Have A Nice Weekend

Well it's the weekend and I went out this morning and found Merlin, our Walkaloosa, relaxing in the sun. Merlin is also one of our treasures. He was almost put down when we discovered he had String Halt's Disease. This disease effected his legs and we thought he would never ride again. Well I would not let them put him down and thank God I didn't. He has recovered fully with a lot of love and special diet. Candy is in the backround, as always, right by Merlins side. These two stick close to the house....which is why they get in a lot of pictures. LOL The others are in the back acres. I will post pics of them all eventually. I just wanted to stop in and wish you all a wonderful weekend. Take a tip from Merlin....relax and enjoy yourselves..*♥ ♥*¨¨*♥ ♥*¨¨*♥ ♥*¨

Use What You Have

Living in the Sandhills of North Carolina I have learned one thing about horticulture, use all the naturally growing plants and flowers to your advantage. I can't tell you how many different plants and flowers I have planted and the weather or insects have destroyed them. It is very dry here, hence the name Sandhills and the Fire Ants run rampant. Our soil is mostly sand and clay. This is very difficult for me coming from New Jersey, the Garden State. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love it here, but I can see why I don't see too many people with a lot of flowers.
It came to me last year that the best thing to do was to try and use what's already here and growing wild. Out in the pasture we have a bunch of different colors of flowers or weeds that grow at different times. I have been using that to my advantage and replanting them. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. The wild flower above did work. I have no idea its name, but I found it last year and transplanted a bunch near the house. This year it bloomed. I have given up trying to "add" new flowers because of the heat and dryness, but by doing so I discovered a whole new world.*♥ ♥*¨¨*♥ ♥*¨¨*♥ ♥*¨

Nightime Activities

I was out at the barn last night and just so happened to have my camera...imagine that! lol. I snapped this pic, really because of the horses but what caught my eye was the sky and the moon. I hope it's not too small to see on the blog pic. We were outside last night trying to get shots of the deer in the pond. Apparently a family of about 7, have decided this is their home. We have caught them a few times in the pond with their baby , but no camera in hand. It never ceases to amaze me the wonderful things that go on out here at night. I have seen red fox, deer, just to mention a few. I was hoping to get a pic of the deer...but I will during the day. Hubby said he was out the other day and they stayed for a while, even after seeing him. He watched in awe and then they hopped over the fence, while the baby when through the spaces. I'll try to get a pic next time. I get the feeling the deer are here often and that all of the animals are friends.*♥ ♥*¨¨*♥ ♥*¨¨*♥ ♥*¨

Queen Delilah

This morning the Queen of the house wanted to say hello. This is Delilah. Delilah was saved from a rescue when she was only 8 weeks old and yes, she is named after Freddie Mercury's cat. The song you are hearing is the song he wrote for her. :) We brought her home and I swear she thinks she owns the place. She has a certain way about her that makes you love her even more. Her favorite thing to do is to sneak into drawers from underneath and get anything she can out of it, carry it to the water bowl and deposit it there. I do believe she is going to be a very big cat, like Joey my white one who weighs about 25lbs. Delilah is not a year yet and is as big as Joey. I always had cats growing up, but never in the house. I am so glad I do now, they are beautiful creatures.
Today's post in kind of quick, I have some errands to run. I hope everyone is doing fine and loving their pets this morning. *♥ ♥*¨¨*♥ ♥*¨¨*♥ ♥*¨

Dr. Charged With Manslaughter

I always liked a lot of MJ's songs. His videos were fun and very creative. I never fell for all the negative media hype and all I will say is the man was very talented. This man could move and sing like nobodies business. I have loved music ever since I was real young and mom would have the radio playing all the time. I have to say I probably favor a lot of the older music. To me, the newer stuff doesn't take much talent.
I was shocked when I heard what happened that day. I felt right away the Dr. had to be involved, but what I most felt was shame. Shame that I live in a society that people kill each other so easily and don't even think about the human life they are taking. I don't know if it was for money, or some other motive, but it saddens me that this man will no longer sing or dance.

