Friday, November 20, 2009

Silly Quiz


You are The High Priestess


Science, Wisdom, Knowledge, Education.


The High Priestess is the card of knowledge, instinctual, supernatural, secret knowledge. She holds scrolls of arcane information that she might, or might not reveal to you. The moon crown on her head as well as the crescent by her foot indicates her willingness to illuminate what you otherwise might not see, reveal the secrets you need to know. The High Priestess is also associated with the moon however and can also indicate change or fluxuation, particularily when it comes to your moods.


What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

Saturday, October 31, 2009

Happy Halloween!

It's hard to believe it's the last day of October. The month has really flown by. I'm sitting in the living room, watching birds at the feeders. Two of the chickens are under a feeder, scratching around for dropped seeds. It's very cold today, after yesterday's seventy degree day. The wind is blowing, too, so it's a good day to be inside. I've got a little black halloween cat at my feet entertaining me.

Lindsay is at a band competition today. I'm waiting to see if they made it into the finals. If they did, I'll drive down to watch. Normally, I'd go for the whole thing...I used to chaperone every one of them. Band crazy band mom politics have kept me away this year.

Monday, October 26, 2009

New blog

I've started a new blog, just for my writing. This blog has become more of a photography/family journal and I want to keep my musings in a different place.

So...if you're interested, look for written in ohio here on blogspot.

Monday, October 19, 2009

Happy Birthday Christine!

I don't know why you can't get any of my emails.

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Me & Lin

 
Lindsay came by my office yesterday and someone snapped this picture of us. I look old...wow. But my kid looks adorable. She'll soon be 18. Hard to believe!!
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Friday, September 11, 2009

Ancestor Reading by Kathy Crabbe


I had an ancestor reading recently. I had to give the name of my ancestor and that's it. I gave the name Bonnie, my mother (Kathy didn't know anything about who Bonnie was, other than an ancestor). The reading is below. It's remarkably accurate. I actually lifted this off her website. She asked if she could use it as an example and I said yes. I hope she doesn't mind that I re-posted it here. I have a link to her website...Soul Reader.

An Ancestor Reading for ....
by Kathy Crabbe

This reading is in response to your wish for a connection with B...

- My very first impression of B... is round, warm, friendly and kind.
- I also see a black horse and hear the words, “bonny black.”
- I see 4 kids, lots of kids!
- She was a good mother and I see her tending them all.
- I can see a military man and I see her waving goodbye to him.
- I also see her managing, and steadfast.
- Now I see 3 kids, not 4.
- The color mint green also comes up.
- England is mentioned, along with the phrase, “eventually” and “make things happen.”
- She is taking charge.
- I don’t see her husband around, but she is doing her best.
- I see her wizened and grey at one point, and with young kids. She is being hard on herself because of this.
- I also feel that she has developed a pain behind her eyes and that she is not able to ‘get a grip’ on things and that when she passed, it was a relief for her.
- I ask her about you and she says the words, “nearest and dearest,” although she may not have expressed that to you physically. Initially I sensed that she was ‘warm’ but as the reading develops I feel that she was not able to express that warmth so easily.
- She is also saying that you are, “The one I can count on.”
- I see you and a horse and she is pushing some strands of long hair back from your face and saying to you, “there are no answers gel (‘gel’ is what ‘girl’ sounds like)…just good questions.”
- I see her holding up your palm and tracing the lines.
- She is asking you, “Why do you want this job?” and she points to your chest, your heart, and pokes you there (kind of a hard poke) and says, “Do you feel it here?”
- She is trying to awaken you, make you mad, and make you think.

- She also instructs me to pull an oracle card for you so I pull one from my Celtic Tree Wisdom deck and it is called the Rowan card.

The Rowan card represents the second lunar month, the “Moon of Vision.” It is a powerful tree of magic, also known as the Tree of Life. This is an oracular Moon symbolizing the rebirthing of the year. You are still asleep and dreaming, not quite ready to set your energies to growth. This Moon is dedicated to the goddesses Eleu, Diarmuid and Iris.

Monday, September 07, 2009

Susan & The Raptors

 
Sounds like the name of the 60's girl group, huh?

