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! 

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! 

If it's Tuesday......

   it must be .........our place. lol Don't have any idea what that's about. It's a rainy morning but still nice. About 60*. The cold front is about here. That will be our high for the day. I got a few things done outside yesterday getting ready for fall and winter. Outside stuff put away, plants in the house etc. Tim has the straw ready to mulch the elephant ears as soon as they die back. I will use some of the straw for the nest boxes. The hens will like that.
  I picked up a few of the blocks from my sister's house a week or so back. They are so beautifully done. Her handwork is wonderful.

So much work in each one. They will make the quilt shine. A wonderful gift that the women of our past have passed down to us. Our hands and minds are always busy. Thank you, Joan, Joann, Vena, Juanita and all the rest. They all taught us so much more than just how to use our hands.

    This will be a good day for a pot of beans and a little cornbread on the side. Maybe throw in some fried taters to go with it. When day breaks I'll get started on that.

 I love a good pot of beans! 

I did not get my beans going. I had to go to town this morning and as most people that live in the country that turns into a half a day chore....make those trips count! Gas was $3.02 so I filled my tank up. In some parts of the state it is below $3. 

  We have several grooms this week. That's always good. I've come out of retirement to do a few here and there and to help my old instructor. She has a rough time grooming some days and so I offered to help her out. 

  Now to figure out something for dinner. Better get after it. You all have a diamond day! 

  

Been 2 weeks

  since I posted. That's how interesting my life is...lol Tim says his new job is okay. He works different hours every day. They start at 6 and when they can come to stopping point he stops. Normally between 4-6. He's getting faster on his machine.

   The weather has been wonderful. Last week we got over an inch of rain in one day and the temps fell somewhat after that. Down in the 40's at night, highs in the 60's and mid 70's for the next few days. Just beautiful! Wish I was up for some outside activity. My hip is giving me fits for the last couple of weeks too. I think it's the weather change but could be from the 8 hour bike ride. It has finally let up a tiny bit the last couple of days. Here's to hoping it quits in the next few. 

  Sad news in my little furry kid dept. The local vet thinks Hank has bone cancer and there is not much to do about it. Amputating his leg will not extend his life any so we have decided to just let it take it's course. I will take him down to see if Dennis agrees with the diagnosis. We'll go from there. 

  We made it down to see the kid for a couple of hours. I made it through it without crying over my home being gone. They will be building a new house out in the pasture. We thought of that in years past and came to the conclusion that we liked the position of the house where it was. More private. What ever suits them will be great.....I still have the memories of our time there that only God can take away. There were such cute clothes for the kids that Ann found. Brenda was smart this time and tried them on and didn't feel the need to keep them all. We'll donate back to the Echo store. They don't need anything else at least until the new house is done. They were able to save the 80-90 year old cottonwood tree. Slightly scorched but still thriving. Aiden has been through a growing spurt. Up a size in the past couple of months. He's catching the bus every day and enjoying school now that he knows some of the rules. lol 

Time for bringing in the houseplants and as usual having trouble figuring out where to put them so they will make it through the winter.

Have a diamond day!

Monday,Monday

  Tim left for work over half hour ago and I'm trying to figure out whether or not to start another pot of coffee. I've had one cup and A hasn't stirred around yet. Maybe I'll just go back to bed soon instead.
  The day ahead looks like it will be beautiful. In the 70's and sunny. Surely no complaints there. I'm hoping to have the kids come up and go through the clothes that Ann brought. There is no sense in dragging all of them down there for her to go through and dragging back what she doesn't need. Easier for them to come here the way I see it. lol
  The three of us went to the bike rally in F'ville on Saturday. Wonderful day for a ride. About 160 miles. Boy, was I whooped when we got home. We rode in the bike parade and almost made the whole thing. Had about 3 blocks to go before T's bike overheated from all the slow and stop 'n go riding. It was a good time.

 Waiting in line for the parade to start. 

 Still waiting. Was starting to get a little warm in the sun. I was dressed for the ride home not for standing around. lol That's me with pony tail if you can't tell. 

