Sunday Blessings

There are times when I feel overwhelmed, inadequate or simply have no desire to do what I should be doing.  This verse reminds me that I don't need to feel any of the above and that I can truly do more than I think I can if only I will believe this verse.

Have a blessed Sunday!

Till next time,

Titmouse Escapades

The other day we had some gorgeous fall-like weather so I spent most of my day on the porch reading and doing some crocheting.

I heard the birds flitting around the front yard and checking out the bird bath so, I grabbed my camera and took some shots.

This little titmouse was all over the place.  Let me show you a few of the places he visited...

 He worked his way over to the bird bath for a drink and a dip...

Ah, that felt good!

Now, I'll sit up here and dry off.

Aren't I handsome now all cleaned up?!

The fall-like weather only lasted a couple of days.  I can't wait until Autumn is truly here to stay and I can open up the house again.

Till next time,

LizzieBelle's Hooligans

Let me introduce to you Miss LizzieBelle's little hooligans...

Her firstborn, Onyx (or Blackie, whichever I think of first!)...

Her secondborn, Coolidge (named by the future owner)...

Her thirdborn, Bobbsey twin I...

After that, I don't remember the order.  I couldn't believe she just kept on having puppies!

This is Bobbsey Twin II...

Here we have Socks...

And last, but not least, (actually I think he was last) is Fuzzy...

Six healthy boys.  Aren't they adorable?  I can't resist snatching each of them up whenever I'm in the bathroom and giving them lots of kisses!

I know CountryBoy told me not to name them but we both ended up giving them nicknames.  Having names helps in trying to train them (at least it helps me!).

Both Fuzzy and Coolidge have been claimed.  I'm still hoping to find some good, loving homes for the other four.

All cuteness aside, there were days this week where I was ready to pull my hair out and cry Uncle!

Every morning I was waking up to this...

I would spend an hour, even before my first cup of coffee, cleaning up the mess, feeding them and then cleaning up another mess.

Messes ev.er.y.where.

Did I mention that this was what I woke to ev.er.y.morning?  Ugh!

Not a great way to start the day, sigh.

I had purchased some human pee pads for a couple of bucks at the thrift store because they were large.  And with six puppies bigger is better.  The puppies occasionally used them if they just happened to be standing on them when they needed to go.  

Some friends told me to get the puppy pads and they would do better about going on them.  Supposedly there's some puppy attractant in the pads that lures them to it.

Not so with the hooligans.  For several days after having the puppy pads down I was still waking up to.a.mess.

They must be more fun to play on rather than pee or poop on.

Oh, and let's not forget about the food fights!

When the mess continued all.day.long.ev.er.y.day I decided to take drastic measures.  I completely emptied the bathroom.  Puppies, hamper, jewelry armoire, toilet paper storage cabinet, waste basket, etc. outta there.

I put the puppies in the guest bathroom while I donned my Hazmat suit and went to work.  (Just kidding on the Hazmat suit.  I'm sure I needed one though!)

I cleaned up the mess one more time and then mopped the bathroom really good.  Once it dried, I put everything back in the bathroom including the puppies.

Ah, so much better.  Now if it would just stay that way, ha!

We had several more accidents throughout the evening but I stayed with them as long as possible to try and train them to go to the pads.

I've also been cleaning up the messes and then spraying the area with a homemade citrus vinegar solution to hopefully rid the smell and discourage continued messes in that area.

This morning I woke up to a lesser mess and throughout the day the messes and accidents have been fewer. Maybe we're making progress.

I sure hope so because I was about to go outta my mind!

Enough about the messes.  How bout some more hooligan cuteness?!  (Make sure your sound is on)

Till next time,

Gardening Skills (or Lack Thereof!)

If you've been reading my blog for a while then you know about the poor yield we had from this year's garden.  With the exception of the okra.  We are still cutting a few okra every other day or so.  We've collected two gallon-size freezer bags full so far.  We also managed to get a handful of blackeye peas and lima beans.  Other than that, the garden was basically awash this year.  Again.  Sigh!

Although, the ONE plant that I had almost nothing to do with has flourished.  Go figure!

Apparently, I threw a cucumber in the compost bin at one time and lo and behold, before too long a cucumber plant was growing in the bin.  I decided to leave it be as I've not had luck in transplanting cucumbers.

I think I made the right decision.

CountryBoy and I could not get over how huge the leaves were and how many blooms there were!

It has produced several huge cucumbers with more on the way.

They are very good too.  Even though the cucumbers were large the seeds inside remained small and soft.

I'm quite pleased with the yield from this plant that I basically had nothing to do with, hahaha!

