Whole lot a Croakin"

Warning ahead of time. Most of this post is about the loss of a dear family pet. If the subject or how I choose to handle it bothers you then come back another time. My feelings won't be hurt.

I have posted many times about our dog Holly. She was always a problem child but all she had to do was come put her head in my lap and look up with her sad brown eyes and all was right with the world. She chased and sometimes killed small animals, chased cars, got skunked a world's record number of times, ran off to the neighbors, dug up the garden, and in general, caused a lot of unrest and mayhem. That is probably why she was dumped on our doorstep 2 years ago when she was about 1 year old. We watched her try to make it out on her own in the middle of winter for almost a week outside and then finally took her in. She immediately became our other dog, Daisy's best friend. But instantly, my 2 house cats because prisoner's of our bedroom for the next 2 years. They were in total fear of Holly, and for pretty good reason.

But even tho we thought of rehoming her several times over the last 2 years, she stayed our dog up until the end. The last few months we finally decided she would only go out on a leash and that actually worked out pretty well. She would get walked each and every day with me and she could go on as long as I could. Gave me good reason to get out and go each day. We also took her out to cruise the yard when the weather was good. She didn't get the chance to chase rodents thru ditches but she still seemed to love being out on the prowl with us.

Little did we know that big trouble was brewing. Holly had always paid a lot of attention to her tail. Chased it in circles all the time. She would finally catch it and then lick it for a bit and then settle down and forget about it. However, the last month or so it did get a bit more extreme. The chasing started every evening and would be a bit more frantic. The vet had checked her tail one other time and did not find anything so we figured allergy and gave her benedryl. It did seem to work but in actuality, it probably just made her sleepy.

Suddenly, Sunday evening she started her usual tail chasing and it got so out of control so fast that we did not react to it nearly soon enough. She growled and barked at it until she finally caught it and actually bite into it hard enough for it to bleed. But it was not over. She just got worse. So we double dosed her on the antihistamines and put her in her kennel to calm her. But she probably messed with it all night and kept it bleeding til we got her out Monday morning.

As soon as we got her out of the kennel she started in again and it was horrible. She was howling and if she caught her tail she would bite down on it and the blood was everywhere. We were at the vet's door when they opened but by that time, she, me, the car and the office were a bloody mess.

The news was not good. The vet was not sure, but felt there was a very strong chance that she had a spinal nerve abnormality. And even if the tail could be docked successfully, she would have still had the sensation of pain in it and would have been miserable. And nothing we could do with medication would have helped much. The other diagnostic considerations were even worse.

So I talked it over with DH and the vet and we made the decision to have her cross the Rainbow Bridge and end the suffering. I went into the kennel area at the clinic, sat on the floor and said my goodbyes. They had heavily medicated her and put on a collar but she just looked so miserable and her tail was hideous to look at. It was a hard decision and one I may second guess for some time to come. But if an animal is suffering you want to make them better and this was the only option we felt would take the pain away.

So I choose to remember her in a few pictures that give me happy memories. Holly loved the snow and I caught this first picture last year during our one good snowstorm.

As much as she didn't mind being cold, she sure liked to lie in front of the wood stove and warm up.



She also loved the comfort of a comfy loveseat.




And here is one of the final pics I have of the dogs together. Taken right before Christmas.



But now, on a happier note. A couple posts ago I posted a pic of the frog that lives in my pond. But he was under water then and today he posed quite nicely for several pictures. Must have been the awesome weather we had today. Warm, sunny and just the slightest of breezes.








Oh, and while I was out snapping pics of the toadie, the roosters were also strutting their stuff. Horatio was willing to let me get pretty near him with the camera and here is the result.





I better get out and close up that chicken coop. As soon as that sun goes down, they head up to safety and want me to lock them in til morning.

The Inspector General

Sorry I have been missing. Our only source of internet access is by an aircard. We searched high and low and found the best deal with the best price and the most amount of available bandwidth. Still, with DH now at home all the time, we went all the way to the max amount available by the third week in January. So for a week, I could only check my email on my "not-so-smart" phone and I could also scan Facebook, if I didn't expect to see pics or make comments.

But finally, the first of February arrived and we can now surf the internet with wild abandon. Except maybe DH needs to not download tons of quadraphonic music this month. And no movies. That is what the Netflicks mail option if for.

