What a month! I spent three days last month in the hospital with pneumonia, sepsis and anemia. I wish it had happened a couple of months earlier, this is prime time for me, spring and getting the yard and garden ready.

My nephew and his son came up last weekend, and they worked a bit with my rescue horses.


Dexter (the bull) still has a fascination with Beauty, as you can see by him and the rest of the herd following the boys around the pasture.

I need to get a saddle for Beauty!

I got a new baby ferret. I named him Tiny, and looking at the size difference between him and Chunk, you can see why the name is appropriate.

The sun is trying to peek out this morning, and I’m ready for it. It’s been a cold gloomy week, I actually had the wood stove going yesterday. My perennials are popping up all over my flower garden, and I’m itching to get out there and get some weeding done. It’s a very salubrious to sit in the dirt and weed, soaking up the sun and listening to the birds. It’s the very BEST time of the year, no bugs and cool enough to work outside.

A month and a half since I last posted?!? Just not much to say, and the winter and bad things have kept me down. Several weeks ago in 36 hours, we lost a favorite (but quite old) cat, a cow, and two calves. Heartbreaking…

Winter continues, it’s 22° right now. At least it’s sunny, those cloudy days send me to my recliner by the wood stove. For those of you who have never had a wood stove, you don’t know what you’re missing. Yes, it’s work to bring in the wood, clean the ashes & chimney, but the warmth it gives off is simply comforting.

I’m struggling to get back into making beads (and selling them), so no bead pictures. A nice variety of everything else, though. We’ll start with critters first. This is our latest neighbor, he/she has been leaving bunny droppings all over my flower garden. We may have a fight when my plants start growing.

And I’m not happy with this guy. He’s been waking me up every morning at first light by sitting on the vine by my bedroom patio door and trying to fight with his reflection. It’s getting old…

These are some photos of my big fuzz ball of a dog when we had our last snowfall,


Don’t feel bad for him, he prefers being outside, even covered with snow.

It does look pretty, if you don’t have to go out in it.

More critters, the cat sitting on my computer,

and Bunny enjoying a bucket of snow,

On with the outside critters, Beauty and the beast (the bull),

and Beauty with our newest rescue, Buddy. He’s a past-his-prime Amish used Standardbred, and he’s a sweetheart,

Beauty sticks pretty close to him. She really needed someone of her own kind. Dexter, the bull, really likes her (I think her size impresses him), but Beauty drives him away if he gets too close. I was out checking the fence line the last warm day, and the whole herd had to come see what was going on.

A gorgeous amaryllis that’s blooming right now,

Funny Internet pics:

Hard to believe that three weeks ago, I was walking barefoot in Florida. It was a whirlwind trip, just about 5,000 miles in two weeks. I’ve probably got a few more grey hairs from driving in rush hour traffic (in the dark) through Atlanta, Georgia, but it was well worth it, just to be able to be outside in shorts and sleeveless shirt and walk barefoot on the beach.

The Big Beast at Vicksburg,

Grand nephew and great-grand nephew loving the beach,


and pictures to remind me of a wonderful, peaceful time,

The downside was that it was a heatwave down there, and rainy and cloudy the whole time. If we can do this again next winter, my nephew Scott would prefer to go to Arizona. That would be fine with me, we could head down to Texas to the coast so I could get my beach fix and then head to the desert. It certainly makes for a nice break in the winter. Last weekend was horribly cold, and this weekend is going to be even worse. These pictures give an idea of how wicked that northwest wind can get in the wintertime. Those icicles under the eves are at an almost 90° angle.

Statistically, we are past the worst of the winter, the days are noticeably getting longer, and (again, statistically) the days will be getting warmer. Spring is on the way!!