Let's Catch Up!

 

A long time since an update. I'll start where I left off. We caught this beauty strutting by during the rut season back in November. He's all puffed up and full of himself with love on his mind. 

The horses were all ears when I came out to feed. The snow was falling and now it all began with the winter season. It was a pretty mild winter and everyone came though it nicely

We are so blessed!

It got cold!! The double wool hat, hood and red nose was in force.

This is Beau wrapped up in holiday ribbon. Filling my giant old antique Red Wing crockery bowl. Two days later the brats were chasing and the whole table runner and bowl ended in pieces on the floor. One of my usual cries around here is "I can't have anything!". Too true. Cats are why we can't have nice things.

I found this photo that came up on a FB feed and it struck me that I had seen it before. It's a great painting and amazingly similar to my own work.

My pastel artwork of our Daisy done back in the day. It won a couple purple ribbons at the Polk County, WI, fair and is a tribute to my sweetie girl.

Speaking of interesting photos and connections. I found this one on the Chik-wauk Resort link. The resort has been closed for decades but is now a museum of sorts on the Gunflint Trail in northern Minnesota. The place has a special meaning for us because Don's ancestor was the lead surveyor of the Gunflint Trail back in the 20's. Years later my grandmother was a widowed and, as professional cook, took a summer job at the resort. I believe this is a photo of the owner of the resort. I'm thinking this was an interesting gig for her! Don and I were married at the Gunflint Lodge in 1994. 

Out of this world! Far, far away is a tiny planet that is called Pluto. A decade or so it was determined that Pluto was not a planet and would be known as a dead star. Pluto is the planet of the sign of Scorpio, of which I take notice for November reasons. I found this photo after Pluto was seen by the new technology of deep space photography. AND IT'S BEAUTIFUL! I can't help but notice it is red, white and blue. I have had to wait years and years for this planet to rise for me. Pluto must mean "patience".

A Far Side Favorite

 Of course, with The Far Side there are so many favorites. It hasn't gotten that bad here yet, but we do have our days when the fur flies. Much better than the beginning so I still have hope everyone is going to eventually start having fun together.

Blue Eyes, Baby's Got Blue Eyes

He's a Big Foot --- Yeti

 I just love the blue eyes! When this fine fellow needed a new home, I inquired and in short order I went to pick up "Beau". The "beau-dacious" fellow is the same age as Reba and Toby Keith so it was my desire that they would join up to be one happy family. Such was not the case. Beau, the polydactyl, hid in the basement for the first week. I barely saw him and he found some tremendous hiding spots. Then just as quickly, he decided I wasn't the big scary after all. In fact, he showed me he's quite the love bug! He loves to snuggle and that's a welcome attribute as the other two are lovely, but aren't snuggly. 

Gotcha Day 

My Siamese addiction has been quenched for now and I hope I'll have many fun years ahead with this crew.

Reba and Toby Keith

Guerilla Gardening

Many years of neglect have rendered my flower beds a gigantic mess. Now that I have given myself permission to get more time "off" I have been trying to beat back the briars, nettles and poison ivy. Yes, one of my favorite little beds has a healthy crop of it. Long sleeves and great care are necessary to uproot these trespassers. I wasn't so lucky in the past and did manage to get some nasty rashes. One even took a trip to the dr to get a course of prednisone to get it under control. No fun!

The pics are not of my flower garden. It wasn't quite that bad! This is out along a trail on our property and it's a good place to avoid because it is loaded with poison ivy.

Here is a happier pic of the glory of summer! Getting my many areas prepped for some new plantings. Future plans for peonies, irises and day lilies that need some TLC.

The summer has been drying up our backwater slough. Winnie has a ball running through the shallow water. Swimming in deeper water is so much work! The low water is pretty sad because there are a lot of little creatures who are in peril. Hope they can go under the mud and wait it out until it gets wetter out there. 

Happy as a clam? Maybe not right now. This one would be a tasty treat for an eagle or raccoon in the shallow water. Windsor and I have walked across the creek several times and on one expedition I spied an empty clam shell tented on the sand. I picked it up and found THREE little bronze leopard frogs were seeking shelter under it! Two jumped off and one stayed as I replaced the tent shelter over him. What a will to survive and make do. I felt bad I disrupted their day.