Like most of the country, we are having much warmer than normal weather. Most of us are jumping the gun and getting lots of gardening done. I have been careful to only plant what can stand a sudden cold freeze, especially if I can offer protection with row covers. I am going more and more towards raised beds and framework that will allow me to use row covers for what ever the weather throws at us. Frost blankets for cold, shade cloth for blazing sun, protection from the bugs and even from the chickens. The raised beds I have used in the past have not worked out to be all that sturdy or helpful. So this year I bit the bullet and spent the money on what I hope will be a better, longer lasting system. I am using regular, standard dimensional lumber from the big box home improvement store. But I am treating it with a new product which is supposed to be an eco friendly product that is safe to use around pets and food, and is reported to protect the wood from rot for many years. I bought mine on line but found out later that Home Depot is also supposed to carry it. The corners I purchased from Gardener's Supply Co. I decided on the 10" set but I might have been happier with the 12". Another thing I realized as I put my bed together was that I wish I could have screwed it together from the outside and not the inside. I know they designed it this way to have a nice clean look but if I ever do need to change the wood sides out, I will have to empty the bed first. Even to add an extension set would require at least exposing the one long side. But still, I think it is a lovely raised bed and with my addition of PVC supports for the differing row covers, I think it will be very useful.

Of course, nothing can be done with out the approval of the Inspector General. I think all 5 of the team are happy with the new bed. They are dreaming of some luscious veggie that I can grow for them to snack on!!










I finally have had to make a decision about my pond. The pump and filter system is just not keeping things clean enough. So after talking to my local pond guy, I have decided to add a waterfall filter to this side of the pond. I really wasn't wanting to do a waterfall, but he assures me I can easily add one, it doesn't have to be all that tall or hard to hide the mechanics and it will keep the pond so much cleaner. So here in the next month I will attempt to add this feature and hope that I can keep things looking attractive. It shouldn't cost all that much and the time involved shouldn't be too bad. But I swear, if I don't end up with a cleaner pond, I will go throttle the darned pond man.



Today, I picked my first spring bouquet. Daffodils out of a large field that runs by my daily walking path. There are so many wonderful wild daffs around our part of Tennessee and I just picked a few to brighten up the house. This is way too early for daffs and way, way to early for my magnolia which is also in full bloom.



The other day, I was not home and my DH decided that he was watching "the best sunset" ever in our new adopted state. So he grabbed my camera and shot away. Mind you, he knows nothing...nothing about my camera. When I ask him to take a picture with it, even with me setting it up, he never gets a good shot. So how in the world did he gets these? Must have been some devine intervention. Enjoy!

Some say, "Boots on the Ground"...I say, "Hands in the Dirt"

Boots on the ground. Used to be a military saying to indicate that the planning stages of an operation were over. That soldiers would now be out getting the job done. Now everybody uses it for everything. But I digress :).

For me, winter is filled with gardening catalogs, filled with all kinds of new inspiration for spring. And my head gets filled up with all kinds of new veggies to grow, ways to grow them and then what to do with them after harvest. I drool and dream over all kinds of new flowers I want to use in the landscape to make my world more colorful. But mostly, us gardeners just impatiently wait for the first time we can go out and plant something and get it all going once again. We just hang in there barely, until we finally can go out and get those hands really dirty for the first time of the new year.

And I did that today. Planted peas. Peas need cold and can even tolerate moderate freezes once up and growing. I presprouted my seeds to help them get up and going even faster. I watched the weather reports and knew we have an entire week. at least before the next frost. So today, the presprouted seeds went in and hopefully, they can finish the sprouting process in this next week and be off and running before we have any more seriously cold weather. I do have my beds set up to be able to cover the plants if that old silly weatherman suddenly tells me that we are dipping down into the low 20's or even below. If it really got cold, 15 or below, I would probably loose it all. But that package of seeds cost just over a dollar. I think my pocketbook can handle that. Not sure my spirit will do as well!!

But I do have some nice things growing as we speak. Growing enough to even harvest some. This last fall I took my chances and planted some lettuce and spinach. I got them in very late and had serious doubts as to how successful I would be. But the weather has been pretty mild so far this year and I have been pretty religious in covering the beds when it did get down into the lower 20's. So, so far, so good. And tonight we get a salad to celebrate.

I also have a bed of garlic, planted this fall, that is growing very nicely. We should have all the garlic that we need for the next year!




So, now out of the garden and onto the wilder side of the yard. The pond. I have had 2 really cool frogs living in my pond, almost from the beginning. Whenever it is even a little bit warm out, they come out onto this rock and sun themsselves. Of course, if I get anywhere near, they immediately jump back into the water and hide under the rocks. But today, I almost got him. He was there with the camera trying to focus and he jumped away just a hair too soon. But he only got into the water and I still was able to at least get this picture of one of them.





Here's a picture of last week's birdfeeders from outside the apartment door. Thought you might want to see what it all looks like from this angle. For now. Till I change the feeder poles out for a new easier to use one.



