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.

Ear Mites Are a Pain

My hubby noticed that our Manx cat, Jake, was holding his left ear flat. He thought Jake might have had a stroke. I had to go give Jakester the mommy once-over, and I reached down to run my hand down his head. He cringed away from my hand, which told me he was in pain...tender to the touch, and he obviously wanted no part of being touched there. He was also shaking his head. No stroke going on here. Ear infection or ear mites.....better than a stroke, but still not a good thing.

Hubby took him to the vet this morning. (I'm sure that was a fun ride with Jake squalling all the way....been there, done that.) Sure enough....ear mites. Ugh....nasty! Imagine a bunch of bugs crawling around in your ear. I know I'd go insane! Poor Jake! We've got medicine now, though :) He'll be better in no time and back to terrorizing the vermin population! I'm sure they will have missed him...

Nocturnal Visit

Last night I was sitting on the couch surfing the net, and I heard this eerie howl. The hair on my neck stood straight up. Coyotes!

There has been a pack of them roaming nearby the past month or so. Every once in awhile we'll get a glimpse of a couple crossing the back pasture. One day we saw about five going into the woods on the place next to ours.

This time they were close. I could tell from the howls and barks. They don't sound anything like any of my dogs. Lonely and sad....

I was worried about my outside dog, so I grabbed the spotlight to check on him and of course, to see where they were. I finally got a glimpse of them moving in the darkness. Their eyes were glowing a greenish yellow. I can't really describe how it made me feel. They weren't scared and just stared back at me.

I think they were about a hundred yards from me, down by the pond. My first instinct was to get a gun, but I quickly decided against that course of action. I knew they wouldn't hurt the horses, and Ruger (a Pit Bull Labrador mix, we think) weighs more than they do. I decided to let them be. Besides...my light was losing it's charge and starting to dim. I didn't want to star in my own version of a horror movie. It's creepy being outside alone with a bunch of coyotes so close.

I've been in the coyote range all my life, but I don't remember them ever getting up that close except in hard winters. I guess they're a little braver in this area. I really don't know why they are roaming across this place, but I guess I better get used to it.

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!

Texas Armadillo or "Possum on a Half Shell"

Lilly, this is an armadillo. Lovely, freaky creature isn't it?

They're funny looking mammals covered in armor that are extremely common in our wonderful state. Kind of like an anteater with a shell. They remind me of a football with legs. They're not very big, I'm guessing around 12 to 18 pounds at most and around two feet long including their tail. They love to dig and are notorious for destroying lawns. They're just looking for food, insects and grubs, but they make a real mess and a heck of a hole.

Armadillos are often found in the road with tire tracks down the middle of their body. No, I'm not kidding. Very common roadkill. I think it's because they're nocturnal and hard to see at night. It's certainly not because they're slow. Trust me, those little boogers can run! Also, they jump straight up in the air when they get scared. Not a good idea in front of a 60 mph car...

Around here we have what my hubby and I term the armadillo wars. I hate to say it, but he does shoot them when they start tearing up the yard around the house. They think our yard is the local "All You Can Eat Buffet." If they're not tearing up the yard, we leave them alone. I heard they eat snakes. Not for sure on that one, but I'll pick an armadillo over a snake any day.

Question Why did the chicken cross the road??

Answer To show the armadillo that it could be done.

(Just a note....This is not one of my photos.)

Tia's Critters

My blogging friend, Lilly, wanted to know about my animals. At this time, I have 3 dogs, 2 cats, 2 horses, and 2 fancy goldfish. I did have 4 dogs, but we lost our Harley in April.


That's just the animals that call me their own. Ha ha! We have a lot of wildlife that call our place home or might just traipse through. Wild hogs, coyotes, armadillos, skunks, a local bobcat....the list goes on.

Occassionally I have to run a cow out of the front yard, and nope, it's not mine.

We have the definition of coolness, a Manx cat named Jake. A little sweetie kittie that we call Ellie.

My lovie, Bear.

The Unquestionable King, Rudy, our oldest doggie.

Our pasture buddies, JJ and Rowdy.

Then last, but not least, there is Ruger , The Master of Destruction!

I don't have any pictures of my fish, but they're dubbed Hubba and Bubba. I'll get right on that. LOL

Yesterday

Talk about a day from heaven....
Well, minus the laundry of course :)

I actually woke up shivering, and after a summer in Texas, that's a good thing! A splendirrific beginning. Blue skies and sunshine. Getting even better! No kids at home!! Wow, a home run! I'm gonna have some fun.... yep yep!

Bear, Rudy, and I went for a pasture walk. I visited with my horses, and stopped by the pond for a chat with our big ole heron. He's a real beauty. We meandered on...

Strolled out under the oaks, and Bear found a huge pile of cow manure to roll in. Okay, well add that in with the laundry pile. Heaven for him, but not for me. Since we moved out here, I have discovered that dogs like manure. Not sure what the attraction is, but I have learned to deal with it. Disgusting! He got a bath later and ruined his perfect day.

Off for a 4-wheeler ride.... woo hoo! Down to the bottoms where I grabbed up some horse apples for my pasture buddies, and some air in the hair for myself. To top that off, I played bowling with the horse apples as I rolled them under the gate.

Note to readers: I never claimed to be mature.

