Flattened Hedgehogs, Switchblades, & a GIANT Bug

Good Monday Morning to All;

I hope your weekend was as glorious as my own!

For all of you who have asked, or are wondering (and who have not made it to Caseys Blog), please know that she is WITHOUT PAIN in her pancreas for the 1st time in a very long time! (Yay Casey)! And double~yay, Dr. Dua!!!

We arrived home on Saturday afternoon, after moseying our way northward and stopping at a handful of rummage sales... A fun day for us too. I dropped Casey off at Dereks home, and Punkie and I continued on our way.

Punkin. "My fierce protector" (as I like to call her), was so happy to be home... She had been so busy while we were in Milwaukee once again. She bristled everytime the fire trucks were called out. And she had to make sure the big garbage trucks that passed by the hotel were not going to come and get her.

.

.

Punkie checks out the traffic on the street below...

.

.

.

AND, she had to guard the sleeping CaseyFace!

.

.

.

And protect us from the pocket sized switch blade razor found in my bed, under the fitted sheet???

.

.

(and from the giant bug "??" that scared the bejeezus out of me at 4:00AM)!

Out of the corner of my eye to see such a thing crawling up the wall; to realize fast enough that it wasn't a spider (so at least I didn't have to have my heart~attack that morning)...
But I don't know what it was either... I walked past it on my way to collect some toilet paper... And then to flush the darned thing. (It took me 2 trys of holding the handle down each time). OMG, he was SO BIG! (Compare him to the size of the coffee cups)...

.

Ummmm, yeah, the room was free. (That was a slight "no~brainer" for anyone in management).

And no, the manager said he did not know what the heck kind of bug it was either...

.

.

As we came home rounding the corner in Flintville we see a mass of color! Each and every fruit tree being in bloom! From apples to apricots to pears...

Roberta and Gabriel under the Flowering Crab Tree...

.

.

Pears. (almost all the blooms had already fallen to the ground)...

.

.

More Crab apples...

.

.

.

more apples... Mmmm... I can almost taste the applesauce!

.

.

.

We stopped over at Miss Kellis to see the horses too. They had just come back home after being at Miss Michelles for a few years. And seemed very happy to be home too!

.

.

Kelli; with May and Breezie...

.

I had to keep The Punkster in the car... Once she had rounded the corner to Kelli and Tims backyard, and had seen two horses (where no horses had ever been seen by her before) she had threatened to scare them. Nothing doing, so back to the car with her.

.

.

.

She forgave me quickly enough...

.

.

...even bringing me her own mothers day gift!

.

.

.

And suddenly my little desk area was filled with cards and surprises galore! Books and bags and cards and photo collages...

.

.

My Little Miss Valerie, My Little Man Isaiah, and of course Young Lawrence too!

Roberta and Casey had been very busy indeed!

.

.

Miss Punkin had taken offense to the crinkly bags n such, and in the meanwhile had literally flattened her toy hedgehog... even removing its squeaker thingie...

.

and there is NOTHING WORSE than losing your squeaker thingie!!!

.

.

And Punk said she didn't do it either!

.

.

But with 'evidence' like this we knew it was herself that had killed the poor thing!

hehehe

.

.

Time for me to close and to try to find my house. A bit of rain yesterday had kept us all inside. And it seems that we all used that time to completely mess up the old abode. A job quite well done too; (if I do say so myself)!

Casey will be here bright and early. Temps are to get to the mid 80's by this afternoon with sunshine as well. I am not one to shake and bake my brains on the rider in the heat, so we will get the lawns done early... (or as soon as the rain has dried from the grasses). Casey has offered to weedwhack once more, and I am not stupid enough to deny her that pleasure! hehehe

I hope you all had a grand weekend, and I am wishing you a "wunnaful" week ahead as well! And I do hope your squeaker thingies are all well and good too!!!

XOXO
Anne

Now does anybody want to tell me what kind of gross bug that was at the free hotel? Hmmmm.... (or maybe I do not want to know)?

Free Counter

Mothers Day; The Happy and The Cruel

Good Sunny~Day Morning to all!

I would begin by saying Happy Mothers Day to All, but am not sure if it is appropriate for all of my female friends... (and certainly only for a few of my male readers as well). hehehe

There are those of us with children, and from them we also have grandchildren to love...

There are those of us who have no children, whether by choice or by chance...

...And yet there is a common bond that holds us together. That bond being our LOVE of/for children.

We love children.