In other news, I mentioned in yesterday's post about my seemingly paralyzed duck.  I went to bed last night thinking that she would not make it through the night.  I said a prayer that she would be well in the morning and then fell asleep.  I got up this morning and guess what?  There was no duck in the coop.  I looked out in the run and didn't see any duck lying around out there either.  I did a head count and all nine ducks were walking around and quacking like nothing was ever wrong.  I really don't know what to think but I'm happy!

On the flip side, LizzieBelle woke up feeling puny this morning.  She did not eat her breakfast nor did she eat her heart worm pill which she normally gobbles both down with no hesitations.

Since I am concerned about her severe case of heart worms (in which we stopped her treatments during her pregnancy) I stopped in at the vets office and asked what they thought was going on and to see if I needed to bring her in or if we should start the treatments up again now that the puppies are almost weaned.

The vet assured me that LizzieBelle's heart sounds good (she listened to it last week during their appointment) and said that she may not be feeling well if she's been cleaning up after the puppies.  And yesterday she did clean up a pile before I could get to it.  Ewww!

The vet suggested feeding her chicken & rice, beef & rice or egg & rice for a week.  I chose egg & rice since I  have a few eggs laying around, haha, and LizzieBelle gobbled that right up, whew!

Now, if I could just get the puppies to pee on their puppy pads my life would be SO much easier!  Hopefully some day soon they'll figure out that those pads are for peeing & pooping on rather than playing on and wadding up in a ball... sigh.

Till next time,

Where Does The Time Go?

I can't believe it's been a week since my last post.  Sheesh!

I really don't know where the time goes.

It was a rather hectic week, though, so I'm guessing that had something to do with the time disappearing on me.

With the onset of Fall I am hoping to get into somewhat of a routine again... house cleaning, yard work, blogging, work (I clean our church on a weekly basis), filling sewing and crocheting orders for customers, cleaning up after puppies, decluttering and simplifying our home and life, etc.

And with the cooler temps we've been having I want to be outdoors again.  Even if I'm just piddling around out there.  I'm thinking that might put a kink in my routine, haha!

I have so many things on my plate right now that I NEED to get into a routine just so that I can stay sane!

I am the type of person that likes to stay busy but I don't like to be overwhelmed.  I like to pace myself.  But, there are times, especially this time of year, when it seems like everything happens at the same time with so many holidays back to back.  So, I'm going to have to make sure that I have some down time every now and then.  It is for the best interest of everyone around me!

Burgundy Lily

I just finished drinking some Dunkin Donuts Pumpkin ground coffee.  Delish!  I will definitely be buying some  more next time I'm in town.  I do love anything pumpkin!

I mentioned the puppies earlier.  Their vet appointment went well last week.  The vet was pleased with how healthy they were and she complimented me on the health of LizzieBelle and the pups.  She said that the care I gave LizzieBelle during her pregnancy resulted in such healthy puppies.  Yay!  I do believe Miss LizzieBelle was rescued just in time!

The puppies and LizzieBelle got a dose of worming medicine at their appointment and the second dose was administered yesterday by myself and a neighbor.  I'm so thankful she came over to help as it would have been difficult for me to hold them and slowly give them the medicine.

The puppies are five weeks old today.  They are eating soft puppy food and LizzieBelle supplements their diet every once in a while.  She is slowly weaning them.  God-given animal instinct amazes me!

At times I feel overwhelmed with the care of the puppies and the constant cleaning up after them.  I am going to get some puppy pads tomorrow when I'm in town and I'm hoping that the puppies will use them on a regular basis.  I am currently using pee pads for humans (bought at a thrift store for a couple of bucks) but the puppies use it only 50% of the time.  I'm told that there is a scent in the puppy pads that will attract the puppy to use it.  I'm crossing my fingers this is true.  Cleaning up after six puppies gets crazy!

Cicada on a clothespin

On a sad note, last week one of our drakes died.  Country Boy noticed that it wasn't eating with the rest of the ducks and chickens.  We managed to catch it and upon closer inspection I noticed that one side of his head was swollen.  We found a puncture wound.  We have no idea what happened.

Lately, the ducks have been sleeping in the run at night rather than in the coop so I'm wondering if a snake came in and bit it.  I know a snake wouldn't dare come in the run during the day with all the chickens running around!

That's the only thing I can think of that may have caused the wound.

Then this evening, while I was doing the evening chores, I found a female duck lying on the floor in the coop with her legs straight out behind her.  I picked her up and tried to get her legs back under her.  After a bit I managed to get them under her but they would not stay.  I put her in the water to see if that would help but it didn't.  I put her back in the coop and I'm expecting her not to make it through the night.

CountryBoy seems to think that maybe one of the drakes broke her back while he was, ahem, doing his thing with her.  It's possible as she did seem to be paralyzed from 'the waist down'.

