Today I Saw a Fox

I saw it from by bedroom window. He wasn't really red, but sort of reddish... and bigger than the pair of foxes i saw in the backyard of my old house.

My camera, of course, was in another room!

Today is Kakizome

Kakizome means "first writing" of the year. This is my first writing and this is my traditional writing tool. Have long ago quit using the pen... so much so that it's hard for me to even try writing that way.

These five are only a few of the turkeys visiting my backyard last year... actually December 30 last year! There were more than a dozen in this flock.

Wild life love my place! In the past year this little acre has harbored birds small and large, groundhogs, chipmunks, a few deer (including a mom and fawn together), many skunks early in the year, bunny rabbits and even a few feral cats. Remember the kittens under the back deck?

Last year was a really positive transition for me... a year of learning and adjustment... and NO, i did NOT 'grow up' yet! I don't really want to and you can't make me!

The year 2009 included:

• A new baby - great grandson Logan James, son of James & Amanda, grandson of Pam & Mike. He arrived June 16, 2009 and is perfect in every way.
• I liberated myself a bit from the cable company by getting rid of my landline telephone. My home phone for over 50 years now goes wherever i go. I use MagicJack but only because it's really really cheap and i can use it for those hopelessly long waits with service calls.
• More liberation when i purchased my own TiVo box at a really really good bargain, got rid of the cable company's box and receiving only Basic Plus television service which more than meets my needs. The TiVo works with my computers and wireless system, making it very flexible! I haven't even used all it's features yet because i don't really need them yet... maybe later.
• Learned Charter now has a cheaper high speed internet service - hi-speed lite!!! It works for me!
• Linda and i visited the girls in San Diego. Loved it! If i didn't like my current home so much i would choose San Diego as home.
• Learned i don't need a human roommate... at least for now. Moving my sister in with me didn't work out. It seems we have very little in common. Before she moved out i was feeling used and abused (mentally, not physically... but it hurts just as much.)
• Visits with my mom enhance life. About every two weeks we go grocery shopping and either lunch or dinner afterward. Her hair stylist for over 30 years is great! She now cuts my hair regularly.
• Frank has become a beautiful idealized memory. He sometimes watches over me in my dreams... and awakening reminds me that i can remember those good times but must live now.
• I joined an online People Meeting service... not once but twice (two different ones). What a farce! I'm convinced they have fulltime employees acting as shills to make us think they are for real.
• My house continues to grow into my dream home. It is a warm, comfortable environment for me and my remaining feline roommates, EllieMae, AmyLouMae, and Miss Kitty.

Life is good. Life always moves forward. I will enjoy it to the fullest with family and friends and... if i really get lucky, maybe a special friend to share some of the travel and good times i am still young and vibrant enough to enjoy.

The Week Began with Dear, Deer Visits

Started the week Monday with a visit from Linda...
As we were preparing breakfast, a doe and two young deer appeared under the 'wild' apple tree in the flats of my backyard! By the time i got my camera, the young ones were off into the adjacent cornfield but momma deer was still enjoying her apple appetizer! Here she is:

She looks pretty healthy, doesn't she? She should be! We grow the best corn-fed deer in Michigan!

Yesterday, Wednesday, i attended a RedHat extravaganza with Jacquie and Donna and met a new friend, Betty. The event included lunch at the Horizons Center and entertainment by Three Men and a Tenor. Have you ever seen these guys? They are amazing! We laughed so hard we cried!

Somehow i still didn't get my 50 daffodil bulbs planted. Today is overcast and supposed to be rainy... and expected to continue through the weekend. Maybe i can get them in today??? ... the last 'warm' day for awhile, expected to be in the '50s... and colder tomorrow, etc.

Better get started, eh?

Thank YOU, Patti!

Photo by Patti

(The guy behind me? My boyfriend!)

September 2009 - Dow Gardens

The kittens are really gone this time... at least from my house and my deck. Gotta thank Patti for that!

We walked with Leslie at her house yesterday... a great workout!!! It's so much more fun doing it with somebody, don'tcha know? Later that day i called her about something and we discussed the 'guilty thing' about just putting those kittens out to fend for theirselves. Even though they are extremely feral, they are so tiny and innocent - about 2 months old now.

She volunteered to come over and help me get the kittens permanently out of my life. Wow! Piece o' cake!!! That girl is good! With her majorly help we got them caged... and even got a bonus cat! (So be it; they've all been coming around for a free lunch!) The second kitten was preceded by the cat... not it's mother..... so what could we do?