In this day of blogging and facebooking, people are coming into our lives that wouldn't necesarily be in them otherwise. I follow a handful of blogs on a weekly basis...mainly they're interesting folks that have a love of birds. Susan is one of those bloggers. I stumbled upon her blog last year and have been fascinated by her work with rehabilitating raptors. Today, she was putting on an educational program at a nearby nature center, so I decided to out myself as one of the readers of her blog.

It's a funny thing, reading other people's blogs. I knew about the car she bought, the nature hikes she's been on lately, the vulture that throws up on her...I feel like I know her, yet she knows nothing about me. It's almost like stalking a celebrity, only a not so famous one :)

I walked around the display, asked questions and learned lots about these birds in a couple of hours. As a bonus, I got some amazing photos and I made a face to face connection with a fellow blogger. See below...
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Great Horned Owl

 
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Female American Kestrel

 
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Female American Kestrel

 
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Barred

 
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Beautiful Barred Owl

 
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Blinking Barred Owl

 
I love this picture...in a split second, he blinked and somehow I caught it.
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Lovely markings

 
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Barn Owl

 
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Intense eyes

 
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Molting

 
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Red-tailed Hawk

 
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Black Vulture

 
He imprinted on humans, rendering him unable to live on his own.
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Female American Kestrel

 
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Male American Kestrel

 
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Camo Owl

 
He blends into the leaves so nicely.
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Barn Owl

 
Susan shows a barn owl.
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Screech Owl

 
This cute little guy was at the raptor program I attended this afternoon.
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Saturday, September 05, 2009

Hummingbird tattoo

 
Here's my new tattoo.
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Friday, September 04, 2009

Friday Night Football

Finally, it's time for Friday night high school football games! It signifies summer ending, school beginning, a familiar routine once again.

This is Lindsay's senior year, so the football games become even more special. Tonight is also bantam night, which is when all the bantam football players (they play football in kindergarten) get to come out onto the field, too. They are so excited--it's alot of fun to see them.

I'll be working in the Band Stand, the band's small concession stand on the visitor side of the field. And watching the kids. And taking pictures.

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

My Favorite Cousins

 
Since she hasn't posted this on facebook yet, I'll post it on my blog. Lori and Sean went to the Iowa State Fair and had this neat sculpture of their hands made. It involved dipping their clasped hands in wax then cold water many times. And the picture cracked me up because it's old and they look like studs!!

LOVE YOU TWO!!
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Sunday, August 16, 2009

New camera

I decided to purchase a new, smaller camera. My bigger Kodak has been a good camera, but the size restricts me from taking it all of the places I'd like to. I started researching pocket-sized cameras and finally decided to get one I can keep with me at all times. I ended up with another Kodak, the M1033. It's compact, actually, smaller than my blackberry. It takes pretty good pictures of the things I photograph most, animals, plants...just home stuff. Here are a few pics.

Lindsay's cat

 
Kyle was relaxed on the floor, in the front of the fan.
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Empty shell

 
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Coleus & succulent

 
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Cute pink flower

 
Zoomed in very close.
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Weed

 
Pretty purple weed, zoomed in tight.
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Burrs

 
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End of Summer Flowers

 
The last of the daylillies.
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Chip

 
Chippy-doodle dog wanted out of the pen.
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Concert

Last night, Ed and I headed down to Cincinnati (about an hour away) to see Blondie & Pat Benetar. When we arrived at the PNC Pavillion, Kroger was sponsoring a free cookout before the show...metts, brats, salad, chips...it was pretty nice. No drinks, though...water and soda were $3.50!!

As I scanned the crowd, I saw lots of gray hair...in fact, it was the oldest crowd I've ever seen at a concert. That made me chuckle for some reason.

The opening act was The Donnas, a group of twenty-something gals from California. They were hard rockin' and seemed to satisfy the young people. As we were only six rows away from them and a huge speaker, it was hard to hear the singer over the bass player (who was situated closest to us).

Next out was Blondie. Deborah Harry's voice was a little rough; there was no way she was gonna hit the high notes in Call Me, but, the band added some guitar riffs and an entire jammed out section to Rapture, which ended up being one of the highlights of the show, followed closely by One Way or Another.

