Willy has been in our family 3 weeks already! Time flies when you are having fun! The swallows on the porch rafters have fledged four new babies and, I am happy to say, they all four are flying around! No cats got any of them this year! Yeah!
We have finally started getting eggs from our chickens that we got way back in April. My one and only black hen started and she is laying an egg a day. One of the Rhode Island Reds is also laying. Not that I can tell you which one exactly but I did get a picture of her in the nesting box.
Buddy got groomed and cleaned up very nicely. It is a pleasure to run my hands through his soft white fur again. Not that it will last very long. With all the heat, Buddy digs holes in any mud that happens to be around from watering gardens or whatever and lays in the holes to cool off. I don't expect him to be pretty for very long. He and Willy seem to be getting along ok. Although Buddy has been very tolerant, he has growled a couple of times or knocked Willy on his butt when he gets too rough. Willy thinks Buddy is a bull I guess. He tends to like to latch on to the thick fur on the front of Buddy's neck and not let go. I have corrected him by grabbing him at the scruff of his neck and giving a shake when I think Buddy has had enough. But Buddy is more effective with his own corrective measures, usually a growl and a big paw flattening Willy to the ground! Willy doesn't like that much and gets the message to lay off.
Buddy redeemed himself from the last disaster that ended the life of my little black rooster. Yesterday morning I could not find Buddy when I went out to feed the alpacas. Then I came around the front of the house and there was one of the Buff Orpington hens out in the yard. Buddy was right on her, then he picked her up in his mouth! Well, I thought she was a goner. "Leave it! Buddy" I yelled at him. He dropped her immediately and she scrambled back into the corner between the pen and the yard fence. I was able to catch her then. She did not have any holes in her or any blood draining anywhere. She was wet with Buddy slobber and seemed in shock. I took her in the house and clipped both her wings. Then I took her back out to the pen and placed her inside the coop in one of the nesting boxes and prayed for the best. Sure enough, later in the day she was moving around with the other hens, a bit slow, but all right non-the-less! I gave Buddy a treat for doing his job of guarding the chickens.
I got Steve to take a picture of me with the two dogs. Maybe you can get an idea of the size of Willy and Buddy. I hope to take pictures of Willy as he grows and keep track of his progress. He has his first Vet visit tomorrow. He'll get puppy shots but will still need one more Parvo immunization before I will take him out in public. His breeder said Parvo has been especially bad this year so I don't want to take any chances.
Buddy redeemed himself from the last disa
Wednesday, August 14, 2013
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
We are well into summer here. The monsoon rains have turned everything green and the wild grasses are getting tall. The humidity eased off a bit for a couple of days this week. Today it is back and the clouds are piling up over the mountains. I expect we will get more storms later today.
I got 2 new books this week from Amazon. The first one is Sheepish by Catherine Friend. The second is Navajo Shepherd and Weaver by Gladys A. Reichard, first published in 1936. I ordered these with the wild idea that I might get some Navajo-Churro sheep to raise and shear. Since some time has passed and my friends and family have declined to support this idea, I too have given up the idea of ever getting any more farm animals or livestock. I will have to be content with my 3 alpacas, 17 chickens, 2 ducks, 2 cats and one huge white dog. I will read the books though, as they look very interesting and reading will help keep the Alzheimer's at bay.
I did find a puppy in the Arizona Star Newspaper that I could not resist however. I saw the ad and couldn't wait for Steve to get home. I was afraid the pups would all be sold. Fortunately for me, only one of the 2 pups that I was interested in had been sold. The other one, a male, was still available. So at 5 pm on Wednesday, July 24th, we drove into Tucson and met our pup. We stopped at our daughter's house on the way home to show him off. Then we had to stop for some dinner. We finally got home about 8pm. I expected to be up all night with the pup. I was up all night but only about 2 hours was because of the pup. He settled down fairly quickly in his new crate. I, however, tossed and turned all night because of eating lousy food at 830 at night! Yikes!