 The line of bikes goes all the way out of site and we were about mid-pack. I was nicely surprised by the number of people that were along the road to wave at us and give us thumbs up. Never dreamed. One of the ladies in front of us was throwing candy to the kids and I swear she was baiting them. Not really but a couple of times she threw the candy and the kids darted out in front of A! He had to keep a close eye on the curb! I'm glad A wanted to go. T and I would not have bothered without him wanting to ride with a large crowd just once....it was really fun. The whole area was full of bikes. It's the country's largest charitable rally with the money going to several hometown charities. And family oriented too as you can see by the young girl with her daddy in the picture above. There were several like that near our section of the parade. No nude crap going on etc. I'm sure after sundown, down town .......not up my alley at all haha. 

  I finished my quilt blocks! Have all my share of them done except the medallion for the middle. I intend to start on that today. Will be appliqueing the star Aunt Jo made to muslin. Then when my sister gets done with her share we'll start putting it together. yay! 

  Guess I better get after the rest of my diamond day! You all have a good one!  

Throw away Thursday

  Bet you thought I forgot about getting rid of stuff! I haven't. I'm still clearing some of this "stuff" out. Slowly but surely. I will find something. lol

  Tim is supposed to start his new job on Monday if not before. The before part is running out of time. Guess the guy was mistaken. lol He'll be working in Neosho. About the same distance as it was to NWAr. Hope this one works out. As long as it doesn't make him sick like the other one did. And of course, wouldn't you know it, once again, his work day will start at 6 a.m....no rest for the wicked I guess. I just keep telling myself........just 10 more years, just 10 more years.......zzzzzzzz

  The kids have a temporary home while re-building.

The second photo is a view of their temp front yard. The trailer is actually in what we used as pasture and what they have been using as a play yard. The house will be razed and they plan to re build. I will know more about what they may need over the next few days. Insurance has taken care of most everything. 

  I'm behind in my quilting. I've got just a couple more blocks to throw together and can't quite seem to get it done. Dang it! Their anniversary is a few weeks away. Guess we'll strive for Christmas now. This will be 65 years for them. What a pair! 

  Better start my diamond day!   

  

  

A lot has happened this past week

.......the night after my last post my son's house burned down. Thank the good Lord they were not inside. To make a long story short they were outside roasting marshmallows and the kids were in the camper. It was electrical and started in the kitchen or the bathroom. Fire marshal could not tell for sure. They did have insurance and they will be fine. I lived in that house longer than I have lived in any house my whole life and I'm so sad that it is gone. Parts of it were over 100 years old. I was so happy there. Had dad not died when he did I would still be there. Kayserah or however you spell that. What will be will be......
 
  That was a Thursday night/Friday morning thing. On Sunday we had the annual family party at Mike and Linda's which was interesting in itself. A strange day was had by all. It will be the last pool party there until someone else in the family has a pool. Celebrated several birthdays as well. Was so good to see everyone. Even Jeannie and Bryan were able to make it. They have all grown into such wonderful people and parents. We brought home a few pieces of Tim's folks' art that Linda had. She wanted us to have them. And a table. They are still in the back of the van, lol.

   On Tuesday I picked up the little ones so Lee and Brenda could meet with fire marshal and the insurance people etc....make their list of "household contents" etc. They are in a motel for a couple of weeks and then will be in a rental until something is done on the house. They have to have it cleaned up of course and then replaced. Don't know at this time if they will build or what. Haven't talked to Lee to find out. He had to go back to work on Wed...He'll be off the next couple of days and we hope to be able to talk to him then.
 
  The kids do pretty well for a 4 and 6 yr old but I do worry about them. They are so spoiled that they have a hard time appreciating what they have. I know it won't stop.....I've seen it before years ago and the pattern is the same. Will be hard for them. Out of my hands....

  We saddled up Lacey and Tim rode a couple of minutes and then gave the little ones rides. They were able to hold the reins themselves and "do it all by myself!" Lacey just followed behind Tim walking. Very nice. We also rode bikes with them as we had their bikes here at our house. Otherwise they would have been on the deck and burned. Aiden is getting pretty good at it and Sissy is not too far behind. I have not been on my bike in a few years! Did not last long lol Neither did Tim but he did ride too.