Finally, it was time for Pat Benetar. When I was a girl, Pat was my favorite singer. I bought every cassette tape and played them endlessly in my boom box, singing into a hairbrush or whatever else would substitute for a microphone. For 30 years, I've followed her and remained a fan, so I was thrilled to be at her show. She and Neil aka Spyder brought out stools to "school" the young folks about their 30 year career. It was actually their 30th anniversary last night. They covered classics from every album and didn't disappoint. Unfortunately, Pat stayed center and right and our seats were left of the stage, so my photos aren't great. Nonetheless, they are below.

The Donnas

 
Opening act, the Donnas.
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Deborah Harry

 
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Spyder

 
Jammin' just a few feet from me...awesome!
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Pat Benetar

 
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Pair of Barn Swallows

 
Perched on the gate of the old barn.
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Friday, August 14, 2009

Funny Friday!

This morning, I left home early, thinking I'd stop at the grocery before work. I'm driving down the road, listening to the radio and saw something in the road. I slowed and realized it was a young cow! As I slowly crept up to it, I realized there were five others out along the road, too! The one on the road walked up to my car and moo'd at me. I turned on my hazard lights and got out of the car and tried to shoo it out of the road, then called 911 for the sheriff. I sat in my car and pointed out the cows to people passing by. A lady that lives across the street said the cows were out on Tuesday, too. It was a pretty funny start to my weekend...

MOO!

Monday, August 10, 2009

Happy Anniversary to us!


Today is seven years of marriage for us. It's been an interesting road. We started out as friends in the 1980's. When his mom died, I was there for him. I guess I always felt a closeness between us and when his marriage dissolved, it was kind of obvious to me that we'd end up together. Ed once told me he wanted to be the calm in my stormy life. He also taught me to slow down and enjoy, instead of rushing through everything. We share a love of nature, travel and music. I'm thankful he's in my life. Happy Anniversary Ed!

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Catching up


I haven't blogged lately...lots has been happening.

My writing class has started. Go to www.womenwriting.org for info.

Ed had outpatient surgery a couple weeks ago. He's recovering nicely.

Band practice has started and with it, a mental countdown. This is the last summer I will be driving Lindsay to band practice.

The county fair is next week. Two projects have already been judged. Two more will be judged on Saturday.

This cute little bunny was sitting outside the door to my office this morning.

Monday, July 13, 2009

Happy Birthday to me...

I'm 44 today. I don't feel older, but I look forward to gaining the new perspectives that come with aging.

Had a crazy weekend. Ed had outpatient surgery on Friday. I was a little nervous for him, but the doctor said everything was fine, so I believe him. We had a lazy weekend, as he was supposed to relax and stay off his feet. Watched an oldie but goody "Seems Like Old Times" which always makes me laugh. Ate Chipotle and pizza, too.

Saturday, we discovered one of Trixie's twins didn't make it. The little bull calf was dead in the barn. We don't know why. We let Trix and the girl out into the pasture Saturday afternoon. Saw them yesterday, so all is well with the two of them.

Went to a picnic Sunday in Indiana. Saw friends, ate good food. That's about it.

Monday, July 06, 2009

Christine!

I jumped for joy when I saw you updated your blog today...if you see this, I have no way to get in touch with you.

Saturday, July 04, 2009

Happy 4th of July!

 
Happy Birthday Ameerica. It's also Meghan's birthday (finally 21...I know she celebrated last night) and it's my twin Great Aunts birthdays. I think Clara and Effie are 78...I'll double check with them this afternoon at our family picnic.

Lots of little legs were behind Trixie this morning. What a surprise to discover she had twins...again. Two years ago, she had her first set. Last year, she didn't have any babies, so we wondered what we'd get this year--we got a boy and a girl. The smaller, red one is the girl. We were going to name her Liberty, but after spending an hour with her, she's got a neat little personality, kind of fiesty, so we decided to call her Firecracker. The boy is bigger and darker and we're calling him Boomer, to keep with the Independence Day theme. Everyone is doing fine...lots of pictures below.
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First bath

 
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Shy

 
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Peek a Boo

 
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Hiding

 
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Finding breakfast

 
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Moo!

 
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Yum

 
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Nursing

 
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Next!