Times like these are the hardest part about caring for farm animals.  Sometimes I feel so helpless.

The above cicada was on my clothesline one day.  He patiently posed while I tried to figure out my new Raynox Macro lens.

I still need a lot of practice with the lens but I've not had the time to work on my macro shots.  Some day!

Well I've rambled on long enough.

Till next time,

Four Weeks Old

Four weeks ago, Miss LizzieBelle gave birth to six healthy puppies.

Today, they are little bundles of energy for a bit and then wore slap out the next.

Mama and the puppies have their first vet appointment tomorrow.

I'm hoping they'll be able to tell me the mix of these puppies.

It's so cute how they sleep all over each other!

A few of them are starting to get some teeth so it shouldn't be long before they're weaned.  I think poor Miss LizzieBelle is ready for them to be weaned already!  Their teeth and little claws have got to hurt.

Here's a little video of playtime taken about a week ago...

 

They're getting around much better since this video was taken.  They still wobble and fall over at times but they can actually run now.  So cute to watch!

  



Till next time,

New To Me

Almost 18 years ago I purchased a brand new, red Isuzu Amigo.  What a great, fun and sporty little SUV!  (The first time Country Boy saw my car he thought I must be adventurous with a car like that!  He was right!)  It was a workhorse too.  I've toted and hauled more stuff in it than most people would load in their trucks... wood, plumbing, plants, pallet full of tiles, feed, etc.  I loved that car, but alas, it was showing some wear and tear and beginning to have a few issues.

 

Country Boy decided it was time to get me another vehicle.  We stopped at a local used car dealer and ended up with sticker shock when we asked about the prices of some of the vehicles.  Crazy! So we shopped around and realized that the prices of used cars were much higher than we anticipated.  Guess it's been a while since either of us has been car shopping.

 

We ended up going back to the dealer in town and buying the first car we looked at.  Go figure!  But, at least after checking around we knew we got a decent deal.

 

What did we get?  A 2006 Jeep Liberty with only 63,000 miles!

 

 

It's in excellent condition and runs really good.  I love it!  (I'm also checking out my 8-star filter in this shot.)

 

Since I want this car to last a really long time, I asked Country Boy if we could go ahead and have a carport put in.  We've been tossing the idea around but never decided on a location for it and there was no urgency for it in the past since the Amigo's paint job was pretty rough already.

 

We decided on a location that would not be very noticeable.  My old flower garden.  I tried having a shade garden in there but it was just too shady and even the shade plants that I purchased did not do well.  I eventually gave up on it.

 

Some prep work needed to be done to get it ready for the carport; plants relocated, a tree cut down and the area leveled out.

 

With the plants that needed to be relocated I decided to make a new flower bed and move them into this area.  The plants will get partial shade and will hopefully do better.

 

 

You can see the tree we had to cut down to make room for the carport.  Neither of us likes to cut any trees down but this one ended up having a large section of the tree that was full of carpenter ants so we chose the right tree to cut down.

 

 

I moved azaleas, lantana, some ivy, honeysuckle, ornamental grasses and aloe.

 

 

After much digging and planting I'm pleased with the new bed.

 

 

Once the tree and the plants were out of the way it was time to start leveling the ground.  Our neighbor brought his tractor over and let Country Boy operate it.

 

 

Country Boy was having a blast even though it was raining.

 

 

Needless to say, he wants one of these some day!  Boys and their toys, hahaha!

 

For the first time on the tractor I think he did a pretty good job...  all leveled, ready and waiting for the shell rock to be delivered.

 

 

The next day 10 yards of local shell rock was delivered.

 

 

Funny story (after the fact) about the delivery of the rock.  The driver took the tailgate and slammed it against the back of the truck several times trying to get the last bits of shell and dirt out.  It startled us even though we were watching him but apparently it sounded like explosions to the neighbors.  They tried to call us but since we were outside we weren't able to answer the phone.  When we didn't answer, they got concerned, called 911 then came to check on us.  I was appreciative for their concern.  Even though we can't see our neighbors, we're all there for each other if necessary.  It's nice.

 

Anyhoo, Country Boy got back on the tractor and spread the shell rock.

 

 

Once we ordered the carport it was supposed to take four to six weeks before it's arrival.  We thought we had plenty of time to get the area prepped.  It ended up being two days.  We were glad we were ready!

 

The following morning the crew arrived to install the carport.

 

 

I like how it blends in with the surroundings.

 

 

Country Boy was teasing me and asking me if I was going to paint the metal posts brown.  If I ever run out of things to do I just might!  Just kidding!  Furthermore, I don't think I'll ever run out of things to do!

 

Till next time,