Happy Halloween!

Benign carousel... or the stuff of nightmares?????

Happy Halloween! 

Working in the Pasture Or, The Cockelburr Story

Can you see my rear view mirror? 

I watched that bean truck bear down on me, gears shifting... motor roaring... I honestly thought 

I was going to end up pushed out into 7 highway earlier today. 

It's going on everywhere, all around us.  

I'm watching at every corner for the bean and corn trucks. 

I took the dogs out to run, and tackled that cockleburr patch in the pasture. 

At first I was using the big cutters because some of the stalks were pretty thick, then
I would cut them up smaller in the yard cart. 

However, after working for a while, I realized most of them would pull up. 

I took two heaping cartloads up to the burn pile in the driveway. 

At one point, the Dauntless Duo ran past me at a pretty good clip. 

The pugs could never keep up with Lilly, though Gertie and Abby tried. 

Jester can match her stride for stride. 

Finally, I was able to see the actual outline of  the doghouse and dog pen stood. 

And stepping back a few steps, you can easily see where it was.  That's where I left it today, because frankly, I was getting pooped.  I am going to have to cut the chicken wire out of the high grass. 

You are actually looking at some of it here, but it's hard to see.  At the "far end"... just to the right 

of the white chair.... and just to the right of the first cockleburr plant... there is a big piece of wire 

on the ground.  Once every plant is down and the wire is out, I'll take the mower out and cut 

the grass... the push mower... and then I'll spray roundup to kill all those little burrs that fell on the ground.  Ugh.  

Look what else I found:

These were under the clump of grass right in front of Jester in the above photo. You know I am freaked about fungi in the pasture now, after little Greta the pug ate mushrooms and died. 

These were not there last year. 

Thanks again to the Bowen Family for their great pasture decorations ... I have loved watching these for another year! 

I took the big camera out to the Lake this afternoon... and after six pictures... the battery was dead! 

It's in the charger too, and I'm going to try again tomorrow after I get Keith home from dialysis. 

I hope to share those tomorrow! 

Did You Know the Royals Are in the World Series?

My Facebook feed is full of this: 

(from the net) 

In case anyone is unaware of it, this town has gone Royals-crazy... tonight is 

Game Seven against the San Francisco Giants.  

I bought Keith a new shirt at the store this afternoon... and the clerk said 

"Don't you want to wait until tomorrow and buy the championship shirt?" 

She was serious. 

I'll confess something... I can't watch the games, I get too sick to 

my stomach.  Keith watches them in the Man Cave and calls 

upstairs ON HIS PHONE and tells me the scores, then I switch for a 

few minutes at the commercial... watch... and then go back to something else. 

So far, it's worked.  I'm praying it works tonight! 

I did get some work done around here today in my "garden". 

Here are my beautiful planters of impatiens and Caladiums. 

I dug all this out.  I cleaned off the caladium bulbs, and laid them 

in some planting mix in the garage in a planter to try to save them 

over the winter. 

Ooooo I did not get a good picture of the seeds. 

I was pulling heads off right and left. 

And I pulled a LOT more zinnia seed heads off, too. 

Look what I found way down at the bottom! 

There was a surprise in the tomato planter, too. 

Keith can no longer eat tomatoes... because of the potassium. 

This planter will be put to a different use next year. 

Don't worry, my helpers were with me.  Notice how they lay together now. 

If I didn't know any better, I would say Lilly is glad to have a "pack" again. 

This large planter in which the tomato grew now is full of beautiful red tulips, sent to 

me for my birthday in August by my friend Georgie... I can't wait to see them! 

Remember when I trimmed these back in April? 

Well, this will be one of next week's projects!  

Always something. 

Go Royals! 

A Visit to the Vet

Here's Dr. Hamilton, the fill-in vet, checking out Jester this afternoon. 

Both Jes and Lilly got their shots today, after the doctor and I had a talk about inoculations and why we give them.  Having read lots of information lately about them, I wanted to be 

sure about what we have and why we are doing it.  Dr. Hamilton was straightforward... and we did all the boosters, rabies (2 year rabies) and leptospirosis.  Several cases of lepto have been 

reported in Leavenworth County lately, and I don't want to take any chances. 

