Our dog, Honey...

Our one-eyed beauty...

Our dog, Honey, died a couple of weeks ago.  She was our kind and gentle companion.   Her previous life wasn’t a very pleasant one.  Some friends said Honey thought she died and went to heaven when she came to live with us.  Now she is in heaven…we miss her every day.

Today my friend gave me this saying.  I cherish it and hope it is meaningful to you if you are a dog lover, protector and caregiver.

It came to me

That every time

I lose a dog

They take a piece

Of my heart with them,

And every new dog

Who comes into my life

Gifts me with a piece

Of their heart.

If I live long enough

All the components

Of my heart

Will be dog, and

I will become

As generous and

          Loving as they are.        

                         -Anonymous

I can only hope.

Rest in Peace, Honey girl.

Bonnie

 

Another Serendipidous Day...

Some days just turn out different than I planned.  After our Farmgirls sale, it takes quite a few days for everyone to either pick up or for me to deliver their earnings.  So today Hubby was in charge of hanging around so a couple of people could collect their paycheck and I took our cat, Norma Jean, to the vet.  She is licking her hair off herself limb by limb and recently she began on her electrolysis on her stomach.  

Not so much fun plus she looks like a sheared poodle from the back side.  After much conversation and $281, our new vet determined that her licking was psychosomatic and that she has a urinary tract infection.  I suggested if we situated a mirror so Norma could see how ridiculous she looks, maybe she would stop licking.  He had never thought to suggest that but said no harm in trying.  The infection will be another story of shooting amoxicillin down her throat twice daily.  Fun!

One dose down and only 19 to go...it didn't go too bad with the two of us handling the med detail.  Getting the bandage off her leg where they drew blood, now that's another deal.  She was a trooper through the whole process - not hardly a meow out of her...but trying to cut the bright blue bandage off - not so much!  Do you think they would charge me a full office visit to snip that bugger off???

Oh ya - I can't cut her back claws and they said they would and in the jungle of tests, she came out of there with her claws.  Darn!

That was my morning...feeling comatose upon arriving home, I stared at the computer for an hour or two.

Then it was off to the garden to plant...2 1/2 hours later and one or two wheelbarrows full of weeds - no planting done.  But now the plants are out of the screen house and on the deck steps.  Ugh...

Well - tomorrow's another day  We had planned a trip to see my niece's animal farm today but will have to reschedule.

Off to read - perhaps to nap!

Bonnie

Weather...

My Mom wasn't afraid of the weather...she would stand out on our front stoop and watch the clouds, fascinated by their movement and shapes and color.  I'm the same way mostly.  Last year we had such bad storms in the early part of July that I'm a little more leary now.

This tree shades our house in the
heat of the day...

Norma Jean watching the weather!

One of our White Pines with the middle torn out
 from the wind last year

We lost many trees...old trees.  Probably five or six trees came down in the winds and rain.  It is very sad when those huge trees fall... 

I never realized how shallow their root systems are.  At least they seem to have long roots that go vertically across the ground but when they tip over the roots that go downward seem short.  I suppose they break off but the root ball that shows is so small compared to the height of the tree.

Our Jack Pine with the top twisted off

My favorite color is green
 so my yard is precious to me!

This huge tree in the middle of our drive stands by itself
after its mate died a few years ago.  Love its shape.

We're in a severe thunderstorm watch that is blanketing the better part of the state.  I'm getting regular updates from Hubby on the details of the movement and severity.  He seems very worried.  I suppose I inherited my weather calmness from Mom.

Well - I guess I better go pay attention...they are interrupting Dateline every few minutes.  Maybe some hail...figures!  I finally got my tomato plants in the ground!  Just a little rain and some rumblin' so far...the birds are singing again.  I think its passing by us.

Take care,

Bonnie 

Time and flies...

Love those red geraniums!!!

