Creating a beautiful life...
After a rainy night it is about 71 degrees with 83% humidity. I took Shiloh for a walk and was utterly enchanted by the bird song. I also saw a deer but wasn’t able to capture it on video. Turn up your sound and listen:
Sometimes I am absolutely overwhelmed with gratitude for this place we call home.
One of the unexpected benefits of having a dog is that I now spend more time walking around our property. We don’t have a fenced area for him yet so we take him for walks on a leash – don’t want to chance him running off and getting hurt. I may not be so thrilled with this when it gets cold but for now I’m actually enjoying the time outdoors. It’s been just gorgeous lately and I’m soaking up every little bit of it and trying not to think of winter.
I usually take my phone with me just in case David or one of the kids calls. And sometimes something just calls out to be photographed.
This is a portion of our driveway:
This is an old animal feeder that we keep saying we’re going to remove. But then I take a picture like this and reconsider:
I curled up with a cup of tea and warm-from-the-oven chocolate chip cookies this afternoon and watched a movie (Me and You and Everyone We Know – don’t bother; it was pretty odd). Shiloh curled up in his bed and looked so sweet I had to take his picture:
And speaking of Shiloh, he now has 68 “likes” on his Facebook page. He loves new friends so check it out.
I’ve got a busy, busy day ahead of me (Meals On Wheels, hair appointment, errands and a meeting of our city’s Multicultural Committee) so I’ll just share a few pictures this morning:
My tomato plants are loaded and that makes me happy:
I took this Sunday morning while walking Shiloh before church:
And this one. It’s hard to tell from the picture but that’s our pond just beyond the grass (which needs to be mowed again):
My buddy, Fitzgerald:
And of course, sweet Shiloh:
Finally, a picture of the pirate ship Chris and Kadi bought for us at a garage sale Saturday morning:
And now I’ve got to hurry up and finish getting ready to leave. Have a great day!
Oh, and feel free to check out our menu for this week on Dee’s Kitchen, as well as my “Music Monday” post on The Well-Groomed Hippie.
I had intended to plant some colorful flowers in this large bowl on our porch table but I think these are way cuter:
Shiloh getting an early morning drink from the pond:
There are homegrown tomatoes in my near future:
We had a nice rain shower yesterday morning:
Peace in the rain:
I’m picking up David at the airport today at noon. Yay! I always miss him when he’s away.
But he usually looks like he’s smiling:
And then there are the “balcony kittens”. Dharma had her kittens on the balcony just before we went to New Orleans and they resided peacefully up there in a laundry basket. Until they decided to explore the greater world. I saw the first one climb out. I wasn’t sure what to do with them. The two moms aren’t great friends so I didn’t think putting them all together in the laundry room would be a great idea. Plus, Dharma was afraid of Shiloh since she’d never been around a dog before. That’s why she was pretty much living on the balcony and had the kittens there in the first place. I thought about moving them to the front porch but again, since Dharma was afraid of Shiloh and that’s where he hangs out most of the time, I just wasn’t sure how that would work.
David and I talked it over and he convinced me that they wouldn’t be so stupid as to fall off the balcony. Well, I can’t say I was totally convinced but I did make him promise to handle whatever happened as a result of this laissez-faire approach to kitten rearing.
And then it happened. I checked on the kittens early Sunday morning and one was missing! I told David and he went downstairs to see what happened. I feared the worst. But in just a minute he came back upstairs holding a perfectly fine kitten. He had found it asleep on Shiloh on the front porch. We are guessing that it scrambled down one of the vine-covered stone pillars but when it couldn’t go back up, decided to make the best of things with the sweetest dog on the planet.
So now they are living on the front porch. The kittens adore Shiloh so their mama decided he must be okay. I occasionally see them nose to nose, even. He hasn’t *quite* won over Berkeley, Dharma’s brother who is the only other cat here who had never seen a dog before Shiloh, but he’s getting close.
Now tell me that isn’t just the sweetest little face:
I had been planning to get Dharma spayed after we get back from New Orleans. However I noticed this past week or two that she looked a little, um, broad? I was hoping she was just fat but this morning she presented us with five kittens (plus one that didn’t make it).
Along with Tillie’s four cuties…:
…that makes nine kittens.
And here’s a picture of the chicks my cousin is raising for me along with his until they are big enough to be outdoors:
Then of course there is the incomparable Shiloh:
When we get back from New Orleans I will have three raised beds to finish weeding and then plant:
Yeah, I think I will have plenty to keep me busy here on Apple Tree Farm.
Last week Gentilly (aka “Tilly”) had her babies. I’d been suggesting she just have three rather than the five or six our cats generally like to have. She did pretty good and just had four. Most of our cats have been mostly black. We’ve had the occasional striped kitty and a gray one (poor Gracie – sad story, don’t want to think about it). Never have we had any white ones but as you can see in the picture, we did this time. I didn’t want to disturb them for this first picture taken when they were just a few hours old but there are two white kittens, a gray, and a gray striped. No black ones this time!
Tilly is a good mama and the babies are getting cute. I’ll try to get a good photo and share it tomorrow.
Springtime on Apple Tree Farm also means getting ready to plant my garden. I’ve been working a little at a time removing the stubborn grass and weeds from the first of my raised beds. Ordinarily I wouldn’t plant until after Easter – that’s what my grandma always told me – but I feel pretty certain we’ve seen the last of winter here in southeastern Oklahoma. We will be in New Orleans April 12-24 and I don’t want to leave too much extra work for Chris to take care of while we are away so I’m only going to plant a couple of tomato plants before we go. I’m hopeful that with this early spring I might have the first tomatoes by early June. Mmm…nothing like a home-grown tomato still warm from the sun. As you can see, Calliope likes to *help* me garden. In fact, I usually have two or three cats out with me.