  We've lost one more guinea since letting them out in the yard during the day. Down to 6. We put them up at night and let them out early. The roam around in the outer edges of the yard fences and make their way back into the car port come dusk. I'm so looking forward to them growing up and guarding the yard. lol I love the noises so far. I will update that much further down the road. Haha. They get pretty loud! And no, I have not nor will I name any of them.....

 

Another great day in the Ozarks

....it's a beautiful morning! About 70* and the sun is shining. Of course at noon when it's almost 90* and steaming I won't have that same opinion. lol
  Went out to feed and check on the guineas. We turned them out in the yard yesterday. They will have to find their own little niche among the critters. We will keep the cats in for a few days and supervise the dogs while they are out with us. Will be so neat to have them hanging in the yard.
  The kids dropped by yesterday on their way to the zoo. Was so good to see them! It was Aiden's birthday, a big whopping 6 yrs old. Life moves so fast. Hope they had a wonderful day. I know they did get to see Karen while in town. I'm sure it made her day.
  Tim has gone this a.m. to take a driving test for a company up north. Sure hope this one works out for him. What ever happens it will be the way it's suppose to be.....
  Have not uploaded any pictures of the new floor etc but it sure is nice. If we live long enough we may get all the floors fixed haha. Good thing T plans on living to be 105!
  I got the embroidery done on the star. Have 2 more blocks to put together and may be able to start assembling some of it.  My sister is moving along on her end of it too.
  I snagged these pics from fb and thought they were so cute :

 Boiled egg toadstools with tomato topped with mayo

 mice with radishes,olives and carrots

How cute for a potluck or something! Hope I haven't already posted them. If I have, I apologize. There was also little piglets.

    Guess I'd better hit the treadmill before it gets any later. Have a diamond day!

  

Sunday morning

  ......and I love the sound of the rain on my metal roof! It's been almost a month since we've had rain. It rained yesterday all around us for hours and finally we got .14". Big whoop! It rained several hours at my friend's house and probably my sister's. It sounds like we'll get a little bit more out of what's coming down now.

  We bought a horse yesterday. I know, I know, we have so many...but it was the right thing to do for us. He's mature and just perfect. I feel bad about him right now as he has no protection from the storm but the others have been in that same boat. He probably has too some time in his life. The little girl that he belonged to is ready for a much faster one. He wouldn't go fast enough. Likes to walk. Buck seems to be the only one really bothered by him. Maybe he's just glad there will be someone he can boss around besides Betty. I will get pictures of him today and post soon. I just checked outside and everyone is fine. In their correct pastures etc. and munching away.

  Aiden has been sick this week. Brenda needed some rest but a few days ago Aiden got sick. She ended up in the ER yesterday with him. He's getting better but needed some hydration. IV and some meds for his nausea. He didn't even want to try a Popsicle! Poor little guy. I didn't see them all week! I missed having them here actually. Sounds like I may not get to see them much - the kids have realized it might be too much for Brenda between the 5 screwed up discs in her back and all the rest.

  Almost the end of the day and I didn't get a lot done. Worked on the quilt awhile in between housework and other stuff. Had a diamond day.

Monday, Monday

  Another weekend gone and had a good time. Oh......unless you count that my van wouldn't start yesterday morning when we got ready to leave. I was being silly last week one day and when I got back from the store I left my lights on....insert sad face here.......ran the battery down and now the computer in it is confused!! Won't run worth a crap!

  Went to a friend's family dinner yesterday and had a really good time. Was so good to see her "kids" and their families. And meet her "new" sister in law. Had been years since we saw them all. Good food too.

  We are about a week away from starting to re-do one of the bathrooms. From the floor up...I hate the thought of it but am anxious to have it done. Generally don't mind the "retro" look but am so tired of cleaning that 1970's green sink and toilet!

 New dance move lol

 Showing off new cap 

That's the little ball cap I made for Aiden

Update! My van re-booted itself and is running just fine! Greg had said that sometimes when they get ran down after charging battery back up all you have to do is drive it for a few miles and it "remembers" it's program ! Thank the good Lord for that.

