Furry Friends Friday

You might think that I'm just a dog person but I love all animals and have had many cats in my lifetime too. Even a little canary I took in which would have been a casualty in a divorce. Creatures keep me balanced (or unbalanced.) My dogs have always adored me like I was the most brilliant, wonderful, amazing person in the universe. I love them beyond measure. Each of my cats was a beautiful creature. If cats can be loving they were. Most of them! Cats have always taught me who was really the boss, they have ignored me if they felt like it, they come to me IF they feel like it, they're the regal ones in the household. I've never given any of my animals up easily, everytime one died I felt like a piece of my heart was ripped out.

I couldn't find the original of this so I'll just mangle it myself and give credit to the author.

The dog says "she feeds me, she gives me a warm place to sleep, she pets me, she sees to my needs, she must be God."

The cat says "she feeds me, she gives me a warm place to sleep, she pets me, she sees to my needs, I must be God." Diane

The Sun and the Sanctuary

As you can see I've added a button - Where Bloggers Create to my page. I found this website on Margaret's, The French Bear. It sounds like fun and I plan to participate.

I snapped this picture this morning as the sun was shining into the sanctuary. The walk comes into the back door. When we roofed the sanctuary we included the walk so you stay warm and toasty when you come in off the driveway. We even have gates to hook at night and make things kind of secure. I love to be able to close out the snow so it's nice and dry. Diane

Little Lights

In the right light, at the right time, everything is extraordinary. - Aaron Rose

The catkins of the pussy willow bush are covered with pollen and fluff now. In the sunlight, in the evening they look like little bright pennies or sparkling Christmas lights. Diane

Gift

Several years ago we had to have our beautiful old flowering crab cut down before it fell down. I tend to get attached to things and felt so terrible about cutting down the tree. Today I took a picture of the sweet little pansy that decided to come up all by itself in a tiny little crack in the stump. It gives my heart joy - it's almost like the old tree is smiling at me. Diane

Where Did the Time Go?

I love this picture of my youngest granddaughter, Hannah. She was around 4 years old.

And here she is now, on her way to the prom. She's always a beauty, from the inside out. Diane

Ta Da!!

By George I think I've got it!! Hopefully smooth sailing now. (Better enlarged)
We took a little drive in the country this afternoon and God is starting to color in between the lines. The colors and the sky were so beautiful. Diane

Still Stumbling Along

Today as I worked trying to get my blog figured out this Eurasian Collared Dove perched on the neighbors roof and watched me. It cocked it's head, looked me in the eye, just couldn't figure this out either.

I still don't have it, as you can see. I think the HTML got messed up so I reverted the template and ended up with this. Then when I try to customize it they want me to pick a new template but then the blog layout is a mess. I'm wondering if I should just start a new blog but I hate to lose the history and connections. Maybe I already have. I don't know.

You really don't realize how important your blog is until it won't work right.

I know I'll get it worked out and I appreciate you bearing with me.


One good thing - when you get into a mess you sure learn or unlearn a lot of stuff, don't you. Diane

Oh! Boy!

Please bear with me, I've screwed up my blog and I'm just going to go to bed and try to fix it tomorrow. Blessings, Diane

Furry Friends Friday - A song for you

Rascal.......would you like to sing a song for our friends?You would? O.K. What do you want to sing?

Oh, you want to sing the meatball song!

That's great ! GOOD BOY! Brought to you today by Diane and Rascal for Furry Friends Friday

*Enchanted April

It is an enchanting month.

Plum and almond bushes are beginning to show their delicate pink color. The forsythia is all over the place with it's shocking bright yellow against the old winter greys. Here and there tulips are beginning to open as well as the daffodils.

My neighbor, Ed, has a corner of his garden which is ablaze with bright yellow daffodils. I 'm just sure that he sneaks outside in the middle of the night and plants fully opened flowers. One day they're not there - next day they are.

The chickadees fill the air with their frantic little calls as they madly chase each other all over the place. May will come - everything will be green and beautiful, it's such a beautiful month. March is behind us with all its' bluster. Now, however, we're in April and is is magical.
Diane


*I wish I could take credit for the title but it's the name of a book The Enchanted April -By The Author of Elizabeth and Her German Garden.

You and That Camera

Like most, if not all, of you I hardly ever leave the house without my little camera. Mine's little and doesn't take wonderful pictures like some but it does sometimes capture what I want it to.

Today I was talking to one of my neighbors. I told her there were some Wood Ducks on the creek but I hadn't been able to capture them. "You and that camera!" she said.

One person asked me one time as I walked Rascal "What are you going to do with that camera?"
Maybe he had a guilty conscience.

I got to thinking about a couple things -

#1 - Did you ever realize how much you can say with the word that? That dog! That camera! That woman! That look on your face! Are you wearing that?

#2 - I just love my little camera. I'd have a hard time expressing myself without it. Most of my posts, as are yours, are written around a picture. It's the tool for my art, communication, joy, and proof that I saw something. Now THAT'S great! Diane

Come On - GROW!

