Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Hello everyone,

The Memorial Day parade was awesome! Lucy-Goosey and I had a great time. She did really well for her first parade! She never bothered the red/white/blue bandana I tied around her neck. She was too busy looking at everyone and everything. Although we were not a large group, (5 dogs and 2 horses), we sure had a good time. Whew! It was rather warm that morning, and by the time we got back to the parking lot at the high school, my blouse was wet around the neck!

During the previous evening, a very bad storm hit the town, and in our parade route, we could see numerous large trees down all over the place. One of the gals that rode a horse told me that a neighbor of hers had part of her garage roof torn off. Gosh! I am so glad no one was hurt. I guess some people had a loss of electrical power for over 22 hours. We were fortunate, our power stayed on the entire time. On Sunday, there were at least 6 storms that rolled through in the course of the day. I talked to our friends down the road from us and they had four trees go down in their little woods by their home. One of the trees went across the road and stopped traffic. She said not long after it fell, someone moved it to the side of the road.

"Miss Piggy" is not to be found. Evidently she already sank to the bottom of the pond. I will probably never find her to bury her, and she will just decompose down there. Bummer.

I saw the most unusual thing the other day. I was standing at the kitchen window doing dishes and heard a bunch of birds squawking and making a lot of noise. I went to the sliding glass door and looked out. A big Blue-Jay was attacking a little English sparrow fledgling and had it on the ground pecking away at it quite fiercely. I rushed out and shooed the Blue-Jay away, but the damage was already done. It could not fly and was very distressed. Its one wing seemed to be broken. I ran and got the fish net and scooped it up into it and carried it to the garage. It had blood on its head and was so scared and breathing really hard. Shortly thereafter it died. Good grief! I never saw that happen in all the years I have been watching the birds in our back yard. Not sure why that Blue-Jay attacked the little bird. I can't find a nest near the house or in any of the trees in the back yard. Hmm.

Hard to believe May is almost over. The time seems to be going so fast. The weather the last couple days has been warm and sunny with a slight breeze. I did turn on the air conditioning last night. It was very warm and humid.

Hubby and I are going up to Kent this morning for him to get his books for his class, pay for the class, and check out where his classroom will be. He's only going to take one class this summer as he wants some time to relax and enjoy the summer off from teaching. The last two summers he has attended classes all summer for his Masters and it was very gruelling. Plus the driving of 92 miles a day, which is three hours up and back will be quite expensive this summer with the price of gas over $3.00 a gallon. Last week it reached $3.49! Ridiculous isn't it? Sure wish someone (Congress), anyone, could stop all the price gouging. I don't know how some families are making it, especially with children. Do they buy gas or food?

This Saturday the CCAPL will be at the Rib's burn-off at the Carrollton airport all day. Hope the weather is good! Then on Monday night we will be at the Canton Rd. Ponderosa from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Then Tuesday night is the meeting. Lots to do between now and then.

I am taking a couple weeks off from work at the Victim Assistance office to enjoy some time with hubby before he starts his class.

We are going to try and go fishing on Friday. We will probably get our fishing license today when we get back from Kent. $20.00 a piece for an adult. We will probably try and go next week sometime during the week. Hubby doesn't like to go on the weekends. Too much activity on the lake for quiet fishing.

That's all for now, folks. Enjoy, laugh often, stay safe, and count your blessings...one-by-one.
Becky

Sunday morning, May 27, 2007

Hi, Folks,

Well, it has been an interesting week. I can't find "Miss Piggy." Wednesday while feeding the fish in the early morning, I noticed she did not come to feed. I really didn't think a thing of it at the time as she does this now and then. When she didn't appear on Thursday, I started searching for her among the aquatic plants in the pond and the large Lily pads. I couldn't spot her anywhere. Hmm. By Friday I was getting worried, still searching among all the plants, as she still had not shown up to feed. Yesterday I went down in the pond and walked all around it---searching for her. She was a very large orange and white (on her body), fantail fish and we have had her in the pond for about seven years. Now I know fish don't live forever, but gosh, she was my favorite and now I believe she is gone.

Hubby said if she died, she would have floated to the surface for at least a few days being it has been so warm, but she has not. I can't imagine she got caught down in the Lily pad stems, unless she was weak from spawning and didn't have the energy left to do so, but gosh, I moved them all around when I was in there yesterday, and they are not that thick. Couldn't find her anywhere.