Today I thought I would be doing something and then something else changed and so my friend and I cleaned dead flies out of all the windows in the new barn.  How's that for an opening line on my new post?  Thank goodness for friends...who else could you ask to de-fly speck your barn windows???

Even though we live on 10 acres, we have had few flies in the house throughout the past 12 years.  Maybe its because we have no cows, horses or chickens or pigs.  Just one dog and one cat and us.

However, all the flies in the neighborhood must like our new barn!  What's with that??? 

Well, I digress.  So armed with cleaner, paper towels and Windex, we persevered and tackled all nine windows and three doors. 

It looks great - now.  It's all part of getting ready for our Farmgirls June sale.  So we begin the task of making a path through all the stuff and arranging it into creative vignettes.  We open in two weeks for the first two weekends in June.

We have a theme item this first sale....vanities.  I count three in the barn now with three more on the way!  I'll do a feature on those vanities so you can see the variety.

I need to get some energy...any suggestions? I have miles to go before I sleep...

Just part of the annuals for my gardens
and some to plant at the cemetary next week 

Take care,

Bonnie

Lovely May Flowers...

Love these Wave Petunias - such a pretty pink!

Pansy faces are my favorite faces!

I collect old dilapidated birdhouses!

and last are my favorites...lovely lilacs!

I'm just beginning to collect my annuals for my gardens.  It's really difficult not to stop at every greenhouse I pass!  Spring is such a creative time.  Time to really dig in the dirt!

Have a wonderful Mother's Day!

Bonnie

Perfect Friday Night...

Who knew that Friday nights with the grandkids would be our perfect Friday nights???  John and Addy are here for a couple nights to keep us company and help us!  They love scrubbing stuff - its the water - all kids love water so why not put them to work???

It's turned cold so we are in the house now and Addy is playing with her baby doll who talks and cries and whimpers.  She also likes Barbie's (I don't)  but loves playing with her baby doll too.

All set for bed!

John is building little, tiny skateboards with little, tiny screwdrivers.  They are Tech Deck and are collectors items.  Pretty neat!

Working to connect wheels to board!

It is a perfect Friday night and now off to the livingroom to read our books!

Take care,
Bonnie

Sweet Sounds of the Country...

My crab apple in all its glory!

The bees were a buzzin' today!

There will lots of crab apples!

It's too hot in the living room so I'm sitting in the kitchen with the windows open, with no TV blaring - just me and the sounds of the birds coming in the windows.  The robins have built a nest right outside our living room area and we watched them build their nest.  The mother would bring just one strand of grass and place it in the nest and then would sit in the nest and wiggle around melding it into the form both parents had built of larger sticks and stuff.  I guess we've hit that age where nature astounds us each day. 

I hear an owl hooting in the background while sparrows, wrens and other song birds, warble and warble.  I can hear sounds of sticks or something small dropping into the lilac bush.  Hope the nest isn't falling apart!

I can't really identify all the sounds but its just a beautiful, peaceful evening with hardly a car going by.  A couple dogs just barked but other than that the birds are the major orchestra playing for me,  The flag is hanging straight down...not a breeze so all the sounds are clear and melodic.

Spring is the best but fall runs a close second in my book of favorite seasons.  Spring is so special because we've come through the cold, snowy, white season and then the first rain brings out the color of the grass...and lightning makes the green greener and soon things begin to pop through the dirt.  Nature begins to paint our world.

I noticed my new little bulbs have burst open - a little tulip wannabe looks so cute but its face looks at the dirt...I'll have to look into planting some other face that wants to see us as we pass.  The white French Lilac is beginning to open and of course, the crab apple tree is in full bloom...losing a few petals in the rain and wind yesterday.  But still beautiful today.

I need to get my little red bowl of grape jelly out to bribe the Baltimore Orioles to sit and lap up the sweetness.  They are such a burst of color and exciting every time they visit.

Time to finish up a project or two...hope you are enjoying a lovely evening too!

Take care,

Bonnie