  The weather the past few days had been wonderful with less humidity. Still too dry. Been 21 days since rain. Maybe today! 

  Time to get back to work. Have a diamond day! 

Sunday morning

  Already Sunday and I don't know that I've got much done lately. A little housework and a little outside work. Maybe a little more today as it's supposed to get to 60*.
  We had more vehicle trouble this week. T went to get hay and took a long time. When he got back (thank the Lord)he told me what happened. As he was leaving the place he noticed a small amount of smoke coming from the front of the truck where the windshield wipers are. You know, the little grill looking thing in between them? It now looks like a real grill. Long story short - had some more smoke and then some flame. Thank goodness there was a fire extinguisher in the truck. We'll be able to look closer at the problem when T is off again. And maybe today I'll air out the truck and get some of the extinguisher chemicals out of the interior. A light dusting every where! If it weren't for bad luck! etc etc

 

  

Here's Aiden and Dahlia riding Buck last summer. They sure had fun. I probably have already posted these but just now got them uploaded to my laptop from the pc. 

 Took this a couple of weeks ago. Some of our wonderful pack enjoying our bed and the sunshine. I have to keep my good blankets covered with that throw to protect them. lol The cats are beginning to think they are dogs too. When the dogs get excited cause someone is here, so do the cats. They want to go out with the dogs and pretty good at coming back in with the dogs. I can't leave them out very long at a time because of the hawks and coyotes but they sure like it (and the sparrows) I can see I will have to put bells on them soon. Next craft project coming up. haha 

  The old roo is still living on the porch. I had him out in the yard again the other day and the youngster took after him again. The next morning I let him back on the porch much worse for the wear so I haven't made him leave the porch again. He's been a good roo and guess I'll just live with him on the porch til he passes. Gonna have to change the name of the place to something about an old "folks" home. Of course the name is Rockin'TNC so it could be taken both ways. haha 

You know....rocking the house! or sitting in a rocking chair. Hardy hardy har! 

  I've still not started Walker's quilt! Good grief. How easily I'm distracted or how slow I am ....not sure which is the case. Maybe today will be the day. Some days by the time I get the "have tos" done I've barely the energy to make my mile walk. Winter sure is tough on my soul. I hate it more every year. 

  Gonna be a diamond day in spite of it all! 

 

Tuesday 2 p.m.

  This a.m. about 9, I went back to bed until 11. I was just used up for no apparent reason. Or because I only had 5.5 hrs sleep. I need about 7, would like 8-10 if that was possible. lol It was a beautiful morning. I went out about noon and it was great! Let the cats go with us (me and the dogs) and they all had such a good time. Running and playing together and giving the chickens a bad time. lol I wish the weather would stay this way but I understand it's winter and it will be in the 30's for the highs real soon.
  I've not lost but a pound but I can tell I've lost some fat. Turned into muscle that is. I average a 30 minute walk, 5 days a week for the past 3 months at least. That's just over a mile. Just think how much I'd weigh if I wasn't walking! haha I hoped for extra energy that people talk about after exercising but have not experienced any of that. Insert sad face here.
  Great job on posting the picture! I knew you could do it. I enjoy reading your blog! Keep up the good work.

 Did I ever mention that I gave this peace lily to the dr's office last summer? I just couldn't keep it in the house any longer. I figured at least with it there I could see on occasion. It's behind the desk now - was out front in the center lobby. May have moved it because of the Christmas tree. 

    Tim just sent me a message saying the van was fixed. We can pick it up tomorrow I think. Yay! 

  Just in time too. His car was making a strange noise when he drove up last night and again this morning. As much as I love to drive my truck, it is just a bit expensive to drive these days. 

  Better quit. You all have a diamond day!  

It's still morning but not for long. It's a beautiful day although it's only 32*. The sun is a welcome sight. In just a little while I'll bundle up and go do my chores. I walked a mile and a quarter this morning. Yesterday, a mile and a half. I'm determined to walk OVER a mile every time I walk. 

  The cats are on a terror. Running and playing. Poor dogs just try to stay out of the way. 

