tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-737337815994004222024-02-07T14:52:59.667-06:00Quilting Along the Ley LinesQuilting, Fabric Art and OklahomaLady Beekeeperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10972692199686815560noreply@blogger.comBlogger666125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73733781599400422.post-71286187256770492162014-12-14T13:48:00.000-06:002014-12-14T14:10:47.528-06:00Back BloggingLong time no post but I plan to get back to it. In the past few years, my mind just hasn't been on updating my blog, in large part due to stepping back from quilting in favor of little crafts for my grandbabies as well as being preoccupied with Pearly's serious illness and the loss of a puppy, Fancy, who you never got to know.<br />
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What actually prompted today's post is that a quilting girlfriend who has long had a blog, changed its name and is having a fat quarter giveaway to help get the word out. I'm about to head over to <a href="http://www.stitchandquilt.com/2014/12/christmas-baking-and-sponsored-giveaway.html">her blog</a> and sign up for my own chance to win. You go, too!<br />
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Happy Quilting,
Penny, Evelyn, Pearly and Maybelle.<br />
<br />Lady Beekeeperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10972692199686815560noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73733781599400422.post-4303319508426499042012-12-10T23:22:00.000-06:002012-12-10T23:26:27.065-06:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I just posted a tutorial for the above quilt on my <a href="http://pennyquiltslq.blogspot.com/2012/12/cant-screw-it-up-baby-quilt.html">longarm quilting blog</a> if you are interested! I hope to start quilting the top, tomorrow, and will post photos of how it turned out. <br />
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Happy Quilting,
Penny, Evelyn and PearlLady Beekeeperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10972692199686815560noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73733781599400422.post-11853442343941726482012-11-27T20:40:00.000-06:002012-11-27T21:16:33.403-06:00Quilts, Cones and Babies on the Way<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Happy belated Thanksgiving!<br />
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It hasn't been a spectacular fall in terms of color, compliments of the two year drought, but I was quite pleased with how our baby Caddo Sugar Maples behaved.<br />
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I wouldn't be surprised if we had birds nesting in one or more of them, next year. <br />
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I've got plenty to be thankful for, this year, not the least is my health. At this point in my life, I have the typical garden variety aches and pains but nothing particularly worrisome or surprising. Feeling darn happy about that. <br />
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Also thankful about the spectacular news that I have two granddaughters on the way and expected to arrive in March of next year! No, not twins - Grandson Charlie is expecting a little sister and my younger girl, Katie, is expecting her first baby about a week later. I am absolutely delighted, as you might imagine.<br />
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So Katie asked for a Dr. Seuss quilt that I whipped up to surprise her husband when they were in town for Thanksgiving.<br />
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Here's Katie:<br />
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She's just glowing. So is her husband:<br />
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It is a joy to see them so excited about our little Ladybug. <br />
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Here's the Dr. Seuss quilt (not the greatest photos):<br />
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The fabric design was inspired by Seuss' book (and recent movie), The Lorax. Robert Kaufman put out a line of organic fabric I picked up at the Fat Quarter Shop. <br />
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I used a fat quarter bundle that contained a panel to make the top. <br />
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The colors were BRIGHT. It was almost frightening but I was happy with how it turned out. <br />
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I was trying to quilt something that looked like the Truffala trees but it ended up looking a lot like a hurricane symbol. Which is appropriate, I suppose, since I was working on it about the time Hurricane Sandy slammed into NYC. <br />
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The backing is white and includes all the titles of Dr. Seuss' books. <br />
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I have quite a few other quilt ideas floating through my head for the little ones and need to get started if I have any hope of finishing them prior to their birthdays.<br />
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When last I blogged in September, Pearly was still struggling with the auto-immune problem that impacted her eyes. At the beginning of August, both eyes started watering and she developed significant stains under her eyes.<br />
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The good news is that for nearly three months, her actual eyes have been rock steady - no sign of inflammation or anything of the kind. She is seeing, if not perfectly, then close enough that you wouldn't know otherwise. Her monthly labwork continues to look great and the plan is to either take her completely off the prednisone in December or, alternatively, cut the dosage in half to a minuscule 2.5mg every other day. She'll still be on the azathioprine (immune suppressant). As you can see from the photo, she still has significant stains from watery eyes but we think that is probably a result of the cyclosporine drops she takes. With any luck, when she goes back to the eye doctor in January, he'll reduce the number of drops per day and the staining will improve, also.<br />
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Poor Evelyn. She developed a problem with her, ahem, lady parts. It was like a hot spot but no UTI. Because Pearly is on immune suppressants, we don't like to expose her to other dogs if we can avoid it. Accordingly, Mr. Wonderful took Evelyn to the vet and I stayed home with Pearly. Evelyn had to take some antibiotics and anti-inflammatories for a week but she is all better, now. They gave her the biggest cone of shame I've ever seen. <br />
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When they walked back through the door with that ridiculous cone, I didn't know whether to cuss or laugh. I mean, seriously. They told us to put that on whenever she wasn't being directly supervised. Who would leave that on a dog when they were alone? Poor thing kept tripping over it. If she were outside and a gust of Oklahoma wind caught it, it would be bye, bye Evelyn. Needless to say, it didn't get much use.<br />
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I finally got around to quilting a Christmas wall hanging top I made back in Virginia, three years ago. The top has been hanging on my design wall out in the studio all this time and I finally threw it up on the longarm to finish it. I still need to put a binding on it but am happy it's done. <br />
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I can't say I am all that wild about it but it is okay to put some holiday color on the wall. The important thing about this wall hanging is that it was my first attempt at applique. <br />
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I also finished an orange and black pineapple quilt as a surprise for my friend (and avid Oklahoma State University fan), Kim:<br />
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Those kind folks who have followed my blog for a long time may remember that <a href="http://pennyquilts.blogspot.com/2008/11/tribute-to-my-friend.html">Kim lost her boy to brain cancer</a>. September is brain cancer research awareness month and the symbol is a gold ribbon. This is what I put on the back to remind Kim that we haven't forgotten her beloved Caleb:<br />
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And while we're talking quilts, although it is a little tardy, I was delighted that I did so well at the State Fair Quilt competition this year. I entered four entries, one in each of the following categories: wall hanging, machine quilted quilt, pieced quilt, and art quilt. I got a third place for the wall hanging and blue ribbons in all three other categories. I was so pleased!<br />
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This is the photo used as a basis for the art quilt:<br />
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This is the art quilt:<br />
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It was fun.<br />
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You'll note I used my embroidery machine, a little bit. <br />
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Hmmm. Machine embroidery. You know, the biggest new trend I've been seeing in quilting has been the explosion of using embroidery, often in place of piecing or applique. That isn't how I make quilts but I hadn't thought about it much, one way or the other until a woman recently brought a lovely embroidered quilt top into the shop. I oohed and aahed over it. Usually, a quilter getting this sort of reaction will just melt into the floor like a delighted puppy. If we could wag our tails, we would. But in this case, the woman actually looked sheepish. She insisted on telling me that it wasn't anything "she" did, rather, she just turned on the embroidery machine and walked away. She didn't seem to have much pride or even ownership of the quilt. She actually seemed embarrassed to get credit for it. It wasn't a false modesty - it was that she just didn't feel like it was "her" work, apparently. So like I said, Hmmm. I have to think about that. If that is how it "feels" to make a machine embroidered quilt, it is a completely different experience from what I have when I make a pieced or appliqued one. I have to say, this woman's confession was kind of disturbing. Perhaps that is just her individual experience?<br />
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And on a final note - Hurricane Sandy. All three of my kids live in NYC and of course were affected by the storm. Two of them lost power in their apartments for nearly a week. Bill stayed with good friends on the upper east side, and Windy stayed with her sister, Katie, in Brooklyn. Happily, they're fine. <br />
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I can't really describe my dread as I monitored the storm as it approached the city. I had images of them drowning, or getting electrocuted, or attacked by looters, or freezing, or getting hit by a flying piece of glass or a tree (less likely in Manhattan than in Oklahoma, admittedly), or being trapped in apartments with no power, no elevators or bathrooms (or food). The fact that two of my three girls are pregnant, and Charlie is just a toddler made me all the more concerned since they are especially vulnerable. I even worried about their dog, Martin. Would they take her down twelve flights of stairs to go to the bathroom? And then back up twelve flights? Would pregnant Amy be hauling Toddler Charlie AND Martin up twelve flights? Would she collapse on the 8th floor, all alone with no way to summon help???? OMG!! WHAT WOULD HAPPEN TO CHARLIE???? He could wander around and BE KIDNAPPED!!! I worried that Windy would get caught out in the storm and hurt. Or ATTACKED!!! What if Kate and Chris (who don't live in a flood area but are on the storm side of NYC) were flooded and drowned!! (They live on the second floor). What if Bill or Chris went out to get fresh batteries and THEY were attacked!!??? What if Windy ate food from her refrigerator and it was spoiled and she died of food poisoning? Or got sick and there was no one there to help her? If there was something to worry about, I worried. <br />
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It is what I do. <br />
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I was wondering if I needed to just drive up there and get them. Seriously. It crossed my mind. <br />
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I am so thankful that they were spared the worst of it but my heart goes out to the ones who suffered the most - and their families who prayed the same way I did but whose prayers for their loved ones' safety weren't granted. <br />
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I have so much to be thankful for. <br />
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Happy Quilting,
Penny, Evelyn and PearlyLady Beekeeperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10972692199686815560noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73733781599400422.post-11851540541874010832012-09-10T11:38:00.000-05:002012-09-10T11:38:38.414-05:00Summer's End<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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August has come and gone. It remains one of my favorite months not only because all three of my children were born then, but because - like February - it is deceptively active in the natural world. We've been collecting seeds from our Caddo (Sugar) Maples and Bur Oaks in hopes of getting some seedlings in the next year or so. The wild animals are changing their patterns, sending their young off to fend for themselves, and the days are swiftly shortening. Our neighbors have bellowing cows, next door, and I suppose they are weaning their calves. The last of the fledglings have come and gone and I saw a migrating Yellow Warbler, last week. Periodic shotgun blasts in the distance remind us that Dove Season has arrived. <br />
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As the summer ebbs and the night lengthens, I am far less likely to miss the sunrise. I can sit on the patio with my morning coffee and no longer have to rush to beat the sun coming up in the east. The August days are typically blazing hot (and this year, we set a record), but just when you think you can't stand it anymore, the cool winds start breaking through a few days, here and there. Moreover, the shorter days mean that even when the temperatures remain high, the longer nights send the scalding sun to bed a little earlier. As brutal as the summer can be in Oklahoma, when I lived in Virginia I actually missed the shudder of relief when the fall rains arrived and things cooled down in September. It is like a good meal after going without - you know how delicious anything tastes when you've been hungry for awhile.<br />
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I recently began working at a LQS about a day and a half a week. I've enjoyed the pure physical work that starts the instant you walk in the door. Seriously, other than about a 10 - 12 minute break to gobble down lunch, you are moving for 6 - 7 hours - restocking, cutting fat quarters, straightening, waiting on customers, etc. 95% of the time, you are on your feet. I am getting callouses on my fingers from folding fabric and was trying to figure out why my forearm was dry and scratchy (am I getting eczema? - OMG!) before it dawned on me that I rest my forearm on the table while I'm doing it. The skin is just dry. Duh. <br />
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I'd all but forgotten what it was like to not be the mistress of the moments of my day. As an attorney, I had time to check the internet, head to the bathroom any time I felt like going, decide when I wanted to eat lunch, sit, prop my feet up, etc. Retail is different and I haven't had this kind of job since I was a girl. The first day my feet nearly gave out but since then it has been fine, although I am tired by the end of the day. My knees aren't what they once were but bending and standing has got to be good for them, seems to me. <br />
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It has been an eye opener to talk to the owner and realize just how close the profit margin lies. A theft here or there (and it happens, sadly), small by most anyone's standards, can wipe out her entire profit for a day. People don't realize. <br />
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The customers have been a delight. It is so much fun to see people come in smiling and enjoying themselves, often in semi-large groups or with a daughter or girlfriend. This is the sort of stop ladies include when they plan a day out with the girls, treating themselves to lunch, pedicure, etc. Nice! On a regular basis, you hear snippets about the sadness they might have going on in their lives - an ailing mother or husband; problems with a daughter; a son in trouble with the law; a grandchild caught in a custody fight, etc. But the LQS is a place they come to leave that behind for a bit and recharge their batteries. My very favorite is when a mother and daughter/two sisters come in who genuinely like each other. So much laughter and affection! I figure the mental health benefits of working with happy people, coupled with the physical exercise of being on my feet instead of, ahem, constantly in front of the computer, will pay off in health benefits no matter that the pay barely covers the price of gas to get there and back.<br />
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Over the Labor Day weekend, someone broke in by throwing a large rock through the front door. They destroyed the cash registers to get the money and broke the lock on a storage cabinet, but didn't touch the fabric (are you SERIOUS???). They left video equipment, a credit card left by a customer, an ipad and a laptop. Go figure. Although the front door was smashed, they took the trouble to relock the stubborn back door when they left. Their take ended up being just over $200.00 and the owner had to replace the two cash registers and the door. She also opted to contract with a security service. Cost of doing business, unfortunately.<br />
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Pearly is doing moderately well, these days. In August, she started getting stains under both eyes, for no apparent reason. The eye doctor shrugged - no answers there but he wasn't concerned. Then, she had a flare of her auto-immune disease when she was on 5mg of oral prednisone, daily, so the eye doctor increased her drops. Within about ten days, her eyes had quieted back down so they reduced her oral prednisone to 2.5mg, daily. For a few days, her eyes stayed very quiet but then, the little turd ate a dead toad and vomited for two days. We believe she threw up all her medicine at least one day and perhaps two. At any rate, her eyes went buggy although they didn't get red and angry looking. The photo above is what she looked like. It didn't seem to affect her vision and she has been in great spirits. Her very high spirits have all but made up for the bad parts! I fretted a bit but the internist said to keep her on the same dosage of oral prednisone. After about three days, her eyes settled back down and look close to normal, again. <br />
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They are still a little buggy but vastly improved from even two days ago. Sometimes I wonder if this will ever end - will she ever get well or, for that matter, will she just go blind and the battle will be over? God forbid. We'll keep fighting for her sight. So far, she's winning.<br />
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Evelyn went back to the doctor to have her thyroid tested after being on medication for a couple of months. It was WAY high so they reduced her dosage to 0.5 mg, twice daily. She's looking fantastic and the bald spots continue to be fill in. Moreover, her coat - brittle, yellow, broken and dry not too long ago - feels so soft!<br />
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Awhile back, I bought some OSU fabric thinking that I might make some pajama pants for my youngest daughter whose husband graduated from Oklahoma State. I changed my mind and decided to use it in a medium sized lap quilt for a friend who is a big OSU sports fan. I'm making my favorite - pineapple blocks using the OSU fabric and a variety of blacks and whites. Still have a ways to go but here are some of the blocks, in progress:<br />
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It has been a quiet draw down to summer in these parts. The daffy weather from the past few years has affected other parts of the country more than us, at least this year. We still struggle with extreme drought but the farmers tell me it was forecast two years ago so I can't say it was unexpected. With any luck, we'll start to pull out of this dry cycle, this fall. Fingers crossed! We actually broke a decades long record for a low temperature, yesterday morning. Now, if the rains will just show up...<br />
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Happy Quilting,
Penny, Evelyn and PearlLady Beekeeperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10972692199686815560noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73733781599400422.post-69119281190230828722012-08-17T19:48:00.000-05:002012-08-17T19:54:40.453-05:00Blank Slate<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I've spent a couple of days out in the studio doodling on a whole cloth quilting sampler and found it to be very therapeutic. There's something to be said for starting out with a blank slate - be it fabric, a canvas, an empty room or an empty life - and spending the time and effort to make it into something fundamentally changed by your touch. A blank canvas gives you freedom to make your own choices and not be forced to work around the mistakes that came before. But it also means any mistakes you make can't be hidden. Glory or shame, it's all yours. <br />
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I was working on muscle memory and plan to use the quilt as a sampler for quilting stitches. Here are a few photos:<br />
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In contrast to a blank slate, starting out with a canvas that is already covered with scars, scribbles, rub marks and tears allows you to use those attributes to make the "finished" result interesting - sometimes even stunning. In fact, most painters put down a layer or two of gobbly gook to make the painting on top show richness and texture. For that matter, what is a pieced or appliqued quilt but a bunch of torn up pieces of fabric stitched together so that they are much more interesting than when they started? <br />
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As for a life, what person beyond the age of reason doesn't contain wounds and scars that come from broken hearts, tears of joy and sorrow, rejection, victory, satisfaction and angst? But how can any stellar life be built on anything but the folds and creases that represent experience, hard work, hard knocks, sacrifice and faith?<br />
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I'm toying with the notion of creating a quilt to enter in the IMQA show that is to be held in Wichita, Kansas, next year. Wichita is only about three hours away so it would be a shame to not attend and I have until nearly May to create an entry. The theme, this year, is Dreamcatcher so although it is surely a cliche, I think I will practice making some background fillers in a dreamcatcher design. The feathers for a dreamcatcher don't really look like the traditional Victorian feathers quilters so often use and certainly don't flow the same way. But they tend to use circles (pearls or bubbles) and I am a big fan of circles in background fillers. <br />
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I found quite a few designs on a google search and also discovered there are millions of photos of dreamcatcher tats. Here's an example of a drawing:<br />
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I have an idea for the quilt roughly sketched out on my sketchbook but am sure it will go through a zillion morphs while I work with how I want the light to flow and figure out what I can accomplish and what I can't. <br />
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Today, I agreed to work in one of the local quilt shops a couple of days a week and am both excited and nervous about it. I've been on high center for quite some time on working and haven't wanted to dress up, go to a high pressure interview, get the resume just right, try to wow the interviewers and then worry that if I end up getting the job, I will have to stay there at least five years even if I hate it. The legal community is a small one and you don't want to be flaky. <br />
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No surprise, I guess, this was a completely different experience from looking for a lawyer job. Obviously, it doesn't pay anything like a law job but she already knew me, read my cover letter, scanned the application, stuck out her hand and asked me when I could start. I mean, this was so refreshing. I've been dreading looking for a job because I am used to interviews lasting over a period of weeks, waiting to hear if they want to interview you, dressing up for several levels of interviews, studying their business and relevant law so I can ask intelligent questions, and then worrying they'll actually offer me the job in case I end up hating it. <br />
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This job is flexible, only 1-2 days a week and I get a discount on fabric, books and patterns. More importantly, I will get to be around fabric, quilts and other quilters. I don't have to be there until 10:00 so the typical lawyer job of rolling out of bed at 5:30 a.m. to take a shower and squeeze into hose and heels so I can be out the door within an hour, with or without coffee, won't be part of the equation. Instead, I'll still be able to guiltlessly stay up late the night before; have my coffee on the patio in the morning with Mr. Wonderful; wear real clothes instead of a court costume; and skip the rush hour traffic. I actually always really enjoyed working with the law and loved going to court - but I sure like the idea of working in a place where people come to relax instead of places, like court, where people's lives are being torn apart and they are terrified, furious and confused. <br />
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I went to a local quilt show, today, and saw a lot of pretties. I am always delighted to see local talent and happy that regular people get to strut their stuff:<br />
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This is hand quilted and PERFECT:<br />
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I loved the masculine looking backquilting in the center:<br />
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And before my daughter brains me for being a sexist (which, okay, I can be), masculine looking back quilting is just a descriptive term denoting sharp points or quilting that otherwise lacks curves. I do think the above quilter's decision to combine victorian feathers with the sharp points is unusual. <br />
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The more I looked at this one, the more I found to applaud:<br />
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I really liked this one:<br />
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This was cute:<br />
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This was a kit and I normally am not a big kit fan - but I thought it was gorgeous:<br />
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I think the quilting is beautiful and if you look close, the daisies are covered with cross stitch:<br />
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I've said this, before, but I'll repeat myself: I am not a huge fan of the look of a digitized quilting. It is "too" perfect. I realize I may be coming from the direction of a freehand quilter but that is just my reaction. I suppose when people started machine quilting, a lot of the traditional hand quilters felt much the same way. And I am well aware that someone can take a so-so quilt top to someone with a computerized quilting machine and for a very reasonable price, get a knock your socks off result. I certainly understand why they would do that - it makes perfect sense. And it makes even more sense when you consider that for roughly the same price, you might get a freehand quilter whose skill level is not really all that good so you get a so so quilt top with a so so quilting job. <br />
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But I still find myself glossing over quilts that have been quilted by computer even though I know there is a lot more to it than just turning on the machine. When I see a custom freehand quilting job that is spectacular, ahhhhhh - that is what rings my bell. <br />
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Beautiful hand quilting just makes me feel inadequate.<br />
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Pearly's eyes look great and she feels great but the skin right beneath her eyes, i.e., where the drops drip, smells bad and is starting to act like she has irritated skin beneath the hair. I've sent photos to the eye doctor and hope they have an idea of how to deal with it, next week. Through all of this, you wouldn't know she was on so many drops and then, practically overnight, both eyes did this:<br />
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Mr. Wonderful treated it with peroxide and did an eye wash so we shall see if that helps over the weekend. <br />
<br />Off to have my nightly glass of wine. <br />
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Happy Quilting,
Penny, Evelyn and PearlLady Beekeeperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10972692199686815560noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73733781599400422.post-47266647623091167692012-08-10T16:00:00.001-05:002012-08-10T16:01:29.516-05:00Hot Fun in the Summertime<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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So, ahem, August is half gone and I've not checked in since May. Nothing has been keeping me away, unless it is the convenience and mindlessness of posting on Facebook instead of making the effort to create a blog post. Something sad about that, maybe. Maybe not. Maybe spending time on the computer, either way, is a stupid way to spend our limited time on the planet.<br />
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Not withstanding the drought that has been so awful for farmers, ranchers and people who survive by working with the earth and sky, it has been a heavenly summer, from my perspective. To my surprise, the older I get, the less I mind the heat so long as I can come inside from time to time to cool off. I used to see the baking late July/August heat as something to be endured, avoided, cussed and defeated. These days, despite the string of particularly hot, dry summers, I find myself outside much more often, marveling at how stupendously our semi-arid acclimated plant life and animal life roll with it. As I age, the notion of endurance is becoming a much more appealing trait than just being pretty. <br />
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I was reading, recently, about how people managed to survive the awful heat during the dustbowl and it struck me how things have changed. The practice in sunbelt/snowbelt regions, today, is to create an enclosed, steady temperature, artificial environment so we don't have to adjust to our climate. In terms of energy use, you can't help but cringe at the gluttony and waste involved but it is so commonplace, most of us don't think in those terms. I, personally, tend to take it for granted. The elderly and frail are particularly susceptible to extreme temperatures and thank goodness we have AC for them. And I am not even going to suggest that we don't need furnaces up north (of course, the wintertime, traditionally, is a period when people retreat indoors, sleep longer, have shorter days, rely on blankets rather than central heat, etc.). But, fact is, for most of human history, we didn't have AC and still managed to adjust, in various climates. Strong people did, anyway. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir_ZFhWgNCAVJH7LukJjNi2Z3J3x8U5zYIEK23OfgksMA6h1ISq-ttFnK_B3BmcU53CNiM981EHNFfvJIRB7LSnTc5gwMyQDOeYcWZAIZ96D62oDwnUdD3GKy3c0OAZZpwHvo_yg4yyzxs/s1600/IMG_0004+(640x427).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir_ZFhWgNCAVJH7LukJjNi2Z3J3x8U5zYIEK23OfgksMA6h1ISq-ttFnK_B3BmcU53CNiM981EHNFfvJIRB7LSnTc5gwMyQDOeYcWZAIZ96D62oDwnUdD3GKy3c0OAZZpwHvo_yg4yyzxs/s640/IMG_0004+(640x427).jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