It's a loss for everyone, but many won't see it that way. Caught up in the whir of everyday life...desensitised by all the media we see. The Dr. responsible will hopefully pay for what he's done, but that won't change things will it. I for one, realize we lost a major player in the musical world that day. I'm so glad we have his music to listen to into the future.*♥ ♥*¨¨*♥ ♥*¨¨*♥ ♥*¨

Pixie

This is Pixie, the one and only. She is probably the smartest of the critters in the house. I haven't yet decided if the cats have the dogs beat yet. Whoever stated that cats and dogs don't get along is a fibber. It seems that none of the animals in the house can decide what type of animal they are. The dogs lick the cats and the cats eat the dog food. I try not to let that happen, because stinky, well. she gets gas...lmao. They actually all pretty much go with the flow, which is good in this house. You never know when a new face will show up :) My husband says..."no more in the house"..which translates to.."do what you want honey". Happy Anniversary dear.

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Off today

My girls are here today, so i'll see you tomorrow. They are my everything.*♥ ♥*¨¨*♥ ♥*¨¨*♥ ♥*¨

Buster Has Beef

This is Buster. He isn't very happy with the neighbors these days. It would seem Busters swimming pool, (our pond) has gone down about 5 feet and is turning green for a reason. I found out that the neighbors have done away with a very important irrigation ditch. Unfortunately besides the natural springs under the pond, the ditch was also supplying the pond with its water.

I knew that this land had belonged to a farmer way back and they had put irrigation ditches in so that the properties wouldn't flood. Well my neighbor, we will call him....Richard, or Dick for short, decided to fill in the ditch and simultaneously cut of the water to my pond.

Now the dilemma. I don't care for this man at all. Not in the teentsy weentsy least. I can't see me speaking to him about it, well because I have an idea he could care less. So I have a few choices, dig a well for the pond...or take on the arduous task of finding more water. Digging a well specifically for the pond seems kind of redundant to me. I mean basically its moving water from one hole to another...costing big bucks. The other idea will be quite time consuming and...not sure if it is possible. So as you can see. Buster has beef and for good reason. The lesson for today.....even when neighbors are 10 acres apart....... still build a fence.
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Bailey, Five pounds of silly

Bailey, Bailey, Bailey, so much to tell. The top picture is Bailey as a little one and the next is him now. He is a Yorkshire Terrier, Yorkie for short. Actually we are very lucky to still have him. Three years ago on Thanksgiving Day, the family was all sitting down to dinner and we heard a yelp. Bailey had decided to chew my cord to my laptop and was laid out on the floor. Before I continue I must say, Bailey never chewed wires before or even bothered with anything like that., none of my animals have. That being said, as you can see, I still feel bad, the story continues. We ran over and picked him up,he was stiff and not breathing. My husband and my sisters husband, whisked him off to the vet. On the way there he woke up while they were pleading with him and calling his name. He has a small scar on his mouth from it, but no other damage. Bailey became the "miracle dog".

These days Bailey gets pampered and treated like a king. It's hard not to anyway, he is the cutest thing with fur. I am very sure he will be on this blog often.*♥ ♥*¨¨*♥ ♥*¨¨*♥

Freddie The Crazy One

Meet Freddie. Freddie thinks he owns the place. I went out and took pics of him yesterday and almost felt as if I needed his consent. We have thought of getting rid of him because he can be too bossy at times when we need to do work out at the barn. It would seem Freddie and my husband have come to an agreement. LOL He is really a guard dog for the chickens and the horses and honestly I think hubby has developed a soft spot for the bugger. He is pictured above with Candy, our sweet painted pony. They are best friends. I have never seen a rooster before, who was not afraid of being stepped on by the horses. I guess we know who's boss! *♥ ♥*¨¨*♥ ♥*¨¨*♥ ♥*¨