These beautiful sunny days lull me into thinking of new plants, great gardening ideas, wonderful sweet smelling phlox and roses, bees, hummingbirds, and butterflies flitting here and there. The truth is that we still have over a month before we can really believe these things. We get our worst storms of the year in April and May. So right now they're just beautiful dreams.

Diane

Laughing

Betsy at Joyful Reflections got me to laughing and thinking about funny family sayings this morning. It seems that I don't laugh much anymore and it just brightened up my day. Below is a picture taken in 1991. Mother, my sister and my sister in law and myself met and had a picnic. I think in this picture we're trying to get all four dogs in one place for a photo session. I'm helpless, it was so funny.
And here we are a little more sedate. Mother is taking the picture. I'm on the left, Patsy (my sister) is in the middle, and Dianna (my sister in law) is on the right. Muffie sat for this picture but the other dogs must be under the table. What fun!!!!

When we get together we get to laughing at some of the funny things that have happened in our family and of course Daddy's colorful language.

This one isn't too bad. Daddy was in the hospital after his heart attack. The doctor came in to check on him. He sat down on the bed and said, "Well, Kay, how are you feeling?"

Daddy looked him in the eye and said, "Well, Doc, I feel like a one legged man at an ass-kickin' contest.." The doctor didn't crack a smile but said, "I guess you're feeling slightly disadvantaged." Diane

Ring Them Chimes!

I hinted to Leonard that I'd love to have one of these for my flower garden. Yesterday he said why don't we go out to the garden center and you can show me that "thing" you want. He bought one for me as a very early birthday gift. It's a 4 foot high four pronged stake to stick in the ground. The wind had blown for a week but as soon as I put this in the ground there hasn't even been a breeze so I can hear it. Diane

Good Morning, Sun

Did you notice how bright and huge the sun looked this morning? When I opened the drapes the sun was absolutely blinding. Maybe it was dust from the volcano, maybe it was just dramatically bright, whatever - it was bright and beautiful. Diane

Furry Friends Friday - Iditarod Team

I'm sorry it's so late to post for Furry Friends Friday but Bean and her husband and their Iditarod team just got in from Alaska. This is their Christmas card from few years ago. The team from left to right - Back row - Brutus, Miso (the grey and white cat), Guinness taking up the lead, Front row - Django, Sunny, Sealy and Lolli, also in a lead position. I think every one of them is rescued from one situation or another. These two have really big hearts. (Except for the fact they make their poor pets pull a dogsled!)

Diane

Three Dimensional

Looking inside the cottage, the yard reflected and me taking the picture.

This morning when I took Rascal outside it was still dark at 6:15 a.m. The chorus outside was amazing, I would have stayed outside to listen except it was cold. Robins singing, geese honking, ducks quacking overhead and then adding to it was the wild turkeys who chime in with their gobbling whenever they hear a racket. It may not feel like spring to me at that time of the day but it sure does to them!!! Diane

Rich and Rough

Before Christmas June at Laughing With Angels had a beautiful white wreath she'd made and I just had to try one. I hung mine on a chippy old shutter in my dining room. I made it with bits of lace and old jewelry and a milliner's flower that I've had for a while. I really like the contrast.
Diane

Seldom Seen

This obviously wasn't taken today, our grass is not even beginning to look this lush and beautiful. This herd of deer is near the hospital which is on the big hill overlooking the valley where we live. They come down here, their tracks are everywhere, down our sidewalk, down the alley but I hardly ever see them. I put out apples and carrots to help them through the winter. The next day the treats are gone, there are tracks. It makes me feel good as I cut them up knowing that a sweet creature will nibble them up. Diane

Fading Into History

Bino's Grocery had been run by the Mancini family for 55 years beginning with Albino Mancini and his wife and gradually handed down to the younger members of the family. I remember him, he was a picturesque gentleman who looked like Geppetto to me. I have to admit I didn't do my regular grocery shopping there but it was delightful - they had everything. Their produce was nice and the meat was superb. The local paper announced that it had been sold and turned into a pizza place. It's the last that was left from an era where we had 32 little neighborhood groceries. Sometimes passing history leaves you feeling kind of empty. Diane

Someplace Else

I did spend some time outside today as well as messing around on the computer. Rascal and I went someplace different instead of our usual walk. We walked down along the creek, crawled through a barbed wire fence and then came out a different way and crossed the bridge and came on home. He loved exploring new territory and he's such a little gentleman, waiting for me to go through the gate ahead of him and listening to what I talked about with him. He's just wonderful company! Diane

Still Moving Things Around

Well, I can see that this is too wide but please bear with me. The reason I took off the last one, which I thought was beautiful, was because the center was too bright white and I wanted something a little softer. I'll get this all down soon. In the meantime you can just enjoy or go nuts with my messing around. Diane

Something New

We have a new addition to our backyard, a very welcome one at that. This morning we purchased and planted a Canadian Red Cherry tree. This is what our tree man advised. When we lost our big Flowering Crab we lost a focus in our small backyard. Now we'll have a beautiful little tree someday which will feed the birds, bloom, change a beautiful russet color in the fall and the leaves that won't be hard to clean up. Diane

Furry Friends Friday - Lost Loves

I don't know whether I should have done this post. My heart has a lump in it as I go back and think of these animals that we've lost. I've had a lot of pets and I've loved them all so much.

