Good grief it's already mid April!

  Time sure flies by the older you get. We weathered the rest of winter just fine. No big giant snow storms or ice storms etc. . Have used up too much propane this past year but really no more than usual. Just started out with less. Dang it!
  I think the eagles have finally left for the year. I am pretty sure they will be back next winter.

Here is one from last month that was in the pasture with the horses. Wish I could tell you how far away it was but can't. They are such a big bird!

 The red tulip is new this year. Put the bulbs in the ground last fall. The variegated ones are the ones that were here 11 years ago. Have more bulbs but don't know what to do with them now. All the jonquils are finished for the year. No pictures of them. I pruned everything way way way back last year as I was tired of the ragged look it all had. Too big and too .........too. So I knew there would be no blooms on several things like forsythia and lilacs etc. The quince didn't mind at all. They even liked the trim! The fruit trees are looking fair so far. Blooms every where and some fruit already set on the plums. Too soon to tell on the others. Still have some dang blight! It happened quickly with the odd weather we always have. One minute it was too nasty to spray and the next the blooms were open too far!
  Had a fun day a week or so back. Met my sister in town and we went got a sandwich after running a few errands and went to the park for lunch. A beautiful day and very nice visit. Hope to repeat soon.

My pit bull helping George clean his ears. Sheba would have made a great mother if I would have let her have pups. George really likes the dogs. You all have a diamond day!
 

2015! Sounds weird to me.

  How about you? It still seems futuristic not in the present. Where are the flying cars of the Jetsons? lol And Rosie the robotic maid? She's supposed to be making my breakfast! Oh, well. I like the present just fine the way it is in so many respects. Not so much in others. We could certainly do with a less violence in the world. Among many other things.

  Life is good. It's freezing outside this a.m. actually 2.1* with a 10 mph wind. Was almost this bad yesterday but we all did fine. Used 3 layers of clothes to feed the animals and fill water tanks and stayed warm. My feet were chilly but not bad. Today I will add a third pair of sox and boots instead of tennis shoes.
 

 The eagles have been back for several weeks so I guess they are a little early compared to last winter. There are about 8 of them this year. They are hunting a larger area of the neighborhood too. Not just across the road but up the road both directions and in our pastures. One of them almost spooked the horses yesterday swooping so low over their heads at the hay ring. It still excites me to be able walk out my door and see an eagle. It is such a gift. I think some folks in the county take them for granted we see so many because of the lake. 

We had a few weeks of worry over Buck but he seemingly has recovered nicely from his stroke. He still has trouble with his vision but has adjusted to it. He no longer "sidetracks" or limps. Hoping he keeps it up and has no more trouble this winter. I know his time is short but I'm selfish and want him to stay as long as possible. 

  I have already received at least 6 seed catalogs and have many dreams for a garden this year. I really don't think they will happen but I can always dream. lol I will, at the very least, grow a few tomatoes like always. I have to move the strawberry patch this year. We are removing the garden fence and taking that area into the yard. May move the grapes later on. The plan is to extend the fence around the orchard and put the garden in there. We'll see. 

  Have a diamond day! 

  

End of year

  We had a real nice Thanksgiving with turkey and all the trimmings right here with the two of us. And had a real nice Christmas here too. Tim wanted to stay home instead of going to Jeff's so I was all for that. Christmas eve we took a drive to look at the lights. I was surprised there were not as many around town as I expected but still saw some real nice ones. We did go see the local "Griswold" lights out the other side of Ridgely. Never have saw so many lights on one place!!! Got a call from our son that morning and then T got a call from him on Christmas morning.

   On a sad note....our time with Buck is coming to an end. We are not sure when but will be soon. He's had a stroke. Lost vision in one eye but has adjusted to that just fine. Has seemingly lost use of one leg to a point so not getting around very well. He's over 35 years old and has only been with us for 5-6 years he has given so much. I will not see him suffer or be in pain. He went through enough before coming to us.

Here's the old guy sometime last year. Such a sweet soul. 

  Sam is now 6 months old and full of piss and vinegar. Sometimes I'm not sure he will survive til grown. haha I will be glad when he stops chewing on everything. 

  I made oatmeal cookies, vanilla wafers and peanut brittle the past couple of weeks. Not too bad. Normally T doesn't take dessert in his lunch but I figured what the heck. Maybe a couple more batches of cookies and another couple of pies and I will be done with my extra baking for the year. Our health can't take too much of that. Or should I say our weight? 

  Momma has been gone almost 7 years now and I still miss her every day. You all have a diamond day! 

Almost Thanksgiving

  Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and we still don't know if T works or not. Chickens still make manure no matter what day it is! lol The houses they haul from are having trouble figuring out how to change the one week day that they don't "run". No matter ....we will still be so very grateful on Thursday whatever the outcome. May even have a turkey. I took one out of the freezer on Monday morning and put it in the fridge. Maybe I'll take it out and put on counter today.
  The weather has not been bad at all. In the 30's and 40's with a little sunshine thrown in! Loving that sunshine!
  Yesterday I looked out the kitchen window to see the cat and a chicken both staring at a vole. Not sure which one had caught it, probably the cat as it was moving verrrrry slowly and had the chicken caught it she would have been running with it. What a hoot! They sat there staring at it and each other for at least 10 minutes. I did not watch to see who was going to take the prize. I have seen the chickens steal from the cats before but they are older now and might not let that happen any more.
  That is my life. Not much goes on around here but it takes very little to amuse some people as the saying goes. I enjoy the fact that our assortment of animals get along so well.
  A couple of friends came down from up north and spent a few hours visiting. They are both busy but have found the time to work on some knitting/crocheting projects for the little ones in North Dakota that another friend started. They both are making different sized mittens and hats, I believe.
With luck we'll make a good showing when the deadline rolls around. Helping the kids stay warm is  a good cause.
  Sometimes it's hard to find a way to help other folks when things are tight but can be done. Eggs are running low so don't have extras to take to the food bank right now but it will pick up soon. My hens do fairly well laying right through most winters. They have 6 new babies they are watching over right now. Six babies and most days at least 3 mamas. lol They are slowly learning. That's what I get for being so picky about the color of my eggs. Bred to lay not hatch.

