Little Miss Mischief

Doesn’t she just have the look of mischief?

She is a non-stop ball of fire and I have to admit she does make me laugh quite often.   Frankie is exhausted from the day, but little Miss Billie has the look that she will get up and going in a second!   The Purple Martins are busy tending to their young and I was able to capture one of the baby birds on film.   As soon as the mother saw me, she flew right at the baby bird and guided it quickly back into the bird house.

Then she sat glaring at me protecting her babies from the click of the camera!

This Red-headed Woodpecker was hopping around in the cucumber patch and stopped to give me a quick pose before flying off.

The Bluebird has to be one of my favorites – their color is so blue and they always make me think of “the bluebird of happiness” … a happy thought!

Now the cicadas are still out there humming along but their noise is not as intense as it was a few weeks back – thank goodness these guys don’t bite.   We have decided we need to obtain some Guineas to assist in bug control – that may not happen until next spring, but it needs to happen.   The weather has been very stormy both in Southern Illinois and Northern all week and I am hoping it will let up a bit.   Rain, rain go away … I need to do some serious weeding.

Tough Doggy Day

I wanted to share this story so others can avoid the same terrible mishap happening to their own precious pets.   Anyone who owns a dog or cat and had some type of surgery knows the all too familiar and hated “cone” that the poor patient has to wear for what seems an eternity.   Well, here is Frankie and the hated cone after a heart wrenching day.   The poor guy is still not sure what happened – but I was there and can tell the story.

We have four dogs – Frankie and Augie are good pals and get along very well.   They do wrestle around as dogs do and usually I end up yelling for them to “Stop”!  The other two Billie and Sarge are small and although Billie will start to mess with the bigger dogs it really is not a good idea.  

What occurred today (and one time previous) is as they were wrestling around Frankie got his claw nail caught in Augie’s chain collar.   Bad scene and now Frankie has many stitches in his front paw and a punctured lip and nose.   We still don’t know the extent of the repair but he will either need a root canal or a pulled tooth.   He came down in the struggle and landed on the ceramic tile … tooth first.

So the bottom line – if you have more than one pet who needs a collar, do not use chain link collars.   I should have figured this out the first time it happened, but sometimes we don’t realize there is an issue until tragedy strikes.   Everyone is still a bit shook up, but we will all recover and hopefully someone out there will avoid this same crisis.

poor Frankie   

Weekly Photo Challenge – Curiosity

Pound Puppy Feature!

How can you resist such a cute face?   Meet Billie Girl …. she just turned 1 year and is our latest puppy from an animal shelter.   I decided to showcase my pound puppies on this Feature Friday.   Not just my own puppies, but the people and places that put their heart and soul into caring for these animals that come to the shelters hungry, homeless and most times neglected.

Meet Augie and Frankie … this photo is close to 3 years old, so these pups are quite a bit bigger now and they are as lovable today as the day we brought them home.   I remember when we decided on a shelter to visit, I would spend hours browsing their website looking at all the puppies they had at the time.   Most shelters have some type of rules and a contract along with a fee for adopting a pet.

Each of my pups definitely has their own unique personality.   Here Frankie was a bit confused and thought the kitchen table was where he should take a nap.   He still likes to sit in the chair and keep an eye on things.

Animal Shelter.org is another website where you can locate a shelter near you.   I am very happy with our family of dogs and most certainly recommend checking your local animal shelter if you are considering adding a dog or cat to your family.

Augie loves running the property, while Frankie and Billie take time to enjoy the fireplace.

I got my Cricut!

Yes!   We purchased the Cricut and I am overwhelmed to say the least!   I did attend the demonstration and ask many questions at the local craft store yesterday and now I do feel much more comfortable with it.   There really is ALOT of different shapes, sizes, fonts and figures this machine can cut.   For those unfamiliar with a Cricut, it is an electronic cutting machine.   Different cartridges can be purchased and used to create whatever you have in mind.  My unit came with 2 cartridges and I purchased 2 additonal ones – Walk in the Garden is backordered but I did come home with From the Kitchen.

 My first flower creations!

As I left the store I saw this couple walking down the sidewalk with their 4 dogs.   I watched in amazement as they loaded all 4 well behaved dogs into their small vehicle and drove off.  I really thought I was seeing things!

Also this past week I was notified that I won Free Seeds from Everything About Gardening on facebook.  I am a fan and my name was chosen … I love winning!   Jeff @ http://www.cheapseeds.com does a fantastic job of promoting his business!   I was amazed at another of his links – gardening videos.   Check it out at http://www.bestgardeningvideo.com   Tons of information … tons!   Thank you Jeff … I will have fun picking out my seeds!

