March 2017

Sorry folks, but there isn't a thing I can do to help phones connect to this website.  I posted from my Kindle for a long time, but didn't try to post pix from it.  Phones don't seem to handle the website too well.  FaceBook seems to be designed to post pix from anywhere.  

Speaking about pix,  since there are so few of us posting here these days, I am going to try to re-install our avatars using this website's pix hosting.  Imageshack is costing about $36 a year now and doesn't seem worth it since we have discovered that Forumotion can host the images.   So it may take me a few days to fix our avatars,  any former pix that were hosted by Imageshack will disappear.   Unless I change my mind..... ...This website seems to have increased the storage capacity for photos from what it was originally, so Imageshack has become just a convenience, not a necessity anymore.  They have priced themselves out of my budget, they used to be free.

GRAYMARE:
 I can't wait to see your finished home makeovers!  I bet you will love that tub.  I just saw one on a commercial, looks great!

CB
Last I heard, there is a $25,000 fine for shooting an endangered species.  Chickens are hardly endangered, so despite my fondness for my birds,  I won't be shooting any hawks.    My peacocks, guineas, and chicken hens are in the geodesic dome that Donnie built for them about 10 years ago, so they are relatively safe from hawks.  They get locked in the henhouse at night.

ELLEN:
 I have six  laying hens who prodigiously provide us with eggs.  My last little cochin rooster is in with them and the three big red roosters are outside of the dome.  They have a house they roost in built onto the side of the dome's attached henhouse, but run loose during the day. The roosters and peacocks don't get along, that is why they are not in the dome.  

TRUDY
We've lost chickens over the years to raccoons, possums, rats, dogs, cars, and one tractor incident, but this was our first hawk attack.   We live near the Radford Army Arsenal that has a huge flock of black vultures living in it.  They fly all over, occasionally taking a newborn calf, but are endangered and one had better not be caught shooting one of them.   They cause some problems for farmers and some neighborhoods....besides being ugly as sin.   They are pretty good for cleaning up carcasses, though.  
 I hope the snow melts away and doesn't flood anyone.  What a mess it is up north of us!  We got the cold and wind, but only about an inch of snow.  It's going to be around 60 degrees on Monday.  I hope to take Ivan and Areion to the New River Trail that day, the footing is good there.


ThunderPuff's urine sample showed he has an infection, so we have to give him pills for 10 days.  The first one was easy to give, he wasn't expecting it.  I suspect it will get harder every day.  The vet recommends he lose weight, too.  T-Puff will not be happy about that.  

Ark, I do not envy you trying to give a cat a pill. That is NOT easy. I like liquids better. Easier to poke in a syringe and push the plunger and not risk the teeth.
I am remembering a teenage girl who had a Siamese cat who was not a nice cat under the best of circumstances. She had to give him some pills. She would get him on the floor between her knees, almost sitting on him, with his head away from her. She would grab the back of his head in a way that said 'don't try me', and poked that pill in. He was not any nicer when she finished.

I'm sorry I won't be able to post easily when I'm away, but if I have something that seems urgent, I'll e-mail somebody to post it for me.

As for the pictures, Picturetrail is still free. I haven't tried posting one here yet, but I'll do that soon. Now that Imageshack requires registration and a fee, I won't be using that one anymore.

We have a few hawks around here, and one pair of eagles that showed up about 3 years ago. I love to see the eagles on the rare occasions that they decide to fish on this lake. A few weeks ago, there was a flock of black ducks swimming around between the ice floes. An eagle was really trying to grab one, but they were too quick for him. The eagle finally gave up and just landed on the ice and sat there a while.