Patti went home with two cages - two kittens and a sleek black & orange cat. Don't know if it was one of Florence's barn full of 'adoptees' or it really belonged to somebody. He's gone now... there really IS no such thing as a free lunch, kitty.

Patti's plan - take them to animal control in the morning... but she wanted to make them more comfortable in her garage for the night.

One kitten BIT her!!!

They are feral; could it be rabid? I'm praying not. Hopefully they are out of her garage now... and the responsibility of animal control.

Call me Patti.

Brief Comments... okay?

Wondering why i haven't been around here lately? For an ol' broad with 'nothing to do' i've been pretty busy, actually. Sometimes we make our own situations, don'tcha think? Like:

• ...the kittens under my deck. Was it 2 weeks ago already? I had help trying to catch the mom and remaining 2 babies. Result? Mom disappeared, never to return. Since then i've been feeding the little ones.
• They would come when i called 'kitty kitty.' They took up residence on my deck. They would sleep in the kitty carrier i put out there for them. They acted like they wanted to come in the house.
• Yesterday i invited them in and... they did! Long story short - they are wild! You have no idea what a really real feral cat is like. They sit and wait patiently to eat. They use the kitty litter. They hide where i cannot get at them when they feel under pressure. When captured in the entry room, one of them literally hit the ceiling in it's efforts to avoid me.
• Today i will attempt to lure them outside. If successful i will not feed them or in any way try to rehabilitate them.
• I promise!

Other than the kitten dilemma, life just happens... like:

• ...taking my wonderfully strong-minded mother out grocery shopping. What's that all about? ...coupons and sale items! Oh yeah... !!! Me? I'm swearing off coupons totally!!! ...unless they fall in my lap right when i need them.
• Mom & i also go out to dinner... or sometimes lunch. I have to learn about NOT eating everything on my plate.
• Some days WiiFit and i are friends; some days i walk with Leslie Sansone.
• I bought a few new electronic items... learned that when i install them and read the book, i know how to use them!!! Believe me, this is a big accomplishment!

I quit bundling... think i mentioned that last time...

• TiVo works like a charm!
• Moved my 'big' tv into my newest cozy living space but two of the channels were not high quality like they were in the other living space. Cable guy replaced that cable. Now i have a beautiful picture on all channels... Basic Plus works great! Who needs more than 70 choices for tv viewing???
• My only 'landline' is Magic Jack. Was having minor problems with it. Turns out the one phone just needs a new battery. The other - 3 phone wireless - seems to be working okay right now... again. Maybe with Charter phone gone, it will be better. After all, both services were voice over internet. That might have been part of my problem. We'll see...

Other updates...

• Spring & summer are gone in my house. Autumn accents surround me beautifully.
• Goober moved on... no more stinky male habit cleanups. This brought stability to the remaining 3 furry friends, all female, even with the temporary kitten situation.
• If it ever quits raining before the snowy season begins, i will plant the bag of daffodil bulbs i bought a few weeks ago.
• Attended a beautiful concert at a small church. Thank you, Jacquie for introducing me to the DeepRiver Choir!
• Visited Dow Gardens again... this time with Patti! What a delight! We both enjoyed every minute.

And business-wise...

• I formally protested to Medicare for not paying the bill from MMC for my knee exrays. Was told by a 'real person' that none of the denial was ever seen or touched by a human... except me of course. After they reviewed stuff from the hospital Medicare determined i do not have to pay the bill. The hospital is responsible. Get that!!! ...and do we really need more government health insurance plans?
• Just received new car insurance bill. Insurance company has a new reason to charge more as your car gets older. Remember how i told you i've been buying a few new electronics? It seems the Home Owners Insurance Company got a report from a company called ChoicePoint Services, Inc. They have determined i opened too many revolving accounts in too short a time!!! I pay all these accounts when i'm supposed to and they will be paid off before the final dates when the accrued interest would take effect! This is NOT a credit rating! It's apparently just another way for insurance companies to make you pay more and get less! Can you believe this?
• I will change my insurance company - for the house and my car - before this 'new' policy takes effect.

There's Luck..... and then There's Luck!

Did i mention the kittens under my back deck? No, i guess that was on my Facebook. Until today there were (in my mind) a mother cat and her two kittens. Today i know better. She has three of them. One is white and two orange like their mom. Mom is little more than a kitten herself. Want one?... or two?..... or more?