Those without their own, love someone elses children as their own.

Those by chance, away from their new and young familys during this next month of mommies and daddies, (mostly Iraq), are still serving the rest of us. (U.S.). ~And are still loving their young children.

Those away from their young children by choice at any time (for any reason) have created their own special hell.

I plan on having a most special Mothers Day. I love my children. I love my grandchildren fiercely! But I also know that by the Grace of God I was able to have these babies in the first place. Unlike my parents who had to adopt, and yet chose to love us anyway.

"Not flesh of my flesh, nor bone of my bone; but still miraculously my own. Never forget for a single minute that you didn't grow under my heart, but IN it." ...And that is something that almost all of us adoptees can brag about... We know we are loved and wanted. (Although I am sure there might have been a time ~or two~ that our parents might have questioned their sanity)... hehehe

And it is for those families, that these days are the very most of "special".

But then there are those Mothers that have SO wanted a child. Those Moms who have carried their child only for a little while; and have lost them. For the Mamas that have carried them to lose their child in childbirth. For those that have had to see their child die for whatever reason at a very young age. For those that have had to watch their child die from accidents.. or drugs.. or alcohol... For these moms this is the cruelest day of all. Those Mamas among us with their empty arms and their own huge hearts.

We can never understand the 'whys' of the world. But the rest of us can share our own hearts and our own armfuls. ... And all we need to have is that common bond of loving a child. We share our own. We share our love...

Hats off to all "Mamas" everywhere; and to whichever category you might fall into! Peace. Hope. And love to all.

XOXO
Anne

Peek~A~Boo!

My Little Master Gabriel playing peek~a~boo around the corner of the garage...

Good Morning all;

You will have to check out Caseys blog today to know what is going on in our little world.

Please CLICK HERE for Caseys Blog pages/entries...

I have much to do beforehand... Casey was up from about 3 til 6:00, and is getting another hour or so of sleep in.

Special thanks to my neighbors and friends for keeping watch over our place and my Miss Milly while we are gone.

I will try to get back to visiting you all as I can...

.

.

A rained~upon and bit spent, but still beautiful flower for you all!.

.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

XOXO
Anne

The Stent and The Gophers

Good Morning All!
I do realize I have not written, but I do wish to thank those of you who have taken the time to comment, and to write such nice notes about/To CaseyAnne!

First and foremost, KC's stent is still there. Her family doctor has told us though that it can remain there for a long time. Now, personally I cannot understand most people that have sought the advice of a physician and then do not heed that same advice. (What is the purpose in going to the doctor then in the 1st place)? But I question whether KC's stent should still be there... (or should be LEFT within)...

.

.

KC's stent is about 8" long...

.

.

I have found an article after searching for a long time about these stents. In two separate places, (including the opening statement), it claims that these stents should be removed within a week. (Yokes! Her surgery was April 17th)...

Please CLICK HERE for that article. (This is also where the above picture came from).

We are just a bit confused; especially given her pain levels still. Perhaps a call to the surgeon down at Froedtert is in order? Oh, I do hate to 2nd~guess these things; but it was her surgeon that had told Derek and I that this stent would have to be removed if it did not pass of its own accord. Perhaps we will know more tomorrow then.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch...

Having been battling a nasty migraine for the past two days, I must report that my little garden is only maybe 2/3rds finished. And I can't wait to be eating those green beans either! But I'm getting there. More upset about this lateness than I should be as it is still only the 1st third of May. I am happy to report that I have caught up on more than a few hours of sleep too. (Chemically induced, but "sleep" none~the~less). After her own doctor appointment, Casey then brought me in for a shot for my stupid head... (I might have lasted all of 1/2 an hour after getting home). But get this; we called right after KC's appointment, got to my Dr. office about 15 minutes later, and was in/out of that office within less than ten minutes. Thank God that he has me down for a standing order. (And I have been thankful for that for many years now)...

.

.

.

Ready! Aim!! Scurry!!!

.

.

Casey has also taken it upon herself to be the terminator for these darned gophers of mine. She says it will take her all summer, (but what she doesn't know is that I flooded many holes in the back of the house already). hehehe It is amazing what a garden hose can accomplish! Thre were 2 holes back there that I actually had the hose down about 10-12 feet! But gave my gun to Casey once more... (She sounded a bit like Rambo at one point)... But I believe she got two of them critters too. They still can get down in their holes after being hit by a .22.

.

.

She quietly sneaks up on them; after spying them eating birdseed...