  Spring cleaning is on my mind. I'm still thinning this place out. Still have throw away Thursday. One day I may be finished. lol I think I have one room done and dang it if I don't think of something else I could live without. I think it would be easier if I could just throw it out but some things need to go to certain people so that kinda slows things down. 

  I also need to get started on Walker's quilt. His birthday is in April! 

  I've almost got this year's calendar done too. Got 7 months done yesterday. A few more and I'll be done with that little project. It's no big deal now that I only make my own instead of 15 of them for family. 

  Genealogy has slowed to a crawl. It happens in spurts. I spend a few days doing nothing but research and then quit for a week or two. Of course that will never be done. 

  Guess I'll post now. It's almost our bedtime and I'm just now getting back here. Had a diamond day! Later

Last day of 2012

  Well, I figured I'd better at least post on the last day of the year. I did better this year than last on the number of posts I think. I'm not going to bother deleting this year. At least not any time soon.
  Between laundry, cooking tater soup and the phone I'm not sure I can get this posted before the new year. lol
  T wasn't feeling so good today so he's resting. Not being able to edit photos on this laptop makes it a pain to post pictures. I hate to have to download on the pc, edit and then download or send them to this one. How silly.
  The past few weeks I've been down. Between the season and the weather I guess. I so wish it was already spring time!
  We got the cats all fixed! Yay! No babies now. You couldn't even tell they had been operated on. That same evening they were running and playing like crazy. Hoping to get the dogs taken care of this year. It's just healthier for them. Well, maybe not Misty as she's too old I think for surgery unless it's mandatory. You know what I mean?
  Jeanne is still having trouble with her feet. I know sometimes it takes months but I hate seeing her in such pain.
  My sister and I went to see our step-mom at the home and went grocery shopping after. Had a quick visit and spent the rest of the day shopping. My dogs were barking when we got home. My feet, not my real dogs.lol I had already walked a mile on the treadmill before she picked me up. Two stores later and then I had to feed the horses again after dark. Dang what a long day but had fun.
  Our "storm" turned into a nice cold rain but it will freeze tonight and make it slick by morning. Although it's already dark and the temp is still at 33*. I wish the horses would stay in the barn but they prefer the woods.
  Well, here it is another day has passed. It is now Jan 1 ! A brand new year, a fresh start for us all. My friend Jan called this evening. Sounded sad but hopeful. Life wears you down after a while , you know what I mean? It was nice to hear from her. We don't talk much these days. Her phone is limited on minutes.
  We had a nice quiet day. A perfect way to start the year. We don't do the "new year's dinner" superstition thing. We had spaghetti for dinner. This morning we had creamed eggs on biscuits. Good stuff. Not real healthy but good anyway.
  Enough rambling. Maybe this year I'll have more to say.

New toy

  A few weeks ago I bought myself a laptop that was on sale. A notebook actually. 14" wide. I'm learning how to keep my hands away from the little touch pad while typing. And learning how to deal with a computer that tries to think for me!!!! If you take too long in doing something .....sometimes it makes your decision for you. The damndest thing.....I will be months in organizing my photos in this new program. For years I've been using a Kodak program and it is now unavailable. I may buy a mini mouse to speed up the process. It's pretty slow with the touch pad. lol
  Got my mile in this a.m...been a few days. I just wasn't feeling quite up to it so I didn't. Got to make myself do it no matter what. It's important to me.
  Sometime in the next month or so we have to buy new phones. We're still using Alltel phones. Have had them about 5-6 years, something like that. Verison(sp) is now saying we need to use new phones and that our old ones won't work after the new year. That really sucks. I guess they're tired of us not spending enough money with them. I hate to change phones for several reasons. You do what you gotta do.

 Going through the pics on the laptop, this is still one of my favorites. I know, it has a burn cage in it but I was so blessed that these two girls trusted me enough to lay down with me just a few feet away. I had to step back to get them in the frame. 

 First time I ever saw Betty actually laying down. She's 17 hands and looks small for the first time. lol 

Much needed hay supply for winter that we started feeding in July. Dang it! 

Didn't realize this didn't post on the 19th! Must have been busy on that day. 

