Puppies big and small

There's never too many shots of Bambi, of course. And being that she thinks she's a puppy still, well, it was only fitting that she not be left out.

Amber and I went walking the other day and she was so excited following us, bucked and tossed her head, ran in between us, getting ahead, then falling back, being playful the whole time. I could tell she made Amber nervous, acting like she could throw us out of her way if she had a mind to, but instinctively being gentle at the last minute. A little scolding now and then settled her down. She just thinks she's a big ol' puppy but I can't help thinking she looks like that big old killer whale that turned on its' trainer in Orlando. Respect is deserving of an animal that large that doesn't know its own strength or its size, or intentions.

Then there's Darla's puppies. Cute as can be and one has already found a home. Amber and Camaron have also decided to keep Petey, the beige one. The hawks that have been hanging around lately seem to be scoping out their favorites as well, though they've kept their distance. (Maybe they're looking at the chicken coop.)

The fluffy one with his tongue hanging out has been visiting inside lately. He's been nice company for me and I named him "Bear." He's been nice to visit with after work when all's quiet after coming home. It's been a long week so I'll indulge myself until they all find homes.

Tomorrow I'm off and another snow storm is rolling in (oh joy) but Amber will be coming over and we'll get some business taken care of. She'll finally get a phone and we'll get Cassie her own phone too. Amber's getting excited about growing a garden this year. I think it will be a good one. Maybe it will take this time with a little help and someone to to give me some incentive.

Well, eating some dinner, watch some olympics then off to bed. Hope you all have a good night!

Sandy

Natural Selection

This weekend was nice to have off and though Sunday was a snowy, cold day, Saturday turned out to be a good day to get out.

Amber and Camaron were here most of the weekend and they were looking forward to fishing and a nice barbeque grill dinner. They each caught a bass, Ambers was 2 1/2 lbs, Camarons was 2 lbs, and added to the future fish fry when more are caught.

But while they were fishing I went walking. It was so nice to get out again in the sunshine after so many cold and snowy days this winter. It was almost springlike. Darla went everywhere with me. Bambi was busy trying to chew on fishing tackle, fishing poles...I even caught her with a beer and cold cup completely in her mouth! She almost got away with it if Camaron hadn't stopped her! Silly cow...

Going walking with Darla we set off in the woods near the pond. Bambi came running through the brush catching up to us after Amber chased her away from the fishing tackle again. So off we went, like in days past, the dog and the cow fighting over who leads the way.

I'm always on the hunt for feathers but that day I came across an odd sight. An old tree was just covered in scattered feathers, large ones. Bambi went right to it standing in the middle, sniffing..nuzzling the ground and the odd smell of the scene.

Something had killed a red tail hawk, a large full grown one and picked it clean leaving the carcass of bones still in the tree. I thought at first maybe someone had shot it the way the feathers looked like leftovers from a scattering explosion. But it was too clean for that. What was left behind was cleanly and meticulously picked over. A large cat would've been messier.

No, this was done by another predatory bird, one bigger and stronger than the victim of circumstance I had found. There was that sighting of an eagle weeks ago... Or maybe an owl, which is bigger than a red tail hawk.. Or maybe it was another male, fighting over territory, and one lost. There have been quite a few hawks around and even a younger one. Maybe the nesting family had some neighborly disputes... It's prime territory after all, a chicken coop nearby, puppies that look absolutely delicious to a hawk, and of course, a friendly cow.

Whatever happened, it was natural selection as nature should be. I collected feathers and the claws are left intact so maybe when those dry out I can make a necklace or something out of them. Discreetly of course, it's a protected bird no matter that it died naturally.

There's nothing wrong in how it died even though the trauma of the fight that ensued was quite evident. It was out of the ordinary but not at all unnatural. It's the natural order of things that the strong survive, the weaker lose so nature can keep the breeding pool that's left to incorporate the best qualities for future generations survival. In other words...shit happens.

In contrast to all of this, the next day I watched a program on PBS about a wildlife hunting "refuge" (but refuge isn't the word..) . It called itself "Green" in that people were allowed to go and hunt many different animals with either sedating dart guns, or arrows with sedation on the tips. What they "kill" can be posed with, pictures taken with, then doctored back up (hopefully) and set free to be "killed" again! To me that just seems completely wrong! They argued it was like "catch and release" in fishing. Technically, yes... but being set up, over and over to endure that seems like a barbaric form of refining the sport of killing to suit the masses.

Wild game that feeds a family is one thing, but i think that is carrying the sport a bit too far.

I like to think that the hawk that died fought proudly and fiercely (and from the looks of it he did) but at least had the fighting chance.