I am beginning to wonder if reliance on AC may be one of the single biggest things that has severed modern man from his previous intimate relationship with the earth and understanding of the rhythms of life (artificial light would be another such contributing invention). I've read some people - even the nonreligious - claim that man creates his own environment so he is not like other animals. Candidly, I don't believe that. I think we are simply taking man away from the natural world, locking him inside buildings away from the natural stimulus and rhythm of life, and that there will be a price paid for that, down the road.<br />
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In contrast to modern times, during the scorching thirties, people would often sleep outside on porches, often on the west side of the house so that they could take advantage of the cooler morning temperatures for longer, more restful sleep. They'd regularly wet down their sheets (and clothes) to cool off. On the one hand, that strikes me as barbaric. To be so desperate to be cool that you wet down your sheets seems nearly unbearable - and pretty gross. <br />
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And yet - on the other hand, it actually seems sort of sensible. <br />
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Why try to create an energy guzzling artificially controlled indoor environment multiplied by millions upon millions of households when you can work <em>with </em>your climate in small ways - like a wet shirt or towel? It isn't that a wet towel or sheet doesn't work (because it does) that horrifies me. I think what really is mind bending is that we have become so accustomed to living in controlled environments that we are horrified that perfectly reasonable, environmentally friendly solutions which<em> actually work</em> would be necessary in the first place. It is telling, to me, that most of us think being hot or cold or uncomfortable is unnatural. But, actually, it isn't. It is the opposite of unnatural. We can rail against it or we can shrug and say, "HEY, it's summer/it's winter."<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqN17HwljS0lVBuWaSIiSp2lhAeLmEmYo2DATm1GEJq4OD8t-yTJMHqASgESFvlClpyq1b3WWXx9MmLB4IqdILtJOwLs5h5laDYGqwt5bC6VmDxkZ_W9W3DAqF8_2akWweDuObJR-4gTvg/s1600/IMG_0410+%2528640x501%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqN17HwljS0lVBuWaSIiSp2lhAeLmEmYo2DATm1GEJq4OD8t-yTJMHqASgESFvlClpyq1b3WWXx9MmLB4IqdILtJOwLs5h5laDYGqwt5bC6VmDxkZ_W9W3DAqF8_2akWweDuObJR-4gTvg/s640/IMG_0410+%2528640x501%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
I'm learning the same thing about my health - sometimes, a cool rag on the forehead is a much better remedy for a headache than popping a pill. We keep trying to get ahead of, and control, relatively minor discomfort instead of just treating the symptoms or ignoring harmless and minor aches and pains. And in doing so, I think we are being less and less adaptable and resilient. It isn't that I am against modern medicine - not by a long shot. But I am starting to be a bit troubled at the lengths we go to keep from experiencing lowlevel, common effects of life, weather, age, etc. And at my age, I speak, primarily, for myself. The new aches and pains seem "wrong" if I decide they are. But most of the time, they're not. And there is nothing less conducive to peace of mind than to be of a notion that things are not as they are supposed to be. Sometimes, the cure is worse than the problem it is supposed to solve.<br />
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As an early morning riser who heads straight for the backdoor with my coffee - and straight to bed from sitting on my patio in the evening - I notice there is an enormous difference in rhythm of life when you live outdoors vs. what we typically do, today. For example, I can set my thermometer to a steady 73 degrees, stay indoors, stay up late reading, squint at the sun from within the house, windows firmly closed, and look forward to the day when the outside temperature drops - <em><strong>not so much because it will make me more comfortable, but because the electric bill will be lower</strong></em>. It is as if I am working very hard to shut out the changing seasons of life other than what I see outside my window. And, frankly, much of the time, the curtains are closed. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoseE4nr31zYvOU0T1NUP7pnA3QXlCjc56srbVg8wDBXyAhbcv-ii7Wytu8tz78E7QePjKVLX8wV5ZONe3WtyZGRzNlnM89S7MLpKDn1ZapbBCV7EAYbhxvNxMaWvD9E6KLQUfAICf8Mtw/s1600/IMG_0426+%2528640x427%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoseE4nr31zYvOU0T1NUP7pnA3QXlCjc56srbVg8wDBXyAhbcv-ii7Wytu8tz78E7QePjKVLX8wV5ZONe3WtyZGRzNlnM89S7MLpKDn1ZapbBCV7EAYbhxvNxMaWvD9E6KLQUfAICf8Mtw/s640/IMG_0426+%2528640x427%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
Contrast that to the pre AC days when people often suffered during the day, their misery increasing as the sun rose and positively baking until the sun set. And they may have been hot but they didn't waste much time worrying about it or thinking it was somehow "wrong." It's hot in the summer, after all. <br />
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And yet. I know from staying outdoors in the morning and evening that the moving air from natural breezes is healing. There is a world of difference, comfort wise, between 72 degrees in the still, indoor air vs. 72 degrees in the living breezes, outside. <br />
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Being outdoors makes us much more aware of creatures that share this earth at a level we would never achieve from television or a book. Being outside connects us to the earth and nature in a way we simply can't accomplish locked indoors. And the more I am outdoors, the less it seems uncomfortable, at least in the range of temperature that isn't death defying even when it is far outside the 72 - 73 degrees we've become used to. I mean, if you have a breeze, it is quite comfortable ten degrees higher. And if you have a sweater, it is perfectly comfortable fifteen degrees lower. And yet, in that range, we frequently run our AC full throttle and huddle indoors.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjONBk3YKRwIgKENRza4hyphenhyphend8xQdBzrZ1y2BDip2Qa_B-iSovsj73cOxNAasPVynizRw5Fhfxo5Ey-YDw0EYWTRHLU83ev_l8dBNB1PXJZ5BJXv5H4IhU4Lp80fdZx-1k5vfzh00z0g3Z4RS/s1600/IMG_0533+%2528640x427%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjONBk3YKRwIgKENRza4hyphenhyphend8xQdBzrZ1y2BDip2Qa_B-iSovsj73cOxNAasPVynizRw5Fhfxo5Ey-YDw0EYWTRHLU83ev_l8dBNB1PXJZ5BJXv5H4IhU4Lp80fdZx-1k5vfzh00z0g3Z4RS/s640/IMG_0533+%2528640x427%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
Back in the days of the Great Depression, someone sleeping on the west side porch would surely endure brutally hot summer days, but chances are, as compared to their modern day sisters sleeping under the AC with the windows firmly locked against the oppressive heat, they would actually end up sleeping (for a few hours, anyway) in cooler, often 60 something degree night temperatures with a light breeze and the steady, white noise of the cicadas. And lack of restful sleep is one of the biggest woes of modern man. <br />
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But let me just say this - I keep on the AC. I have big fluffy dogs not meant for this climate and a husband who loves the AC. And just last week, we set an all time high temperature of 113 degrees and it only got down to 82 degrees at night. That was brutal during the afternoon. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_k-SVXi8V-CxVWRtX25QNeBLPtOWJkUBdPJc7qzAiBx2DQnVOHwlLog12Ci4mCAT-m79l_yOQUSSR2eeJ3NGYefSdGwNeJZKtr53FOKlq1zI-et-iqvHuzpEkdUDqZoRvorEXUaM9WPP-/s1600/IMG_0073.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_k-SVXi8V-CxVWRtX25QNeBLPtOWJkUBdPJc7qzAiBx2DQnVOHwlLog12Ci4mCAT-m79l_yOQUSSR2eeJ3NGYefSdGwNeJZKtr53FOKlq1zI-et-iqvHuzpEkdUDqZoRvorEXUaM9WPP-/s640/IMG_0073.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
But if it were just me? Most of the time, even this time of year, it may not even get to 100 degrees and it frequently dips to the sixties, at night. As I get older, I can't help but wonder if the millions upon millions of people creating these controlled environments and retreating from the natural world is pure insanity on several levels. And the really crazy part of it is the mindlessness of it. I'll find myself still running the AC clear into October when the temperature isn't even getting out of the 80's and it is sometimes in the forties, at night. It won't run, nonstop, of course, but as long as the AC is on, there is a tendency to stay indoors as if outside is as dangerous as it is in early August, windows shut and and AC making sure we keep at a steady 73 degrees in case it - heaven forbid - creeps up to 75 at mid day - and even nuttier, we don't open the windows and let in fresh air BECAUSE the AC is on. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6PU8ZXXccRJES-BC8KTcX7LXpR6wrddWh96kneApPYfX_sD2hYRorxXYnihOgDFv60fKgNGZf2XxdMc0aBKr931c_JqIa-PXRrAj9Ytk7VkM0yH7CYHiPWIMkj1mOxl4oMJdQWoZGLJJ7/s1600/IMG_0121+%2528640x427%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6PU8ZXXccRJES-BC8KTcX7LXpR6wrddWh96kneApPYfX_sD2hYRorxXYnihOgDFv60fKgNGZf2XxdMc0aBKr931c_JqIa-PXRrAj9Ytk7VkM0yH7CYHiPWIMkj1mOxl4oMJdQWoZGLJJ7/s640/IMG_0121+%2528640x427%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
Pearly continues to do well with the auto-immune problem that attacked her eyes. She is on 5mg of oral prednisone, daily, and 50mg of azathioprine on alternative days. She also takes several eye drops, twice daily. She seems to have all her vision back, her eyes are quiet and since we dropped down to the latest prednisone dose, her tail hasn't stopped wagging. Last month, the eye doctor checked her out and was absolutely delighted. She goes back to the internist in a couple of weeks and will have more labwork done. If all goes well, they may reduce her prednisone, further. I hate prednisone but it is a wonder drug. <br />
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Evelyn has also had some health issues. About three years ago, her coat started getting brittle and she stopped blowing her coat. A year or so ago, she developed bald patches on her hips and a nearly bald, dinner plate size spot on her right side. The skin, beneath, turned thick and black. Around Christmas, I took her to the vet and had her thyroid checked but it came back normal. Her skin was not infected, thank goodness. We put her on thyroid medicine, regardless, but after four months saw no improvement so took her off. Then, in June, I took her in for an upset stomach and the substitute vet took one look at her and ordered a Free T-4 test that they sent out to another lab. That does a more thorough job of checking her thyroid function. Sure enough, she had very low thyroid function so they put her on a dosage more than twice what we'd tried, before. In about three weeks, I started seeing dramatic changes in her coat and energy level. She started blowing her coat and the bald spots looked even more bare.<br />
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The following photo were taken that shows the dark pigmented spot on her side. The hips were worse:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguXHqFT9hpKoME6udhL5BUhGeqmqoykbLn6iZ3Vvx8-BeC71GrKnpK026MTqzm3Ei8LdVW0KO0yLfcgXw3OKZk2ydh7zBrb4cxE940-Urqc-XE54PZVe_zOAp9gNkEuXp7MH2rM-ARoQd2/s1600/IMG_0099+(640x427).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguXHqFT9hpKoME6udhL5BUhGeqmqoykbLn6iZ3Vvx8-BeC71GrKnpK026MTqzm3Ei8LdVW0KO0yLfcgXw3OKZk2ydh7zBrb4cxE940-Urqc-XE54PZVe_zOAp9gNkEuXp7MH2rM-ARoQd2/s640/IMG_0099+(640x427).jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Here, you can see the pigmentation getting lighter but she still has sort of nasty, matted hair that just wouldn't let loose. I couldn't wash it out or brush it out without hurting her - it clung to her like glue:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1Us7jcqkrL8OxmaOooA35KMzrZ9kTspwsQiZNeO-uVTXzZCI5y178-CY-hOC_l0mf2TauX6oFCNQqMNiv0Ot1Cc2N1poNKRWMLQgki5u6cOdV-__yCeaYEBiHshFk6_DWy11XvssVBJHC/s1600/IMG_0087+(640x427).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1Us7jcqkrL8OxmaOooA35KMzrZ9kTspwsQiZNeO-uVTXzZCI5y178-CY-hOC_l0mf2TauX6oFCNQqMNiv0Ot1Cc2N1poNKRWMLQgki5u6cOdV-__yCeaYEBiHshFk6_DWy11XvssVBJHC/s640/IMG_0087+(640x427).jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
A week or so, later, I could see the pigmentation lightening up, her hair started blowing out all over her body and she began getting baby guard hairs. I could finally brush the coat and tease out some of the mats: <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDcb5JIiSFqlqCsxxgxKxHVYsEuHZ4db8l06YYNEE-gyfu0ZPivlXgCdq3ABY6tdRN_iAbCQF4OiWQiirsbhvsZzxSAgEKHpUD_BpvxU9k4YwwgHVmXG0MlXI9CC5imxu81aS77on6cxyB/s1600/IMG_0023.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDcb5JIiSFqlqCsxxgxKxHVYsEuHZ4db8l06YYNEE-gyfu0ZPivlXgCdq3ABY6tdRN_iAbCQF4OiWQiirsbhvsZzxSAgEKHpUD_BpvxU9k4YwwgHVmXG0MlXI9CC5imxu81aS77on6cxyB/s640/IMG_0023.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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After 8 weeks, I can see baby undercoat coming in and the spots seem to be filling in. These photos were taken a couple of days ago:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7RQPAlSppKLPq1jHowcg7F13AD32aOWzCh-MTeIHUGe2PixQOpbcTAMmT2FaFBtt0AeTNHNXqm4fWVSBFihCXUuOzUf7YiMBtrEJqCw7C6bq0YV_OC-VON5wqUnM4ASkFGhd9JEd7A4Kz/s1600/IMG_0047Evelyn+(640x427).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7RQPAlSppKLPq1jHowcg7F13AD32aOWzCh-MTeIHUGe2PixQOpbcTAMmT2FaFBtt0AeTNHNXqm4fWVSBFihCXUuOzUf7YiMBtrEJqCw7C6bq0YV_OC-VON5wqUnM4ASkFGhd9JEd7A4Kz/s640/IMG_0047Evelyn+(640x427).jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
The skin has gone from tough, black and thick to pink spotted and thinnish. The new guard hairs are getting more mature and the undercoat is filling in. She is blowing out her coat in areas she hasn't, in years, so we are very pleased. Mr. Wonderful got two full handfuls of hair off her JAWS, earlier this week. She goes back for a recheck in another month. <br />
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Grandson Charlie and his family braved the record breaking summer heat and visited last weekend:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNtFOkebdD_QLAE9wIFXbY4vPuvjatCg0BPWfZOuNsyaHcM_b8B5ySgC0pckM5HH8HIzb5NMlcxUavA01jzXFOTeH5ppL7d21KFr7IzFyLVnn89D7oTIL-r1GhhRkUA5Y16KJzx_l9hWZ3/s1600/IMG_0014Charlie.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="484" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNtFOkebdD_QLAE9wIFXbY4vPuvjatCg0BPWfZOuNsyaHcM_b8B5ySgC0pckM5HH8HIzb5NMlcxUavA01jzXFOTeH5ppL7d21KFr7IzFyLVnn89D7oTIL-r1GhhRkUA5Y16KJzx_l9hWZ3/s640/IMG_0014Charlie.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
Okay, is he not a living doll? He is starting to talk and at one point wanted me to look at something so he shouted with exasperation, "GRANDMA!!" I thought to myself, "That sounds just like he said Grandma!." My husband was standing there and, without prompting said, "Well, that was certainly clear." Since I am a long distance grandma, I think it was all the more thrilling. My son is such a love - he often facetimes during the week just so I can watch my grandson grow. <br />
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I've been working on a number of quilting projects - some I can show and some are "secret." <br />
Here are a few I can share:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk28kS8fD_qhylgdtVb0vzWRNW4ACaGCYkms2cQzDEidbQDfwxIh8l5Bxa0eOBGpzRte5jH-iUGm1p7UdNJgWEUL4s_alaHX8XJr5s-ScgMomm7OT44KyUOS0xZt_pnNHdIYMxPHgR3xAC/s1600/IMG_0098+%2528640x427%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk28kS8fD_qhylgdtVb0vzWRNW4ACaGCYkms2cQzDEidbQDfwxIh8l5Bxa0eOBGpzRte5jH-iUGm1p7UdNJgWEUL4s_alaHX8XJr5s-ScgMomm7OT44KyUOS0xZt_pnNHdIYMxPHgR3xAC/s640/IMG_0098+%2528640x427%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNKF1yzOyPaEoMPiDjpBdlY_CJtX2RyoFamQv_64ueWGcYzg69ZSnu7fzAkfcp8NW_g2DX-xttbmBpshSnqAZKiA-OKxQD8120L2BbXF7mnWV6kMG8A6kkPH6mmiZrfnyKg8dqgbXO8jIM/s1600/IMG_0002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNKF1yzOyPaEoMPiDjpBdlY_CJtX2RyoFamQv_64ueWGcYzg69ZSnu7fzAkfcp8NW_g2DX-xttbmBpshSnqAZKiA-OKxQD8120L2BbXF7mnWV6kMG8A6kkPH6mmiZrfnyKg8dqgbXO8jIM/s640/IMG_0002.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Here are a couple of wallhangings I'm pretty pleased with:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg35LEZh_ZQ5TQxhhyDi6M6LjRG_DNaKAFEQ7JfJABcVLSMWNByMdtgmi4usSHlWOXZy35Ldp_VeTW9UZLy_7WoYhfu9t0REMz7HwWKltpGAhOEhnkwVK4u_wgsGBLAGGP0qBZLmQnp0SSv/s1600/IMG_0021+%2528640x427%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg35LEZh_ZQ5TQxhhyDi6M6LjRG_DNaKAFEQ7JfJABcVLSMWNByMdtgmi4usSHlWOXZy35Ldp_VeTW9UZLy_7WoYhfu9t0REMz7HwWKltpGAhOEhnkwVK4u_wgsGBLAGGP0qBZLmQnp0SSv/s640/IMG_0021+%2528640x427%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
I wanted to focus on the summer sun in the one, above.<br />
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I then made a sister wallhanging for autumn, using the same general design but the tree is bigger because I wanted to focus on that and the fall color. Here is a photo before I bound it:<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVNYP6CJVFBzlQx1EHV0mEJwRdoGiHkWeDp1jWkDM0C6ncBQIt6AcVV5ORuTKjW6pff3jI7qKIePfjBXEsY0pJTe3PsgR5fFfA4PmOgi038ukj6Ss76e7nitGF6SP29IgzztwfVZb1_AgG/s1600/IMG_0578g+%2528640x427%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVNYP6CJVFBzlQx1EHV0mEJwRdoGiHkWeDp1jWkDM0C6ncBQIt6AcVV5ORuTKjW6pff3jI7qKIePfjBXEsY0pJTe3PsgR5fFfA4PmOgi038ukj6Ss76e7nitGF6SP29IgzztwfVZb1_AgG/s640/IMG_0578g+%2528640x427%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
My next design in that series - although I haven't started it, yet - is going to be a leafless tree, bent in the winter wind, perhaps at night with stars. I haven't sketched out my ideas, yet. Now that I've figured out machine applique and fusing (always felt that was cheating, before), it has opened up a whole new world in art quilting.<br />
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I'm planning on doing a few more baby quilts in the next few months. I'm also just about decided to take in longarm quilting, professionally. <br />
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Stay cool.<br />
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Happy Quilting,
Penny, Evelyn and PearlyLady Beekeeperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10972692199686815560noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73733781599400422.post-92230012552722375422012-05-18T22:48:00.001-05:002012-08-10T16:01:04.887-05:00Finishing Quilts - On a Roll<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOhUwfuDm4_kI42EZlzh3KKa1w2GIblvLOKhAxrBMvGBcMW-_oOdSCI1X3Je4GQ9BdOIVvI450W1BFvJiFXctPE74kJsmyt61bW5CD6aMqN4cWx91F1JnFRFYr8XpoL9IbVanSgkZuppKf/s1600/IMG_0625Pearly+%2528640x427%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOhUwfuDm4_kI42EZlzh3KKa1w2GIblvLOKhAxrBMvGBcMW-_oOdSCI1X3Je4GQ9BdOIVvI450W1BFvJiFXctPE74kJsmyt61bW5CD6aMqN4cWx91F1JnFRFYr8XpoL9IbVanSgkZuppKf/s640/IMG_0625Pearly+%2528640x427%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
I've been so efficient on finishing quilting projects in the past month that I've amazed myself. In the past, I've blogged that I HATE hand stitching on binding and would rather stick the needle in my eye. And it is still nearly true but I finally figured out that if I go to the "sit and sew" down at the quilt shop on Wednesdays, I will sit still long enough to actually bind my quilts. So that is what I've been doing for most of the past few Wednesdays. <br />
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I finished Katie and Chris' wedding quilt, first:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-kJPvcMMkkOXnMaR2uJ3Ltn3fs1OKWfX70ga9_9_KqR1iVkC8h-uio_OUuNjf6V3xas9tWOXgmEMpAnnrs9fzAE69ChyVNBR2_bzuTVzDt_DhmSDrKqX098pLUOW8hOuxOy_9pvChitJn/s1600/IMG_0599+(640x427).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-kJPvcMMkkOXnMaR2uJ3Ltn3fs1OKWfX70ga9_9_KqR1iVkC8h-uio_OUuNjf6V3xas9tWOXgmEMpAnnrs9fzAE69ChyVNBR2_bzuTVzDt_DhmSDrKqX098pLUOW8hOuxOy_9pvChitJn/s640/IMG_0599+(640x427).jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
I used a pineapple pattern that I got out of a McCalls Quilting magazine in 2004 (it may have been 2005). <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmA32bIGbrqSV3UF_cdVnEJJ7VABsWuKojThfF9zhLsmXcDHbUbGNITjbd7kKQ0eS838OyXYUC7jxb1dtx4p_1stANePw9UARES2SJNCZi6hyphenhyphenkux1FbcraTiZDxE17xGolTNFPe4DqzRZv/s1600/IMG_0656Pearly+(640x427).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmA32bIGbrqSV3UF_cdVnEJJ7VABsWuKojThfF9zhLsmXcDHbUbGNITjbd7kKQ0eS838OyXYUC7jxb1dtx4p_1stANePw9UARES2SJNCZi6hyphenhyphenkux1FbcraTiZDxE17xGolTNFPe4DqzRZv/s640/IMG_0656Pearly+(640x427).jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
Ahem, they wed in 2007 and the top was about half done at that time. I finished the top, last year and just now got around to binding it. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI5IeyZj0RnUQHBuu0jBH7vnCD3ew2dq1cjmJQJq5h01DACvG-KutA1vygMRYG6e4vNSdUqDGvhu5PbSvpkFWxOnyi0W7pzfb58O_2QhQOZd_OL5Ayo_agIDJtVZQegAEs_58zHqImfkdi/s1600/IMG_0664Pearly+on+the+quilt+(640x427).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI5IeyZj0RnUQHBuu0jBH7vnCD3ew2dq1cjmJQJq5h01DACvG-KutA1vygMRYG6e4vNSdUqDGvhu5PbSvpkFWxOnyi0W7pzfb58O_2QhQOZd_OL5Ayo_agIDJtVZQegAEs_58zHqImfkdi/s640/IMG_0664Pearly+on+the+quilt+(640x427).jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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So after I managed to finish it, I couldn't wait to get Windy's quilt done. It is smaller and went a lot faster - here it is:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidi_9mTbLZfzmjNf1vFB-rWqojxr1du_19yJGqODFmRVKPOHR0wG9Pgrkqdh0CY418yX9ZD8gEL-u_12tMd0TVqBs8w-qipbFSkWzm9Ed0lPKJ4zE6ctRN8vSrNmR6mXpBLafDH7TSdOr6/s1600/IMG_0010+(640x427).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidi_9mTbLZfzmjNf1vFB-rWqojxr1du_19yJGqODFmRVKPOHR0wG9Pgrkqdh0CY418yX9ZD8gEL-u_12tMd0TVqBs8w-qipbFSkWzm9Ed0lPKJ4zE6ctRN8vSrNmR6mXpBLafDH7TSdOr6/s640/IMG_0010+(640x427).jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
I was pretty happy with the quilting. This was a fun quilt to make and super easy - it is a picket fence traditional block. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2YoFMnZPSPG05694WFREbd_VsAyZXrcIT92NpgsrCQg6IPXvONVcFiwxOS-lDV7IdxJMF4eDcqvz04Xb_lVgWHz_Bu7O_Zgl25cYMNnKtP1gGMn0i7j9Xk-Vz91CeBMZ6pwEHssUJ7669/s1600/IMG_0006+(640x427).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2YoFMnZPSPG05694WFREbd_VsAyZXrcIT92NpgsrCQg6IPXvONVcFiwxOS-lDV7IdxJMF4eDcqvz04Xb_lVgWHz_Bu7O_Zgl25cYMNnKtP1gGMn0i7j9Xk-Vz91CeBMZ6pwEHssUJ7669/s640/IMG_0006+(640x427).jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyTpu3OyFKhp6x0Bv6cPyLAnKMCBVSjfx4-Tl5NfTwBUGNZv3TQ6lzzTJNmoG_OejIDMvsFkCOao7a5mP8sMPRSk8Tl61hhxsBhjmZdsQUmsPrCzXryxQ4sMqLwx71OvpS0Pyn49BRebIX/s1600/IMG_0023+(640x427).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyTpu3OyFKhp6x0Bv6cPyLAnKMCBVSjfx4-Tl5NfTwBUGNZv3TQ6lzzTJNmoG_OejIDMvsFkCOao7a5mP8sMPRSk8Tl61hhxsBhjmZdsQUmsPrCzXryxQ4sMqLwx71OvpS0Pyn49BRebIX/s640/IMG_0023+(640x427).jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
Then, I quilted my 911 quilt that is intended for our bed:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMw3R8Fl-NWAkxEjPAR1T8jzTpaYN6MUcFaQlVZuMh_hl7zN64zkist0FoE4y8MwTWt0UTPUq15qilbk2lGNmLfo0K3d-I-g7usayxOMJhBNPhVRdmexVJSuez6fLrb1jvhdF3jJWj-cqH/s1600/IMG_0004+(640x427).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMw3R8Fl-NWAkxEjPAR1T8jzTpaYN6MUcFaQlVZuMh_hl7zN64zkist0FoE4y8MwTWt0UTPUq15qilbk2lGNmLfo0K3d-I-g7usayxOMJhBNPhVRdmexVJSuez6fLrb1jvhdF3jJWj-cqH/s640/IMG_0004+(640x427).jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
Honestly, I had the most fun quilting this quilt. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5sJ7W84iSWurP0a58loSRvmP6s1lCN2Wzi-AGfhtwSZ0JoxRteGmPT_bAfxTU7OWiGHEAkLIrJ3hVfos6wY_jIrLv502KOVzUeEAoaIpd60Qz9j41BQ7oF1Xg4juwu_m_Iqw_e5hubMup/s1600/IMG_0018+(640x427).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5sJ7W84iSWurP0a58loSRvmP6s1lCN2Wzi-AGfhtwSZ0JoxRteGmPT_bAfxTU7OWiGHEAkLIrJ3hVfos6wY_jIrLv502KOVzUeEAoaIpd60Qz9j41BQ7oF1Xg4juwu_m_Iqw_e5hubMup/s640/IMG_0018+(640x427).jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
I used Carol Doak's paper piecing stars book for the block patterns.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6Gy2Z_2cp-TD5TXKMwCqcuHjryxFp6fBzeIqenfk__0UMuPj0W-hkus-sC4y7Fpgk6H76fDdQucR_P6ueEInEROG815F9QBMp1PSEBS5EVrf7x4RBOgXJyMAzT8FfGpcEz8i-ZuZQyGH4/s1600/IMG_0035+(640x427).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6Gy2Z_2cp-TD5TXKMwCqcuHjryxFp6fBzeIqenfk__0UMuPj0W-hkus-sC4y7Fpgk6H76fDdQucR_P6ueEInEROG815F9QBMp1PSEBS5EVrf7x4RBOgXJyMAzT8FfGpcEz8i-ZuZQyGH4/s640/IMG_0035+(640x427).jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEPC_51ZAu2Y1dYZmtZNGY3T-tUtJlad5Hnr__Cu_gV3uaRkwdunmuj8OZDtwJROSDqZucZDQKYOLFmXkhlxBt_yg114wbRJK5Tc9oVcMalN7tCrKeIGwx_oE8x0pNQ9bDYdNbjBjMf6FH/s1600/IMG_0073+(640x427).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEPC_51ZAu2Y1dYZmtZNGY3T-tUtJlad5Hnr__Cu_gV3uaRkwdunmuj8OZDtwJROSDqZucZDQKYOLFmXkhlxBt_yg114wbRJK5Tc9oVcMalN7tCrKeIGwx_oE8x0pNQ9bDYdNbjBjMf6FH/s640/IMG_0073+(640x427).jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
See the hearts in the background?:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWN4ankDeQUxuKHKEP3TUjY7gYv53T6eB2qZNGgK5wzxfmRfHtrv3Wvr0ucKHNY95ZcoHoCQPCMPNQM_OcG6iAGbhSAdelkG1vVwQqzjASO_M5hG1UZl6ou2Y31mXqUMIiUWYpY2xdETjw/s1600/IMG_0047+(640x427).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWN4ankDeQUxuKHKEP3TUjY7gYv53T6eB2qZNGgK5wzxfmRfHtrv3Wvr0ucKHNY95ZcoHoCQPCMPNQM_OcG6iAGbhSAdelkG1vVwQqzjASO_M5hG1UZl6ou2Y31mXqUMIiUWYpY2xdETjw/s640/IMG_0047+(640x427).jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_FmpGN0viV9X8roJPWJJ9wXXbXrSDEJnvCagwJqcslV9XsH8uf5fs3B85VX4SDBG2oDfqeskn7zmMlYuARhfhJrAJcYJaADe4o4JL2kU8jmHtxcP1UKvRhFRTFHxLltC36SERVbnJgIld/s1600/IMG_0104+(640x427).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_FmpGN0viV9X8roJPWJJ9wXXbXrSDEJnvCagwJqcslV9XsH8uf5fs3B85VX4SDBG2oDfqeskn7zmMlYuARhfhJrAJcYJaADe4o4JL2kU8jmHtxcP1UKvRhFRTFHxLltC36SERVbnJgIld/s640/IMG_0104+(640x427).jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQT0dJYqOEjEema-6ZFm5wab35gvj_B0CNCjlW5R6oPFTKm6xGAJ2UhaN7I1a5n5-w82RahBOKzd_gwlcUmJbBJJpzDvOp9MYTQOMivSHtNFJHg8jB2JHrR8ZFtEcJzqmo1iZjzK4X3XEY/s1600/IMG_0151+(640x427).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQT0dJYqOEjEema-6ZFm5wab35gvj_B0CNCjlW5R6oPFTKm6xGAJ2UhaN7I1a5n5-w82RahBOKzd_gwlcUmJbBJJpzDvOp9MYTQOMivSHtNFJHg8jB2JHrR8ZFtEcJzqmo1iZjzK4X3XEY/s640/IMG_0151+(640x427).jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2Z_hKAStpKo3PBh8HglPxtKnGlQxHSytt1J5-UO6WZew0f_lTf6io0yIBPlNul8Ha9zdU2kT9Scco0LvKPWb1dROHSa-_yOUVI4cnrGb-sDv4aF7tSnys66PNPBXzI1XaX7OWAz3yMwjV/s1600/IMG_0159+(640x427).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2Z_hKAStpKo3PBh8HglPxtKnGlQxHSytt1J5-UO6WZew0f_lTf6io0yIBPlNul8Ha9zdU2kT9Scco0LvKPWb1dROHSa-_yOUVI4cnrGb-sDv4aF7tSnys66PNPBXzI1XaX7OWAz3yMwjV/s640/IMG_0159+(640x427).jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
Here it is after I bound it:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLo7asI3XlacTPVi40Uhhvj3vI83T4nq8H1A2ve2IGNXHni6SKaO02GICblY2zQ6x20zvoJUdjIkkjl4dSyt2fKN1zJMqbw0g0M2aK0VB2fExKOwRIlh75AtnPm3FzIK-h6Kgnmq9xw8iG/s1600/IMG_0028+(427x640).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLo7asI3XlacTPVi40Uhhvj3vI83T4nq8H1A2ve2IGNXHni6SKaO02GICblY2zQ6x20zvoJUdjIkkjl4dSyt2fKN1zJMqbw0g0M2aK0VB2fExKOwRIlh75AtnPm3FzIK-h6Kgnmq9xw8iG/s640/IMG_0028+(427x640).jpg" width="426" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyIqNgqGMY5uT9QzPG8pul1UcCX3FoEx1qt8KXRdCPgNZaN7RL0cOtwPrwBKN4AewnbzDH-siG8X5aslyJR8pu7J52tFDdRCrY2D7ZN8lSdRndqTEM2vi0BFkfBsk2cJKoxfZXdQjdMRDm/s1600/IMG_0069+(640x427).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyIqNgqGMY5uT9QzPG8pul1UcCX3FoEx1qt8KXRdCPgNZaN7RL0cOtwPrwBKN4AewnbzDH-siG8X5aslyJR8pu7J52tFDdRCrY2D7ZN8lSdRndqTEM2vi0BFkfBsk2cJKoxfZXdQjdMRDm/s640/IMG_0069+(640x427).jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Evelyn, my good quilting buddy:<br />
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Here are the girls checking it out:<br />
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So on top of that, I took five 12.5 inch unfinished nine patches that I helped a friend's daughter make about five years ago and tarted them up to make a graduation quilt for her. I haven't quilted it, yet, but it is coming along. It was supposed to be just a lap quilt but it swarmed on me:<br />
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I'd hoped to get it done for her highschool graduation, tomorrow, but it isn't happening. <br />
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Pearly has continued to struggle with her vision problems. She had yet another relapse and lost vision in her right eye. Poor thing. It wasn't as bad as when she went completely blind but it is discouraging. Since I last posted, she's been back to the specialist three times and he has been trying to get it under control with prednisone. He put her on antibiotics earlier this week in case this was an infection. She is actually doing better and seems to have most of her vision back. <br />
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Today, I took her in to see an internist and she confirmed Pearly is struggling with an auto immune problem rather than an infection. She has dealt with dogs like Pearly who just can't seem to be able to keep from relapsing when their oral prednisone is reduced. She put her on a second immune suppression medication to help her keep from flaring as we work down the prednisone doses. Both can cause bad side effects but the prednisone is quite problematic and she will be monitoring her, closely to make sure the new medication is behaving. The hope is that after several months of being stable on a low prednisone maintenance dose, we'll be able to get her medication free. If that doesn't work, at least the prednisone will be low enough to not be so dangerous. So I'm optimistic. The internist, btw, is a quilter!<br />
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It has been an incredibly busy 6 weeks and I could write for hours just hitting the high points. I will leave you with a photo of the surprise I got when I checked on the baby blue birds in our blue bird house, out front:<br />
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Mr. Snake (we think it was a Texas Rat Snake) was quite lumpy when he slithered off.<br />
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Happy Quilting,
Penny, Evelyn and PearlLady Beekeeperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10972692199686815560noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73733781599400422.post-323750275791080522012-04-13T17:41:00.000-05:002012-04-13T17:41:23.446-05:00Pearly Has a Hoodie<br />
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Yes, that was in incredibly poor taste, these days. But sometimes, a hoodie is just a hoodie. <br />
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I managed to finish the shamrock quilt in record time. I did it because I machine stitched the binding instead of hand stitching it. It isn't perfect but it is better than my last machine binding attempt AND it is done!<br />
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Here it is getting ready to be put on the longarm. I am actually fairly amazed at myself. I quilted it in a day and slapped on a binding a couple of days later. <br />
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Here it is, right after I finished quilting it but before I trimmed it up:<br />
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Here is the back:<br />
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This is right after I washed it:<br />
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Pearly:<br />
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Pearly had been doing very well with her eyes but Mr. Wonderful claimed she was looking a little buggy starting a couple of days ago. I couldn't really see it. Yesterday, however, I felt like her eyes were looking a little cloudy even though she was seeing just fine. By last night, the whites of her eyes looked pink. We weren't sure if it was just pollen, which has been heavy, or a relapse. She's relapsed about two weeks after going off the oral prednisone three times, now, and this would be the fourth. The photos in this blog post were taken last night so you can see that it isn't really obvious that things weren't right. <br />