  

  

It's a great start....

     to Sept.! We got 2.3" of rain!!!!!! How cool is that? Our vacation started on the 31st of August. Was a really nice and relaxing time. We puttered around the house, got a few things done. Played with the kittens. I'll get a picture of them later. Mawmaw Kitty has decided to no longer live here. She figures the babies are okay with us and left them for her freedom. Too bad for her. I sure hope that Jonathan's friend Chris can have a kitty. As much as he does for his mother I would think that would be up to him.
  Anyway, we have the little front pasture gated off from the kids and will try to seed that section this weekend. If Jose gets his well drilled soon we'll be able to do the other little pasture as well. We have the seed already (it was 25% off!). Yay! We'll be able to keep them off of it for most of the winter and hopefully spring too!
  Got Jeannie wormed again. I'm hoping it will help her. It may be that her teeth need floating instead. Not really a problem but not sure I can spare the $100 or so. I need all I can save for the winter hay. Her feet are still pretty sore but they are improving her ability to get around.
  I missed throwaway Thursday a couple of times last month. This month I plan to make up for that. I will be moving the "cow collection" to the shop and next spring it will go to the trash if no one comes after it. I need the space in the garage for this winter. I'm thinning this crap down no matter how I have to get rid of it.
Gotta go - storm is coming...Diamond day

Note from dry country

  We have at least 4 more banties this a.m.. Three from yesterday and another one this a.m...cute little babies. Okay, that gives us: the original 3 from Mike + 5 teenagers+4 babies=12...now if the dang heavy hens could learn to do that! Out of the seven Blackie had she only managed to save one after a few weeks. Barn cat at it again. What to do about that?

  Speaking of barn cats they are down to two most of the time and another that stops by to visit from time to time. Oh, and Mawmaw kitty is probably pregnant again. If she is I plan on capturing the litter this time and taming them. If I can catch her, I may have her spayed.

   All this month the sky has given us a show just before daylight with Venus and Jupiter showing close together along with the crescent moon a couple of days and a really bright star thrown in for good measure. I saw the one with the crescent moon and it was really cool too. My picture isn't all that great but you get the idea. I need to actually leave the ramp and maybe go to the other side of the orchard for a better view. But then I have nothing to stabilize my camera with. Oh woe is me! 

Automatic float valve, where have you been all my life? Sure is nice. 

Jose's cows looking at one of the horses. Some of them are so cute. The large one is the bull. Beefy little sucker even if he is short. 






  There's a little green on the radar that may bring a few drops of rain to Jose's pond but think it will miss us. Dang it! Gonna water the orchard again today. It's just after 11 and it's 93*.  The wind has calmed down a little from this a.m.. but still a breeze. Every bit of the green just disappeared! Dadgumit! Up to 97*

  

This was in 09 at Di's family reunion on the coast. Did you see on fb that Kathy and Joe are going to Puerto Villarta? Spelling? The same place we went to decades ago. 

  

  Don't remember if I've ever posted this one from the wayback machine. On the "Hill" in Scappoose about 1968. 
  It's been a diamond day. Visited on the phone with Kate for about an hour. Everyone's fine up that way. Enjoying her birds. 

Good morning!

  It's late morning and have done outside stuff. Tim has gone after a bale of hay. We'll see how much the price has gone up due to the drought. I bet it doubles. I pray it doesn't but bet it does. ....

  With a little luck I'm not repeating the pictures. I should go check but what the heck?! Not sure you can tell the one in the middle is two colors. White and sage of some sort. I like the primary colors.

  More than doubled on the hay but that's the way it goes when fighting mother nature and the greed of the big corporations. If he didn't get charged a bazillion dollars for growing it , he wouldn't have to double his price to break even. I'm just glad it's available this close to home. We'll be able to buy almost half of what we'll need for the whole winter (and now). Will have to start saving for the rest. The best laid plans as they say. lol

  Here's a few Cherokee purples and a yellow. The yellow are pretty tasty too. Less acid, you know.
The chains are what we use for hanging feed buckets.

