Been Gone

Gone, Gone, and oh so not here! Bad...I know. What was I thinking taking a full-time job? But that's okay, I've realized it won't work for me and that's okay. So.....don't be surprised if there's a new post tomorrow, because I've missed it.

It's been a CraZy year so far, and I'm sure it's only going to get more so.

This is Tequila, a new addition to our animal family. Isn't this a hilarious picture? We LOVE it! How often do you catch an expression like that. She looks like she rides on the short bus! Ha ha!
Ok...so I quoted one of my friends on that. I told her, "Girl, that's just wrong to say that." But I have to admit...I laughed. Tequila is a crazy critter without a doubt.

Gone For the Year

I had more fun this year with these little hummingbirds than you can possibly imagine. The summer started out with just one feeder and one bird. Before the season was over, I had 3 feeders up and the birds were draining them on a daily basis. We had hummingbirds zipping around everywhere. Twittering, chasing, dive bombing.....never-ending activity. Entertainment was always available right on our front porch, and we were lucky enough to have a front-row seat.

I found egg shells, so I'm sure they were nesting in the pecans. I never did find a nest though. They must be really well-hidden and tiny.

I promised some hummingbird pictures, and here they are.

Here's one trying to guard this feeder. In this picture, she is trying to nip another bird.

The Recipe for Fun:

4 cups of warm water to 1 cup of sugar. Mix and fill 'em up!

Every time you fill your feeder it needs to be flushed with warm water. If a build up of black mold occurs, soak the feeder in bleach. Never use soap! The hummers don't like it. If the water becomes cloudy, you need to change it. Keep any unused nectar in the refrigerator.

I can't wait for next year!

The Awesome Sea Shell Quest

Baby Girl's fun during our trip was to load up on as many beach treasures as she could possibly find. A quest for the perfect shell, and no easy task.

One evening while strolling down beside the Corpus Christi Marina, she finally found "It." We spotted a shell perched on a rock in the water beside this area here on the right hand side......

(That's my hubby and son discussing the boats in the marina. Hubby got a kick out of some of the boat names.)

"I can get it, Momma."

"Girl, you will fall in."

"No way, just hold on to me." ( ha...tricky, put the responsibility back on me!)

She steps out onto a slippery, wet rock while I'm holding her arm and she's reaching down..... A precarious balancing act at best.

"Ah ha! Got it!"

Flashes that million megawatt smile :) I feel like the world's greatest mom cause I helped her get it. And before you say anything, yeah... i know it could have gone way differently.

Fast Forward to the next morning.....

I'm standing at the sink washing my hands, and I glance down.

"(Insert Curse Word here.) What the hell is that?"

The dang seashell had sprouted eyes and antennae! Not only that, but "It" was in the sink and "It" was ALIVE.

I'm not sure who took the bigger scare, me or the hermit crab...

I bounce into the bedroom. My hubby is looking at me with that all-knowing, ever-irritating grin.

"Damn thing tried to crawl off the vanity this morning while I was taking a shower. Thought I'd save it for ya."

Needless to say, Baby Girl had to put her treasure back in the bay.

Backroads with Hubby Continued

Tia took another picture. Actually, I took lots of pics that day, but I don't want to bore you to tears. Bee on a wildflower. Can't get more descriptive than that. I was just amazed that I caught the little bugger sitting still long enough for a picture.

A Rose for Lilly

This rose is a thank you for Lilly. You can visit her here.... Lilly's Life ! I know it's not a Lilly, but I'll work on that later this week. Enjoy...

This is a picture of one of my favorite types of rose, the Knock Out Double Rose in Red. Beautiful, intense color and no fuss. Disease resistant and hardy. They bloom abundantly from early spring to late fall. How can you beat that? I absolutely love them, and I'm going to add more to my landscape.

This is the 2nd season for this rose, and I think it's a winner. The plant has all ready grown about 2' by 2' and shows no signs of slowing down. It's covered in blooms all ready, and the color is stunning. Last year I had no problems with the rose what so ever. I never had much luck with roses until I found these. They are so tolerant of the Texas heat and humidity. Finally a show-stopping rose for our state!

