Celebrity and Helping

Just read on the Internet that Tony Curtis has passed away at the age of 85. Normally I wouldn't even mention a celebrity, however, he and his wife have a horse rescue http://www.shilohhorserescue.com/ . 

Anyone, regardless of 'rank' in society, who helps any animals, is an Angel.

I do have to admit it is sad to see another Hollywood Legend pass away. The age of Legends is coming to a close. Well, to those of us who have watched the ones who paved away for the ones of today.

I think I need more coffee! :)

Until next time..........................

A thought.

We are taught to be prepared, so how do you live in the moment without being prepared?





Until next time..................

3 solid days and an evening

 

 For the past three days and one evening I have been moving my youngest into her dorm room. What I thought would be a one day event, turned into a lot more than I expected. For one, she lives on the top floor. So carrying up bags and boxes up four flights of stairs was a work out in itself. Thank goodness I am active enough to where it didn't do me in!  After finally getting everything to her room, it was time to unpack and put things away.

 When everything was in its place, it was time to set up the Internet connection to her computer. That is when the real headaches started. After spending what seemed like an eternity trying to get a connection we both agreed it had been a long day and we drove back home. The next day she drove to the school, contacted the campus housing department, took her computer to them and whoever touched her computer to get it connected really messed it up. Not only did they uninstall the anti virus software, they managed to disable other things. And with classes starting Monday, I was the lucky one to have her computer fixed.

Yesterday after almost three hours at Office Depot having them help get her computer back to normal ( which even they couldn't believe what the idiot at the school did), drove to the school, walk to her room ( an uphill ten minute walk), hook her computer up, followed the instructions to get Internet only to not being able to access it, well, both our tempers were pretty high. Finally I told her I didn't know what to do, that I had animals to take care of and I had to go. So I left.


She called while I was on the freeway driving home to let me know she finally was able to access the Internet and that all was fine now. Thank God!


It is very different not having her here. There are many things I am going to miss on a daily basis with her not here.  In time her and I will get into new routines. All I can say is I am so thankful for the animals here because there is no better therapy than being with them.


And I have already warned my sister that I will be calling her a lot more than I do!  She calls me way more than I call her. Good thing she loves me and puts up with me. And anyone who knows me, knows I am not a phone person.


Shhhhh, don't tell anyone, but I have to admit I am tired! And the high temps we are having ( 90's) is not helping! Come on cooler weather. 

The pics are taken from her room. Nice view. And come winter, those mountains will be covered with snow.

Oh, I still have not caught the egg thief yet. And if anyone is wanting a monitor unit to watch your critters, I got mine on ebay and only paid about thirty dollars for it. 

Until next time.......................

I can see you!!!!

Thank you all for your kind words concerning Maggie's passing. Hugs to you all.

 

I had previously mentioned that one of the hens is eating the eggs. So, unless I actually sit out there and catch the culprit I have no idea who it is.

However, I remembered buying a video surveillance unit with sound when we first moved here. I am a worrier and wanted to keep an eye on the horses and donkeys in the evening while I was in the house.  

 After taking the stalls down I put the monitor in the barn since I couldn't use it anymore. 

Can you guess where it is now? Yup, inside the chicken house.  

I can now watch the girls while I am inside the house doing those awful mundane chores. And as soon as I hear the clucking and cackling I can see who laid the egg and either watch who steals it or just go out there and get it.

As soon as I catch the girl who is eating the eggs, well, she can't stay in the coop anymore and she will be a true free range gal.

Today I did buy some oyster shells as was suggested to maybe stop the thief.

Until next time..............

Gone in an instant

This morning started off normal. Then took a turn for the worse.

As I was getting ready to catch up on everyone's blogs I heard a very loud thump from the playroom. Knowing it didn't sound right I ran out there to find Maggie ( pictured above) shook up.  When I got out there she was standing up, but before I knew it her back legs started sinking to the floor. Her breathing was hard. After checking her gums to find them white and her tongue starting to turn blue I knew what had happened. Her heart was failing. A call to my oldest daughter who works at the vets office, told her what happened, she said she was on her way.