She was the last of the somewhat original fish we put in the pond years ago when it was established. This is a real bummer. I know, it is just a fish, but hey, I feel bad I couldn't find her to rescue her. She certainly produced plenty of offspring, but none of them are built like she was. She was very plump and wide from top to bottom...not long like a Koi or goldfish. She had the most beautiful white fan-tail with a little bit of orange through it. Extra bummer.

This past week was also the anniversary of my sister-in-law's death. She was a very loving, and caring wife, mother, and grandmother. I still miss her smiling face and great sense of humor.
She lost her courageous battle with cancer. She was and will always remain a very special lady to me.

Memorial Day, Goosey-Lucy, the recent adopted-beagle and I are going to be in the parade in town for the new animal organization. I hope I have arms left by the time we get done. She is not obedience trained, and is such a wild thing. I am going to take her into town today and have a practice run. Plus, I decorated a large poster board sign and will have that around my neck with a rope. This should be interesting and a challenge.

Herman is doing well, and comes to feed when I feed the fish. He sure is growing! I did get him out the other day and checked to see if he is a male or a female. I believe he is a male, or I would have to rename him to Henrietta or something of the sort.

Tomorrow is Memorial Day. Remember the fallen who gave their lives. So many lives, so many wars, so much sacrifice. I wish the war we are in would be over soon.

Stay safe, be blessed, and count each day as a blessing. Whatever diversity you face, whatever trials you are having, remember, celebrate your life everyday. It is a gift. Share it. Give someone a hug, call someone and lift their spirits. Help someone in need. Be kind to animals.

Have a great week!
Becky

Sunday, May 20th, 2007

Hello, everyone.
I was privileged to have two book sales and signings this past week. I met a lot of nice and interesting people. Some are dealing with domestic violence in their lives, and others know of someone experiencing it with a member of their family, neighbor or a friend. So sad. The more people know about it, and do not close the door on it, the more they can educate themselves and others to recognize the signs and get help. There are so many resources available today, either on the Internet, libraries, and at Victim Assistance offices nationwide.

I am looking forward to another book sales and signing in Canton, Ohio June the 8th.

I passed out pages of information I put together to help someone. Hopefully they will take the warnings to heart and help someone get out of an abusive relationship and get a better life. They deserve it.

The weather sure cooled down considerably this past week. Saturday morning, hubby and I went out to the garden at 6:45 a.m. with the sprinkling cans and washed off the frost of the plants. He did his corn and potatoes, I did the rest. Gosh it was cold. Brr. I heard it is going to warm up this week. That certainly will be nice.

This is short today as I have finished the inside dusting, sweeping, etc, and the laundry. Now I must get outside, with a jacket on, and work in my numerous flower beds. Since the rain, it is a lot easier to pull out weeds and grass that never seems to stop growing. How come those things grow so much better than the flowers at times? Hmm.

Have a great week, and stay safe.
Blessings to all.
Becky

Sunday morning, May 13, 2007 Wow!

Hey, folks,
Not sure where you live, but here in my corner of the world it was absolutely gorgeous, and close to perfection, weather-wise. I was able to accomplish so much outside, well, almost, until I managed to run the poker-stick weed-thing into my thumb yesterday afternoon. Yikes! No sooner than I did it, blood spurted out, leaving many trails across my fingers and palm. I ran to the house, called for hubby, he opened the door for me, and helped me run cold water on it. I thought I was going to faint, but the pain was so bad I believe it kept me from fainting. My gosh did that hurt. The cut was wide, but not all that deep, I guess. (I didn't pry it apart to check it!) Hubby wanted me to go into Stat -Care, but after the bleeding almost stopped, Neosporin and a Band-aid, worked fine. I did call the hospital and asked the nurse how long a tetanus shot was good for and she said, "Ten years, but if it is a dirty cut, it would be safer to get a booster."

Well, my hand was clean before the poker sliced through my thumb, and then it bled right away, so I'm sure I will be fine.

