)
ReplyDeleteDJan: If you go into the stores (which I try and avoid) it does look a lot like Christmas. Here in the suburbs it is much more low key.
DeleteThe hail does look to be close to a size that can damage cars and old polycarbonate roofing sheets. The decorated shrubs are cute and so inventive. Who sees a shrub and thinks I could put a hat on that...wait, more than one.
ReplyDeleteAndrew: I loved the addition of the noses too, using stockings/panty hose wadded up.
DeleteThe gnomes are so cute. I never thought to do that to bushes. Delightful!
ReplyDeleteThe Happy Whisk: I think so too. It was early when I went by and the decorators were not up. I may drop a thank you note in their letter box.
DeleteDear EC
ReplyDeleteWow those are serious hailstones so it was good to hear you avoided serious damage. I do like the gnomes - very effective. I'm sorry to hear the kittens are still not well - what a start you are all having! However, it shows they are fighters. Good wishes are winging over to them - and you.
Best wishes
Ellie
Ellie Foster: It was a fairly short storm - but violent. I am glad that we and the garden got off relatively lightly. The kittens are definitely fighters. Which is good, though I wish that they didn't have to.
DeleteWow, those are big hail stones.
ReplyDeleteMary Kirkland: And loud. Very, very loud.
DeleteYou have certainly given me huge, gigantic smiles with each of your most darling and delightful Gnomes! Such lovely trees indeed, and not to forget your lovely large sized hail delights, not nice sometimes when they damage things, but for some reason they are incredibly interesting to me, whenever we have them visit. Enjoy your week and many smiles your way as well. Take care.
ReplyDelete21 Wits: I am so glad that this post made you smile - as yours always do for me.
DeleteThe gnomes are excellent! I do like their hats' colour schemes. It's really fun to see people using interesting ideas for decorations. The baubles are very attractive, too.
ReplyDeleteI do hope that you are both feeling a lot better, and that the kittens will improve with the new lot of antibiotics... fingers crossed x!
Alexia: Thank you. I assume from the initials on the hats that they belong to family members - but could be wrong. It is a really effective display isn't it?
DeleteThat size hail has to be loud hitting things. The knome creation from simple things is clever. Those poor kittens. They don't have a gut parasite like coccidia or giardia do they? Too long on antibiotics and their guts will be a mess. What about an antibiotic vacation, to see if they improve? There's a pumpkin dog food, for cats too, includes other things than pumpkin, added by tablespoon to wet food, so they eat it, that sure can help sometimes. I can send you a photo of the cans. And what about good old metronizadole, usually used for giardia in cats but also to sooth their intestines when things like distemper virus hit. This is only anecdotal but human moms used to put catnip in baby's bottles to sooth colic. I've mixed into wet food for cats too, finely ground to not only promote calm but also for fiber. Did you talk to the rescue or shelter where you got them? Were other cats sick, and if so, what may have worked for them or didn't work.
ReplyDelete.
Strayer: You are right. It was VERY loud. The kittens have had an antibiotic vacation and didn't improve. The vet sticks by their diagnosis of feline coronavirus (and they have had blood and faecal tests for other things). The shelter said all of their cats were healthy and strongly implied that we were at fault. Which wasn't helpful.
DeleteThe vet said that some cats (including that of one of their receptionists) need several attempts to get on top of the feline coronavirus. These boys are better than they were, but still snuffling a bit and still have diarrhea. I do hope we can get on top of it.
One time when I had a batch of kittens whose diarrhea wouldn't stop, the vet prescribed Hills Science Diet tartar control dry. It was then in large balls. She said something about the tartar control formula helped diarrhea. So I tried it. They were small enough I had to break up the pieces some, so they could eat it. But it worked! I don't know why, but it did.
DeleteStrayer: Thank you for that. I will try and track some down. Mind you, at the moment eating can be a challenge so hopefully when I find some they will deign to eat it and it will help.
DeleteWhat's a few hailstones?! Just gigantic, these gnomes. ;-)
ReplyDeleteMy good thoughts are with you.
Sean Jeating: After the 2020 hailstorm in my city we got off lightly this time. I do love the gnome display - and hope you and yours have a delightful day.
DeleteThank you, Sue.
DeleteI hope I didn't sound too flippant. Of course I know what immense damage hail can cause.