I sat with Maggie on the floor holding her and talking with her. My oldest arrived very shortly and we put Maggie in her truck.  She rushed Maggie to her work where the vet confirmed what we already knew.

Maggie was gone within an hour. Her heart had failed.

I can honestly say I will not have anymore Boxers in my life. Maggie was the last of our Boxers. She was ten.

Now she can run and play with her Dad, Mom, brother and sister. See you on the other side Maggie.

2000-2010

Until next time..........................

Betsy goat, Frogs in a bowl, and

A good portion of yesterday was spent at the University my youngest daughter is attending. This will be her second year there, but this time she has decided to move on campus. Sure is going to be strange without her here. Remember several months ago when the neighbors goat, Betsy, decided she wanted to come over here and stay awhile? The above pic shows her when she first came over.

This is how Betsy looks as of this morning! Quite a difference!

While I was watering the pasture troughs this morning I noticed this frog swimming in one of the many containers of water that are placed throughout the property for all the animals ( coons, cats, squirrels, birds, etc.)

Over the weekend it rained pretty good. And this morning there are shades of green beginning to grow in the pastures. Amazing how fast a pasture can go from desert brown to a field of green. You can barely see the green in the pic, but really, it is there.

Bonnie has decided she wants to be broody. Sorry girl but not going to happen. First, the eggs are not fertilized. Secondly, it is too late in the season to be raising babies.

Speaking of chickens. The hen who was injured or sick has made almost a full recovery. I still have no idea what the heck happened, but she appears to be fine now other than a slight limp. I have decided to name her Grace.

One more note on chickens. It seems there is one hen who is stealing and eating the eggs from the hen house! I still have not been able to catch who is doing it, due to by the time I get out there after hearing all the raucous going on, all the hens are trying to grab what's left of the egg. And what gets me is I don't know why it is happening. They get a very good chicken layer feed, cracked corn, hen scratch, grit, leftovers from our meals, cat food, hay to find grains in, freshly picked weeds and grasses and even a large bucket of dug up dirt for bugs. Instead of going on and collecting eggs once a day, I have had to go out there quite a bit and get the eggs right away. Hmmmmm.

Well, time to drive into town for a few things.

Until next time.....................

Out in public.

The other day I had to go to town to get dog and cat food. As I was standing in line there was a husband and wife in front of me. The next thing I see is this guy reaches his hand around to his butt and starts scratching like there was no tomorrow. I'm not talking cheek area! Since I was standing right there it wasn't hard not to notice. I looked away towards to his wife, she looked at me, she leaned over to him and whispered something, he stops itching his butt then pulls his pants out of his crack. Guess he should have looked around before he fed his butt pants for lunch!

Have you ever been at a stop light, looked over to see the person in the next car and they are picking their nose? You know the kind. The digging to China pick. Um, hello, I can see you. The windows of your car are made of glass. And glass is see through! Why do some people forget that just because you are in your car that no one else can see you. News flash, everyone can see you.

It's been raining pretty much all weekend. And thank goodness too because we need the rain. As I was going out to feed yesterday evening I noticed this spider web inside the little tree by the front door. It really was pretty with all the water droplets on it.

The Fall season is here for sure. The Oak tree on the left is turning colors faster than the one on the right. It's hard to tell in the pic. This afternoon the wind has been blowing pretty good and there are leaves being blown around. Yup, Fall is here.

Still looking for a place to rent. I inquired on a place and am waiting to hear back.

Time to play catch up with everyone's blog again.

What have you seen out in public that should have been better not seen?

Until next time...................................

With age comes

Age does have its advantages. Without going in to detail over the incident, all I can say is some men still have the mind set that women are helpless, stupid and need to be guided like a small child. Being older I have learned to 'play the game' with men like that. You know 'the game' where you have to act helpless and stupid to get what you need done. Although I have to say it makes me cringe when I have to. I do know how to manipulate it so the outcome is what I wanted in the first place. But getting there is aggravating.

