A Heyday

Or maybe that should be a hayday.

We still haven’t gotten any rain at our house, but it was overcast most of yesterday and the high was only 86. We decided to give late afternoon fishing one more shot. The fish weren’t biting, but we did have a little excitement.

We kept hearing the cows mooing. More so than usual. Sure enough, we soon saw two calves that had gotten out and were frolicking around outside the pasture. Fishing poles set aside, we headed to the pasture side of the pond so my husband could get out and start rounding them up. Meanwhile, I took the boat across to the dock to get the truck and head back to the pasture. (I’ve gotten pretty good in the john boat with a single paddle)

The calves were herded through a gate into the pasture and the escape route was located (a tree over the fence). That wasn’t the only problem. Somehow, the rest of the cows had broken through the fence into the area the hay is kept. They and the three remaining donkeys were having a grand ole time at the “hay buffet”! That required opening more gates and shooing everyone into a different pasture until repairs could be made this morning.

So much for a peaceful evening of fishing. Now, moving on to puppies…

Their eyes should be opening soon, so I’ve been checking on them daily to see what I could see. To my surprise, I saw more yesterday than I anticipated. More puppies, that is! There are nine of them, not seven! How will we ever find homes for all of them?!?

A turnover

I’ve mentioned the problem with water lilies and grass in our pond in previous entries. Several years ago we brought some large grass carp (supposedly sterile since they can also take over a pond) from our farm in the delta to “work” on the problem. In addition, we purchased some smaller carp a year or two later.

They just haven’t done much to alleviate the problem. So… my husband has begun the process of spraying the unwanted vegetation with an herbicide. I say “begun the process” because it’s not something that can be done all at once, even in a pond the size of ours. Once the vegetation begins to die, it sucks all the oxygen out of the water around it. Obviously, that isn’t good for the fish!! He’s gone out on several occasions, including a few of the times we’ve fished, and sprayed various areas of the pond. So far it seems to be working.

This past weekend we saw an example of what happens when the process is NOT done correctly. Our neighbor has a small pond in front of her house. She wanted to kill all the grass around the edge of her pond and, against the advice of others, sprayed the entire circumference at one time. It was a disaster!! Within a short time her pond started “turning over” and there were dead fish floating everywhere! They quickly borrowed a pump and began aerating the pond, thus stopping the process.

There were TONS of buzzards standing on the bank of her pond when we drove past yesterday morning.

At least someone benefited from the mistake.

A quote and a poem

Here’s a quote from my daily CQOD that I thought was rather interesting:

"Men perish with whispering sins, nay with silent sins, sins that never tell the conscience that they are sins, as often as with crying sins; and in hell there shall meet as many men that never thought what was sin, as that spent all their thoughts in the compassing of sin."
... John Donne (1573-1631), Works of John Donne, vol. I,
London: John W. Parker, 1839, Sermon XIV, p. 276

In addition, here’s another Jane Kenyon poem I read yesterday and really liked:

Full Moon in Winter
Jane Kenyon

Bare branches rise
and fall overhead.
The barn door bangs loose,
persistent as remorse
after anger and shouting.

Dogs bark across the pond.
The shadow of the house
appears on the crusted snow
like the idea of a house,
and my own shadow

lies down in the cold
at my feet, lunatic,
like someone tired
of living in a body,
needy and full of desire . . . .

Beagle Bed & Breakfast

Wouldn't this be a fun place to stay!?!

Check out the Dog Bark Park Inn located in Cottonwood, ID.

The puppies and Blue

I went out with my camera this morning to see if I could get a photo of the puppies. I found that by approaching the shed from the back corner I could see them a little better. There appear to be seven, unless there’s one I can’t see underneath that squirming pile of pups.

Mama Dog has evidently disciplined Blue about going anywhere near the shed. Despite sticking to me like glue any other time, she unhappily hangs back when I head that direction. Poor little girl. I think she has a case of big sister jealousy. Here are a couple of pictures I took of her. None of Mama Dog today. By the time I finished with Blue she was busy feeding her puppies.

We have puppies!

I made an entry several weeks ago about two stray dogs who decided to adopt us and fill the vacancy left by Bella and Hope.

Mama Dog has grown larger by the day and started the nesting process this week. She staked out a space under our shed and made herself a bed to have her puppies. We didn’t see her all yesterday afternoon and this morning I looked out and saw her coming up from the shed, obviously slimmer and trimmer.

She doesn’t want Blue (the other stray, who we think is her daughter) anywhere near the puppies, but allowed me to peek under the shed with a flashlight. They’re so far under the building that I can’t tell how many there are or what they look like. I caught a glimpse of at least three or four heads in shades of brown and black. Time will tell.

We’ve already scheduled appointments for both girls to be spayed. Blue in July and Mama Dog in August.