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When we looked at her this morning, the whites of her eyes still looked pink but not as much. Her eyes, however, looked decidedly more swollen and I could see they were getting cloudy and blue. When her eyes get inflamed, the dead cells fill up the cornea making it look bluish. So we called the specialist and they put her back on oral prednisone for the next week. We hate to do it but it is better than the alternative. That was about four hours ago and the whites have already cleared up and the swelling looks to have diminished. I haven't been able to see if her eyes are less cloudy because we are having area thunderstorms and it is hard to see her eyes with lights from the lamp. I wouldn't expect them to clear up for several days, regardless. <br />
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She's such a darling. I am sorry she has to go through this:<br />
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Happy Quilting, Penny, Evelyn and PearlLady Beekeeperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10972692199686815560noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73733781599400422.post-88405077940425214712012-04-09T14:49:00.002-05:002012-04-09T14:53:35.558-05:00Piebald Pearly<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This morning, I finished the Shamrock quilt top and am fairly pleased with how it turned out. It is a really easy pattern.<br />
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The shamrock is just three modified snowball blocks (three corners instead of four). </div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6Oz2TcJNwiICy175FBWc0OuBk_IHp1Cz3G5_9gcQhqUnC8Ja39xRziEumSZLYgAapUU0mkSAy6_z3zRXfUGGfGyKLpcwt6SrV2mQPkk0mcstIvfQjJa4c5j9X5V-FmRLcgQUhLmsnn6Wy/s1600/Shamrock.BMP" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; height: 326px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; width: 556px;"><img border="0" height="400" qda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6Oz2TcJNwiICy175FBWc0OuBk_IHp1Cz3G5_9gcQhqUnC8Ja39xRziEumSZLYgAapUU0mkSAy6_z3zRXfUGGfGyKLpcwt6SrV2mQPkk0mcstIvfQjJa4c5j9X5V-FmRLcgQUhLmsnn6Wy/s400/Shamrock.BMP" width="400" /></a><br />
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The fourth block is the stem.<br />
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These are 4 inch, finished, blocks.<br />
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Pearly grudgingly modeled it once I finished pressing the border seams.<br />
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The border is super simple:<br />
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I think it will look nice once I get it quilted:<br />
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Evelyn helped a bit but this was mainly Pearly's project, this time. </div>
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I went out to the property a couple of days ago to check the trail cam, expecting to find a slew of wildlife photos since it had been out there for over a week. When I walked up to the cam, I could barely see it attached to the tree because the grass and grown up so fast during the week. My first thought was that I wasn't going to get as many photos because the lens was blocked. Still, it would be interesting to watch how fast the grass had grown. Unfortunately, I discovered that I'd not turned it on so I got nuthin.'<br />
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Here's a photo of the horses in the dilapidated barn, next door:<br />
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Bobby's wheat is starting to ripen. It really looks beautiful, in person:<br />
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On the way home, I stopped by this brilliant yellow field. Blessedly, I am not particularly prone to allergies but even my eyes were getting scratchy:<br />
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Another barn I passed:<br />
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This barn is right down the street from the yellow field:<br />
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I think the field is just beautiful but am glad I don't live right next to it:<br />
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When I drive out to our property, I look for this silo and that tells me when to turn north:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEe2ksJqCnxcyhXCkEqwfq0Oui_mxbx-7H4buIcaT3i0q5kThlToToVlUxHsAgwyhGhZQ4ZOf8qr3lttW2OTPcb6Sa9HKPDzvAI_sG5i13BSRNZLynJujpDLpsgqA-uRNZ0qpSJ_cdzlry/s1600/IMG_0777+(640x427).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" qda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEe2ksJqCnxcyhXCkEqwfq0Oui_mxbx-7H4buIcaT3i0q5kThlToToVlUxHsAgwyhGhZQ4ZOf8qr3lttW2OTPcb6Sa9HKPDzvAI_sG5i13BSRNZLynJujpDLpsgqA-uRNZ0qpSJ_cdzlry/s640/IMG_0777+(640x427).jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipnWvlXCDwjbNXTwVHOZSee4XTQQOhwHo3FxDuyMKNGIBK6lmDcRB0eqCmERGxqYKUU_92K_kUIY0oE2bYe_h59M56uQOjPBsVlU0tbUP5SsmDIlck64aIScRg1dmdCUJPQKRXbyxap3R5/s1600/IMG_0914+(640x427).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" qda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipnWvlXCDwjbNXTwVHOZSee4XTQQOhwHo3FxDuyMKNGIBK6lmDcRB0eqCmERGxqYKUU_92K_kUIY0oE2bYe_h59M56uQOjPBsVlU0tbUP5SsmDIlck64aIScRg1dmdCUJPQKRXbyxap3R5/s640/IMG_0914+(640x427).jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
We continue to get amazingly beautiful weather. March, like much of the continental United States, was unseasonably warm but April has gone back to typical high and low temperatures. I was tickled to pieces, this morning, because the first hummingbird showed up at the feeder. It was zooming too fast for me to catch whether it was a Ruby Throated hummingbird or a Black Chinned one. I hope it was a Black Chinned one because they were here, last year, and I got fairly attached to them. <br />
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Off to go look at my fabric and decide on a backing.<br />
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Happy Quilting, Penny, Evelyn and PearlLady Beekeeperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10972692199686815560noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73733781599400422.post-5905845804588048252012-04-06T08:16:00.001-05:002012-04-06T08:16:12.644-05:00Green<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIRQhANz9brLSq-HsMnILsx85Fzdc7P_9V2G5E75lmZN0mMmXOIsRPoUskcioEd-73GXTspdtWIcHNF8hAfTWH9JgqENxii-INaVciRKfaA7vjSAdpHFvTBCMNrnc8Wz6GOkOB6PDRbVD_/s1600/IMG_0356.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" qda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIRQhANz9brLSq-HsMnILsx85Fzdc7P_9V2G5E75lmZN0mMmXOIsRPoUskcioEd-73GXTspdtWIcHNF8hAfTWH9JgqENxii-INaVciRKfaA7vjSAdpHFvTBCMNrnc8Wz6GOkOB6PDRbVD_/s640/IMG_0356.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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I just passed my fifty-fourth birthday and am seeing the greenest spring of my life. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtzlPqNlQck2cmuQupvkhKL8ttDY-MHkXuojfwhmhyphenhyphenWjTENAVJdXb9gmOGtSXJMkY-XISw2WLosW8qCM9dVF1ZEAdQBubY58t5fkdVfrnnaquJeduDVHqX_lrusrUI9biuxCvti1SIJt-q/s1600/IMG_0461green.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" qda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtzlPqNlQck2cmuQupvkhKL8ttDY-MHkXuojfwhmhyphenhyphenWjTENAVJdXb9gmOGtSXJMkY-XISw2WLosW8qCM9dVF1ZEAdQBubY58t5fkdVfrnnaquJeduDVHqX_lrusrUI9biuxCvti1SIJt-q/s640/IMG_0461green.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
The color is just stunning and it stops me in my tracks whenever I step outdoors. Last year's drought was so severe that it makes me wonder if this is our planet's way of fighting back to life. Never bet against Mother Nature in the long run.<br />
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Here's a simple shot out in the pasture:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC39FT-Xcfc98InfoQPbeLYuhdy4NWDRegtG_AuV1FaEK9_LiRC_bJhGzY98B6TfzH4mPc7ARvU76g8PK4oGOqU_C2uXStfHfK6m_ALB6OrjP4uraIYO7CsscefL2aZLGce1EdGI4PlFcY/s1600/IMG_0551.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" qda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC39FT-Xcfc98InfoQPbeLYuhdy4NWDRegtG_AuV1FaEK9_LiRC_bJhGzY98B6TfzH4mPc7ARvU76g8PK4oGOqU_C2uXStfHfK6m_ALB6OrjP4uraIYO7CsscefL2aZLGce1EdGI4PlFcY/s640/IMG_0551.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Another from out at the property:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjceSSlnQOVqgHGH3wsIkNrNQXj2oEORtrh6ciSXjKevmOHIY7bAVM4CPohZ6XU8c9irG1zH11gHj920uThW1CxVW-LRlJ7TuWPNNUjCRKgHr7la9VOfEAKr833gyOnmHK3RWNdmyvVsg-p/s1600/IMG_0528.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" qda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjceSSlnQOVqgHGH3wsIkNrNQXj2oEORtrh6ciSXjKevmOHIY7bAVM4CPohZ6XU8c9irG1zH11gHj920uThW1CxVW-LRlJ7TuWPNNUjCRKgHr7la9VOfEAKr833gyOnmHK3RWNdmyvVsg-p/s640/IMG_0528.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Typical north leading Oklahoma tree:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVz28qzonwpjzey7BlmQjDh5RoWCyHbVadQ3IuktqQpDn64B4atjBMsYT3a2HlmkY73Aeu63y6N_uzKtVtMreXzuxWJT1OKUntTyEvrwRMpRr1jy9v3jjazTWlFkixFiVXDq5arfRf7laq/s1600/IMG_0616.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" qda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVz28qzonwpjzey7BlmQjDh5RoWCyHbVadQ3IuktqQpDn64B4atjBMsYT3a2HlmkY73Aeu63y6N_uzKtVtMreXzuxWJT1OKUntTyEvrwRMpRr1jy9v3jjazTWlFkixFiVXDq5arfRf7laq/s640/IMG_0616.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Madam Jay, in the front yard:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBbDrxM8puJGI4YH0PXMAVLp53MF7BBGeM9zZEwdQ2tBiUulyuVFC6DJ_s4HCweA-6nPOvI8YMzVEVkvTva2D-EZWjdsvrkRM73TOR3bsKZQkYlBmK3Ptyy32PEVM3bTpQOD15nHBIs3Iq/s1600/IMG_0450.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" qda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBbDrxM8puJGI4YH0PXMAVLp53MF7BBGeM9zZEwdQ2tBiUulyuVFC6DJ_s4HCweA-6nPOvI8YMzVEVkvTva2D-EZWjdsvrkRM73TOR3bsKZQkYlBmK3Ptyy32PEVM3bTpQOD15nHBIs3Iq/s640/IMG_0450.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
My pal, Mr. Red Bellied Woodpecker:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjneqSYZrTYbx3gvoTsaqZwKPQd5WynbEy7BAiMB-X5t8VJJAZ-sMvS9-mFj22aAVqfZyrklq0Z2F-Xp5Oa7MCXzn-gGlI2ywO0TFiHw8XZWHkmsy9nN93tRFTOjCQ4y9y6AIeYwljYKHxh/s1600/IMG_1016.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" qda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjneqSYZrTYbx3gvoTsaqZwKPQd5WynbEy7BAiMB-X5t8VJJAZ-sMvS9-mFj22aAVqfZyrklq0Z2F-Xp5Oa7MCXzn-gGlI2ywO0TFiHw8XZWHkmsy9nN93tRFTOjCQ4y9y6AIeYwljYKHxh/s640/IMG_1016.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Two days later - note the difference in the size of the leaves:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivI_LNctd-y0gv9Foo6pIO7tJEWvgpKHxJPxUhWUIoq_B_DQ0Eg18SB0DLl5-GEJgbMUi2vz4v_Dyn7wfxt1BOg5tiEr57qsi8GXDcuaUCW5RppTZfCZFpu6oiZADdqfsJ27Bi0rTGRPTZ/s1600/IMG_0592woodpecker.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" qda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivI_LNctd-y0gv9Foo6pIO7tJEWvgpKHxJPxUhWUIoq_B_DQ0Eg18SB0DLl5-GEJgbMUi2vz4v_Dyn7wfxt1BOg5tiEr57qsi8GXDcuaUCW5RppTZfCZFpu6oiZADdqfsJ27Bi0rTGRPTZ/s640/IMG_0592woodpecker.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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All six of my "baby" Caddo Maples are putting out seeds. How wonderful is that?? Mr. Wonderful plans to collect a few to try to raise. He's done it before and figures he can get them up to about 15 -20 feet, at least, before we croak. Something to remember us by. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUwTiT0V9nTlCN5tmo5lQw9f_92OxKfEzqc6yc3QD8t8z6naSb99qEpoaFvH1BwsesfxSBJl0pwzyMRMakzmCCjP1miTauiUTnlD6_239w5sG6dRECGxOQaeXzbxHyd9PWtb7NHruH9Adq/s1600/IMG_0566.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" qda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUwTiT0V9nTlCN5tmo5lQw9f_92OxKfEzqc6yc3QD8t8z6naSb99qEpoaFvH1BwsesfxSBJl0pwzyMRMakzmCCjP1miTauiUTnlD6_239w5sG6dRECGxOQaeXzbxHyd9PWtb7NHruH9Adq/s640/IMG_0566.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
It is incredible that it is already time to set out the hummingbird feeders:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwnA1Ssh4luFtX267m36guz4dJFuZBwBzkc1-2rh4HqmVTBDcVmCVzUb79v5J147m82VID6ZMWTg1fdyP17S-Aobjkzx-2qGBs-_uX-7VR1t3gM0gPkr5mUtYk50Z_VdRrua2WbMc4ZQFa/s1600/IMG_0637hummingbird.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" qda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwnA1Ssh4luFtX267m36guz4dJFuZBwBzkc1-2rh4HqmVTBDcVmCVzUb79v5J147m82VID6ZMWTg1fdyP17S-Aobjkzx-2qGBs-_uX-7VR1t3gM0gPkr5mUtYk50Z_VdRrua2WbMc4ZQFa/s640/IMG_0637hummingbird.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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The honeysuckle is thick and waiting for them:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1emF5pW7LmEEphA1p04CNKg791CGkrKzgQn5nU-3rTePA9pPe5zHcr-P4XR3hucaLfnvqtGc6IoKBJG3IG9XudcLQuwO3kGRKh9l4q1F7m-ZeMKxcD49LD_nbpHtfZOiohk5h19XaOz3Y/s1600/IMG_0510honeysuckle.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" qda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1emF5pW7LmEEphA1p04CNKg791CGkrKzgQn5nU-3rTePA9pPe5zHcr-P4XR3hucaLfnvqtGc6IoKBJG3IG9XudcLQuwO3kGRKh9l4q1F7m-ZeMKxcD49LD_nbpHtfZOiohk5h19XaOz3Y/s640/IMG_0510honeysuckle.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Chirpie, my little Black Chinned Hummingbird buddy, should be back soon and I can't wait to see him. If he had safe travels and survived the migration to and from Mexico, he should be arriving back to easy street, this week. I put up the feeders about a week early because it has been such a mild spring and I know he'll be hungry when he gets here. </div>
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Yesterday, I saw three Cattle Egrets heading north. I'm not a big fan and am never sorry to see them head out when they migrate in the winter. But welcome back, anyway, I suppose. </div>
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Happily, I also saw a Brown Thrasher, yesterday evening. Brown Thrashers allegedly don't migrate from here but I haven't seen these guys in months although they were active yard singers all last summer. This year, I have a new birdbath and the Brown Thrashers, of all our yard birds, love to bathe. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgWWnVXoLPgnkBeSbbdQfOp4WnDC4Kl_mhdrskF8S7SWo0JnaBTCskgSPPucdMeeBmLoS8ZSlkryeipa4vwe0ie5Rp3tqmxtoa7FcN-GfKxEeV86DXD91bqwRzRHW7DKJC2lhCn2TRox5y/s1600/IMG_0663.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" qda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgWWnVXoLPgnkBeSbbdQfOp4WnDC4Kl_mhdrskF8S7SWo0JnaBTCskgSPPucdMeeBmLoS8ZSlkryeipa4vwe0ie5Rp3tqmxtoa7FcN-GfKxEeV86DXD91bqwRzRHW7DKJC2lhCn2TRox5y/s640/IMG_0663.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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I bought the birdbath, used, off Craig's List. The old man who sold it brought it out to the car on a dolly and helped me to load it in the back. He was a small, thin, shriveled up looking little guy who must have been 85 years old if he was a day. He wore faded jeans and a big lumberjack flannel shirt over a tee shirt even though the day was quite warm. As I looked him over, trying to not be obvious about it, I noticed that the hands that fell out of his sleeves were big and brawny as catcher's mitts. It wasn't that they were arthritic - they weren't. It was just that the bones, themselves were big. I suspect the old man used to be a strapping young stud muffin and the hands are all that are left to tell that secret besides old photographs and ancient memories. And at his age, I imagine most of the memories of his youth held by the ladies have gone silent. </div>
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Despite his age and apparent frailty, he hoisted the heavy concrete base of the bath into the back without complaint or apparent distress/effort. I've learned that if they are moving, these old geezers/geezettes will fool you. They'll keel over if someone sneezes on them but likely work you into the dirt if they've lived that long and are still on their feet. </div>
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The sparrows and bluebirds are already working on their first batch of babies. The four naked baby bluebirds just hatched and the sparrows are working on their broods. Yesterday, I looked in one of the houses that a sparrow took over, and the mama exploded out and hit me in the face. Served me right. I love how deep they build their nests:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc7KNJeiZpMkOELTyGO1PommEUresHKo5Ga0DVepWonyMRtQbD-AcQx2hK9Y0hW3lEJGAUixlItYOfFJj2EWbd685XqsEnRzm2Q4oSzb8RPkPcnUNW0mdB2ZYE9ypNJtrDORaTClTn0TXi/s1600/IMG_0441.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" qda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc7KNJeiZpMkOELTyGO1PommEUresHKo5Ga0DVepWonyMRtQbD-AcQx2hK9Y0hW3lEJGAUixlItYOfFJj2EWbd685XqsEnRzm2Q4oSzb8RPkPcnUNW0mdB2ZYE9ypNJtrDORaTClTn0TXi/s640/IMG_0441.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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All this green inspired me to work on a shamrock lap quilt for Mr. Wonderful's godson/nephew. Nephew is a highschool football coach for the Irish so it seemed appropriate:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW69wfKttKMCa7bzEL0mrP_cboAXfUphpDxf2xpe5UpaHe201auFZ_mCnwbtXA4m4pdbBImATT-OV_U8WeUgNo3PBkDc6HYXskAMry6v5uvW3lqvc2E1LRIxvtA4DvMIEYZy4Unmgb7P1N/s1600/IMG_0647.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" qda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW69wfKttKMCa7bzEL0mrP_cboAXfUphpDxf2xpe5UpaHe201auFZ_mCnwbtXA4m4pdbBImATT-OV_U8WeUgNo3PBkDc6HYXskAMry6v5uvW3lqvc2E1LRIxvtA4DvMIEYZy4Unmgb7P1N/s640/IMG_0647.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Pearly is now completely off the oral prednisone so we are somewhat anxiously waiting to see if she has another relapse. With the first specialist, she twice relapsed within two weeks of being off the oral prednisone and we hope the new specialist has better success. We don't want her to have to go through all that, again. So far, she seems to be doing beautifully and has all her eyesight back. We should have a better idea by the first of May if she is going to do better, this time. </div>
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I've not been out to the property in the few days to check the trail cam but here are a few from the yard at the house:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUI2Np3CpF52EBiqvFUG2MrurpiW84IIKKpuqdDA9UD7V8f8SpL5ZqmRIrgtptijq6VpFlLSgwtY95sLYZxWihbZ0X8Cc_8uDSsSLeCvMpX8YNWj4hfL15aT7JXDxzfnaMBLAlwBXVLbqF/s1600/PICT0162.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" qda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUI2Np3CpF52EBiqvFUG2MrurpiW84IIKKpuqdDA9UD7V8f8SpL5ZqmRIrgtptijq6VpFlLSgwtY95sLYZxWihbZ0X8Cc_8uDSsSLeCvMpX8YNWj4hfL15aT7JXDxzfnaMBLAlwBXVLbqF/s640/PICT0162.JPG" width="544" /></a></div>
We'd just had the yard sprayed for weeds so the grass isn't as green as it would have been, otherwise.<br />
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Three Foot is still in the vicinity.<br />
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As is Blackie, the Fox. We've also seen Whitey around (she has white on her feet).<br />
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Mr. Wonderful is taking me to the <a href="http://museumofosteology.org/">Museum of Osteology</a> as a birthday present. Yes, this is where they make fake skeletons and strip real ones of their flesh, and yes, this is what I asked for! I have a skull I want them to identify for me. </div>
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I hope to finish the Shamrock quilt top, today. I think I might piece the back but haven't made a final decision. </div>
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Happy Quilting, Penny, Evelyn and PearlLady Beekeeperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10972692199686815560noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73733781599400422.post-10731057290663592972012-03-22T10:46:00.002-05:002012-03-22T19:51:11.079-05:00Lessons From a Wheat Farmer<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The better part of a month has gone by and I haven't posted. I thought it would be easy to catch up but when I started to look over some of the photos I've taken, it struck me that I have about a dozen posts screaming to get out and there just isn't room for them. Missed opportunities. <br />
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Spring struck. After a mild winter with only periodic cold spells, the trees began threatening to bud weeks too soon and I worried that even if the precipitation roared back from last year's drought, that a run-of-the-mill hard freeze would dash in and muck up the works.<br />
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Here are the Bradford Pear trees in front of our barn, in full bloom - in February:<br />
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But the concern that winter would come back has passed. We regularly have freezes, even snow, as late as April but I'm not looking for a hard freeze at this point, based on the long range weather forecasts that have us in the 60's, 70's and 80's over the next ten days. Even if the weather turns cold, the ground is warm enough to shrug off the bite. Nope, spring is here for 2012.<br />
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Spring always comes, robust or no, but what has all of us particularly excited is that La Nina seems to have lost her grip on the southern plains section of the country that includes Oklahoma. La Nina, as most of us know, is a recurring weather pattern caused by cooler than average Pacific ocean temperatures off the western coast of South America. A typical result is that our little slice of heaven gets less rain. Without getting too political, no matter what is going on in terms of climate change, you'd still expect to be seeing the La Nina/El Nino patterns. They tell us that last year's drought was caused by a strong La Nina and had been predicting that La Nina would keep her stranglehold on us until about March. Its impact is often strongest in the winter. Happily, it looks like they missed the forecast, at least around here, because we've been in a typical late winter/early spring weather pattern for months. We've gotten abundant rain that has turned the prairie lush and filled the farm ponds that were cracked and dry just a few months ago. And, really, the rains came back last fall so the forecast seems particularly way off. Our rain is actually up from the average. It is still quite warm for this early in the year, at least from time to time, but at least the precipitation is behaving properly.<br />
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I know nothing about wheat farming but we've rented about half our property to Bobby, a wheat farmer and small time cattle rancher, who laid in a crop of winter wheat late last summer in the midst of the drought. Not being a farmer, I was a bit skeptical that it would "work," but was impressed at Bobby's optimism/confidence. He first sprayed an herbicide, in July. He waited several weeks after the neighbors had planted so his crop got a later start. One week in August he told me that he wanted to seed the field but had heard we were due a gully washer and had decided to hold off a week so his seed didn't wash away. Sure enough, we got that gully washer a few days later so I was glad he waited. I've posted some photos of the crop's progress.<br />
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This photo was taken in August, right after Bobby tilled the land in preparation to plant:<br />
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Yuck. I hated the look of a recently plowed, barren field.<br />
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By Mid October, the rains were still holding off. Here is a picture of our run off pond - ugh, the drought was brutal:<br />
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This pond actually shrunk even further, to no more more than a puddle about three foot square. <br />
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Late November 2011, right after the rains came back:<br />
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Do you see the green fields off in the distance? That is on a neighbor's farm who planted earlier than Bobby did.<br />
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Mid December 2011:<br />
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At this point, I really wasn't too impressed, especially when I compared the field to some of the neighbors. Now, if you'd asked me, I'd have told you that I don't know much about farming but that only goes so far to explain my reaction. The fact is, I am an educated gurl and because of that (not in spite of it), sometimes I don't even know what I don't know.<br />
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January 2012:<br />
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Okay. It crosses my mind that Bobby may just end up with no crop. I worry about that. I spent some bit of time wondering about it. I am starting to wonder if there is something wrong with the dirt. I worry that the field doesn't work or something. Maybe it is too dry. Maybe the sporadic rain that came washed away all the seed. Maybe the birds ate all the seed. Maybe the dips in the land (it just looks flat) filled with water and drowned the wheat. Maybe some pesticide someone used was actually an herbicide. Maybe <em><strong>all</strong></em> the plants are going to die or something. Maybe Bobby did it wrong. Maybe someone sabotaged his wheat to drive up demand for their own crop. I often stood and stared at it. Seriously, there was something wrong with that crop. </div>
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(Something wrong with the <em><strong>crop?</strong></em> How about the gurl standing there staring at it???)</div>
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I am an educated gurl. It is part of my training to spot a problem and get to the bottom of it. It's what I do. :)</div>
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Mid February 2012:<br />
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Hmmm. About this time, I start to hope that at least Bobby will get SOMETHING from the field. Alternatively, I am glad to see some plant cover because at least it isn't as ugly. It just seems, to me, that the crop ought to be further along than that. </div>
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February 24, 2012:<br />
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Then, March hits and it is at this point that the magic really begins:<br />
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Over the next few days, I stand and gaze on it - not wondering but, rather, <em><strong>in</strong></em> wonder. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgabTdmwgDpKT0TrmTfHtzss2DzpgzRZ5-z2I2vm9pPLAxi76-3Ls_QFuEss53MeX4bPetU0WgEToRFBGv_wyJVGNAnrWuGU_YYFg_oJY9hBhEpoom8d-TxQS3rbFaNIY0iXgwPw3qMkbJ/s1600/IMG_0001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gea="true" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgabTdmwgDpKT0TrmTfHtzss2DzpgzRZ5-z2I2vm9pPLAxi76-3Ls_QFuEss53MeX4bPetU0WgEToRFBGv_wyJVGNAnrWuGU_YYFg_oJY9hBhEpoom8d-TxQS3rbFaNIY0iXgwPw3qMkbJ/s640/IMG_0001.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
It's just so beautiful. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZnKBHtUB48DFJ0t5zEboh_xW-1c73W79X4ZUIN2IHaBcJknXtgXTkYrYHETI9mH3ZBIoLDwJAVSWWt7iRrVBheLhPHNtiqZmbwvfGfHc_P7zzNlZWQ7PPGNxCxYXWu_ZjzBVvHyK3nlQ8/s1600/IMG_0008winterwheat.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gea="true" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZnKBHtUB48DFJ0t5zEboh_xW-1c73W79X4ZUIN2IHaBcJknXtgXTkYrYHETI9mH3ZBIoLDwJAVSWWt7iRrVBheLhPHNtiqZmbwvfGfHc_P7zzNlZWQ7PPGNxCxYXWu_ZjzBVvHyK3nlQ8/s640/IMG_0008winterwheat.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
The trees begin putting out new growth, in earnest:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBuSrIieJvxf-HOLTTl1QV9lvFv9x37CNpkPa4tg2UXDhsD2X_sUMSfg8CP-o5fPXD5f7DzbHYoeg7tyZJVzgColPk-o9TpUjT6DWHEOd7XsF9wg8nxl9e0HXBsKELNXjfrb266_mKZDPp/s1600/IMG_0013winterwheatandtrees.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gea="true" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBuSrIieJvxf-HOLTTl1QV9lvFv9x37CNpkPa4tg2UXDhsD2X_sUMSfg8CP-o5fPXD5f7DzbHYoeg7tyZJVzgColPk-o9TpUjT6DWHEOd7XsF9wg8nxl9e0HXBsKELNXjfrb266_mKZDPp/s640/IMG_0013winterwheatandtrees.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdvK9pGTBwHn7AETJB1AM4gaSKwIpVjzsWOUZ2T7_ND3axsN1aZZD0mJpS8_QWD1_zL3fLO4L2872T8OOC-C6oh4x-D7WjCvDW3LFXvT2PKgrMNM2XKEgyI7FaZFduNsnfGtM-m-n4ZX_F/s1600/IMG_0188.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gea="true" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdvK9pGTBwHn7AETJB1AM4gaSKwIpVjzsWOUZ2T7_ND3axsN1aZZD0mJpS8_QWD1_zL3fLO4L2872T8OOC-C6oh4x-D7WjCvDW3LFXvT2PKgrMNM2XKEgyI7FaZFduNsnfGtM-m-n4ZX_F/s640/IMG_0188.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
I stand out in the field (being careful to not stomp the plants) and in places, it is thigh high:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP_yUIeCvoD7Yv1pU13KKeeOk3br7Ff7ynAz8y1PBMLKYODxo4Y0QwbKe8-c8gmUuvuV-neNpWqbnMtidnG17R2h0mrUU6v_0vzxsiy8uJTirNQLyK5pKr2F5tEp95H6qEUA-1ccN4sMEk/s1600/IMG_0193.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gea="true" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP_yUIeCvoD7Yv1pU13KKeeOk3br7Ff7ynAz8y1PBMLKYODxo4Y0QwbKe8-c8gmUuvuV-neNpWqbnMtidnG17R2h0mrUU6v_0vzxsiy8uJTirNQLyK5pKr2F5tEp95H6qEUA-1ccN4sMEk/s640/IMG_0193.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP2esP-S0d5_U1i09VbAWtFRng6SSNnDuipJZXreiSBz6bWv8ouSWrJdE4aCI-Fcb9tSLVKCGV292U1x1hcpLcJLC-PrnyrypVQfTey_mrjmzHZEuV-nNVzvIhWy4qd4VjTeV_74V8gQAJ/s1600/IMG_0204.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gea="true" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP2esP-S0d5_U1i09VbAWtFRng6SSNnDuipJZXreiSBz6bWv8ouSWrJdE4aCI-Fcb9tSLVKCGV292U1x1hcpLcJLC-PrnyrypVQfTey_mrjmzHZEuV-nNVzvIhWy4qd4VjTeV_74V8gQAJ/s640/IMG_0204.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Having now been educated about things common people have known for thousands of years, I will never look at a recently plowed and planted field the same way I once did. A recently planted field is just Mother Nature's early baby bump but I was too ignorant/arrogant to realize it. </div>
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Evelyn turned seven on March 14th:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx7Rw-NgluLf673P8Yku-VwulUofCX7OxKA1zXHEHntHixeo8v49vOQd1et9XoxSjWRp98jOSc6C57GCoMGMf5YuPpxcPZoFC16BhpgXAJj-03WkryHM7vfN03cGnt2lQpN2O4ZtMSs06Y/s1600/IMG_0185Evelyn.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gea="true" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx7Rw-NgluLf673P8Yku-VwulUofCX7OxKA1zXHEHntHixeo8v49vOQd1et9XoxSjWRp98jOSc6C57GCoMGMf5YuPpxcPZoFC16BhpgXAJj-03WkryHM7vfN03cGnt2lQpN2O4ZtMSs06Y/s640/IMG_0185Evelyn.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Pearly is continuing to heal:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivuzofK7MuLzwWiojTetvEmEUz-b9Ww2FJmv3DpVeAfTNjf0uhu5akaPfdpTPPeBaayF7rdtZ53z5h13PuULyErDHVMHA_ysjywcMfLCDmSptBQKUpd0SMitXkAIXbX5W3qUrZ3Es68bIs/s1600/IMG_0203Pearly.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gea="true" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivuzofK7MuLzwWiojTetvEmEUz-b9Ww2FJmv3DpVeAfTNjf0uhu5akaPfdpTPPeBaayF7rdtZ53z5h13PuULyErDHVMHA_ysjywcMfLCDmSptBQKUpd0SMitXkAIXbX5W3qUrZ3Es68bIs/s640/IMG_0203Pearly.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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She seems to have all her vision back and goes back to the eye specialist, next week. We hope he will decide she is ready to decrease her oral prednisone dosage, further. She'll feel better.</div>
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I've actually been pretty busy working on quilting projects and finished the quilt top on my 9-11 quilt:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOyhHt0v3Lhj7ekYqcbNwbrP0bHIBoNHxzZJzMJjcZOY1WMsBeG2ghHftVB76626lHKxXLuulk-dYVlSh3sWPStE8rgBDxvuvGGwyJ9ZRyiJ2PsZPDhyphenhyphenDWVWLGEWkEkc3e8zQ88JIU0X0n/s1600/IMG_0014.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gea="true" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOyhHt0v3Lhj7ekYqcbNwbrP0bHIBoNHxzZJzMJjcZOY1WMsBeG2ghHftVB76626lHKxXLuulk-dYVlSh3sWPStE8rgBDxvuvGGwyJ9ZRyiJ2PsZPDhyphenhyphenDWVWLGEWkEkc3e8zQ88JIU0X0n/s640/IMG_0014.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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I also started on a new art quilt but haven't gotten too far on it. Here is the inspiration:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaZbBVbuSM4ccSLop3ZNzLG2_JOCGnm7q3phIUImhHgPs5UhM3CRxnFj5AFmGKiJZssxEqxH0orljX4h3sdsWryPOjBjAZOSINd-4fzEFJWJdJV7m9SBwFNYWh9N544Cs7UIQUAoIgvqfw/s1600/IMG_0045.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gea="true" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaZbBVbuSM4ccSLop3ZNzLG2_JOCGnm7q3phIUImhHgPs5UhM3CRxnFj5AFmGKiJZssxEqxH0orljX4h3sdsWryPOjBjAZOSINd-4fzEFJWJdJV7m9SBwFNYWh9N544Cs7UIQUAoIgvqfw/s640/IMG_0045.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Here is a shot, in progress:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgql3EIHSFnK4v_K_YFLro2nup_YvFkDfSKEaKUqGbSvlZ8Q02mlyfCV7W8DgkO4FwE67e-pEtcYqx6uLBzaQ78t-gc7jG-durZxu5U-fn09-aZ1HOaYul3VRSnK7HGPrW-iyiUhMzuGHmX/s1600/IMG_0072.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gea="true" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgql3EIHSFnK4v_K_YFLro2nup_YvFkDfSKEaKUqGbSvlZ8Q02mlyfCV7W8DgkO4FwE67e-pEtcYqx6uLBzaQ78t-gc7jG-durZxu5U-fn09-aZ1HOaYul3VRSnK7HGPrW-iyiUhMzuGHmX/s640/IMG_0072.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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But the big news:</div>
