Boxing Day Pictures

Beautiful sunny day, no snow. It has been very spring like over Christmas. Chickens were enjoying the great weather. Even the cat was into what was left of the catnip.

First winter storm

Macabre sense of humor

This is "The Family". They live on a shelf near the ceiling. They are very quiet during daylight hours, but at midnight they slip down off the shelf and make mischief . If you awaken before dawn and listen very carefully you can sometimes hear tiny footsteps rushing here and there and the rustling of their clothing. Occasionally you will hear a thump when something has been accidentally knocked over. On arising in the morning you will see that they are all safely back in place on the shelf.

This brings back a memory of when I first moved in with Roger. We were both living in the city at the time and he had a boarding house. The boarders were mostly people from the insane asylum whom the authorities in their ultimate wisdom deemed it ok to let them out as long as they took their medication. I took it into my head one day to make a two foot high old lady doll with great bulging eyes and grey hair, all frazzled out. When she was finished, I made a fake knife and attached it to her hand. The guys had their rooms on the second floor of the house and had to go up so many steps then there was a landing then a few more steps. So....over the landing I hung a macramé plant hanger and sat the doll in it. To tell the truth, I thought it was rather cute. After a while Rogers says, "What have you done, the guys are doing double takes and rushing past that creature, you will have them sent back to the hospital." I thought everyone would get a great laugh out of it......not so. Well, what can I say, that's my macabre sense of humor.

xmas fun

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Tuesday Dec. 5th

Well, I really must continue on for a moment about yesterday. I went out to let the chickens out into their greenhouse area, when I got inside the greenhouse didn't the door slam shut making the latch come down over the hook and there I was locked in with the chickens. I had just a brief moment of panic I must admit. Yelled out hoping Roger might hear me but he was in the bathroom getting washed up. Well, I thought, eventually he will wonder where I was and come looking but then thought he would probably just turn on the TV or radio to get the news, make breakfast, etc, forgetting me entirely. I just burst out laughing with the thought of it all. So I said to myself, you can get yourself out of this if you just stop and think. I spied a piece of thin wood lying on the floor, then managed to push it out through a very thin opening where the top of the door meets the main part of the greenhouse. I was able to bang on the latch and bingo.....it popped open. Now to the snow storm. Woke up to a lot of heavy snow down and still snowing. The electricity had been knocked out and consequently we had no water as the main pump in the community is run by electricity. We spent a good part of the morning shoveling snow and finally got it all done. The electricity and water came back on about 2:00 pm. What a day! More snow expected tonight.

Damn and Blast

While sitting at the computer this morning, enjoying my coffee and reading blogs I hear a great crash from the guest bedroom. Went running in to see what happened!!! On one wall I have two miniature doll houses, fully furnished. The two shelves were off the wall, houses, people in them, furniture, some broken up, all over the floor. What a flippin mess!! I'm inclined to blame one of the cats for trying to jump in one of the houses but see no guilty faces about. The morning will be taken up with trying to sort all of this out and I had already planned on making some seasonal wreaths, after shoveling more snow of course, yuk. Now a winter storm is expected overnight, jeez, is there no end to it. Woke up this morning full of aches and pains and wondering why until I remembered I was shoveling snow yesterday and up on the ladder pushing the damned stuff of the chickens roof. I'M GETTING TOO OLD FOR ALL THIS STUFF!!!!!!!

My week....

Started off on Wednesday for the nearest large town, wanted to get groceries in for the next month or so, look for presents for the family and one of the supermarkets had fake six foot xmas trees on sale for $15.00. We've had a fake tree for years as I don't like "killing" a live one. I know, I know, it smells lovely and all the rest of it, but I don't think it's necessary. Anyway, the old one has started to lose its needles so time for a new one and at that price I couldn't pass it up. Finished all the shopping and was coming out of the supermarket with a cart full of groceries and said tree. Now, normally when we empty the cart we put it back in the section for the carts. Well, it was quite windy and bitterly cold so I jumped in the car and let Roger put the groceries in the trunk. He being cold as well, got in the car and forgot to put the cart back. I happened to look back as we were driving off and a woman had one hand on the cart and was shaking a fist in the air, obviously cursing at us. So we arrived back home, I was putting stuff in the freezer when a voice came from the kitchen yelling "Come here quick". I ran in, the floor was full of water and the carpet I have under the kitchen table was soaked. Oh no, I thought, not a busted pipe. Then all of a sudden I realized that a jug of water I had on the floor had been tipped over by one of the cats. What a mess, groceries, and other items all over the kitchen and this mess. Got it all cleaned up eventually and had to roll the carpet back so it could dry. So, that night when Roger was getting washed, I hear the voice from the bathroom, "Come here quick." Oh God, I say, what now. NO HOT WATER! Called the plumber, he came the next morning and said the hot water tank had a leak in the top so had to get a new one. Jumped in the car and bought another one. They delivered it that night so next day the plumber came and it is now installed. He drained the old one, hauled it outside, hauled the new one in and set it up and he only charged $25.00. As to today, we are getting weather alerts that there is a system headed our way bringing up to 25 cm of snow. It's been snowing all morning and the chickens are very disgruntled as I haven't let them out of the "greenhouse" area. However, they have roosts there and the earth floor, lots of food and water and room to move around. Hopefully the worst of the snow will by-pass us. I really don't want to see it yet.

Tuesday, Nov. 28th.