Our pup is a registered "Olde English Bulldogge." It is a rare breed and fairly new. A man in Pennsylvania in 1970 wanted to get back the old time bull baiting bulldog of the 1800's without the aggressive tendencies needed for bull-baiting, but with a personality of a companion dog and without the genetic problems of the modern English Bulldog. Most modern English Bulldogs have to be delivered by Cesarian section because of their huge heads. Our pup and his siblings, there were 11 of them, have smaller heads and can be born naturally. The "Olde English Bulldogge" is a combination of English Bulldogs, Mastiff and a couple of other breeds. Our pup will grow to about 16 inches tall at the shoulder and weigh about 50 pounds or more. He is very mellow so far. He does chew things but seems to be content to sit or lay at my feet while he's tearing things up. He will chase a ball and bring it straight back to me, but he does not seem to be hyper active like most puppies tend to be. I think he will be a great dog for us as we age. But I tell you what! It is almost like having a new baby in the house! I have to watch him every second that he is not in his crate to prevent potty mishaps and chewing up the wrong things. He has been good about learning to "go to bed", meaning going into his crate, and mostly going outside to potty. But he is only 10 weeks old, so it will be awhile before the potty thing is conquered and I can trust him indoors. I keep reminding myself that puppyhood is short and soon I will have another lazy companion who is content to sleep at my feet or follow me around all day! It is going to be a long year! But how could I resist that face?
I got 2 new books this week from Amazon. The first one is Sheepish by Catherine Friend. The second is Navajo Shepherd and Weaver by Gladys A. Reichard, first published in 1936. I ordered these with the wild idea that I might get some Navajo-Churro sheep to raise and shear. Since some time has passed and my friends and family have declined to support this idea, I too have given up the idea of ever getting any more farm animals or livestock. I will have to be content with my 3 alpacas, 17 chickens, 2 ducks, 2 cats and one huge white dog. I will read the books though, as they look very interesting and reading will help keep the Alzheimer's at bay.
I did find a puppy in the Arizona Star Newspaper that I could not resist however. I saw the ad and couldn't wait for Steve to get home. I was afraid the pups would all be sold. Fortunately for me, only one of the 2 pups that I was interested in had been sold. The other one, a male, was still available. So at 5 pm on Wednesday, July 24th, we drove into Tucson and met our pup. We stopped at our daughter's house on the way home to show him off. Then we had to stop for some dinner. We finally got home about 8pm. I expected to be up all night with the pup. I was up all night but only about 2 hours was because of the pup. He settled down fairly quickly in his new crate. I, however, tossed and turned all night because of eating lousy food at 830 at night! Yikes!
Our pup is a registered "Olde English Bulldogge." It is a rare breed and fairly new. A man in Pennsylvania in 1970 wanted to get back the old time bull baiting bulldog of the 1800's without the aggressive tendencies needed for bull-baiting, but with a personality of a companion dog and without the genetic problems of the modern English Bulldog. Most modern English Bulldogs have to be delivered by Cesarian section because of their huge heads. Our pup and his siblings, there were 11 of them, have smaller heads and can be born naturally. The "Olde English Bulldogge" is a combination of English Bulldogs, Mastiff and a couple of other breeds. Our pup will grow to about 16 inches tall at the shoulder and weigh about 50 pounds or more. He is very mellow so far. He does chew things but seems to be content to sit or lay at my feet while he's tearing things up. He will chase a ball and bring it straight back to me, but he does not seem to be hyper active like most puppies tend to be. I think he will be a great dog for us as we age. But I tell you what! It is almost like having a new baby in the house! I have to watch him every second that he is not in his crate to prevent potty mishaps and chewing up the wrong things. He has been good about learning to "go to bed", meaning going into his crate, and mostly going outside to potty. But he is only 10 weeks old, so it will be awhile before the potty thing is conquered and I can trust him indoors. I keep reminding myself that puppyhood is short and soon I will have another lazy companion who is content to sleep at my feet or follow me around all day! It is going to be a long year! But how could I resist that face?
Saturday, July 20, 2013
It has been a very busy summer. On May 21 and 23, two of our grandchildren, Eden and Logan, graduated from kindergarten. We are proud of both of them! They will be big first graders this year. Eden already started on July 15th and Logan will start on the 25th.
On May 28, my long time friend and I started our journey to visit a mutual friend who had just moved to New Mexico. I was pretty excited about the trip because I had not been to New Mexico except to pass through. We drove east on the I-10 to Las Cruces, and then north on I-25 to Albuquerque. Our friend has a new place in the hill country between Albuquerque and Santa Fe. It was absolutely beautiful. It was good to see our friend again after 30 years. She is a great hostess! Thanks Chris!
We started back toward home on May 30. We had a pilgrimage to accomplish. We stopped at the "Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary" in Candy Kitchen, NM. We drove through some awesome country and arrived at the sanctuary in the late morning. We took a tour with an excellent guide who told us the history of the sanctuary and each canine that is homed there. Most of the animals are wolf-dog crosses, but there were also a few full blooded Arctic wolves. I think the Arctic wolves were my favorites although some of the young wolf-dog pups were awful appealing too. I think the work of the sanctuary is commendable but I would much rather see them stay in a natural environment. It was a bitter-sweet visit.