I grew up in the mountains, kind of a law with mountain people, the real law didnt bother us much, but the safety of our small kids and animals were a real concern. Shoot and shut up policy. Living in idaho ranchers and campers had same policy against wolves attacking. The night harrys mule baby was born i met two wolves just waiting, called my neighbor who had calves dropping in the next field, never saw them around again. No, i dont know what happened, but when you have to shoot at them becuz your prescence doesnt even affect them, it can be a real danger to humans as well.  When we did goat packing, we would have to shoot at the wolves, made it not much fun or safe to camp with goats or horses.
Those hawks are nasty when they attack and with no provacation, been there. I was 3, i dont remember a lot about the attack, but i do remember the seizures. Afterwards, my dad and brothers would have gone to jail, there were no hawks allowed within range. And i cant blame them.
We had lots of eagles and hawks and more vultures than ive ever seen in missouri, but didnt have any problems, they stayed out of immediate house area.
PA has THE biggest turkey vultures ive ever seen....anywhere i have been thru the years, but they mainly eat and clean up the dead.
A bird, prob ably a hawk flew over our drive in idaho and dropped a snake at my feet, i was on top of my car screaming bloody he!!.  Harry came out and removed it before i would get down.

From TRUDY:

From RICK:

Subject: Rick and Carol's Alaskan trip...

Starts with two nights in Anchorage and some sight seeing things.

Wasilla and Iditarod Trail Headquarters

Tour of Denali National park ... cross the Alaska Range on way to Fairbanks.

Gold mining / panning. Sternwheeler "RIVERBOAT DISCOVERY" on Chema River and go ashore at recreated Athabaskan Indian Camp. Free evening in Fairbanks.

Travel Alaskan Highway stopping at North Pole, AK ... also "enjoy views of Trans-Alaska oil pipeline" to overnight in Tok.

Traverse the Yukon Territory seeing Kluane Lake and Kluane National Park visitor center...overnight in Whitehorse (Yukon's capital)

See Emerald Lake and Carcross Desert ... board train for Skagway.

Board ms VOLENDAM for 4 night cruise

Glacier Bay sightseeing from ship

Ketchikan with its "array of shops and galleries"

Day 12: the Inside Passage

Day 13: disembark in Vancouver ... "scenic drive to Seattle"

Day 14: fly home!!

This Holiday Vacations / Holland America Line excursion is hosted by local TV news personality Wanda Starke. WXII 12

Carol is already busy crafting her scrapbook... she calls it "prescrapping"

I'll write my blog thing after the trip using her scrapbook as a guide.

Have a good day and stay "warm"

Love alaska, want to go back. Great things to see, huh, rick.

RICK.........you & CAROL will love it..........check your pulse, you will think you're in heaven.

Happy St. Patty's Day. Yup, we really got dumped on. Maybe worse than any other area up here for some reason the storm just stayed here and kept snowing for almost 24 hours. It was crazy. Funny but our other big storm was on St Patrick's Day in 93. Just when ya think winter is over....she's bacckkkkkkkkkk.

Not much going on, although we did get out of the house yesterday and made it to the fire hall where they were having a Dagwood sandwich sale. I ordered 20 sandwiches last week for us and the neighbors so we had to get out and pick them up. Once we got off our road the main roads were clear. The buns were so big, I just took the meat and lettuce, tomatoes and onions and made a chef salad instead of a sandwich. LOL

George took the neighbors papers and mail up to their house on the ATV. Didn't want to have to dig Burt outta a snow drift again this year. He can't see out of one eye and drives right into them. When he got up there he said there is no way they are getting their car out, the guys who did the driveway didn't bother to do up to the house, they did the barn instead. There are no animals in the barn. Maybe it's a good thing he can't get his car out anyway. LOL

ARK: It's a big fine here too for shooting the hawks, but people shoot them anyway. CB is right, it's a "don't ask don't tell" way of life out here in redneck PA.

CB: Yup, we have HUGE turkey vultures. One year we had a flock of them, there was a vulture sitting on almost every fence post in pasture. It was eerie to see them. We thought one of the horses had died and ran out to check. Nope no dead horses. One never knows what we are going to see out here. Once I saw a turkey and a ringneck pheasant fighting in the driveway.