Light snow falling, chickens aren't too thrilled about it all. They have gone for cover under the deck. Hopefully it won't amount to much. The quicker winter is over the better. I do believe I have a rat making a home under the hen house. There is an opening just under the left hand side of said house and a couple of days ago I noticed a lot of fresh soil kicked out around that area. No reason for it, but that a creature has been throwing it out from under the house. Now there is a haphazard, though strong and steady greenhouse attached to the hen house so the girls have a nice warm area for daytime use when snow is on the ground. Their food and water is kept there and this morning I saw a lovely little packed down path going from the corner of the hen house to the bowl of hens food. I am assuming it's a rat. I don't mind it staying there as long as it doesn't cause any trouble. I threw some mint leaves in the hen house itself as I read somewhere that mint will keep rats at bay. Otherwise, it has been a very uneventful few days.

Friday

Went into the city on Tuesday to get a new computer. I took the small bus in and it always stops half way for ten minutes so the passengers can go to the bathroom or buy something to eat. Everyone got off the bus and just before our ten minutes were up the bus driver comes racing towards us saying he had locked the keys in the bus. The male passengers and driver tried everything to get the door open even shaking the bus which was quite a sight. The driver had also left his cell phone on the bus so had to use the telephone in the restaurant. He came back out saying someone from the garage in the nearest community would be here as soon as possible to get the door opened. He didn't know how long it would be so we all settled in for a long wait. Thankfully, about 20 minutes later we were on our way. The next day I bought a computer and took it to my daughters who started getting it set up for me. As there was some stuff she had to do out here, we both came out yesterday and now I'm all set to go. Yay!! So, now everything is back to normal, inside and outside. I say outside because such funny things happen to me every once in a while. I went out with seed for the feeders this morning. I quickly pulled on a pair of pants with a draw string at the waist to tighten or loosen them. I was just about up the top of the ladder to get to a feeder on a high branch, container of food in one hand and hanging onto the ladder with the other, when my pants fell to my knees. Didn't have them tied tight enough. So here I was, winter hat on, short winter jacket, pants down to my knees and to top it all I had no underwear panties on. Two cars went down the road at this time. Need I say more. lol

#^*#&*% Computer

This has been one of the most depressing weeks of my life because My Computer is still not working right!!!!!!!!

My Wonderful Pumpkin

After the Pumpkin I had threw itself off the deck and committed "Pumpkin Suicide", I emailed the friend who grew it and brought it to me, telling him what had happened. He emailed me back and said that I would not be without a Pumpkin for the 31st. He and his wife dropped by yesterday and told me I would have the pumpkin in the afternoon. Well, shortly after they left it poured down with rain, so later in the afternoon, still raining, I phoned them to say that it was just too wet and miserable a day for him to be doing this. His wife said he was outside, soaking wet, taking the inside of the beastie out and they would be over with it shortly. He had already done a larger one but it was so big he couldn't get it in the car. Before long they arrived and lugged the creature up and onto the deck. Put it in one chair and it broke the chair, lol, had to get another chair and managed to get it in that but it wouldn't go all the way into the seat. Never the less, it stuck there. Now are they great friends or what!! Early this morning I was out carving a face in it. I am so pleased.

Friday Morning......Sigh!

Well, I couldn't connected to the internet most of the morning so needless to say I was getting a little frustrated. I figured I'd leave it for awhile so my mind went on to this large Pumpkin a friend grew and gave me. I wanted it on the front porch and had to get it up four steps. As it was so heavy I couldn't get it off the ground, someone suggested I cut the top off and take out the inside. Brilliant idea! So I go out with a very large knife and a scoop and start to work on it. This made it considerably lighter so still, nearly wrecking my back, I get it up on the deck. Thinking I would carve the face out later today, I put the top back on, went down the steps and looked back at it and decided I had found the perfect place for it. Came back inside and tried the computer again. Yay, it was working again. After a while, I got up and looked out the front door....Sob!!....there, back down on the ground is my pumpkin all in peices. I was shattered, not unlike the pumpkin. I don't know how it got knocked over but one of the cats was there looking up at me. Could it be that she pushed it over??

Something nice happened yesterday. I saw a Grey Jay outside. Haven't seen one around for over a year I'd say. So, I got my camera and some bread and managed to get a picture. It was very awkward with the camera in one hand and holding the other hand out with the food for the Jay. I hope more start coming around as they are such sweet creatures.

Wednesday morning.

I don't seem to have much to write about here on a daily basis. My life seems rather boring compared to other bloggers. Up before daylight, put coffee on, feed cats, light fire in stove, let chickens out at daybreak, fill bird feeders, clean house, do things that need doing outside. Roger has been away for a week now, two more to go. My daughter came for a few days last Thursday and stayed until Monday past. As always it was wonderful to have her here. We didn't accomplish all the things we had planned. She spent a lot of time upgrading my computer. A friend, who grows these giant Pumpkins, brought me one on the weekend. I told him to bring the smallest one he had. As it was, he had to strap it onto his body with this carry thingy. I told him to put it down near the gate as I couldn't think where I wanted it at the time. Later, my daughter suggested I put it on the small front deck so that it could be seen from the road when lit. The next morning I went out and rolled it across the lawn and managed to get it to the bottom of the steps. Today, if it ever stops raining I will try to get it up the four steps to the deck. Don't think I will manage it though. I daresay I will have to call on "a Man" to do the job. It's been raining here for days. Everything is soaked outside, however, I can hear the stream rushing and when I walk over besides it I feel I am in another world. So quiet except for the sound of the water. I lean up against one of the big trees and close my eyes, it's magical.

Drat, bears around and about!

I got word early this morning that bears have been sighted all around here. We were thinking they weren't around this fall as we had not seen one and no signs of any. We have heard noises coming from the woods and it sounds like a larger creature is about, but then I've heard scratching and scraping and on checking it out it's only been fox sparrows scraping through the fallen leaves looking for bugs. Now fox sparrows I don't mind but bears make me nervous, although there has never been a bear attack here to my knowledge.

