Down The Road A Bit.

A Handful of Mischief.

This is Tommy.   The story goes like this......there's a woman I know in a nearby town who, for this past few years, has been catching all the homeless and feral cats, having them spayed and neutered and finding homes for them.   There was one female left.   She's being trying to catch this one for two years and finally, a while back, managed to get her.   The thing is, the cat had four kittens with her.   So, a couple of weeks ago, I get a phone call asking if I knew anyone who could take a kitten.   Only a good home of course.   She had found a good home for the Mother and one of the babies.   She described the kittens and I said I would take the orange tabby.   The next day I was telling friends about the situation and they took two.   So, here we are with this bundle of joy.  The other cats have their noses out of joint but are coming around to accepting this little fluff ball.   He's into everything.   The only time I get any peace is when he's asleep.  Not only does he think I'm his mother but also his play toy.    A few pictures of the little dear.

Anniversary.

Today my parents celebrate their 70th Wedding Anniversary.  Yes, believe it or not it's 70 years since they tied the know.   It's amazing and they are amazing.   Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad.

Gone again, home again, jigedy jig!

A brief note on the health situation of himself.  He was home from the hospital for about a week and a half when he had congestive heart failure.  He ended up in hospital for a week and is now home again.   The doctor said he was close to death.   To be honest I felt that at the time.   When we got to the hospital, he couldn't walk but a few steps so I had to put him in a wheelchair and get him seen to.  He seems to be doing pretty well now, although weak.   Fingers crossed that he continues to improve. 

I can only say that after over four months I was starting to feel the stress.  Thankfully my wonderful daughter came and stayed for that week.  It was so good to have someone here so that I could relieve some of the stress by talking things out with. 

The garden is coming along nicely.   A few years ago someone asked me if I wanted a lilac tree that was dug up and about to be thrown out.  I've always wanted on for the garden so I said yes.   When I saw it I didn't think there was much hope as it was just a stick and it had been dug out so close to the trunk that there were no roots left on it.   Never the less, I said "Miss Lilac, I'm going to give you a chance."   So, I planted it.  This year it's done me proud.   Just goes to show that there is always hope.  And, maybe the fairies were listening to the conversations I would have with it and performed their magic. 

The lovely Miss Lilac

I've been trying to do some weeding but the black flies are driving me back in the house.  And now the mosquitoes are becoming a nuisance.    I expect I'll have to try it around five in the morning when it's a bit cooler and these creatures aren't quite ready to start their day. 

So, here are a few pictures from around the garden.

He's Back!

Himself was released from hospital about a week and a half ago.   He finally had the defibrillator put in his chest two days before being sent home.   He was wonderful the first couple of days but now he's having panic attacks all day and during the night as well even after taking a sleeping pill at bedtime.     This of course is affecting me as well.  I've not been getting much sleep at night either so am tired during the day.    He has an appointment with the local doctor this afternoon so we're hoping some solution can be found.    These attacks are a stress on his heart which is not good at all as his heart is very weak to start with. 

We had thunder last night, lots of it rumbling through the heavens.  Rain coming down in sheets.  I found it quite comforting.   The weather hasn't been too bad, a few cool days lately which made it good for working in the garden as it kept the black flies down.   The Raven has been back a few times since the first sighting.  It looks like it depends on what treats I have on the platform feeder.   Our small squirrels, who chase the crows from the feeders, back off when this huge Raven appears.   He or she is a joy to look at.   I got a picture of the first dragonfly in the garden this season.   Always lovely to see them.  I remember when growing up, my mother would sit in the sun in the garden and it wasn't unusual to see four or five dragonflies on her.   The garden is coming along beautifully.  Forget me nots abound at the moment.  So, here's some photos of what surrounds me.   The new sign is thanks to Tricia who gave me the idea.   And, the angel in the red dress I found at the second hand store.  It will be at the top of the tree on Yule. 

Update, plus other stuff.

There was another set back with himself.  He had surgery on Friday past.  The wound wasn't healing properly towards the end so a plastic surgeon had to take over.  I'm not going to go into all the details just to say that he seems to be on the mend now.   It was quite a heavy duty operation and the doctors all told him it would be quite a risk as his heart was weak and "floppy".  There was no other choice, it had to be done.  He came through with flying colours.  I was there with him before the operation and for a few days after.   We're back to waiting to get the defibrillator put in, maybe in a week or so, then home.   I just hope there are no other set backs as I don't know if himself could handle any more.  It's been almost three and a half months in hospital. 

This past weekend Gander, which is only an hours drive away got 58 cm. of snow.  Eastport where I live, according to my daughter who came to look after things here while I was away,  looked like a winter wonderland.  Only about ten cm. of snow though.  Other than that, spring and early summer has been quite nice.  I've gotten a lot of work done in the garden.  It never ends though as any gardener will tell you.   The trees are leafing out now giving that lovely lacy appearance that I just love. 

I got such a trill the other day and was so excited.  A huge Raven landed on the platform feeder and went off with almost half a can of cat food.  (My cats didn't like that particular brand.).   I still can't get over how big she or he was. 

You can click on the image to enlarge it.  As you can see, when it came back there was still some cat food stuck to his bill.

I haven't seen the grouse lately.  There are a few purple finches hanging about along with fox sparrows, juncos, blue jays, chick a dees, nuthatches, woodpeckers, robins and crows.  There have been several squirrels here at the feeders every day.  They don't get along very well and occasionally a bit of a fight and chase ensues. 

I took some time recently and made a Storm Hag.  I've been meaning to do this for some time and finally got around to it.   There she is, protected us from storms.

I also made a dream catcher.  A very simple one as I'll be hanging it from a tree outside.   They wear out after a good length of time and it's been a while since I've made a few to put around the garden.

That's about it for now.  Off and at it again.......

Spring has Arrived.

The good news, himself should be released from hospital by the end of this month.  It will soon be three months since he was admitted.  He's made great progress this past couple of weeks.  The medical staff are all pleased.    Of course it will take some time before he's completely up to par but things are looking good.  

Spring has arrived and the plants are now poking their heads above ground.   I've been so busy that at the end of the day I'm beat.  I finally got to re do the greenhouse with plastic.  I took advantage of one day last week when there wasn't much wind.   Fingers crossed that the cats don't decide to jump on the roof of it and go down through.   Today, weather permitting, I'll stain the floor of the deck and then paint the railings.   We have clean up week on the 20th, so I'll have to start hauling things down to the road that I want to get rid of.   The hot water tank burned up a couple of weeks ago.  I had gotten up in the morning and smelled something like burning plastic.  Following my nose, I found where it was coming from.   Fortunately for me I have friends who didn't hesitate to take me to get a new one, take the old one out and install the new one.   I'm very lucky.  The few friends that I've got have been more than generous with their time especially since himself has been away. 

The birds are very active these days.  A couple of Robins were here last week.

Chick a dee with wind blown head feathers and the look of surprise on his face.   haha.  So cute.

I spotted a grouse in the garden a couple of days ago.  He was here all afternoon.  

And, squirrels in the garden.