The Endless Winter

The subject lately always comes back to winter. Yes it is winter but enough already! We've had enough ice and snow out here to let the novelty wear off.

At least this has all melted off by now, thank goodness. The puppies are not pupsicles, the chickens are not frozen roosting in their little wading pool, Bambi has enough hay to last until spring weather starts the new grass growing again... the snow has melted for now.

They're saying this year is the most snowfall EVER for Oklahoma. It's supposed to be thanks to El Nino but why throw blame around? Shit happens and you just get over it. Move on and take some nice pictures of it all.

There was a 7 ft icicle hanging from the roof for days and one late night I came home from work, feeding Darla on the back porch and it suddenly crashed to the ground! I screamed, Darla caught between me and the icicle barked like it was a monster intruder! She was such a good watch dog and earned a nice supper for standing her ground.

I've been surviving. Missed a couple of days work with the last storm not being able to get out of the driveway. The last storm happened on my days off so the timing was perfect. The news said tonight there are still thousands of people out of power from that storm two weeks ago. That means, unless you have a fireplace, woodstove or gas heat, there's no heat. And most rural areas rely on electricity for their well. Can you imagine losing water and heat for 2 weeks straight? Families with children are really catching the brunt of it. But at least it looks like we're coming to the tail end of things.

After work today I filled up the wood box (I have a woodstove and plenty of trees around the property), fed chickens, cow (spoiled thing that she is), dog, puppies, cats..then to relax. There's still containers of water filled in case the power goes out.

But my days off are Saturday and Sunday! In Oklahoma City on Saturday is a Chinese New Year Celebration I'm planning to see! I saw one in San Francisco back in high school that was awesome! It was in Chinatown and they lit a huge rope of firecrackers from a second story building! There was a train of dancers dressed as a dragon, drums, music, it was awesome! The restraunts and shops were amazing! San Francisco is one of the best places to see if you ever get the chance!

Well, now there's some nice things to look forward too. I'm sure when the heat of summer comes we'll be whining then too! Have a great day!

Sandy

Moonbow Tonight

Tonights moonbow forecasts a storm brewing on the horizon.

I worked until after 10 tonight getting ready for corporate hot shots to come. Then tomorrow I will be back at work at 6:15 am. When they come you'd think god is coming to visit so everything has to be perfect. But right now the customers are more like preparing for the second biggest storm of the winter.

Generators sold out tonight and by tomorrow ice melt, salt and sand will go next.

I'm prepared though. Got a good load of firewood to heat the place, plenty of food, gassed up the car, a fancy new lantern/flashlight and batteries in case the power goes out, I'm all set. I'll be off just before the storm hits Thursday afternoon then off Friday to sit it out. I have a good book, taxes to do if I'm that ambitious, and plenty of animals to take care of to occupy the time. The puppies have their eyes open now and Darla's wanting to spend more time with me rather than the puppies. Hopefully Amber and Cameron will be safe and secure before the storm sets in.

Heading off to bed soon, sleep just doesn't come as willingly as it used to.

But there's always Friday..

Have a great day!

Sandy

A Nice Night

Hard to see but that is my view of the Big Dipper tonight. Coming home after a long days work (and it was longer than necessary) was a peaceful, quiet house. Darkness only accentuated the stars and the half moon shining through the bare trees of winter.

Streaks of clouds were flying across the sky preceding the incoming storm but there's a window of clearness at the moment. The half moon shines through the bare trees of winter, surrounded by a million stars. It's beautiful. I wish you were here to see it all, feel the breeze turning into gusts that have dropped from springlike temperatures to the tell-tale cold that says we're still in winter. (Must've dropped ten degrees since I've been home.)

The wind chimes were blowing wildly when I heard the sounds of a flock of geese honking. I held the chimes still to hear better but there was no doubt. Their distinct honking, not a big flock, but big enough to be sounding the alarm of a storm coming, warning all who could hear that whatever is coming was worth flying in the dark to outrun. It really is a sound I haven't heard often, geese flying at night, frantic at that. In the daytime when there's no distress and they're flying low enough you can hear the brushes of strong wings in the air, working powerfully enough to carry such a large bird. When 20-30 of them fly low over your head, those wings create the most beautiful sound.

Then coyotes started off in the distance. The moon being half full brings them out. They'll only get more active each night as the moon gets more full. And judging by the sounds of them Darla's not the only one with puppies.

Darla met me on the porch tonight and ran right in the house (well, kitchen...she has ulterior motives) and spun around happy to see me. She really does miss our company and acts like she's happy to have someone to catch up on things at the end of the day. (And she likes sharing dinner with me too. That seems to be our "thing" now.) Half of the puppies have their eyes open and are doing fine in the barn. Bambi is staying close by and mooed at me and nuzzled me good this morning. The ducks were hanging close to the chicken coop instead of sleeping at the pond (I guess they're anticipating a big storm too.)