 
Michelin looks like she's gonna pop...maybe we'll find another calf tonight.
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Getting down

 
Figuring out how to move all four legs is hard!
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Twins

 
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Wobbly

 
Mom provides support.
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Bath time

 
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Togetherness

 
Just like in the womb.
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Wrinkling her nose

 
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Diesel & Trixie

 
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Monday, June 29, 2009

Fox on the Porch

 
I was on my never-ending quest to get a decent picture of the fox family again tonight. Yesterday, I rode in the combine with Ed while he was in the wheat field and we spied them playing in the yard, near the porch. So tonight I headed out with camera in hand, determined to catch them. I sat in this very spot on the porch for an hour and a half and nothing happened. After I left the porch, I headed back into the barnyard and wasted another half hour, checking on two of the pregnant cows. Then, as I turned to leave, I noticed something sitting where I'd just been. I wasn't able to focus well, but, discovered it was one of the foxes.
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Comfortable fox

 
This is the best picture I could get of the little fox kit. He stayed here for at least 20 minutes watching me. It was a pretty cool moment. When he finally jumped down, I realized the other two kits were with him (or her). The three of them began playing and jumping, but the weeds were so tall, I couldn't get any good pictures. That's okay, though. At least I got this one.
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Friday, June 26, 2009

Last Friday of June

Such a busy month...today was my co-worker's last day. Monday, I'm running the show, so to speak...cross your fingers for me.

Last night, we had a freak thunderstorm that only seemed to hit our area. Electric was knocked out in the city of Hamilton, some areas had a bit of flooding, and lots of lightening and thunder, just for good measure. It was pretty loud.

Pictures below of damage to a rental house my husband & his sister owns.

Surveying the damage

 
This is the result of a big rainstorm last night.
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Maple tree!

 
On the house...wow!
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Smiling

 
Doesn't it look like he's smiling at me?
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Cute goat

 
Our renter's have a goat...so cute. I miss our goaties.
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Sawing the huge limb

 
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Back awning

 
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End result

 
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Dragonfly

 
I followed this dragonfly around the side yard, near the pasture. It posed several times.
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Dragonfly (close-up)

 
Amazing dragonfly.
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Introspective kitty

 
Ringo was watching something intently.
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Daylillies

 
Pretty daylillies in the front yard...weeds in the background. Someday, I WILL weed and mulch my flowerbeds.
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Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Mother's Day Gift

 
I finally got to take a picture of the collage Lindsay made me for Mother's Day. It's really creative. I brought it to work and it will be hanging on my wall.
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Saturday, June 13, 2009

A visit to the pasture

Ed has been talking about a fox den near the cow pasture for a couple of weeks, but I've never been able to get out there. Tonight, I showed up a couple hours before dusk and lawn chairs and camera in hand, we headed out to find the foxes. I found some beautiful thistle, the cows aggravated us, but I finally saw the mom and one of the four baby foxes. Photos below.

Eve

 
A nice view of just how big she is...she's our biggest cow. She's a Maine Anjou.
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Eve licked Ed's boot

 
Eve wouldn't leave Ed's boots alone...she was licking them.
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She's gross!

 
I was sitting in this lawn chair when Number 70 decided she had an itchy nostril.
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Yawning cow

 
Eve yawned in my face.
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Thistle

 
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Wheat

 
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Hairy Vetch & Wheat

 
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Beautiful

 
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Busy

 
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Dying Thistle

 
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Anticipation

 
Trixie and Michelin are locked in the little pen until their calves are born.
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Hungry groundhog

 
I was about 100 feet away, so it's a blurry zoom.
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Groundhogs in the Soybeans

 
Running away, after realizing they were being watched, by both me and Diesel.
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Little Fox

 
After sitting for over an hour in the pasture, I saw a little fox. It's one of the four babies.
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Huge Eve!

 
She looks like a barrel!
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Pretty sunset

 
End of the night...
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Sunday, June 07, 2009

Graduation weekend

This weekend was our high school's graduation and now it's officially Lindsay's senior year. Below are a couple photos from the event.