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LOOK AT THIS BABY!!!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi024f1IPeOeR7VPuJuvd9zVcfBPtGGzJg7WFPKc8AyVO0Mn7-aXTthX3JZpTE83J7rKnRvHDf6HQriP9RzGa8pT41tdfc0VTY6Gr7xWmHek7rW-bs75lzxIPd6nOokJB6oJMUEswwp_wDK/s1600/IMG_0008.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gea="true" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi024f1IPeOeR7VPuJuvd9zVcfBPtGGzJg7WFPKc8AyVO0Mn7-aXTthX3JZpTE83J7rKnRvHDf6HQriP9RzGa8pT41tdfc0VTY6Gr7xWmHek7rW-bs75lzxIPd6nOokJB6oJMUEswwp_wDK/s640/IMG_0008.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Yup, I spent last weekend in NYC visiting my kids. As a long distance Grandma, it's so hard to not be there to see Charlie change from day to day. I consider it to be a clear gift from the gods and a reminder that they love me that he started walking within hours of my arrival and I was there to see it!</div>
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One of my girls just got a new apartment in Brooklyn and the girls and I spent the day at her place and in the neighborhood:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghfXC3cR35WuvtTMl1Rq75b6IQOeyL1EJDKjbfzgql8c9iwvSj0RmXdlwZtsNMd6HQ9QaNbZzycP-EYv1956xMwJSp1D7e8ePhew8nym6RObF0yn9Q2U-M3y4GeRFekuEq6oFj6Rwmkdm7/s1600/IMG_0177.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gea="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghfXC3cR35WuvtTMl1Rq75b6IQOeyL1EJDKjbfzgql8c9iwvSj0RmXdlwZtsNMd6HQ9QaNbZzycP-EYv1956xMwJSp1D7e8ePhew8nym6RObF0yn9Q2U-M3y4GeRFekuEq6oFj6Rwmkdm7/s320/IMG_0177.JPG" width="239" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoO7DlN15lLBrGUqnUXyuBVb7jaLP9G7G8OIEB2yxLevFQGmVMZzSlIU3ZzS3U7axXSeDJ6oYTHy_RQmiLdp-qzLV-wbEZhlH23Wph8HQCkva47SSnHNbvyKdR2C4PX-rsmZSfGurM2H3U/s1600/IMG_0186.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gea="true" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoO7DlN15lLBrGUqnUXyuBVb7jaLP9G7G8OIEB2yxLevFQGmVMZzSlIU3ZzS3U7axXSeDJ6oYTHy_RQmiLdp-qzLV-wbEZhlH23Wph8HQCkva47SSnHNbvyKdR2C4PX-rsmZSfGurM2H3U/s320/IMG_0186.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
Here's my boy:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEganAUi4e70iv7M4d19YhvaUQY3o6AMjHrpruQHkuuj34E3smE_Q-5vndBdJqnE8i_v4h41c7O4gsKbIRLRKiBrvW-EXU3HUuE1PSQIPK0t5r4HsKfvvcLggGKCbszA_yXnggzIlf9OHySg/s1600/IMG_0211.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gea="true" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEganAUi4e70iv7M4d19YhvaUQY3o6AMjHrpruQHkuuj34E3smE_Q-5vndBdJqnE8i_v4h41c7O4gsKbIRLRKiBrvW-EXU3HUuE1PSQIPK0t5r4HsKfvvcLggGKCbszA_yXnggzIlf9OHySg/s640/IMG_0211.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Here's the cityscape from my son's apartment:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCM7ldTEJZ5ZxWWPfExhIW2iNOSgvx1lLU8LyjI0nBr-g0e7nSLWfDOsdKAHfWii-iJ7aLQI-afVWPaNFkxC1wZ6ibSITbRfP7tgZtvPwcTllZ6kTC0vkAGJr4KKvp84gj6W4HAmgpLRUF/s1600/IMG_0005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gea="true" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCM7ldTEJZ5ZxWWPfExhIW2iNOSgvx1lLU8LyjI0nBr-g0e7nSLWfDOsdKAHfWii-iJ7aLQI-afVWPaNFkxC1wZ6ibSITbRfP7tgZtvPwcTllZ6kTC0vkAGJr4KKvp84gj6W4HAmgpLRUF/s640/IMG_0005.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Quite a difference from what I'm used to but it's Charlie's home town and has its own charms. During his naps, I took a few walks and found myself desperately seeking out green. I am always charmed by the bits of nature set out by the residents of the City who have a little earth witch in them:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_1TPTqlnE9tW9fwEqMCtc_ZdZoUcujIlaqYeskokOiBVv9YxEk_H4UJSV0SdKtbDfdUXXIgfVCFKzIug43QsbMCnlDWHhfOTCS7jwMTFg6RwucM-hMX726Y5cf_QIuHT9futSde72hSHc/s1600/IMG_0180.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gea="true" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_1TPTqlnE9tW9fwEqMCtc_ZdZoUcujIlaqYeskokOiBVv9YxEk_H4UJSV0SdKtbDfdUXXIgfVCFKzIug43QsbMCnlDWHhfOTCS7jwMTFg6RwucM-hMX726Y5cf_QIuHT9futSde72hSHc/s640/IMG_0180.JPG" width="426" /></a></div>
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The person who set out the following had good intentions but I'm not sure about that plant on the right:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm-Y47rvQm0Qw8HZYNYH2g8oyQCe47O_pU8eB9cV9x1naBV14EVvzLYhk3sm2-7CT0E4tV4ycYoLDMHk0H2VO75u5OJAx9nu6yZnbyJ114sNrmESNNFYuesf0hbA4dTWxlFiVHkpnbMCQ9/s1600/IMG_0185.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gea="true" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm-Y47rvQm0Qw8HZYNYH2g8oyQCe47O_pU8eB9cV9x1naBV14EVvzLYhk3sm2-7CT0E4tV4ycYoLDMHk0H2VO75u5OJAx9nu6yZnbyJ114sNrmESNNFYuesf0hbA4dTWxlFiVHkpnbMCQ9/s640/IMG_0185.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8rFUpMBSUzFvIARIjEvrFKRSTa7bVfaaGrAwbBRcxZQvmJGhq8MQeKRiWJMhYq8nqf3rlstB9bTwG_AXP0Oh_ZZdw3Yc7lWwJR7gzCeMeWjBKGuJ4H-CQW0fel9aW5WJ_OyCkDPok4z3g/s1600/IMG_0183.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gea="true" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8rFUpMBSUzFvIARIjEvrFKRSTa7bVfaaGrAwbBRcxZQvmJGhq8MQeKRiWJMhYq8nqf3rlstB9bTwG_AXP0Oh_ZZdw3Yc7lWwJR7gzCeMeWjBKGuJ4H-CQW0fel9aW5WJ_OyCkDPok4z3g/s640/IMG_0183.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Seriously, your typical earth witch has as much business spending sustained lengths of time in a large city as a water witch in the desert. :)<br />
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I loved the following photo:<br />
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I relate to that dog. And with my expanding girth, I also could pass for a not-so-distant relative. <br />
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NYC is filled with people who love their dogs:<br />
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Right before I visited, I attended a seminar on urban forestry. That made it doubly hard to see some of the older trees in NYC stunted and struggling to escape their concrete and metal cages:<br />
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Overall, however, I am always so impressed at how high a priority New Yorkers have placed on trying to incorporate parks and trees in their city.<br />
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They continue to add green places throughout the city. <br />
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I was already missing Charlie and the kids before I ever left Newark, Monday night. <br />
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While I was gone, we got over 3.75 inches of rain. I promptly headed out to the property to recharge my earth batteries and here are a few photos:<br />
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The previous photo is one of our ponds. It is so foggy it is hard to see but no question, the rains have replenished it. <br />
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Life is everywhere. <br />
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I'd set up the trail cam while I was gone so that it looked at what I thought might be a coyote burrow. Sure enough:<br />
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Anyway, good to be home and feeling blessed to have been able to see my family. <br />
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Happy Quilting, Penny, Evelyn and PearlLady Beekeeperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10972692199686815560noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73733781599400422.post-13480658909824599802012-03-01T12:34:00.000-06:002012-03-01T14:04:43.186-06:00Battle of the Washita<br />
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Yesterday, I drove out to western Oklahoma in my shirtsleeves to hike in the spring-like weather. I've been planning to spend a day out at the <a href="http://www.forestcamping.com/dow/southwst/bkinfo.htm">Black Kettle National Grasslands</a>, which is just this side of the Oklahoma/Texas Border in one of the areas hardest hit by last year's drought. I'd never been there, before, and wasn't sure exactly what to expect. The Texas border is about a two and a half hour drive from the house. I didn't have to drive as far as the border but since it is north of I-40, it would take about the same length of time to get to the grasslands, assuming I didn't stop along the way. <br />
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I left the house, running late, at 8:30 and drove westward down I-40, passing El Reno, Hinton, Weatherford and Clinton before turning north at Foss. I'd expected to get into rangeland faster than I did and was surprised that they had so much winter wheat that far west. According to the Ag reports I heard on the radio, over 67% of the winter wheat crops are rated as excellent, at this point. So that's fantastic for the farmers who really took a beating, last year.<br />
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They've thrown up wind farms all along the I-40 corridor and I find myself both fascinated and repelled by them. <br />
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From the car, they look like huge, silent sentinels and I find myself wanting to equate them with the traditional windmills that dot the plains that I find so charming. I tell myself that they are merely an extension of what hardy pioneer folk used and that they are making clean, efficient use of environmentally safe energy that we have in abundance in that part of the country. I tell myself that they have their own beauty and that they fit the plains in a near perfect match up of man's energy needs and the environment. I want to find an intellectual place where I can view them, accurately, in a sort of romantic haze - but so far, I can't.<br />
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I have a love/hate relationship with them, actually. I nearly wreck my car because I can hardly look away. They draw my eye to the point where it is easy to miss the splendor that is the big sky. Although they seem silent, to me, as I drive along the interstate and see them on the plains, I know quite a few people who live near them and they hate them. They claim they are loud and that the sound is simply never ending. It isn't like the ebb and flow of the wind, which is as natural as the ocean waves. And. unfortunately, the constant, pulsating drone isn't something you can look away from. They claim the sound creeps into their homes night and day, taking away their sense of being comfortable on their land - as if industry is shoving its way into their bedrooms and back porches. A quick google search of wind farm noise comes up with many hits on the subject. Not only do many people claim to be sickened by it - headaches, lack of sleep, for example - there are reports of animals also being harmed, birth defects, etc., likely caused by stress. Anyone who ever spent any time researching animal habitat knows this isn't something minor - for people or other animals. <br />
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People tend to be adaptable, like coyotes, and it might not oppressively bother city folk used to constant man made sound and who have made peace with it, but to those folk who aren't at home in the city and who, to find peace, need to escape the jarring clangs and crashes that accompany living in a human anthill, it is a significant step towards destroying their habitat. <br />
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As I sped down the interstate, the big mills give me something interesting to look at. But I am very sorry that the people who are least prone to embracing noise are the ones who tend to be affected. Although I personally think they are somewhat beautiful, I don't believe I could stand being around them for any length of time. </div>
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I turned north at Foss and stopped by the Foss State Park Visitor's Center. I don't believe there are friendlier people, anywhere, than the ones who work at these types of places. While there, I saw "Snowball," a rare, white tailed deer with a white coat who died at about age six when she was struck by a car:</div>
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The average lifespan in the wild of a White Tailed deer is only about 4-5 years (although they can live more than 15 years in captivity) so I guess she had a good run.<br />
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After I left the Visitor's Center, I continued on north over the dam. The dam was fairly high up, overlooking the lake. While driving, a gorgeous Bald Eagle with an enormous wingspan glided alongside the car, not ten feet from the driver's side window. It was so close I could easily see his eye. I couldn't take a photo but it was a wonderful twenty second or so experience that felt like we were flying, together.<br />
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Eventually, I made my way to the Washita Battle Field, just west of Cheyenne, Oklahoma.<br />
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Most Oklahomans are vaguely familiar with the Battle on the Washita but for those who aren't, it was a battle (many call a massacre) between General George Custer and his 7th Calvary, and primarily the Southern Cheyennes who were part of Black Kettle's tribe and who were in their winter camp.<br />
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A little background:<br />
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Whites and Indians had been feuding for many decades leading up to the Civil War. As more and more settlers pushed west, the government negotiated to grant land on the Great Plains to the Native Americans, a "solution" that often failed to take into account that not all Indians were alike and that some were much more warlike than others. And a lot of them didn't like each other. Many of the eastern Indians pushed west (or south) ended up in constant war with other Native Americans and many of them also were battling the white settlers. Leading up to the Civil War, the government began a policy of putting Indians on reservations to make room for whites.<br />
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With the army tied down with their battles back east during the Civil War, many Plains Indians were better able to strike back at settlers who were crossing and settling on their traditional hunting grounds and/or the land promised to them by the government. During this time, the number of white settlers increased because many were fleeing the south and east to start a new life after their old life had been decimated by war. In many places, the plains ran red with the blood of red and white people and a reading of much of the savagery that took place is not for the fainthearted. <br />
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In Colorado, the war with the Indians reached a fever pitch culminating, in 1864, in the Massacre at Sand Creek where the military attacked a peaceful Cheyenne camp and engaged in wholesale slaughter and mutilation of men, women and children. As it turned out, many of the chiefs murdered at Sand Creek had been espousing peace with the whites. The stories that come out of the Massacre of Sand Creek would make any person with a heart weep and any American hang their head in shame. Black Kettle, a chief who had been urging cooperation, flew the American flag outside his tee pee in an attempt to show the soldiers that they were peaceful. What ended up happening was that when he and his wife eventually tried to escape the slaughter, the soldiers shot her nine times. Seeing that she still lived, he threw her over his shoulder and raced away. Later, he dug out all nine bullets and she survived. <br />
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After Sand Creek, many of the younger warriors in all the plains tribes couldn't be held back by their older chiefs. In retaliation, they engaged in numerous brutal raids against settlers that included acts of slaughter, torture, brutal rape, mutilation, and kidnapping of women and children. Sand Creek didn't start these tactics but it escalated them among bands from tribes that historically didn't engage in such acts.<br />
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Following the Civil War, the victorious Union Army turned its eye westward and used its formidable organization to subdue the Plains Indians, once and for all. Their strategy, at that time, was to send the Indians to reservations in order to keep them separated from white people. Many of the Indians resisted for obvious reasons, and also because they didn't believe it was safe to be placed in the same areas as their traditional Indian enemies. <br />
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Duh.<br />
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The Battle of the Washita, or the Washita Massacre as it is commonly called, was between the United States Army and the Southern Cheyennes whose main chief was the same Black Kettle who had survived Sand Creek. The Army had not been very successful in subduing the Indians in its summer campaigns and decided to attack them at their winter camp along the Washita River. Black Kettle's camp was furthest to the west but a number of other Indian tribes (including additional Cheyennes, Kiowas, Arapahoes and Kiowa-Apaches) had winter villages set up about four miles to the east. <br />
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The Washita River isn't very big in that area. It looks more like a creek:<br />
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In places, I could splash across it in five or six steps and wouldn't get wet past my shins.<br />
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Black Kettle, along with some of the other senior chiefs, had left the camp in the previous week to travel to Fort Cobb to speak to Government officials. He was counseling cooperation with government authorities. In the middle of a strong snowstorm that left about a foot of snow, he returned to his village on November 26th. Unfortunately, the previous day, a number of young warriors had taken it upon themselves to take a war party out to kill, rape and kidnap a group of white settlers, enraging the army. Black Kettle had been warned that the army was coming to their area and he made plans to relocate the camp closer to the other villages to the east, the following morning. Reportedly, his wife, Maiyuna, the one who had been severely injured at Sand Creek, urged them to move that night but her advice was not taken. <br />
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Indian names are always interesting to me and the following names of people involved strike me as particularly beautiful and/intriguing:<br />
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Old Whirlwind<br />
Wolf Looking Back<br />
Cranky Man (A name Mr. Wonderful could adopt, at times)<br />
Magpie<br />
Scabby Man (he sounds like a hottie)<br />
Bear Tongue<br />
Half Leg<br />
Clown<br />
Swift Hawk Lying Down<br />
Little Sage Woman<br />
Little Robe<br />
Spotted Wolf<br />
Big Mouth<br />
Medicine Arrows<br />
Hard Rope<br />
Little Beaver<br />
Red Hair<br />
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The United States 7th Calvary, led by George Custer (who famously left his scalp at the Battle of the Little Bighorn in later years) attacked in the snow on the morning of November 27th, 1868. Some of the Cheyenne villagers managed to escape in time to warn the other Indian tribes to the east but most were gunned down. There doesn't seem to be a consensus on the number of dead due to the way it was counted. Custer said about 103 people were killed but the Indians claimed it was far less. Custer had some Osage scouts and he blamed most of the indiscriminate slaughter on them rather than the regular soldiers. Many women and children were captured and the other tribes stood impotently on the red hills overlooking the grassy valley watching them, afraid to attack for fear that they would be harmed if they did. <br />
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Following the massacre, Custer had over 600 Indian ponies slaughtered as part of a "scorched earth" strategy. They couldn't control the horses and didn't want to abandon them when other warriors were in the vicinity and would surely round them up. The death of the ponies, in full view of the women and children, was particularly horrific because they were so much a part of their culture. It also enraged the warriors on the surrounding hilltops who could do nothing to stop it. <br />
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One of Custer's men, Major Joel Elliot, became separated from the main group while chasing some escaping Cheyennes. He was attacked by bands of warriors from the eastern villages and all of his men were slaughtered. Their bodies were mutilated by the women. There was some discussion that Custer had abandoned Elliot to his fate although he could hear the battle going on, but that was not proven. At one point, it was touch and go as to whether Custer's troops would be able to hold out against the other Indians as they were running low on ammunition. More ammunition arrived, however, and they managed to prevail.<br />
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Black Kettle and his wife were both shot down and killed.<br />
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With that horrific story in mind, I was in a contemplative state of mind as I walked through the battlefield that has been so beautifully maintained.<br />
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It is a mixture of tall and short native grasses:<br />
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As I was walking along the trail, I noticed a game trail heading off towards the Wichita so I angled down it to see the water. After strolling along the bank for a few minutes, something bright green caught my eye up ahead and I stopped to look. At first, it looked like a teeshirt hanging on a tree. I walked closer and then stopped dead in my tracks. A tree along the bank was festooned with about ten "shirts" of different colors, including white, red, green, purple and yellow. They hung from the branches and looked, for all the world, like bodies. At that moment, it was as if the world stopped. The wind dropped down to nothing, even the birds seems to stop making bird noises. I felt a strong sense that I was being watched to the point where I almost turned around. I opted to remain still, all the time thinking to myself that only a fool wouldn't look behind her when it seemed like someone was there. I backed up and returned to the trail. Once there, I saw this sign:<br />
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I had not realised that Native Americans sometimes drape prayer cloths on trees as part of their religious ceremonies but the spirit surrounding the tree was certainly strong enough that I was aware that something otherworldly was taking place. I abided by the park's request to not take photos but made my own sketch to try to give a feel for what it looked like:<br />
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I couldn't make it any more distinct - to do that would have made it just look like clothes hanging on a tree and it was much more than that. </div>
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During the rest of my walk, I began noticing tiny bits of cloth tied to tree branches that I'd never noticed, before. It was a powerful reminder that I was walking on sacred ground. Oklahoma has been called the buckle on the bible belt but anyone who thinks there isn't room for deep spiritual beliefs outside the Christian faith hasn't spent much time walking its lands. </div>
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I thoroughly loved the walk out west but was thrilled to get home to Mr. Wonderful and the Girls. Pearly, by the way, had a VERY good check up on Tuesday and the specialist said that although she could have a relapse (although she might not) that her condition was treatable and since she responds so well with medication, she should be fine. She doesn't have to go back for another month. </div>
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Happy Quilting, Penny, Evelyn and PearlLady Beekeeperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10972692199686815560noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73733781599400422.post-75876386908836124742012-02-27T11:55:00.002-06:002012-02-27T20:17:46.920-06:00Owls, Foxes, Bouncing and the War Between the Sexes<br />
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We almost always have a "spring thaw" in the third or fourth week of February and this year is no different other than it has been such a mild winter that it isn't as obvious.<br />
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Our Bradford Pear trees are aching to bud and the birds are getting positively flirty. It is mating/nesting season for the owls and I typically manage to flush them from the Cedars when I go out to the property while I'm clumsily attempting stealth. I am sure they don't appreciate the intrusion and I always feel a combination of exhilaration to see them, coupled with shame like I'd accidentally stumbled into their occupied bedroom. <br />
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Based on what I see on my <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2ddiYuveew&list=UUSnNvy7GMn50RJpT3YjFVGg&index=6&feature=plcp">trail cams</a>, I've about decided that Owls and Foxes have some sort of special connection that the foxes, at least, aren't happy about. I've seen Owls dive bomb the foxes and the foxes regularly are anxiously looking skyward at "something" that in the night, I can only think must be an owl. Moreover, from time to time I see owls on the ground munching on the fox bait I set out. Their facial expressions are harder to read - more alien - than the angst I can see on the foxes, but I get the impression that they aren't that worried about some ridiculous fox sneaking up on them and giving them trouble. Until I thought about it, I never really realized that Owls are such predators that own the night. They are Bad Asses. <br />
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As a human, I never really worry too much about wild creatures giving me trouble. We are at the top of the food chain and other than a bison (that isn't going to eat us even if it does choose to run over us, assuming we are idiotic enough to give him the opportunity), not too many healthy wild things in this neck of the woods want to tangle with us. I feel as though I've been born into some sort of protected royalty because I can assure you, it isn't based on merit. If a bunny decided to give me a hard time, I'd likely be toast. And, yes, I would run from an angry duck. Sadly, the waddling beastie could surely catch me. <br />
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Still, I am not complaining since it gives me the freedom to explore and, well, be free. Being female all my life, I am used to being prey and avoiding dark alleys, advertising when I am home alone, drinking too much liquor without a sober chaperone, and associating with any hulking human male I don't know well. No, it isn't fair but try telling that to the monster in human form who decides to take advantage. Interestingly, the perfectly civilized male doesn't seem too offended when he is tarred with the same brush. More likely, when confronted with a wary female, their response is to nod approvingly.<br />
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It is an odd thing, seems to me, that the only predators I reasonably need to worry about live more in the city and less in the "wilderness." And like the owls that like to roll the foxes, it isn't about survival when they decide to be a bully. They aren't looking for a relationship. They aren't trying to propagate the species. They are mean for their own amusement. <br />
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Interestingly, to me, is that the ones most worried with the possibility that I might run afoul of an aggressive, savage human male typically aren't other females who you would think would be the most concerned and on guard. In my experience, it is the males in my life most concerned when I wander into areas that might be risky. In truth, it makes me feel a bit unsettled that men who I absolutely know would never harm a female are, without fail, fairly convinced that other men will. In my youth, I would discount their concerns (as a woman, I know best, after all) but I've about decided they probably are in a better position to know things about men I don't so I take heed. At least more than I did when I was younger. <br />
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In the same vein, if I want to know the measure of a man, I trust the judgment of other men whose opinion has held up over time. Women, in my experience, typically are way too complicated and make too many allowances for their men. We might say he has been "hurt" before and that is why he treats women badly. Men will snort and announce that their brother is just a jerk - and they are generally on the money.<br />
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Like most of us, I've been raised in a culture that discounts men's intuition and instincts. The pendulum swung way back from the old, "It's a man's world" that our great grandmothers lived in. While there is absolutely no substitute for female intuition (a gift from the goddess that we too often ignore), it makes no sense, to me, to disregard and dismiss the strong instincts of men. Both sexes managed to survive to this point and they didn't do it by being clueless or riding on the coat tails of the other [superior] gender. <br />
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The rogue cows are back. I went out to the property a few days ago and they brazenly stared at me. As I drew closer, they whirled around and took off. There isn't that much woodland on the property but they still managed to hide from me - and that is a bit unsettling. I mean, these aren't squirrels. They take up space and there were a lot of them. I told the guy who farms part of the property that cows were loose on it. He said he'd tell the owner (everyone out there knows everyone) but, apparently, no one cares about the cows but me. The fence where they get in is still down and the cows act like they own the place:<br />
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Pearly is doing much better and goes back to the specialist in the morning.<br />
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She has decided she can no longer jump on the bed and Mr. Wonderful and I are debating why this is so. He thinks she's just lost her confidence because she tried and failed so many times when her vision was gone. I think that is part of it but I also think she is heavier (from the cookies she gets when she takes her medicine/eye drops) and her liver has swollen from the prednisone so she is less physically able. She tried to jump up a couple of days ago and cried out, pitifully. Mr. Wonderful thought she was just frustrated but I think it actually hurt. Fortunately, she is on a reduced oral prednisone dose and the liver should start shrinking. Her state of mind, happily, is very upbeat. Not that you can tell that from the above photo.<br />
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Mr. Wonderful's great, great nephew is due to be born a couple of weeks so I made a quick baby quilt:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisELget7vdzXpQDUvRzwBtoZxrKo4ZpBzJcfI58SnWorKu_bwOtkUSGaYmLjjtnOIVYxu6ir-BWgJEXB3n-AqLlcEUuFKuJSWkTX0dwJkIL17SlCJ50IBOyJbttMiDDS4k0GC4FNcbrvIc/s1600/IMG_0113.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisELget7vdzXpQDUvRzwBtoZxrKo4ZpBzJcfI58SnWorKu_bwOtkUSGaYmLjjtnOIVYxu6ir-BWgJEXB3n-AqLlcEUuFKuJSWkTX0dwJkIL17SlCJ50IBOyJbttMiDDS4k0GC4FNcbrvIc/s640/IMG_0113.JPG" width="640" yda="true" /></a></div>
The back:<br />
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It is a very simple quilting design and the above photo was taken before I washed it. It shrunk up in the washer/dryer and I am really pleased with how it made the quilting pop. Plus, it pulled up any loose stitching, which hides a multitude of sins. </div>