Last spring, I was in the city, and my partner said he looked outside and there was the largest black bear he has ever seen, sitting in one of the flower beds munching on a plant. This was only about 20 feet from the deck. He goes out and starts yelling and blowing his whistle to try to drive the bear away, but this only gets the bear curious and he gets up and starts walking towards the deck. That put paid to that nonsense! Another time, I went out early in the morning to let the chickens out when I saw the door was off the chicken house. The hens were fine but all their food was eaten. One time I had left a line of clothes out overnight as it hadn't dried during the day, the next morning all of it was off the line and rolled up in large balls. Another time I was carrying a bucket of compost through one of the archways when I looked up and there was a young bear running towards me. Needless to say I got out of there quickly. Looked like he was having a bit of fun.

I'm not going to go into all the stories I can tell, the thing is, my partner is soon going away for three weeks and I'm stuck here by myself with bears around. It can be rather nerve wracking to say the least. Looking over my shoulder any time I'm outside. So, at day break, I'll be in my pajamas, with a Spanish dueling knife in my hand, as if that's going to help, lol, nervously headed for the chicken house to let them out and hoping that I don't see, I'll say it, an amazingly beautiful creature in my path.

Another lost trip to the City.

I took the afternoon bus into the city last Thursday, my parents picked me up once I arrived, then went to their house for supper. My daughter met us there and after supper we went to her house. I went in specificially to help her clean and fix up the third floor of her house as she is hoping to get a boarder to help with expenses. I also had a list of things I wanted to get while in the city. Friday morning, I started in on the cleaning and by lunch time it was looking pretty darn good. We decided to go shopping for part of the afternoon. I managed to get a few things on the list so after about two hours we went back to her place. After having a bite to eat we went to an opening at one of the art galleries then on to the Crows Nest, a private club, where we met up with a friend for a drink and chat. It was all lovely until we arrived back at my daughters at about 8:30pm. She checked her phone messages and there was a frantic call telling me to phone home immediately. I phoned and my partner answered, I could barely understand what he was saying, then a friend whom he had called when he found he was in trouble took the phone. Her and her husband were there, the ambulance had just arrive, partners speach was all slurred, his right eye was swollen and painful, his right arm wasn't working right and he could barely walk. She said that her husband was going to follow the ambulance to the hospital, an hours drive away, and she would phone back as soon as she heard something. Her husband, bless him, stayed at the hospital until 2:30 in the morning. In the mean time my parents said they would take me back home and stay with me for a couple of days. I phoned the hospital when we arrived and they said everything was fine, blood work, EKG, and cat scan were all negative. He was released that same afternoon so my Dad and I went in and picked him up. Although a bit weak, otherwise in good spirits. However, around midnight that night, it came on him again, only this time not so bad. He sat up for awhile, then lay down in bed and went fast to sleep. Thankfully he has been fine ever since except for feeling a bit weak. When Monday came, we had a big argument. I said he should go to the local doctor and tell him what had happened on the weekend. No way could I get him to go. So, we still don't know what happened. It seems that everytime I go to the city for a few days something terrible happens to him, healthwise. My daughter is thinking it's maybe anxiety attacks brought on because I have left him for a few days. lol, hard to believe that. He now takes his blood pressure three times a day as he is very nervous over his health. Although he would never admit that. So.............what can one do, he's still planning to go on his trip to the US on the l7th of this month. In the mean time I'm worried that he is going to have another "attack" of what ever it was. I wish they knew what had happened so we could at least put a name to it and do something about it.

Me and my PC

I was in a chat room the other night when a window came up telling me that an error occured, almost immediately I lost the chat room, lost Yahoo and my email was in a mess. The next morning I finally got it all straighted out and it started me thinking of when I first got the computer and internet. This was only a little over a year ago. Friends and family had been pushing me for sometime to get on the internet. My answer was always, "No way, I want nothing to do with it." So, last June I went to the city to visit my daughter and while watching her on her computer I expressed an interest in it. She was quick to say that she knew of a second hand computer shop where I could get myself one really cheap. Well, I mulled it over in my head for a time and finally said, "Ok, lets go." Well, as I knew absolutely nothing about these things, she picked one out for me and I did get it all quite cheap. Excitement was setting in, wow, I had a computer. We went back to my daughters house and she phoned the company who services my area, talked to them about what I needed and they said they would have a guy out to hook me up in three weeks. So, I bring my new purchase back home with me and wait patiently for the cable guy. The day finally arrives when he is suppose to come. Ah ha, here he is. Oh, I'm so excited. So, he's here working away and I say "I guess you know all about computers." thinking I might get a tip or two. "Nah," he says, "Don't have one, don't want one." "Oh!" says I. He finishes and proceeds to tell me that I have to phone head office, get ahold of a technician, who will help me set up an account. Ok, this shouldn't be too hard and I had learned how to turn the computer on. Here I am sitting in front of the machine, with the telephone to one ear and trying to follow this guys instructions. He finally got so fed up he told me I had better get someone who knew how to use a mouse. I nearly wept. I had to call a friend to come over then call the technician back and my friend went through the process for me. All I can say is that it's a good thing I have a cheap long distance rate as I was calling my daughter everyday for more instructions on how to do things. And bless her, she was so patient. There were times when I'd get so frustrated I was almost vomiting......yes, vomiting. Now, I'm a person who learns quickly, but not knowing anything about the computer world I found it difficult to understand the language. Well, fall arrived and I had joined a wildlife forum and was invited to join a chat room by one of the members. I was thrilled. All I had to do was download Yahoo. Another phone call to daughter. She walked me through it, no problem. The first time I went in chat they were flying through cyber-space, going from one room to another. I was nearly out of my mind trying to keep up. I had so many windows up I hardly knew where I was, but I managed. The next day, my partner, who only knows how to get to a couple of news sites was at the computer and yelled out, "There's something here from someone named Boo." I nearly broke his leg shoving him off the chair to get my first Yahoo message. Yep, it was funny. Another time in chat they were saying they could see this one and that one, then someone said they could see me. I'm embarrassed to admit it, but I thought somehow or other they could really see me and I was frantically trying to fix my hair. Then, of course I realized what they meant. Well, time has gone by and I am now quite relaxed with it all. I've learned a lot of things over this past year, more than I ever thought I would. Mind you, I still have a lot to learn. I've gotten well past the point where I would tearfully say that I didn't want it anymore and figured I'd get rid of the whole set-up. Now you would have to bang me over the head to get it out of my hands, lol.