AnnaMaria & Lindsay

 
AnnaMaria attended graduation in Goth attire...she looked beautiful. Lindsay is in her usual concert band attire...black.
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Mr. Marston & Lindsay

 
This is one of the band director's at the high school, after graduation.
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Gonzo & Lindsay

 
This is guy responsible for teaching Lindsay how to play trumpet. You can see their affection for each other.
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First Sunday of June

Today was spent doing yard improvements. I mowed, watered plants and Ed brought home the bush hog and chainsaw and we took to making things look better. Below are a few pictures from our work today.

Beautiful Red Clover

 
Love this stuff...so pretty.
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Big Improvement

 
I asked Ed to bring home the chainsaw and we cleaned out the dead limbs from under this tree...such an improvement!!
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First hot pepper

 
We've never grown peppers, this one is called salsa, so it must be good for it. That's our plan, anyway.
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First cherry tomatoes

 
Kinda blurry, but there they are...yay!
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Problems galore

 
Let's see...the antennae is falling off the house, the siding needs painted, the blocks need painted, the poison ivy is growing up the house...what a mess!!
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Mystery flower

 
A mystery annual in one of my baskets.
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Another flower in a basket

 
I don't know what this is, but it's awfully pretty.
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Marigold

 
Close-up of a marigold.
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Tall weeds

 
After he made the first cut, I ran out to take a picture of how tall it all was. What an overgrown mess!
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Weeds

 
Some of what needed to be bushhogged.
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Farmer Ed

 
Patiently waiting for me to take pictures of what he was trying to mow down.
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Bushhogging the old garden

 
We haven't planted a garden in two years and it had become overgrown with weeds, especially thistle. Ed brought home a tractor today and cleaned it off.
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Content Cat

 
Ringo was happy to relax in the freshly mowed lawn.
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Monday, May 25, 2009

Blue Jay

 
This morning a blue jay visited for about 5 minutes. He made his way to two feeders before flying away. He was loud, fast and very shy. I didn't get a good picture, but enjoyed the blur of blue.
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Blurry bluejay

 
My camera focused on my neighbor's flowers instead of the bluejay. Even though it's blurry, I wanted to keep the picture. It's the first time in all the years I've lived here (nine years!) that I've seen a bluejay.
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Black bird

 
I'm not good at identifying the black birds. And my bird book isn't on the bookshelf. This _________ bird spent quite a bit of time in the tray feeder this morning.
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Pretty

 
I adore this basket. The colors are so amazing.
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The end of the snowballs

 
The snowball bush is dying back. It's pretty for such a short time.
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Sunday, May 24, 2009

Introducing Kyle the Cat

 
This is Kyle, the newest addition to our family. Lindsay read his story and had to have him. Our other three cats and two dogs haven't had much to say about him yet.
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Handsome cat

 
He really is a pretty cat. I've owned cats my entire life, but never a white one. His cage tag said he was left at a vet's doorstep over a weekend, closed up in a box. Because of that, he's terrified of enclosed spaces (boxes, crates) and quite shy. They estimate him to be 3 years old. So far, other than being startled by noises, he's really friendly, has fine litterbox manners and seems to like people, as well as other cats. Can't figure out why he'd be abandoned...what a shame. But it was lucky for Lindsay. She has always wanted a white cat and when she saw him, she dragged me over. How could I say no? I did make her use her own money to adopt him. Now we're a four cat household!!
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Pretty bling-bling collar

 
He has green eyes, so a pale green collar seemed appropriate.
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Watching us

 
We were trying and trying to get a couple of good pictures. Snapping our fingers, rustling paper...he's very independent.
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Inquisitive

 
He seems to favor sitting in the window wells. White cat + dirty window well = gray cat?
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Long & Lean Kitty

 
He's so long, but very skinny. We'll work on that.
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Thursday, May 21, 2009

Lindsay & Stephanie

 
Tonight was the band banquet or bandquet, as we call it. Lindsay & Steph are a crazy duo. Stephanie has been drum major the last two years and Lindsay will miss her terribly when she heads off to college. Lucky for us, she's just heading to the college down the road. As for Lindsay's evening, the trumpets won "outstanding section" this year, which is huge...last year they were "most improved section" so they've just gotten better and better.
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Monday, May 18, 2009

Landing

 
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Posing

 
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Eating

 
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Chicken lover

 
That poor chicken!
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Long weekend

I took off half a day Friday and went with Lindsay's class to Ikea. What a neat store that is...it opened last August, but is usually pretty crowded. Friday mid-mornings are fine. Her class had a worksheet to fill out...a scavenger hunt. It was fun.

