My Shy Guy

My little shy fellow Jack has been having his own health crisis these days. He has been losing weight and after a trip to the vet I found that chronic kidney disease is working on him.

The first trip a few weeks ago resulted in a course of antibiotics. I thought he had bad teeth, but evidently the kidney disease was causing his icky mouth. I administered his medicine and I suddenly had a new cat. Not a healthy one, but a new one cat-onality-wise. He was moving about the house! He has lived in our bedroom for the past three years and rarely ventured out. Now he's sunning in the window--and hopping up on laps. This isn't the Jack we used to know. I even VACUUMED near him and he seemed nonplussed. So, the Sick Jack is more outgoing than the Regular Jack. I'm not sure how to take this.

We are watching him all the time now--which makes it easier to monitor how much water and food he gets. I got a bag of lactated ringers for him on Saturday and gave him a dose of fluids subcutaneously and that seemed to perk him up. I suspect this will become the routine that could continue for a long time. Let's hope for a long time.

Returning to Life........and putting on a happy face

We were shocked and saddened at the sudden loss of our friend Jon Ormson who decided to end his life on June 25th. The horrible call came from my friend, his mom, MaryAnn, and it launched a wave of grief. He was such a great guy and was such a joy to everyone who knew him. The funeral was held at Luck and I went to spend the day; to hug those who needed the hugs (we all did) and to share the sorrow of friends and family who were dealing with circumstances we never would have dreamed of having to address. The pastor did an excellent job with the aspects of such a death and the big question of WHY. Of course, that is the big question that we will not be able to answer. We wish so much that he would have had time to make a trip to Catfish Corner. "He made this world a better place for us. Even though it was difficult for him."


Getting back into things around here, I can say the heat and humidity has been pretty heavy. The perennial flower garden has reached its colorful stage and the bees really are enjoying the Bee Balm.

Yesterday seemed like a good day to join some pony pals for a little ride. I trailered Cerra up to Ramona's in Porcupine valley and friends Wendy and Amy joined us for a trek that took us up and down some good hills, over some hilltop farm fields and a little road riding to tie it all together. The mosquitoes really feasted on us. Sorry about those welts, Amy!

We had started at about 10 am and by the time we got back it was getting hotter out and we felt like lunch so we drove to the village of Arkansaw and had a bite at "For Pete's Sake". Pete's fish sandwich consisted of two perfectly deep fried fillets on a really good bun. A generous dollop of tartar sauce and an ice cold Leinie's really hit the spot. We shared a big basket of french fries and onion rings, too!

Cowgirl lore at this point would opine that things always look better when you're on the back of a horse. Or, that the outside of a horse is good for the inside of a cowgirl. Hard work and horses have always put my mind in a good place. I hope our friends who grieve can find their peace in a fashion that suits them, too. 

Rub a dub dub

Two geese in each tub. The babies are getting really grown up now.

The creek at Catfish Corner is overflowing its bank from our last 3" of rain. We have had 13" for the month of June so things are lush--and the mossies are thick.

The 28 new chicks are getting big enough to go on an "outing"--a little trip out onto the edge of the driveway. They got some of the great outdoors and came back in feistier than ever. I don't think these gals are going to be the hold-in-your-hand variety.

Monsoon Season

As I updated the top photo a few minutes ago, we had just finished getting ANOTHER 1" of rain--did the same yesterday. We seem to be in the rainforest area of Wisconsin now.

It's going into a really busy week leading into the Trailblazer barrel show coming up this weekend!

Is anyone else having a problem with the new "design" options Blogger is seemingly forcing on us? I haven't found the place yet to adjust the colors, type fonts, etc., so as usual I'm unadaptable as change is foisted on me!

Hello! I'm back.....

The flurry of activity following the art tour got the best of me. I have done lots of "puttin' the garden in"....takin' the horses out..... gettin' the house cleaned up......raisin' the chicks and sometimes even....... well, ..... sleepin'!!!!

Four of the five goose eggs hatched and at three weeks they are really getting big! I got baby chicks last week and have 14 Black Sex Link (good grief, what a name :-( !!!  and 14 Silver Lace Wyandottes. So--let's just say---Solid Blacks, and Black with white dots!

They are doing great--so fun to watch. Helga (dog) and Paisley (cat) love to sit by their pen in the barn and just......watch......and......watch.  They are so cute!!

It's also been haying season (before the rains set in) and it was a challenge for our neighbor to get the first crop it. It got rained on so some lucky beef cattle will get to eat this cutting. We will wait for our horse hay until later.

  I'm working this weekend on a set of cabinet doors for this beautiful wine cabinet. It is going to be auctioned off at the Durand Sportsmans' Club annual event this coming Wednesday. It is being built by Leanna Fayerweather who is a master cabinetmaker and donates her efforts for the cause through the generous offering of her talent. 

We have had all kinds of goofy little deals going on here ---a broken faucet in the bathroom that caused a wet surprise in that room, a tree that decided to tip over and several nearby that needed to be dealt with,  and an almost daily attack by a fox/and/or coyote on the few remaining hens in our yard. 

To top if off-----it is our 16th Wedding Anniversary this weekend! Yeah! We dreamed of a life together---and all the rest of this, I guess is .........the frosting.

And it is sweet!

Thank You!

What a beautiful weekend we had for the Tour! The weather was perfect and so many great people stopped in the visit the studio.

Thanks to the folks who entered the raffle this weekend which benefits Refuge Farms! We had 121 entries and 100% of the dollars go to the support of horses who have been rescued from very sad and abusive situations.

The judge finally arrived to draw the lucky number and.........

THE WINNER IS................ drum roll...............
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NUMBER 35 
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Held by Lisa Johnson from Pepin, WI!................cheers!.........


Thank you, Lisa (you did STUFF the entry box) for your support and I hope you enjoy the panel for years to come!

The Fall Art Tour is going to be held the first weekend in October and I'll dream up another contest.

Feeling Lucky?

The first day of the Fresh Art Tour is over and it dawned on me that I could share the offer I am running over the weekend with those who aren't able to attend in person.

The Virtual Fundraiser!

I have donated this panel to Refuge Farms and I am holding a little raffle at the studio to raise money for the cause.

Here's the deal: One ticket will be added to the pot in your name for each dollar donated.

The winner will be announced on Monday. So there isn't much time to get entered!

Either stop in or use the convenient PayPal button to enter.

Good luck, everyone!