And speaking of helpers…here’s our beautiful Shiloh (and Liz in the grass behind him). As you can see, he still has the external fixator on his front leg. Our vet says the bone is calcifying well and the plan is to remove the pins and fixator sometime after we return from New Orleans. He’s been putting more weight on the leg and everyone is confident that he will have a full recovery. He is absolutely the sweetest dog on the planet. Everyone who meets him falls head over heels in love. I feel so fortunate that we were able to adopt him.
I’m really excited about spring and enjoying the time outdoors, despite the allergies. In addition to the garden, I’m also planning to plant a few fruit trees. At one time I had planned to have an orchard in the area where Liz is in the picture above (It’s a much bigger area than the picture indicates) but that’s where everyone sets up their tents during our annual Happyland Music Festival. Then I got a brilliant idea the other day. I’m going to plant a few fruit trees around the outside of the chicken pen. They will be close enough to reach with the hose to water and will eventually provide shade for the chickens.
And speaking of chickens, one of my cousins is going to raise some chicks for me along with his. As soon as they are big enough to be outdoors, I’ll go get them from him. This means I don’t have to raise messy chicks in the house this year. Don’t get me wrong; they are very cute and I enjoyed getting the opportunity to watch them grow. The first time. But I’ve done that a few times now and I’m perfectly happy to skip that stage. I’m just eager to have our own supply of eggs again, as well as the pleasure of taking care of my little flock.
So that’s the latest from Apple Tree Farm. What’s going on in your neck of the woods? Do you garden? I’d love to hear what Spring is like where you live.
We haven’t had a dog for about a year and a half. Our sweet Pyrenees, Duke, disappeared – we think someone shot him. Then Emily died and Iggy, the dog I rescued off the highway disappeared about the same time. For the first time in my life, I was dog-less. We could have gone out and bought one but when you live in the country you get used to taking in strays and I honestly figured it was only a matter of time until one showed up. But the months dragged on and the raccoons moved in. And the coyotes, like the one I saw on our BACK PATIO a couple of weeks ago. Not only did I want a dog for the companion factor but out in the country it’s really a necessity.
So I put out the word to lots of people that I wanted a Great Pyrenees. I’d always thought Golden Retrievers were the best breed – and they *are* wonderful – but after having Duke I changed my allegiance. A more laid-back, non-agressive breed does not exist and no one can deny that they are gorgeous.
But the main issue for me was the non-aggressive trait. You see, several years ago I had a very traumatic experience with a dog and for the first time in my life I became afraid of them. I now have a bit of understanding of what post-traumatic stress syndrome is like. On one of our trips to New Orleans, a couple of dogs growled at each other on the street near where I was walking and I nearly climbed out of my skin as I quickly moved to the other side of the crowd. I know it’s not entirely rational but even teeny, tiny dogs give me the jitters. Or maybe that *does* make sense as small dogs tend to be yippy, yappy things and often snap at people.
“Meet Bullet! He is a 2 year old, Great Pyrenees that was found Tuesday night with a .45 caliber bullet in his front leg. We are currently trying to raise money for the surgery to plate his humerus (front leg) that was shattered by the bullet. Donations are being taken at Arlington Animal Clinic until 5:30pm today, and again during normal business hours next week. PetSense is also accepting donations for Bullet, and they are hosting a carwash to help with the cause on Sunday, from 1-4pm. Please help in any way possible. Bullet greatly appreciates your help! He will be at the Car Wash some on Sunday so come and meet him!”
So the donations poured in and “Bullet”, which is what they were calling him, got his surgery. He has pins and a metal rod, plus an external fixator, but they believe he will make a full recovery and regain use of the leg.
You see, instead of leaving him at the clinic over the weekend, which is what I had assumed she would do, Stephanie took him to her own house. And that’s where he remained until we picked him up Monday night when we returned from our trip to Kansas City…which I’ll tell you about later.
So now we have the dog I’d been hoping and praying for. He’s got a lot of healing to do and he’s kind of high maintenance at the moment. We never had a big dog in the house other than in the laundry room but Shiloh is already my shadow and really wants to be with me a lot.
Beauregard is the surname of a well known Civil War soldier who was killed in the battle of Shiloh. His ghost, it is said, wanders the streets of New Orleans at night whispering “Shiloh”.
He told me about it when he came upstairs to finish getting ready for work so of course I had to go check it out. I took that first photo through our needs-to-be-washed sliding glass door because I didn’t want to frighten it off by opening the door. It looked up and saw me but didn’t run off. I then very, very quietly slid the door open just enough for the camera lens and took these:
I watched for several minutes but there was no sign of its mother. That’s pretty unusual and I hope that doesn’t mean it’s an orphan. David teased me about trying to tame it if that were the case. Hmm…I could make it a pallet on the floor of our laundry room but it’s too big to go through the doggy door. Still…
November thankfulness:
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Today I’m thankful for the opportunity to see wildlife in my own backyard. Chris and I watched these three deer for at least 10 minutes this afternoon. I just wish I’d had a video camera with telephoto lens so I could have captured the little drama that took place. A couple of our cats seem to think they are mighty hunters and were stalking the deer. I have no idea what they thought they’d do if they caught one but it was funny to watch.
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