Category Archives: fun

Car-E’s new toy

August 15, 2020Car-E, cats, funsusanmanzke

My kitten will play with anything and I do mean anything.

There are a few purchased cat toys around but Car-E looses interest in them quickly. This new toy he found had him very active for at least 30 minutes.

He was playing with a potato. I had washed my harvested small spuds and I was sure he had one of them.

He scooted after it all over the kitchen, down the basement stairs, and into the laundry room.

I was afraid he’d leave it forgotten in a corner or under a piece of furniture. Just what I needed a lost potato, rotting away and stinking up the place.

Even after I picked it up, I was sure it was a potato, and then I looked closer.

His toy is an avocado pit! Found by him on the counter where I placed it before trying to sprout it.

Car-E had a lot of fun chasing this pit. I never saw him so excited about the toy.

I’ll let him play as long as he likes with this pit. At least if it gets lost, it won’t be rotting away like a potato.

And since I eat avocados, other pit-toys will follow.

Grocery Bag Contents

July 17, 2020Car-E, cats, funsusanmanzke

I don’t do a lot of shopping, even when there isn’t a pandemic. When I go, I have a list, so I don’t forget anything.

This day, as I emptied a bag, I found something I didn’t expect.

Car-E had a lot of fun both inside and outside that bag.

Sharing Car-E with you is my pleasure. He’s such a fun furry friend.

Happy Birthday, Roger!

May 31, 2020Friends, funsusanmanzke

There was another country parade today heading south on Miller Road.

I almost missed this celebration as my family had come by to help out around the house.

As we were doing chores, we stopped to look up when we saw some strange vehicles honking past Sunnybook Farm.

As they passed, I remembered I had been invited to join this country parade. It was to celebrate our neighbor, Roger Roskoms’ birthday.

Again, I wasn’t close enough to photograph the beginning of the parade, but I did click one photo before they disappeared down the road.

Roger’s daughter, Juli said: We had a fantastic turnout with three fire trucks from Navarino, Nichols, Cicero, a mixer from Green and Gold Concrete from where Dad used to work, a bunch of old cars and cool tractors. … We had 53 Vehicles total … not too shabby I guess.

Happy Birthday, Roger. You are a good neighbor with a lot of good friends and a loving family.

I hope you enjoyed your country parade.

A Surprise Parade!

May 24, 2020fun, Wisconsinsusanmanzke

I was getting ready to open the door to the chicken coop when I heard the chugging sound of an old tractor.

I turned toward the road and saw one, then two tractors, one pulling a wagon with people waving a flag. The best part there was more coming down our country road.

I ran to the house to get my camera.

You can see the tractors just below the tree limb as I raced for my camera–my photo came from critter cam I had on the porch.

I raced back to the road with my camera and started snapping pictures.

I might have recognized a driver or two, but I’m not sure, I was too surprised and excited by the passing parade.

I don’t know where they came from or where they were going, but I sure was happy they passed by Sunnybook Farm.

A Winter Bloom in May

May 11, 2020fun, gardeningsusanmanzke

I like having house plants blooming in the winter. Seeing the colorful blossoms and greens gives me hope that spring will soon arrive.

Because my husband Bob was so sick this past December and died in January, I had no heart left to put my bulbs in soil.

Finally, I felt sorry for my amaryllis bulbs. Without any fanfare, I plopped them in a pot of soil. Now they have rewarded me with their trumpet-like blooms.

I have them out of the backroom and set them where I can enjoy the pink blooms in my kitchen now.

There are more flower bulbs and tubers in my basement. These are waiting for warm weather when I will place them in the soil outside. My fingers are crossed that they will do as well as these amaryllises have done.

Next week the temperature is predicted to turn warmer, without frost. If that is true all the bulbs will come out of the basement and start their journey to summer blooms.

Susan Manzke

Writer, Speaker, All-Around Good Person