Last, but not least....you must see the chickens as I see them every afternoon about 2. They know they get to run free about this time everyday and they get so wound up and ready that it is quite humorous. Especially the boys. They just can't wait to get out and be boss of the bigger barnyard.





The more that we let them free range, the less they eat the food that we have to buy for them. So the cheaper our eggs are and probably the healthier they are for us. But we could never let them run loose all the time, out here in the country with all the predators that lurk about. Including the one that lives in our house. Holly, the fox terrier/chicken terrier/cat terrier/skunk terrier/squirrel terrier..........and so on, and so forth

Who Knew, I might actually BE a morning person?

I have never been a morning kind of person. Normally, I am not a great sleeper and what sleep I do get tends to be late in the sleep cycle and by morning, I am just not all that ready to put boots to the ground.

But all that changed when these came to live with us.






That beautiful rooster above goes by the name Hamlet. He has a brother, Horatio. They don't find any need to be extra quiet in the morning. And as soon as they sense the slightest bit of light in the sky they start crowing to be let out of the coop and down into the run.



And if the weather is particulary cold, I must take the waterer back in the house and refill it with warm water because chickens really must drink a lot and often to be healthy. If you let them drink really cold water, it chills them from inside, and that's not so good.

So once I get all that done, there are 2 very hungry house cats to be dealt with. Most mornings, my old grey kitty is awake and on my upper chest just about the same times as the first rooster crows. He is not all that happy about being 2nd in line but he doesn't get a choice. So as soon as I get back in, that can of cat food gets popped open and that makes them happy campers til evening.

Next up, 2 doggies. One who sleeps in the house and one out in a kennel in the garage. Both are very ready to go outside. Not as much for a nature call, as one to observe what the outside world has to offer them today. So poor tired, sometimes cold me is out trying to get both of them to stop nosing all around and get the necessary potty business done.

Then finally I get to pay just a little attention to me. I get to pour a cup of this.



And I get to take it and another bowl of cat food out to the guest apartment and feed Finn who is also waiting anxiously. Not for the food, but for the company. She has already watched me go make my morning runs out to the coop and she is also not happy that she was not first in line!!



I knowit looks like she could miss a few breakfasts, but actually, she is still a kitten and not all that plump. It was just this position she takes on the floor when she knows I am on my way in the door. She wants her belly rubbed immediately. Before the cat food, before I can sit down to drink that coffee and start the most peaceful part of the morning.

Bird watching. Right outside the french doors of the apartment is a wonderful garden, now with bird feeders positioned for the best view from indoors. I pull the chair into a prime spot, and sit with that coffee in such blissful quiet. Sometimes Finn even bird watches herself, from a perch right by the door.



But much of the time, she thinks she can get those birdies if she really tries. And that involves several charges to the door. The doors, that she finds are very inconvenient for her birding instincts. Oh well, lots of much bigger predators live outside, including one of my dogs. So she will eventually get used to the fact that she can only sit and watch the show.













None of these pictures can come close to capturing the experience I am getting every morning. I find that just getting near the window with the camera sends all the pretty birdies scurrying away. Many times I have as many as 10 adult male cardinals and their mates, 2 or 3 tufted titmice, 2 to 3 blue jays, numerous Carolina Chickadees, white crowned sparrows, white bearded sparrows, towhees, juncos, house finches, ect. Also one very gorgeous red bellied woodpecker. Then of course, the squirrel. Soon I plan on getting one of those really good feeder pole systems with the various add on arms. And a squirrel baffle. But once I do that, I will also buy a squirrel feeder cause, heck, if they already live in my yard, I should get to watch how cute they are. Yes, some call them tree rats. So what, I got ground rats too and unless they come inside, I happily let them live their lives.

But I guess the whole purpose of this post is to let you live my morning, vicariously with me. The peace and serenity that I get from these small hours is amazing. This morning, as I was ready to come in, Finn decided momma's lap was the softest, warmest, bestest place to take a morning nap. Allowing me even more time to watch those awesome birdies.

Hopefully I will start blogging a bit more. Now that I have found Pinterest.com. So many great ideas to do for the garden this spring. I am already working on several of them and should have reveal posts soon. See you then

The 3 Day

Signed up in February

Finished raising the funds in May

Lost Jan to cancer of the breast on June 1st

Trained all summer

Gathered all the stuff I would need to "camp" out for 2 nights

Trained some more

Fretted over what shoes and socks to buy

Trained some more

Finally, October, walked 6 miles in 3 days!!


This experience was amazing. Walking 60 miles to honor my dear friend Jan was so much easier than anything she had to go while trying to fight off this horrible disease. All the worry and prep was nothing. The blister that plagued me the last day was nothing. The aches and pains can be medicated and will slowly disappear over the next few days.