Very early this morning, I heard something dripping on the roof, probably sleet and freezing rain. A bit later, it was snowing fairly fine flakes, followed by big flakes, followed by more fine flakes, followed by more freezing rain, followed by a day of drizzle.
Neighbors and I are going to the hotel this evening to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. I discovered that I do not have a single thing that is green, not even a piece of ribbon. I might have to do something drastic and color a shamrock on a piece of paper.
My neighbors have a true shamrock plant. Years ago, my mother had one. They are so neat to watch open and close with the light.
Soooo, everybody have a wonderful St. Patrick's Day.

Mine not so good. Some dang thief broke into our storage unit and stole a lot of things. Cut our lock off. Dirty thieves. Tomorrow we will clean it out. 

Happy st. Paddys day y'all.

I hate thieves! Are there any surveillance cameras at the storage place? Did they get a shot of the worthless SOBs?


I am now completely full! When we went to the hotel, where I splurged and ordered prime rib. Oh boy, was that good! Sooo tender. I will have at least one more meal from it. Maybe two.

Me, too. Harry got his shoeing box from his brother in 93, and had all his farrier stuff in it, my saddle, i liked it. Custom made for my butt back in the 80s. The saddlemaker, jim flynn, is now gone....and my rings, i havnt worn them in forever cuz my fingers got too fat, but was something i wanted to keep.....saddens me.

I would feed their family for a week if they were hungry, but i cant help a drug problem. Thats what the cop thinks. Im so glad my kids and grands do NOT have a problem with drugs....pray they never will. Has to be an awful way to live.

My horse put me in the dirt tonight.....i was brushing himand ricky lunged and bit red and red spun and i firgot to move....so he moved me when his shoulder hit....ouch as i slid on my side thru the dirt. Yoshi jumped the fence....its 6 feet, and herded both horses away from me, biting them on the legs and at their sides as i lat there with the wind knocked out of me. And then i could breathe once again.....wow. harry came in got yoshi to go out, tied the horses....and i still lay there.....ouch....i ride bikes with the girls today for an hour, no pain.....but now.....oh ouchie, i have pain. But i have to love my dog...yoshi was a bulldog that was bent on saving his mommy. Im surprised he didnt get kicked, but he looked like the tazmanian devil going after those horses and held them in the corner. 
Night all. Ouchie.....owie.....

Oh, CB. How awful. What scumbags. Here in AZ, you have to drive through a gate that photo's the vehicle. Then somehow a computer records when a door is opened to a unit..............Anyhow, I have a friend who has stuff stored while she is waiting on her house to close............I don't know if that is true wth all storage facilities, hers is the only one I know of.............Keep watching Craig's List to see if your stuff is for sale..........Also, hope you feel better after your knockdown........what a day.



ELLEN, hope your weather improves.

TRUDY, what a storm...........my friend showed me a pic of his dad at 87, in New York out with his snowblower doing their driveway and sidewalk. His dad LOVES his snowblower. Their neighbor is 93 and he does hers, too...........what is really cute is that his mom, 86 took the pic and sent it via text.

Belated Happy St Patrick's Day to all. We had pizza.

Nite all.

AAACCKKKKKKKKK It's snowing this morning. Just when I thought I may be able to leave the farm today. GGRRRRRRRRRRRR Oh well this too shall pass. Deep sigh.

Just when I think things are turning to crap in my life, I read CB's posts and go OMG, so what if my kitchen sink isn't working, it's not that big a deal. The plumber is going to replace it next week.

CB: What a great doggie you have that probably saved you from getting trampled. That is awful about your storage facility getting robbed.

We have a lot of storage facilities that are NOT gated up here. Real crime has not totally moved into the area yet, but it's slowly working it's way here, starting in Williamsport and Hazelton. Moving criminals up from Philadelphia is going to be the down fall of this lovely semi crime free area. One thing about the police up here they are not PC, they shoot to kill when attacked, especially after those 2 troopers were stalked and murdered. They recently killed a guy for attacking them with a rake.