I cannot keep them. I have four cats already, three of whom were adopted because they showed up at my door. AmyLou and her mom have been here 7 years now... Pam has the other two kittens from that family. Goober was adopted the year before that and had a 'squirting' problem recently, but i've been working with him and he doesn't do that anymore. Bringing in more cats would start him up again. I will not do that to him, no matter how cute are the kittens... and their little mommy.

Now... how's this for GOOD luck!?!!?

James is my friends' grandson. He stays with them in summertime. He wanted to see the goats and sheep one more time before going back home for the school year.

While pulling up clover and feeding it to the goats he said, 'Look! a 4-leaf clover!' and so it is!!! See? No he didn't feed it to the goats. I have close-ups of his 4-leaf clover but wanted to share a pic of the boy who found it.

I promised a Sheep Pic...

and here it is:

Jaye Leaman, co-owner of Leaman Greenapple Barn, holds onto the next sheep ready to be sheared. Dave Owens, sheep shearer from Elwell, MI is ready to trade the first one he sheared for the next one.

What fun watching Jaye try to catch the little boogers! Her mom was video-taping the event and invited me over to watch... if i so desired.

I did.

I thought they were dogs at first...

...then of course i knew! They are the foxes my neighbors have been watching from afar! They invited me over to watch them one evening... and they appeared 'way over near the river and we could barely see them!!! But this!!! This was great! They were in my backyard - a total of three..... and i was able to get 4 shots all together. The camera was set on macro & i had to use my telephoto so they're a bit grainy... but there they are! Aren't they beautiful?

Happy Birthday Sharba!!!

Golly it's hard to believe... only fifty years ago today I finally gave birth to you! In my young mind you were coming late. Your big sister, Windy, was born eleven months prior to your birthday and she was two weeks early! I was hoping for the same with you... and here you were... finally..... a whole day later than Dr. Stander predicted you would arrive!

Miss Kitty Update...

I redecorated a big wreath last week and caught Miss Kitty trying to help me by moving the greenery out of the dining room into the ... bathroom???? Honest! She even moved up to the middle of this thing and nudged it forward to her destination! Gotta love her.

Here's Monday Madness:

1. Where did you go on your last vacation? Hawaii & San Diego
2. Would you go there again? Why or why not? Yes! Hawaii is most perfect - people & weather & I just didn't spend enough time in San Diego.
3. How many vacations do you take in one year? Not enough.
4. Where would you REALLY like to go on your next vacation, if money was no issue, and how long would you stay? If money was no issue I'd probably visit New Zealand next.
5. Do you put a little money aside each week (or month) to save up for your vacation? Been doing that for many many years...

Actually I've been answering these regularly but then don't take time to put them in my blog. I miss my blogging friends & will try to get back on track.

monday madness - late but...

...I answered the questions a few days ago but for some reason they remained on my computer until now. I was one of the people complaining about missing it so here are my answers to this week's Monday Madness:
Otto is back and she says, 'I hope everyone's new year is going well. I had planned on getting back to Monday Madness on New Year's Day, but obviously I haven't been posting. I apologize and hope you still play!'

1. Did you make any resolutions this year? Sort of...

2. If so, which one do you think you'll really stick to? If not, is there something you're going to try harder to accomplish? I decided I will make more phone calls this year - especially to family members... my kids, my mom and my sisters. It's harder than you think - I'm sort of lacking when it comes to phone stuff... but will really work at it this year! Also, I just went hunting for and found my list of ten things I would do if I had more time (a MM challenge in October). I plan on working on that list this year too!!!

3. Do you have a fear of any small rodents/insects/etc? If so, please share. Not so much a fear but I just don't like such vermin. Now that I'm a 'mature woman' I watch out for all small critters when I'm mowing the lawn... even to wait for a little snake or frog to get out of my way, but when I was younger... I was very pregnant for my first child when surprised by a rustling in the bushes near my back door (out in the country) there was a whole nest of little snakes!!! They were harmless garden snakes but wow! what a shocker!

4. Share something exciting that's going on in your life. Sometimes my life is like a soap opera. Where should I begin? I might start sharing some of it here...

5. Did you wonder what happened to Monday Madness these past few weeks? I was worried you might quit doing it. I really missed it actually.