 

  Here's our baby pool. Just the right size for the two of us. Could be the two of us and the two little ones. I've already enjoyed it a few times just all by my lonesome. lol  

 

 These are Ottertail tobacco plants. I spread hundreds of  seeds and got hundreds of little plants with no place to put them. How smart was that? I've seen tobacco on tv that appeared to be 4-5' tall. Obviously these will never reach maturity as they are in pots. Now I need to figure out how to cure what little leaves I get at the end of the season. I remember reading it takes 2 years before it's ready to roll. Any guesses?



  Was a stone very early this a.m. but turned into a diamond and will continue to be!

 

Started early

   this morning. Was around 5:45 when I saw the cat lurking around the chicken yard. We're down to only two babies and we're pretty sure it has to be the cat. We have kept the chickens confined for the most part and she still lost a couple over the past two weeks. Tim says he's still planning on moving the hen house to the carport and that it won't happen there. Hannah is becoming quite a hand at helping herd the chickens. She stalks and goes on point and slowly walks behind them as we move to the pen when rounding them up. How funny!
 I forgot to mention that on the Fourth I gave Mary Lou, Tena, Cheryl,Athena a small basket each and sent one with Ann so she could pass one to Jeannie. I still need to take one to Pam when we go up next. Guess I could mail Nelta and Erica one. Just wanted to be sure that everyone has one before I can't make them any more.
  After scaring the cat off, I let the birds out and started Buck on his breakfast. Painted another coat on a lawn chair. I may get them done before summer is over. I only buy paint every couple of weeks. haha
Topped off both tanks and watered flowers. Blah blah blah......oh, and mowed a few strips of the yard that needed it - don't intend to mow the whole thing as it's way to dry. Brushed down Buck really well and Cotton had his turn without the extra feed. Sprayed down Hank with flea spray. His hair is growing back but every few days has to be treated. We tried the spot on stuff even every 3 weeks like Chip suggested but it didn't work. Spraying and benadryl seem to work best for him this year.

  Chatted with this lovely girl about 3:45 this a.m.. She had been up all night I presume. Didn't chat long but was nice of her to say hey. Said she didn't know if she was coming down to see her dad or not this summer.

  Remember at the end of the day you can always relax by the fire.
Forgot to tell you that I talked to big brother a few days back. He's doing okay and still living up north.

It's a diamond day....

Post Fourth

The end of the neighborhood parade 

Coolest sport umbrella 

Fun had by all most! We didn't swim as I don't even own a suit. 

I did however just get out of our baby pool and boy did it feel good. Just enough shade for my shoulders and had my cowboy hat on. Isn't that a picture? lol 

  We had the little ones for 4 days and that was a blast. I loved having little ones in the house again but I had forgotten how many questions they could ask. Felt like the guy in the commercial with the little boy asking all those questions and him finally telling the little guy to go ask his father. Linda came down on Friday to visit with us for a few hours. That was nice. We had a good time just playing with the kids.  

  Took the other 3 dogs in for their vax and rabies. That was a quick $135. Good thing it's an annual thing. Just had Hank in there a few weeks back and got his then. The rabies are good for three years. I was getting concerned about the rabies since there seem to be an awfully lot of them this year in surrounding counties. Can't be too careful. Would like to get the horses theirs but that is a little too much this year. Got enough going on with bills, doesn't everyone? 

     Speaking of bills, I filled my tank again this morning at $3.17. Tim must have used the van in the past 2 weeks......oh, we used it on the trip to Spfd! I was thinking good gosh, I never leave the house and still cost $38 and change to fill it!

   Checked the water troughs as it is so hot and dry everything is drinking twice as much. The bird bath is empty two - three times a day. Poor little birds. Even some that never come down to drink have been visiting. Topped off the horse trough. Cow trough was full. That auto fill valve is great! Gave the chickens some left over watermelon. They love that stuff. 

   

   Hard to see through the screen but look at all those dirty birds! One day there was about 15 at the bath. 

 

Noah's Ark

 

Got somethin' in her shoe 

Look at that dead grass. The pasture is so bad. Have already started feeding hay! Gonna be a long winter trying to keep hay. If we can find it. 

  Been a diamond day!