Lucy

Here is a picture taken not too long ago of Lucy, our labrador retriever, with Logan and 8bol.

A Loyal Friend

Lucy was a true and loyal friend and we will miss her. I remember when we got her as a puppy, how excited she was to meet us as she wiggled around on the basement floor... and now 14 years later it was time to say goodbye. Here are some of the things I remember about Lucy.



Her kind eyes.

The way she liked to stake out her spot on the front porch, usually in front of the door.

The way she loved to go down to the creek with us.

I remember the "pool" Logan made for her at the creek so she could have her own little spot to relax in. She loved to get in the water to cool off on a hot summer day.

The way she wanted to be with us. She liked to walk with us around the circle when we were taking a walk or to see the chickens.

I remember how she like to be with Adrian, how when we were walking to the creek she'd stop when he stopped and start again when he'd start.

I remember how she'd find a cool spot in the undergrowth at the creek, but would come out quickly when we were ready to go back up the hill to the house.

I remember how she'd bark at Ralph our cat when he sat on the front steps, just to let him know she had her eye on him.

I remember how she was good at catching food in her mouth when you'd toss it to her.

I remember she liked to protect and "mother" little animals.



I know there are more, but that's a few of the things I remember this afternoon, June 25. Our pets play an important role in our lives and I'm grateful to have had the chance to love this sweet old girl, our Lucy.



I remember her buddies Muffy and Whitey who have already gone on and hope they're having a happy reunion right now! And Bouncer, Spot, and Ralph, too; I hope they're there to greet her! And Milo, too...



It's been a sad year for us with our pets. We miss Milo, Kristen's little dog, and we also lost in the past year, Bouncer, Spot, and Ralph, and so many of our chickens (Princess, Captain Jack, Roofer, Chicken Little, Fancy, etc.) I remember how Ralph (the cat) came up as a little stray kitten and climbed up on the backs of our dogs to stay warm. I remember how Bouncer would stop and nuzzle under Adrian's hand to get him to rub her, especially under the neck. To all our faithful, furry and feathered friends, thanks for being our pets and for all the good memories. We love and miss you!

New Chicks in Town

Adrian is putting the chicks in the crate to take them in the chicken house where they'll be safer from the raccoons.

Here they are nestled in their little cubbies in the chicken house. They really are very cute!

Here you can see the gray chicken, who is one of two survivors of the raccoon attacks and some of our new chicks. Notice the grayish brownish one, third from the left...he/she is actually a turkey! So, we now have two hens from before the raccoons (Snowdrop and the gray one) and 15 new chicks and one turkey.
Any suggestions on names?

Grilling Anyone?

Does anyone have a great grilling recipe they like to use? I love to cook out (grill) in the summer and fall, especially, and wondered if anyone wanted to suggest something they like to do on the grill. We grill a lot of the typical foods, hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken, and occasionally steak, and it's pretty standard just-put-it-on-the-grill-and-cook-it style. I'm not really looking for anything fancy, maybe just a fresh idea. I saw a recipe online this morning for hoisin-honey-glazed pork with grilled pineapple that I think I could adapt and use...might be something different and tasty. Sometimes just a different sauce is fun to try, like with chicken to use not only barbecue, but also do some with lemon pepper or terriyaki. So, if you have any good ideas, feel free to share!

What a deal!

I love a bargain! What can I say?! It's hard to express the thrill I get from getting something at a great price! So, here's my deal of the day... It started yesterday when I stopped by Lowe's and saw that they had some flowers reduced on the clearance racks, also known by me as the "dead and dying" rack, but anyway, their six-pack flower trays were just a dollar, along with another little round pot, so I got four and thought I'd add a few more flowers around the house where I'd maybe skimped when I planted several weeks ago. After I'd made my purchase and got in my van to leave, I checked my receipt and saw that I didn't get the sale price on two of the flowers packs! (I know we're only talking a small amount of money here...okay, it was only about a dollar over...I was charged approx. $5.00 instead of $4.00.) But the thrill of a good deal is to actually get it! Today I had to take Logan to his orthodontist appointment which was right by Lowe's, so I dropped him off and went back to Lowe's. I did have to pick up some weed killer, but I also wanted to get my dollar back....I mean, what fun is it to get a bargain if you don't really get it! So, after I got my dollar back.... here's the even better deal I got when I went by the flower clearance racks.... they had reduced the flowers to 50 cents for a six-pack tray of flowers! I thought that was great and decided I'd just get a couple more. While I was picking them out...hang on to your seats!...the Lowe's sales person that was working in that area said, if you want 10, I'll give them to your for a dollar!! Of course, that's too good a deal to pass up, so I got 10 six-packs....(60 flowers) for only $1.00 total! How's that for a great deal! Just made my day! I do love a bargain!

This is a picture of the day lillies at our house. They grow wild and you see them along the road and other places this time of year. There is a small field of them below our house and I just love to look at them!

Grandma and the guys

Logan, Adam, and Grandma

Light Years Away

Have you ever been in a conversation and you weren't even sure you were all speaking the same language? Tonight I was in the middle of conversation like that. Adrian and Adam were discussing sound waves, light particles, and the like, and one would say something and the other one would know what he was talking about and say something like, "Yes, and then there's....." and the other one would go, "Right, and have you thought about...." and so on and so forth. Who else but Adam and Adrian would know such details?! Well, they were certainly on the same wave length, but I was light years away!

Tragedy at the Jarrell Farm

Adam and Logan spent at least a couple of hours reinforcing the chicken pens yesterday and Adrian had gotten some of the materials for an electric fence to put up. Adrian set a couple of traps and we had all been down there trying to make the area secure for our chickens, but evidently we are no match for the vicious nighttime marauders! It seems that we have at least another raccoon, and maybe several. This morning as Adrian was getting ready for work and Adam and I were getting ready to leave for Winston for his appointment with the oral surgeon to have his wisdom teeth removed, the guys went to the chicken pens and found several chickens dead and a raccoon still in the pen! While Adam tried to get to the house to get a gun, the critter managed to get away. I am just heartsick over the loss of Princess, Captain Jack, Roofer, Chicken Little, and our big Rooster. To some they probably just seem like a bunch of chickens, but they had names and personalities and we enjoyed hearing them cackle and crow and watch them scratch about and do all their chicken stuff. Adrian has taken great care to watch over them and learn about raising chickens so we could have fresh eggs and be more self-sufficient. We all feel bad to lose so many of our chickens this week. We are now trying again to put our heads together and see if we can outsmart these raccoons! Logan has been working on some ideas this morning which include barbed wire, paintball guns, and BB guns....so we'll see what happens!

The Bandit

Something got into our chicken pen and got three of our chickens, then another night, one more disappeared. Adrian set traps to try and catch the bandit. Last night the creature got one more chicken and got caught! We had wondered if it would be a raccon, weasil, or maybe a fox...turns out, it was a raccoon. He shouldn't have killed our chickens, but he was only doing what raccoons do, so Adrian did the humane thing and took him about 5 miles away and released him into the woods. He looked really scared in the trap, so I'm glad he's free (and away from our chickens so they will be safe) and I hope he will lead a reformed life and stay away from chickens! I asked Adrian if he thought the raccoon selected his prey because he got three of the little banty (bantam) hens the first night and they are small, or if he thought the raccoon went after his prey at random. Adrian said he didn't know the mind of the raccoon, but offered that we might check out a raccoon profiler to answer that question! :)