...and this question comes from one of our good friends, tricia:

Do you have a favorite gameshow announcer? I don't really watch any of the new gameshows but I used to watch the one with Vanna White turning letters... I really do NOT like Howie Mandel and never could stand to watch anything he starred in, so I don't watch his 'deal or no deal' show.

Daisy Mae died today. You might think, because I had 5 cats I shouldn't feel so bad when one dies but I do. I hadn't seen her early this morning and after breakfast she was lying on a throw rug in the entry area between the dining room and bathroom. I was able to pet her and comfort her as she died. It must have been a stroke or heart attack.

I put her in her favorite basket and my neighbor came over to get her and said he will bury her today. What would I do without these wonderful people living next door?

We saved Daisy from 'death row' at the animal shelter about 9 years ago. There were lots of kittens there that day but Daisy charmed me. Even the attendant at the shelter asked me if I was sure she was the one I wanted to take home. Of course she was! She chose me! We soon learned however, she was ferral - had been picked up by animal control because people complained about her hunting around their bird feeders.

Doctor Janet showed us where she had been spayed so we know she had a family before going wild. The stitches had never been removed, though, and doctor had quite a job removing them. It took a few years but Daisy gradually became more domestic. She was 'daddy's kitty' and followed him around the house. When he was outdoors, she would follow him inside by watching him from the window or door nearest him. Now she is at peace with him.

I will take in no more strays though. The current count is four and will only go down! I learned how to say 'no' when a 'stray' woman came to my door a few weeks ago... in need of a 'room for the night' but that's another story... God bless!

My last post was...... WHEN???

A casual look at my slippers one morning... and what is it? Miss Kitty has a toy mouse that she absolutely loves!!! Was I EVER glad it wasn't a real mouse.

A couple of days later she actually caught a real one!!! What can I say, I live out in the country and field mice love to move on up to 'house' mice. Yup, the little twerp is only five+ months old and already the mouser of the house!

She is a bundle of activity - in constant motion! See her almost hanging off the Christmas tree? I put it up last minute and took it down as soon as possible after our Christmas get-together! Little Miss Kitty tried like crazy to detach the bottom branches... and yes, she actually does rest occasionally. Of course she prefers serving as centerpiece on the dining room table!

...and just last Friday she had to stay overnight at her doctor's place. Yup, I had her fixed and ya know... she wasn't even broke! The most difficult part is post-op. She had to wear a collar the first night because I couldn't stop her from trying to bite off the stitches. It slowed her down but not much!

So what have I been doing in my 'spare' time? Well one thing was a big ol' update on my website at salascove. Been wanting to do it for a long time and just decided the time is now. Let me know what you think of it.

Another thing I've been wanting to do... getting involved in the stock market again. Just a little bit... it's sort of my 'recreational fund' so it's okay.It's really fun and I've really missed it... having quit 'playing' after September 11, 2001 when everything crumbled.

Hey! did you know there's another 26 Things challenge? I guess there was one in November too but I missed that one. I guess I'm not on the mailing list anymore. Anyway, it looks like a good one! I just might try it. How about you?

Merry Christmas!!!

Last year I did not feed the birds in my backyard. Fortunately my neighbors had just built their new home next door and Jack feeds the birds faithfully. I think I was overwhelmed with my new position in life... and afraid to use the deck stairs in wintery snowy conditions. Earlier this year, when I was down with the 'creeeping crud' - I even considered giving all my bird seed to Jack!

Well Friday I finished Christmas shopping and while in town I bought four new feeders. Yesterday I loaded them up - moved my other 'shepherd's hook' from the garden and placed it with the other. Less than two hours later Mr. Squirrel arrived. He looked up and left... I guess he didn't figure he could get up there easily. He was pretty plump so I think he has easier targets in the neighborhood. Shortly after he left the chickadees began stopping in!

This morning - loads of birds!!! What a beautiful surprise on Christmas morning!
Merry Christmas!

this was a criminal act...

what sort of scumbag would take a poor tiny defenseless little creature like this little kitten and just put it out in the cold and the rain!???

whoever did it is a criminal. he or she should be put out on an isolated island on a cold wet night with no food or clothing to protect him or her and left there for a week. survival would depend on what the individual does when provided a second chance to treat baby creatures humanely!

this tiny kitten is in isolation because i brought her in from the cold. i could feel her tiny ribs and so i fed her. i cannot keep her near my furry family because she undoubtedly has an assortment of parasites and it would not be fair to my family to share these things. i'm looking for a home for her...