Hopefully I can find something else to clean today. I'm going to have the cleanest house in the neighborhood. LOL This being cooped up in the house is not fun for me or Ace. We need our walks. We are both getting cranky.

Trudy, i will say this for red, after he spun and hit me he moved away, it was rocky that wanted to have a "lets step on her a bit"moment....but yoshi weighs 100 lbs, he crawled up and over he came, i thought i was seeing things, as i was trying to breathe...but there he was, just as rocky was lifting his tail up to chit on me.   he wasnt expecting taz! He beat harry in the gate. 
Are they moving prisoners? Then the whole family moves to be able to visit....thats what other states have fought against too. We need more prisons unfortunately.
Saw the weather map, ugh...insult to injury. Not too much, but will make roads a mess again, or still.  Poor Ace.
Hope you get out soon. 
The police are like that in idaho also, cant say i really blame them, by the time they have to decide what to do, they could be dead. Its a split second decision.

Didnt sleep much last night, very sore....hubby really wants to find homes for the horses now....just a freaky accident...

Gads, CB, hope you feel better quickly...........yes, I agree, your dog Yoshi sure was a hero.

TRUDY, honestly more snow. Just what you need. NOT.

How is it at your house ELLEN?

I keep hoping we will hear from BEECH. The storm must have hit up there, too.

Prayers for ALL.................everyone have a good day.

Has anyone heard from indy app? Am concerned. And wish Beech would ck in also. I see donna and nancylee and rick on facebook. 

GM we went out a few weeks ago to meet someone to get a pair of boots they were selling, took the dogs for a ride, and it was after dark. The guy was brjnging the boots to the car and got about 2 feet from us and yoshi was growling and snarling. The guy reached way out to hand us the boots, and said just throw money out that dog is scary. Otherwise, he has loved everyone, slobbers kisses on kids and adults. He tunes in well to what he thinks is a threat. He is 14 months now. Big overgrown lap dog, he and odie patotie. 
Have i said owie....well ok, owiieeeee, ouch...oh my gosh....can we say OUCH. Im such a wimpy ol thang!

CB:
 Owwie is right.  I am sure sorry about your horsey accident.  You are right, just being in between two horses is all it takes to get hurt.  I have to remind folks here to always watch what the horse on the other side of the one you are petting is doing, it is easy to get run over when the one you are petting panics from his 'friend' moving in on him.  
 I am also sorry about the thief getting away with your things.  Did they break into other units, too?  Do you think you were targeted?


TRUDY:
 More snow...yucko.  I almost hate to tell you about the 55 degrees and sunshine we had this morning.  We got a lot of rain overnight, but it feels like spring this morning.   This week has been so cold and windy, today is a relief.


GRAYMARE:
 I would love to hear from BEECH and INDYAPP, too.  I bet BEECH is covered in snow.  I hope she is okay up there in the frozen north.  I did see on FaceBook that PAULA has 35 inches of snow in her yard.  wow....

This has been vet week.  We took Shadow in last week for shots, then ThunderPuff this week for his bladder issue, and yesterday the horses got their shots and Coggins.   ThunderPuff is feeling better already after 3 days of pills.  He hasn 't connected the pills to me yet.   The horses did great yesterday for the vets.     Ivan even let the vet student take blood and take his temperature without protesting.  He did have a somewhat wild look in his eye, but he behaved himself.    The vet said she was surprised at how well Ivan did, she has seen him off and on over the years and remembers when I had to take his temp, he wouldn't let anyone else do it.  This vet is an endurance rider who did Tevis several years ago.  She has 6000 endurance ride miles on record.    She gave Ivan and Areion a good going over and declared them fit to go to the S.C. ride next month!   Both horses are sevens on the body weight scale, which is better than Donnie thought they would be.  She said Areion was a "fat 7" and Ivan is a "skinny 7".    Ideal is 5 with 9 being so overweight that they would be barred from an AERC ride.  Daisy is a nine...   Last fall, Kazi was a 6.  Anyway, we are now ready to go to the ride, healthwise, for the horses.  Now we need to get that trailer ready to camp in.   The ride is in 3 weeks!!!