My friend and I returned to Arizona through the Salt River Canyon in northern Arizona. It is almost as spectacular as the Grand Canyon. I took lots of pictures there even though we have been there many times.
In June, Steve and I took a drive up to Roosevelt Lake, northeast of Scottsdale, AZ. We got to ride around and fish in a pontoon boat with friends and family. The lake is man-made and in a deep canyon fed by the Salt River. We saw several large bass swimming around but only caught 2 smaller ones. I enjoyed being on a boat once again although actually getting between the dock and the boat was more challenging than I remember. Old knees and soft muscles don't make for quick moves or easy balance! LOL!
At the end of June, we loaded up all the grandkids and their moms and headed for Oregon to visit Steve's mom and family. We took 2 cars and took 3 days to travel. Mostly things were OK but the overnight stop in Stockton, CA turned out to be the motel from Hell! We had traveled 12 hours that day. The desk clerk put us on the first floor and the third floor facing the pool. The pool was full of a crowd having a birthday party. There were other questionable people around smoking questionable substances and drinking. It turned out the desk clerk lied to me because Shawna went back and told her the first floor room was not acceptable. Shawna managed to get a 3rd floor room closer to our room even though the clerk had told me there was absolutely nothing available! Then the bedspreads had cigarette holes in them, there were holes in the walls and the ceilings. The only ice maker on the facility was in another building across the parking lot on the second floor. Breakfast was supposed to be complimentary the next morning, but the room was so small and so crowded with the party goers from the night before that we just left and went to Denny's. All the while, the desk clerk from the night before glared daggers at Shawna and me as if daring us to say anything at all! Boy, were we glad to get out of there!
We had a nice visit with Steve's family. It was good to see them all again. Our niece had her first baby, a boy, the day we left. I made her a quilt with the dinosaur theme that she had picked for the baby's room.
The moms and grands left Oregon a few days before Steve and I. They visited the Oregon-California coast and the giant redwoods. They got home a day ahead of Steve and I. Steve and I decided to drive back home via the 395 on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada Mountains instead of going back the way we came on the I-5. The traffic was much lighter as were the crowds in restaurants. We drove through some of the tallest mountains in the lower 48. I got to see the Owen's Valley and we stopped at the visitors' center at the foot of Mt. Whitney, the tallest mountain in the country outside of Alaska.
So we get home in time for the first really bad monsoon thunderstorm of the season. On July 2, a bolt of lightening struck so close to us that we about jumped out of our skins. Then I saw a weird flickering orange glow just down the hill and in front of our pine trees. It was a fire! I was freaking out! Steve grabbed a shovel and headed down the hill. Fortunately, it was a single yucca plant. Steve was able to knock it down and cover it with dirt. I was so thankful that I saw it,(it was 930 at night) and that Steve was able to put it out by himself. We had plenty of rain that night too. Thank the Lord.
Then on July 8, my little red dog, Penny, got bitten right between the eyes by a rattlesnake. We lost her the following morning. She was 16 years old. I will miss her. She is buried in my rock garden in the front yard.
The chickens have not started laying eggs yet but I am hoping they will soon. My garden produced some lettuce and tomatoes, a few peppers and turnips, but then was wiped out by one of our famous storms. I will be ripping it out soon and may plant flowers instead.
Til next time.....
On May 28, my long time friend and I started our journey to visit a mutual friend who had just moved to New Mexico. I was pretty excited about the trip because I had not been to New Mexico except to pass through. We drove east on the I-10 to Las Cruces, and then north on I-25 to Albuquerque. Our friend has a new place in the hill country between Albuquerque and Santa Fe. It was absolutely beautiful. It was good to see our friend again after 30 years. She is a great hostess! Thanks Chris!
We started back toward home on May 30. We had a pilgrimage to accomplish. We stopped at the "Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary" in Candy Kitchen, NM. We drove through some awesome country and arrived at the sanctuary in the late morning. We took a tour with an excellent guide who told us the history of the sanctuary and each canine that is homed there. Most of the animals are wolf-dog crosses, but there were also a few full blooded Arctic wolves. I think the Arctic wolves were my favorites although some of the young wolf-dog pups were awful appealing too. I think the work of the sanctuary is commendable but I would much rather see them stay in a natural environment. It was a bitter-sweet visit.
My friend and I returned to Arizona through the Salt River Canyon in northern Arizona. It is almost as spectacular as the Grand Canyon. I took lots of pictures there even though we have been there many times.