Texas Indian Paintbrush

Today rated on the excitement meter about as high as watching paint peel off the walls. I hate to use the same cliche term the kids use, but I was bored. Bored, bored, BORED!!! There I said it. I think my teens think it's "cool" to be bored. On their space their status is almost always "bored" when it's not "crunk." Did I spell crunk the right way? I never know anymore. I'm not even sure I know what crunk is. I'll have to google that one. My kids' definition makes no sense. Teen speak....ugh! I do know that being bored is not "cool." It's just boring. Sorry, couldn't resist.

I tried to paint. My dog knocked over my water. I tried to work in the garden. The hubby came outside to sit on the porch and watch. (He must have been really bored.) That annoyed me.

So now....I'm going to work on my blog. If the computer crashes, I'm done.

On a more creative note, if only to raise your excitement meter, or lower it, depending on your interests....

I want to share my picture. YAY!

This is an Indian Paintbrush, and is one of my favorite Texan wildflowers. When these appear in the spring, they put on quite a show. They are usually grown along roadsides here mixed with bluebonnets. I don't have any blues growing in my pastures, but I do have these red beauties. The Texas Paintbrush only grows about 6" to 8" tall, but they do make quite a statement for their size. An added plus, our hummingbirds love them!

We've got Baby Birdies!!!

Isn't this little killdeer the cutest ever??? I wasn't home when the eggs finally hatched, but my daughter was. She called me all excited. "Mom, we've got baby birdies!!! You know the little bird by the driveway that we've been watching?? Her eggs hatched! One of them is all ready walking around, and another one is coming out of its egg!" I told her to go grab the camera and take some pictures for me. I think she did a great job, and what a wonderful thing for her to experience.

Only one of the four eggs did not hatch. I checked it out, and it had a tiny crack. Made me sad, but that is the cycle of life. Some make it and some do not, no matter the care that is taken.

Mrs. Killdeer

Meet Mrs Killdeer. She is steadily bitching at me for taking her picture. Actually I got too close to her nest. She's very protective, and she was quite willing to try and whoop my butt. Ha ha! She is nesting on our driveway. The eggs are really hard to spot because they blend in with the rocks.

Mrs. Killdeer cracks me up because she deserves an Oscar for her performances. The broken wing act is the absolute best, and I swear she channels Katherine Hepburn. Such spirit and courage. Not afraid of me at all and definitely willing to face me head-on. I got close enough to take this picture, but she stayed right there. Griping the whole time and showing me her tail feathers. She was not going to leave those eggs no matter what.

We are very careful when coming and going. I can't wait to see these hatch, and I hope that we see the Killdeers nesting here for many years to come. Matter of fact, we may just add their name to the mailbox, so they can get junk mail, too!

Tears for Harley

Harley Lynn

February 9th 1999 ~ April 14th 2008

Yesterday was hard. So hard that I'm not sure that I'm ready to write about it. I'm going to try, but forgive me if it is a pathetic attempt.

I lost one of my beloved dogs yesterday. Harley hadn't had an easy time for about the past two years, but the light was still in her eyes. She was happy, and in spite of her health, seemed to enjoy our world.

Harley's weight had steadily increased, but we had not a clue why. She didn't over eat, and she had plenty of room for exercise. I thought she would start dropping the weight when we moved to the country.

Harley did become more active, but the weight didn't drop. At some point she threw her hip out of place while running. Medication treatment and it got better for a time, but her hips were never the same.

Harley's hair stopped growing, and she seemed to drink a LOT of water. Those symptoms along with the weight gain seemed to me to point to her thyroid. I had some blood work done on her and sure enough, she was hypothyroid. Started her on medication for that with high hopes.

She dropped weight quickly. This seemed to have no effect on her health, and just getting around was still hard. At times I would have to help her stand up. Other times, I would just look behind me and there she would be, struggling to follow us on our walks.

This past weekend she took a turn for the worse. We saw the light go out of her eyes, and it was obvious she was in pain. It was time to let her go.

My tears are for her. My love is for her, and I was blessed to have her in my life. She never gave up, and she always wanted to be with us.

Our black shadow, our little Har Har Harley Boo.

Dear God, please take care of her until we get there. Will you give her those snacks she loves and her favorite chewies. Just until I can do it myself. And please tell her that Rudy misses her. We all do.

Damon buried her underneath the oak tree out back...

Tears fall again...

Blast Dog Ruger's Strike Zone (No one is Safe)

This is my Bear Boi and he is running from something.....