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I'd made the nine patches a few years ago and had about thirty of different colors left. On the right side of this blog is a photo of the Amish Nine Patch that used nine patches I made at the same time. Moreover, back in Virginia, I'd ordered the purple and blue swirled material, online, and never could figure what I wanted to do with it. I liked how it went with the nine patches once I added some purple. Here it is before I quilted it:<br />
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It didn't take long to make and since I birthed it (stitched it and turned it inside out), I didn't have to put on a hateful binding. Ugh, I hate doing that. I was really pleased with how it turned out. <br />
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I periodically move around furniture and, usually, it raises my spirits as much as a new coat of paint, box of chocolate or falling in love (not that I really like to compare furniture moving to new love although there are some similarities). I've moved around my sewing room so many times that I've about run out of new arrangements. Most recently, I've had a good sized kitchen table in the center where I kept my house sewing machine (vs. the one in the studio) and cutting mat. Off to the side, I had a relatively heavy 2 x 4 foot card table that I put my ironing board pad on that was raised to waist level.<br />
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I decided the cutting table was too low so I hoisted up the kitchen table to make it waist high. I moved my sewing machine to the 2 x 4 card table and the ironing pad to the lifted kitchen table. Okay, so it looked better but when I tried to stitch, the card table bounced. I am not having a sewing table that bounces. I have a hard enough time keeping my seams straight.<br />
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Mr. Wonderful was busy listening to Youtube Squidbillies (don't ask) and not particularly pleased that I interrupted to announce that the sewing table bounced. Knowing him the way I do, I apologized for interrupting and breezily announced that I was going out to the barn to find something to make a table. <br />
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Trust me, this lit a fire under him. I could go into the weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth that goes along with someone intruding on his workshop but suffice it to say that after an initial period of panic (you'd think I was going to go through his workshop with the safety switched off a flame thrower), he immediately found a Singer sewing machine base and agreed to trim an old piece of laminated blue countertop we had sitting around:<br />
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No bouncing!! <br />
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Sometimes, falling in love and furniture moving are one and the same. <br />
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Happy Quilting, Penny, Evelyn and PearlLady Beekeeperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10972692199686815560noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73733781599400422.post-43728661166076528402012-02-18T22:04:00.000-06:002012-02-18T22:05:58.579-06:00A Bad Time for Pearly<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It has been a difficult few weeks for Pearly and I've held off on posting. Initially, it was because I was so concerned, but more recently, we've had company and I've had a head cold. <br />
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You may recall that Pearly was diagnosed with Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, last November, and that after it was apparently cured, she had a relapse at Christmas time. The specialist released her on January 9th and we were optimistic that she would be fine. When I last posted about Pearly, in mid January, she was showing a little redness in her eyes but I hoped we were on top of that by giving her prednisone drops. Not so. Within a couple of days, her eyes were clearly on a steep downhill slide so we took her back to the specialist on January 23rd. She was quite unhappy that Pearly had had a second significant relapse. She put her on a month's worth of antibiotics, "to try to buy us more time between relapses." Relapses go with Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever.<br />
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Don't look if you are squeamish:<br />
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We set a recheck for a week later, February 6th, and by that time, Pearly was a complete mess. Her eyes were swollen like little grapefruit, they were blood red and she was all but blind. It was horrible. The specialist put her back on oral prednisone to try to bring down the inflammation. I asked her, point blank, what the strategy was on her treatment and what we could expect. She told me that she'd suspected from the beginning that Pearly would eventually lose her sight to secondary glaucoma due to repeated relapses, and she simply didn't have any other ideas on how to stop them from occurring. I was stunned because that was the first time I'd been told that her vision was in serious danger at being lost, permanently. Moreover, to hear her say that she simply didn't know how to help her was rather shocking. I mean, it is one thing for someone to tell you that there is no hope. It is another to have them tell you that they simply don't know what to do. Both are hard to hear. <br />
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The specialist offered to recommend someone so that we could get a second opinion and we set up an appointment to see him the following morning, which was a Tuesday. I was out of my mind with grief. I read up on secondary glaucoma and learned it was extremely painful and that the eyes often had to be removed. That night, while she was out in the yard, Mr. Wonderful looked at her eyes with his flashlight and nothing shone back. Evelyn's eyes glowed. Pearly's were just dark. I was just this side of a meltdown. <br />
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The next morning, February 7th, Pearly woke up and couldn't see, at all. Her tail was down and she moved at a hunched over crawl as if the world was going to buck her off. She got lost in the corner and was on the edge of complete panic. The look of fear and confusion in her swollen eyes, clouded over and bluish white was horrible. It just killed us. She kept bumping into walls and was so scared.<br />
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I took her to the new specialist and he quietly examined her. He then looked at me and said that, at least at that moment, she was completely blind. Her eyes weren't reacting to anything and she just stared into space, no matter what he did to try to get a reaction. Did I mention that it broke my heart? She's only three. <br />
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The good news is that although the first specialist said Pearly had an inflamed optic nerve, the second specialist said her optic nerve looked fine and that he didn't believe she had optic neuritis in the first place. What Pearly had, he said, was uveitis throughout her entire eye, both sides, front to back, which means the whole things were swollen and inflamed. He couldn't tell if her retina was detached because it was too swollen to see back there. Obviously, a detached retina is a bad thing that could lead to blindness. That being said, since she'd twice gotten her vision back, he was guardedly optimistic that it would happen again. <br />
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Now, the big question is, "what caused the uveitis?" He needed to know that to know how to treat it. He didn't think the uveitis was caused by Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. He suspected it was an auto-immune problem. He changed Pearly's medication around and set up an appointment for a week later. He also asked me to take her to her regular vet to get a complete blood workup.<br />
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As bad as that was, I felt considerably better when I left his office and headed straight for the regular vet to get the blood work. Once there, they drew blood and we waited on the results. The regular vet took a look at the results and became quite alarmed because Pearly's white blood cell count was very high. Long story short, she was worried that Pearly had lymphoma, a cancer of the blood. <strong><em><span style="color: #cc0000;">Are you freaking KIDDING me????</span></em></strong> Mind you, she didn't have swollen lymph glands, a fever, or any other indications that she was sick other than her eyes. Still, the regular vet was concerned enough that she thought we should take her to the Oklahoma State University Veterinary Hospital to see an internist. After consulting with the second specialist, they set up an appointment for us to go to the veterinary school hospital in Stillwater, about an hour and a half away, on Thursday.<br />
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Seriously, this had turned into a really bad week. <br />
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I nearly drove Mr. Wonderful insane over the next twenty-four hours fretting over Pearly and lit up the internet seeking answers. I scared myself silly. In the meantime, Pearly was starting to regain her eyesight, very slowly. On Thursday morning, we drove up to Stillwater and by that time, Pearly was starting to be able to see enough to avoid bumping into everything, although she clearly couldn't see anything in focus or beyond a few inches in front of her nose. At that point, we were thrilled with her progress. <br />
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Happily, based on the the original blood work, OSU were confident that she didn't have cancer. Instead, they thought the high white blood cell count was due to the prednisone she was on. They re-did the bloodwork and the count was half what it had been two days, before, making them all the more confident that she was fine, other than her eyes. And as for her eyes, they noted that they were responding to light and that the pupils were even. <br />
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I was so relieved.<br />
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By the time Pearly and I went back to the second specialist for the one week checkup, on Valentine's Day, she had regained a great deal of her sight. Her vision wasn't good but she was no longer so debilitated that she was getting lost in the dark or running into the walls all the time. The second specialist was delighted with her "exceptional" response to the medication and quite optimistic that she was going to recover. He said that she still had some fluid behind her retina and is certainly not out of the woods, yet, but there was no question that he was excited about her progress. <br />
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Since that time, she has continued to improve and is beginning to act like our Pearly, again. She hasn't yet regained all her sight and her eyes are still slightly swollen, but if you didn't know of her difficulties, you probably couldn't tell. She is getting back her night sight (her eyes shine brightly in the flashlight) and she is no longer having difficulty taking things from our hands. She has also stopped running into walls, poor baby. So at this point, we are guardedly optimistic that THIS time, we'll get to the bottom of her troubles. She has really been through it. <br />
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A note of explanation about the different approaches of the two specialists might be in order. <br />
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The first specialist believed Pearly's eye problem was caused by Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, a bacterial infection carried by ticks. The only way to "cure" Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, an infection, is to kill the source. You do that with antibiotics. Even if "cured," the patient is subject to relapses so it tends to come back when you are under stress. It is like one of those weird tropical diseases. Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever doesn't always affect the eyes but it often does. Oral prednisone is often offered in the beginning to treat the symptoms because it brings down the inflammation in the eye, reducing the likelihood that the eye will be permanently damaged. As soon as the eye stops being inflamed, they generally take them off oral prednisone (which suppresses the immune system) so that the body's natural immune system can attack the infection along with the antibiotics. This is what the first specialist was doing.<br />
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Unfortunately, Pearly kept "relapsing" and the first specialist believed that she just couldn't get ahead of the Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever even though she kept treating her with antibiotics. The repeated "relapses" put Pearly at risk of developing secondary glaucoma. That was her reasoning. <br />
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Alternatively, an auto-immune disease is when the body has an out of whack immune system that is attacking itself. That would be the source of inflammation. Any number of things can trigger an auto-immune problem. Vaccinations are considered one of the main culprits but usually, you never know, for sure, what caused it. My own uveitis that I had at about the same time Pearly got sick was successfully treated as an auto immune problem. <br />
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The remedy, typically, is to put the dog on prednisone, which suppresses the immune system. The trick is to keep the dog on prednisone long enough for the body to get a grip on attacking itself, and then wean off the prednisone when the body has stabilized its over active immune response. Because the immune system is suppressed, many vets also put a dog on antibiotics at the same time to keep an opportunistic bug from attacking.<br />
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A dog with Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever who is put on prednisone, alone, could be a sitting duck for it to roar back and attack since its natural immune system would be suppressed. But a dog with an auto immune problem rather than Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever isn't helped by antibiotics because the problem isn't infection. <br />
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So what all this means is that the first specialist treated Pearly for Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, i.e., with antibiotics. That wasn't helping Pearly. When she would get worse, the specialist believed the infection was still there and that she was relapsing, as is typical for RMSF. Instead, if the second specialist is correct, Pearly was actually suffering from an untreated auto immune problem that would respond to prednisone but as soon as the prednisone was stopped, the inflammation would roar back. <br />
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The second specialist based his diagnosis of auto immune problem on how she looked and how she has responded to the treatment given to her, to date. Additionally, the blood work he ordered showed that she had a high platelet count and this is inconsistent with Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. He put her on a relatively high dose of prednisone for a significantly longer period of time than with the first specialist with the goal of allowing her system to stabilize and stop attacking her own body. He plans to start slowly weaning her off the prednisone beginning in another week. In his opinion, the reason Pearly has been "relapsing," is because her body never stabilized to begin with. He believes she never stayed on prednisone long enough for that to happen. <br />
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Fingers crossed that she will fully recover - and, happily, I just looked over and she was catching popcorn Mr. Wonderful was tossing her!<br />
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On a happier note, our friend, <a href="http://pennyquilts.blogspot.com/2011/01/tarka-and-blind-willie-come-for-another.html">Julia, made her annual visit</a> along with her Samoyeds, Blind Willie and Tarka. Pearly wasn't feeling well enough to be particularly sociable but Evelyn was her usual Miss Hospitality. She and Tarka had a great time romping in the front yard and talking to the neighborhood horses:<br />
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Evelyn and Tarka are both incredibly photogenic:<br />
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Tarka looks a bit like a white coyote:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtAPnDxFSfoZodQ5AhyphenhyphenAavtaVb1TdXzkZPDGpcLcQEos1PNzx8w_ylC5QhwCmZkHCyhJLANgsjjwWlMG1hrwYMC3olHGUcrwNyLkiAT0CXttmEVF0_szhYbfequ9EUK1_xOqXJRykfJJqK/s1600/IMG_0202.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtAPnDxFSfoZodQ5AhyphenhyphenAavtaVb1TdXzkZPDGpcLcQEos1PNzx8w_ylC5QhwCmZkHCyhJLANgsjjwWlMG1hrwYMC3olHGUcrwNyLkiAT0CXttmEVF0_szhYbfequ9EUK1_xOqXJRykfJJqK/s640/IMG_0202.JPG" width="640" yda="true" /></a></div>
Pretty Pearly is still recovering but she is making progress:<br />
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I will update on her progress after she goes back on the 28th, if not before.<br />
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Happy Quilting, Penny, Evelyn and PearlLady Beekeeperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10972692199686815560noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73733781599400422.post-81884547180486981922012-01-30T20:22:00.002-06:002012-01-30T20:22:46.276-06:00Lollipop Quilt and Rogue Cows<br />
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About a year ago, my sister-in-law brought me some quilt tops that a co-worker's father had made before he died. She asked me to quilt them and I am ashamed to say that I never got around to it. I wrote about it in a<a href="http://pennyquilts.blogspot.com/2011/01/quilters-legacy.html"> post</a>, last year. The quilt tops are just amazing. Pictures of the tops before they were quilted are at the link, just posted, and I also wrote about it with some "before" photos a few posts back. <br />
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I finally got around to putting one up on the quilting machine a few days ago and finished up quilting it, today. I used a very light polyester batting and wasn't sure I was going to like it but I think it works. I am not usually fond of "flat" solids but think it turned out beautifully. I may have to rethink my fabric prejudices:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrklbaYjpca9ckKSDSJNGqM7zXLcsr5bwvWsziwDwmjIr0dlhk90OaPQNIBzGoc7CbrWUMlWUhZbN2D5kTdPUEStM9DZBzI5QYtLFXdW4CLt2sBUWB48GZErGPa1fzRQhL9alWe2Q9za8k/s1600/IMG_0096+(640x427).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" sda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrklbaYjpca9ckKSDSJNGqM7zXLcsr5bwvWsziwDwmjIr0dlhk90OaPQNIBzGoc7CbrWUMlWUhZbN2D5kTdPUEStM9DZBzI5QYtLFXdW4CLt2sBUWB48GZErGPa1fzRQhL9alWe2Q9za8k/s640/IMG_0096+(640x427).jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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I threw in a few Victorian Feathers among the meandering. I didn't think they would show up but in the right light, they do:<br />
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Solids used to be very popular when quilting began regaining popularity around the time of the United States bicentennial but I personally don't think hand quilting usually sets them off to their best advantage. Machine quilting, however, really gives them depth and texture. <br />
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I think the quilter had a <strong><em>fantastic</em></strong> sense of color:<br />
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It reminds me of a big, traditional lollipop:<br />
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This was not a fancy quilting pattern but I'm really fond of how a meander gives texture to pretty piecing/colors. I used a slightly looser meander and lighter colored thread in the bright blocks to help them pop a bit. I'm well aware that I am not particularly talented at longarming and trying to do the type of fancy quilting that makes the quilting be the center of attention makes me feel really anxious. <br />
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Plus, this was a quilt top that deserves to show off the workmanship of the quilter who pieced it. He did an incredible job. <br />
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At Mr. Wonderful's suggestion, I stayed with a solid colored binding (I'd been toying with a stripped one matching the colors in the blocks). I went with red because I had enough of it and because I thought it would hide stitches better than some other colors. I didn't take any pictures but am really happy with how the red pops against the black, framing the other blocks. I am still in the process of stitching it on by machine and plan to give it back to my sister-in-law to stitch it down on the front, by hand. I still haven't finished my daughters' quilts and it would just be wrong to push them back in line.<br />
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My beloved birdcam (not the trail cam) finally bit the dust and after trying everything I could think of to fix it, I gave up and started cruising Amazon to see if I could find a replacement. Mr. Wonderful suggested I call Wingscapes, the maker, and ask them if they knew how to fix it. I called on Sunday and left a voice mail with Melissa. Who knew this company actually had a named person answering the phone!! I left a message explaining the situation. I didn't expect much help since it was no longer under warranty but thought maybe it was a common problem that had an easy fix. While I was out in the studio, today, she called back and told Mr. Wonderful that they were sending me a brand new birdcam!! I was so excited and impressed! So, henceforth, I shall tell everyone and their brother what a great company they are. If you have a chance to get something from <a href="http://www.wingscapes.com/">Wingscapes</a>, you really should do it. <br />
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Yesterday, I went out to the property to check the trail cam and while there, I kept seeing HUGE deer tracks everywhere. I wondered to myself if the big bucks had come back and deduced that perhaps the mud had somehow made the tracks look bigger than they were. And then, I saw this:<br />
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Yes. It is a cow patty. And I don't HAVE cows!<br />
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Once I decided there had been cows trespassing, I kept a look out and, sure enough, saw where they had wandered all through the wooded area and muddied up the pond. Once I realized it was cows, it is hard to imagine that I had been convincing myself that it was big deer. Deer that size aren't deer. They are moose or elk. Or have been exposed to large doses of radiation. <br />
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The trail cam was still strapped to the tree but there were broken branches all around it and it was pointed in a different direction than how I'd left it. Upon checking the videos, I saw where up to seven full grown cows (not heifers) tried to eat the camera. They left the evidence on the video. Two of them grabbed the strap and yanked on it for several minutes. Fortunately, it doesn't look like they damaged it. <br />
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I don't know what was going on with those cows but on several of the videos, they were running this way and that. Perhaps they got into loco weed. It was like seeing heavyset pixies spinning and dancing in the moonlight. I can't imagine why they would have been in the area where I put the trail cam because it was on the trunk of a cedar in the densest part of the wooded area where there wasn't anything to graze on. I put it there, hoping to get some videos of bobcats. But no. I got psychotic, rogue cows. And you know what else? They apparently don't sleep at night, either. Some of the most enthusiastic camera attacks took place in the dark. <br />
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I don't know where the cows are, now. I didn't see them while I was out there and I looked. Our property is right on the Chisholm Trail so maybe they hit the road. More likely, someone came and got them. <br />
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Happy Quilting, Penny, Evelyn and PearlLady Beekeeperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10972692199686815560noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73733781599400422.post-65686580083064917772012-01-28T22:27:00.000-06:002012-01-29T09:31:21.389-06:00Armadilloes and Cattle Prods<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I just got back from spending a day or so with my best friend, Mimi, at her ranch up on the grasslands in Northern Oklahoma. Her place is about 100 miles north of us and about 50 miles east. Roughly. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqYVmxtkR25aP9PekT12QM0t6tclU-lK5vb3v7mxGjZQDDDpoVFlCuN21cc0HpIr6PuOlIcnruZoNNAKDye_Gge2IkFL3SThiQ1gfh24Dj5HmyMjFrTWtc7t5vp5ynxBS7sejxcmoHbbvh/s1600/IMG_0719.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gda="true" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqYVmxtkR25aP9PekT12QM0t6tclU-lK5vb3v7mxGjZQDDDpoVFlCuN21cc0HpIr6PuOlIcnruZoNNAKDye_Gge2IkFL3SThiQ1gfh24Dj5HmyMjFrTWtc7t5vp5ynxBS7sejxcmoHbbvh/s640/IMG_0719.JPG" width="640" /></a><br />
The Double M is Mimi's brand.<br />
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Mimi lives north of Kaw Lake and in addition to her own property, she leases large (at least by city standards) pieces of property to run her cattle. I understand that in that part of the country, you need about 8 acres to support one cow. <br />
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She's got a couple of bulls. Look at that single tree off in the distance:<br />
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I don't know if she actually names them. I didn't ask.<br />
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What a different land than around my neighborhood:<br />
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Up in the grasslands, they have limestone and, obviously, not too many trees except near creeks and lakes. It is much dryer than in the Oklahoma City area. We have more trees, the rock tends to be sandstone, and it is relatively lush in comparison:<br />
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I love Mimi's ranch truck. I am seriously in <em><strong>love </strong></em>with that truck. I made Mr. Wonderful look at pictures of the truck until his eyes glazed over. This is a photo of it after Mimi dropped off a big bale of hay:<br />
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The spikes on the back are what they use to pick up those big round bales of hay. <br />
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Right now, calving season has started. Mimi puts the bulls out with the cows in April, which means that babies start arriving in January. Last year, with the hard winter we had, she lost quite a few babies that were born in a blizzard. This year, the temperature has been wonderful which makes it easier on the mamas, babies, and bovine midwives.<br />
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On Thursday, we went out in the afternoon to check for new babies and to doctor three cows that were ailing. Mimi's dog, Jack, hopped on back and came along with us:<br />
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Jack is a complete lover. <br />
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We drove down to Mimi's south pasture (about 600 or so acres) and she drove the cows into the chute. I helped. My part involved tazing them if they tried to back up. Once in the chute, Mimi gave them shots while I battled with the guilt associated with tazing cows. I am not sure, but I THINK that is a cattle prod. Mimi told me to be careful and not shock myself because I wouldn't like it. She clearly spoke from experience. <br />
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After doctoring the cows, we went to look for baby cows. Mamas will sometimes hide their babies out on the range and finding them is like looking for a needle in a haystack. Mimi spotted one pretty quickly and once she pointed it out to me, I could see it. I suspect practice helps in that sort of thing. To be honest, from a distance, it looked like a cow patty.<br />
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She was relieved to see it move because sometimes they are dead. This one was just fine. Here's the little boy calf, to give you an idea of what the land looked like where we found him: <br />
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As soon as Mimi spotted him, she jumped out of the truck and ear tagged him with number four (he was her fourth baby calf, this year):<br />
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Mimi is not afraid to use her teeth when needed. I do not actually think she is afraid of anything. <br />
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While she was piercing his ear, I was keeping an eye on his mama who was coming over at a trot to see what the Sam Hill was going on. Mimi didn't seem concerned (she is, after all, fearless), but I was prepared to scream a warning, if needed. I also knew where they keep the tazer. <br />
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After feeding the cows, we drove to the back of the pasture, just to look around. The back of the pasture backs up to a large lake and there are trees and a creek. <br />
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As we were driving back over the field, Jack leaped off the truck and took off after an armadillo!<br />
My back east friends may not know what an armadillo is. It is a varmint about the size of a loaf of bread:<br />
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Mimi and I couldn't believe it - we saw 7 or 8 armadillos racing through the field. It was wild!<br />
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The following two photos weren't taken from a long way off. I walked right up to the armadillo. They are incredibly stupid. I guess they think that armor thing will keep them safe.<br />
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The tail (he'd gone into a burrow but left his back end out - idiot):<br />
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The ears (he was in a ditch and I guess he thought I couldn't see him - idiot):<br />
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I would not look at the next few photos if you are squeamish (this is a warning to one of my daughters). Jack caught a couple of the armadillos and killed them. </div>
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Okay, you can look now. <br />
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Actually, the armadillo in the previous few pictures, after being mauled, managed to get away from Jack and race back down a burrow! Jack went after it, to no avail:<br />
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About that time, I saw Mimi looking down the armadillo hole and she had some pliers in her hand. She was considering grabbing the armadillo's tail to drag it out. </div>
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Mimi had the pliers because, she said, she didn't feel like it was a good idea to stick your hand into an armadillo burrow and grab its tail (with your hand).</div>
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Okay, so I will be honest with you. Even with pliers, I didn't think it would be a good idea to stick your hand inside an armadillo hole and grab an armadillo tail. But I will be BRUTALLY honest and admit I didn't tell her that because I thought it would be abundantly cool to see her drag an armadillo out of its hole. Yes, I admit it. I am an Okie. </div>
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But at any rate, the armadillo got away while her frontal lobes kicked in and kept her from doing something that, while really cool, was also probably really dumb. I say that but in my heart of hearts, I am not sure an armadillo would have done much and it sure would have been cool to see, regardless.</div>
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My blood was up!</div>