*sigh*

My siblings

A niece’s baby shower in a Ft. Worth suburb provided a central location for a family reunion of sorts this weekend.

I have two brothers and one sister. We all have busy lives so we don't have many opportunities to get together. Even with weddings and funerals, the last time we all managed to be in the same place at the same time was fourteen years ago!

On Friday I drove five hours to where my daughter is in college. She and I then made the two hour drive to my niece’s house on Saturday afternoon, returning that evening. I came home yesterday, tired but pleased to have spent time with my siblings… even if it wasn’t nearly enough time.

I hope we don't wait so long in the future!

Another bass

Catching the big bass last week has inspired us. My husband is going for an even bigger one; I want to land one as big.

Yesterday evening was good, but produced nothing larger than about four pounds. I caught seven or eight including the one pictured here. It was the biggest of the evening and probably the biggest I've ever caught. Hard to believe it's only about half the size of the one he landed last week!

Sorry for the quality.... I had to crop it down to get myself out of the picture (believe me, it was bad!). You can see a little dirt smudge on the fish where I dropped it in the bottom of the boat trying to get it off the hook.

Happily for all of last night's fish, they were released to be caught again.

Just a Dog

The picture above shows how Esther keeps fit. Her “almost indestructible dog ball” was waiting for her when she arrived at our house more than nine years ago. You can see that the yard is bare where she rolls it around the fence line. Once upon a time it was bright red. We bought the smaller blue ball for Alice and Mabel, but they don’t like it.

Here’s another e-mail I received recently. The author was listed as “unknown”, but a little research online attributed it to Richard Biby of Broken Arrow, OK.

Just a Dog

From time to time, people tell me, "lighten up, it's just a dog," or, "that's a lot of money for just a dog." They don't understand the distance traveled, the time spent, or the costs involved for "just a dog."

Some of my proudest moments have come about with "just a dog." Many hours have passed and my only company was "just a dog," but I did not once feel slighted.

Some of my saddest moments have been brought about by "just a dog," and in those days of darkness, the gentle touch of "just a dog" gave me comfort and reason to overcome the day.

If you, too, think it's "just a dog," then you will probably understand phases like "just a friend," "just a sunrise," or "just a promise." "Just a dog" brings into my life the very essence of friendship, trust, and pure unbridled joy. "Just a dog" brings out the compassion and patience that make me a better person.

Because of "just a dog" I will rise early, take long walks and look longingly to the future. So for me and folks like me, it's not "just a dog" but an embodiment of all the hopes and dreams of the future, the fond memories of the past, and the pure joy of the moment.

"Just a dog" brings out what's good in me and diverts my thoughts away from myself and the worries of the day.

I hope that someday they can understand that it's not "just a dog" but the thing that gives me humanity and keeps me from being "just a human."

So the next time you hear the phrase "just a dog." just smile, because they "just don't understand."

An Old Farmer's Advice

A friend sent me the following e-mail this morning. There's a lot of truth to some of these...

* Your fences need to be horse-high, pig-tight and bull-strong.
*Keep skunks and bankers at a distance. (I might add 'lawyers' to this)
*Life is simpler when you plow around the stump.
* A bumble bee is considerably faster than a John Deere tractor.
* Words that soak into your ears are whispered...not yelled.
* Meanness don't jes' happen overnight.
* Forgive your enemies. It messes up their heads.
* Do not corner something that you know is meaner than you.
* It don't take a very big person to carry a grudge.
* You cannot unsay a cruel word.
* Every path has a few puddles.
* When you wallow with pigs, expect to get dirty.
* The best sermons are lived, not preached.
* Most of the stuff people worry about ain't never gonna happen anyway.
* Don't judge folks by their relatives.
* Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.
* Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you'll enjoy it a second time.
* Don't interfere with somethin' that ain't bothering you none.
* Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a Rain Dance.
* If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop diggin'.
* Sometimes you get, and sometimes you get got.
* The biggest troublemaker you'll probably ever have to deal with, watches you from the mirror every mornin'.
* Always drink upstream from the herd.
* Good judgment comes from experience, and a lotta that comes from bad judgment.
* Lettin' the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier than puttin' it back in.
* If you get to thinkin' you're a person of some influence, try orderin' somebody else's dog around.
* Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. Leave the rest to God.

Big Bass

It’s been a good week for fishing on our pond.

Friday evening my husband and I caught about twenty decent-sized bass. I was reeling them in right and left and caught several that were three pounds or better.

Last night I spent much of my time snapping pictures, but did manage to catch one small yearling bass. In contrast, look at this one weighing more than eight and a half pounds my husband landed! He was pleased to see it considering our pond hasn’t been stocked for that many years. They’re growing nicely!



Here are some of the photos I took. Enjoy!