In June, Steve and I took a drive up to Roosevelt Lake, northeast of Scottsdale, AZ. We got to ride around and fish in a pontoon boat with friends and family. The lake is man-made and in a deep canyon fed by the Salt River. We saw several large bass swimming around but only caught 2 smaller ones. I enjoyed being on a boat once again although actually getting between the dock and the boat was more challenging than I remember. Old knees and soft muscles don't make for quick moves or easy balance! LOL!
At the end of June, we loaded up all the grandkids and their moms and headed for Oregon to visit Steve's mom and family. We took 2 cars and took 3 days to travel. Mostly things were OK but the overnight stop in Stockton, CA turned out to be the motel from Hell! We had traveled 12 hours that day. The desk clerk put us on the first floor and the third floor facing the pool. The pool was full of a crowd having a birthday party. There were other questionable people around smoking questionable substances and drinking. It turned out the desk clerk lied to me because Shawna went back and told her the first floor room was not acceptable. Shawna managed to get a 3rd floor room closer to our room even though the clerk had told me there was absolutely nothing available! Then the bedspreads had cigarette holes in them, there were holes in the walls and the ceilings. The only ice maker on the facility was in another building across the parking lot on the second floor. Breakfast was supposed to be complimentary the next morning, but the room was so small and so crowded with the party goers from the night before that we just left and went to Denny's. All the while, the desk clerk from the night before glared daggers at Shawna and me as if daring us to say anything at all! Boy, were we glad to get out of there!
We had a nice visit with Steve's family. It was good to see them all again. Our niece had her first baby, a boy, the day we left. I made her a quilt with the dinosaur theme that she had picked for the baby's room.
The moms and grands left Oregon a few days before Steve and I. They visited the Oregon-California coast and the giant redwoods. They got home a day ahead of Steve and I. Steve and I decided to drive back home via the 395 on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada Mountains instead of going back the way we came on the I-5. The traffic was much lighter as were the crowds in restaurants. We drove through some of the tallest mountains in the lower 48. I got to see the Owen's Valley and we stopped at the visitors' center at the foot of Mt. Whitney, the tallest mountain in the country outside of Alaska.
So we get home in time for the first really bad monsoon thunderstorm of the season. On July 2, a bolt of lightening struck so close to us that we about jumped out of our skins. Then I saw a weird flickering orange glow just down the hill and in front of our pine trees. It was a fire! I was freaking out! Steve grabbed a shovel and headed down the hill. Fortunately, it was a single yucca plant. Steve was able to knock it down and cover it with dirt. I was so thankful that I saw it,(it was 930 at night) and that Steve was able to put it out by himself. We had plenty of rain that night too. Thank the Lord.
Then on July 8, my little red dog, Penny, got bitten right between the eyes by a rattlesnake. We lost her the following morning. She was 16 years old. I will miss her. She is buried in my rock garden in the front yard.
The chickens have not started laying eggs yet but I am hoping they will soon. My garden produced some lettuce and tomatoes, a few peppers and turnips, but then was wiped out by one of our famous storms. I will be ripping it out soon and may plant flowers instead.
Til next time.....
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
The hummers and the swallows are back! The desert willow and all the cactus are in bloom. The mesquite trees have new leaves and the ocotillos are showing off their bright red plumes of flowers. At 7 am this morning it was already 80 degrees. I'm sure we will get very close to 100 today. The weather has been just about perfect, sunny with big white fluffy clouds in the afternoons. Soon the monsoon will hit and make it humid and miserable but for now, well just WOW! This is why we live in Arizona!
The alpacas got their yearly shearing on May 3. We did it a little differently this year. My neighbor with the large alpaca farm was kind enough to pick up my boys and take them to her barn for shearing. It was more convenient for the shearer and shearing in the barn was much better than out in the wild wind at my place. It took no time at all and I got a discount on the fee besides. So now the boys are all skinny again, all legs and necks!
With the help of friends, we moved the ducks and the assorted chickens to their new big yard last weekend. At first it was a little scary for the chicks, who are about half grown now. The little black bantam rooster escaped when I wasn't looking, Unfortunately, he met his demise. Buddy, my big white guard dog, either tried to keep the rooster in the yard or got hungry. Either way, when Steve got home, he saw Buddy "gnawing" on the little bantam, (his word, not mine!) I prefer to give Buddy the benefit of the doubt and hope that he just got too heavy pawed as he tried to prevent an escape.