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After seeing the armadillos, we drove over to see a horse herd that runs wild. Aren't they beautiful? They just came racing over a hill right towards us: <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd949by-8hRqZjelKMkNoSIVJ63PQ7Tqo3VxfxUJbgW_l7BP5LGugJso-6HmGXWBufhSHqWAspfOKHtNJB9-uyVWdHPFz5ULngg38b0puMn_S_DSj9UtUSLQWfTm9NB_ntR2FwAi02MGIp/s1600/IMG_0475+(640x427).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gda="true" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd949by-8hRqZjelKMkNoSIVJ63PQ7Tqo3VxfxUJbgW_l7BP5LGugJso-6HmGXWBufhSHqWAspfOKHtNJB9-uyVWdHPFz5ULngg38b0puMn_S_DSj9UtUSLQWfTm9NB_ntR2FwAi02MGIp/s640/IMG_0475+(640x427).jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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I thought I counted 22.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJs0zirYQgu6k7KtyeP13wpmzlp-6KPRHrl5D0Qy-ZOI38wEWGN5KcaQa2skji16N1XU7znkNsrL0RcplicDHfAyZbTNixyPOzMqEu3dkpBbOvyihbfwOkq_z_HqiQ7v1b3osrSrO4v4oe/s1600/IMG_0484+(640x427).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gda="true" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJs0zirYQgu6k7KtyeP13wpmzlp-6KPRHrl5D0Qy-ZOI38wEWGN5KcaQa2skji16N1XU7znkNsrL0RcplicDHfAyZbTNixyPOzMqEu3dkpBbOvyihbfwOkq_z_HqiQ7v1b3osrSrO4v4oe/s640/IMG_0484+(640x427).jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
The black specks in the distance are cows:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi734d9L2g9k-Wxt1qu3D1Qb0vDpAJiqHc4kCGEfPYrm5X9p6wtt22MzG0i_ArQXzJzoX3uktRx4N_NMOr8Ikg3WcNHSn78tVbTwq7R5Fvriw8BpiKX4Ps28kI0uNpAw12xeM3EN7omZ02p/s1600/IMG_0497+(640x427).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gda="true" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi734d9L2g9k-Wxt1qu3D1Qb0vDpAJiqHc4kCGEfPYrm5X9p6wtt22MzG0i_ArQXzJzoX3uktRx4N_NMOr8Ikg3WcNHSn78tVbTwq7R5Fvriw8BpiKX4Ps28kI0uNpAw12xeM3EN7omZ02p/s640/IMG_0497+(640x427).jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
They got closer and closer:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzWHZPXdgHrIXY6Z2zZQ9sKqu43FInZ1FwKH0IEZfZNcGsdH3wh6xlsGKDQxyQsOcpowNTJgIUQ5adt6xcTXLsfhWlP4OBTQPwNKaeWAGxBdI5Zx191gKGklCeUYn1u3jgnpQq5406wjwr/s1600/IMG_0498+(640x427).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gda="true" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzWHZPXdgHrIXY6Z2zZQ9sKqu43FInZ1FwKH0IEZfZNcGsdH3wh6xlsGKDQxyQsOcpowNTJgIUQ5adt6xcTXLsfhWlP4OBTQPwNKaeWAGxBdI5Zx191gKGklCeUYn1u3jgnpQq5406wjwr/s640/IMG_0498+(640x427).jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
This is when I got back into the truck:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAKuWlhY5z3I-2o2z-yOzXSPcUF_KsW2VJl8odw_3zLV427pU6pXH4vR_J6XVfRhXYZEE5FDvNLYLeF9EuVr0SMX-6in64SXAZCKlU4B9_VUtInyRWgGeUOAdi26GgXPZkUdQphUHP-ZON/s1600/IMG_0499.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gda="true" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAKuWlhY5z3I-2o2z-yOzXSPcUF_KsW2VJl8odw_3zLV427pU6pXH4vR_J6XVfRhXYZEE5FDvNLYLeF9EuVr0SMX-6in64SXAZCKlU4B9_VUtInyRWgGeUOAdi26GgXPZkUdQphUHP-ZON/s640/IMG_0499.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
But they were all neighborly and polite while they milled around. They were smarting off to each other and apparently working out some sort of herd pecking order, but as long as we stayed out of their business (and out of their way) things went well:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-fKDIWyCWqMz6rhRiFiy_I-WwOllc60gKxgItK2WP7Z1TklWAYIdJr8-eHKidKCDIsbiAS2IX4JuUqJ1wdN8byCHXrtryozBATaJsvYlLq_VIImuk8joylUaBudV9709Scva9_WdlcbhI/s1600/IMG_0519+(640x427).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gda="true" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-fKDIWyCWqMz6rhRiFiy_I-WwOllc60gKxgItK2WP7Z1TklWAYIdJr8-eHKidKCDIsbiAS2IX4JuUqJ1wdN8byCHXrtryozBATaJsvYlLq_VIImuk8joylUaBudV9709Scva9_WdlcbhI/s640/IMG_0519+(640x427).jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilEx2KaahpHxf8adWAWcbEoZIabVc87G6mpoUt9vD-Xn7Iisdv0_H-jtk8DHwn_AoaiUY5XDYYtC7GR5MxdpcugG-_TblWrtfhyphenhyphenCxG4Xa-c_mAhl8-LRTha1NemQvXB5h_HgNz4KkjuO2O/s1600/IMG_0525+(640x427).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gda="true" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilEx2KaahpHxf8adWAWcbEoZIabVc87G6mpoUt9vD-Xn7Iisdv0_H-jtk8DHwn_AoaiUY5XDYYtC7GR5MxdpcugG-_TblWrtfhyphenhyphenCxG4Xa-c_mAhl8-LRTha1NemQvXB5h_HgNz4KkjuO2O/s640/IMG_0525+(640x427).jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBKHi9mVW4VQ5kxFEKL12VF-SOhpxqetqmLqYv7ykWmByJIZrtsbH9TYfCJHRfWaZ-2iT77sD-wPE0Vzk1Lo8LCRQQhoe_4MryKa81cEKxTylDGFvhlblk9g9SMATglMF-_8OpYLY68sJw/s1600/IMG_0522+(640x427).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gda="true" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBKHi9mVW4VQ5kxFEKL12VF-SOhpxqetqmLqYv7ykWmByJIZrtsbH9TYfCJHRfWaZ-2iT77sD-wPE0Vzk1Lo8LCRQQhoe_4MryKa81cEKxTylDGFvhlblk9g9SMATglMF-_8OpYLY68sJw/s640/IMG_0522+(640x427).jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
At a certain point, for reasons of its own, the herd continued its race towards the south:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlAtfvv6O-xatbQmK1WMq9Up2hO-4RqSqm8JX_e3vl0ZE_MJGac4nlA1zg9S_2XDeDRoE4KqmFBxw2sP_Wk5ScJHDAn79Y-90tE6ztQ4GFaIDkI9I9-DKJHu_-0bTtm1pl1h6_zf4fOx8P/s1600/IMG_0582+(640x427).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gda="true" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlAtfvv6O-xatbQmK1WMq9Up2hO-4RqSqm8JX_e3vl0ZE_MJGac4nlA1zg9S_2XDeDRoE4KqmFBxw2sP_Wk5ScJHDAn79Y-90tE6ztQ4GFaIDkI9I9-DKJHu_-0bTtm1pl1h6_zf4fOx8P/s640/IMG_0582+(640x427).jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0pOf0S4alCutWgWfif0RSKtPpOpMoDsEJzNeCmSPYwlWvrqBiT8UlievjdAFyQHTAdPEz47_sJb2Wd8pzMH3coQornz6wb5GWKqfIFgdTzrhmxeK4uZbaWSV04hvrVooWvEPpMvlDL5C6/s1600/IMG_0586+(640x427).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gda="true" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0pOf0S4alCutWgWfif0RSKtPpOpMoDsEJzNeCmSPYwlWvrqBiT8UlievjdAFyQHTAdPEz47_sJb2Wd8pzMH3coQornz6wb5GWKqfIFgdTzrhmxeK4uZbaWSV04hvrVooWvEPpMvlDL5C6/s640/IMG_0586+(640x427).jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
And then they all just disappeared out on the range:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjonCEbx5LKYB5Ej5GRfaddaOch6zSSqc1FpnoWyWvvzfZYSDkR0zAnTgPtW0EzLIS-C9Kyt5IPhW7rQzZQqeMF1nGl3PZUtEyMAPUIF9B67sobUy6t7fGE2N8qOoubPX7GQX_udnrNzp6o/s1600/IMG_0594+(640x427).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gda="true" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjonCEbx5LKYB5Ej5GRfaddaOch6zSSqc1FpnoWyWvvzfZYSDkR0zAnTgPtW0EzLIS-C9Kyt5IPhW7rQzZQqeMF1nGl3PZUtEyMAPUIF9B67sobUy6t7fGE2N8qOoubPX7GQX_udnrNzp6o/s640/IMG_0594+(640x427).jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
We drove back to the ranch house and worked on one of her chutes that she uses to doctor cows. Here is her front yard:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRzT7tYpJdqytxl1-ivdGgp0Ga2DEMNxpQ9XqFU74f_8XBc1P3OG_C7eqzrdlFCwi5yeqNDXguYwro5sgqu7esRKHpJxNbR9QLXGOlPmZ3WKWKvXVS0MjsCnipQIVRc-bwE0w90ik3W_vT/s1600/IMG_0623+(640x427).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gda="true" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRzT7tYpJdqytxl1-ivdGgp0Ga2DEMNxpQ9XqFU74f_8XBc1P3OG_C7eqzrdlFCwi5yeqNDXguYwro5sgqu7esRKHpJxNbR9QLXGOlPmZ3WKWKvXVS0MjsCnipQIVRc-bwE0w90ik3W_vT/s640/IMG_0623+(640x427).jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
Here's the backyard:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt3zqpUXlQc-1Zfhd3NN-chuAg8CNcdc__PwxRiNwIUw2Hh70mhFtrigZfwiDPBaTwqY-7h2ueoqSDrtObunDZEObhJHLtUPQjq9yHRxEiD9fYbkJ7wQrr8304HrokqOzPVa7AFo-U8lYy/s1600/IMG_0728+(640x427).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gda="true" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt3zqpUXlQc-1Zfhd3NN-chuAg8CNcdc__PwxRiNwIUw2Hh70mhFtrigZfwiDPBaTwqY-7h2ueoqSDrtObunDZEObhJHLtUPQjq9yHRxEiD9fYbkJ7wQrr8304HrokqOzPVa7AFo-U8lYy/s640/IMG_0728+(640x427).jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
Here is where she keeps some of her hay:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5JUJ0OUD23sj9F_pa74qvgIMnO99SKaPUhjACK-nuAXMTFnsRrQpAKgRDEDuQh7IK3ao1nAN2S9gyJAFVSbMkBokNAvRpoyW6bzT2gv_Moi1qp8kskfNiZFvmnRTd2QkSiBud87ezlhEM/s1600/IMG_0846+(640x427).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gda="true" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5JUJ0OUD23sj9F_pa74qvgIMnO99SKaPUhjACK-nuAXMTFnsRrQpAKgRDEDuQh7IK3ao1nAN2S9gyJAFVSbMkBokNAvRpoyW6bzT2gv_Moi1qp8kskfNiZFvmnRTd2QkSiBud87ezlhEM/s640/IMG_0846+(640x427).jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
Mimi has lots of barn kitties:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK8xkoMYmD8ZzfTEr4V6M6s3G6dvg9l5BlWMlA-6r05s0LjUBR0GDZr7-9soxkb4UOWYCYP1sGBQ_t0N2py58rFug647vgggBd6I0huN077Kg2-w9NQAARvHtMBQkZMKnpafi4-UpeehGJ/s1600/IMG_0753+(640x427).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gda="true" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK8xkoMYmD8ZzfTEr4V6M6s3G6dvg9l5BlWMlA-6r05s0LjUBR0GDZr7-9soxkb4UOWYCYP1sGBQ_t0N2py58rFug647vgggBd6I0huN077Kg2-w9NQAARvHtMBQkZMKnpafi4-UpeehGJ/s640/IMG_0753+(640x427).jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJb58pZ8G3aJeQzQthXbFLgEXUOJppapDAwkxP_NUTBODr5cG2dPPFW-QMEjmb4nWNoM40Sv7NWzOrjxzDS5_U8mkSWev39Xm1QUJdzrArvd_OZAkLr_H_PDOnqj9mITszWUk3OOSmgC3x/s1600/IMG_0757+(640x427).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gda="true" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJb58pZ8G3aJeQzQthXbFLgEXUOJppapDAwkxP_NUTBODr5cG2dPPFW-QMEjmb4nWNoM40Sv7NWzOrjxzDS5_U8mkSWev39Xm1QUJdzrArvd_OZAkLr_H_PDOnqj9mITszWUk3OOSmgC3x/s640/IMG_0757+(640x427).jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
She is the workinest woman!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRA_3y6Q9iwadz4VDU5bG6TyK6fQvoUq0iFWPhTaj94ec0xFvXFcLkyoqEVnrrchPcorNasGMahOnXXJR9WCNhxF3KSb9zu-tfNOHv-fd_91qs1cJMYetsQ-ZlUPv5TKblR_sMnR2NC5uL/s1600/IMG_0771.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gda="true" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRA_3y6Q9iwadz4VDU5bG6TyK6fQvoUq0iFWPhTaj94ec0xFvXFcLkyoqEVnrrchPcorNasGMahOnXXJR9WCNhxF3KSb9zu-tfNOHv-fd_91qs1cJMYetsQ-ZlUPv5TKblR_sMnR2NC5uL/s640/IMG_0771.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMtVJ-bWaCWN5n6d_Hg307MkVaZMJgNtiQ7y19bB6QdMfI9jElps86EJVK4o1ac3xQHvZwTal7qs8a6dJL3sSrGloyzVulc_wrY8P_-8tLNzuDYRnhdJRGqWYMEYJisQS_Aqowx6IviNj6/s1600/IMG_0827.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gda="true" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMtVJ-bWaCWN5n6d_Hg307MkVaZMJgNtiQ7y19bB6QdMfI9jElps86EJVK4o1ac3xQHvZwTal7qs8a6dJL3sSrGloyzVulc_wrY8P_-8tLNzuDYRnhdJRGqWYMEYJisQS_Aqowx6IviNj6/s640/IMG_0827.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPDH3r2uwTCeiRUVNBTpuT1P9yka03w8VRuLo8hT3BMXAx7hBfXk0SwX3JSU5IN4v99eJL7YHi8Lmo3Bcek40uRf0pkvhSK_ymeCNSG2BKFS-T4W5Y6OKsfr_VNWWN4TJ5H7k9wglXY2DL/s1600/IMG_0889+(640x427).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gda="true" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPDH3r2uwTCeiRUVNBTpuT1P9yka03w8VRuLo8hT3BMXAx7hBfXk0SwX3JSU5IN4v99eJL7YHi8Lmo3Bcek40uRf0pkvhSK_ymeCNSG2BKFS-T4W5Y6OKsfr_VNWWN4TJ5H7k9wglXY2DL/s640/IMG_0889+(640x427).jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
I seriously love this truck:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9B12UUp1AQo5nmmaRamPeD5GvMNaYo7go4CbwBcTxsWg2UVOoin-gmxDcBVfwxMDLcFmGiyFSLz0sk5LN_MWrKn14kkHCTlTbdAVtZbvemIpz79odrB30znq6K9kx0n4evjJBgTytB4yy/s1600/IMG_0888+(640x427).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gda="true" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9B12UUp1AQo5nmmaRamPeD5GvMNaYo7go4CbwBcTxsWg2UVOoin-gmxDcBVfwxMDLcFmGiyFSLz0sk5LN_MWrKn14kkHCTlTbdAVtZbvemIpz79odrB30znq6K9kx0n4evjJBgTytB4yy/s640/IMG_0888+(640x427).jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
I love my own little house on the prairie but I have to tell you, it was hard to leave Mimi's home on the range!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaoxZQGNfZGx2kcfL-77spF5yb8sxrTfrA8gfgNntrtNlMs-SPma5r31fyZ82yaOruDd8chyphenhyphen2tZk5wW1uTeM4ADNAKOqGX7TNHDVmvCvzE8EPORxHNV0UbVSVnq67wzQh-H64wCqR1rvdh/s1600/IMG_0876.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gda="true" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaoxZQGNfZGx2kcfL-77spF5yb8sxrTfrA8gfgNntrtNlMs-SPma5r31fyZ82yaOruDd8chyphenhyphen2tZk5wW1uTeM4ADNAKOqGX7TNHDVmvCvzE8EPORxHNV0UbVSVnq67wzQh-H64wCqR1rvdh/s640/IMG_0876.JPG" width="640" /></a><br />
Yeah, yeah, that last was pretty lame. But true. <br />
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Happy Quilting, Penny, Evelyn and PearlLady Beekeeperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10972692199686815560noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73733781599400422.post-30366297856257718892012-01-19T19:23:00.000-06:002012-01-19T19:30:43.537-06:00Glowing Health and the Blessings of a Simple Life<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLW5XIgtr_IS3FsdqcOwguNQBuWfONeaQk6hyPLj5UXg3Wc5tdFDkxwU1KodOdQvSZ8mJYdv3ntzllQpZ0xvwGiqFC3tbW7k_PhjO4QfCdbmjny5QHaZs1LxWf3Tj2idSckErJDiwM_-N9/s1600/IMG_0342+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="542" nfa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLW5XIgtr_IS3FsdqcOwguNQBuWfONeaQk6hyPLj5UXg3Wc5tdFDkxwU1KodOdQvSZ8mJYdv3ntzllQpZ0xvwGiqFC3tbW7k_PhjO4QfCdbmjny5QHaZs1LxWf3Tj2idSckErJDiwM_-N9/s640/IMG_0342+%25282%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
The weather continues to be magnificent and has given us opportunities to get outdoors to prune trees and putter. I've also been able to get out to our property to check the trail cam and just overall enjoy the outdoors. For the past two years during this period, we've been socked with ice and snow. That isn't unusual in this part of the country but it isn't something that always happens. The bright blue days and high sixties is also within the norm and it is sooooo good to be back home where it is a possibility. <br />
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The girls continue to heal up from their various ailments. Pearly is holding her own on the optic nerve inflammation and it's so good to see her eyes sparkle, again. She was showing a little redness a couple of days ago and we put her back on the drops which seemed to do the trick.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoGeD3YKQ-BmhCnNhAkeqMqy38QGmIcVyLBf3YzlJPic8cjxOFdO4PrO7EZIXF9XM-pEbFcZZ8ReJD59DghNcf0AWQtlaMsE5KaMltFO1mkhHdzF1-BO_nUfahB7mPABsggKcaai5vU4TL/s1600/IMG_0029copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" nfa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoGeD3YKQ-BmhCnNhAkeqMqy38QGmIcVyLBf3YzlJPic8cjxOFdO4PrO7EZIXF9XM-pEbFcZZ8ReJD59DghNcf0AWQtlaMsE5KaMltFO1mkhHdzF1-BO_nUfahB7mPABsggKcaai5vU4TL/s640/IMG_0029copy.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
Evelyn still has a slight touch of an ear infection (we visited the vet for yet another recheck, this morning) but she appears to be almost completely healed and doesn't have to go back. She'll remain on antibiotics for another 4 days and I'll keep cleaning her ears and putting ear drops in for another week. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhY6S8cPeEKCxSMG89DhA0kHkOpqiCL7A0owyufebQHRxuWm7gXvRxbZZhNkBfQOJIVU5Od0fgMqsobZayeLtgAAsGCIBGAFrXN8XaFDqpcmwUcRPvmDd3e6aS_AQofVT1_pLoZgT0vmCR/s1600/IMG_0052.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" nfa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhY6S8cPeEKCxSMG89DhA0kHkOpqiCL7A0owyufebQHRxuWm7gXvRxbZZhNkBfQOJIVU5Od0fgMqsobZayeLtgAAsGCIBGAFrXN8XaFDqpcmwUcRPvmDd3e6aS_AQofVT1_pLoZgT0vmCR/s640/IMG_0052.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Although I just said it has been balmy weather, I'll now contradict myself and mention that we had a cold snap just a couple of days ago. I've been making a point of being more active and get out in more inclement weather, recently. During the cold snap, I went out to our property in the bitter cold with high winds to swap memory cards on the trail cam we have set up out there. </div>
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In case you are wondering why I've been trying to push myself physically, lately, it is because I feel absolutely wonderful. I've enjoyed good health most of my life and am so happy to be feeling that way, again. Seems like the past couple of years it has been one thing after another, between poison ivy, bad headaches and the uveitis. I never did feel completely well after that awful bout of poison ivy a couple of years ago. I've been trying to act as if I am healthy and it seems to be working. I even got a touch of poison ivy on my leg and, wonder of wonders, it is actually healing up without having to go to the doctor to get prednisone or a steroid shot. That's new.</div>
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At any rate, I went out to the property a few days ago. Our property is 54 acres and is a roughly rectangular shape. It is just over a third of a mile long, running east to west, and about a quarter mile deep, running north to south. The wooded area where I like to set up the trail cam is near the middle of the property and I have to hike about a quarter mile from the road to get to it. I pass the ponds on the way. Here's the main one:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWVDZHgC1NIkrXDNmBb8QMh540GzWBp_zttni5Utzj6ldWcH1udfFTDHyOOo1Zr9QgZ7mMsBy5skVkoM44YmTmuXH8WZbHj6lkO3RD3RcQjE-m2ouocgQLk4eKhnEdl88xi5Na2auZqZgP/s1600/IMG_0025.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" nfa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWVDZHgC1NIkrXDNmBb8QMh540GzWBp_zttni5Utzj6ldWcH1udfFTDHyOOo1Zr9QgZ7mMsBy5skVkoM44YmTmuXH8WZbHj6lkO3RD3RcQjE-m2ouocgQLk4eKhnEdl88xi5Na2auZqZgP/s640/IMG_0025.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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The wooded area is about 550 feet wide and 700 feet long, with the longer distance running north to south. Down the center, running north to south, is a dry creek bed that runs wild with water when the rains hit. On either side of the creek bed are deciduous trees and an abundance of fallen timber that has never been cleared over the years. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNq0A6q9UBNRAXsSgIm27rmQsVHONqx4TWhWdV7_bcSodBaWdcztzKXhw4ilYhN4AEr9zMYmqqPpdIy6BgOBbwfBY8zjxLroOPDWm0yvaTaZiwbTRuU7TcjKXI5-e6bD46zawR_IYghVyN/s1600/IMG_0049.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" nfa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNq0A6q9UBNRAXsSgIm27rmQsVHONqx4TWhWdV7_bcSodBaWdcztzKXhw4ilYhN4AEr9zMYmqqPpdIy6BgOBbwfBY8zjxLroOPDWm0yvaTaZiwbTRuU7TcjKXI5-e6bD46zawR_IYghVyN/s640/IMG_0049.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
I keep expecting large branches to fall on my head because there are some large dead trees with big branches that look ready to fall off.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFo7UZ8dLASfd5S8ZBc66_2WCLWekDtDT1O3SItWtWhmtII3LNFKFM-50158KNf5Cu2IDIeDjan4qYjo6PipOVypPzeDwhOLRu3yzBaczHvSNcScSVNaz07iIqGASf8c_smbRg7PfzfpRX/s1600/IMG_0051.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" nfa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFo7UZ8dLASfd5S8ZBc66_2WCLWekDtDT1O3SItWtWhmtII3LNFKFM-50158KNf5Cu2IDIeDjan4qYjo6PipOVypPzeDwhOLRu3yzBaczHvSNcScSVNaz07iIqGASf8c_smbRg7PfzfpRX/s400/IMG_0051.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
If you look close at the next photo, you'll see the owl I scared up when I got there - It could be the Barn Owl that likes to roost in the wooded area during the day, or it could be a Great Horned - I'm leaning in that direction:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQexBzW6-ftoZJjK8Z7tkQjhzs4CYNsnQq-4bm45P2M9xyT_GM48zhuRljCQaQD27sAF9Ab8gmdalWILJUkGVlRwS62tA2Ciq9C0YleFrZM5ooP4UYl6uBLLMmhQDrs1__qEnSpGsJGS4T/s1600/IMG_0052.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" nfa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQexBzW6-ftoZJjK8Z7tkQjhzs4CYNsnQq-4bm45P2M9xyT_GM48zhuRljCQaQD27sAF9Ab8gmdalWILJUkGVlRwS62tA2Ciq9C0YleFrZM5ooP4UYl6uBLLMmhQDrs1__qEnSpGsJGS4T/s640/IMG_0052.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
Native Cedars line up along the outside of the area of deciduous trees, providing a very significant wind break so that when you are within the confines of the wooded area, the air is still and not nearly as cold as out in the fields. Once I make to that area, I find myself pulling off my gloves and can loosen up my parka and still be comfortable. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5TGx1GLwC_4b_dQeqv7HyBgJw6bT3wwzFB8vtuS1E7MghcTV-8QUu96UrdMdXiG4XEdW5Rcf6f8P3w-2qi5tK0PPRZSn2OFVuEZoEFgioYzprMZO09gM5XJKFaniHT1wpgdc6aEnogi7_/s1600/IMG_0046.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" nfa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5TGx1GLwC_4b_dQeqv7HyBgJw6bT3wwzFB8vtuS1E7MghcTV-8QUu96UrdMdXiG4XEdW5Rcf6f8P3w-2qi5tK0PPRZSn2OFVuEZoEFgioYzprMZO09gM5XJKFaniHT1wpgdc6aEnogi7_/s640/IMG_0046.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
What all that amounts to is that the area is a hot bed for wildlife because it has water, evergreens and deciduous trees as well as brush, fallen logs and adjacent grasslands. And even when the wooded area creek bed is dry, there is a nearby pond and second creek only a few hundred feet away. Moreover, it is partially surrounded by wheatfields that have replaced land that, back in the day, contained creeks and trees that protected and supported native fauna. Because of that, our wooded area is an oasis for much of the wildlife of the region. Moreover, the creek bed that runs through the property continues on the lands north, where it is wooded and left unimproved, and south, towards the river. That creekbed serves as a wildlife highway for critters.<br />
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As is my custom, after swapping out the memory cards, I spent a little time silently being still in the wooded area. Sometimes a deer, coyote or owl comes by, but usually, all the woodland critters are on to me and lay low. I saw the owl but nothing else, last time. But I did stop to say hello to the cows that are in the pasture just to the south:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsoYhvqGEzcfpwa3vKVW1DDKn8HmRe3kCe4U_iKSmwZ1PSkabNoKm7zfza4jkyXmKx17ZPKGA3JHml4KFvvUQ_UADPVoF-G41Zt_OOOQkc8QEjvvno-UzsfQIJtFzapLfkB6ANerKC_MqG/s1600/IMG_0162.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" nfa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsoYhvqGEzcfpwa3vKVW1DDKn8HmRe3kCe4U_iKSmwZ1PSkabNoKm7zfza4jkyXmKx17ZPKGA3JHml4KFvvUQ_UADPVoF-G41Zt_OOOQkc8QEjvvno-UzsfQIJtFzapLfkB6ANerKC_MqG/s640/IMG_0162.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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The white rascal standing behind the other cows apparently had love on his mind:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsWynhGosBrEBZGX3wAT7sZ0wd2f19Pdlz1cj6fbxN4H0sCyjFykTFlUtQWGbbLBmRnck03h0LaBjtXaLqJmvs7H4C6nwS8wZoWbsi_Q0auzuMlgAPvj4pcZi3Q1025rlkzon-bvmiGuLa/s1600/IMG_0214.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" nfa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsWynhGosBrEBZGX3wAT7sZ0wd2f19Pdlz1cj6fbxN4H0sCyjFykTFlUtQWGbbLBmRnck03h0LaBjtXaLqJmvs7H4C6nwS8wZoWbsi_Q0auzuMlgAPvj4pcZi3Q1025rlkzon-bvmiGuLa/s640/IMG_0214.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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As near as I could tell, none of his cow friends were interested.</div>
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When I got home and was turning into the driveway, a hawk flew ahead of me and landed in the tree between the house and the barn. I believe it is a Red Shouldered Hawk and took a few photos:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2iCcyMOmmrR7Gyz_YtI5Nx7BGj6GWTxJW0dBjdprni3H1rmlE99DETcVXc7csGetT_QP12hIp62-lMTySyKPhwJYzQwNfUe5rEqvglBC9h7AcyEpPl2k2FLtPLBOWsX4tdIsajuBhqUHU/s1600/IMG_0270+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" nfa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2iCcyMOmmrR7Gyz_YtI5Nx7BGj6GWTxJW0dBjdprni3H1rmlE99DETcVXc7csGetT_QP12hIp62-lMTySyKPhwJYzQwNfUe5rEqvglBC9h7AcyEpPl2k2FLtPLBOWsX4tdIsajuBhqUHU/s400/IMG_0270+%25282%2529.jpg" width="391" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirXmAqwWiLJNccYBtIPlFIdRI0HPabDNZkUorRbgnYh_sa_i5eR6lQ8Q7lRmmrrWVvLUbPCXaipxrDfu3OTeWKKkqhZ5XQt-J6Wwa4vXk9LUZXwIcKzHMm9gMBRjf4jndcS8mfchP5K6La/s1600/IMG_0313+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="594" nfa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirXmAqwWiLJNccYBtIPlFIdRI0HPabDNZkUorRbgnYh_sa_i5eR6lQ8Q7lRmmrrWVvLUbPCXaipxrDfu3OTeWKKkqhZ5XQt-J6Wwa4vXk9LUZXwIcKzHMm9gMBRjf4jndcS8mfchP5K6La/s640/IMG_0313+%25282%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdJz_o0ORJRFc_DuT_zvb5eoriTZ2xu7RMFEWYmKUio9Y0Zs7xfbwr7qQANq2dxDxHSDF02LDTa-ViV2pYDq1qDNWWFvz8DCn6pdmfJmtoNbzIod1Jo7goNlBpdmYxd_9J_KmMb-30BHqo/s1600/IMG_0339+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="630" nfa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdJz_o0ORJRFc_DuT_zvb5eoriTZ2xu7RMFEWYmKUio9Y0Zs7xfbwr7qQANq2dxDxHSDF02LDTa-ViV2pYDq1qDNWWFvz8DCn6pdmfJmtoNbzIod1Jo7goNlBpdmYxd_9J_KmMb-30BHqo/s640/IMG_0339+%25282%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
I think it is a beautiful thing:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt-gHQxaIgH7ZuAPmAlLVoGMaz9uvLe2DDekGYZqs_752GP4mIVQd0-xdobLGsitSMq1B0QD-EH5W58tIXCYDyxpT_mT-lWPAPeMR0aWe1NuelJ5Epz0MTK9A_ycQBiVdVjTaCbeD00cTM/s1600/IMG_0341+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" nfa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt-gHQxaIgH7ZuAPmAlLVoGMaz9uvLe2DDekGYZqs_752GP4mIVQd0-xdobLGsitSMq1B0QD-EH5W58tIXCYDyxpT_mT-lWPAPeMR0aWe1NuelJ5Epz0MTK9A_ycQBiVdVjTaCbeD00cTM/s640/IMG_0341+%25282%2529.jpg" width="630" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib9CtkwhV5LMTRnge3aZXoti0FwhzvF9clwc4i3QtwX03iY9_XN8b5lLJbWQGdTPZmD5RvMlj7uSyjLc-sLZnF4ZSBRuXdD2aWOxRmkwzDNPSaWOJ35YxWv2sTsCFlDp_wwipMfPt-mDmL/s1600/IMG_0343+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="490" nfa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib9CtkwhV5LMTRnge3aZXoti0FwhzvF9clwc4i3QtwX03iY9_XN8b5lLJbWQGdTPZmD5RvMlj7uSyjLc-sLZnF4ZSBRuXdD2aWOxRmkwzDNPSaWOJ35YxWv2sTsCFlDp_wwipMfPt-mDmL/s640/IMG_0343+%25282%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
Just lovely. Makes you feel privileged to have seen it.<br />
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When I got inside, I checked the memory card and, sure enough, it had a number of videos of bobcats playing over a period of just over a couple of hours. They played like big kitty cats. Here is a Youtube of about ten videos that I combined: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcS6W0MgImk&feature=g-upl&context=G25a8416AUAAAAAAABAA">Playing Bobcats</a></div>
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I don't know what it is but, lately, seems like everytime I go outside, I see wildlife that I never used to see. I saw a coyote in the pasture, yesterday, and today a half grown coyote pup crossed the road in front of me while I was driving home from the tree farm. I also saw one of the foxes in the pasture a couple of nights ago. </div>
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I set up the pasture trail cam so that it would show the girls while they barked at the foxes/coyotes. Here's another Youtube that I put together with the videos that turned up: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVgRy9dPLJg&list=UUSnNvy7GMn50RJpT3YjFVGg&index=1&feature=plcp">Fox and the Hounds</a></div>
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I've been working on a quilt for my sister-in-law that I meant to finish, last year:</div>
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There are a few things I do well but longarming is not my strong suit. To put it mildly. I've been struggling to not make a complete mess of it. I made a bit of progress, today, but didn't have a lot of time to devote to it, between taking Evelyn to the vet, running errands and studying for an activity I'm doing this weekend. </div>
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When I was in Law School, I competed on the Jessup International Law moot court team. The way the competition works is that each law school team in a given region is given a fictional factual scenario involving two fictional countries who are having international disputes. Usually, the competition fact pattern involves a humanitarian aspect and a business/trade aspect. The court case is treated as if it is being tried at the Hague and the law used is International Law. Public International Law deals with basic things like human rights and the law of war. Private International Law deals with trade issues, often involving treaties, the laws of the respective countries, and conventions. </div>
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International Law is very different from the law we are used to in the United States and, speaking as a citizen, having that background helps me, a little bit, to understand international events and why countries handle things the way they do. My professor coach, a peace corp alum and old hippie, summed it up a bit like this: "In international law, there is no police force. Even the Security Council of the United Nations isn't generally a player in disputes because the major counties have veto power and will exercise the veto in the best interests of their country. If countries can't agree on how to solve a problem, war is <em>always</em> an option. You can't just take another country to court to get satisfaction or call 911. It is a jungle out there - survival of the fittest." </div>
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After graduating, I used to act as a practice coach to help the teams prepare but had to give it up when we moved to Virginia. Now that we're back home, I'm helping out, again, and the practice round is this weekend. It is a lot of reading but I'm looking forward to it. And on that note, I need to get back to it. </div>
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Happy Quilting, Penny, Evelyn and PearlLady Beekeeperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10972692199686815560noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73733781599400422.post-44511885146576239262012-01-09T21:57:00.000-06:002012-01-09T22:03:58.566-06:00Eye Exams and Keeping Out the Foxes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8qNfwvAlXZHIyiRb9vrBhTqgXtSY27-1ur-1ju6Xkpdb8xSfFW6Z93KpQSrkmGTOY4vONFzDcFVLK-IBidlsuVgfpwoSMY6Tcd4nLrqXvcKcYBbrdbDtrOEM1bbrSsFbHITEQzELgy1Cf/s1600/PICT0030.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" kba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8qNfwvAlXZHIyiRb9vrBhTqgXtSY27-1ur-1ju6Xkpdb8xSfFW6Z93KpQSrkmGTOY4vONFzDcFVLK-IBidlsuVgfpwoSMY6Tcd4nLrqXvcKcYBbrdbDtrOEM1bbrSsFbHITEQzELgy1Cf/s640/PICT0030.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
Yesterday, I set up the pasture cam right outside the backyard fence and caught one of the foxes (I often see two). In the one, above, the fox is looking out in the direction of the barn. You can see the lights on the right that are the windows to our breakfast area: <br />
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That's Pearly at the back fence barking at Mr. Fox:<br />
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He doesn't look too concerned. I think foxes understand how fences work.<br />
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I set the trail cam on the video setting, today, so maybe I will get a video of the dogs fussing at the fox, tonight. I've not seen any coyotes up this close.<br />
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Pearly went to the eye specialist, today, who said that her left eye still has a "spot" but she is looking much better and her right eye looks healthy. She has to stay on drops another 5-6 days but is off the prednisone, antibiotics and dilating drops. She says she may simply have come off the medication, too soon, during the first go round, causing the relapse at Christmas. She said that she'll always be prone to relapses but that doesn't mean her eyes will be affected, next time. Good to hear!<br />
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In the following photo, she is squinting but I think that is because her eyes have been dilated and that makes her eyes very sensitive to light. I think dilating drops are satanic - I just hated them when I had to take them early in the course of treating my own eyes:<br />
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I also went to the eye doctor and got a clean bill of health. Finally! He seemed to think I could also have had Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever based on the symptoms, even though the labwork came back negative.<br />
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The following is Pearly out in the studio under my Barbie Doll worktable (note the pink paint). Like Evelyn, she is a good quilting buddy but Pearly is more prone to getting right under my feet. And not taking any hints to move. <br />