Today, we're planting a couple more baskets and my summer classes begin. For the next six weeks, I'm taking three classes...an anthropology and two computer classes. Nine credit hours in the summer isn't impossible, but it is more than I've ever attempted. Two are required, as I have to have my associates degree done by August. The other was a late addition. I decided that since next year is Lindsay's senior year AND her last year in marching band, I don't want to have all of my nights filled with classes and homework. So I'm taking one now that I was originally scheduled for in the fall, so I can only deal with one class in the fall and have more time to participate in her activities.

Below are a couple pictues from yesterday and today. I'll post a couple more when we finish the baskets.

Too fast...

 
Yesterday morning, I sat in a chair just three feet or so away, fiddling with my camera as I heard the humming of wings. I couldn't move fast enough to get a picture, but I'll keep trying. They usually tame down by mid-summer.
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Hairy (?) woodpecker

 
Okay, it's bigger than the other one, so I'm guessing this is a hairy.
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Baby groundhog

 
Groundhogs have burrowed underneath the edge of the barn. Lindsay discovered this baby today, sneaking peeks at us.
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Enjoying the sunshine

 
Tabby was rolling around in the hard dirt, enjoying the sunny day.
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Saturday, May 16, 2009

Rainy Saturday

Lindsay and I got up a little late this morning and headed out, trying to think of something fun to do. We stopped at Starbucks for hot chocolate for her and SF vanilla chai tea latte for me. Then we headed to Wal-Mart for some nyger seed, cat food, and a new hummingbird feeder. We had a hummer hanging around the finch feeder yesterday. I saw him once this afternoon, but he hasn't visited the feeder yet. Anyway, then we headed to the two farmer's markets. We are so fortunate to have not one but two markets. At the high school parking lot, the Original farmers market has booths from farmers within our school district. We bought our tomato and pepper plants there. The Uptown farmers market is for vendors outside of the school district, with more trendy wares...organic foods, handmade jewelry, goat cheese, soaps. I bought a quarter loaf of oregano foccacia from my friend Debra and some garlic parsley fettuccine from another vendor. Sounds like dinner is halfway done...just need to thaw out some steaks (from our own homegrown beef) and throw 'em on the grill. I love this time of the year!

Mother's Day leftovers

 
We still have all of this to get into planters, left over from our Mother's Day planting frenzy. I would like to find a pink geranium and something else spiky...we still have quite a few baskets left.
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Retired swingset

 
I'd really like to paint it and I'd love to see some morning glory or trumpet vine growing up it, but for now, at least we have a use for the old swing set.
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Our Garden

 
I had the idea to bring the old rusted cattle waterer to the edge of the front yard and plant some veggies in it. So far, there are two Polish Linguisa (roma) tomatoes, one Brown Berry cherry tomato, and two peppers named Salsa. We are getting another cherry tomato (called Black Cherry), another regular tomato variety (haven't decided which yet), and some onions. Lindsay wants to make salsa, something we've never tried. We used to put out a huge garden, but thistle have taken it over and quite frankly, no one ever wants to weed it. I still want some sunflowers, corn and green beans...I may have to talk Ed into getting the tiller out to do a couple rows of each. But no more big garden!!
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Snowballs

 
The edges of the snowballs are turning brown...so they won't look pretty much longer.
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Dwarf Korean Lilac

 
I successfully won bidding on two of these at the FFA auction last month. I'm pleased with the way they're turning out.
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Almost time for peonies

 
I can't wait...they're getting bigger and the ants are all over them. Hopefully next weekend.
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Milkweed

 
I think I have six plants this year. Hoping for some monarch butterflies!
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Shrub roses

 
We have these little wild shrub roses in a couple of spots in our yard. They are pretty little flowers.
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Pretty

 
I don't know why everyone hates seeing dandelions in their yard. They're like little spots of sunshine. Really pretty, even if they don't smell good.
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Friday, May 15, 2009

