Holes

Kali didn't make it.  She seemed a bit better yesterday morning, but wasn't drinking again by bedtime.  She couldn't even stand this morning, and was jaundiced.

I took her back to the vet this morning, and she offered to admit her, but wasn't holding forth much hope due to her rapid decline.  Instead, we all said our goodbyes to her before heading to school and work, and I brought her home from the vet in a shroud.

Mom and Dad helped me dig a hole under the big oak tree where Zach and Daisy are buried.  When JP and the girls are home this evening, we will put her to rest there.

She is leaving a big hole in our family...bigger than the one under the oak tree.

Sleep sweet, Kali Gal.

Stella is gonna miss her too!

Chasing the ball was her favorite thing - she did it on Thursday.

Kali's Big Day

Both JP and Dad were out hunting this morning. JP had his walkie talkies turned on in the house, so I got to hear about the experiences of the group hunting with our neighbors. One of them got a 4 point buck, only legal because of 3 tines on one side, and one an 8 point. One of them cut his forehead because his scope was too close when he fired (I have the greatest of sympathy for him, having had a similar experience in the past.) One guy suggested that they give up and go golfing. Personally, I decided not to go out today. This first week is for antlered deer only, and I very rarely see bucks up here. I'll try to slip out next week when I can work on decreasing the female population.

Poor Kali is sound asleep on the couch. She had quite a day today! I confused her right off the bat by not letting her go on a walk this morning, but hurried her out to pee in the backyard, then rushed her right back in. I walked on the treadmill this morning, which was only recently moved from the garage into the house. (I need to photo document the garage project at some point...)

Kali, instead, played with these 3 cuties today.



She got a complete make-over!



After dinner this evening, L went out with Kali and I to empty the compost bucket. It was pitch black, but I had my head light on, the bucket in one hand, and L's hand in the other. Kali went tearing off, completely thrilled to be able to run around outside. On our way back the the house, we suddenly heard a CRASH as Kali ran head first into the metal fencing around my flower bed. She fell down and rolled down the hill in the mud. The poor thing came limping up to us, muddy and embarrassed.

After we sponged her off with warm water, and checked her for boo-boos, Kali seemed to be feeling pretty much back to normal. It wasn't long afterwards, however, that I finished her coat that I had been working on all day. I meant to get this done BEFORE hunting season started, but I am thankful that it is finally done, after sitting on my desk for about 3 months, for the SECOND day of rifle season. Of course, I made her model it, which seemed to cause even more embarrassment. In fact, she felt so awkward in it that she tried to walk as little as possible while wearing it, and then did so in a stiff legged gait.



That wasn't the end of the torture for poor Kali,she got her hair brushed and her teeth brushed as well! As you can see in the picture above, we know it is time to get her trimmed when we can no longer identify her eyes. It's time.

Outing of the Week 2b - Sycamore

My friend's mother offered to us her very sturdy, very LARGE porch swing that has been stored in her barn for some years. We finally made the trip out to pick it up this afternoon, and were charmed by her lovely property by the creek. Her house is tucked into a clearing by the creek, and is surrounded by huge old trees. Flowering plants are nestled away in beds and pots here and there. It is green, green every where. The only sound heard was the trickling of the stream as it tumbled over the edge of an enormous flat rock. It was all so inviting that we would have loved to set up our deck chairs in the back yard and just relax!

The girls were enchanted as well, discovering hiding places under the trees to explore. J's words as we drove up the long drive: "Wow! This place is AMAZING! Aunt S is a Country Girl!"

Tonight Kali proved her prowess as a true mouser, catching a rodent of some sort that the kitties let get away. We had to coax it away from her with the offering of some of her special carob dog cookies. Ugh.

Cages

We had our first frost of the season this morning, which heralds the coming of winter. I'm trying to prepare mentally for this to happen. It's not my favorite season of the year ever, but after a winter like last year, it's almost enough to cause anxiety!

The frost also means we are getting closer to hunting season. In fact, it has been bow season for several weeks now. Just as Kali and I were getting into our routine morning walks, we now have to limit the area in which we wander. It's hard to imagine feeling caged in on 50 acres, right? I wear my bright orange ball cap, and Kali wears a day-glo orange bandanna...no one is going to mistake us for random deer! Now instead, we are in danger of becoming fat and lazy again.


The deer have been out more than ever lately. The bucks have flattened 5 out of 8 of my ornamental pear trees.