Lori and I are taking the horses to the New River Trail on Monday for a 10 to 12 mile ride.  We are going to try to increase our speed a bit.  That trail is level and won't be as busy on a Monday as Pandapas Pond is on a Sunday.  We should be able to go faster if we don't run into so many people, dogs, and bikes.

The vet said ThunderPuff needs to lose weight, too, so we bought a cat tree for him and Kumquat.  I think they like it...

CB, sorry to hear about your accident. Sounds like you are safe as long as you have Yoshi with you.

We only got about 2 inches of snow. Yesterday morning was actually worse for accidents with the freezing rain we had very early. Most of the snow is gone now and the temperature is currently 38°. The bad snow was well east of here.

I've thought about some of our seldom seen members and wish they would check in.

88 here today!. We got everything of sentimental and money value out of storage today. Between gimpin and the heat, am beat.  All that is left are clothes, books, odds and ends. 
Ark, dont think we were targeted, we dont know hardly anyone here....but did find out it has happened before there....geesh.

I drive kyles truck today, what a riot, sounds like a john deere tractor and has a loud muffler, and very lil brakes! Criminy, scared myself a few times. Needs lots of work, but did the job.also a stick shift....got lots of what the heck is that coming down the road looks! Lol

32 this morning and the snow is melting slowly. It's down to 1 foot instead of 2 and the paths are showing grass. The bunnies, birds and deer having something to nibble on. They had been attacking my Yucca plant. The snow is falling off the roof with great fanfare. Ace does NOT like that noise and is hiding in the living room.

ARK: I'm jealous about your 55 degree temp. 32 beats the heck outta 8 so trying not to whine too much. We did get out to the grocery store yesterday. Our road is clear. The worst is over and we survived. It looks like your kitty cats really are enjoying their new cat tree.

CB: It's just sad that people have to steal. A couple of weeks ago some guy tried to steal a older ladies purse at the grocery store. They caught him but still...you have to really watch your back and everyone elses. You know people are not used to living like that up here in the country. A dog KNOWS...they are better at judging people than we are. Always trust the dog when they don't like a stranger.

ELLEN: That prime rib sounded good to me. YUMMMMMM I like when you get enough to bring leftovers home for the next days lunch.

Off to church this morning to hear everyone's snow stories. LOL

89 today....guess id better get busy and unload the truck...
Our local Cowboy Church sponsors 30 minutes of church on local station, different local churches do this each sunday. I dont mind taking in a sermon in my jammies with a cup of tea. The CC do a lot of horse family things and anyone can go. Thats where the kids went to the playday.  No drinking events, which i like, geared for kids, but parents play too, its nice to see parents just being with the kids and animals. Folks seem so at peace in their casual attire, jeans, shorts, boots, hats....and yet they can laff and ride and play hard. And take time to worship in a way thats right for them. 

Wow! What a nice way to spend a Sunday afternoon! My neighbor called and said they had free tickets to a performance by the Navy Band. They were wonderful! If they come anyplace near you, GO SEE them.

I have seen the air force navy bands and shows, loved them.
Watching harper for a short time today...then i have her tuesday night and wednesday until mom gets done with graduation at the NCO Academy. Shes been gone 6 weeks, coming home on weekends when she could. Harper misses her.

Oh, you are so kind to be worrying about me!
Yes, yes, I'm here, and fine!
And I just wrote a long post -- all about our weather and InstantPots and Chris and HT and SAPP that just -- poof!! -- disappeared.
Arrgh&*$%#@!!!!
Now it's 1:20 a.m. and I MUST get to bed, so I'll sign off with a PROMISE--yes, a PROMISE!! -- to get back here with more news very soon!
(Tomorrow's a busy day, so it may take me a bit...)

Ack...i hate losing my posts into cyberspace....just hlad u r alright and you will post again and tell us whatcha been up to...holdin u to that! Lol.