Another wonderful discovery this past week is Linda from Scentsibilities.  She left a comment on my post about square foot gardening and mentioned she is on the board of a non-profit called Growing Places Garden Project and they use this method in their gardens.  She encourages everyone to check out the website and start working with others in your community.   What a remarkable person and a wonderful cause!

Billie in a box!

Billie the puppy made me smile today …

If its been a while since you had a puppy in your home you forget all those long hours of puppy training,  getting up a few times during the night,  wake up call in the morning at 4 AM and the constant repeat of the word No.  All that is quickly washed away when you have those “puppy moments” and remember why you brought the little bundle home in the first place….to make you smile and that she did today.

Yesterday we stopped at the local grocery store and I scored a big box of apples – they weren’t perfect apples and a few were even useless – they were boxed up and being sold very cheap – I was in my glory … a bargain for me and my dehydrator!!  So I sliced and dried all day yesterday and the dehydrator is still running with another batch.  Apple chips are the best!

 Apples drying in the dehydrator

My first big batch of apple chips – all types of varieties mixed

Trail mix with the apples – I will eat the apple chips just as is, but you can make up your own homemade trail mix very easily.  I added almonds, pretzels and chex cereal here….and those chocolate chex are to die for.  I could probably eat a whole box if that voice in my head wasn’t yelling Stop Stop…enough girl!

So the Puppy Moment came when I took a second to check where the puppy was since it was so quiet all the sudden.  I found her in the box that I had brought the apples home in – all snug and comfy.  She has ventured out of the box a few times but keeps going back in there to nap … she found it all on her own – no coaxing from me! 

I also spent some time this weekend packaging up the Free Seeds for the Great Garden Giveaway – they are all ready and waiting!  Make sure to tell all your garden friends about the event.  I listed the Free Seeds on craiglist this morning and received over 100 hits before someone flagged and deleted the post.  I am guessing it was viewed as a promotional thing of some sort.  Last year I gave away hundreds of seeds on craiglist and had no problem. 

Thank goodness I have my little puppy to make me smile!!!

Homemade Goodness

Homemade gifts are treasured gifts … gifts from the heart created with care and love.  The time taken to create these gifts cannot be measured in numbers and the goodness that flows from the gift cannot be measured in words.  There are many among us that have a natural talent and are able to create crafts with the whirl of a pen or the hum of a machine.  The gardeners in us are able to create homemade goodness fresh from the earth and as we plan ahead for the coming planting season we should think beyond our summer harvest and look to share the harvest with gifts of goodness that will no doubt be received without hesitation.  Canning our summer crops is an art taken and continued to this day from our ancestors and one that  carries a message of our hard work in the garden.  At times it truly is difficult to part with our canned goods but this act holds a true connection to the earth and the homemade goodness we pass along to those we care about as we give them a gift from ourselves.  Take some time to plan for those gifts now .  Grow extra tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers along with your normal plantings. 

Browse some preserving cookbooks and articles to find great combinations or create your own recipes that may become your next family favorite! 

Remember to include herbs which can be used fresh or dried for later use – these can even be used as a great gift …. dried herbs!  

Flowers need to be included in your garden plans as well.  Fresh flowers are gifts that  will brighten anyone’s day and a nice vase brimming with homemade goodness lightens up any room in the home.  Certain flowers dry well and can be used in dried flower arrangements and there are dozens of craft ideas you can create with them.  A few of my favorites are lavender, globe amaranth, baby’s breath, statice and strawflower. 

 

I did have my sewing machine humming along just recently making the new pup her own place to lounge.   Earlier in the year I spent some time creating this doggie bed for the bigger puppies and they seemed to have forgotten all about it until the new pup arrived.

Now they are very possessive SO I had to make the baby puppy one all her own!  It’s so funny – how she knew it was hers!  These doggie beds are homemade and the best part about them is I used old bed pillows and throw pillows to stuff them.  Took the old worn outer layer off and used the insides to make these.  I could have made new throw pillows but I am guessing the pups like their beds better!  Good way to recycle those worn out pillows –

Once I had them all put together I did pop them in the washer for a good cleaning using this Homemade Laundry Soap.  I have been using this soap for almost a year now and I love it!  I have posted these directions in the past and wanted to make sure to share it once again.  I was asked if it works good in a front loading machine. Yes, it does and that is one of the reasons I searched out this laundry soap recipe. Store bought laundry soap is ridiculously high priced and I wanted an alternative and it does a fantastic job!!!