Later one of the hens escaped. I heard Buddy bark and paid attention this time. He was lying down watching the hen from across the yard. She was pecking away at the ground just outside the pen. As I approached her she started running up and down the fence line looking for a way back in. Buddy decided to help me then but I managed to keep him away from her with the "Leave It!" command. I managed to catch her pretty quickly and returned her to the pen. Then Steve and I went around the fence line and placed rocks and bricks and whatever else we could fine handy, all around the bottom of the fence to prevent any more escapes. So far so good!
We placed a little kid's wading pool in the yard for the ducks. They love it! I fill it every morning with sparkling well water for them. Then they hop in and swim around, ducking their heads and fluffing their feathers. The chickens run over too. They like to scratch the ground that is soaked with water. I guess they find yummy worms and grubs that way.
I am watering my raised garden every morning now. I soak it in four sections for about a half hour each. Everything seems to be doing better than when I was just sprinkling it with the hose twice a day. We just do not have any moisture in the air and haven't had any rain since, well, I'm not sure, maybe January.
I continue to read diet books and exercise. I feel pretty good but I cannot say that I have lost any weight. I am beginning to think it is impossible without taking drastic measures which I am not sure are healthy or long lasting. Besides, I do like to eat. I am turning 60 this year so I just find myself wondering what is the point in depriving myself? Of course there is the health aspect. I do not stuff myself and I certainly don't eat bonbons and cake. I just do the best I can and try not to stress about it.
Speaking of stress, the whole point of writing this blog is to relieve some stress, yours and mine!
I'm sorry I do not have any new pictures right now. My printer is on the blink and until I get a new one I will have to hold off on the pictures. Hopefully that will be by the time I post next time! Until then, enjoy life and smell the chicks and ducks! HA! Not really, they stink!
The alpacas got their yearly shearing on May 3. We did it a little differently this year. My neighbor with the large alpaca farm was kind enough to pick up my boys and take them to her barn for shearing. It was more convenient for the shearer and shearing in the barn was much better than out in the wild wind at my place. It took no time at all and I got a discount on the fee besides. So now the boys are all skinny again, all legs and necks!
With the help of friends, we moved the ducks and the assorted chickens to their new big yard last weekend. At first it was a little scary for the chicks, who are about half grown now. The little black bantam rooster escaped when I wasn't looking, Unfortunately, he met his demise. Buddy, my big white guard dog, either tried to keep the rooster in the yard or got hungry. Either way, when Steve got home, he saw Buddy "gnawing" on the little bantam, (his word, not mine!) I prefer to give Buddy the benefit of the doubt and hope that he just got too heavy pawed as he tried to prevent an escape.
Later one of the hens escaped. I heard Buddy bark and paid attention this time. He was lying down watching the hen from across the yard. She was pecking away at the ground just outside the pen. As I approached her she started running up and down the fence line looking for a way back in. Buddy decided to help me then but I managed to keep him away from her with the "Leave It!" command. I managed to catch her pretty quickly and returned her to the pen. Then Steve and I went around the fence line and placed rocks and bricks and whatever else we could fine handy, all around the bottom of the fence to prevent any more escapes. So far so good!
We placed a little kid's wading pool in the yard for the ducks. They love it! I fill it every morning with sparkling well water for them. Then they hop in and swim around, ducking their heads and fluffing their feathers. The chickens run over too. They like to scratch the ground that is soaked with water. I guess they find yummy worms and grubs that way.
I am watering my raised garden every morning now. I soak it in four sections for about a half hour each. Everything seems to be doing better than when I was just sprinkling it with the hose twice a day. We just do not have any moisture in the air and haven't had any rain since, well, I'm not sure, maybe January.
I continue to read diet books and exercise. I feel pretty good but I cannot say that I have lost any weight. I am beginning to think it is impossible without taking drastic measures which I am not sure are healthy or long lasting. Besides, I do like to eat. I am turning 60 this year so I just find myself wondering what is the point in depriving myself? Of course there is the health aspect. I do not stuff myself and I certainly don't eat bonbons and cake. I just do the best I can and try not to stress about it.
Speaking of stress, the whole point of writing this blog is to relieve some stress, yours and mine!
I'm sorry I do not have any new pictures right now. My printer is on the blink and until I get a new one I will have to hold off on the pictures. Hopefully that will be by the time I post next time! Until then, enjoy life and smell the chicks and ducks! HA! Not really, they stink!