For being someone who is far from helpless, playing the 'helpless role' has come from age and gritted teeth. Like the old saying, "You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar". When I was younger something like that would have set me off and a face to face argument would have ensued.



Getting older hasn't been too bad. I've learned to live with the few small chin hairs that I notice ( and pluck!). The grey hair doesn't bother me much these days. There are more creaks in the joints than there ever used to be. And as previously talked about, the old 'cowboy' hands along with the tan leathery face.



The gist of this post is with age we learn how to deal with certain, one tracked mind, stereotypical individuals. Or some times we just don't have to and put that certain person in their rightful place! Which is behind you!




Until next time........................

How to make my kids say, "Gross"

Yesterday afternoon I decided to treat myself to one of my favorite salads. I don't make it very often, which is rather a good thing since I don't want my arteries clogging up! The idea of a 'treat yourself' came from my dear friend Rachael at
http://web.mac.com/rkomulainen/Site/Welcome.html. Rachael is an animal educator and is an amazing woman. She has so much strength and spirit. I admire her so much and am honored to be 'old' friends with her.
A bunch of shrimp. Since getting fresh shrimp is expensive here I have to get the pre-cooked frozen kind.

Raw green cabbage cut into bite sized pieces.

Then comes the artery clogging mayonnaise. I accidentally added too much of the mayo, but hey, it still tastes good. Add some salt and pepper, mix and eat. I find that it tastes even better chilled.

Whenever I make this my girls always say, "Gross. How can you eat that?". Then of course I have to take a big mouthful and make the yummy sounds just to rub it in. My Aunt used to make this when I was a kid and I just loved it. I am thinking of one of these days adding Italian dressing instead of mayo and trying it that way.

The fire is just about out. The hen is still not walking but eating and drinking. I suspect she either broke her leg jumping off one of the perches or maybe she just sprained it really bad. After researching a bit on the net the consensus seem to be to keep her isolated, make sure she continues to eat and drink, add some electrolytes, and basically let nature take its course and let it heal on its own. So at this point time will tell. Oh, and yes it is one of Little Inger's hens she raised earlier this year.

Well, time to go gross out a kid! Hee Hee

Until next time................

Wildfire and Injured Hen

I'm beginning to wonder if there will ever be a day that it is just, well, calm. Last night when I went out to lock the girls up for the night I noticed one of the younger hens still outside just sort of laying there. As I walked past her thinking she would get up and run inside, she just layed there. Uh oh, something is not right. I picked her up and set her inside the coop and she couldn't walk. What the hell! She was fine a few hours before and now she can't walk. I picked her up again checked her legs and wings and noticed she flinched when I touched her left leg. I set her back down again and as much as she tried she could not get up and walk.

Out to the barn to get a carrier. Put in hay for bedding and a container of water. Then picked her up, set her inside, closed the door and checked on her this morning. She still cannot stand. I don't know how to tell if her leg is broken and if so how the heck it could have happened. And if it is, I have no idea what to do for it. I will look on the Internet and see what I can find out how to help her. For those of you who have chickens all help would be greatly appreciated.

Now to the wildfire burning. It started around 4 yesterday afternoon. As I stood there it kept getting bigger. My first thought was I hoped no one was injured and all animals were safe. Second thought was figuring out where it was and how close it was.

Very quickly the fire plane was flying overhead on the way to the fire.

Fire plane dumping its first load of water. Many more trips were made until it was too dark to fly.

Then the helicopters came in with water buckets. Thank goodness there is a river close by and they were filling up the buckets from there.

A few hours went by and the fire had started to crest a hill. By this time I had found out that 160 acres were burning, one home was lost and there were evacuations going on.

The fire is about ten or so miles away and as of this morning it has burned 300 acres. The fire crew is hoping to get it contained today. So far no one has been injured and only the one house has been lost. Folks who live on the other side of the hill have been notified that they may have to evacuate.