Lilly came along too, and had her shots... and saw her friend Rhonda. 

We saw this truck on our way there.  I had to laugh. 

Since the dogs were so good at the vet's, we went out for a short run.

I'm learning to use the sun to my advantage... slowly. 

Very slowly. 

This mess... it's a patch of cockleburs, horrid, horrid cockelburs. 

They get so tangled in Lilly's fur. 

Why are they even there?  Why did Troy not cut them? 

This is where the pasture dog pen stood, where the little flock of Mille Fleur chickens lived. 

I wrapped the bottom of that pen with poultry wire, and tie-wrapped it to the wire. 

When we took the pen down in the spring, as we re-homed the goats and some of the chickens, we cut the poultry wire off but we did not roll it up immediately.  The grass has grown through it, and it might as well be attached to the ground.  I can only get one corner up.  

I am going to sit down on the ground in a week or so, and start cutting, and try to 

cut it up enough that I can get it all out. 

Then I'm going to cut those dang burrs down and put them on the burn pile of grapevine and saplings.  

They. Are. Wicked. 

The mums in the garden are still going strong, though fading around the edges. I noticed yesterday that they are all gone from Walmart now. 

I'm seeing the flower beds in a whole new way. 

These are monarda stems. 

Daisies?????  (not sure) 

Phisostegia????  It really helps to focus on the seed pods, which are quite beautiful in their own ways. 

There are still a few buddlieas blooming, but I saw only one butterfly. 

Most of them look like this, and believe me, I'll be cutting them back this year, remember, I nearly lost them this year after the terrible winter we had. 

Since both dogs had just had shots, we didn't stay really long. 

And besides, Mama was hungry. 

Look who was outside doing a little bit of work when we got home!  Yes, he's feeling so much better, but trying to go slow as he adjusts to dialysis.  The weather is being very cooperative, it 

was in the sixties and very pleasant. 

The dogs are tired tonight and I am ready to veg too, since we have to get up at 5 to drive to the dialysis center.  

I'm going to try to go to the lake on Thursday afternoon to take some pictures of the wild geese there, and make another trip to my friend's to get a "chicken fix" and take some pictures of her flock. 

Now, for Game Six! 

Let's Get Caught Up

Saturday morning, the third dialysis.  Kicked butt, believe me. 

However, Keith got to come home that afternoon. 

30 minutes ago, today... with all the bruising on his arms and shoulders artfully concealed... 

He did have his first four hour diaylsis this morning... I drove.... and was exhausted afterwards. 

However, he had a good nap and a good lunch and feels pretty good. 

His weight has gone from around 250 last week... to 193 today.  Incredible what his poor body was carrying around, and no wonder he was so sick. That was all toxic fluid. 

Our schedule is Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, from 5:30 AM to 

9:30 AM... and I'll drive for a few weeks, until he gets in the 

groove. 

We had a make-up ball game yesterday... Jax got a GOOD hit with his new bat. 

And afterwards I ran the dogs out to stretch their legs. 

They are so happy at the farm. 

And getting to be pretty friendly. 

If you were to walk in the gate right now, this is what you would see... on the far side of 

Spehar's ponds.  I wait for it every year. 

Yes, I had the big camera. 

This is the view pulling back a little... that tree is actually along way away, across the two big ponds. 

I am getting to love this camera. 

Troy and Kathy's back yard is like a park... and so beautiful. 

And yes, I did some artsy shots, too! 

We're ready to go home, Mom! 

(It was hot!) 

As I came home from the library while Keith slept this morning, I stopped at the pond I showed you several weeks ago.  But... I have missed the color there, sadly. 

This little guy, a mallard, I think, was all by himself on the pond, you can just see him in the first picture in the left bottom.  He was picking at the algae, and the waves were bucking him around.  

I had just come from a friend's house, where these guys were eating in the yard. 

And there were some chickens and roosters running around, too. 

We have a new road ahead of us, but I think we'll be able to travel it... in fact, I know we will.