My orchids are starting to bloom!

Some beads to show off. I really like this one (just wish I remembered what glasses I used),



I love the colors in this one. Tomorrow morning I have to try to make some big hole beads with this coloring.

I’ve been reminded that I need to get photos posted. My sister must be bored. :)

Muddy brown goldfinches, just waiting for spring to brighten up,

Suka stole the ferrets’ snow box, and Buddy is trying to figure out what to do about it.

Christian said it won’t be much longer before he won’t be able to do this, because Suka is growing so fast.

I’ve been feeling the need to get back into drawing/painting, and this is my newest effort. This was a gorgeous Friesian horse down at the Horse Expo. I’d love to have one of these beauties.

1 more day to get past the shortest day of the year, and 20 more until the days start to warm up.

Lots and lots of photos tonight!
Puppy photos,



Chunk and Suka photos.

Suka has figured out how to keep Chunk from biting him, he just flops down on him.

I bought a record player that hooks up to my computer so I can get some old records digitized. Here’s one that’s really old, it’s an Edison record from the 1920s,

This record is almost 1/4” thick!

The songs on it are A Sturdy Norseman
and Norway, My Norway and Little Mountain Maid

BRRRR! -13° this a.m. 7/26 days (7 days until the days get longer, 26 until they get warmer).

More cactus photos. The second one is one I just bought at Walmart. I was amazed at all of the blossom buds on it.


And of course, Suka photos,

My torch is all ready to start making beads, but I have to wait until Chunk goes to sleep before I dare start working. He and Suka have to be closely supervised. Suka likes to swat at them with those big paws, which makes Chunk mad, and Suka also likes to grab their tails, which makes Chunk mad.

We’re in a snowstorm here, with a cold snap moving in. They’re forecasting -10° tomorrow morning. I’m not even going to try to get the tractor started to plow the driveway. I called a guy who does snowplowing to come out tomorrow or Monday. Here’s what it’s looking like right now.

Suka jumped off the deck and couldn’t get back up, and the snow was too deep for him to go around, so I had to get down and my hands and knees and pull him up. BRRRRRRR!

We’re still in the ‘Oh, how cute!’ stage with Suka.Yesterday he was taking a nap with me, laying on his back, spreadeagled. Would have made a cute photo.

Now if I tried sleeping like this, I would wake up with such a stiff neck!

It was COLD here this a.m., -1°. This poor woodpecker was all fluffed up trying to stay warm.

I’ve got a pretty cactus blooming,


And Suka playing in the ferret’s snow box,

And total relaxation, legs dangling,

And one more of the little diva, Pip, who’s been keeping me awake at night, growling at Suka,

Oh, now that was funny!! Chunk, the ferret, got tired of Suka trying to play with him, so he hissed at Suka and chased him. Yup, Suka can move pretty fast when he needs to.

I forgot that puppies are like babies, eating, sleeping, peeing and pooping machines.

But with a face like this, can I regret getting him? NO WAY!

Well, Suka certainly enjoys the snow!

My little family, Peaches keeping Squeak’s butt warm, along with S.C. (Scaredy Cat).

 My mornings start with coffee and news, and Pip keeping cozy wedged in behind me on my chair,

 Our family has increased. We’ve adopted a rescue puppy, a Husky mix. He got here this afternoon, and he is so small, only as big as Pip, and cuddly. It’s like cuddling up to thick polar fleece. We’ve renamed him Suka, Inuit for ‘fast.’

 

Look at those big puppy paws!

And here he is being introduced to the ferrets:

 So far, the ferrets are the only ones who want to play with him.
Here’s a video of him trying to play with BB, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZFAWKWrx5s

Love this photo,

And he's so tired now,

That was truly disgusting! Giving Daisy May a shot wasn’t bad, actually getting the medicine in the syringe took longer than actually giving her the shot. Cleaning the abscess was YUCK, YUCK! Had to break off the scab and stick my finger in the hole to open it and then push the syringe (no needle) with the iodine in and squirt it in, and then try to hold the hole shut and push the iodine around inside. Several times. Ick, ick, ick!!!!

It’s been a trying few days. The thermostat in Lukas’ toilet seat (it’s a wash & dry seat) went out again, so it needs to be sent in to get it fixed. The garage door opener quit working. The boys couldn’t get the snowthrower attachment put on the lawn tractor, so I had to call Sears, and they’re not going to be out until next week. Daisy May, the heifer calf that was born last May, had a big (football size) lump hanging from her tummy, so I was thinking she had a hernia and was going to have to have surgery (which at this time of the year is dicey). We had a snowstorm and Christian got the truck stuck when he tried taking the garbage out, the Ford 8N wouldn’t start so I couldn’t get the driveway cleared. And I’m trying to adopt a husky puppy, but the problem is that he’s in a foster home over by the South Dakota border, and the weather and other circumstances keeps getting things put off (hopefully he’ll be coming Friday).

Stress!

Well, the good news is that the truck is unstuck, the driveway is plowed, and Daisy May doesn’t have a hernia, she has an abscess. The vet opened it, flushed it out and gave her a shot of antibiotics. I have to give her a shot Friday and Sunday (EEEEEKKK, I HATE needles!!!!) and I have to run to town tomorrow and pick up some iodine solution. We have to flush it out daily for the next 7-10 days. Oh joy! Well, at least while the vet was here, he castrated Strip. LOL, he asked if I wanted the testicles! I said no thanks, so he gave them to the chickens, who really enjoyed them. Gross! People actually eat those things?!? Yup, Rocky Mountain Oysters.

I had a good month with my beads, and thanks to a couple of very good customers, I was able to buy a new camera, a Canon Rebel with a macro lens and a telephoto lens (Amazon was running a really good deal, the $200 telephoto lens cost me about $20 after the instant rebate). Of course, the first photos I took were of animals. Maybe tomorrow I’ll go out and take a photo of Daisy May with her football belly. :)