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I went to Oklahoma Quiltworks AND the Savage Quilter, today, looking for some neutral fabric to finish up the border on my 911 paper pieced stars quilt. Looking forward to going to the Oklahoma City Winter Quilt show, later this week.<br />
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Time to go to bed. Pearly takes it upon herself to round us up once she's ready. She'll go lay down in the dark on the bed, then practically crawl up in our laps until we capitulate. She gets a treat just before she goes to bed and that may be part of why she is so insistent that we start shutting things down. <br />
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Happy Quilting, Penny, Evelyn and PearlLady Beekeeperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10972692199686815560noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73733781599400422.post-70211436765107323972012-01-08T09:08:00.000-06:002012-01-08T10:48:17.516-06:00Wintertime and the Weather is Wonderful<br />
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In Oklahoma, the turning of the year can take place in the midst of a devastating ice storm or, as we've had this year, sunny, balmy weather in the 60's and even 70's. <br />
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Blue skies, day in and day out, with enough sunlight at dusk and dawn to make it seem like the days aren't quite as short as they really are. With cloud cover, it seems like the morning doesn't arrive until nearly 8:00 in the morning - and a dreary morning at that. But with bright sunshine, the dawn is like a child's laughter, waking you with a smile and bones that feel just a bit younger than you have a right to expect.<br />
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December and January are dry seasons in Oklahoma but, fortunately, we had enough rain in the fall to make up for much of the severe drought the state experienced in 2010/2011. I heard on the gardening channel, yesterday, that a healthy, established tree can survive about three consecutive years of drought and we haven't had that. God willing, we won't. I love the Oklahoma climate that can have a day or two of rain in the rainy season with about 5 days of sunny weather. The mid-level soil is retaining enough moisture that, with any luck (i.e., average rainfall), the farmers and ranchers will have better results, this year. We don't have much of a reserve but the farm ponds have filled, at least. Here is ours:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmxScqxr1SZcvCWVyC6AQgZAaLr-b5xXCHY9KMd4EOalu4bQQcYUg5fc8a3vnfsrW64-cnalCTYwb0gqMSU1c2lT-j1ERT947BW1hHEqKWuX-WerJRHENGdbGVmEVYki17mW0A2SvIoxwB/s1600/IMG_0055.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmxScqxr1SZcvCWVyC6AQgZAaLr-b5xXCHY9KMd4EOalu4bQQcYUg5fc8a3vnfsrW64-cnalCTYwb0gqMSU1c2lT-j1ERT947BW1hHEqKWuX-WerJRHENGdbGVmEVYki17mW0A2SvIoxwB/s640/IMG_0055.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Besides the main pond, above, we have a runoff pond that tends to stay full, too. Not the prettiest things but they stayed full during the drought. </div>
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<span id="goog_77323101"></span><span id="goog_77323102"></span>I go back to the eye doctor, tomorrow, and hope to get a full release. Until the past few days, I've remained on steroid drops and that means I can't wear my contacts. I get good acuity from my glasses at mid and far ranges but the distance to the computer screen and keyboard just happens to fall into an area prone to glare, making it frustrating to type. I am sure that has contributed to my lack of posting. But the plus side is that it has encouraged me to get out and about, more, and heaven knows my spirit and butt benefits from moving. <br />
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Pearly had a severe relapse with her eyes over Christmas and ended up back on prednisone, two types of eye drops and antibiotics. She also goes back to the specialist, tomorrow, and we hope she'll pronounce her well. She looks good:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRenl18L9zLrKg4ynVbVYqGQZVpbgI2BQPMu-i1km-4LV6sBoK_ymJuzYfS8QDvU4VwMbGksurnfIlLgPDCnn77VdN8zwjTXLelgowRsV2O8VfRy56fK3Lq_umgNn6ux2q77Rh4BMTQNbv/s1600/IMG_0125+%2528640x503%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="502" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRenl18L9zLrKg4ynVbVYqGQZVpbgI2BQPMu-i1km-4LV6sBoK_ymJuzYfS8QDvU4VwMbGksurnfIlLgPDCnn77VdN8zwjTXLelgowRsV2O8VfRy56fK3Lq_umgNn6ux2q77Rh4BMTQNbv/s640/IMG_0125+%2528640x503%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqQpHMbJG1W2-ki4obyf6ds5Kn3GJraobjbK5pERID16oCGYVlGgMxcWWKPoc59UVawx8n70QcjvWcxpY42TrR4ID7gPD9Fp6ztj2-Y_jN4z1Pb5yb1Jp1DWYEvCznDMjAz8SOWFODNQKv/s1600/IMG_0179+%2528640x503%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="502" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqQpHMbJG1W2-ki4obyf6ds5Kn3GJraobjbK5pERID16oCGYVlGgMxcWWKPoc59UVawx8n70QcjvWcxpY42TrR4ID7gPD9Fp6ztj2-Y_jN4z1Pb5yb1Jp1DWYEvCznDMjAz8SOWFODNQKv/s640/IMG_0179+%2528640x503%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrtXiQsmMcBf5Z_Nc4hspPIOj5OgdL-UaUVjYtHNJq_q6Cz6oWaZ58oj_blwgM-v8QeTrHwtNOQq779fjO-jLjfG7Gw1TbQrXZshRrX8EPOxyLkcXspKYzBum2eTFMQCL9-kvto9-am4AP/s1600/IMG_0243+%2528640x514%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="514" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrtXiQsmMcBf5Z_Nc4hspPIOj5OgdL-UaUVjYtHNJq_q6Cz6oWaZ58oj_blwgM-v8QeTrHwtNOQq779fjO-jLjfG7Gw1TbQrXZshRrX8EPOxyLkcXspKYzBum2eTFMQCL9-kvto9-am4AP/s640/IMG_0243+%2528640x514%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
Relapses are sometimes part of the insidious nature of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever but we yet don't know how frequent or severe they will be. She seemed to have faster results from the medication, this time, but we can tell she is still dragging and not "quite" herself. We think the medication, itself, may be the underlying cause of her malaise. <br />
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Evelyn has been fighting a severe ear infection and a suspected thyroid deficiency so has also been in and out of the vet's office. We changed the antibiotics she's on and they sent off samples to see why the last (powerful) antibiotic she was on didn't help. I do believe her coat is showing significant signs of improvement since she went on the thyroid medication. Her front half is gorgeous but her hips and tail have lacked an abundance of guard hairs and the undercoat is matty and stiff. In the past week or so, I've noticed the back hair is filling in, her tail hair is longer, and the coat, overall, is getting back the typical Samoyed silver glisten (like the way snow sparkles in the sun). It also feels significantly softer.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYzx7sp5SMmy2JYyPk5rclIbC7M4Dswf2hxVy4B5mFsOSSNm4sXMqvxYqXWVJiZdBO4qTkJg1vfsH6ws0AZIjbkjMvu23uaIQK_aJV6fzmOLYwMud-T5BYnO2y-8MhL-5tzbbzmla_QcO_/s1600/IMG_0161+%2528640x547%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="546" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYzx7sp5SMmy2JYyPk5rclIbC7M4Dswf2hxVy4B5mFsOSSNm4sXMqvxYqXWVJiZdBO4qTkJg1vfsH6ws0AZIjbkjMvu23uaIQK_aJV6fzmOLYwMud-T5BYnO2y-8MhL-5tzbbzmla_QcO_/s640/IMG_0161+%2528640x547%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
She is blowing out her coat in patches and hasn't done that in awhile. Her muzzle and topknot are blowing out hair like a doll loses stuffing. And her upper thighs are doing the same thing - which is a relief because that is the area where she tends to hang onto hair and get mats. Interestingly, since she went on the thyroid medication, she has gained a pound and a half. Go figure. We suspect she may have been benefiting from the treats Pearly has been getting to entice her to endure all her medical treatment. <br />
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The kids stayed in NYC for Christmas but we skyped Christmas morning so I could watch them open their presents. It was Grandson's first Christmas and while I didn't get to hold him, this was the next best thing. Check out this adorable photo taken by my son of Charlie watching Grandma on the monitor!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMZEB2OzGCKz37Z82h8a4F1TYv8dm_h2OM_ZR-l-auL2dGGbFALbtldTHwlTpOJ8TVcor8pFJe7AjjT85gIXwubpoYAHtSlMDulxyEbkCzNr5TAq3-WyKtd8ZCIa1wx7sB04wQFPFXmdke/s1600/Charlie+and+skype.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMZEB2OzGCKz37Z82h8a4F1TYv8dm_h2OM_ZR-l-auL2dGGbFALbtldTHwlTpOJ8TVcor8pFJe7AjjT85gIXwubpoYAHtSlMDulxyEbkCzNr5TAq3-WyKtd8ZCIa1wx7sB04wQFPFXmdke/s640/Charlie+and+skype.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
It was hard to not be there with them, but I was touched at how considerate and attentive my son was in making sure I could see what was going on. Without a word, he would adjust the monitor, turn it to make sure I could see the action and, just overall, make me feel part of the morning. He's a good father and son.<br />
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I've been doing quite a bit of tromping around out on our property and getting some fun wildlife photos on the trail cams I have set up out there and in the pasture, out back. The cams can be set for photo shots or video. I tend to get fox and coyote in the home pasture, but the bobcats, raccoon, deer, possum and armadillos show up on the property. Here are some of my trophies:<br />
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Here is a coyote that was not taken by a trail cam. I startled when I was crossing a field:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbgweFap-J3rMm40qojhhzy7gJggwAPrF5LkukfC6ikVoFiLIt4yLFTQLjsLGVVrmDznO394g3dBlE1unFSr0YCjV8TWHr9FiJ8LcgIGap0XdEoLFFpWeaz1fsGvG6DtCnzxC1hqmdRMkr/s1600/IMG_0051.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="574" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbgweFap-J3rMm40qojhhzy7gJggwAPrF5LkukfC6ikVoFiLIt4yLFTQLjsLGVVrmDznO394g3dBlE1unFSr0YCjV8TWHr9FiJ8LcgIGap0XdEoLFFpWeaz1fsGvG6DtCnzxC1hqmdRMkr/s640/IMG_0051.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
Bobcat:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUPeucuOpXN6fo0Q2Jwm1mCj2uGs8ceW6FMvxTHWTV21M4EFM18vkZ5g6E9zVBd_kq7GvgU686BHiL3zegNXSWcDilt6qc9zdYz0Xvi9Dxk5SGSt9wQPMv8OMhZvpDq3Gi7fszradoT6Tw/s1600/PICT0056+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUPeucuOpXN6fo0Q2Jwm1mCj2uGs8ceW6FMvxTHWTV21M4EFM18vkZ5g6E9zVBd_kq7GvgU686BHiL3zegNXSWcDilt6qc9zdYz0Xvi9Dxk5SGSt9wQPMv8OMhZvpDq3Gi7fszradoT6Tw/s640/PICT0056+%25282%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
Coyote:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxkMKkS8x4Ll8je55zO6ln9IquNvitw9koq_iBdnegbysWGS-5Ryolb9cQOJecb0XbJmVX9xtNs2r3jFad4F8vx4kP7zb6_5LJAi9XL81R81yxPs7PHXG1CM0t3Kkuhq44uHmb2is0St9U/s1600/PICT0153+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="558" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxkMKkS8x4Ll8je55zO6ln9IquNvitw9koq_iBdnegbysWGS-5Ryolb9cQOJecb0XbJmVX9xtNs2r3jFad4F8vx4kP7zb6_5LJAi9XL81R81yxPs7PHXG1CM0t3Kkuhq44uHmb2is0St9U/s640/PICT0153+%25282%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
Coyote:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgMF4buUg4xR8MlQsLyc77_TeQKFnIk8omtOz4N9e_FgFSkkp1BYrLsZ1vbYA5vW1mGaXyhaH_Omp2wYtUXc7rQ-CuB6okBGyHeH24qjKHH76as6GECSuyrvmDJOqCaLAMrNtFa1ENjY6u/s1600/PICT0083+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="564" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgMF4buUg4xR8MlQsLyc77_TeQKFnIk8omtOz4N9e_FgFSkkp1BYrLsZ1vbYA5vW1mGaXyhaH_Omp2wYtUXc7rQ-CuB6okBGyHeH24qjKHH76as6GECSuyrvmDJOqCaLAMrNtFa1ENjY6u/s640/PICT0083+%25282%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
Grizzled old buck:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw8JGiOi4gtTs-rUwRmQr_KjF7-dymha-B6rsIyN9dFr9OGKGzChpnUl7g9DiG8ER3jQDKywHdXS0N01q3Zp2K-EgRGknqhVnP0NrjU8KL-hH2ytF_26g8QmO_B2hrK9dpy5CnCWuzsjCc/s1600/PICT0100.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw8JGiOi4gtTs-rUwRmQr_KjF7-dymha-B6rsIyN9dFr9OGKGzChpnUl7g9DiG8ER3jQDKywHdXS0N01q3Zp2K-EgRGknqhVnP0NrjU8KL-hH2ytF_26g8QmO_B2hrK9dpy5CnCWuzsjCc/s640/PICT0100.JPG" width="492" /></a></div>
Bobcat:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1vlmmx5ITQBdZ47xL0XTJefTsCHpekreytsr9Pb1POkVpOq-VSzYqHhZJlG8I5gvOt-zpNtRDT8aWsjZSfGSHRYgJx3XM359jKDBSJ-Gz11Yb9aLY3pNadciEbhH0xXSFUBEZYs7m-5Jj/s1600/PICT0183bobcat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="366" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1vlmmx5ITQBdZ47xL0XTJefTsCHpekreytsr9Pb1POkVpOq-VSzYqHhZJlG8I5gvOt-zpNtRDT8aWsjZSfGSHRYgJx3XM359jKDBSJ-Gz11Yb9aLY3pNadciEbhH0xXSFUBEZYs7m-5Jj/s400/PICT0183bobcat.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
Me:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6L213aEQqcXfrE7QITeG50I7MY6ykGjFnWtz4bbLk9e6q3IbMcEt6f49so5EVPQADd0oZk9sA1K7p1rr510EPPgcVfhNnXxEsQBdDicKchZPu7X5AnAn3ksZCqU7rjg-37pxd8JdrQ7c-/s1600/IMG_0030copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6L213aEQqcXfrE7QITeG50I7MY6ykGjFnWtz4bbLk9e6q3IbMcEt6f49so5EVPQADd0oZk9sA1K7p1rr510EPPgcVfhNnXxEsQBdDicKchZPu7X5AnAn3ksZCqU7rjg-37pxd8JdrQ7c-/s400/IMG_0030copy.jpg" width="313" /></a></div>
<a href="http://draft.blogger.com/"></a><span id="goog_1987539883"></span><span id="goog_1987539884"></span><br />
I've also got quite a few videos. Our three legged coyote comes by regularly and I've learned the Fox swings by right after dark. If I hide in the barn, I can see him through the window. In one video, an owl swooped down and knocked the fox over! The fox looked freaked out. <br />
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Here are some recent trail cam video links:<br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Beh6NWSLf0&list=UUSnNvy7GMn50RJpT3YjFVGg&index=1&feature=plcp">Fox and Coyote in the Pasture</a><br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VxMkTk3M_U&feature=related">Red Fox in the Pasture</a><br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GC8k_3eGzM&feature=related">Bobcat on the property</a><br />
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We will be coming up on mating season for a lot of the wild critters in the next few months and I'm anticipating getting baby pictures by late spring - pretty excited about that. I heard a Great Horned Owl sending out a mating call, yesterday. They nest very early. <br />
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I've made a lot of progress on my 911 quilt. It will end up being a queen size with 16 twelve inch blocks (finished) on point. Yesterday, I finished up the sashing. Next step is the border and I am still pondering how I want to do it. My inclination is to make hourglass blocks using the colorful fabrics I used in the stars. I don't have enough matching neutrals but I might be able to scrap in some that are close that I have on hand. That would be my preference. Here are some recent photos - some are the backside:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEEHQRDA6x4-yiXFOv_dvvJWI2812EuU7DZnb3z9Ag6sTULw4e-zbKsb3G2B5kxp-WJ60QsAhLijvd9uY07l9AvE86GVgLC5MRAqoZCh9MhP4YnM2SJC9bypON4xni4yEdV34P6I1BUd7q/s1600/IMG_0269+%2528640x427%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEEHQRDA6x4-yiXFOv_dvvJWI2812EuU7DZnb3z9Ag6sTULw4e-zbKsb3G2B5kxp-WJ60QsAhLijvd9uY07l9AvE86GVgLC5MRAqoZCh9MhP4YnM2SJC9bypON4xni4yEdV34P6I1BUd7q/s640/IMG_0269+%2528640x427%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
These are from Carol Doak's Stars book:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzoROAXUSwbMIIBt-_nYTLn3vbYctkzE2ylBaeduhtHkNEGnBbdrMbDTc57cgfQR7yL6bbHyMgmAEyhQD3Q75hMSV826Dyp-e2D3R27id_lIsichgqPTwGdSzXSvOWhMAWlWj_YulEu4yB/s1600/IMG_0323+%2528640x427%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzoROAXUSwbMIIBt-_nYTLn3vbYctkzE2ylBaeduhtHkNEGnBbdrMbDTc57cgfQR7yL6bbHyMgmAEyhQD3Q75hMSV826Dyp-e2D3R27id_lIsichgqPTwGdSzXSvOWhMAWlWj_YulEu4yB/s640/IMG_0323+%2528640x427%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzol7jQYfDFhsvkDZTURqFPqyHEtuLSTU8vV5VtryPnGu8PN1VX1IOJdZclQvUgnny4_dnHdcT552ZEkQC_A-VqlQL-a-XlKZcZLQa9ONyBQxDZHUfGFEKGpduN-xxlfgnjz_aMHCowqYd/s1600/IMG_0333+%2528640x427%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzol7jQYfDFhsvkDZTURqFPqyHEtuLSTU8vV5VtryPnGu8PN1VX1IOJdZclQvUgnny4_dnHdcT552ZEkQC_A-VqlQL-a-XlKZcZLQa9ONyBQxDZHUfGFEKGpduN-xxlfgnjz_aMHCowqYd/s640/IMG_0333+%2528640x427%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
The black block is my favorite:<br />
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I am still pondering what I want to do for a border and plan to get on that later, today.<br />
I spent a good part of yesterday working out in the barn and when I came outside, Mr. Wonderful was up in a tree trimming branches. High up. I debated chewing him out for doing something so foolish as to climb a tree without someone available to call an ambulance but decided to just keep my mouth shut, pick up fallen branches and keep the phone handy. I used to think that pointing out that I was worried would convey to him that I loved him. I have decided that what that mainly conveys is a perceived lack of faith and, further, fosters a grumpy wave of irritation. And it is not like anything I say is going to cause him to be more cautious, headstrong man that he is. With age comes wisdom, I suppose. Or perhaps I am just conserving my strength for a battle I can win and is worth fighting. <br />
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I heard a lot about how often he used to climb trees as a lad. I managed to avoid pointing out that he climbed trees <em>FORTY FIVE YEARS AGO</em>. I expect that he will be hobbling around today and tomorrow, wondering why in the world he feels so sore. But he is a grownup and can make his own decisions about how to abuse himself. <br />
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The good news is that he returned to earth in one piece and the tree looks tons better. But even so, that is is one ugly tree:<br />
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And that is the AFTER picture!! You will have to trust me when I tell you that it looks a lot better. <br />
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I'm participating in the wildbird survey and need to go check the birdcam before I send in my results. I make my own suet and they seem to like it. I also moved the pasture trail cam to behind the barn and haven't yet checked it, today, so I'm off to do that, right now. <br />
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I hope all of you had a lovely Christmas and that 2012 is kind.<br />
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Happy Quilting, Penny, Evelyn and PearlLady Beekeeperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10972692199686815560noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73733781599400422.post-85942318540517077282011-11-27T23:23:00.001-06:002011-11-27T23:38:27.755-06:00We Can See!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Pearl looks to be well on her way to a full recovery from Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and is back to her sweet, affectionate, peanut catching self. I am also making progress although am still on prednisone, have ballooned up and can't wear my contacts, yet. But with my glasses, I can see pretty well.<br />
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Because I couldn't drive, I left the trail cam on out at our property and didn't check on it until a couple of days ago. It was left unattended for a couple of weeks and there were over 600 photos on it when I retrieved it. I didn't get any good shots of bobcats (although I saw some in the shadows), but I must have found an area where the deer go through because there were lots of photos of them. I also caught many photos of foxes, coyotes, an armadillo, a squirrel, rabbits, an owl, tons of raccoons, and possum (one night, one wandered back and forth in front of the camera for hours - that was a couple hundred photos, right there). <br />
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Isn't she a sweet thing? She kept trying to figure out the camera.<br />
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An armadillo is at the bottom of the following photo. He wandered around and tried to dig a hole right in front of the camera but it was too blurry to be of much use in sharing:<br />
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This stinker came by a few times, day and night:<br />
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My kids all came for Thanksgiving and were here a few days, which thrilled me beyond my ability to express. Charlie is getting so big and he is SUCH a good little boy. </div>
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He was a sight for sore eyes.<br />
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I hope all of my blogger friends had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday.</div>
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Happy Quilting, Penny, Evelyn and PearlLady Beekeeperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10972692199686815560noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73733781599400422.post-39871307156856728932011-11-22T19:31:00.001-06:002011-11-22T23:21:44.773-06:00Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever - not the fun you'd expect<br />
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It has been a very long time since I blogged and several people have sent me personal notes to make sure nothing is wrong. I really appreciate that - so thoughtful. As it turns out, we actually HAVE had some relatively serious health problems which is why I haven't posted. Blessedly, things are getting better and full recoveries are expected. And when I mention health problems, I mean Pearlie and me. <br />
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Mr. Wonderful has been working and carting us, nearly daily, to various doctors, picking up prescriptions, making sure we're fed, making sure we get our medicine, and just generally pulling quadruple duty on just about everything. He has been a complete saint. <br />
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Primarily due to the prednisone, he is completely getting on my nerves. He's bossy and I don't even like his eyebrows, these days. <br />
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Life is not fair. <br />
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Okay, so it all started in early October when we took the girls to a new veterinarian. Nice man and they really liked him. We liked him. He switched them from Frontline (flea and tick, topical) to a once a month pill that just kept them from getting fleas. Okay. So I worried a little bit about that but it is fall and the girls don't really get out in the woods in the football field that is our backyard. <br />
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So about that same time, the drought FINALLY broke and we started getting the fall rains. Thank you, GOD! But because the grass was so sparse from no rain, we ended up with places in the yard that had mud. No problem, there are old bales of hay in the pasture and Mr. Wonderful spread some along the trails to keep the girls from tracking mud into the house. Pearlie was right there with him, looking up at his side, with a big grin on her face. <br />
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Pearlie is very helpful. <br />
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While they were fixing up the yard, I was doing some deep cleaning in the house. I brushed down all the baseboards and shampooed the carpets. <br />
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A few days later, on October 11, my face took on a rash and then both eyes ballooned shut like I'd been in a fight. Horrible. I've learned my lesson and promptly went to the doctor. They gave me a steroid shot. It wasn't poison ivy - didn't feel like that and it really didn't itch, either. They didn't know what it was. Still don't.<br />
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So the swelling goes down over the next few days and other than the emotional anguish at the loss of my youthful good looks (my eyes appeared to be swimming in the ocean of loose skin that had stretched out), I felt fine.<br />
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I took a picture but am not posting it. You can thank me. <br />
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So on the 25th, Pearl starts squinting. First her left eye, then, in a day or so, her right. By Friday afternoon (the 28th), the whites of her eyes went blood red and she was utterly miserable - poor darling would sit with her eyes pressed shut, clearly in pain. <br />
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Note the runny nose in the photo, above.<br />
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We took her straight to the doctor on Saturday morning.<br />
<br />
The doctor looked at her but didn't do a thorough exam. No staining the eye looking for ulcers. He didn't even shine a light in her eyes. He asked a few questions about what she has been doing, and said he thought she probably just got hay in her eyes and irritated them. He told us to rinse them out. <br />
<br />
Okay. <br />
<br />
On Monday, she was still just miserable. Clearly in pain. I took her back and tried to make the doctor understand something was WRONG. He didn't even examine her, closely. He walked through the waiting room (where we were waiting), wandered back to the back and came out with some ointment to put in her eyes twice a day. He speculated that perhaps when I was doing the heavy cleaning, I might have disturbed old mouse droppings that irritated both our eyes. <br />
<br />
EEwwwww. <br />
<br />
Two days later, Pearlie was REALLY sick. We took her back (this was Wednesday). At this point, he decided that she either got bit by a spider, or perhaps hit her head and got cellulitis. By this time, Mr. Wonderful and I are looking at each other and not making eye contact with him while he prattled on. He told us a war story about a horse that had a scratched cornea that, when they touched it, ruptured and dissolved right out the front of the eye. Fascinating story but not really what we wanted to hear. Still no thorough eye exam. No lab work. But he did prescribe some antibiotics and told us to increase the eye ointment to three times a day. <br />
<br />
She got worse. We were beside ourselves by Friday morning and Mr. Wonderful called a second vet. Surprisingly, she picked up the phone, herself. She was on large animal rotation that day and out in the field so she couldn't see Pearlie in her office. No problem, sez she. Pearl needed to be seen and she promised to come by the house and do a house call when she finished her rounds that evening. <br />
<br />
We nearly dropped our teeth.<br />
<br />
At about 6:30, after having already put in a nearly 12 hour day, the lady vet showed up at the house and checked out Pearlie. She spent over two hours looking her over with poor miserable Pearlie standing on the kitchen counter. We were so impressed. <br />
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When she finished, she still didn't know what what was causing the problem but she knew she didn't have a cornea ulcer although her corneas were very swollen and horribly red. We weren't in her office so she couldn't take a lab sample but she wanted us to see a veterinarian ophthalmologist on Monday, at the latest. She gave us contact information to a specialist and left us with her number if Pearl got worse. She said to take her to the hospital if she didn't get better over the weekend. And she put her on prednisone, steroid eyedrops, a second eye ointment and told us to continue the antibiotics and ointment. Pearlie was out of her mind with pain, especially with the nearly hourly need to put in drops or ointment. She didn't understand we were trying to help her and it was heartbreaking to see her go from being completely trusting to slinking away when we called her. <br />
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On Saturday, Pearl's eyes popped open and she went bug eyed. She was in a lot of pain:<br />
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On Sunday, we could tell she couldn't see. Our champion peanut catcher couldn't even find them on the floor. And she was still in a lot of pain. We called the specialist. She and her husband met us at her clinic after church. <br />
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We were scared to death. <br />
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Evelyn, by the way, was not particularly concerned:<br />
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By that time, Pearlie had just had all she could take on being fussed with. We were both impressed at how patient the specialist was with her. She is a very low key individual who oozed professionalism and kindness. She had to use all her equipment and the light had to be just killing Pearl's sore eyes. Pearl was like a worm in hot ashes. We felt like we were torturing her. <br />
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Once she finished the examination, the specialist stood up (from sitting on the floor with Pearl) and set aside the tools she's been using. Okay, she sez - Optic Neuritis - inflamed optic nerves. She believed Pearl had a systemic problem or it wouldn't have gotten back there - the optic nerves weren't going to be inflamed by hay (she was much more tactful than that). She put her on a different antibiotic, tossed out some of the drops and one of the ointments, and arranged for her to come back in the morning for a follow-up and to do the bloodwork. We were worried she'd end up blind (or dead) but she said, firmly, "No, she will make a full recovery." <br />
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What a relief. I know people with blind dogs and I know they do much better than people do, but no one wants that. And for people who have followed this blog for a few years, we lost Jezebel nearly three years ago to the day but the grief is still there. We got Pearlie after losing Jezebel. Just a little bit too close to the bone. <br />
<br />
So we brought her back the next morning (Monday, November 14th) for labwork and a follow-up. She was doing a little better. We made arrangements to come back the following Monday for a second follow-up.<br />
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I woke up the next morning with the headache from hell. I felt like my eyes were going to explode out of my head. I get migraines but this didn't feel like one. It was directly behind my eyes. After a couple of hours, it went away and I chalked it up to a sinus headache although it didn't act like one. <br />
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The next day, I got a bad aura over my right eye. I thought I was getting a migraine even though I haven't gotten an aura in years and never get one in that location. To my surprise, it went away after about thirty minutes and didn't leave a headache or any of the other side effects that go with a migraine. <br />
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On Thursday morning, November 17th, that right eye went to hell. Just like that. Light was intensely painful, everything swirled and a dark shadow covered the eye so I couldn't see. Scared me spitless. <br />
Mr. Wonderful, who was in the middle of an important project that had people waiting for his input, dropped everything and got me right to the eye specialist. The doctor diagnosed it as Anterior Uveitis (inflammation of the uvea - the front part of the eye). The retina and optic nerve weren't involved beyond just being part of the eye. That made me less freaked. He put me on steroid drops and we set up a follow-up for the next week. Of course with Pearlie having eye problems, we all wondered if there was a connection. They drew 13 vials of blood to check me for everything from HIV to TB to Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, auto immune diseases, you name it. <br />
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By that evening, I couldn't see much of anything. Everything was like a dense fog. I later learned (from the vet) that this was from all the dead cells floating in my eye catching the light like headlights in fog. I literally couldn't see more than about four inches in front of me - like having my head wrapped in mist. Horrible. <br />
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On Saturday, my other eye did the same thing as the right. It was excruciating and the fog just got worse, if that is possible. MY specialist met us in his office on Saturday (after his racket ball game)and was unhappy that not only had the first eye gotten worse, the second was also bad. He put me on prednisone and increased the steroid drops. <br />
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For about a week, I couldn't see anything. I don't mean I just had blurry vision - I mean I was just this side of blind. All I could see were vague shapes. Between that and the prednisone and my eyes hurting like you wouldn't believe, I have been a joy to be around. <br />