.

.

She fires one shot, and sends the darned thing back to his hole...

.

.

.

and so she sits in wait for him to come back out...

(Having gone deer hunting for the last 7 years, she can be VERY patient)...

.

.

I hear another shot, I see the gopher do a little dance after jumping straight up in the air, and I see the ground directly behind him spray upward. (All this happens within a split~second)... She goes to check and see if she can see him in his hole...

Nope.

.

.

She snickers, but like myself, she does believe she hit that one...

.

.

.

I had bought a Burning Bush to put between two of the maples, and while we walked out there, she saw more gophers. I did get the small bush planted and well watered, she found about 10 more holes to choose from. We will have to get back out and maybe finish the garden today, (with a break or two to rid my garden, my yard and my lawns of these little varmints). I do not want to be using too much poison either because of the dogs. Sooner or later, they could find it; and even a little leftover would do them harm, and I do not want to be taking that chance.

Speaking of the dogs, Miss Punk still needs to learn that the garden is off limits to her. It is slowly sinking in, but I think this learning process might go faster if she wasn't deaf. (Oh, perhaps it is her selective hearing and not her eardrums)??? Hmmm... She sure can be sassy...

Brother Buddy is on almost complete bed rest for a month! He is very upset about this treatment, but is learning to accept it too. Mary is just thankful that there is hope for his ACL to heal better of its own accord.

I'd better close for now. Hope you are all having a great Wednesday! Since it has rained a bit, I will attempt to get some indoor things done... (like finding my floors and my tables all over again)?!?! And hopefully Caseys surgeon will concur with her family doctor here... ? ...>say "pretty please"?<

XOXO
Anne

Web Counter

Here's a nasty thought for the day too:

If it's in pet food, I'm sure it's in human food. What do YOU think?

http://www.petconnection.com/

My Busy Weekend... (Really)...

Good Morning!
I am looking at the time... The daylight has arrived and so I must type fast and get back outside to finish planting. The picture above showing only the first staked row.

.

.

Punk had to watch; (because unlike Milly she does not yet understand that she can't go in the darned garden).

.

.

.

They were good (for the most part) and so after all was done for yesterday, they got a treat.

.

.

Milly on left; Punk on the right...

.

.

I have completed about 1/3 of my little garden at this point. I would like to get this done before tomorrow. Then we will pray for rain; it is SO dry still.

...I am thinking that with Caseys recheck xray tomorrow, the stent will probably still be there, (she has not passed it)... She will then need further surgery to remove this stent. A busy day ahead then for me to get these seeds and my little plants in the ground.

Mary has just called, and will return to the vet with Buddy this afternoon. She says her Buddy does want to play but that the vet has told her to keep him as quiet as possible. Hard to keep a good dog down, so she has him in his inside kennel until the vet says he can move about more. Hopefully they can avoid surgery. I do think these things heal of their own accord... (?) Hope so anyway.

Not much other news, but I sure wish it would warm up just a teeny tiny bit. Either that or maybe the winds could just go away while I am outside? It was quite the Don Quixote day yesterday. (And being sandblasted for 8 hours only makes me dirty)! Glad I didn't put my contacts in in the morning... And yuck, but I will pull on those same sandy jeans this morning too. I swear if I have to throw more clothes like that in my washer it will ALL turn to mud! hehehe Kind of like the shower last night after Punkin got out... She smells a far cry better now, but was not happy having to get in there so late. (Yeah, me neither)... And no, you cannot see how bad it really was!!!

I hope everyone had a 'fantabulous' weekend. Those storms and tornadoes we have all heard about? I hope that you are all safe and sound.

Now you have to let me know what YOU did this weekend...

XOXO
Anne

Free Hit Counter

A Rat in the Roses???

Good Saturday Morning to All!

I am so tired, and yet didn't sleep worth a darn either.

Was SO very busy yesterday... Kinda felt like a gopher myself with all the dirt I had dug into by the time my back called it quits for the day.

Lawns are all mowed; even back to the woods. Casey came back too...

.

.

A fallen tree across the old campsite last week, is still there this week too. Casey had a bit of fun and Punkin just lazed around. The more active Miss Punkin is, the worse she has pain in her backside, but needs (and loves) the exercise too.