Yesterday, (before thumb incident), hubby helped me when I got down into the pond. I had a spiral plant in there that seemed to be Topsy-turvy, or on it's side at least. There was a lot of mushy debris attached to it, and the plant was not doing well. So, I put on my shortest shorts, and went into the pond. The bottom is full of mushy debris, but after a while you get used to it.
Anyway, I started cutting the spiral plant away, plus pulling out the most rancid smelling stuff. It actually smelled like manure! Major yuck-o! Hubby stood by while I handed clumps to him and he threw them in the wheelbarrow. Some stuff was so slimy, I could not hold onto it, so hubby got me a small bucket and that worked. (I did clean out the filter yesterday morning, but with removing the spiral plant, I'm sure it will need cleaning again very soon. ) We also put the aerator in the other end of the pond.

I spotted another Baltimore Oriole yesterday, and a female one too! That makes three males and one female. Also, I am delighted that they are eating the grape jelly I put out on the platform feeder, along with the oranges. The Yellow Warbler was back yesterday evening too. So beautiful. I love to hear the morning doves and their mournful songs, and yet along comes the Blue Jays and their alarm-call-sounds to wake everyone up and get a reality check! They are so voice-full. Then the soft trilling songs of the Yellow Goldfinches is so gentle and pretty. Throw in a croak from a frog now and then, and it makes for a very peaceful evening on the back porch. I really don't get too many of them, as my evenings are spent doing a variety of things for the C.C.A.P.L., writing, or emailing, or household stuff, or phone calls to family and friends, etc. So once in a while I like to just kick-back and relax on the porch. The rest can wait sometimes.

Father-in-law came down the last two morning to go turkey hunting at 5:15 a.m. He didn't see or hear anything either day. He is looking for mushrooms too. I thought he would find some, but the nights have not been warm enough. Actually, last night was very cool, and I shut the windows before retiring for the evening. The furnace kicked on a little while ago.

I will try to write more later in the week. I have a busy day planned. I usually do my meditations in the morning before anything else, but this morning I changed things around.

Have a blessed week, and I hope the Mother's out there, have a wonderful day also!

Stay safe and my best regards,

Becky :)

Sunday morning, May 6, 2007

Good morning, folks,
What a beautiful morning! The birds were singing at 5:30 a.m. already this morning.

Yesterday was the "Dog Show" in Carrollton put on by "All About Animals" with the proceeds going to the Carroll County Animal Protection League's shelter fund. It was great. There were so many cute, cuddly, vivacious, colorful, large, medium, small, tiny, very tiny, and adorable variety of dogs and puppies that showed up for this event. Even the weather cooperated. Just a few sprinkles of rain off and on, and then the sun came out at the end of the show.

Maybe we can have another one in the fall!?

For the first time in ages, I sat out on the deck in back and watched the birds coming and going to the feeders. I haven't allowed myself this privilege for a long time. It was awesome to sit and watch so many different birds of different colors interact with each other. I got a pen and paper and my bird book, and wrote down some that I was fortunate to see. It is amazing, that in the quietness, what you can hear. So many different songs they sing!

I was able to see the two Rose-Breasted Grosbeaks, both male and female, an Indigo Bunting (very blue and beautiful), the Yellow and Purple Finches, the Downy, Hairy, and Red-Breasted Woodpeckers, a beautiful Yellow Warbler, two King birds, a White-crowned Sparrow, a Meadowlark way out on the Poplar tree singing his trilling song, a Ruby-Throated Hummingbird at the feeder I put up just the day before, the Chipping Sparrows, Nuthatches, Titmouse, Black-capped Chickadees, the alarm birds-the BlueJays, many Cardinals, Robins, on and on. What a nice treat at the end of a busy day.

The following day, I was out in the driveway and saw a large bird fly into the neighbor's woods. It was a rare and exhilarating sighting of a Pileated Woodpecker! Wow! They are so awesome and colorful!

I have two book sales and signings coming up this month. Check out where they are on the "Coming Events." Hope you can make one of them!

Today I am going to finish scrubbing the spouting and the back of the house. The weather has not cooperated for over a week, and I have been busy doing other things.

Hubby planted his corn and potatoes yesterday while I was at the Dog Show. I will put the white onions in later today and plant some seeds that I purchased. More than likely radishes, green beans, zucchini, etc.

Have a great week. Enjoy the warmer and beautiful weather!

Be blessed,
Becky :)