Yesterday a rain storm

Yesterday we got the tail end of a hurricane that came up the east coast of the U.S. Lots of wind, the trees were dancing. As there are many aspens around the house, some more than fifty feet tall, it was a bit of a worry that one might fall over and come through the roof. Of course this didn't happen and I really didn't think it would as the trees around here are well use to high winds. However a couple of the smaller trees broke off. Poured rain all day but that never stopped ten Blue Jays sticking around, cleaning out the feeders. What a bedraggled lot they looked. This past weeks the birds are emptying the feeders faster than I can fill them. Maybe they are aware of something I'm not, like maybe winter is close at hand. Ah well! Today is a beautiful sunny day, the ground is very wet but as its suppose to be sunny for the next week, hopefully it will dry up fast. The stream is rushing and it sounds wonderful, birds all around, sun shinning, what else could anyone want. Some pictures of the stream and a couple of small trees that broke off:

Our hearts are broken.

Tommy was a homeless cat when we took him into our hearts about twelve years ago. If a cat can be called a gentleman, that's what he was. Everyone loved him. He spent many hours in sunny weather stretched out on the rail of the deck with one arm hanging over each side appearing to be meditating. To get me up in the morning he would lay across my shoulder and pull on my hand to tell me "Come on now, I want my breakfast" and of course I always responded. In the winter he would walk up through the woods with my partner, playing hide and seek along the way. So many things can be said about Tommy. So many stories. Well, we noticed that he had lost a little weight but he seemed fine otherwise. Then last Saturday I noticed his weight had dropped quite a bit and he was looking sick and just not his normal self. As the Vet wouldn't be open until Monday I had to wait until then to make an appointment. Between Saturday and Monday he wasn't eating and I would find him lying in one of the flower beds staring into space. I would bring him in but he would want to go outside again. So, Monday arrived and I got an appointment for the next day, yesterday. He was looking pretty bad by now. We arrived at the vets and my partner said he just couldn't go in. He told me to take food and water with us because he might be hungry after the vets visit. I knew Tommy wouldn't be coming back alive but never the less I took the food and water. Looking at him at first the Vet said he had something quite serious. She examined him, saw his mouth was full of cysts (not the right word, can't think of it now), and as he had been drinking an awful lot of water and other signs, said he had liver disease. She said it was not curable but he could be put on drugs to extend his life for a few months. I broke down, went to peices. I said I didn't want him suffering anymore and to put him down. How terribly, terribly awful. She said she would leave me with him for a few minutes so I told him how much I loved him and loved him and kissed him with tears running down my face. Then she came to get him and I went out in the waiting room and lost it again. I had brought with me a cloth I had bought while in India to wrap him in and had given that to the vet. After a few minutes he was brought out to me and I took him in my arms and his little body was still warm and I completely went to peices. Wailing is the only word to describe it. I walked out to the car with him and my partner lost it. It was awful. We both sat there crying. Finally drove home and immediately burried him next to Ivy and Fred. My partner and I were holding each other in tears. It was as if we had burried our heart. What a brave little soul he was, and we always felt, an old soul. So, today I have to make a marker and go on from there. We will never forget our darling Thomas.

Thomas

I just sat down to write a different blog this morning but can't seem to get my head around it. I have a heavy heart today. We are taking our oldest cat Thomas to the vet this afternoon. This past week he has lost a lot of weight, has stopped eating and is very weak. I'm afraid of what the end result of the vet visit is going to be. Sorry, I just can't go on writing about this.

I love books. I love reading. Two of the living room walls are nothing but book shelves holding close to three thousand books, all doubled up with one row in front of the other. I keep putting off the job of sorting through them all and getting rid of at least a thousand. Books also piled up on the bedroom floor and other places. As we don't have access to a book store or library, this time of year I go to yard sales to see if I can build up a stash for reading over the winter. Most of the reading material at these sales are romance novels which I really have no time for but this morning I went to a yard sale and lo and behold the woman had a pile of them on a table and her taste was like mine. I came away with a large bag of books, mostly British mysteries, my favorite. I was over the moon to say the least and only 25 cents for each hard cover. I felt like I had just found the pot of gold. Well, my partners friend is leaving today. They both weighed themselves yesterday and my partner had gained five pounds and his friend had gained four pounds since Wednesday. A bit of depression set in to say the least but once we get back to normal he will lose it again. Must have been all my great cooking, did them in, lol. Bloody cold here this morning, had to put the fire in again. Ah well, it's suppose to warm up a bit this coming week. There is no question that fall is here though. There is a man up the road who gets a lot of hens in the spring so he can make some money selling eggs all summer primarily to the tourists. As we were going by last week I saw him standing outside by his fence and thought I'd stop to ask him if he was getting rid of any of the chickens. He said yes after the 15th of September I could come by and he would give me half a dozen as he wouldn't be selling many eggs after that. I was well pleased as the two I have are getting quite old and if something happens to one of them the other one would be quite lonely by itself. I will probably be going to the nearest large town this week. About an hours drive from me. Will have to stock up on food for the birds, they are cleaning out the feeders so fast these days. I imagine it's because the nights are so cold now.

