this place has gone to the dogs!

Timmy (my dog), Kandice with Cubby Bear on her lap and Stetson.

Well the place had gone to the dogs, but now the grandogs have headed home with their people and the house is quiet again. The dishes are caught up, the house straightened up, Coop is watching tv and the animals are all napping. Kandice is improved as for the pluerisy, but on medication to ease the symptoms. I'm hoping she shows much more improvement over the coming week.

This is Stetson, the rescue dog the kids adopted at the same time they found Timmy for us. He's half German shepherd, half Shar-Pei and one big baby. But when he barks it rattles the nerves because he's loud and sounds so fierce. Helluva watch dog. Then there's little Cubby Bear (below), a rescue dog as well. He's small but with a ton of personality. He's a chair thief, too, at least when it comes to my chair.

I got to spend all day yesterday with my daughter and grandaughter (and grandogs) while Tom went in to the hospital to spend the day with his mom. Good news, his mom is ok and did not have a stroke. My understanding is that it was an erratic heart rhythm and blood pressure drop (not sure about what brought it on). She is on medication now that seems to be working.

More good news! My sister got her results this morning and there were no signs of cancer or abnormal cell change. Reason to celebrate! I'm so thankful for the good news and also want to thank those of you who sent good thoughts and prayers regarding the family's well being. You know who you are. :)

Tomorrow we'll be attending the memorial for Coop's dear brother in law. I imagine it will be a time of catching up with family as well as a time of mourning. It's a shame that so often it takes a death to gather the family together. That is something Coop and I have talked about recently ...taking the time to stop in and visit sisters and brothers more often, an early New Year's resolution I guess.

This white tail was just outside the kitchen window this afternoon. A site we're seeing more regularly now that the view through the woods is clear. We saw three beautiful buck just beyond the creek the other day. Just one of the gifts winter brings. I love this country life.

in my country yard

Last week Levi, a young fellow from the Amish neighborhood, came by to help work on the garage roof. Back in '85 when Coop built the garage he installed skylights as C requested. They were nice because they lit up the garage attic and eliminated the need to run electric for lighting. When we moved and A took over the place a lot of things were neglected, including the skylights. Since our move back, Coop has sealed around them a couple of times to stop leaking but it was never a sure fix. So last week they were removed and those areas of the roof were sealed up and shingled. I couldn't resist taking a photo of the buggy gracing our front yard and the horse reined at the north edge of the yard. Out of respect for the Amish views on photographing them, I didn't take a picture of Levi atop the roof.

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I have a habit of keeping an eye on our dog Timmy when I let him out. Yesterday as I stood looking out the door I noticed he just stood still, staring eastward. Something must have caught his eye so I stepped out to see what he was looking at. When I saw what had caught Timmy's attention I hurried my big nightie clad butt back into the house and grabbed my camera in the nick of time. I was able to catch a quick shot of these wild turkeys as they were making a quick exit from the yard.

Look closely just a bit to the left of the big tree and you'll notice one white turkey. I've noticed him traveling with the flock just about every time I've seen them. I'm not sure if it's a domesticated turkey gone wild or maybe a kickback to another subspecies not native to this area. I've read that there is a gene called the Narragansett gene that prohibits the expression of normal coloring pigments and which occurs about 12% of the time in some wild turkey populations.

Off they go!

from my kitchen window

This is what we are privy to view on a regular basis here. As a habit it seems I’m often encumbered by Coop’s presence at my sink when I am trying to cook or clean up the kitchen. But then, I often find myself standing there alongside him, appreciating the view.

Creating a Wildlife Habitat

Coop and I were thrilled to see a Red Breasted Grosbeak the other day high up in a tree at the back of the property. He caught our eyes all right with his blazing red breast. We'd never seen one before. Once you've heard their call it's quite unmistakable, also. It's tone reaches far above the sound of the other birds nearby and is quite lovely.

In regard to that, just thought I would share an article from Mother Earth News that might be of interest for those wanting to attract wildlife into their environment.