This is "Something."

This is "Something" about to tackle our Harley.

I'm not kidding when I say that Ruger is a blast. A Heat-Seeking Missile! Our other 4-legged critters get this deer-in-the-headlights expression when he's turned loose.

This bomb was dropped on our house around Christmas. Tia adopted again...sorry, honey! Sorry to my other animals, too. None of our furry critters want to be his friend. I think he might be growing on Harley, but it may just be that she has accepted her fate as his favorite target. Ruger gets this wild look in his eyes like he has spied a T-bone steak. The next thing ya know, one of the dogs is biting the dust. He literally whomps them one and plows them right over. Crazy.

Ruger what a Blast of a Dog

This is our puppy, Ruger, and he lives up to his name as you can tell. Can you see that smile on his mug? That is one happy mutt! He is 100 mph 24/7. I wish some of his energy would rub off on me. My daughter and I went on a walk last week to enjoy the woods and sunshine. The dogs tagged along, and Ruger was the life of the party. My other dogs don't much care for this wallop of a dog. They get tackled. He gets yelled at. Everyone strolls along sniffing and exploring. Then when they're checking out some interesting scent, he clobbers one of them again. He's a mess, but it's fun to watch the joyful abandon of an animal that is new to the world. His life could have been much different. He was abandoned and me being me, we have a new pet. He's only about three months old, and I know he's gonna be a big 'un. One of these days, maybe I won't drag home strays anymore. HA! My hubby just wishes!

My Camera

People often ask me what camera I use. This is it. The Sony DSLR-A100. I have to say that I love it. Christmas gift from my hubby, and he did an excellent job of picking it out. It's 10.2 megapixels and has image stabilization. Plenty of features for the pro and ease of use for the novice on autofocus. Check out some of my pictures on my photo blog.

http://southernsoulpics.blogspot.com/

This Photographer's Muses

These two teenage goofy butts keep me constantly inspired. D is giving me his version of striking a pose. I was trying to get some decent shots, but D couldn't even be serious long enough for that. I told him to stop posing and just do his thing.... this is the result. Oh well.... I warned him I was going to post it on my blog. Gotcha!

Dallas World Aquarium-2 More Pics

Hard to get a decent photograph in aquariums. I couldn't use a flash, so I had to be very still. That's not easy for me, but I did get this shot. I love the colors.

This little guy was really hard to photograph without blur. This was the best I could do. Doesn't do him justice. Very delicate. Kinda looked like lace floating in the water.

Spring Break Part II

We made it to The Dallas World Aquarium!!!!

This is not just an aquarium, it's an adventure into another world......

If you're expecting the typical aquarium, it is not for you. It's more like walking through a jungle or rainforest. Lots of ecosystems.

These penguins live in temperatures similar to the Dallas area. Cute, huh? We got to watch them being fed. Nothing I would eat, but they loved it :)

This guy?? He's from my favorite level...the Aquatic Level. So many colorful fish....overwhelmed.. Displays from different parts of the world. Japan, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, British Columbia, Fiji, Bahamas, Australia.....just to name a few. A stunning display of moon jellyfish from Palau that was beyond amazing. The underwater viewing area was a big "WOW!" We walked through a tunnel surrounded above and on the sides with sharks. Pretty cool.

I'll post more of my pics later. I need to get some work done around this nasty house!

Walk With Mom

I spent time with my mom today, so I'm going to share. We went for an afternoon stroll down the road with two of my dogs, Bear and Ruger. My mom just loves to visit and have her daughter drag her down the dirt roads. I'll make up for it and take her shopping tomorrow.

Bear and Ruger enjoying themselves. Walking this far is a big deal for Bear, because at this time last year, he wasn't walking at all. He suffered spinal cord damage due to a run-in with the four-wheeler. He was exhausted afterwards, but he enjoyed every minute of it. They were into mud, water, leaves, crawling under fences, sniffing and exploring non-stop. A couple of little cyclones.

Here they are again after we crossed the creek, and this is where the road turns to dirt. After a rain, it's muddy. Kind of a mix today. Just my luck. Did I mention they managed to find roadkill? Oh yeah! An armadillo carcass and a dead SKUNK!!! Yep, I said skunk. We had a hard time getting Ruger away from that smelly treasure. What a doofus!