Wildfires scare the bejeebers out of me. I have learned to have an evacuation plan ready. First thing to go off the property are the animals. Secondly, pictures, computers and important documents. Everything else can be replaced.

It's still early in the day and I wonder what the rest of the day will hold!

Until next time..................

Guilty Pleasures

As of just a few minutes ago two donkeys have left to go to a new home. Ruby and

her daughter Chop have left to go up to Northern Oregon. The girls ( Ruby and Chop) have been here with me for two years and were suppose to go to their owners house, but due to the wife having a stroke bringing them home was no longer an option. After much processing it was best for the girls to move to a new home.

This morning I kept noticing a shadow on the ground coming from the sky. When I looked up this Turkey Vulture was flying above the house.

Sorry about the quality of the pics but my camera was having a hard time focusing in on this guy.

I may have a lead on a place to rent. I will find out next week.

As the title to this post says, Guilty pleasures, I have a guilty pleasure! Want to know what it is? Are you ready for this? Are you sure? I enjoy playing video games! Not all of them, just a selective few. I don't own any systems anymore so now I play games on the computer. For some time I have been hooked on Farmville. I have found playing video games gives my mind a rest from all the processing of life and lets me unstress playing mindless entertainment. I usually am able to squeeze in a half hour or so pretty much everyday and let my mind relax.

Do you have any guilty pleasures? I do have a few more than just video games but will save those for another day.

Oh, and the ground squirrel that has been hiding in the rocks by the house did not make it. I found his lifeless and headless body at the end of the walkway. :( So, of course he got a name ( Buddy) and was buried.

Until next time....................

Never Forget

Catch of the day or Run that away!

My mood is better today. Yesterdays rant boiled down to our justice system failing yet again and the criminals getting away with it again.




However today is a brand new day. The sun is shining. I read a few of your blogs earlier this morning and they put a smile on my face.



I was hoping for a rather uneventful day. But of course there is always something that pops up. No big deal. Keeps me on my toes!


Can you see what is under this bowl? If you see a small Bull snake you are correct. I was in the barn this morning and heard Ruby one of our outside kitties howling. A quick peek out the door and immediately I see why she is howling. This baby Bull snake is hanging out of her mouth twisting every which way. Thank goodness Ruby comes running when we call her name so after calling her she dropped the snake, which wasn't moving at this point. I walked over to the snake. Yup, it's alive with no visible marks. Grabbed the first thing I could find ( which was actually on the top of a garbage can) and placed it over the snake.

Into the house to grab the camera. Take a few pics. Shoo some cats away.

Lift the container off the snake and guided it into this container. Then it was off to find a safe place to release it. And just as I released the snake what do I hear?

The sounds of a distressed ground squirrel. One cat had it in their mouth. Yell at cat. Cat drops squirrel. Another cat comes along and tried catching the squirrel which has started to run towards the house. First cat and a third cat trying along with second cat darting here and there trying to catch the squirrel. Human ( me) yelling at cats and throwing small rocks to distract them to give squirrel a chance to get away.


Squirrel finally makes it to some rocks by the house and hides. Cats upset. Ground squirrel safe for now but very, very upset. Squirrel is still hiding and every now and then I hear it chirping when a cat gets too close.


Later on I'll try to shoo it out from under the rocks and towards the pasture.



Yes, I know its the whole food chain going on. And that's okay. Personally, I don't want to hear it or see it. Bad enough I find dead birds and moles every so often.



Oldest daughter is on her way out to bring lunch. Mmmm, love food!


Until next time...............

Okay, now I am just pissed!

I must have woke up this morning with a bee in my bonnet. You know the mood, get in my way and I'll run you over! As I was perusing Face Book I saw this picture on my news feed. After reading the news article

http://www.wjhg.com/home/headlines/102502389.html I got downright pissed off. Then the more I thought about Champ ( horses name), the more my anger rose towards any person who abuses or neglects any animal. I am sick of abusers/neglectful owners getting away with acts of cruelty .