I spent some time today trying to right them, and putting cages around them to prevent any further damage. The bark is torn off on one side of ALL the trees I planted this year, so only time will tell if they make it or not.


The garden is winding down. I picked the last of the beans last week. We still have lots of hot peppers (any takers?) and the winter squash to harvest. I love the look of the pumpkins and corn stalks...it's so...um...Autumn looking!


The birds are enjoying the sunflower seeds.


My flower garden is still going strong. In fact, the Mums are going crazy, looking like huge, fluffy pillows tossed out in the garden.


While working out there recently, I came across this rock with a fern fossil in it. Can you make it out?


Speaking of old things, the girls and I took a field trip last week to the old WV State Penitentiary in Moundsville last week. The tour guide had lots of gory stories, which were a bit overwhelming for the girls, but I found fascinating. This is a shot of the razor wire above the exercise grounds.


For now, I'm trying to make the most of the Autumn sun until we get caged in by the snow.

Rain and Other Stuff

We finally got some rain today. Not a lot of it according the the rain gauge, but steady all day none the less. It was enough to get the girls and I soaking wet on our Habitat Trek field trip at Mingo Creek this morning. But the discomfort was easily soothed with Krispy Kremes and Cocoa (or Lattes).

I have the library windows open as I type, so I am surrounded by a cool breeze and the sound of the rain falling...this is the life!

No soccer practice tonight, so we got dinner over with in record time. The girls are bathed and snuggled into our bed with their wet hair smelling faintly of watermelon. They are watching The Princess and the Frog. JP and I are soon to start our most recent Netflix.

Kali has finally emerged from her kennel after a day and a half of hiding out. She got trimmed on Tuesday, and has been slightly embarrassed since. She looks somewhat like a greyhound with a perm. She spends a lot of time these days doing this:



The kitties really like Kali...they rub against her legs and purr. Very sweet.

Sad news: the old Point Auto building is not going to be a coffee shop after all. It appears that we have yet another florist shop in our little town.

Speaking of shops in our little town, the salon over which we lived for 7 months is offering a special on full body waxes and eyelash extensions. Sounds oh so enjoyable!

Labor Day Weekend

We passed a quiet extended weekend on Poplar Ridge. It was a peaceful one...the first time in several years that we haven't had plans.

We did get a lot done here, along with relaxing. After extensive internet research, I decided to pickle my hot peppers and keep them in the refrigerator where I can continue to add to the jars as the peppers ripen. I have been stringing these some little red ones and hanging them to dry, and I have also popped quite a few jalapenos into the freezer whole. These are (from left to right) pepperoncinis, long red slims, jalapenos, and serranos.



I also managed to pick and freeze another 5 dozen ears of corn.

JP and I finally installed my "Amish clothes line" up. This is a line on pulleys that allows me to stand in one place to put the clothes on and take them off...very nice. JP had me in the bucket of the tractor, 20 feet in the air installing one of the pulleys in a big hickory tree. Being quite fearful of heights, this was not a pleasant activity for me, especially since I also sawed off 2 dead or broken limbs while I was up there.



We began watching the Anne of Green Gables movies with the girls yesterday. It is such fun to share one of our all time favorite movies with the girls and have them fall in love with it too! We played soccer: Daddy and J against Mommy and L. We lounged in the hammock and in the lounge chairs on the porch, watching a tree full of Cedar Waxwings.



We played with the dog and the kitties (finally named Bert - on the left, and Ernie - on the right).



So we passed the holiday weekend, quite pleasantly. All that calmness ended quite abruptly today with the resuming of cyber school, violin & soccer practice, and a Pre-School field trip to one of our favorite parks. This afternoon, our builder returned with a jack-hammer to replace our front stoop that settled over an inch. This is what our front entrance looks like now.



How was your Labor Day weekend?

200

200 posts...gee...who knew I had that much to say?

Hurricane (or has he been demoted to a Tropical Storm?) Earl must be making his way past our part of the world right now. My laundry is about to be blown off the clothes line. Grey clouds pile up, then blow away.

We have had plenty of strange weather lately. August sweated us out with 5 days over 90* in the past week. Now it is in the 60's. The girls have sweaters on. It's such a pleasant change!

The garden is slowing down. I brought in lots of produce today. We have lots of acorn squash, butternut squash and pumpkins on the vine, but I'm trying to leave them in until first frost.



I'm going to be pickling peppers this weekend: jalapenos, pepperoncinis, and serranos.