Backroads With Hubby

No couch potato day for us :) Living in the country definitely has its advantages. Getting back to nature just means getting on down the road, and that's what my hubby and I did.

What a day we had!




Here he is checking out the local bird life.


The hubby has developed a real fondness for bird watching since we have moved. Now, if you knew him...you would never believe this is something he would get into. The man has binoculars by every door. He has his bird books and the birds that he has spotted are color coded with postie notes. The ones in our area, but not spotted yet have a different color postie note. Hubby told the guys at work that he does this, but they didn't believe him. Doesn't fit his Type-A personality. He had to take his bird books to prove it. These pics should help :)





Hubby spotted this stunning little guy. I couldn't get a real good shot. My telephoto lens has issues at the moment. ha ha! This is an Indigo Bunting, and I had never seen one before in my life. That's something, huh? The picture doesn't do the bird justice.

My daughter wants to go get a pizza, so I'll finish this post later. Pizza or posting? Hhhmmm.... See ya'll!

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!

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!

Spring Break Part I

My sis and I made plans for a visit to Dallas. The Dallas World Aquarium and a night at our fave hotel in Richardson. Our hotel was booked up, so we found another one in Rockwall. I should have known that was a bad omen, but I don't give up easily.

Monday!!!!
Lazy family....we were late getting up and my sister who is ALWAYS late was, for once, on time. Dag nab it! I really thought I could count on her. I was wrong.

After much running around, packing, forgetting what I forgot and all of that...we were finally on the road. wheeeeeeeeeeee! I thought I was escaping the country. I was wrong.

I had to drop my son off at a friend's house. It's not "cool" for him to spend spring break with his mom. I took the back road short cut from the country through the semi-country. I saw this car stopped in the middle of the road. Why? Goat in the road. I thought that only happened around our neck of the woods. The goat finally got out of their way and into mine. She just stood there and looked at us like we were the idiot. It was almost as if she were asking, "What in the heck are you doing on MY road?" I started honking at her. No effect at all, so I have to get over on the shoulder. As I passed her, she turned around and said "beeehhhhh." I think she called me the "b"word.....seriously. I think if that goat had a middle finger, she would have used it then. I got past her and then it was my sister's turn. I was just about to take a picture, and the silly goat got out of her way. My sis was giving the goat the finger. Classic sis!

Cat and Mouse

Our cat, Jake, is spending the night in the garage. It seems we have acquired a mouse. Now... our Jake has a reputation to uphold, so i hope to find one deceased mouse delivered to my door in the morning. We have had Jake for a couple of months and so far he has presented three mice, but I did see him having another one for breakfast. (not sure that rates up there with Fancy Feast in the diet plan of cats) Two of the mice he dropped in Harley's water bowl, much to her dismay. Jake's way of putting it to the dog. I have to admit it kind of grossed me out. Confirmed dead? Four in two months. Not bad at all. How one in the garage has survived, I'm not quite sure.

We got Jake from a friend, who thought Jake needed a country home. Jake likes to hunt outside, and due to increased traffic, he was worried Jake might get hit. We needed a cat and Jake needed a home. Perfect solution. He told us that Jake had brought him mice, snakes, possums, large rats, rabbits, and skunks. This is not your normal cat. Did I mention he swims? Yep, you read that right. He swims, and he LIKES it!

Jake is a solid black Manx. I say solid black, but he does have one white spot about the size of a dime and various battle scars. He is big with huge fangs, and the site of him has scared quite a few of my kids' friends. LOL! He's been compared to a panther. My mom calls him gorgeous, but I'm not quite sure that's the right description. Striking, regal, fierce, intimidating....
He patrols our property diligently, and the feral tom that sometimes roams the area has been put on notice. ha ha! One of Jake's war wounds is a result of that encounter. Something tells me they don't like each other very much.

Our friend recently called and asked if he could borrow Jake back for awhile. Seems some skunks have taken up residence underneath his office. Funny....we haven't had a problem with them lately....

Ellie and the Aloe Plant

My aloe plant isn't looking so hot. Would you like to know why it isn't looking so good?
This is "the why" my plant looks like crap. Meet Ellie. Ellie has decided that sitting in my plant is the cool place to hang out.



I don't know why she loves to sit in my plant, and frankly I don't care. What I do know is that I have had that plant for years. It's healed many sunburns and accidental owies for my whole family. I love this plant. It's made it through 3 moves and 2 other cats. Ellie....well, she has made it on Tia's Crap List.

I repotted the momma aloe plant and her aloe babies, so I can try and keep my beloved plant for a few more years. Hope the Miracle-Gro works its magic soon. Summer sunburns will be here soon.

What do you think?? Do they look happier?

This is a pine cone that I have put in the pot. This is for Ellie's butt should she decide to be so inclined as to try to make a bed in my plant again. Do you think she'll like it?

I'll give an update on the Ellie vs. Aloe saga soon! Smile...you know you want to :)

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!

Wanted for Destruction of Property

Ruger is wanted for destroying tomato plants, chewing up satellite wires, assaulting the cats and the other dogs, dragging off rugs, scratching the door, digging up landscaping, barking non-stop, aggitating the horses, jumping on visitors, crapping in the garage and peeing on the floor. He is considered armed and dangerous. Please do not attempt to apprehend as you will suffer the above offenses also. If seen, please contact blog owner.