Helllppppp! (And Pictures)

I was told about two hours ago by a dear friend that 

Blogger had changed.  I had not realized it. 

I just went in to change my header picture, and I can't figure out 

how to do it now! 

HELLLLPPPP! 

If anyone of you has done so recently, will you give me some tips 

on where to find the option to remove the hummingbird picture and replace it? 

Thanks! 

I didn't realize it had been so long since I posted last... I am going to try to improve on that. 

There has just been so much to do in these last six weeks. 

I was at the Ag yesterday decorating for Christmas with Judy, 

the general factotum. 

This little guy was watching us while we decorated the train depot. 

Here is a better picture of him taken today: 

He watched ME quizzically as I watched him.  I had tossed a few tiny 

pumpkins his way, I'll see if they are still there tomorrow. 

Either there is a front door and back door, or there are two. 

I am PRAYING they don't kill them, you know me. 

He/they is/are under the blacksmith shop. 

Just thought this was neat. 

There they go. 

Yesterday, they were on the pond. 

And so was a lone mallard drake.  I have been expecting ducks for weeks, but have seen very few. 

Oddly, I saw what appeared to be a vulture on Sunday, weeks after the vultures had left. 

I think maybe I was seeing things, and it was a redtail up high. 

This, my friends, is my totally worn out Canon 

point-and-shoot.  

I literally wore it out over the last 4 years!  

As you see, it is stuck open, and you can see the chrome is 

worn from being pulled in and out of my pocket over and over. 

It was very, very sturdy.  

There is still color at Basehor City Park, and we have had some wonderful walks lately. 

The temps are plunging tonight. 

All the pee mail.  All. The. Pee. Mail. 

There is a Wiener Patrol at the park. 

Every day, at the fence, barking. 

Jester would play if he could. 

There are three. 

Something caught her interest along the creek top. 

Color on the ground, too. 

Our best girl, Lilly Ann!  

And The Days Fly By

Oh.  My. Goodness. 

I got "As" in Geography in school, really, I did. 

Somehow... I forgot Illinois was in between Iowa and Indiana. 

I am making final preps for the Blogville Awesome Retreat this weekend, 

and am driving not straight over to Brown County State Park in Indiana... an 8 hour drive from where we live... but up to Iowa to pick up my friend Deb and Stella Rose Long, her pug.  

Thence across the state of Illinois. 

All I can say is, I am mighty stressed. 

For some reason I thought we were driving straight across Iowa and into 

Indiana.  Wow. 

Here is something that stressed me out this morning, too: 

This is the beautiful park at Basehor where the dogs and I go 

nearly daily to walk. 

Yesterday, Jester was very sick, and we visited our Dogtor. We did not walk. 

When we got to the park this morning, it was to find the back end of 

the park leveled... and a driveway made around the community garden area at the back, and clear up the west side of the park, under the beautiful trees, some of which will be removed. 

Friends... this made me sick.  This park was pristine at the back... and now the gardeners 

will have to put up with cars making a circle around the park.  I will try to 

take better pictures tomorrow so you can see what has happened.  See that 

beautiful view?  Imagine cars coming up it!  It is only feet from the volleyball 

area. 

I don't know whose hare-brained idea this was, but I don't like it. 

Here is our little doll, who was so terribly sick.  He could not hold anything down. 

The doctor finally gave him a sub-Q dose of anti-inflammatory to calm his 

stomach down.  He was given special dog food and two kinds of 

meds.  He will be going on a diet as soon as we have returned from: 

Where we will meet all our friends in the furs! 

We actually have one attendee coming from overseas... 

and though you see Lilly here, she is staying home with daddy. 

Two of our attendees bumped into each other at a rest stop today, out of the blue... both coming from the west coast, so Murphy and Stanley, the Two Cool Doodz... (goldendoodles top center) met 

Artie and Dory, the two well-dressed Shitzus in the lower left corner.  

Hailey and Zaphod (shepherd types in the second row) are also coming from Kansas. 

Madi, the one cat you see, will be represented by her Mom. 

We are at T minus 1, and Stella Rose Long (the black pug in the first row) will 

be traveling with us, along with her mom. 

This should be good. 

We are going to try to broadcast live from Brown County State Park, Indiana, 

during the BAR. 

I have turned over all buckets so this won't happen again.   I asked Keith to please be aware that 

we are still dealing with baby mice.  I am finding LOTS dead.  You know it hurts me 

to kill anything... and we did try live trapping... but for Keith's medical sake... they had to go. 

I am going to touch base with the exterminator in the morning.   While I am gone, all feeding will stop. 

Keith will fill one water receptacle as he waters my plants daily in the heat, but 

he is not going to feed.  We need to break a little bit of the chain here. 

I just read that paragraph... sorry for the choppy sentences! 

I let that mouse go, of course.  

We did go for a walk very early this morning, and lo and behold, the geese and the turkeys were feeding together in the same field again. 

Back deck feeding will stop, too, while I am gone.  It is supposed to be hot and humid, and I don't want to have to worry about hummingbird feeders. 

Look what I found the other day: 

I had cleaned it two days before.  I had to take a toothpick and clean the individual 

little spouts to the bells, because they were bad.  I soaked it good, cleaned everything with a brush, and have been cleaning them daily, since. 

I have a friend who stopped feeding because she was worried about keeping them clean enough. 

I enjoy seeing the little visitors, so I am going to soldier on for a while. 

Besides finishing packing, I am going to build the trellis for my straw bale garden 

tomorrow, so I will show you that in the evening.  

(If I don't stress out) 

A Walk in the Park

Our girl Lil got to do something today that she had never done before. 

You see... Lilly rarely left Calamity Acres in the old days.  The only time she ever ventured outside the gates (besides being naughty four or five times and getting loose)... was to go to the vet's office. 

She hated riding in the car. 

Now that we have moved, she has gotten used to hopping in the car and riding around with me, but we usually go to the old place, or do errands, where she waits for me. 

So... Saturday, I walked the puppies with Valerie.  I decided to take 

Lilly to the same park. 

When we got out of the car... she checked out the pee mail. 

At the back of the park is the Basehor Community garden... it's wonderful. 

Pumpkins ripe in July... too soon. 

The rules for the plots were posted... and each person responsible for a plot is given a key to the water pipe for watering their plots.  The bed just to the left of this was mulched with a thick covering of straw. 

We made a circuit of the entire park once... and we will go back again this week.  2 1/2 times around the path is a mile... it will be good exercise for us.  

There were kids playing in the park... and that's good for Lil, too.  

There was also another big dog there, but his owner had him well under control. Lil has to get used to things like that. 

I thought you might all like to see Lil as she was 8 years ago this September: 

She was a naughty puppy, but a beautiful girl already! 

I passed this on the way to the park... sumac, already changing colors along the road.  Too soon!