Horay For Running Water!

This is one of the best products I've bought recently.
It's the Cat Mate pet fountain.

Previously I had a Drinkwell 360, which was a nice enough fountain.  At the time when I bought mine, they were fairly expensive.  The cats liked it but it had it's drawbacks.
For one thing, it was a big round fountain and took up a lot of space.  It was too big for the counter top so I had to put it on the floor where more dirt and hair seemed to collect in it.  The filter was a plastic tube with holes in it and was filled with charcoal.  The hair went right through it and got stuck in the intake holes of the pump making it necessary to clean the fountain at least every few days.  It was a job tearing it apart, cleaning all the little tubes and hard to reach places, and it took a whole gallon of water to refill it.  I finally retired it to the basement.  We went back to the old basic water dish.  The kitties weren't happy.

I did some research on Amazon and found this small fountain that costs less than $30.  I was skeptical, but the price was right and if I didn't like it I could donate it to the thrift store.

It is a very nice little fountain.  It fits perfectly on the counter top.  It's easy to clean.  The filter has both fiber and charcoal so that very little hair gets through to the pump.  It takes less than a gallon of water to fill.  And one of the good sneaky things is that if you buy a few filters to begin with, you can take the little plastic cases apart and replace the filter fiber and pelleted charcoal if you are handy with such things.

Needless to say, I am thrilled with the Pet Mate.  We got a second one for Brad and Kami's cats who live upstairs.

Here are the happy cats trying out the different levels, the waterfall and the water slide.

                                                   Penny enjoying the top level

                                       Isabel thinks it makes a great foot bath
 I do keep a paper towel beside the fountain because they can be messy drinkers.

                                               Deiter and Isabel sharing a drink

If you are trying to encourage your cat(s) to drink more water, this is the way to go.  It would probably work well for small dogs too.
I think they also make fountains for larger dogs.

The kitties who modeled for this post were well compensated for their time.  They accept petting, hugs and praise, but they prefer Temptations kitty treats.

Thanks for stopping by.

The Sum of my Summer

They say a picture is worth a thousand words.
Well, this is a picture of my summer, sad to say.

+ computer
+ Kindle
+ library books
+ fans, lovely fans
+ lime Jello, my favorite food on a hot day.  But not my only food, unfortunately!
+ lots of heat
____________

The bottom line is a big fat nothing.  That was my summer.

OK, I did a few things but you've seen all the greenhouses, farmer's markets, and whatever before.

No handcrafty stuff either.  My craft area has been a mess since rearranging rooms when Brad and Kami moved in.  A messy work space doesn't make me feel like creating.  Maybe instead of wasting my time reading I could have been cleaning and organizing.  Do ya think???  But NOOOOO...

And my helpers weren't into it either.  Deiter was too busy being ON the computer.

Do you see that lovely country scene that's on my desktop?  Walking down that dirt road on a nice 75-degree day is what I really should have been doing.  If I were not so old and fat and lazy.

Zip and I did ride around in air conditioned comfort and take a few pictures of houses and flowers.  There's nothing I find more appealing than a nicely decorated entrance.  These make me want to stop, knock on the door and ask if I could please come in and have tea.

 I don't know any of the people who live in these houses, just dreamin'.

                                                 Newville, near the Big Spring

                                                         Downtown Newville

                                                                    Shippensburg


Now I'm going to rant about the weather which has such a strangle hold on my moods.

The summer started out hot.  We had rain, usually about twice a week.  The yard looked good, the garden flourished, the flower beds filled in nicely

Then came July.  The rain stopped.  It got hotter than blazes.  The garden dried up, the grass turned brown and crispy.  For the past two and a half months we didn't get enough rain to dampen a paper towel.  And it drove me crazy, checking WeatherBug daily to see if there was a storm anywhere near Newburg.  But NOOOOO!  There were storms all around us but not over Newburg.  I am so glad that I did not marry a farmer.  I would have been hauled off to the loony bin years ago.

Then there are the weather people on the local news stations with their cheery predictions of chances of showers and thunderstorms.  Chances, mind you, that never seemed to materialize.  If I had been in charge of the personnel at those stations, all the predictors would now be on unemployment.  How can you be so wrong so often and still have a job???

We finally got a nice little shower on Saturday (yes, they predicted right for once, but we got less than they said we would), not nearly enough but at least we know it still can rain.  That little bit of rain and the cooler temperatures that followed have renewed my faith for the moment.  The grass is a tiny bit greener.

Oh, and several of my favorite places have closed or in the process of closing.

The Fabric Outlet in Lemoyne, my favorite place to buy fabric if I ever decide to sew.
The Country Pantry outside of Shippensburg, my favorite bulk food store.
The Mannings weaving supply and school is closing at the end of the year.  One of the best yarn
       suppliers and only weaving equipment and thread supplier in the area.

I will sure miss all of these places.

Has sitting around in front of a fan reading and eating Jello turned me into a whack job???  Probably.  I was on my way down that road anyhow.
But I will end this diatribe with a happy summer picture.

Don't you just love this little fountain in the middle of a residential section in Chambersburg?

                                                        Water, cool water!   
  
Happy, happy!  Fall is on the way!