Looks like something went exploring before we did. A good thing Ruger didn't meet up with the coon that made these tracks! I'd still be chasing him....

We all got tired and made our way back home. Bear paid for all his fun with the dreaded bath, but it was a necessary evil. He was FILTHY!!! Mom and I, well....we paid for all our fun by going to eat Mexican food!

Bear is sleeping now. I think he's wore out. I think I might be, too!

Good night!

Today in Texas

It was a gorgeous day in Texas. I think I made the most of it. I decided I would take a few photos today, so me, my dogs, and my Sony camera headed for the back pasture. My horses come running to say hello. This is Rowdy. He was my father-in-law's partner in the roping arena. As a reward for all his hard work, he gets to hang out with us now. He's not alone anymore either, because he has a pasture buddy named JJ.

This is our JJ. He is so much happier now that Rowdy lives here. What a pair! We love 'em!

This other shot is of Harley and JJ. I don't think she was real appreciative of the horses getting so close to her. Space Invaders! Both of the boys did the same thing to her. At this point, I think Harley had gotten her fill. Look at that face. She did snap at them, but I swear they both laughed at her.

The last picture that I'm posting tonight. I took a lot more, but I think I'll save those.

Think I can convince Harley to go back in the pasture with me again? Ha ha!

My Cocker Spaniel, Bear Boi

This is my Cocker Spaniel, Bear, when he was a puppy. I'm just posting this pic on here because he was such a cute little guy! Bear is 2 years old now, and luckily, he is still with me. My son accidentally hit him with a four-wheeler in March of 2006, and Bear suffered spinal cord damage. He couldn't walk for a long time, and still may never regain the feeling in one of his legs. He now walks like a doggie that may have had one too many shots of tequila. LOL :) Compared to his condition at this time last year, he is so much better. He is proof that God listens to our prayers. It took a lot of hard work. Our whole family hanging in there, and Bear's determination to get well is what made it happen. I can't tell you the feeling when he first walked without help. Only a few steps, but WOW!

This is my BearBoi almost a year later! I would say that he has had about an 80% recovery at this point. He has trouble getting down the stairs and can't jump onto the furniture. My hubby puts him on the ottoman in front of me when Bear can't get up :)

He is my walking miracle. He's one tough pup for sure! I think Bear has the most extraordinary colors. He's called a parti-sable Cocker. Just beautiful...

I'm lucky to have such a sweet boy in my life. He has taught me that I'm stronger than I thought I could be. Most of all, he taught me to never give up.

I LOVE YOU, BOO BEAR!!!

Shortcakes, Kitties, CoUghS and SnEeZes

Another day at the zoo. The dang dog is at the door again whining to be let in. Everyone else around here acts like they don't hear him, and I know that they do. Big sigh...

Took Baby Girl to the doctor today. She's been down with the crud since Thursday. 103 degree fever and NOW she wants to spend time with me. I'll take what I can get though, even if it includes coughs and sneezes. A little cough isn't going to scare me away from spending time with my kid. She just turned fourteen and spending time with me just isn't at the top of her list anymore.

No one is hungry around here this evening, so I'm actually not cooking dinner. Yay! I made strawberry shortcakes for everyone but Baby Girl. She opted for icecream because her appetite is weird.

Baby Girl is sitting here watching Country Fried Home Videos which has to be one of the stupidest shows I've ever seen. Do people really enjoy that crap? I guess that they must since it's still on. I enjoy a lot of what I call "Redneck TV", but I'm afraid I have to draw the line on this one.

Bear, our cocker spaniel, is giving my hubby the big ole brown-eyed begging treatment.

"Oh please, dad....just one bite. Come on! Just drop something would ya?"

There's the nightly clinkity clink of the spoon in the chocolate milk glass. Every night without fail. Isn't it funny how some things start to annoy the heck out of you as the years pass?

awefmkopp[;']

The zoo attack again. Ha ha! Ellie just walked across my keyboard. She's our resident feline. We rescued her last year out of a brush pile. She was actually buried in it. We could hear the kitty, but we just couldn't find her. Baby Girl wouldn't give up, so she just kept pulling and digging. I'll never forget the look on her face when Ellie's little face popped up out of the dirt. With tears in her eyes, she took that baby back to the house. We've had Ellie ever since. Yep... that's her in the picture :)