Three simple ingredients – 1 bar castile soap, 3/4 cup “washing soda” and 3/4 cup borax

Probably the hardest part of all this is grating the bar of soap – I found this GREAT grater and it works perfect!  I did try freezing the bar of soap to make it easier, but it really grated the same (it’s a hard soap).

The finished laundry detergent seems soooo clean!  Use 1 tablespoon for light loads and 2 tablespoons for heavily soiled laundry.  For the most part I use 2 tablespoons and the results are wonderful.  I keep a copy of this recipe in the same drawer as the laundry soap so when I am running low I can make up another batch.

 Finished laundry soap

Grocery shopping takes on new meaning

I was actually excited to head out to the grocery store yesterday even though we were hit with a foot of snow over the weekend.  I have been taking in all I can from the Spark People website and really planning out my meals.  For the first time ever…..really planning out my meals and it’s Fun!  So the grocery store was the place to be to find all different ingredients to whip up some new food.  I picked up 3 cantaloupes which were on sale at $1.19 each to cube up and dehydrate.  I will use this dried fruit to add to some type of granola snack I plan on making (still have to search the recipes to find the perfect recipe … there are tons!) 

 This time I decided to dice the cantaloupe instead of slice it.  I am thinking it will be easier to eat and better suited for a granola type snack.  I am hoping it doesn’t take that much longer to dry since it is thicker.  No parts of the cantaloupe are wasted at this household….the skins go the compost bin (some smaller skins to the worms in the worm bin) and the seeds and insides go to the chickens!!

 They love the seeds!

I will post the granola fruit snack I find or create once that happens.  I do have to run now since the new puppy is crying for attention (again!) … I forgot how much time they require.

 See her there at the end of the couch … passed out but not for long!  AND my spinach seeds have sprouted……. very cool!

My Spark book has arrived today ……. so I will grab it and head on into the other room to sit with puppy!  Happy Day!!

Introducing another pound puppy!

 Such  a tiny bundle of sweetness!  But she sure can yelp at night and she sure did all night last night – her first day here at her new home.  It is remarkable how much noise a little fur ball can make.  We had traveled down south to pick up and bring our college girl home for the holidays and stayed at our home down there.  We visited the farm store and they were having the local shelter bring their over abundance of critters in hopes of finding them homes and we were happy to help out.  We have Augie and Frankie who are both from the animal shelter and are very happy with these guys.

 Augie and Frankie

Now Sarge our king – miniature dachshund who we have had for almost 13 years is not real happy about our new addition, but hey…we have plenty of room.

 Sarge

We are not quite sure what mix of breeds our new baby is and are hoping maybe the vet tomorrow can give us a clue.  I am thinking she is part dachshund since some of her features resemble Sarge and she IS so tiny!

 Let’s hope she sleeps quietly tonight ……

Frankie’s unique personality

Dogs definitely have unique charming personalities all their own!  Our family of canines includes Frankie, Augie and Sarge – quite the characters.  Both Frankie and Augie were discovered and taken home from our local animal shelter and Sarge, well, he’s been around for ages … 13 years now – our miniature dachshund.  I just had to take the opportunity this morning to share a part of Frankie’s personality with you all.  He is a mix of some sort and definitely part Coonhound - he has that distinctive howl of the hound and he drools.  For the most part he is rather standoffish but oh SO loving!  He likes his space and is very protective – he would scare off a thousand burglars, but when it comes to little things like a feather blowing in the wind or a leaf rustling on the sidewalk he will stand and bark, but jumps away when the object makes a move!  It’s quite comical.  I now know “that bark” and in the past I would come running to see the commotion thinking there was a tragedy ready to erupt.  Now I figure he is just making his presence known to some mouse running through the garage or a flower blowing in the wind.

One of Frankie’s very unusual traits is – he loves to lay on the kitchen table.  It catches you off guard each and every time and we do try to discourage this behavior as best we can … since, it’s just not normal for an 80 lb. dog to rest on one’s kitchen table.  From day one he has found his spot around the kitchen table – most days he will just sit in the chair and look around.  I try to push all the chairs in but we forget and when we do … Up he goes!

 Yes, I am quite comfortable

 Alright, alright I’ll move

 I’m sorry

 I’ll just sit here then

 Gotta love Frankie the dog!