I am trying to get my garden in... Today perhaps? One fell swoop of planting in that garden? I shall try to "git'r done"... I have been planting for the last few days too. Flowers seeds, to make it brighter and prettier! It should be nice to look at in another 2 months. I cleaned out in front of the old milkhouse, and don't know if they will root or not, but threw some flower seeds in the crack in the concrete. (Better to have to look at pretty blooms than to have to look at the weeds that normally grow there)! Hopefully they will grow... I don't see that those weeds had a problem doing so!

And ALL of my flower seeds that Roberta and I had harvested last Autumn (THREE ZIPLOCS FULL), got eaten by the danged mice! I was so mad I was spitting nails... Sent CaseyAnne to the Co-op in Pulaski; and I am now loaded up on all kinds of seed! (Thank you KC~Face)!

Was I speaking of mice? Not sure. But Miss Punk did find herself a new friend too.

.

.

The baby rat in the baby moss roses!

.

.

They grow EVERYWHERE,

(and I had better be talking about the flowers)!

UGH...

.

.

.

.

.

.

Maybe it was this little guy that ate all of my saved seeds???

.

.

.

.

Punk "warned" me long before she got this close...

(Or perhaps she was telling me to get the danged camera out again)!

.

.

Oh wait, there was even more wildlife too...

Digging in that old dirt, seems I might have broken up a happy home...

One can only HOPE....

.

.

Narfy eh?

.

.

His ugly legs spanned all of a half~dollar width too.

Casey and I both jumped, and she asked,, "Do you want the camera, or a shoe?" Hehehe (Proud of her following in her Mama's footsteps)!

I said, "Get the camera, first!"

(I am happy to report that he has now gone to that great cobweb in the sky)!

After "feeding" those nasty gophers again the other day, it really made me mad to see them back under the darned bird feeder... So I sent CaseyAnne out to jam up my .22. Oh well!

.

.

here she is... right after the darned thing jammed up on her...

.

.

And so for yesterday, (and this morning), the gophers LIVE on! (I could have sent her out there with the old 410; or maybe even the 20 gauge)??? hehehe

Jim stopped over, (scaring the bejeezus out of me when he got here too because he came from the field, and I didn't see him coming up)... He took the gun home and was gone all of about 15 or 20 minutes; and brought it back all fixed. Said he even had fired it a few times and it did well. Doing that, he found that he also needed to fix the sight on it. And I am more than happy to say that this gun is back in service, and perfectly sighted in too! (Thank you Jim)!

Now before I close... Do you all remember this picture?

.

.

Punk on left, Brother~Buddy on right...

.

.

I had taken that last Saturday down at Marys place in Appleton. Do you all remember Buddys Stick Story?

***(Click on "BUDDY" in my tag cloud if you don't know what kind of troubles this dog has gotten into already)!

.

Anyway, my nephew had torn his ACL about a year and a half ago, needing surgery to repair it... As Mikey came out of surgery, he looked like this...

.

.

Michael on crutches... November of '05~

.

.

.

Mary had called me last week and had asked why Buddy was such a slug... not wanting to do anything etc etc etc... I told her to check his toes and paws because sometime they will pick up a thorn or something... She did. No thorns either.

She had kept an eye on him for the last couple of days, and he hadn't gotten any better. calling the vet when she finally got home from work yesterday, she was told to bring him right in.

All his tests came back fine; but as the vet checked his legs, there was a definite problem.

Seems as though Buddy has also compromised his ACL... They will know more on Monday... If he isn't any better then he will probably need a bit of surgery to repair it. (For cryin' out loud, Mary already has 3 frickin' jobs... Gee, now how about a 4th to cover the dog bills)?

She should have known... Mikey was the one to pick out the pup way back when... (Methinks she is right to BLAME Mike)! hehehe

But whatever, it is a much better diagnosis than what many of the rest of you have learned from all this crappy recall stuff...

Time to get my keester outside! I hope you all are also able to get outside and to enjoy your own weekend too!

XOXO
Anne

Free Counter

I hope you will all take a moment to please sign my guestbook if you haven't already! I really appreciate it!

Chopped Cornstalks Are Extra!

Good Morning...

This picture was taken 2 years ago.

I am late, and need to get my backside moving outside... So maybe I can have Casey picking MORE beans this year too! hehehe

Have a grand weekend. I shall be back when the rains come; or when I run out of daylight (then, if I have any life, or energy left)!

XOXO
Anne

Guestbook?

Hi Everyone...

I have been seeing these on a lot of your pages, (and I so hope you aren't too busy to do mine as well)? Hope not.

Please feel free to leave a comment and to post your smilin' face too!