I'll be heading for bed soon, one more long day at work tomorrow before one day off. Maybe just one more look at the stars while I have just one more smoke for the day. Maybe I'll see a shooting star....

Have a great night :)

A New Day

This is the sight I awoke to this morning.

Armed with a cup of coffee, camera, having the first smoke of the day the sun rose to absolute brilliance. As if on cue, the birds came alive. A small group of ducks flew over on their way to the lake or one of the ponds. It was quiet and subtle at first, a few here and there. Then the roosters made some pathetic attempts at crowing, crows around the pasture topping them with more well seasoned calls.

As the sun lit up the world, more birds of all kinds, going many different directions filled the sounds of the morning like a symphony that had a slow start then surprised the audience with a powerful sound that made a person want to dance. Cardinals brought their bright reds that turned the scene into a living painting one could just listen and watch for hours.

Yesterday I saw a bird flying overhead that was too big to be a hawk and had the characteristics of an eagle. It had to be one. This is the time of year they migrate through so it's not out of the ordinary. Just not so ordinary to fly over my head just as my company was finally leaving. Surely that was a sign from the Universe that all is well.

A hawk that must be nesting nearby has not been shy with its presence either. I've gotten used to seeing it perched on an oak limb, unperturbed by Bambi or the commotion around the place, as if it feels quite at home regardless.

My house is quiet once again and I'm off to work in a while. Darla will settle in the barn with her puppies since it's warming up again then I can finally get some sleep. Amber and I are scoping out where the vegetable garden will go.

I'm really looking forward to whatever this year brings. At least I know today will be a very good day. Hope yours is as wonderful!

The Blur of 2009

Well, maybe it's more like the tail end of 2009 was a blur. Where do I begin?

Probably the end of November, flying to Chicago to see Cassie graduate from boot camp was the start of hecticity. (I made that word up) From then on it was work, getting ready for Christmas, visitors. Cassie flew home for Christmas. Randall's wife surprised him with a ticket home for Christmas so we kept it a secret so he could surprise his sisters, which worked with Cassie but Amber guessed when she saw his luggage. Guess I'm not so good at that. Their Dad came from California with his girlfriend whom I got to meet for the first time. She has been wonderful and we get along great! So before, during and after Christmas was quite the houseful. Along with the kids' friends popping in and out while they were here too I have been juggling a busy house and working during the most busy season.

Don't know what I'd have done if it hadn't been for David to keep me grounded. At least there was some peace amidst all of that. :)

Then the blizzard on Christmas Eve that I almost didn't make it home through. The worst in 15 years they said so that kept us all snowed in, and in a tiny house at that. But it was a good Christmas, the kids had a blast being together again and I was so happy to have all my kids under one roof for Christmas. The older they get you just can't tell when the opportunity will come about again. They played in the snow, went sledding with a 4 wheel drive and a car hood tied to the back (They had a blast!). Built a giant snowman then used it for target practice. Kids...

Cassie flew back to Pensacola, Florida, Randall flew back to Southern California. At least I still have Amber and Camaron here. And Amber announced she and Camaron plan on getting married in June. :) They want to get married in Lake Tahoe and have a reception out here with the families. By then he'll have graduated from pharmacy school and is looking forward to working.

Randy (my ex) and Sarah will be leaving the end of this week. They've worked very hard around here and Sarah is spoiling me rotten. She was raised on a dairy and loves being out in the country again. I try to get my chores done but she seems to always beat me to it! My firewood is stocked for the rest of the winter too.

Yesterday Amber, me, Sarah and Randy went into Oklahoma City for a day at the zoo. Sarah had never been to a zoo that big and it was almost warm enough to go without a coat. Almost forgot what warm sunshine felt like after temperatures dipping down to 0 and other single digits. It was wonderful and we even went to the Oklahoma City Memorial (where the Murrah Building was blown up) and it was impressive to see as the sun set. No pictures though since the memory card was full.

Darla had puppies (8) and is settled in my room until the weather is better for puppies. She's really liking that! Bambi is staying close to home and it will be a while before I can tell if she's pregnant or not. She tolerated the cold as best she could but still had frost on her back and ice crystals on her whiskers. She can't fit in the laundry room so she'll just have to get used to the straw in her stall.

I'm looking forward to getting my house back in order... I like to start the New year off with a very organized house but with the company I'm a little behind. It will happen though.

Now to start working on those taxes...

I really hate paperwork...

:)