Liebster Awards One and Two

Before I tell you what's going on here today, I want to thank Donna from Our Forest Haven for her bestowing on us the Liebster Award TWO YEARS AGO.  I don't think I ever wrote about it! 

Yesterday, we received another from Stella Rose at The Three Little Pugs.

Stella's had a bunch of rules that we had to do and to link back, which will be done if you click on the blog name above. 

1.  What is your favorite font? 

A:  Arial, it is easy to read and clean. 

2.  What is the first book you remember reading? 

A:  "The Ponies Next Door"  I began going to the library as a first-grader, and I loved this book so much I checked it out regularly and re-read it over and over.  I can still tell you the story... the ponies were in a stable next to the "heroine and hero" and they had all kinds of adventures.  It was set in England, and I can still remember ponies named Bracken and Magic.  I would love to find a copy of this. 

3.  What was the first book you fell in love with? 

A:  See above. 

4.  How much time do you spend on the computer at work? 

A:  I'm retired now, but I used to spend about 7 hours a day on it.  Whew. 

5. How much time a day do you spend on the computer for other reasons? 

A:  I take the fifth. 

6.  What are your animal companion's names and what kind of animal are they? 

A:  Ranger, German Shepherd Dog;  Lilly, half Brittany/Half Golden Retriever dog; Abby; pug dog; Kelly, Winnie and Windy, goats; and a whole passel of chickens and ducks. 

7.  Motto of our life? 

A: I have seen this so often on Pinterest, I adopted it: 

Be kind to others because you do not know what burdens they are carrying. 

Good advice. 

8.  What do I want for Christmas? 

A:  For our entire family to be remembered, and a safe birth for our new grandbaby, Carson. 

9.  What kind of cheese do you like? 

A:  Any kind of spicy cheese, but also, goat cheese. 

10:  One person whom I admire? 

A:  What an easy answer, Deb from The Three Little Pugs, for the way she writes, she makes me laugh or cry and I love her blog! 

Now, down to today. 

It's very hot and humid out.  I am going back out soon to cut some grass, as we are expecting rain, and even severe storms on Friday. 

I worked for a while in this bed.  I CANNOT get the shovel down into the yarrow to bring it up and divide it.  I'm going to have to try after the rain.  I pulled up as much grass as I could... this corner was woefully overgrown... and then I put many shovels of the chicken house cleanings on it.  Keith got me some dirt last night, but I thought I'd better hold onto it until I can get the plants up, divide them, and replant them. Oh... the white lavender bush that neighbor Kathy gave me 3 years ago is looking very good in the corner of this bed, can you see it?  That's partly why I'll have to move plants. 

I went to get asclepias seeds for friend Jill, and AGGGHHHH  what ARE these???  I honestly don't know. 

UGH.  

My helper was getting as hot as I was. 

This one wasn't getting hot.  He has springs in his legs and he loves the beverage cooler. 

Mr. T was cool, calm and collected as he looked for mice.  No eggs in this henhouse any more... the hens still laying lay in the rabbit hutch outside, or the goat feeder. 

 And a word about The Donald. 

If you look closely in this picture above, you will see the south ends of three Khaki Campbell ducks under the little hutch, a white Pekin on the left (Aflac) and beyond the hutch, a tiny hint of Donald in the duck pool.

Donald appears to be getting better, his limp is not as bad. 

However, contrary to what I said two days ago... he does appear to be getting angel wings.  This is an indication of too much protein in the duck or goose's diet. 

I'll be buying a bag of game bird feed at the feed store tomorrow morning, and try to keep the ducks to game bird, which is not as high in protein as the chicken pellets.  We'll see if that helps Donald and his walking problem. 

It's just so good to be The Donald. 

Except for the fact that you can see where the goats have been nibbling... they love moss rose, apparently... the deck flowers are having a last burst of beauty.  The lantana is blooming again, along with the callibrachoa and petunias.  In fact, I had dumped some petunias already in a bucket to take to the compost... and they began to bloom again, on the left!  I am going to bring the geraniums in for the winter. 

Keith is gone for the night to Salina, and I am off to cut grass so that we look nice and tidy for the Kaw Valley Farm Tour this weekend.... we aren't on the tour, but I like to be lookin' good for the folks going by.