Buttonwillow By Any Other Name...

Buttonwillow wanted to have a turn at the Anagrammer to see what the letters of her name would make. Here goes:

TWO NUT BILLOW
LOW BUILT TOWN
BUILT OWL TOWN
BLOWN OUT WILT
BLUNT WOOL WIT
BOLT UNTIL WOW
TWILL BOUT NOW
BOWL UNTIL TWO
and {{surprise!}}
WILLOW BUTTON

Now I have this funny picture in my head of her in a bowling shirt at the bowling alley where she will "bowl until two..."

Story Time with Captain Wheeler von Barrow IV

Summer is here!

That means it's time to shed those old fur coats. Gardner the garden cat is disposing of his as fast as he can, leaving a trail of fluff behind him wherever he goes.

That means Garden Keeper Carletta can work and play in the garden all day long. Have you ever had a butterfly land on your head?



That means a brand new watering can has appeared at the garden shed. Carletta picked it out yesterday on her way home from the last day of school.


That means the very first strawberries are ripe and ready to be plucked. Ladybug Lulu is at her post, defending the bounty of berries from unwelcome pests.


That means it's time for a game of hide 'n' seek. Flora Cat is already hiding--can you guess where?

That means that the garden shed is open for business and business is blooming!

And that means Captain Wheeler von Barrow IV is ready and waiting for his first wheelbarrow ride of the summer.

You can call him "Wheeler" for short...

...as in:
Wheeeee- ler!!

Summer is here!
Let's Celebrate!

Words and images copyright 2011 Susan Faye. All rights reserved. May not be reproduced in ANY form, including electronically, without express written permission of the artist. Thank you for respecting this policy with regards to ALL artists--it's good karma!!

Name Games, Continued...

THANK YOU to Bead Artist Chris Maj for coming up with the wonderful name for Wheelbarrow Cat! Be sure to check out her fantastic creations at her blog: Bead-n-4-Fun and Beyond. In our very scientific poll, her suggestion of Captain Wheeler von Barrow the IV received the most votes at 14. Thank you to everyone for all of your creative suggestions! Stay tuned for a story about "Wheeler" and some of his garden friends...

Did you play the anagram name game yet? Cat Lady Rose of Angelcat Haven did! She wrote: Hey Susan, I love anagrams! Here are my favorites for my name Rose Gates:
Assert Ego
Sago Trees
Go See Arts
and my favorite.....
Tea Ogress!
Can't you just picture a female ogre drinking tea?

Angelcat Haven is celebrating their 500th adoption. Be sure to visit their website and congratulate these wonderful Cat Ladies on their accomplishment!

Try out your own name and then share the results with us in the comments!

Year of the Rabbit... Meet Gizmo the Dutch Blue

Cat Ladies seem to get most of the attention around here, but considering that this is the Year of The Rabbit, it's about time we pay tribute another important devotee of furry friends: The Bunny Babe.

Meet Lisa and her beautiful Dutch Blue honey bunny, Gizmo.

Just what is a Dutch Blue? Lisa explains:

"Blue refers to the dark color of Gizmo's coat. It's a bluish gray. Dutch refers to his breed. Some say the breed originated in Holland but others claim that it was developed in England. They are considered a 'small'rabbit, not a dwarf rabbit but they only grow to around 5 lbs. Dutch rabbits have been one of the most popular pet rabbit breeds for many years."

Lisa's family had a pet rabbit as a child, and since then Lisa has enjoyed the company of tropical fish, Beta fish, and a lot of parakeets.

"It wasn't until late March of last year that I decided to bring a baby bunny home. I never would have imagined that I would have a rabbit living with me inside the house, all these years later! It's a treat and I love it!"

"Gizmo lives in two rooms down in the basement. Yes, he's a house rabbit. He does have a cage that I set on the floor so he can come and go as he pleases. He goes into his cage to eat and use his litter box. Yep, he's litter trained. (No way would I have him running around if he wasn't! LOL!)."

"He loves kale and dried strawberries and he often will jump up on the foot of my bed to spend the night. He loves to be petted but prefers to stay on the ground. Most rabbits don't like to be picked up. They like all four paws on the floor! This is one reason that they DON'T make good pets for children, contrary to popular belief. They are very independent and need a lot of room to play. Sitting in a hutch is a sad way for them to spend their lives."

For more information on having bunnies as indoor pets, visit the House Rabbit Society, an all-volunteer, non-profit organization that rescues abandoned rabbits and educates the public on rabbit care.

Thanks for visiting!

Help Me Pick A Name...Plus Giveaway Winners Announced!

I LOVED all of the suggestions for Wheelbarrow Cat's name! Thank you to everyone who participated! Three entries were drawn at random and will receive a print of Wheelbarrow Cat.

My new print!

And the lucky winners are:

Karen and Gerard who suggested Wheeley or Rider. They are a wife and husband book review team who live with cats Spunky Doodle and Manny, and have a book review blog called Grab A Book From Our Stack.

Joni Nickrent (Hive entry) suggested Seedric. Joni is an Artist, Mom, Creative Candlemaker, Crafter, Stylist to the Dolls, and creator of Pop Art Minis

Mvegan suggested Riley or Felix. Michele is a vegan artist and teacher from California living in Israel. She has a BFA in Painting and an MAT in Art Education from the Rhode Island School of Design. founded and leads EFA; Etsy for Animals

So what will Wheelbarrow Cat's name be? I've narrowed down the suggestions to my top ten favorites. Please vote for your favorite in the poll in the upper right column of the blog. Poll will close Monday night at midnight. Wheelbarrow Cat will be forever grateful for your help!

A Catnip Bar With a Good Cause...

Buttonwillow hopes her fellow felines will feast their eyes AND their noses on this beautiful new handcrafted catnip bar made by Cat Lady Dorothy of TheDots on Etsy.com.

Dorothy chose a Susan Faye fabric from Spoonflower.com to create this colorful catnip confection that measures 5 1/4 inches long x 2 1/4 inches wide. It is stuffed with a potent amount of catnip leaves, which have been cut and sifted to remove small particles (stems and dust.)

Click on the image for purchase information

With each purchase, Dorothy donates a portion of the proceeds to her favorite pet causes, including:

The Milo Foundation (animal rescue)
The Acme Foundation (helping seriously ill cats and dogs belonging to the elderly and disabled)

Be sure to check out Dorothy's Etsy shop where you will find photos of her formerly-feral-rescued cats: Corm, Stig, Sox and Travis. Dorothy says, "Each cat has given their 'Drool of Approval' (but not on the toy I send you, of course!)"

A Name Game (or Two)

Have you ever moved around the letters of your name to see what other words you could come up with? The folks over at Moo Printing have come up with a fun anagrammer widget that will do just that:


Here are some of the anagrams for"Susan Faye":

SAY SEA FUN
ESSAY FAUN
EASY SNAFU
FAN USA YES

Give it a try! Share your favorites in the comments.

Speaking of names, I LOVE the suggestions so far for Wheelbarrow Cat's name. Here is a sampling:

Rider
Whiskers
Seedy Catabarrow
Captain Wheeler von Barrow the IV
Ando (Buddhist name for Peaceful Way.)
Seedric

What would you name Wheelbarrow Cat? Leave your suggestion in the comments section of Wheelbarrow-Cat-Needs-A-Name Giveaway for a chance to win an art print! Entries will be accepted until Saturday, June 11th, 7 p.m. Pacific Standard Time. At that time, THREE names will be drawn at random to receive a signed 8" x 10" print of Wheelbarrow Cat ($14.00 value) which is now available in my Etsy Shop. Will ship to anywhere in the world.

Have fun!