Have a grand weekend!

XOXO
Anne

Wacky Wednesday; Wild and Wierd!

Good Morning ALL;

As you all already know we DO have some rather "odd" weather in Wisconsin...Still, I had to laugh at the weather 'forecast' above... Sunny at night (?) ~(and a bit LESS sunny during the day)!!! WHAT?!?!?!

A whole lot of excitement around here yesterday... (And I do NOT think it is any small note that it all seems to begin with Caseys arrival)! hehehe As she seated herself to be eating a bowl of rice; she heard a car door slam out by the road... We check out the window, and see a car parked out there. Seeing this car stopped on such a busy road, I went out...

As it turns out, Casey had heard no car door slamming... Just the impact of the venison that had not safely made that "Dreaded Dash of Death"...

.

.

.

I backed the car into the driveway so nobody would get killed while we waited for the Sheriffs Dept and the tow truck to arrive.

I also thought how very fortunate, (considering where the impact was), that the deer did not join them in the car...

.

.

Odd as it was, we used to live near this family in South Chase, and we are friends with many of their relatives too! (Cool). But "Mrs." had been taking her husband to a doctor appointment; him being diagnosed on the first with Lou Gehrigs Disease. Casey offered to bring him to his two appointments while "Mrs." waited for all the paperwork to be done.

.

.

.

While we waited out there, another 14 deer crossed the road...

(This is only about half of them, my second picture too blurry to post).

.

.

.

But the show must go on...

...And there was much work to be done.

Roberta and Gabriel showed up shortly after the mess on the road was cleaned up.

.

.

.

.

Roberta just could NOT make up her mind what to do first...

...and I think that is when she decided to blog a bit!

.

.

No wait, blogging was after those girls decided there was much doggie~doo~doo that had to be raked up.

(Or maybe I made that decision for them)? hehehe

.

.

My Two 'Camera~Shy' Pooper Scoopers!

.

.

And high time too, to send Casey down in the dungeon...

.

.

Actually this is the water pit out in the pumphouse; and since KC weighs less than that old ladder she "volunteered" ~(after a very democratic election), to go down and retrieve the hose.

.

.

All of the other hoses were also brought to the back of the house; nearer to where the garden will be. And nearer to my new grass that must be watered again. Mother Nature provided the first watering, (and judging from that forecast above I will be providing the next few days worth).

.

.

Master Gabriel, Casey, Punk, Milly and I all went for a little walk then while Berta finally got a chance to hit the keyboard. Master Gabriel found his corncobs still laying there, and also found a little snake hole too.

.

.

...gotta lean in REAL close for a good look...

.

.

And maybe just poke your finger in for good measure???

.

.

Time to go back to the corncobs then... (Safer this way)...

.

.

.

In the meantime, Casey and Punk were getting their own little workout... (And when Casey got tired, she hung on tight to Miss Punkins tail)...

.

.

Miss Punk sure didn't mind either...

.

.

UNTIL Casey decided it was time to...

.

.

DANCE!!!!

.

.

Miss Milly had once again disappeared to places unknown... But was back home very shortly. She unearthed a bone and took a little break from all the exercise...

.

.

Please note: Milly is supposed to be a Yellow Lab...

(NOT this dirty, dank drab~gray dog you see here)...

.

.

Derek came out on the bike to take Casey to dinner...

.

.

A little nippy by this time too... After dinner they stopped at his house to get his car; (not so chilly on the way home then)!

.

.

The End.

.

.

.

.

.

.

um...

.

.

.

.

.

.

NOT!

I took a shower (and should have thrown Punk in there too, but I had no energy left). Then headed up to bed. Wanting to see this FULL Mulberry Moon in the southeast sky, I had brought my camera too. (Just in case I could figure out how to take a night~time picture and actually have it turn out)...

.

.

Nope. Still haven't done it right!

.

(Maybe LisaMZM or Cmm could tell me how to do it right)?

.

.

Looking a bit north... and wasn't the Brown County Sheriffs Department back for a second round of paperwork for venison...

.

Methinks somebody ought to decrease the speed limit...

(AND put up some Deer Crossing signs)...

.

.

I do believe that this is from that squad car...

(Just one of those WIERD WIERD pictures).

.

.

.

Time now for me to get busy outside once again. It is already 49 degrees. Sunshiney skies too! And plenty more seeds to throw in the ground!

I hope you all have a "wunnaful" day!

XOXO
Anne