Last band concert of the year

 
For the last song at the last concert, the band directors have all the children, grades 6-12 on the stage for a song. The sound is amazing and the younger kids really seem excited to play with the older ones. They fill the stage in an amazing way! There's no way to point out Lindsay, but you can play a game similar to Where's Waldo called "Where's Chloe?" She has pink hair (LOL).
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Sunday, May 10, 2009

Mother's Day Planters

 
Every year, Lindsay and I put together the hanging baskets and the planters for the porch. Here are three of the ones we got done. We also made four hanging planters and bought one. We still have more annuals to plant, but ran out of dirt and time.
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Elusive nuthatch

 
I tried catching this nuthatch about five times...this is the only picture that turned out.
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Mourning Dove

 
She was cooing under the feeder but by the time I got the camera ready, she'd flew up to the pine tree. Luckily, she was on a limb I could see.
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Dandelions

 
Growing at the base of the swing set where my bird feeders hang.
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Intense

 
He was staring down the camera, I think.
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Red-winged blackbird

 
He was so happy, he sang while he ate.
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Pretty

 
I couldn't resist buying one ready-made hanging basket. I loved the coral color.
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Big Girl

 
One of the two old, white meat hens.
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Mr. Redwinged Blackbird

 
He hung around for quite a long time today...back and forth between the feeder and the neighbor's yard. I finally got a nice shot of him before I quit for the day.
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Dead limbs...no problem!

 
I keep asking Ed to bring home a chainsaw so he can get rid of some limbs and he keeps forgetting. Today he had a small loader tractor and simply used the loader bucket to take out the limb. He also knocked down a dead buckeye tree and dug up a dead tree stump.
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Downy or Hairy?

 
I always forget which is which...I'm thinking downy is the smaller one, but I could have it backwards.
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Last one...

 
This bird feeder was the most popular one of the day.
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Saturday, May 09, 2009

Windy Welcome

 
I took a walk around the yard today...I do it about once a month or so to document the growth. It was really warm and sunny today, but windy.
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Finch

 
Cute little house finch. The only bird picture I managed to get today (not counting the chickens LOL).
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Snowball bush

 
Lindsay got me this for mother's day about 7 or 8 years ago.
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Flowering almond

 
It actually flowered with two tiny buds this year (I put it in the ground in the fall). It's about 8 inches tall.
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Lone tulip

 
I didn't plant this, but it comes up every year. I just mow around it. Every year, it's got a crooked stem, too. Must be mutated or something.
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Annuals

 
Every year for Mother's Day, Lindsay & I plant our pots and baskets of annuals. She was gone all day at a band competition, so I decided to pick out a few of the annuals myself. Tomorrow morning, we'll hit the nursery down the street for the rest of the them. All I found today was some impatiens and coleus.
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Early Iris

 
These always come up near the downspout. Unfortunately, it rained and messed them up.
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Milkweed

 
I sowed a bunch of the milkweed seeds this fall, hoping for a few more than last year. So far, there are three or four small ones and this one big one.
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Columbine

 
This grows next to the house every year. Just one small piece. There's a dandelion seed stuck on one of them.
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Maple seeds

 
The wind was blowing hard and it looked like snow, but it was the maple seeds, doing their imitation of helicopters.
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Carpenter bee

 
Believe it or not, this was easier to photograph than the birds.
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Bee hole

 
It is kind of amazing, how perfectly round they drill.
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Drilling holes

 
Damn carpenter bees!
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Nosy babies

 
They saw me with the camera and came to investigate.
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Invader

 
The honeysuckle is taking over our yard, just like the poison ivy.
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Dandelion

 
The chickens walked past it right after I snapped this picture and the seeds blew away.
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Pretty clouds

 
This is the view from the back yard. Alfalfa and orchard grass are growing in the field.
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Ringo

 
He followed me all around the yard while I took pictures. He's such a good kitty.
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Bee

 
I don't know what kind.
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Peony

 
They're getting bigger...two more weeks or so, I think.
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Leaves of three...

 
We have so much poison ivy...this was growing up the side of a tree. We can't seem to get rid of it.
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Dead Christmas Wreath

 
It lasted a long time, but it's time to go to the brush pile.
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