The Usual Suspects

Here is the line-up of the "usual suspects" for the window smearing crew. I wash those windows 2 times a day and you can see the culprits right there. From left to right, Delilah (snooty pitutey), Stinky (known for SBD, hence the name) and last but not least the ringleader, Joey. All three of these critters came from a rescue shelter. I highly recommend saving animals instead of purchasing from stores etc. There are so many that need our help. Whether it's chasing bugs and smooshing them on the window or just nosing it, these 3 have been nabbed red pawed. *♥ ♥*¨¨*♥ ♥*¨¨*♥ ♥*¨

Our Pond

I have mentioned our pond a few times and the fact that we need rain so badly. I decided to walk back there yesterday and snap the first picture above so you could see. Notice the color, which is also a factor because of not enough rain. The second picture is last year. There is a big difference in the color and probably about four feet of water. This is why I'm always asking everyone to send me their rain. A couple years back I remember the pond flooding almost to the barn with the fish all over the place. I truly do think we are doing things to make our atmosphere and weather change. I hope someone is paying attention. Oops almost forgot, that's Itchy, one of our fish in the second picture. He wouldn't stay up top for me to get him in the top picture. The fish are still there but lower because of the water. Usually i have fish food for them to get them to surface, but this time I forgot to bring some. *♥ ♥*¨¨*♥ ♥*¨¨*♥ ♥*¨

How true it is!

This is soooo true. I laughed so hard because I can remember making a list for my husband and actually NOT labeling them 1,2 3, etc. I saw it coming. LOL Gotta love this clip!*♥ ♥*¨¨*♥ ♥*¨¨*♥ ♥*¨

Itsy Bitsy Spider.......

The spider species Argiope aurantia is commonly known as the Black and Yellow Garden Spider, Writing Spider, Banana Spider or Corn Spider. It is common to the lower 48 of the United States, Hawaii, southern Canada, Mexico, and Central America. They have distinctive yellow and black markings on their abdomens and a mostly white cephalothorax. Males range from 5 to 9 mm; females from 19 to 28 mm. Like other members of Argiope they are considered harmless to humans.

All righty then. LOL. thank God they are harmless, because they live on my house and front porch. I usually wisk away any spiders and their webs from the area with a broom, but these I keep. They eat every other bug in sight, so I let them be the spider guards. When I first came across them I have to admit, I freaked out. These two are females, which are quite a bit bigger than the males. Right now I think they are about 5 inches long. The females like to stay in one spot for a long time and I can vouch for that because i have one out on my pool fence since we opened the pool. The eggs these spiders lay contain 100's of babies, I know I saw one sac smooshed and they all ran. But the most incredible sight is the web. It's nearly impossible to get a pic of it in daylight because they put the most elaborate one out at night. It is like a silk and spun very intricately. So here are two more critters to add to our group. I don't think I'll name these lol. *♥ ♥*¨¨*♥ ♥*¨¨*♥ ♥*¨

More of my little ones

Here'ssssssss Lucy....and Ricky. LOL My husband thinks I come up with the silliest names for all of our animals. These are our Pygmy goats. Lucy is preggo and I'm hoping she has at least twins. They still are a little skittish so I stayed outside of the fence to get a pic. Hopefully soon they will get used to me snapping away. Ricky is very protective of her and doesn't let me alone with her yet. I prefer the Pygmy goat, the ones here, to the bigger goats. They are much friendlier and don't ram you. As you can see, I'm crazy about animals, so I'm sure you will meet them all.

Last thing to worry about

SALT LAKE CITY – A southern Utah newspaper has rejected a gay California couple's wedding announcement, saying its policy is to publish announcements only for marriages legal under Utah law.
The Spectrum in St. George initially accepted a paid wedding announcement for Tyler Barrick and Spencer Jones last week, but then changed course, Jones said. The San Francisco couple were legally married June 17, 2008. They wanted the announcement printed in Jones' hometown paper ahead of a family party next week.