Why do people send their horses to the auction where most likely they will be bought up by kill buyers, then crammed onto trailers ( yes those double deckers that are suppose to be illegal to use for horses), then sent to Mexico or Canada to be slaughtered under inhumane ways.

And the men who were arrested for the 20 horse butcherings that went on in Florida but are now thinking about taking a plea deal.

And how some workers at medical facilities who experiment on animals torture and abuse and neglect the animals on frickin purpose and thinks its funny.

What about the people who tie their dog up in the backyard and forget about it! How can you forget you have a dog!!!

What about the men ( I use the term loosely) that beat baby calves severely and filmed themselves doing it. These same 'men' hit cows in their faces with crowbars while the cows were restrained and couldn't move.

And what about OUR Mustangs being rounded up off of OUR public lands by so called professionals ( BLM) and the horses are dying during the roundup and in the holding pens. How many horses have to die before this madness stops?

The list just goes on and on and on.

Where is the real justice for these animals? What consequences do the abusers/neglectful owners receive? What punishment awaits people who do horrible acts to animals? How loud do we have to scream so that the justice system will finally do their job and prosecute to the full extent of the law people who abuse/neglect animals? What is it going to take to get some damn justice for the animals? It's time to replace the elected officials that don't give a rats ass about animals!!!

Yes, you can bet I call and email and write real letters on behalf of animals.

Okay, I had better stop now before my head explodes with anger.

Thanks for listening. I'm off my soap box now.

Time to use this energy I have going on something productive.

Until next time............................

Coons and Cats and Birds

Last night Mama Coon and her three pretty good sized babies came up to have dinner ( cat food). When I walked to the screen door she growled at me! Um, really!! In the years I have lived here not one coon has ever growled. So, I stood there. She kept growling. I kept standing there. She kept growling. On and on it went for a little while. She wasn't going to leave and neither was I! Finally she walked off growling the whole time. Ha Ha, I won!!!! In the background of the picture you'll see two white dots. Those are the eyes of one her babies.

This afternoon I had to go to town and as I was walking out the door what do I see? A cat with this bird. Geez, not again. Yup, chased the cat away, finally grabbed the bird, put it in a box, into the bathroom and off to town I went.

Came home, checked on the bird, yup, still very much alive. Alright then, time to go back outside. Hmmm, where to turn it loose in case it doesn't fly off and I can catch it again without cats around. Hmmmm. Okay, the backyard it is.


Thankfully as soon as I opened the box all the way out flew the bird. Thank you little bird!


It has been cloudy and kind of rainy. Yay!!!! I'll take this weather over those baking triple digits any day.

Until next time........................

Plumbing

This morning after taking care of the 'herd' and some morning chores it was time to tackle the plumbing situation. The more I thought about it, the more I knew I could fix the situation. So, after finding the plumbing snake, right sized wrench, hooking up the hose, I was prepared to tackle the job. And tackle it I did! I have watched enough how the proffesionals did the job so, remembering how they did it, the job got done. Okay, maybe it took longer. And maybe it wasn't as proffesional. But, the drains are cleared and working normally once again. Although I have to admit it is something I would prefer not doing again!


Today I noticed that my hands look like cowboy hands. You know the ones, old and weatherbeaten. I suppose the days of youthful looking skin is long gone and I just now noticed. Ha Ha


Until next time......................

Lots going on

I have been so preoccupied with other things that I didn't notice something was missing until.............. it literally hit me. I'm sure you are asking why is there a picture of a spicket surrounded by tall grass. Nope, there is nothing to see except the spicket and grass. Although, yesterday evening as I was getting ready to water the front and back pasture waterers, I reached down to turn the spicket on and was hit by a very small Gardner snake. Then I realized I hadn't seen all the frogs who live in the grass for awhile now. Well, obviously little snake found an all you can eat buffet. So, little snake lives by the spicket now, so will be more careful when turning the spicket on.

