RIP Miss Holly

Nathan and his faithful companion, Miss Holly

I just went to check on my beloved Miss Holly (the dawg) and found she had passed away in her sleep.  Old age crept upon her with a heavy hand this year; first with a liver ailment .. then springing back to life, and now this autumn with aches and pains from the arrival of cold weather.  She passed with a little labored breathing that I thought was just snoring.  Just yesterday she was running around in the yard with a little gusto.  But .. she labored getting up and down.  Much love she gave, only asking for food and shelter.  My heart is filled with many happy memories that will keep me warm through the grieving period.  Rest in peace my beloved friend.  Good night.

Love,

Mamma

Thunder STRUCK

I LOVE a good thunder storm.  Trouble is .. my dawg is a weenie and freaks out.  Tonight one such storm rolled through.  I have resorted to parking my truck on the driveway and tying up the dawg in the empty garage .. away from anything she can topple over.

Several weeks ago a magnificent storm rolled through.  We had company staying in the guest room above our garage .. and didn't want her to wake them up with barking .. so she was kept on a short leash in the dining room.  At 3 AM I awoke to what I thought was a burglar .. only to find out the dog had toppled some plants, books and mail off the bakers rack, tipped over her water and proceeded to tromp around creating a BIG MESS.  

Now the storm is passing.  Nathan has gone back to bed after spending an hour in the 'safe room' (interior bathroom) ....  all is well. 

Thank you Lord for sending the rain and for shaking up the heavens to remind us of your presence.

Thunder and Lightning and Rain ...

...Oh My!

Last night the dawg and Nathan were stirred up a bit.  They both have super keen senses and .. much to my surprise .. had detected the presence of a storm off in the distance well before it arrived.  Just last year Nathan could be found holed up in an interior bathroom sleeping on the floor with the exhaust fan and light on during such an event.  And Miss Holly, the dawg, would be given a sedative to make it through the night.  This is a picture of Nathan and his dawg waiting out the storm.  Brave boy sat under the front porch on a rocker wrapped up in a blanket .. pretending that dinosaurs were making all the racket.  The dawg was allowed inside to fidget ... drug free ... until all was calm.  Miracles never cease to amaze me;)

"On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, with a thick cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast. Everyone in the camp trembled."

Exodus 19:16

Socked In - Stuck Inside

Photos taken this morning from my back porch!

Beyond the Storm ....

... tonight we lost all electric power. Did I mention the dawg and Nathan are home with me? Currently the dawg is asleep in her kennel placed in the kitchen. Nathan is about ready to get 'unplugged' (go to sleep) for the night. He sat on the porch for a while listening to the thunder and watching the lightning. A big step for him. We dug out the emergency candles, lantern and flashlight. Washed the dishes by candlelight. Contemplated how different life must have been a few generations ago without electric light. Maybe it was a better time. People went to bed earlier I'm sure ... just working for an hour or so in the dimly lit kitchen took some getting used to. Time to call it a day.

Dog Days of Summer

... when it's hot ...




In winter I get up at night
And dress by yellow candle-light.
In summer quite the other way
I have to go to bed by day.
~Robert Louis Stevenson

Pics .. top to bottom:

1. Ann with her pet .. goldie Holly
2. Lake Coeur d'Alene, Idaho
3. My 'home rigged' ice cream churn
4. Homemade potato bread (what do you expect from Idaho?)
5. Mrs. Mac's gardening bonnet (a thrifty find I embellished with silk flowers)
6. (son) Nathan & (grandson) Jacob enjoying homemade waffles laced with raspberries
7. Jars of homemade strawberry jam
8. simmering jam
   
9. Nathan & his dawg, Holly
   

JPN - Thunderstruck!

Just Plain Nuts!

Last week ended rather nicely with a lake cruise.

This week has been up and down with nutty things happening. There was a rather wicked storm that blew through several nights ago. I found Nathan 'holed' up sleeping in the bathroom .. on the floor .. near the toilet .. with a few towels and his pillow .. exhaust fan and lights on .. Why? Was he sick?? No, just trying to drown out the thunder and lightning that had him in a tailspin meltdown. Of course, that meant the dawg went nuts as well. She was pacing back and forth in the garage .. the likes of a mad dog. I put up a baby gate to block her from coming up the steps leading into our home .. gate now has bent wires. Said dawg was put in her kennel (willingly) .. but proceeded to paw and tooth her way out .. chipping off her top canine teeth (her nickname is DAD .. dumb a$$ dog). We have a sedative to use for such 'events' .. fireworks on the Fourth .. etc. I had already given her a few doses the past few weeks so didn't want to have her 'pop' so many pills. The effect is pretty much a triple margarita hangover (so the vet says .. not from my prior experience and lasts for an entire day. I'm taking up a collection for the vet bill should anyone wish to contribute ;)

Things That Go Bump and Hiss in The Night

Question: How far (is too far away) from the back door should the outside trash can be?