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
I got my baby chicks and they are so cute! I also got 3 baby ducks. They are all growing so fast that I wish I had taken pictures sooner! I got one group of assorted chicks on March 29th along with the ducks. Then on April 5th, I got a dozen tiny Buff Orpington chicks. Something snatched two of the assorted chicks on the night I got them. They had disappeared and I thought I must've only gotten 8 instead of 10, (the mind plays tricks when you start getting old! Ha!) but then I noticed that the screen on the door of the pen had been pushed inward. There was no sign of the chicks, no feathers or feet left or anything. So I do not think it was one of our cats as they would've eaten them on the spot and left some evidence. So I blocked off the door with a heavy wooden panel until Steve had time to fix the door for me.
Two of the Buff Orpington chicks died right away, so I only have 10 left. These 10 seem to be growing slowly and getting more active. They are growing much slower than the assorted chicks so they are still very cute and little. The ducks are growing like gang busters although they are still covered in soft yellow down feathers. I can't wait til we can move them to their outdoor enclosure and build a pond for them.
We had an enjoyable Easter. The kids had a blast hunting for hidden eggs. We had ham and lots of trimmings for dinner. The men hid the eggs for the kids while Buddy was banished to the outside yard. He ate all the candy and eggs last year so we did not want that repeated!
I about wore myself out this past weekend. All of my houseplants were in need of re-potting so I tackled that job. Little did I know that it would take all day! And the wind did not help at all! We have been having major wind for weeks now. I don't think a day goes by when the wind speed is not at least 30 mph. The gusts are even worse, sometimes getting up to 50 mph. We have lost many shingles off of the barn roof and there is no way Steve can do any painting! I have not hung up my hanging plants outdoors yet as I am afraid they will get blown down. The plants in the ground are taking a beating. I planted tomato plants in the garden. They are clinging to the ground! I also planted seeds for lettuce, radishes, yellow squash and zucchini. I am watering 2 or 3 times a day just to keep the seeds moist. Hopefully, they will sprout in about 10 days. Then I'll have to fight off the birds!
I also completed a set of pillows for my oldest daughter. She painted her bedroom and wanted some new throw pillows for the bed. I thought they turned out pretty awesome, if I do say so myself. Maybe my new business should be "Pillows! Designed by Debbie"! LOL!
Two of the Buff Orpington chicks died right away, so I only have 10 left. These 10 seem to be growing slowly and getting more active. They are growing much slower than the assorted chicks so they are still very cute and little. The ducks are growing like gang busters although they are still covered in soft yellow down feathers. I can't wait til we can move them to their outdoor enclosure and build a pond for them.
We had an enjoyable Easter. The kids had a blast hunting for hidden eggs. We had ham and lots of trimmings for dinner. The men hid the eggs for the kids while Buddy was banished to the outside yard. He ate all the candy and eggs last year so we did not want that repeated!
I about wore myself out this past weekend. All of my houseplants were in need of re-potting so I tackled that job. Little did I know that it would take all day! And the wind did not help at all! We have been having major wind for weeks now. I don't think a day goes by when the wind speed is not at least 30 mph. The gusts are even worse, sometimes getting up to 50 mph. We have lost many shingles off of the barn roof and there is no way Steve can do any painting! I have not hung up my hanging plants outdoors yet as I am afraid they will get blown down. The plants in the ground are taking a beating. I planted tomato plants in the garden. They are clinging to the ground! I also planted seeds for lettuce, radishes, yellow squash and zucchini. I am watering 2 or 3 times a day just to keep the seeds moist. Hopefully, they will sprout in about 10 days. Then I'll have to fight off the birds!
I also completed a set of pillows for my oldest daughter. She painted her bedroom and wanted some new throw pillows for the bed. I thought they turned out pretty awesome, if I do say so myself. Maybe my new business should be "Pillows! Designed by Debbie"! LOL!
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Spring Begins Today! Yeah! In February, we had 3 blizzards here, one on February 9th, one on the 11th and the 3rd on the 20th, just a month ago today. Our weather since the beginning of March has really been spring like with temps in the 80s and warm bright sunshiny days. The wind has been a bit tedious at times with gusts up to 40 mph. Our humidity has just blown away in the wind. Some days the humidity is a mere 4 %. I have started thinking about planting veggies and flowers in my raised bed, but have not done so. I do not trust the March weather here. March came in like a lamb, as the old saying goes, so I figure it will go out like a lion. I have not forgotten the March's in the past when some of my baby goats were born in blizzards in March. Nope, can't trust March weather. I will wait til April to plant.