The money will go for research, education and treatment of breast cancer. Maybe someday we will find a cure. But until then, thousands of dedicated humans will walk millions and millions of miles to work towards that end. Others will volunteer to make it all happen which is just as important as the walking. And if you can not do either of those, you can be one who donates, even a little to get the walker on the road.

I went to Atlanta, saying I would not do this walk again. The fund raising was easy for me this time around. My group of friends were so supportive to both me and Jan by making this part effortless. But raising the money a 2nd time is rarely as easy and I did not want to bother my friends again. But honestly, I do want to participate and will try very hard to make it happen. We will just have to see if my schedule next year will allow it to happen in Atlanta or if there might be another city that would better suite my active social calender!!

Darn.....I was going to post pics. But can't seem to get them off my phone. Drat, darn, dang and damn.......Maybe later I can come back and add them

My other summer project.

This is my garage guest apartment. Open to any and all who care to visit. But be warned. I now have a permanent resident sharing the space. It is a long sad story about how I came to possess another kitty and I won't go into it here. But this is Finn, the surviving kitten from a pair that I rescued this summer. He can't come in and live in the house cause of all the dynamics of the animals that already live inside. But he does very well out here by himself. He spends lots of time playing with his toys, watching the wildlife out the window and relishing every minute that I come out to spend with him. He is a great kitty and I wish I could do better by him. But at least he is no longer living up a tree and now has some meat on that skeleton that I rescued a few months ago.

We call this Finn Land! He loves climbing on this and sleeping in the very soft bed. I plan on adding some more pieces to it as I find them. There is a tunnel and he needs another climbing wall to get up to the corner hidey hole at the top.

Here he is, probably watching the chickens. One time I let him out and he chased the biggest rooster. He is quite a brave little guy.

This was probably about a week after I took him in. He has already fattened up considerably. He was really nothing but skin and bones when we found him.

This is his mean face!!! But really he has a very sweet disposition.

So now, this is my new fish pond. In the walled garden behind the guest apartment. I dug it entirely by hand, moving the buckets of dirt way across the yard to fill in low spots elsewhere. I estimate it to be about 300+ gallons. Which is a lot of dirt. I would have loved a bigger deeper pond. But those 300 gallons of dirt about did me in.
Somehow I did not end up with any pics of the pond during the in between stages. No laying of the liner, no pics without the edges sticking out. In other words, you get to miss the ugly stage completely. I don't miss it at all.

This is some of the pretties that I have to make the pond even nicer. These statues are not your run of the mill Hobby Lobby ones. They are real art work. And not horribly expensive. I bought both pieces so far on sale and even with shipping were under $100.00 each. And I have a spitter coming that will match these and it was under $50.00
Right now I have a fountain going off the pump to help aerate the water. I have since changed out the fountain head to a bubbler cause when the wind blew it almost emptied the pond over the course of 2 days. The bubbler does not blow as much and still provides the oxygen the fish need to survive.
The plants are ones I just quick bought to help green up the pond and help hide the rough edges of the "manmade"pond. When I brought them home it was horribly hot and I just plunked them in the water expecting them to acclimate wonderfully. Not so. Several did suffer in the hot sun. But they have all recovered fairly well and are slowly growing. Most are perennial but at least 2 are annual. The water lily came from Ken's cousin Sheila in Ohio. She has gorgeous fish ponds of her own that I hope to visit some day.
In these pics everything looks one color. Beige. But with the flower beds surrounding the pond, there is actually quite a bit of color. And now the fish are finally comfortable in the pond and we see glimpses of orange and white all the time. I am not going with Koi. This pond is a bit small. I went with pond variety goldfish that are sturdy and won't get quite so large even after many years. So far we have not had any predator issues and even Holly doesn't seem to bother the fish when she sees them.

I still have a bit of work to do on the edges of the pond. One end is still a little low compared to the rest. And I need to take out the rocks and build it up to match. Then i should be able to fill the pond more and not let the upper liner show so much. The plantings need to be worked on next year. More and different plants are in order. I have been doing pretty well with the balance of the pond so far. I did have some string algae issues but got that quickly under control. next year I may add some trap door snails which are known for keeping the algae down pretty well. I did have a frog move into the pond area almost immediately. And i know for sure that we had at least 1 if not 2 batches of tadpoles mature and turn into frogs themselves because of my pond habitat!! That did make me a bit proud.

I would love to someday have even a bigger pond out front of the house. But unless I can get a backhoe to dig it out for me, it ain't gonna happen any time soon!!