Trees and Cats and Other Things

Princess-Cost-A-Lot sure does... well, she costs a lot!  

We went out to the house a few days ago and she meow-ed enough that she convinced us she was hungry.  I think she had caught all the mice and rats in the barn and was down to bugs - and they were not very filling she said.  I made Steve drive 6 miles to the nearest store to buy our princess a bag of cat food and something to store it in.  We drove back the 6 miles to feed her and made her a happy cat:

Yes, Princess-Cost-A-Lot has a beautiful pink bowl of water too - she even looked like a princess eating and drinking on her workbench.  Isn't she adorable?

Yesterday, I drove to Muskogee to see my sister and niece.  On the way back, I decided to check Princess-Cost-A-Lot's bowls and be sure she still had food.  I had figured she had so much food I would only need to feed her every other day.  Boy was I wrong!  She was so hungry she had eaten every last nibble of food and drank every single drop of water!  Steve said I was feeding the critters, so I looked all around the barn and decided he was wrong - the only critter there is Princess-Cost-A-Lot.  So I fed her again and will go back every single day until we move in to be sure she is not having to eat bugs again.  Unless she wants to...

I figure by the time we move in she will be about 20 lbs - right now, I doubt she is even 5 pounds.  She is very thin - I was finally able to pet her and I can feel ribs and a sunken tummy.  She also has a lot of mats  :-(  I cannot wait to move in so we can become buddies and I can take her into a vet to get her on the road to healthy.  Remember my Sassicat?  Princess-Cost-A-Lot is about the same size as Sassi - she is a very tiny cat.

While I was out there, I sat in the swing for a couple of hours just listening to the birds and trying to figure out what kind of birds are there.  We have swallows, purple martins, sparrows, a wood pecker, and BLUEBIRDS!  No, not blue jays, honest to God bluebirds - my favorite bird in the world!  How exciting!  I cannot wait to watch and enjoy these little guys...

Now I am trying to identify trees on the property - just on the house side.  I am going to show pictures and tell you my best guess.  If you know the correct name or are willing to guess, please feel free to do so.  I will try to have them all named by the time I move in.  There sure are a lot of trees on that property - I won't be able to guess them all, but I would love to know the ones around the house.

Here goes:

Is this (picture #1) a Sawtooth Oak?

I am clueless about (picture #2) this one:
 

I think this one (picture #3) is a Shumard Oak:
 

Can't find this one (picture #4) either:
 

I suspect this (picture #5) is an oak of some kind as well, but I can't find it either:
 

This one (picture #6) has got me puzzled:
 

Is this (picture #7) an elm?
 

So, can you help me name them?

I didn't even begin to really take pictures - I bet I still have a dozen trees left.  When I go back I will take some more - well, if the wind isn't blowing.  Yesterday, the wind was not-so-gently blowing the trees, so taking good pictures was darned near impossible.  Wind in Oklahoma - imagine that!

Speaking of Oklahoma weather - there is something I am having a difficult time getting used to...  I blow dry my hair and walk outside and it stays fairly straight!  My hair is not kinking up and frizzing the moment I walk outside!  It actually looks decent all day long - well, almost decent.  The wind blows it around, but I just brush it right back in place and it is fine - can you imagine that?  Very little humidity is wonderful!

We can also sit outside in the evening and enjoy the cool nights - and this after high 95+ degree days!!  And I gotta tell you, 95+ degree days here is NOT 95+ degree days in Singapore and south Louisiana!  It is fairly comfortable - hot, but not steam bath hot.  Last night I was listening to the news - they said it was 96 degrees with a feel like 98 degrees... ummm... k... ?  Lol... such a huge change from what we have known for years and years, but I am not missing the humidity!  Gonna be tough I tell ya...

We have two inspections scheduled for Sunday afternoon at 2pm!!   Here are all the inspections we have to have in order to buy the house:

Home Inspection Buyers

Wood Infestation Report

Septic Tank Open Test

Roof Inspection

Siding Evaluation

Structural Inspection (Professional Engineer)

I think we are having the Wood Infestation Report and the Septic Tank Open Test done Sunday.  It has only just begun... but things are rolling!  I am getting excited now!

Steve has a tractor and a zero turn lawn mower picked out.  (No Mike, he cannot buy the Harley yet!)  I have picked out a sofa and... a cat.  Other than that, I don't have a thing done.  Oh, I am researching trees... lol... and what we have to do to stock the pond.  The first thing we have to do is see if it is already stocked, anyone got a fishing pole?

So now you are caught up - I have to go feed Princess-Cost-A-Lot.  She probably ate all her food last night again - she is a very hungry kitty - cause I know there are no other critters in that barn.  Right?  

Wonder if I have a cat bed lying around the camper somewhere...