The brilliant red cardinal flower is unmistakable and such a happy find. The bottom lands are blessed with little patches here and there. They are well hidden in the big picture because they are shaded by taller plants, but easy to see when up close and personal. The swamp milkweed is blooming and at first I thought it was Joe Pye Weed until I studied it further. Many plants have look-alikes so it's handy to have some good reference books to sort it out. 

The swamp milkweed is so pretty and made a lovely photo in the early morning light.

This place is an absolute herbal pharmacy. The study of the native plants was introduced to me by Susan Yerigen who had an herbal tincture business. She first supplied Don with teasel to help him with the effects of Lyme disease. She has made scores of tinctures and works closely with Matthew Wood who is a world renowned herbalist who, we are happy to say, lives in our area. 

His book "The Book of Herbal Wisdom" is packed full of the history of medicinal plants and uses for healing. He has many other books but this is the one I've been working on for the past couple years. So much to absorb and many are right outside. 

I'm a very beginner, however it has given me great joy to be able to walk through our woods and know the  faces and names of those lovelies who have lived here for centuries. Especially that one named Ivy.

Outnumbered

All rules are out the window. I have been outvoted on the finer points required for gracious living. Life indeed has gone to the dog ...... and cats! Don't get me started on the husband.

The crash coming from the kitchen might be a tape dispenser being commandeered. Or a can of cat food being slammed to the floor.  A demanding bunch, indeed. 

Miss Reba has an interesting habit of escaping the house. She is so stealthy I might not notice until it's headcount time. She used to just go under my truck, or maybe up a tree, but lately I have had to stalk the backyard with a flashlight and hope I see her eyes and not that of a predator.

Last evening she pulled her disappearing act and had the whole house in an uproar. Toby was calling from the open windows as I looked for her! He ran window to window, calling the whole way. Windsor was on red alert and went with me on the search. Last time she was in the green shed. This time she appeared over the rock wall totally unaware of the peril that could end her life quickly.

 

Easing into Retirement?

Horses will come out of retirement 

I can barely say the R word, but I have been working my way to it since the new year. After a hellish lead up and through the holidays I have to say....I've had it....kind of. After a stern talk with myself I think I finally got it. Nobody cares how hard I work. If I don't care enough to take care of myself no one is going to do it for me. So, before I have "the big one" I have cut back dramatically on shop offerings. Meaning, I will do things I like to do and for customers who have been with me since the beginning. It's still fun to have a little something to do every morning and I love having my friend, Lisa, here to do the packing up part. I just need to make life simpler.

Seems easy enough! In fact it has been going nicely. The first thing I did after the cut-back was to take back weekends. It has taken these few months to catch up on chores that have been ignored for years. Naps get to be taken! I'm reading books! I dawdle with the newspaper! I applied for my social security! Wow. Where did all that time go?

Future plans are to do the bare minimum, get reacquainted with my horses and grow some vegetables. That's enough of the power plan for now.

Toby Keith Joins The Family

Shortly after Zsa Zsa arrived, I was so fortunate to adopt this little fellow from Community Cat Coalition in Rice Lake. He came with the name Tramp but he seemed more like Toby to me; hence the full name of Toby Keith. He's a performer for sure. I got to talk to the nice folks who took him to the shelter. They did their best for him with shots, neuter, and a safe place but his catenality just didn't fit with their lifestyle. The couple was described as elderly at the shelter and they found him to be quite unsafe! He has a knack for getting underfoot and that doesn't work well when one is trying hard not to break a hip. Yes, he is a dickens, too. Once we got him home he sort of "came out of the box". He eats like a fiend and often. He's gained about five pounds already. 

Since one performer in the house wasn't enough, we renamed Zsa Zsa to be Reba. Reba and Toby Keith however, don't always get along. No fault of Reba's but Toby (the Toad) is a bully so a lot of time goes

into social engineering truces between the two. Windsor loves them both and is happiest when chasing Toby around the house. And, yes, I have given up on the "off the table" commands. How do ya like me now!