I have been asked from several folks who is all going with me when the time to move arrives. So, besides all the cats, the three dogs, the five goats ( minus Betsy goat), Pearl ( above) and

Mike and

Pewter and

AJ, Arnold, Doughnut, Cookie and

Little Inger and

Houdini ( my horse) and Marshmallow will all be moving with me.

We had another yard sale this past weekend. Got rid of a lot more stuff. Met some fantastic folks. And consoled an older woman who was very distraught when she learned as to why we have to move. I kept telling her it was going to be okay. That the right place will show up when the time is right. And that the animals will stay with me. She gave me the biggest heartfelt hug with tears streaming down her face. She almost got me to crying because I felt so bad that she felt so bad and we didn't even know one another. She calmed down when I assured it that it really will be okay.

Today I have been trying to catch up on the house chores ( it looked like a band of renegades lived here) and while everything was going smoothly enough another challenged reared it's ugly head. After cleaning the main bath toilet I flushed it to watch the water start to rise to the top of the bowl! Oh great, now what. So, grabbed the plunger, got the water to recede, and reluctantly flushed again. Nope, here came the water rising again. So, after checking the main bath shower to see backed up water in there, then checking the master bath shower and seeing water standing in there, it was time to walk out to where the septic tank is located. Sure enough water was leaking from the drain. Really!! Well, today is Labor Day and I am not calling a plumber to unclog the line ( I know exactly where it is clogged) and paying the holiday rate. I will wait until tomorrow. Heck, I may just run to the hardware store and buy one of those snake things and do it myself. I've been through this whole thing before so know exactly where to snake at). So long as the lines aren't overloaded with water everything will be just fine. A thought just ran through my head. Since I no longer own the house, then I suppose I am not responsible for paying the plumber. Hmmmmm. Regardless, I will fix the problem.

Slowly but surely I have been playing catch up with everyone's blogs.

Have I told you that you are all wonderful and quite the excellent support system? Well, each and every one of you are! And I truly thank you for it. :)

Until next time...............................

Patti Cake, Patti Cake

Yesterday it was time to send Patti Cake, my mini mule, to her new home. With everything going on, it was best for her to be placed into a new home where she can still be spoiled and where her new guardian can spend more time with her. It was tough to say goodbye. She really touched my heart, but sometimes we have to do what is best for them. I explained to her that I had found a most wonderful lady who takes in rescues and that she is going to lead a very nice life where she will be loved and respected and spoiled. This pic was taken June of this year.

This is Patti Cake the day I brought her home. Yes, she was a rescue. Kind of a scruffy little girl who had been severely abused from her first owner and then overly indulged in her second home. Talk about a lot of baggage with this girl!

This pic was taken a few months of being here.

I made a written contract with Patti Cake's new guardian that if anything happens where she can no longer care for or keep her, she is to be returned to me. I feel bad about not being able to keep my word to Patti Cake about her being able to stay here until she passes on.

When Patti Cake was loading up into the horse trailer she was very hesitant. I was holding it together just fine. No tears. But then she turned and looked right into my eyes with a very scared and worried look. So, I walked up to her, gave her a hug and told her it was okay, to get into the trailer and that I will come to visit her. That that is a promise!! After seeing her eyes relax knowing everything will be good, she walked right on in.

Yes, after she left the tears rolled. And it sure was strange not seeing her last night or this morning at feeding time.

I am still on the hunt and search for a place to rent. I did find a perfect place that will accept the horses, donkeys and goats, but ran into a wall with the dogs and cats. So many landlords/ladies don't want to rent to people with dogs and cats. Which I understand because years ago I rented out a house I owned at the time and let's just say, I learned a lot about what some renters are capable of doing to a house!

And another obstacle is I don't have any rental history! It has been 25 years since I have rented a house. Thankfully I have friends and family who have written reference letters for me.

Another yard sale is planned for this weekend. And I have to say, getting rid of a bunch of stuff has been quite wonderful. It's almost like a small weight has been lifted knowing I don't have to pack it all, haul it and store it.

Hugs to you all. And I really will catch up with all your blogs. In fact, I have set aside some time later on this evening to do just that.

Until next time...............................