FISHING BELLS

Recently, the wife of a friend contacted Tom asking 

if he could make her a memorial sculpture 

to honor her late father who loved

to fish on the white, sandy beaches of Hawaii.  

She had inherited her father's fishing bells and 

wanted to incorporate them into an art piece 

she could keep in her home.

Fishing bells are an important part of a ocean 

fisherman's gear as they alert the fisherman 

when a fish takes the bait.

The sculpture includes three brass bells, a steel base

 and frame, brass 'fishing line' and fishing lure 

and the tip of a fiberglass fishing rod

I thought it might be tasty!

  I found the brass fishing lure quite fascinating and

    I approve of the finished sculpture.

Very truly yours,

LISA

BARRACUDA DELUXE

     

Tom created this unique sculpture of steel, brass, copper, 

neon (and an automobile nameplate) many years ago.

The BARRACUDA DELUXE glows red and blue 

over the bar at River City Grill in Yuma, Arizona.

Yours very truly,

BART & LISA

 OUR 1st BIRTHDAY!

Today is our 1st birthday! In human years, 

that means we are now TEENAGERS! YAY!

Margaret & Tom bought us one last can of our 

favorite kitten food for breakfast. 

Now we get to eat 'big cat' food!

Today is also our Cousin Elise's birthday! 

She came to visit us when we were only 7 weeks old.

Happy Birthday Cousin Elise!

Now for our afternoon nap...

Meow,

LISA & BART

 

In Memory of 

IVY

Good friends recently lost their sweet dog 

to a sudden illness.  We never had the 

opportunity to meet Ivy but we heard how 

sweet she was and how much she 

loved visitors, especially children! 

We think she would have liked us

 because she also loved her feline friends.

Ivy was six and her brother Scout's best friend!

Tom created this steel and copper marker 

for her human parents in honor of Ivy.

Rest in peace, Ivy.

BART & LISA

                                               

                          

BART & LISA

We are now 8-months-old and ready to assume our new duties! 

We began hunting when we were almost 6 months old and have become very good at finding little rodents in the gardens! So good, in fact, that Tom (aka Dad) and Margaret (aka Mom) have decided we are ready to learn how to create new entrees in the Prairie Star Designs blog.

This is so exciting for us!

We learned to add a photo to a previous blog. See Tom's BELL AND FUSED GLASS in its new location in a garden in Underwood, Washington (June 30, 2024 blog).

We love to romp in the gardens, climb trees, sleep on Tom's paddle boarder sculpture and watch the birds at the feeder from our window box.

Come visit us! We love to meet new people!

LISA & BART

 WELCOME OUR NEW KITTENS!

The morning after our Junior Boy died, I called our veterinarians with the sad news. Neither of them were able to take my call but I left a message with their staff. At the end of the conversation, I mentioned that Tom and I would eventually hope to adopt another cat, or two, and that if anyone in the clinic heard of an adult cat, or maybe two kittens, needing to be rehomed, to please let us know.

Two hours later, Dr. Kerry called offering her condolences. 

At the end of the conversation, she mentioned that the children at her son's school had found two abandoned kitties outside the building early that morning. The school principal asked her help regarding feeding the hungry kittens and rehoming them. 

They were estimated to be 5 weeks old and, except for an infestation of fleas, they appeared to be healthy. She guessed that their mother was a feral cat. Dr. Kerry strongly recommended that the kittens not be separated as they were obviously very strongly bonded.

She asked if we wanted to see a photo of the kittens. I shared the photo with Tom. 

Tom had them named before we got to Hood River.

         First Breakfast for Lisa and Bart

It will take time to teach these young kitties the necessary skills needed to assume the blog duties so expertly filled by Junior Boy. Until then...

Yours Truly,

Margaret

Our Beloved 

JUNIOR BOY

                        Junior Boy and Tom 2022

In July 2010, while picking raspberries in the garden, we heard a kitty crying somewhere on the hillside above our house. None of our neighbors knew this kitty so we suspected he had been dropped off by someone hoping he'd find a good home with us. 

About 5 months old, he was healthy, curious and hungry. We welcomed him into our home with our older kitties, Mittens and Bob. 

  Junior Boy resting near the creek

Junior Boy was in good health until the last week of his life. Evaluation by the emergency veterinarian and his primary veterinarian did not reveal a definitive reason for his sudden decline. 

Last Wednesday, in the very early hours of the morning, he made his way back out to the garden to this place by the creek and left this good Earth.

We miss him.

Yours Truly,

Margaret & Tom