It was my great pleasure to have a visit earlier this month from a gal friend I knew when Steve was stationed in Idaho with the Air Force about 30 plus years ago! She brought her two daughters and spent a few nights here. Then I drove her down to Sierra Vista to meet with another friend that was also in Idaho with us. The 3 of us, all pretty much "old Ladies" now, visited Tombstone for a day. I had never been to the Boot Hill Grave yard in Tombstone. It was very interesting. The men who fought the famous gunfight at the OK Corral against Wyatt Earp and Dr. Holiday were buried there in one big grave. Most of the graves were marked with wooden crosses or grave markers. I took pictures of the most interesting ones.
It was great to see my old friend and try to catch up on the passed 30 years. She does not live so far away now, only one state over. My Sierra Vista friend and I hope to visit at her home sometime in the near future. Her daughters are smart and beautiful and I enjoyed meeting them.
We celebrated Valentine's Day in February with chocolate cake and candy. Then in March, our oldest grandson turned 11 years old. We celebrated his birthday a week late because everyone was too sick to get together on the day. Steve had pneumonia, and everyone else had colds or something . Our oldest daughter is still sick. She has been sick for several months now with what seems like a cold. The doctors found no evidence of bronchitis or pneumonia. She finally diagnosed herself when she discovered she has all the symptoms of Valley Fever. There is really no treatment for it unless she does develop pneumonia or something. She has an asthma inhaler and is just trying to wait it out.
I have been looking at ads on Craig's List in the farm and garden part. I cannot decide if I want to get new goats or some other livestock. I did answer an ad where someone was trying to re-home a donkey for $200. I was uneasy about that so I did not protest overly much when Steve said, "NO!" I am planning on getting some chicks soon. Chickens provide meat, eggs and entertainment, aren't too expensive to feed and do not tear my heart out when it it time to, let me say, put them on the dinner table! Maybe I will have pictures of chicks for the next post.
It was my great pleasure to have a visit earlier this month from a gal friend I knew when Steve was stationed in Idaho with the Air Force about 30 plus years ago! She brought her two daughters and spent a few nights here. Then I drove her down to Sierra Vista to meet with another friend that was also in Idaho with us. The 3 of us, all pretty much "old Ladies" now, visited Tombstone for a day. I had never been to the Boot Hill Grave yard in Tombstone. It was very interesting. The men who fought the famous gunfight at the OK Corral against Wyatt Earp and Dr. Holiday were buried there in one big grave. Most of the graves were marked with wooden crosses or grave markers. I took pictures of the most interesting ones.
It was great to see my old friend and try to catch up on the passed 30 years. She does not live so far away now, only one state over. My Sierra Vista friend and I hope to visit at her home sometime in the near future. Her daughters are smart and beautiful and I enjoyed meeting them.
We celebrated Valentine's Day in February with chocolate cake and candy. Then in March, our oldest grandson turned 11 years old. We celebrated his birthday a week late because everyone was too sick to get together on the day. Steve had pneumonia, and everyone else had colds or something . Our oldest daughter is still sick. She has been sick for several months now with what seems like a cold. The doctors found no evidence of bronchitis or pneumonia. She finally diagnosed herself when she discovered she has all the symptoms of Valley Fever. There is really no treatment for it unless she does develop pneumonia or something. She has an asthma inhaler and is just trying to wait it out.
I have been looking at ads on Craig's List in the farm and garden part. I cannot decide if I want to get new goats or some other livestock. I did answer an ad where someone was trying to re-home a donkey for $200. I was uneasy about that so I did not protest overly much when Steve said, "NO!" I am planning on getting some chicks soon. Chickens provide meat, eggs and entertainment, aren't too expensive to feed and do not tear my heart out when it it time to, let me say, put them on the dinner table! Maybe I will have pictures of chicks for the next post.
Monday, March 4, 2013
This will be my last post about our South American Cruise. On February 1, 2013, we docked at Cozamel, Mexico. This was the first day we had cloudy, rainy skies and less than ideal conditions. It was a very long walk through a crowded shopping mall to get to our tour bus. But we did get an idea of stores to shop at on the way back to the ship.
Our first stop was a history museum where models of the Mayan civilization were featured. These were small replicas of some of the ruins we had visited and others that were more famous that we did not visit on this trip. It was cool to see how the temples and villages were set up during their hay day. We also got to see men in native costumes climb a very tall pole and swing down upside down. I managed to get photos while they were on the ground, but my camera battery quit. By the time I got a new one in, the men had already completed their performance. Pretty scary stuff! I would have enjoyed knowing more about the significance of this particular pole dance. I either did not hear the tour guide's explanation or there was none.