Eleven pounds gone!

Well "he" has lost eleven pounds to date, bless him. Says he is starved to death all the time. It's going to be difficult the next few days as his friend is visiting from Nova Scotia and there is lots of great food and wine around. Pouring rain today but had to go out and fill the feeders. The birds are eating so much these days it seems I spend half my time putting food out for them. Two of them nearly knocked me off the ladder as I was filling two feeders. Cheeky devils, some of them have no fear of me. Needless to say I got soaked to the skin. Chilly inside this morning so have the woodstove going. Very cozy. Dreading winter, so much shovelling and it goes on for so long.

Frustrating Morning

I'm not sure if it's good or bad to be able to vent ones frustrations on a Blog, never the less, here I go. Now, the thing is, me and my partner can not work together. Maybe I should say that he doesn't mind working with me but I can't stand working with him. If he puts something together it's all cockeyed, not measured right and if it takes two nails or screws he will put ten. I'm not saying that I can do everything perfectly, but I can see how things work far better. So.....I bought a new medicine cabinet for the bathroom. I was hoping to put it up myself while he was out of the house, but for some god forsaken reason I decided to put it up this morning while "he" was here. First, the screws he was trying to put on were too fat for the holes provided, then as he was putting the screws through the back of the cabinet, it fell, as he needed three hands, and commenced blaming me for not being right there. Ok, so I held the cabinet up for him. Ah, all done, only problem is I have to stand on my toes to be able to see in the mirror. Of course, being taller, he says he can see in perfectly well and doesn't know what my problem is. Rather than go through the whole process again I decide to let it remain as it is. Now, I had also bought a nice little wooden shelf cabinet to go under the medicine cabinet. He goes and gets that saying we might as well put this one up now too. I say, "Why don't you go for your walk and I will look after putting this one up." No chance!! So I'm told to measure the distance the holes are apart, mark the wall, etc. No, I'm told I have it measured wrong. Ok, I say, you measure it. He does. I'm watching and tell him he has it measured wrong. No, he says, he has it right. Ok, I say, put the screws in and try it, it's not going to go on right. He does and realizes that the thing won't go on the wall as the screws are too far apart. So, now he tells me to measure it, ha, I do. He puts the screw in the right place but down too low, which I remark on to no avail. That done the wooden shelf cabinet goes up. Unfortunately, it's all ascrew as one side is lower than the other. I had to walk away from it all. I let him struggle with it on his own and now finally it's all up, over and done with. I suppose I shouldn't complain too much, he is good at some things, bless him.

Fat flying off and other stuff

Well, he's been dieting for three days now and has lost five pounds. Granted, that's mostly water, however he says he is encouraged. I think this will keep him going for another while. I've noticed that this year in the garden there are more bugs than ever before, some I haven't really seen since I was a child growing up when there were all kind of insects flying and walking around during the summer months. It seems the garden is settling into a comfortable harmony. I was outside collecting seeds yesterday when I heard the sound of wood hitting wood. Couldn't figure for the life of me what it was. It was spooky as otherwise it was very quiet outside except for the sounds the birds were making. I started walking around, following the sound when I saw what it was. The squirrel had finally figured out how to get into the squirrel feeder and as he got the food out, the top of the feeder would come down and knock against the bottom part. I was so pleased with his success, I just stood there watching. It's a glorious day here now so I'm off to cut back the herbs and tie them up into bundles for drying.

So much to do!

Well, it's a miserable rainy day. The cats are all curled up asleep on beds and chairs. Partner is napping, and I'm thinking of all the things I have to do and want to do in the coming months. Although the days have been relatively warm, the nights are getting quite cool and the feel of fall is in the air. Yesterday was a beautiful sunny day so as I had a lot of plants started from seed and still in pots I decided it was time to put them in the ground. Spent the morning moving other plants to other areas to make room for the new ones. This meant digging, lifting, and carting soil from the compost heap to the new areas. I was beat by noon as I usually go at this stuff like a mad person and want it all done yesterday. At least I had a feeling of acomplishment when I finished. I lay down after lunch for a bit of a read and two hours later, woke up. I've started collecting seed from some of the plants and the next fine day I have to cut large bunches of herbs and hang them up to dry. I do this every year and the only place I have to dry them is the small guest bedroom. Needless to say for a period of time the room is packed with drying herbs but I love the smells and it only takes a couple of weeks before I can bag them. Then I have to get to the beach to get a load of sea oat grasses to make Bridget Crosses. I have to cut alder branches to make Dream Catchers and I have to make up a pile of Protection Kits. That's for starters! Next month, I have to amend the earth in most of the gardens, cut back plants and move some to better areas. Then a general tidying up until next spring. I'm hoping to get back to painting over the winter and am also considering writing a childrens book. Something I've been putting on the back burner for some time. I bought a bunch of jointed teddy bears and I want to make clothes for them so I can give them as gifts. Don't know how much of this I will accomplish before the spring seed catalogues start arriving, then I will be lost altogether. My partner was told by the doctor today that he has high cholesterol, triglycerides and sugar in his blood so he has to go on a strict diet. Ha, ha, and ha! I just heard him say he was going to the store to buy a lemon pie. He will start his diet tomorrow, he says. Well, the rain looks like it's held up for awhile so must try to do a few things outside.