Answer: When things go bump and hiss and scare the bajeebers out of ya and you have to walk a ways in the dark ... is too far for me!

Living in the North Woods away from city lights affords a person great star gazing opportunities. It also makes for a scary trip to the trash can after dinner in the dark autumn sky. I must first turn on all outside lights, mind you no flood lights, and still there is a path with forty feet of darkness on the nightly trek. Nerves must be mustered up and eyes must adjust to the lack of sunlight to scan the woods for wild and woolly creatures hiding in wait to do .....what? Last week it was a strange horse snort of a sound coming from behind the garden plot. I presume this may have been a moose and turned back inside. Last night, I called in the dawg for her supper and nightly bedie bye routine only to find her sad little face with a few gashes below her eye. This I presume came from one of our neighborhood hissing does (as in female deer). I know you're thinking I could take out the trash in the morning, but by the end of the day it stinks. If I leave the bag in the garage, the dawg will have a midnight snack. So you say, just move the trash can near the back door ... but then it would be too heavy come trash day to wheel it through the landscape rock in the backyard. Hubby is working the night shift. So I'm just about outta options. Tonight I just might be packin a pistol ... sshhh.

I will make a covenant of peace with them and rid the land of wild beasts so that they may live in the desert and sleep in the forests in safety.
Ezekiel 34:25

A Dog-gone Thief!!

....Last spring I planted two strawberry pots with a total of about 22 plants. I've watched them take root from these lifeless gnarly bare-root plants and leaf out beautifully. By now I should have enough for my morning bowl of cereal ... but I've noticed that the berries I've been watching with anticipation have been disappearing one by one. Yesterday I watched in disbelief as my DAWG snagged a treat for herself. She's on my doo=doo list now and that's not a pretty place to be. Hubby suggested I place the pots just beyond her "invisible" fence line so she gets zapped should she dare take another treat.

'Dawg Tails' From The Great Northwest

Defender of the woods, my pooch, Miss Holly ... Her 'tails' are great this month ... rather drop kicking. Now the entertainment at our Mangy Moose Lodge just never ceases. With the recent visit from my folks, about half of their two weeks was spent watching it snow. The scene was new for them ... but old hash for yours truly. Never the less, great sport can be found in the last snow storm of the season. Dad was sitting at the dining room table reading the paper, sipping coffee one morning. (Said room is a windowed wing off the kitchen with forest views). He had just mentioned how it would be interesting to see a moose while visiting the Mangy Moose Lodge. Voile ... no sooner had the words parted his lips ... outside lumbered said huge creature. Cameras start flashing from behind the door and windows ... mom is amazed at actually seeing the moose just wondering around my yard. Snow is swirling ... moose is munching the new twig growth on a maple tree ... all is well. Or at least for a short moment. Then the action began. To be exact, my great defender, Miss Holly, decides to take on the 1000 x's bigger creature ... she (the dawg) CHARGED and quickly got kicked in the head throwing her across the yard. Do I feel protected? Do I have a stupid dawg? Yes to both questions! Dawg status: Perhaps some sense was kicked into her ... able to run, bark, play, frolic.

Moose On The Loose

Over the past several weeks I have personally spied four different moose just 25 feet from my dining room windows. One cow and calf together ... a bull ... and a 'youth.' At the first sighting my dawg was out roaming our property, and when she cautiously tried to inspect mama and baby (with raised fur and tail) ... she was given a little warning charge from said mama (my dawg is not too bright, eh). I am forever checking outside when it's time to take out the trash. I'm wondering how many times the moose visit at night when I'm not watching ??. We sometimes have the hoof prints of a mini deer & moose freeway trotting through our snow. That does it! My bedroom drapes are going up this week ... lazy or not!

(Stock moose photo ... I'm not CRAZY!)

Phantom of the "Bark"ra

This post finds me with "noise" in my head! Barking sounds that aren't really there! Scary stuff! For Three nights this past week, my pooch decided that barking was her preferred means of communication. Not during the day ... but evening and night time ... enough to get me out of my nice sudsy bubble bath ... or up at night muttering something about a Korean meat market if you get my drift ;) Dh once read that, "Golden retrievers think life is a party and they're the guest of honor." I have to admit that lately she's been treated as the dawg that she is ... and not given the honor she thinks she deserves. Needless to say, last night was one heck of a barky night. I have resorted to putting her down in the basement's storage room in her kennel, with a night light and sometimes a movie playing during one of her "episodes." To top things off, she is frightened of lightning and thunder ... which occurred last night as well. Today I'm still "hearing" barking in my head as if I can't turn off her obnoxious voice. Time to buy a muzzle!

Tomorrow my satellite connection should be hooked up. The electrician/installation tech had a bad part on the dish last week and had to order a new part; thus the delay.

"You are to be my holy people. So do not eat the meat of an animal torn by wild beasts; throw it to the dogs." Exodus 22:31