After that we got back on the bus to visit another historic sight. They were rebuilding the first Catholic church and other historic buildings at this stop. Mostly, it was known for the black coral jewelry that the people sold there. You can tell the difference between black coral and say, onyx or obsidian, because the coral has little rings, like tree rings, that appear when it is cut for jewelry. It is also very light compared to the other stones. I picked up a necklace made with several pieces of coral and jade stones. I asked the vendor for the price. He told me $60! Wow! Well, I only had $40 to spend and told him so as I handed the necklace back to him. It was crowded and so I was slowly making my way out of the store. The vendor suddenly appeared in front of me again and said he would take my $40 for the necklace! Made me wonder if I could've made a better bargain! But I do like the necklace. Steve and I got our picture taken with a cute little donkey at this stop.
Next we drove along the beach and made stops for pictures at several scenic spots. Our destination was the tequila tasting factory. We walked by a field of blue agave plants. Tequila is made from the root of the blue agave. The hosts at the factory handed out little tasting cups to everyone who wanted to sample the varieties of tequila. Steve sampled each one. He thought some were too sweet and liked others. I took pictures because usually tequila does not agree with me. I loved the beautiful bottles filled with the blue tequila.
We returned to the dock and all the shops and stores and crowds of people. I was tired, hungry and frustrated. It was our last stop and I still had gifts to buy for people back home. It was also super windy and pouring down rain by this time. We managed to find hats and the gifts we needed and finally headed back to the safety and warmth of the ship.
That night on board the crew treated everyone to a "Chocaholics' Buffet." They had just about every chocolate confection one could imagine, brownies, eclairs, Boston Cream pie, Black Forest cake, lady fingers, fudge, cream puffs etc., etc. It was so crowded that we grabbed a plateful and headed for the wine store. Then we enjoyed our chocolate and wine in the privacy of our stateroom. It seemed a fitting end to our shipboard adventure.
The following day was spent at sea headed back to New Orleans. I think that was one of the fastest weeks of my life! Next time I will catch up on what has been happening since we got home.
Our first stop was a history museum where models of the Mayan civilization were featured. These were small replicas of some of the ruins we had visited and others that were more famous that we did not visit on this trip. It was cool to see how the temples and villages were set up during their hay day. We also got to see men in native costumes climb a very tall pole and swing down upside down. I managed to get photos while they were on the ground, but my camera battery quit. By the time I got a new one in, the men had already completed their performance. Pretty scary stuff! I would have enjoyed knowing more about the significance of this particular pole dance. I either did not hear the tour guide's explanation or there was none.
After that we got back on the bus to visit another historic sight. They were rebuilding the first Catholic church and other historic buildings at this stop. Mostly, it was known for the black coral jewelry that the people sold there. You can tell the difference between black coral and say, onyx or obsidian, because the coral has little rings, like tree rings, that appear when it is cut for jewelry. It is also very light compared to the other stones. I picked up a necklace made with several pieces of coral and jade stones. I asked the vendor for the price. He told me $60! Wow! Well, I only had $40 to spend and told him so as I handed the necklace back to him. It was crowded and so I was slowly making my way out of the store. The vendor suddenly appeared in front of me again and said he would take my $40 for the necklace! Made me wonder if I could've made a better bargain! But I do like the necklace. Steve and I got our picture taken with a cute little donkey at this stop.
Next we drove along the beach and made stops for pictures at several scenic spots. Our destination was the tequila tasting factory. We walked by a field of blue agave plants. Tequila is made from the root of the blue agave. The hosts at the factory handed out little tasting cups to everyone who wanted to sample the varieties of tequila. Steve sampled each one. He thought some were too sweet and liked others. I took pictures because usually tequila does not agree with me. I loved the beautiful bottles filled with the blue tequila.
We returned to the dock and all the shops and stores and crowds of people. I was tired, hungry and frustrated. It was our last stop and I still had gifts to buy for people back home. It was also super windy and pouring down rain by this time. We managed to find hats and the gifts we needed and finally headed back to the safety and warmth of the ship.
That night on board the crew treated everyone to a "Chocaholics' Buffet." They had just about every chocolate confection one could imagine, brownies, eclairs, Boston Cream pie, Black Forest cake, lady fingers, fudge, cream puffs etc., etc. It was so crowded that we grabbed a plateful and headed for the wine store. Then we enjoyed our chocolate and wine in the privacy of our stateroom. It seemed a fitting end to our shipboard adventure.
The following day was spent at sea headed back to New Orleans. I think that was one of the fastest weeks of my life! Next time I will catch up on what has been happening since we got home.
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