Another death in our little family

Well, it's been a bit of a tramatic week and a half. My daughter had to get one of her cats put down as she was full of growths and tumors and had started to fade. Nothing could be done for her and she seemed to be suffering. She brought her out here and we buried her next to dear old Fred in a nice spot among the trees. It was a tearful goodbye, very sad. Then, Tuesday past I was ready to go into the city. I had about five minutes to get my luggage in the car and get to the highway to catch the bus. As I was picking up my suitcase to go out the door I heard one of the hens cry out. The three hens have full run of the property and never leave it and this noise was coming from the front of the house. I immediately looked out and saw a dog run around the side of the house. I went tearing out the back door to try and head him off. Dogs are not allowed to run free in this community so I never have this sort of problem. Anyway when I got out there were two great huge dogs there. They looked something like rotweillers but weren't although they had huge heads and big chests. They looked very well kept and well fed. I screamed at them to get out of here and they ran toward the gate. One turned around and started coming towards me. Now, was this dog in attack mode? Well, he came within a few feet of me and I yelled at him to go so he headed back around the property with me chasing him to get him out the gate. My partner yelled out that he had one out and I yelled back that the other one was coming his way. We got that one out and they both ran up the road. What a mess! I was panic struck because I couldn't find two of the hens and also because I had to catch the bus. It, going to the city only once a day. We searched all over and couldn't find them, I was sick about it all and had to go. Later that evening I phoned my partner and he said one of the hens had come back but he looked all over again and couldn't find the other one. He asked around to see if anyone knew who owned the dogs but no one did. I was ready to tear a strip off the owner when I got back if I ever found out who it was. I figured they must have belonged to some visitors. Then my partner phones while I'm in the city and tells me he is running a fever with horrendous pains in his stomach, then he phones the day before I am due to come home and tells me that one of our cats has been missing for two nights and three days. It seems everytime I go to the city for a few days everything falls apart here. Totally stressed out and worried about the cat I arrive home and thankfully the cat turned up just before I arrived. Lulu, the hen, must be dead so now I have to go out and look for a body. As much as I love animals, I'm afraid that if I see those two dogs here again I might go in a killing mode myself. Ah well, I suppose I can't blame the dogs but I can blame the owners.

My new Lawn Mower!

Well, this week my wonderful old beauty of a lawn mower bit the dust. I bought it off a neighbour about five years ago for the great sum of $20.00. He says it's about forty years old but it never failed me even though it was rusty and had bits missing. Every year I would haul it out of storage, pull the rope and off she'd go. The old fellow next door would just shake his head and in great amazement say he couldn't understand why it was still working. I guess everything just gave up inside it this week, a large peice fell off it and there was smoke and gas flying everywhere. So, now I had to get a new one. I heard they were on sale about an hours drive from us so Friday morning we hopped in the car and set off. I don't know what I was thinking, I thought it would come assembled, ha, ha. I was given a box and told it was just the wheels and handle that had to be attached. I can do that, I said to myself, so we put it in the car and made our way home. We got home in time for a quick lunch then out I went to open the box and see what I had. A lovely bright red machine. There were the wheels, the handle in two parts and a funny cable that went somewhere and of course the usual bag of nuts, bolts, washers and screws. I could see trouble on the horizon. Now, most times, I'm pretty good at getting my head around how things go together while my partner is absolutely hopeless at this sort of thing. Hence, we can never work together without me blowing up with frustration. He offered to help, but I said to stay away from me, I would manage it myself. lol. Now to the instruction book. I couldn't understand a word of it, might as well have been in another language and oft times these instructions are. I laid all the nuts and bolts out, looked at the book, the pictures and the parts. Tried attaching parts, no didn't go on right. After about an hour I was so frustrated I was at the point of throwing up. I had to break down and ask my partner for help. We were at it for about three hours and I can tell you it wasn't a pretty sight. Well, we finally got it together but couldn't figure where this cable went. I was beyond frustrated by now and after kicking the machine, said to put the bloody thing back in the box and take it back to the store. Right about then friends phoned and said they were coming for coffee and asked me what was wrong as my voice didn't sound right. I explained the situation, and my friend said maybe they could help as it sounded like the one they have. My friends husband looked at the machine and said that something didn't seem right. We had the handle on backwards for one thing. Anyway he knew how the cable went on and fixed things the right way around and finally pulled the cord and off she went. This little red beauty cuts the grass ok, but alas, it will never take the place of my dear old green one.

My weekend

Well, I got my camera working again. Such a silly thing really. Friends stopped by yesterday and I was telling them about the problem I was having with the camera. It telling me the batteries I was putting in were no good. So they suggested I try a couple of the re-chargeable ones that they use. One of them went back to their house and brought back two, put them in the camera and Yay, the camera worked fine. Guess who is buying a battery charger and batteries this week. In the afternoon I was going about taking pictures of all and sundry. It was great! What a feeling of satisfaction to have the camera working again. My brother stopped by on Saturday for a short visit. It was so good to see him. He is so witty and funny. We had a great time and caught up on a lot of things. We had a great meal, Asparagus pastry, pakoras, large veggie salad and stuffing, plus I might add, two bottles of wine. The day was perfect, warm and sunny. I was sad to see him go but so happy I did get to see him. He brought with him an old school chum who he has been friends with since they started school and that was a long time ago. Today the sky is black with cloud but I'm not complaining as the gardens need a good soaking. Everything is growing well and it all looks very pretty. The Blue Jays have been here with their young. Such a racket at times and the young on the tree branches shivering their wings in anticipation of the food the parents are taking from the feeders. Ah, isn't life grand!