Sean Jeating: Not flippant at all. And after the big storm that went through my city, this recent one was nothing. Sound and fury and no more.
DeleteI love the sleeping Santa and reindeer, the shrub gnomes too. I've thought about putting baubles on the trees here, but worry someone will take them. It's been a long time since I saw any hail, a couple of winters ago there was a bit but it melted as soon as it hit the ground.
ReplyDeleteFingers crossed for the kittens. I wonder if good old-fashioned penicillin would work better than the newer "cillins" which people become resistant to and maybe animals do too?
River: I don't think the kittens have developed a resistance to any antibiotics in their short lives, and hope that this one works.
DeleteThe tree with the baubles is off the main drag and I do hope that it is not targeted by thieves.
The gnomes are charming indeed!!
ReplyDeleteCaterina: I was very pleased to see them back again this year.
DeleteAll is looking interesting.
ReplyDeleteHope you are doing all right as some days have passed since you unfortunately acquired that virus
That hail, wow...not good with the damage it can do and does.
The dear cats, hoping another course of antibiotics do the trick.
Take care...
Margaret D: Thank you. I am fine, but still very tired - with could be the virus, MS or my thyroid issues. I am glad that this hail storm did no real damage.
DeleteYour flowers are always astounding. Here in our area of California, we seldom have hail. Last one, I took photos.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous: We get some hail each year, but it is usually smaller than this.
DeleteWe have hail a few times a summer. Those big hailstones can cause a lot of damage.
ReplyDeleteI adore the gnomes!
Anne in the kitchen: You are so right about the damage - and I adore the gnomes too.
DeleteI love those gnome outfits!!
ReplyDeleteBill: Aren't they clever?
DeleteI remember those hilariously clever little gnomes from last year! It's so good to spread smiles, thank you for spreading them further. And oh dear re the kittens, hopefully the new ABs will sort them out quickly (and hopefully you and your man have recovered, which I hope I'm surmising correctly).
ReplyDeleteKim: We are recovering and hopefully the kittens are too. And yes, smiles are always welcome aren't they?
DeleteThat was a vicious hail storm, Sue. I hope the Sulphur-crested Vandals didn't get bonked on the head to get them riled up, or they'll be tossing more than plant pots! I hope that all is well with the kittens. If it's not one thing, it's another. Those gnome trees are very clever, by the way. Good to see the creative spirit has not died.
ReplyDeleteDavid M. Gascoigne: I do hope that no cockatoos were riled by that storm. I don't want them throwing things at me. I really like those decorations. They are clever, fun and don't harm the trees.
DeleteThey are clever. Scary hailstorms. They do such damages. In Texas, I've seen photos of damage to cars.
ReplyDeleteThe decorations are delightful!
Jenn Jilks: In our hailstorm in 2020, over forty thousand cars were damaged - and many of them were written off.
DeleteYes, we could use some smiles and fun. I think that hail looks interesting. Sometimes, there is hail in the elevated areas of Hawaii, but not often. Good wishes for the kitties.
ReplyDeletegigi-hawaii: Smiles and fun are welcome. Hail less so.
DeleteOh man, once we had a hail storm while camping and it anhilated the tent. I have a before and after pic and it's hysterical. Hope the weather turns around and have a great week!
ReplyDeleteTrin Carl: That sounds like quite a storm - and must have been frightening to be in.
DeleteOne yard near us has lots of the blow up things in their yard and it looks like a war zone during the day with so many of them laying down. Love the Gnomes, how cleaver people are. I've started decorating, but am going to do less than normal. Stay warm.
ReplyDeleteSandy: I do minimal decorating and haven't started. The gnomes are lovely. The blow up ornaments don't excite me nearly as much.
DeleteI enjoyed your non-traditional garden shots this week. That must have been quite a storm. Loud and destructive, at least in some places, I suspect.
ReplyDeleteThose neighbors with the gnomes created some real charmers. Nice they brought them back again this year. I've never been a fan of the inflatable yard ornaments. Santa and the reindeer are having a really bad day.
I am sorry to read the poor kitties are STILL not better. I hoe these new antibiotics finally do the trick. This is so unfortunate and I am beginning to question your vet, dear EC.
Bleubeard and Elizabeth: I agree with you about inflatable ornaments. They don't appeal to me - though I smiled at the very tired Santa.
DeleteThe gnomes on the other hand are gorgeous.