 

  The girls that laid these are getting old...

  I didn't put the turkey out and guess it is a good thing. T called and they will get tomorrow off after all. Still don't know at this point if we're going to Spfd or not. Nothing new. lol We will know in the morning when it's time to leave. I got an apple pie in the oven and a pumpkin in the wings and rolls rising....no matter what it will be a good day. You all have a diamond day!

Trouble posting

  I spent two days writing that last post and then had trouble getting it to "publish". It got the first half of it.
  I did say that I was glad that it was finally fall.....well.....we skipped fall and dove right into winter this week. Last weekend it was 80*. Monday the cold front came through, like in the rest of the country, and it dropped and blew and blew. When I came home from getting groceries the wind was blowing 44 mph sustained and gusting to over 50 mph ! The double gate for the back yard blew over. The two wooden posts that held up one side of it snapped in half and that was it. lol The dogs did not appreciate the afternoon staying in the house. It was too windy to stand out there with them for this old lady. lol Then my dryer quit heating the dame day. Dang it! We will try to get it fixed this weekend. Here's hoping. I do feel bad for T as it is opening day of deer season come Sat a.m..

 This is our new sassafras bench. The ice storm of a few years ago did a lot of damage to the tops of 4 of  them and this year was the year they finally gave it up. 

 These are our guineas we got in the spring from cousin Kate. They are very entertaining. 

  Another week has gone by. Wasn't too bad - had a tiny bit of snow for a day. Got the dryer fixed and it works so much better than it did before! So nice. Been a fairly good week for these old bones. 

  I do not envy my sister this past week. They have been in the deer woods and it was down to single digits one night and teens several others. More power to them as the saying goes. She says this is her last year to go. Next year the guys can go alone and do their own cooking. lol 

  I think T's plan is to go to their family deer camp tomorrow and just spend the day hanging out and visiting. Not taking a gun or getting a license. That will be nice for him as we haven't seen them much this year. Haven't seen our son much at all this year either. Maybe next year. 

  Not sure if T will be working on Thanksgiving day or not. Guess we will find out next week. If not the plan is to go to Spfd and spend a few hours with his family. 

Some days are diamonds and some days are stones. You all have a diamond day! 

Every day things

  Every day I log in and think I'll post something and every day is just like the last day and there's nothing to say that I haven't said already. Here I go anyway....
  Fall finally arrived and I'm happy about that. Spring and fall are my favorite seasons. Makes it so nice to be outdoors and piddlin' in the yard or watching the animals.
  Tim is still driving for a company about 25 miles from here and working long hours 5 days a week. Has to be there at 6 and normally gets home about 7 or so. It is getting us by. Our mistake in 2013 and our penalty. Half the income but same bills. Nothing that we haven't done before. Just finding new ways to stretch things. Funny, I miss the insurance more than the pay. Isn't that sad? Okay, enough whining!
 All in all life is good. My family and friends are all holding their own so what more can I ask for?

  The kids have finished putting the deck back on the new house. They used the old one and re worked for the new place and added to it. Nice wrap around. They were able to keep most of one side of the cottonwood tree. Between the fire and the trimming it looks quite bare but will bounce back sooner or later. Dahlia did not start school this year like I expected but sure they just wanted her to be little while she can. Don't blame them. The grand daughter is due to have her baby sometime this month. It will be another boy. I believe they are naming him Bobby. A family name of the father. Haven't heard anything from her in many months but see and occasional post on fb.

 All the animals are doing well including 35 plus year old Buck. We got a little of his dental work done - might have been harder on Tim that it was on Buck. lol The rest of the herd is fat and sassy. Here are some of the little chubs. We have had enough grass this year and was able to buy enough hay for the winter. Still have some grass out there and it's November! Thank you , Lord!

  I have not posted in months. No particular reason other than nothing to say. Life is the same and some days rougher than others.

  Last Saturday we actually did something out of the ordinary, for us anyway. We went to a driving clinic. For horses. We had a really good time. I physically wasn't up to doing it but still learned a lot watching Tim and the other participants. There were about 18 people and 2 instructors. It was the first clinic they had given and they did a really good job of it. We will go again if they give another.

 This is Jazz. She had her harness put on and off about a dozen times that morning. What a patient girl. 

 Then there was ground driving to get the feel of giving directions not in the saddle. 

  A nice two wheeled cart was available.

 And my honey driving "2 Up" . He was the first one to make a clean run through the poles. 

  They also had a vis-a-vis (carriage) but it did not make very good turns for learning. A fun time for everyone! 

  We just started the incubator with some chicken eggs and a few guinea eggs and picked up 16 day old guineas from cousin Kate. They are in the chicken house in a makeshift brooder house. Hope this cold damp air doesn't get to them. 

  That's about it for now. You all have a diamond day!