Bloody miserable two days!

Well, it all started yesterday morning....my daughter emailed me saying she wasn't coming out this weekend because she had to finish some paintings. Now, that I can handle, but this is the third weekend in a row. You get all excited and on a high, then bang. All gone! Then, shortly after this, I get word that my brother, who is visiting my parents in the city and had planned on coming out here on Friday and see me before he flew home figured he couldn't make it. Then, I had taken some pictures of the garden and the computer wouldn't take them off the camera. I then looked up the flippin Users Guide for the camera. It said I would have to re-install the software. Didn't have a clue how to do that. So here I was, sunk in the depths of depression. I figured the only thing for it was to go shopping. What did I do??? Why I bought myself a hair colour. Light Amber Brown. I felt much better and not only that, I was going to be a new woman when I put this wonderful color in. Now, my hair is a medium brown, but I had it streaked blonde a year or so ago, then of course there was the grey coming in. So early this morning I decide this is the time to do the job. Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha. You've seen pictures of plump older women with bright orange lipstick on, a cigarette dangling from their mouth and bright orange hair. How does that song go "Well it's cryin time again......." I expect I will be sporting a bag on my head for the next while. A bit of good news after all this, was talking to my brother and he says he will make a short visit here on Saturday. Yay!!

Thomas, a funny cat story

We found Thomas about twelve years ago living up in a small "cabin" we have up behind the house. We had been traveling for about a year and a half and when we came back we found him there and welcomed him in as part of the family. I must also add that he took our hearts. Both mine and my partner Rogers. To set up this senario, it was summer, about two years ago and my daughter, who lives in the city, had come out for the weekend. Saturday morning I was outside puttering around when unbeknownst to me Roger took a phone call from one of the neighbours saying that there was a dead cat on the road, having been run over by a car and she thought it might be one of ours. Again, without my knowledge, Roger got a garbage bag, just in case, and went off to check it out. Still puttering around the garden, I turned around and there was Roger, standing there with the bag and obviously something in it, with tears running down his face. I asked him what in the world was wrong. He said that it was Tommy and he was dead, then told me about the phone call. Going towards him I asked if he was sure it was Tommy, he said yes and you don't want to see him. Well, with that I went to pieces. Crying, wailing, stamping my feet, yelling "Why Tommy, Why Tommy!" My daughter came running and put her arms around me and calmed me down. Roger asked what we were going to do with him and I said I would get a shovel and we would bury him. I got the shovel and found a nice spot under a tree, then started digging a hole with tears running down my face. We put him in the ground saying our goodbyes then I went back in the house and Roger went to fix something on one of the windows outside. I was sitting a the kitchen table in the depth of depression. My daughter was in the living room, when all of a sudden she yelled "Mom, come here." I dragged myself out of the chair wondering what she was going on about and went to see. To my utter astonishment, there was Thomas. He had just come out of the bedroom where he had been asleep. We were all jubilant once we got over the initial shock. We found out the next day that we had buried the cat belonging to people down the road. The owner came up and I took her to the gravesite where we both had a cry. I told her the cat could remain there and she said that would be lovely.

Crazy man.

I have to relate this story. My partner went for his morning walk today and as it looked like rain, he took his umbrella with him holding it under his arm. On his way back he saw a truck coming towards him and said to himself, "Ah, here comes Joe." As the truck got nearer he hauled the umbrella out from under his arm and started jumping around the road like a lunatic, brandishing the umbrella like a sword. Unfortunately it wasn't his friend, in fact he didn't know who the person was and I can only imagine the stories flying around this community now about this crazy man who lives on the North Side. Then there was the time we had friends coming for a few days. About the time they were suppose to arrive he put on an outfit he got while travelling in the middle east. Long white robe, black and white checkered head scarf with the black band around it holding it on and a bloody big sword strapped to his waist. Out he goes and starts walking back and forth in the driveway. Nearly put a few cars off the road with that one. And there is more............for later.

Long weekend

Well, the May 24th weekend is over, although it's always held on the weekend before the 24th, if the 24th. comes during a week day. It's suppose to be in honour of Queen Victorias birthday but I think most people have lost sight of that fact. It's the weekend when all the summer people come and open up their homes, people go camping, fishing, and generally partying. People line their trailers up for days to be able to get a spot in the parks. Lots of people camp in gravel pits on the sides of the highway. Someone from away once said to me that it's the only place in the world where he's seen people camp in gravel pits. Ha ha. In fact there has been a song written about it. Lots of police on the roads trying to catch drunk drivers. It's rarely nice on this weekend, always cold, with rain or snow, however it doesn't seem to deter many. The general comments are, "well what do you expect, it is May 24th. weekend after all." We are a pretty laid back bunch of people, I must admit. My weekend was busy, between the rain showers, working on the garden. It's never ending. I have the damn Mint and Bugle overtaking some of the beds so am trying to keep on top of it. Today the carpenter is suppose to come and re-do the back deck as a lot of it has started to rot. Any moment at all someone can go sailing down through parts of it. However, wouldn't you know, it's raining, so probably won't get it done today. Ah, well, tomorrow is another day.

