Thursday, August 28, 2008

Birds and Deer

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I didn't blog yesterday. The rain made me sleepy, although I went through my usual motions...feeding critters, ie; 5 cats, 2 dogs, 5 horses and endless refills of sunflower seeds and hummingbird nectar for our multiple feeding stations. I did read several chapters of a Sharyn McCrumb novel, 'She Walks These Hills", that a friend Becky recomended, and made a baked chicken dinner for my guy... I also snoozed on the couch with the dogs beside me. That's unusual for me. Today I feel the itching in my inner ear, and I realize (duh) that I am fighting a sinus/ear infection. Hindsight is 20/20 vision. All the signs have been plaguing me for a week or so now. Dizzyness, tiredness, scratchy throat, persistant cough etc., etc. I'm good at ignoring the obvious, until it slaps me in the head.

I'm curious if anyone else has a life as weird as mine.
In the morning while heading to the boys barn to feed, I almost stepped on a tiny bird crouched in the grass, shivering. I reached down and picked it up, with no resistance. Not knowing if it was hurt, I brought it to the house, put it in a shoe box with an old nest I had, and some seed and water. I put the box on my kitchen desk, and checked it periodically throughout the day.

The evening before, I had found this tiny bird in the feeder, looking sad and wet and lethargic. I got my camera, and walked right up to it, and touched it while snapping a picture with the other hand. The bird on the ground looked the same.


Shortly before my husband got home, I was on the couch in my tv room, and heard some commotion in the kitchen. I got up in time to see Mac, my largest cat, with bird in mouth heading for my bathroom, aka the 'killing bird room' to the cats. ( I have no idea why they bring them in that particular room.) With dogs at my heels I followed him in yelling 'bad cat', to no avail, however the presence of the dogs caused Mac to let the bird go, and back into a corner. The bird flew up to the skylight searching for a way out. I got the dogs to chase the cat out, which they gladly did, and I shut the door, trapping myself and bird inside. It dropped to the sink area, and I got my hands around it. It was the bird in the box, now dry and warm and terrified! I carried it to the front porch and set it on the rail and it flew right off! Whew!
Mac must have been thrilled to find I had left a boxed lunch just for him, and he was a little bit perturbed at me for indian giving...he laid with his ears flat, twitching his tail. Any idiot knew what he meant...


This morning, while sipping coffee, I looked out my back window to see twin fawns and Mommy eating the freshly greened up grass..(thanks rain!) I got my camera and snapped this, but it was far down field, the windows are dirty and it was raining. I watched the babies looking toward the porch area, probably watching a cat, and I was amused to see them acting so grown up, stomping their feet, one then another to draw out their predators, or what they perceive to be a predator. On closer inspection, I saw it was a large rock in the field, waiting with others to be made into a fire pit, and no doubt the rock looked suspicious in the rain. One fawn was quite brave, stamping and flicking its tail, until he realized that Mom and its sibling had gone into the trees...he turned tail and scampered behind them, braveness dissolved.
Now that seems to be a common thing for me, rescuing birds. We tryed to save a hummingbird that flew into our porch fan, brought it to a rescue. The little guy sadly, didn't make it, but we tried. I have saved another hummer that flew into my screen house and got himself stuck with his beak through the screen. The cats were trying to "save" him too, and thats how I found him.
Does anyone else have these experiences? I seem to have these on a regular basis!!



~~~~~

Monday, August 25, 2008

Last Hay

~~~
The hay is in. Done. Finished. By 8 am this morning I had this truck loaded by myself. It was from our back field, only 20 bales this cutting. The spring cutting yielded about 40. We need rain....

Bob cut work early and by the time I had returned from helping my neighbor Melissa do some boat cover work in West Lake, he had unloaded it himself...Bless him.



This next photo shows the 20 bales in our little tin tobacco barn..








Next is the hay we put in this spring...I think the cut yielded about 148 bales...
This total was 125...we needed rain...





We work with our neighbors. Many hands lighten the work. We seem to have a good time even though it is hard work; hot and itchy. Did I mention I am allergic to hay?
This is Troy and Bob and Melissa in one of their fields, with the Rhino pulling a trailer...




Back to our barn with the last of our fields.
By this time all of theirs was put up. Really up. Their barn is tin also, but a three story. It takes Troy up top of the pile, me on the truck handing in to Melissa, who hands off to Bob, and Bob throws it up to Troy. My barn is really easy. We back up and throw straight in to the 'pile-it', whoever that may be. Usually Troy or Bob...
Melissa is good at backing trailers and that's Cassie their biggest dog giving directions. Bob is wiping sweat while waiting in the doorway..I think he went through 5 tee shirts today...