This is me with Muffin (Muffie). Leonard and I as well as Muff climbed to the top of Black Mountain in the Bighorns on the 4th of July, 1994. (9,500 ft.) We all struggled for oxygen, even her. I was a chicken. You had to jump some rocks to get on up to the lookout tower and my nerves failed me. Leonard made it.

This, also, is in the mountains. Muff was a darling little dog. We managed to keep her till she was about 12.

You've seen my last kitty, Maxie. Here she is with Teddy. At that time she was almost 22 and Teddy was about two years old. Such dears.

This is Teddy when he wasn't fully grown. He was a purebred Pomeranian. Leonard had to talk me into getting a Pomeranian. All I could think of was a fat lady carrying around a little yappy dog. Then we got him and I was hooked. Yep! My mental image was right. He was a great little dog. Diane

Please Excuse the Mess

Please excuse my experiments and changes to my blog. My house is the same way. Sometimes I just have to change things around. It may take some more changes here on my page before I settle down into something comfortable. In the meantime I hope I don't upset you too much with my rearranging. Diane

Knobs, Handles and Obsessions

A few days ago I was at Habitat for Humanity Resale Store and I found 6 glass drawer pulls and single knobs. I don't know about you but to me it was like finding a drawer full of diamonds (well, almost!) They were a dollar each. Then she had me draw out an Easter egg and my egg contained a 25% discount as well as a chocolate kiss. You just can't beat that! I have them on quite a few things in my home now and I always pick them up because you just never know when you're going to need another one. Diane

Reading

A friend gave me this magazine - Cloth, Paper, Scissors today and Leonard brought me the bird book when he came home from Billings yesterday. I'm just finishing up A Flickering Light by Jane Kirkpatrick and there's a book waiting to be read - The Book of Ruth. I'm rich and happy!!!

A Perfect Day

There's a nice older gentleman who frequents the SA the same time I do on Tuesday mornings. He's a bit of a hermit but pleasant to speak to. He stays to himself but is a kindly person when he does talk. He kind of looks like he doesn't have a woman around to take care of him and lives kind of woodsy.

The only reason I'm giving you all this color is because I want you to know the kind of guy he is.

Today when I was checking out, one of the girls and I were chatting about how our Easter was. He walked up to check out. We were just saying that we didn't have company when he said "Why torture yourself to be sociable!" Good point!

So I asked him if he had a nice Easter.

"Yes, I did" he said. "I went out to the shootin' range twice and.......I heard a meadowlark sing"! What a poetic soul.

I told him that sounded like a perfect day to me. Diane

(The sound of the meadowlark is bliss to us in Wyoming. It's right up there with spotting the first pasque flower of the year or hearing the bugle of the bull elk in September!)

A Wandering Eye

This seemed a good day to get a pic of the wild cucumber. I've been admiring it for some time.

This little bird seemed to be standing guard over our grape arbor. I think they're nesting there.

I don't know if this is the same type bird or not but I thought her colors were very pretty.

Out at 8:00 a.m. for a walk. Isn't the morning light pretty? Diane

Pussy Willow's Out

Pussy Willow wakened from her winter nap,
For the frolic spring breeze on her door did tap.

Mistress Pussy Willow opened wide the door;
Never had the sunshine seemed so bright before.

Happy little children cried with laugh and shout,
Spring is coming, coming, Pussy Willow's out."
Kate L. Brown

The Giant Pussy Willow tree that I grew from a sprig. The "kittens" are fat and fuzzy.
Diane

He Is Risen

He is not here; for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.
Matthew 28:6
A most blessed and happy Easter to you, Diane

The Secret

"Where did they come from?" said Peter to Jane.
"Easter eggs yellow and white,
Scarlet and purple and spotted! It's plain
Somebody left them last night!"

The brown Easter bunny that sat on the shelf
Was silent as silent could be,
But did I just dream that he smiled to himself?
I thought so, but couldn't quite see!
Helen Cowles Le Cron

Getting There

I'm not going to go through the details but I had one hard time working with Rascal, when he was a puppy. Housebreaking was one of the hard things. When I could not think of anything else I put a little diaper on him, I used old wash cloths and fastened them just like a baby. He didn't like to have them wet. He found out that I would take them off when we went outside to go potty and he had to wear them in the house. It didn't take long and he got the point. That was just one aspect of life when he was a little guy.

One thing I found about him is that he's very headstrong. He has to think it's his idea. (Talk about having to use your brain!)

Today I'm so proud of him. He lifts his leg. That's right. When I put his harness on him to go for a walk he has to put one of his front legs through it and then I fasten it on his back. Now when I say "OK, now your leg" he lifts up his front leg and puts it through the harness - by himself. I could just cry, it's such a big accomplishment for both of us. Diane