Now with everything going on in the world, tell me why this is so shunned. I think it's totally ridiculous that people spend so much time fighting other people about their lives. Why does it matter who gets married. The structured family is already gone with both mom and dad at work. This makes no sense, why not protest and argue about all the immigrants in our country, taking advantage of our system. There are so many other things people could get outraged over. As I see it, it's WHO is going to get upset about certain things, not WHY. Trying to get the moral compass to go straight now in today's world is futile and this is not the place to start. Look at how many opposite sex marriages end in divorce! Why not let people marry who they love? This is all about who might get mad and won't read a paper I say. Shame on you.

Let it rain!!!!

Well finally it has started to rain, so I stepped outside on the front porch and snapped this picture. As you can see the river birches up the drive have been under a bit of heat stress, losing quite a bit of leaves for this time of year. If you are wondering about the little tree, that is a little gem magnolia. I had to replace a river birch tree with it after the fire ants had killed one of the six birch trees I planted. I planted these trees about five years ago and five made it...so I'm happy about that. I would have much rather replaced it with another river birch, but my local nursery guy didn't' have anymore and wasn't getting any. So we shall see how this little gem does, it was just planted last year, so it's a lil one.

As far as the rain goes I hope it goes on for days...our pond in the back is so very low. Tomorrow I'll take a walk back there and take some pictures. I was asking a friend yesterday to send his rain this way...thanks a bunch Rick and keep it coming.

Blog Ghost Towns

It's funny how I actually started my blog back up, now that I think about it. I occasionally would visit some older blogs we all know and would see if there was any life to them. Well I found one that still had my old link on it so I clicked it. I saw the link name that once was and decided to fire it back up.
Since then I have visited a lot of the older blogs and found only a couple still in existence. People move on with life and the net is a good example of that. The net for me is discovering and learning, though there had been a time when it was for chatting and debating. Thank goodness those times are gone, they got a little crazy, (you all know who I mean ) haha. I think back on all the characters and smile, every one of them was needed for the chat world we were living in at that time. I can't help but LOL.
I stopped by the old room today, didn't hardly know a soul. A couple people were there I knew, but not many. Life is meant to move on........and so it has :)

Now these are two of the best

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Brooks & Dunn are done.
Best-selling country duo Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn posted a message on their Web site Monday saying they agreed to "call it a day" after 20 years of making music together.
"This ride has been everything and more than we could ever have dreamed ... We owe it all to you, the fans," they said in the message. "If you hear rumors, don't believe them, it's just time."
Brooks & Dunn will release a greatest-hits album on Sept. 8 and tour one last time in 2010.

Well I could say I'm sad, but they well deserve the rest. These two men brought us some of the best country songs i have ever heard. The compatibility of the two set the stage for a perfect career. I was going to tell you my favorite song, but I can't...they are all excellent. I will miss them, but there is so much music to keep them going in our hearts forever. They will never be forgotten. Hat's off to you boys, you did your job and you did it well.

Let decent players take his place

CANTON, Ohio – Michael Vick(notes) wasn’t anywhere near the latest Hall of Fame ceremony, and he hasn’t even returned to the NFL yet. However, there was a reminder of the impact he might have if and when he returns to the league.
Fliers were left on the windshields of cars in the parking lot outside the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday. The fliers read: “Help Wanted: The NFL Hires Pet Killers.”

I have heard both sides of this controversy and tell you the truth, the man should never play football again. This is a man who had everything...and threw it all away. The biggest issue i have is this guy was a hero figure for many kids, not to mention the abuse and killing of animals. Now look at him. I don't go for the "I made a mistake", or the, "I didn't know what was going on", bull crap. This guy knew and was benefiting from it in many different ways. Let the up and coming athletes take this dirtballs place in the NFL. You blew it scumbag!

How things change

I have decided to start my blog back up, but with a different intent. There will be news postings, my own material and some fun stuff. Life is too short to be an angry person all your life people :) Why not look at the good things in life, but at the same time just be "aware" of the bad. Centering your life on the bad things in life that may happen is not a good policy to live by, but remember always to be safe.