<br />
Pearlie went back to her specialist on Monday the 14th. She was starting to feel much better and the prednisone was making her ravenous. I was afraid Evelyn might start looking like beefsteak to her. Moreover, she was drinking several gallons of water a day and started having accidents. It really upset her because she just doesn't have accidents. Since I couldn't see, Mr. Wonderful was the one pressed into service (with prednisone laced Penny insisting that he missed a spot. I was sure of it). <br />
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The lab hadn't run the test for Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever for Pearl so we re-sent a sample. Everything else had come back negative. Pearl's vision was coming back and we set up another follow-up for December 5th.<br />
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As for me, I went to the doctor later that day and all my test results were negative (including Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever). My eyes weren't much better. He said they were, slightly, but you couldn't tell it by me. I was starting to get a little depressed about it. <br />
<br />
He had me come back on Wednesday, November 16th, and although he felt things were better, I was still all but blind. I could see about two feet in front of me but it was blurry and foggy. <br />
<br />
That same day we found out what was going on with Pearl - sure enough, she had Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. Although my tests for Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever came back negative, they often have false negatives in the early stages. But we don't know and I never had a fever.<br />
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On Monday, November 21 (yesterday) I went back to the doctor and both of us agreed that my eyes were better. We started cutting back on the prednisone (Mr. Wonderful may end up surviving after all) as well as the dilating drops and steroid drops. That has helped, tremendously, in clearing up my vision and I believe if I had to, I could actually drive. It would hurt (I am still very sensitive to the sun) and it is still foggy, but I could do it in an emergency.<br />
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By now, Pearl is so good at getting her ointment that she will present herself, sweetly, to have stuff put in her eyes without fighting. Then she gets a cookie... I honestly think she has gained about 7 pounds in two weeks and she was only 63 pounds when it started out. We are both so relieved that she has stopped fighting us and is now acting as though she is a member of the team instead of being waterboarded. About the time she is due a "treatment," she comes to get Mr. Wonderful. So it is all coming around to where we want it to be. <br />
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Oh! And I meant to say my latest passion (besides the darkest sunglasses I can find) are my new trail cams. Before my eyesight went hinky, I was checking them everyday and having a blast doing it. They have ultra red flashes and I set one up out on our property and the first two days we got deer, bobcat, raccoons, possums, rabbits and coyotes.<br />
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The cams also have a video feature which I've been running out in the pasture in the back. I've gotten quite a few coyotes and a fox. One of the coyotes has only three feet. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/PennyQuilts?blend=7&ob=5">Three Foot and His Friend</a><br />
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Next up, I plan to set it up behind the barn because I saw Bob White Quail out there this afternoon.<br />
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But right now, even as I am typing, Grandson Charlie is on his first plane ride and he is bringing his mama, my son and one of my daughters to spend Thanksgiving with Grandma! And my other daughter and her sweet husband will be here in the morning. <br />
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So all is well - or getting there. I have much to be thankful for and hope you all have a lovely holiday.<br />
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Happy Quilting, Penny, Evelyn and PearlLady Beekeeperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10972692199686815560noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73733781599400422.post-7170106485462657082011-10-04T15:22:00.004-05:002011-10-04T15:22:48.501-05:00Paper Pieced Blocks and Steers Wearing Hats<br />
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Notwithstanding that I have a zillion other quilting projects that need to be finished, I have been happily working on my 9-11 blocks, instead. At my last posting, I had completed four or five but I have twelve, at this point. Here are the last eight:<br />
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I was looking for some color when I did this one and think I may have walked off the plank:<br />
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This is one of my favorites:<br />
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This one, not so much. It has more pieces of fabric meeting in the middle than ought to be legal. I do not believe a large caliber bullet could pierce it at the center:<br />
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I had to squash it down with a vengeance to get it to lay flat for the photo. <br />
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The following has some of my favorite colors but it didn't really come out the way it looked in my head so I am a little unhappy with it. Sometimes these things surprise me in a good way, but this one surprised me in that it is a little boring:<br />
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I had a wild hair to incorporate a batik to soften the bright orange and it is okay, but clashes a bit, seems to me. One it is quilted, it should smooth out the tones:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIhf_vWmM9HEUmIJTG7-a5yi8nWitJC1IO2dxnIferAeko7KSeCUEsb6K7jK1MEB1L0QZ6UL9RQSQHJvZ_sPrmccmeXm7WyjHs-TkuM8DWM8n29pSJbcARN-Smgxl-7vHFVuutwWdbceT2/s1600/IMG_0001+%2528640x427%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" kca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIhf_vWmM9HEUmIJTG7-a5yi8nWitJC1IO2dxnIferAeko7KSeCUEsb6K7jK1MEB1L0QZ6UL9RQSQHJvZ_sPrmccmeXm7WyjHs-TkuM8DWM8n29pSJbcARN-Smgxl-7vHFVuutwWdbceT2/s640/IMG_0001+%2528640x427%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a>I used this one to put together a tutorial for my quilting buddy, Thearica (not yet posted). It is a really simple pattern and a good one to learn to paper piece. Thearica already knows how to paper piece but if I were teaching a class, this is a pattern I might use.</div>
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I am not sure I would use the yellow and green, again. But I like it okay.<br />
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I have been so busy I've been meeting myself coming and going. I took lots of photos, have lots of things going on, and no time at the moment to ramble on about it. Husband has been out of town for a couple of days and this is probably a good time to go chill out in the studio. <br />
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Happy Quilting, Penny, Evelyn and PearlLady Beekeeperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10972692199686815560noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73733781599400422.post-10308425330735182722011-09-12T11:27:00.001-05:002011-09-12T11:45:36.279-05:00Displaying the Colors<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The ten year anniversary of September 11th has come and gone. Each year, during the year, the memories fade to the background and I begin to believe that day is turning into just another event in my past and in the past of America. Invariably, however, the mere sight of an image from that horrible morning or even an event that memorializes it with a simple bowed head brings a lump to my throat and it is like it all happened just hours before.<br />
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This seems appropriate. The younger ones who didn't experience 911 will see it as a distant memory and that is to be expected. I watch films of the aftermath of Pearl Harbor with interest and compassion but I don't experience the event as our people did at that time. I am not the crucible of those memories. 911 is the bubbling, molten metal of my generation and, God willing, will never be displaced by another national event of similar horror.<br />
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For the past couple of weeks, I've been doing some substitute teaching for an elementary school art class. OMG, they are cute as bugs and busy as hummingbirds.<br />
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Several asked me if I am a witch. They assure me this is a <em><strong>good</strong></em> thing and I am bemused that Harry Potter has so changed our cultural image of witches. <br />
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I took that as a great compliment, considering. <br />
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A little second grader asked me if I lived on a farm. After a clarifying question or two, it turned out that she wondered because of my accent - I have a very heavy Texas twang that stops people in their tracks if they aren't used to it. She and I agreed that living on a farm would be <em><strong>wonderful</strong></em>. <br />
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A third child asked me if I lived in the forest because I just looked like the kind of person who would live in the woods. No, it was not because of my hair or my voice or clothes. He didn't know why someone like me should live in the forest but it just seemed like I should. <br />
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Hmmm.<br />
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Mr. Wonderful (who has an engineer's odd brain), was perplexed at this comment because this is ranch and wheat farm country so <strong><em>obviously</em></strong> I don't live in the forest. <br />
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Sigh.<br />
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I am just going to chalk it up to a child's perception that someone "like me" should live in the woods and not think about it much beyond that. <br />
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That kid had my number. <br />
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At any rate, on Friday morning they had their weekly assembly and the topic of the week was remembering 9-11. I've been so busy trying to stay awake/upright as a result of the fatigue associated with teaching all day that I hadn't been thinking much about the coming memorials. <br />
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Unexpectedly, the assembly brought me to my knees, emotionally. Seeing those earnest, innocent faces - few were even born ten years ago - reading poems and essays they'd written took me back to watching the Pentagon burn, and further, to my own childhood. Quite a few of them have parents who served, or continue to serve, in the military and they were proud of their parents and confident that America is a wonderful place to live. It reminded me that although events like 9-11 change the psyche of individuals and the culture of a nation, the children are still children and the horrors of the past are more like stories than trauma. Thank god. If we adults do our jobs right, we teach them what they need to know but don't burden them with the emotional tolls of the ages.<br />
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Over the years, I've spent 9-11 in a variety of ways. In the early years, I sat glued to the television watching the images and stories of that day, reliving my own pain and determined to learn and remember the people who lost their lives that day. As the years passed, I began spending more time in quiet contemplation, considering the loss of those lives and the grief of the families and loved ones who are surely still suffering. Spiritually, I have been wearing black in mourning on this anniversary and this seems right, to me.<br />
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But like all mourning, there comes a time when you stop wearing black and clothe yourself in colors, answering the call that life sends out to all of us. This year, we decided to turn off the television and go to a small town rodeo where the America looks and feels much like it did in my youth. I took a lot of photos and apologize that most aren't very good because of lack of light and sufficient skill behind the camera:<br />
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It made me feel young again.<br />
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We saw kids in cowboy hats:<br />
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Pink is big:<br />
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Kids without cowboy hats:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKKepaHjkexxP-HGjjKtIVgjHOrrDAtPy9DKyOepBYB3Sc43ozFjETGazDE5MNWtBN3t_7F2GxftZJIaQMZdYvu10VS2h4_sVfUKUiTXTFKnMzbictaag_eWddDTWFWTTxlS8wnP-Jlm8C/s1600/IMG_0088+%2528640x427%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" rba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKKepaHjkexxP-HGjjKtIVgjHOrrDAtPy9DKyOepBYB3Sc43ozFjETGazDE5MNWtBN3t_7F2GxftZJIaQMZdYvu10VS2h4_sVfUKUiTXTFKnMzbictaag_eWddDTWFWTTxlS8wnP-Jlm8C/s640/IMG_0088+%2528640x427%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
But hat or no, the kids had fun:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZXXisWHDVMnARctS-CXiFyIUIj253Zbdw7oGsjSbTjiNzgyKPMAGDROvwNR0OGK4__tn_nW_ZZ3iNNKjZ3MHaWcnmIES2uZT0pWUu27fatLlwKCgEyHG_6GIvKbw05FZQVBub-GUxH9_L/s1600/IMG_0184+%2528640x427%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" rba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZXXisWHDVMnARctS-CXiFyIUIj253Zbdw7oGsjSbTjiNzgyKPMAGDROvwNR0OGK4__tn_nW_ZZ3iNNKjZ3MHaWcnmIES2uZT0pWUu27fatLlwKCgEyHG_6GIvKbw05FZQVBub-GUxH9_L/s640/IMG_0184+%2528640x427%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
Cowgirls with cell phones:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipJIOQcuerc7X7sQk9_Uc_q_9SVN5p6shZdwovJPUrJbBrquYHZNlgAN59357RvP_POF5C6F5ObiJ3DEJn0QTExZdGkJeg69VUb6NEVNggVrQmny4u0NwTHg1nP-9CGr79mHh2CpgBlaCI/s1600/IMG_0046+%2528640x427%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="560" rba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipJIOQcuerc7X7sQk9_Uc_q_9SVN5p6shZdwovJPUrJbBrquYHZNlgAN59357RvP_POF5C6F5ObiJ3DEJn0QTExZdGkJeg69VUb6NEVNggVrQmny4u0NwTHg1nP-9CGr79mHh2CpgBlaCI/s640/IMG_0046+%2528640x427%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
I think the cellphone gal is adorable. What a sweet face!<br />
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Cowgirls without cellphones:<br />
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Powerful horses:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg92SOUboLd2davixDSd9qMHPFDEgYv2Y8n4rHL2AGbNoubUhKMZKZHQvVEq14aQEEv4IidSUmNEfHDTdjN6AhVAVGE8LbD6WVECFRNqNvUN90qJKi8oterhLQGQMrjVV-lL2N1N3rQfm-3/s1600/IMG_0633+%2528640x427%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="420" rba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg92SOUboLd2davixDSd9qMHPFDEgYv2Y8n4rHL2AGbNoubUhKMZKZHQvVEq14aQEEv4IidSUmNEfHDTdjN6AhVAVGE8LbD6WVECFRNqNvUN90qJKi8oterhLQGQMrjVV-lL2N1N3rQfm-3/s640/IMG_0633+%2528640x427%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Fearless cowboys:<br />
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And cowgirls:<br />
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Babies on horseback:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjckHlE1Cm90NHKL0CgWBvNJ7w2YyeYpDrEErH6nR1E5IsBgDt89EfE5kJ94R9cgCZnm3W9wPcBz_7JkpnvgirQ4n9-n8eG21ptGQx-s1zvfFqsb_4P5hzMuLWx8DaKjSC0XVKd76Snc6Ei/s1600/IMG_0058+%2528640x427%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" rba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjckHlE1Cm90NHKL0CgWBvNJ7w2YyeYpDrEErH6nR1E5IsBgDt89EfE5kJ94R9cgCZnm3W9wPcBz_7JkpnvgirQ4n9-n8eG21ptGQx-s1zvfFqsb_4P5hzMuLWx8DaKjSC0XVKd76Snc6Ei/s640/IMG_0058+%2528640x427%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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This little cowpoke worked the whole rodeo rounding up stray livestock:</div>
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Babies on foot:</div>
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Sheep:</div>
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Babies on sheep (for awhile):</div>
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Stadium lights and flags:<br />
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Good friends on horseback:<br />
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Good friends afoot (this guy lost his hat and his cow - and his buddy thought that was a hoot):<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN6eE3Eu3Gg2NinwSg_eFyo1P1kZb4VweAG8t3vCWV7yMXTrENfx-VSuihQ3UOD5J54bQVN6s8nfSiaAkyXSkcE1cosQxga-Yl7XaBfRscOnIFUeGB5mUSqcBV_4C_G80mlB8gFhb2_6Bc/s1600/IMG_0898+%2528640x427%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" rba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN6eE3Eu3Gg2NinwSg_eFyo1P1kZb4VweAG8t3vCWV7yMXTrENfx-VSuihQ3UOD5J54bQVN6s8nfSiaAkyXSkcE1cosQxga-Yl7XaBfRscOnIFUeGB5mUSqcBV_4C_G80mlB8gFhb2_6Bc/s640/IMG_0898+%2528640x427%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
What would we do without good friends to laugh at us and hand us our hat when we land on our butt?<br />
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Lassos:<br />
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It was grand. I had on my favorite cowboy boots and trudging through the sand was a workout. I would have much preferred to have a horse. The estrogen and testosterone literally oozing off the young cowboys and cowgirls made me laugh.<br />
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I find that it is just as much fun to watch their sweet silliness as it was to personally drown in the hormones. I think that is one of the most delightful surprises of getting older.<br />
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And I started a new Quilt in honor of 9-11 and, without thinking about it, was drawn to colors:<br />
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I think it is just time.<br />
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Happy Quilting, Penny, Evelyn and PearlLady Beekeeperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10972692199686815560noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73733781599400422.post-49686992742448357822011-08-30T23:37:00.001-05:002011-08-30T23:37:40.329-05:00Songs of the Fathers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Back when I was working as a Guardian <em>ad litem</em>, I regularly dealt with divorced parents or parents who had never wed in the first place. More often than not, the children ended up living with the mother but that was primarily the decision of the parents more than the court. Even in custody cases where the courts ruled in favor of the mother, it was usually because the mother had been the primary caregiver, by the choice of the parents, long before the case ever ended up in court. Courts hate to rock the boat.<br />
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In my opinion, some of the the most painful custody cases involved parents who were both strongly engaged with their children, often sharing physical custody until one or the other married and moved away. The friendliest, most respectful ex partners had their hearts shredded under those circumstances, and the one moving away was typically outwardly defensive while inwardly burning from guilt.<br />
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Usually, the mother was the parent who had married/remarried and was moving away, leaving a father who had done everything "right" in terms of fatherhood, but was still losing his children and his dreams of a long term relationship with them. They thought of all the ballgames and scout meetings and holidays they'd miss. All the dance recitals, all the parent teacher conferences, all the lost opportunities to teach their children their individual family traditions and values. All the casual times with their child they wouldn't have. They'd torture themselves with images of their beloved child turning to his or her stepdad, instead, or, even worse, just being left with no father to guide them, at all. If they'd done something selfish or cruel that ended the marriage, they thought of the price they (and their child) was paying and what a fool they'd been They'd think of relocating to the mother's new area to stay close to their children but that would feel so weird and bizarre. And if they had built a different life, perhaps had a wife, good job, or other children in the original location, moving simply wasn't an option. <br />
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My heart broke for these fathers. <br />
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My own parents divorced when I was two months old. They lived in Houston, Texas, and my mother moved back to her parents 90 miles away. For a number of years, my father religiously came to see us every weekend. He never skipped a child support payment despite being hard pressed to afford that check. He tried his level best to be at least as involved in our lives as fathers were in those days. He was one of the "good" ones. <br />
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There was some tension with my parents on his proper role. Mom believed he should take the kids and entertain us for the weekend. Be a PuttPutt dad. She was convinced that he came, not to see his kids, but because he still carried a torch for her. In contrast, he believed just being around as often as possible was the healthier route.<br />
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I agree with my father. But I think my mom was right - he was still in love with her. <br />
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Never having lived with a father, I took it in stride and didn't feel deprived. Not really. <br />
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Maybe some. <br />
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Maybe a lot, depending on what was going on at the time. <br />
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Mostly I tried not to think about it. <br />
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When I was three years old, my mother moved two states away, effectively ending my father's weekly visits. Back in those days, a single father had few legal rights and he didn't protest. He remarried within a year and they spent their honeymoon visiting us in Alabama. <br />
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My mother was bemused. <br />
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We moved back to Texas after a year and my father, despite his marital obligations, did his best to regularly visit us and stay a part of our lives. I adored my father but months would go by and I wouldn't even think of him. He was not a part of my day to day mundane life. Instead, he was an event, like the coming of Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny. <br />
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I took him for granted which, I suppose, is better than fixating on the loss.<br />
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My mother remarried when I was four, then divorced within a year. From time to time, my father would visit and because I was a child, I didn't even consider how difficult that must have been for him and how he had to juggle his obligations to do it. As an adult, I look back and am humbled at the effort he continued to make to be a part of my life. To be my dad.<br />
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When I was eleven, we moved to Oklahoma. It was not until I was a young adult, in a moment of weakness, that my father bitterly told me that he first learned we were moving from a casual friend who mentioned it, assuming that my father must have already known. Even as a young adult and parent, I wasn't really able to comprehend the level of horror and heartbreak he must have felt. In essence, the people he loved the most were being taken from him and he not only had no say in the matter, he was considered to be so inconsequential that he wasn't consulted.<br />
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Children are remarkably resilient and able to adapt to situations that strike their parents as fundamentally wrong. But it doesn't mean the parents don't suffer simply because their children are oblivious to their pain. <br />
Over the years, I visited my father a couple of times a year. Sometimes once a year. We fell into a life where this was normal and I believe my father eventually moved on to be more emotionally invested in his wife, new son and stepchildren. For the most part, I didn't mind but my mother said of all the kids, I was the one who missed him the most and wanted him in my life. <br />
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My mother was right. <br />
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But all that being said, notwithstanding the problems, my father was an enormous influence on my life, my heart and my soul. Despite the difference in time and space, I "got" my father. I understood how he went from "A" to "B." I never had a clue how my Mother made decisions but my father's were crystal clear. It was like our brain waves were on the same channel. I understood, without effort, his values, his dreams, his disappointments, his triumphs and his joys. Like all adults, he went through evolutions of how he viewed life and for some reason, no matter the stage, it made sense to me even when I wasn't at the same place in his life. I am not sure he ever knew that but I hope he did.<br />
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My father always sang to us and until recently, I never heard a more beautiful voice. He would sing songs along with the radio. He'd sing, "My Darling Clementine," "Patches," and "The Green Beret." I told him, once, that he should have been a professor singer and he seemed taken aback but pleased. <br />
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He taught me to bait a hook and shoot a rifle. He told me about wildlife. He told me tales that haunted him from his time in the Korean War. He was simply <em><strong>the best</strong></em> at telling ghost stories. When he drank he got maudlin but for the most part, he was about looking at the good in things and doing the best you can, no matter what. In his younger years he was a hunter but as he aged, the idea of killing became abhorrent - for him, anyway. He became a conservationist. He loved his cat. He was good friends with his bookie. He kept a running list of things he wanted to ask God about when he got the chance. <br />
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My father gave me hope that with age comes wisdom. I watched him evolve and it seemed "right" to me. He never became hardened and set in his ways. On the contrary - as he aged he grew supple in his spirituality, more focused on the essence of what he believed god to be, and grew in kindness and tolerance. He was never "churchy," rather, he was a man on a spiritual journey and enjoying all the things he learned along the way. I never saw his deepening spirituality as being hypocritical. To me, it seemed as if his steps were being guided by something bigger than he was and, in small part, provided for my benefit. I watched him face adversity with dignity and with growing spiritual strength and faith as he aged, faced financial ruin, interpersonal tragedy, and loss of his health. My father demonstrated to me the ability to experience life with a sense of profound gratitude and an ability to seize upon the small things to bring joy. <br />
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My father demonstrated, to me, the secret of happiness.<br />
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I wish I'd had the wisdom or foresight to tell him what he gift he'd given but I didn't. His death came before I expected it and I was so comfortable with his relationship with his god that I didn't think it was any of my business to ask him for an introduction. <br />
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Sometimes, when I think of my dad, I think he was born under an unfortunate star. He always said he hoped he left the world a better place by virtue of being in it. I think he did. <br />
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So when I was a guardian <em>ad litem</em> dealing with a distraught young father, I used to tell them that although my father was not around all the time when I was growing up, I KNEW he was my father and I was connected to him as any daughter would be. I knew so much would depend on how hard they tried to remain a part of their child's life but it seemed to offer them some comfort. And it was honest. It was simplistic, but honest. There was no way I could tell them how complicated it all was. All I could give them was the bottom line. <br />
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My father used to sing to the kids. He had a pleasant voice and I don't think of my father without thinking of him singing a song, usually with a beer in his hand, generally after drinking too much. To this day, nothing makes me feel more <em><strong>safe</strong></em>, than that memory. And I think that is what fathers are for. In that, he succeeded. And that is no small thing. <br />
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It is a delight, to me, to listen to my own son singing to Grandson Charlie. <br />
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I thought my father had a lovely voice but I KNOW my son's songs are from the angels. When I hear my son sing to Charlie, I am taken back to my own father. I think how he lives on in my heart, and am so grateful that my son, while he has had his share of heartache, was not born under an unlucky star.<br />
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Happy Quilting, Penny, Evelyn and PearlLady Beekeeperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10972692199686815560noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73733781599400422.post-30444938140820427822011-08-23T11:35:00.001-05:002011-08-23T11:35:34.473-05:00Wild Kingdom<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Had a great walk out on our property, west of us. We have 53 acres, half of which is now being farmed but the other half has a couple of small ponds on it and is left wild. Everytime I go out and scout around, I see something that delights me.<br />
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When I crested the hill by the pond, about ten GIANT bullfrogs leaped into the water:<br />
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I kid you not, they had to be 10 - 14 inches in length with heads the size of softballs.<br />
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I found a couple of empty turtle shells:<br />
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And one full one:<br />
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Bunch of flowers:<br />
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Love our dynamic Oklahoma sky:<br />
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Dead stuff:<br />
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At least a zillion grasshoppers, most of whom appeared to be making out with their sweethearts:</div>
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These rascals snuck up on me while I was listening to try to locate a woodpecker I heard pecking. I felt something looking at me, turned, and there they were. </div>
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Funny, before we moved to Virginia, I thought the deer in Oklahoma were tiny in comparison. I guess it is because I didn't live on this side of town where there are larger grazing areas. The west side of town in closer to the plains/ranchland and I grew up in the CrossTimbers - primarily scrub oaks on the East side. These boys are every bit as big as what I saw back east - maybe bigger.<br />
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Someday, maybe I will be able to take Grandson out to explore - hope so!<br />
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Too much to do, today, to blog further.<br />
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Happy Quilting, Penny, Evelyn and Pearl<br />
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