I didn't take a picture of the hay all in, but it fit, and both sidesof the barn are stuffed, but I can still maneuver around in there enough to get a few bales at a time and bring them down to feed. My big horse will be in Gretna this winter, so I will have enough hay for my mini's for sure. Melissa and Troy lost their old mare this year so they have 3 full size horses and 1 miniature to feed, and they too have enough.
Despite this drought we seemed to eke out enough bales to get us through.
I feel blessed.... for a fantastic hubby, great neighbors and fields that produced enough to winter us despite our lack of rain.
So, bring on the rain, and bring us some snow, too, please!
~~~










Friday, August 22, 2008

Being Catty

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These are my male cats. Quarrie is on the left, Beau in the middle and Mac on the right.



They all seem to be snoozing, but all have one eye fixed on the bird feeders just through the rails.









I got into chiggers last Sunday at my friends acreage in Gretna, and I am still itching.



I am using all the cures that people have suggested, and beleive me there are many ways people

handle this dreadful experience.



I am full of Benadryl and I have painted each bite with nail polish...then peeled it off with skin

attached;



I have put Preparation H on the red swollen bites;



I have covered the bites with cortizone cream, and alcohol and Vicks Vapor rub.....



My best advice is to stay as far away from chigger infested fields as possible.



If you do get chiggered, I suggest you take 2 'Benedryl' every four hours, and drink the alcohol...









Can anyone tell how many real cats are in this picture below?





Why would I display pictures of my cats and then talk about chiggers?



My reason is this:



No one wants to look at my legs whether they are chigger bitten or otherwise.



I myself would rather look at cute pictures of fluffy cats, wouldn't you?



Oh and if you guessed only one real cat, you guessed correctly.



Mac is surrounded by his favorite stuffed cats!



~

Monday, August 18, 2008

'Hurricane' Fay

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The last tropical storm I sat through in the Keys looked like this...a view up the canal shows the palms blown straight back and my huge desert rose in the clay pot on the dock tipped over, not to mention how high the water rose in the canal...




Sitting in Virginia watching the weather in the Florida Keys...and the storm.

My husband and I still own this house in Little Torch Key, about 28 miles up from Key West.

To say we were a little anxious about this storm is definitely an understatement.

I went about my household chores with a little more elbow grease today. It was probably the pent up emotion. I hate not knowing what's going on, and the 'Weather Channel' loves to make a story where there isn't one. I lived in the Keys 14 years... getting calls each storm from family up north wondering if we were blown to sea, and of course we weren't...really just had torrential rains and some gusty winds...nothing like they had heard on tv.


But still there's always that chance. My last name used to be Fay, and I thought, boy that would be the kicker, getting ruined by a storm named after my ex.


So I phoned up my old girlfriend Chic in Marathon Key. She said there were tornado warnings out, hard rains and some wind, but that it never got to hurricane strength.


Phew! I felt much better and Chic and I had a good chat..phone was perfect sounding, and she said a neighbor lost a big almond tree, but not much else from her view...Much relief on this end...Rich, the man who takes care of the place for us until it gets sold..(We are trying!!!)..said he had gone yesterday and put up the hurricane shutters and made ready. He is the best!

So another bullet dodged. Gosh, I will be glad when I don't own property there anymore. I am too nervous about storms! The Keys locals take it all in stride, but I never could get used to it!

By the way, you can look at my house by going to ..http://www.internetrealtyfloridakeys.com

Click on homes for sale and mine is the first up.

27808 Lobster Tail Trail in Little Torch Key. You can see a slide show or you can take a virtual tour.

I just did and it gave me a pang...I loved that little cottage on the canal, with its colorful rooms and bright sunny windows! Bob just hated heat, and I longed for dirt...

Be careful what you wish for, cause we sure have had dirty heat here in Virginia!!!

Hey, maybe that storm will make it up here and drop rain on us!

Oh ya, be careful what you wish for!

~~~~



Saturday, August 16, 2008

Being Dogged

Penny looks so innocent. Eyes closed and smiling. Notice the severed dolls head in the background...





Macabre scene. Penny loves the head and the body has been cast aside.




Tired of the doll, she decides to attack Belle. That seems to be her passion lately.




Poor Belle. She is extremely tolerant of that darn pup...



Will somebody save me ?
~


Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Fences

I have plastic fence posts and electric 'tape' around my farm.



It's the perfect fencing for horses !







I can adjust the height for my full sized gelding and for my mini's. The tape is strong and easy to connect, it's safe, but best of all...it's movable!



That feature is a wonderful thing . When a field gets down, I can pull up the stakes and move them to another area.



Being a Gemini, I love to change things. When I was younger, I would change my furniture around often enough that my husband would get angry. I can't move furniture anymore, but I can move that fence by myself !



Today I spent the first half of the day moving the 'girls' fence. Rebel, my full size horse, is pastured with the girls. He eats alot, so I find myself moving their pasture area much more often than the boys.



They all could afford to eat a little less, but so could I, and who likes skinny horses anyway?






Tuesday, August 5, 2008

colonoscopy



Well...the colonoscopy is behind me. (he-he-he)


Just a little play on words.


The worst part was the day before, drinking all that 'half-litely'...and the pills and no solid food...

the resulting love affair with the toilet...even the dogs got tennis neck watching me run back and forth to the bathroom!


I have to say, that I would recommend going to the

Endoscopy Center of Southwest Virginia, on Duke of Glouchester Street in Roanoke.


The nurses and all the staff were very accomodating.

It is difficult at best to locate my veins and I have had really bad experiences with people becoming frustrated and 'blowing' the veins. These people took it right in stride. The nurse tried once, failed, and promptly asked a doctor for help. The doctor took his time and looked my arm and hand all over before saying, "I think I might have one, but it's tiny."


He got it first stick. Kudos to him, for sure!


Before I knew it I was wheeled into the exam room, medicated, and I woke up to a nurse who got me a lovely cup of hot coffee!


The doctor came in promptly, spoke to Bob and I, explained the results, and away we went.


This is the second time I have had the procedure done, the first time in the Fl. Keys, in a hospital, but this is the first good experience for an otherwise unpleasant, albeit necessary, exam.
Oh, so why the picture of the puppy's fuzzy butt?
I thought it way cuter than any of mine I could find, and considering my topic,
I thought it appropiate!

About Me

My photo
union hall, S.W.Virginia, United States
Newly retired from Franklin County Public Schools.Prior to that I was a cosmetologist for several years.