Mom and Dad's house is coming right along. All of the dry wall is hung. My friend, T, who can do absolutely ANYTHING, was out today mudding seams with Dad. Here's a couple of pictures of the inside of the house:



The great room looking toward the front door and the stairway.



The great room looking the other direction. The wall on the left is kitchen. The small hallway leads to the laundry room/pantry on the left, master bedroom straight ahead, and bathroom to the right.

Kali and I have been taking longer walks lately, we both need the extra exercise. We were walking through the mist a few mornings back, and startled a flock (?) of turkeys. As they were squawking and flapping over our heads, I was reminded why I love it here. Despite the frequent power outages, and the monstrous amount of yard and garden work, I wouldn't want to be any where else. True, I feel a bit isolated some times, but my friends are just minutes away in the Burg. This is where I belong.

Swimming Hole

JP and I needed an uplifting activity after the depressing movie (The Lovely Bones) that we watched last night. So tonight we have been scheduling his yearly "summer vacation" week since the girls collapsed into bed. Last year we moved during his week off. The year before that, we worked on several projects around the house. This year, being in denial about the many projects we have on the back burner, we are planning to play. Our 19th anniversary conveniently falls into that week, so one of the reservations we were working on is an overnight get-away for the two of us. (Mom and Dad have already agreed to watch the girls.) Another one is our yearly Idlewild trip.

The girls were tuckered out after a long day of playing. We spent several hours at the Elementary School parking lot riding bikes. J is doing so well...she rode and rode and rode! We realized that L's little bike is really too tiny for her, so we ended up getting her a new bike today as well.



All the bike riding in the sun left us feeling a bit wilted and sticky, so we took our neighbor up on his offer of using his swimming hole. It's a lovely little place, back in the trees, spring fed and deliciously cool.



Even the dog jumped in, though she is not a good swimmer. JP and I had to help her a few times as she was going under. I read some where that the name "Poodle" came from the German "pudel", meaning "one who plays in water". Hmmm. Since this was her first time in the water, I guess I'll give her another chance to display her water dog abilities.



Now I'm ready to collapse into bed myself. Nighty night!

Little Birds

The power was out again last night. It blinked out just before we sat down to dinner, and didn't come back on until this morning. This is the 4th time that it's been out since Mother's Day, and it's getting very old.

The girls were over chlorinated after spending 2 days in a row at the pool. I had intended to give them a bath, but lacking running water, we did the next best thing. I soaped them up, then let them run around in the rain to rinse off.



It was quite pleasant on the deck last evening. The rain was falling gently, the air was cool and quiet, and the hummingbirds were busy dipping into the feeder. I watched them awhile, then set up the tripod and remote trigger and shot over 60 pictures of the tiny birds.

The male was the primary feeder.



When a female came by, first they had words...



...then they fought...



...then they finally fed together briefly.



I wasn't the only one watching them either. Kali waited for them to come, then lunged and barked when one showed up. We were afraid she might launch herself off the deck! (The hummingbird is circled.)

Bird Watching

Kali ran at the TV today when we were watching the previously recorded Sunday Morning show on CBS. She was looking for birds. We played the bird segment several times for her, and she was intrigued each time.

Coincedences

Well, the cows were back Friday night. JP and I heard them at midnight and went out on the deck to yell at them, but they didn't move. JP ended up shooting twice into the air, which finally made them lumber off into the woods.

That was an incredibly redneck thing to do, I think: shoot at cows from your porch at midnight.

In any case, JP went to a couple of the neighboring farms the following day to try to find where the cows belong. At the first farm, Pandemonia Acres, they denied ownership of the cows, but oh by the way, we have 12 poodle puppies that are ready for new homes! He took the girls and I over later to look at them, so this is the way that we ended up with a registered standard poodle puppy last night!


She spent the evening last night sulking, whining and sleeping, but has been much more playful this morning. We call her Kali, which is a Hindi name meaning dark or black goddess. In one month we have completely doubled the number of bodies in our home!

I went shopping yesterday afternoon...we needed puppy chow after all (and I have been working on some sewing projects...more on that later). I actually remembered to take my reusable shopping bags into Target and they gave me 5 cents per bag off my bill!

On the way home, while listening to A Prairie Home Companion on NPR, I heard someone yodeling Ode to Joy...that was a first! Here is a link to it, just fast forward to 60 minutes.

It is time for school, so we need to get a move on. Just wanted to post a pic of the newest member of our family!

By the way, JP found the owner of the cows. He was out mending fences when JP stopped by. Apparently he hasn't finished yet, because they were back last night!