There are Bad Days.....

Today was one of those days....the lightening the other night tripped the breaker, of which I was unaware...I had checked the freezer and everything was frozen, but guess it was off and I did not know it....today, everything in it was warm and thawed out. I lost a lot of meat, but the dogs will have a wonderful feast time this week. Breaks my heart, seems I would learn, it has happened before....note to self...never buy more than a couple weeks worth of meat at a time....so much waste, so much money lost, but it is my own mistake.
So.....I just took a walk around the place and counted all my blessings today....my tomato plants in the containers are blooming....


The plum tree is absolutley laden down with fruit for summer....unless we get a bad hail storm between now and the ripening time....


My grape vines are coming out, and running the fence,and up the tree as well, am anxious to see the little grapes begin to form.....


In every thing, give thanks, the good and the bad, the Lord will provide in His time, and in his way. My mother asked me today...."What good are your prayers anyway ?".....I told her I would just keep on trusting Him every step..... it will all work out, it always has....
The blackbirds carried on for awhile to get my attention...they were chatting in the big old Ponderosa Pine tree in the yard....there really was a blackbird in the very top of that tree ! LOL.....trust me, I saw him.....


Even the worms in the bolls on these leaves have a purpose.....don't know what it is, but I think they are pretty to look at...

Too many things to see, too many things to be thankful for, and at the end of the day, I am thankful for all my blessings in life.....

What a Day !

My day started out so nicely....sun out, but the weather was cool. Windy, but not untolerable. I checked on the quail and was thrilled to find our first egg ! They are so cute....






They love those broken flower pots, and they love to lay under the heat lamp. They are so gentle, you can pick them up, and have to shoo them out of the way when you walk.






I worked in the garden, filling the containers with top soil, getting ready to transplant the squash from the greenhouse, but the wind had really started to kick up and was blowing around, blowing bags and trash here and there. Benny worked most of the morning on the fence posts down at the western house, leveling and cementing them in so we can get the dogs contained behind a fence down there.

I fed and watered the rest of the menagerie in the barnyard, checked to make sure the carpet piece on the old satellite dish, which is filled with water and minnows, was moist. Don't want to lose any of those precious bees. Usually I put a piece of wood in there so they can at least climb up and float and dry off if they fall in the water, which on occassion, they have done. The bees and I have an agreement..water for them, no stings for me...LOL.



By now there is a strong smell of smoke in the air, the winds are so high, and it brings back the memories of that terrible fire five years ago that devasteted our town. Cars and trucks are stopping, talking about the smoke, what is on fire, where is it, and we find out it is at Cottonwood, just about eight miles from us...everyone is in a sort of panic mood, people are watering their houses and lawns. The wind is fierce by now...the roof on the greenhouse began to pop back and forth, and then....part of the roof had flipped over the top....edges were flapping in the wind...



and now you can see the sky through the roof of the greenhouse.....


I think everyone in town was praying...the smoke was bad at times, the sky grey and the air hard to breathe, but all you can do is wait....and pray....and wait some more. The TV kept telling us about the fire, how bad it was, so many fires all over today...and we all wept to hear that a firefighter in another county not far from us had lost his life today, and three were injured fighting the fires. We kept praying the wind would slow and calm...and our prayers were answered by evening. The TV stated the fire in our area was under control if the wind stayed still, and our town was asked to stop watering houses as the firemen needed pressure to fill their tanks. We all run scared when we see fire or smoke around here.
Evening time, and all is calm, Praise the Lord for His blessings on us....
A smokey sky is going down....
and a lighter one replaces it.....

Bama the Llama is looking around and laughing at me with his big batty eyes and his overbite teeth...


And Buddy the cat wonders what all the fuss is about as he pops his head up....


May tomorrow be a calmer day, and may the rains come to ease our fears......

I HATE SNAKES !

It has been miserable here today with all the wind, and it has been cold. We are looking at temperatures in the high 30's tonight, even a frost possibility. I had to recover the quail pen with tarps, and turn on a heat lamp. We were in the 90's yesterday and cooking !
I heard the snap of the mousetrap in the kitchen and ran in to grab it to throw the mouse out to the barn cats. Just as I reached down, I saw the tail coiling up and uncoiling, and my scream woke the dead because Benny bolted out of his chair and came running in there....I hate snakes, I have had two other snake episodes in this house and they were not pretty, and now this...."It's just a rat snake", he says...I am beyond caring what kind of reptile he is, I hate him already.....I grabbed an old plastic container with a lid, and tried to slide the trap inside, screaming all the way....EWWWWWWWWWW....finally got the trap outside with the snake and undone the trap to let it out into the container...he is now down at the cowlot with the hay...may he live in peace and stay down there.....


The puppies were out of the dog house today...so fat and so cute....


The rebar is all in place, now waiting for the cement truck to come, maybe this week, we shall see....I am anxious to move after today.....


The flat peach trees from Gurney's have been planted, I bought two of them...love those $25 coupons...always buy trees each year....

Love this big Texas star on the western house. Texas has been good to me. I rarely think of Northern Arizona and the mountains anymore. Here we can grow crops !


Love the cactus plants, they are thriving...have more to move down yet...



The old rusty milk can has become a bird waterbath.....


And check out this wok I bought at a flea market....those old disks come in so handy...just love it....it raises up and down to add hot coals, can't wait for summer and BBQ time...I love to do green beans on the grill....just love them.

No April Fool's Here....

Just another day of working around the place...A little wren has made her home in my Acorn birdhouse. I love to hear the trill of her voice, such a bitty bird. but such a sweet, sweet sound to my ears...


This piece of art swings in the wind...I painted it all red today, beats the rust it had all over it...love this....it has a big flat rock in the center to make the body, old washers form the eyes...just too cute...



And here is Jimmy, the donkey this morning, meeting me at the gate...KISSES, KISSES, he brays...LOL



The baby quail are growing so fast. They love those old broken flower pots to hide in...the heat from the lamp keeps them warm as well...




They are just so cute. It is hard to believe that in four weeks they will be laying eggs....


The Yellow Squash and my tomatoes are coming up.....

And the Mung Beans are sprouting. I have ordered fresh seed, as this was from a couple years ago. But they are still sprouting !!


I have ordered another Sprouter plus more seeds to sprout. I hate the price of Spinach and Lettuce at the store. Wish I could wiggle my nose and mine would be ready to eat...I have to keep from nibbling in the greenhouse...LOL