Just rambling

This is about the time of year when the black bears put in an appearance. I have to be very cautious when I go to let the hens out early in the morning. I remember a few years back, every morning there was a lot more than usual amount of bear poop around. We found this a little disturbing so decided to call Wildlife to see what we could do about it, (the bears not the poop.) Two wildlife officers showed up and after viewing the situation said they would have to put a live trap on the front lawn. Next thing they were back in a big truck hauling a massive big barrel like thing. We had to take part of the fence down to get this on the property. Once they had it off the truck, I demanded that they show me how it worked as I wanted to make sure the bear or bears wouldn't get hurt. I was told that the bear would go inside and the weight of the creature would trip a spring and the door would shut. I was to call immediately, anytime day or night, if this happened, and they would come and take the bear off in the country and let it go. Then they proceeded to put cake, cookies, molasses, etc in the barrel. They said any bear within a few klms would smell this and go inside, I thought that was rather amazing. They also told me, if it has been trapped before there was no way it would go inside the barrel no matter how many treats were there. So for three days this contraption sat on the lawn and we were waking up during the night thinking we heard a door shut. Alas, it was all to no avail, no bear in the barrel. Wildlife came and took the trap away and we continued to clean up the poop each morning until the bears decided to move off further into the country.

My Treasures

Here are my Treasures. We share our space with these creatures.
this is malacai

below is Ratchet, Ratch for short. She is very big



This is Thomas, who has many lives. We mistook a dead cat on the road for him, mourned his passing, started to dig a grave, crying with sadness when suddenly he walks out of one of the bedrooms after a nice nap...




Cleo is like a china doll and behaves like the queen bee, head held high. She is very reserved.



Freya came to us last. She is so loving.



Life around here just wouldn't be complete without Penelope and Lulu. They love to come up on the deck in the sun and spread their wings while laying down. They also appreciate all the bugs that surface while I dig in the garden.

Naked in the field

Just taking the afternoon off from working outside. I just remembered something that happened one day while working on a vegetable farm one summer. I always wore a pair of old pants, a tee shirt and a mans large long sleeved shirt over the tee shirt. The black flies and mosquitoes were so bad I covered up as best I could. There were three of us working that day, each of us on our hands and knees crawling up the drill weeding and thinning the turnip. I was in the middle drill, a young fellow in the drill to my left and another woman in the drill to my right. I was in the lead about ten feet ahead of the other two. Well, it was a very hot day and I was tired and sweating, so I stood up to stretch and wipe the sweat off my face. I picked the tail of the (mans) shirt up and brought it all the way up to my forhead and started wiping my brow, imagine my shock when I realized I hadn't put on my tee shirt under it, and with no bra on as well, I was naked to the world. I turned to my left and there was the young fellow, standing on his knees with his jaw dropped down to his chest, staring at me. What could I do...nothing, but put the shirt down, get on my knees again and keep going. No doubt there were a few stories flying around that evening.

Busy, busy week

This past week was mainly sunny after days and days of rain. Earlier in the week I had to haul all the pots and ornamental stuff out of the greenhouse as I had someone coming on Saturday to put new plastic on it. Then I spent two days weeding a large flower bed in the front and put compost around the plants. Roger built me four eight foot high teepees for Scarlet Runner Beans and placed them in various sunny spots around the property. I look around and have so many flower gardens that it all seems an overwhelming task as I didn't cut back a lot of the plants last fall and they now have to be cleaned up and weeded. Some plants I have to move around as well as they are starting to over run each other. I took two buckets of sunflower seed hulls from under the platform feeder and there is probably another bucketful there. Don't know what to do about it, I want to keep the feeder as the crows enjoy treats from it and the Evening grosbeaks come for the seeds. Friday we went to the nearest large town, an hours drive away as Roger had a dental appointment, teeth cleaning. When he had finished with the dentist I asked him how much it cost and he said as he only has half his teeth left it only cost half as much. On the way home we saw a bald eagle in a tree by the side of the road, unfortunatly I did'nt have my camera with me. Yesterday the guy came and put the plastic on the greenhouse, between helping him from time to time and cleaning up around the property I was ready for bed very early last night. I told the guy that I would do the two doors myself so will get at that today. Got to go and finish the laundry now, then out I go.

and she thought she was grand...

Funny the things one remembers while trying to think of something to write about. I was married to a business man, living in a fairly large town. Anyone who did'nt know us at least knew who we were. One day I had to go to the mall, so put on a pair of brown pants, smart co-ordinated jacket, high heeled boots,great shoulder bag, hair perfect, makeup on just right and off I went. I was walking through the mall, with head held high, thinking I was the best thing since sliced bread. People were passing me smiling and I was smiling and nodding back. I saw something out of the corner of my eye as I turned my head and nearly fainted when I saw about two feet of panty hose trailing behind me coming out of the leg of my pants. Seems when I last wore the pants, i forgot to take out the hose, so without knowing this I put the pants on with the hose still inside. What to do!!! I grabbed the end of the hose and started pulling, do you know how hard it is to pull panyhose out of the leg of the pants you are wearing...the more I pulled, the more they stretched. I was mortified! I pulled and pulled and finally got them out and immediately balled them up and shoved the embarrassing item in my purse. Head down, feeling very humble, I went on.

The Bucket Hat

One day, in the winter, I was going around outside with containers of bird seed to fill the feeders. Not only was there a woodpecker following me around, but, because they saw the container of sunflower seeds, they were trying to land on my head. Now, I thought to myself, this is interesting, what to do! So I came up with what I thought was a grand idea.....I found a proper size bucket that would fit just over the top of my head, comfortably, then I drilled a hole in each side, and put a rope through each hole so it would tie under my chin and hold the bucket down. Next I drilled a few holes around the sides of the bucket, then got some branches and poked through the holes, put some peanut butter on the branches then put the hat on. I then went outside to try out my great bucket hat. Lo and behold the chick-a-dees all landed on the branches. This seemed like a great idea until three cars nearly went off the road as the drivers were looking at a lunatic with a bucket on her head, branches sticking of it and birds on the branches.

Life at Wytchwood

This is a test.