The kittens are better but not right. Apparently feline coronavirus has multiple variations and it takes time to find the right solution. I have been going to this vet practice for years and do trust them, but how I hope we have got the right solution this time.
Hail like these are impressing, causing fear and awe at the same time.
ReplyDeleteI like the gnomes, and feel sorry for your kittesn - it seems you're better, which makes me happy.
Charlotte (MotherOwl): Thank you. Definitely impressive and yes there was some fear - not least for our solar panels. We are getting better and I do hope the kittens are too.
DeleteThank you for the Christmas gnomes! I'm happy to see them again, too - they're so wonderfully simple and brilliantly creative!
ReplyDeleteIt's nice to hear that the kittens are making progress, even if it's slow; but it must be terribly wearing on you (and them). I read between the lines to guess that you are still feeling quite crappy, too - sending sincere wishes for good health to settle on your household soon.
Diane Henders: Simple and creatively brilliant sums up the gnomes well. I might even drop a thank you note in their letter box.
DeleteWe are getting better, but still struggling with fatigue. And yes, worry for the kittens doesn't help. Fingers crossed. Tightly.
Hi EC! Catching up here. Didn't know you and hubby had Covid recently. Hope you are on the mend... and sorry to hear about the kittens' problems too. Sending good thoughts and prayers your way!
ReplyDeleteRian: Thank you. Yes we got Covid - though I don't know how. We are improving and I hope that I can say the same about the kittens next week with no reservations.
DeleteThat is some serious hail -- it's huge. Nature can do a lot of damage in a short time. I'm glad you escaped serious damage but I imagine your garden took a beating. I hope your bird visitors were under cover at the time.
ReplyDeleteI love the gnomes. What a clever use of the bushes! And I see a lot of those "tired" outdoor decorations here, too :) They look so sad when they're deflated.
Sending my strongest possible wishes for those kittens to improve with the new antibiotic. And I hope you and himself are feeling better each day. Please rest as much as the kittens' needs will allow you to. Warm hugs, EC.
jenny_o: Thank you so much. Yes the garden took a pounding but I think it will recover. The gnomes are lovely and I MUCH prefer them to the blow up ornaments.
DeleteI do hope the kittens improve. And we are. Still tired, and still snuffling a little - but better.
Those poor babies and how are you two??
ReplyDeletee: Thank you. Poor, poor babies indeed. We are getting better.
DeleteAbsolutely gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteaussie aNNie: Thank you.
DeleteI'm sorry to hear kitties are still not back to being 100%. :( The hail is pretty big! I like the gnomes and ornaments in the trees too.
ReplyDeletemail4rosey: We are hoping (so much) that this latest round of antibiotics works.
DeleteWow those are some intense hail stones! Do you ever capture them to use as ice in beverages?
ReplyDeleteJohn Wiswell: It hadn't even occurred to me. I hope I remember when we next get a hail storm.
DeleteThat hail is enormous.
ReplyDeleteHena Tayeb: Some of it was big - and goodness it was LOUD.
DeleteThe dressed up conifers make fabulous gnomes. It's very clever.
ReplyDeleteHave a great week!
kylie: Thank you. Clever - and charming.
DeleteLove the hail pics - beautiful!!
ReplyDeleteThose gnome bushes are delightful!
Jemi Fraser: Aren't the gnome trees lovely? I really must put a thank you note in their letter box.
DeleteI'm glad that you escaped serious damage from the hail, Sue! That's the weather I worry about most. The Christmas gnomes were very cute. I hope that you and your husband have recovered from Covid. I thought your kitties had feline Covid. 🤞for the kitties. Hugs to you.
ReplyDeleteFundy Blue: I was worried by the hail too. It and wind often scare me, but so far we have escaped. My partner and I are still in recovery mode, but getting better. The kittens do have the feline equivalent of covid but I think/hope that they are finally coming out the other side.
DeleteGoodness, that was quite a storm those hail stones do look quite big.
ReplyDeleteLovely to see the Christmas Gnomes and decorations.
Out earlier today it was lovely to see the Christmas décor in and around the neighbourhood.
I do hope the latest round of antibiotics work for the kitties.
My good wishes .
All the best Jan
Lowcarb team member ~Jan: It was quite a storm and we were lucky. So far the antibiotics are looking promising. I am glad that you and enjoying the Christmas decorations near you.
Delete