FUN!

There was a noise in the sky.

So I looked up.

This is what I saw...

Doesn't that look FUN?

He just sort of buzzed the preserve for about an hour.

I joke that it's a lawnmower with a wing - that's what it sounds like,

but it looks peaceful.

In other news, I can't read a calendar so was surprised to learn I was OFF

this weekend!  I'm looking forward to spending some time with Rod on Saturday,

we might go for another horseback ride.

Or maybe go kayaking.

Or maybe go into the woods and do some trail trimming.

And then....

drum roll.....

I get to go to CHURCH on Sunday!

I'll probably have to wear a name tag.

Then and Now

That was then.

This is now.



Red in the window.  Casper in the foreground.  Mabel on the right with 2 bright white
tail feathers.  The rest remain to be named.  Still going by "herd 'o birds"...




Red has the fancy hat.



Still not laying eggs - they are only 13 weeks old - but they are getting there.

And getting braver!

The first couple of times we let them out in the afternoon, they barely went 6 inches from the coop.

Now they are checking out the horse hay wagon and eating all kinds of yummy bugs!

And chasing each other when I toss in a random grape tomato. 

Chicken rodeo!



31 and Counting

Today makes 31 years Rod and I have been happily married!

So to celebrate, I got him out of bed and took him for a horseback ride.

I'm surprised this turned out.
He was trotting.

Yes, there is still a Tropical Storm out there.



Clouds to the west of us.



Yes, it was WET.

Clouds to the East of us.

But we had fun!

It's one of our favorite things to do together.

And we brought one of our favorite people with us. 

Yes, all my horse pictures are of the BACKS of people.
Andy is SLOW - so we are always in the back of the pack...

Happy Anniversary Darling!

Here's to an eternity of Anniversaries!



Debby is STILL Here...

She is one slow moving storm.

We are still getting feeder bands.

I can't get a radar picture to load on here.  I'm sure someone could figure it out, but I can't...

It clears up for an hour or so, then it pounds us again.  Then it's clear.

We've gotten lots and lots of rain.  

Lots of Florida is having flooding issues.  We haven't gotten that bad yet.

But it's WET. 

The pasture is mushy.

The sand lot behind the barn is a mud hole.

The mosquitoes are going to be INTENSE!

And, of course, the wind makes everybody a little nuts.

But Rocky laid another egg today... so it's all good.

This is a great picture Rod took tonight on I-95 heading to one of his deliveries.

He said it looked like the movie Twister out there.

Just a couple miles up the road the rain was so heavy he had to slow down to 35 mph!

I'll be glad to see the back side of this storm...

TS Debby

It's summer in Florida.

Which means hurricane season.

Today we welcome Tropical Storm Debby.

She's bringing lots of rain, thunder and lightning, minimal wind.

(Gusts around 25 mph)

Her radar is fun to look at though.
Normally the radar of storms are cone or teardrop shaped.

Debby?

She's a bulls-eye.

Again, we are on the east side of the state, right below the little "nose".  

(Kennedy Space Center is in the nostril of the nose...)

She looks good "on paper".

Not really impressive in real life.

Pretty noisy while I was trying to teach my review class.

(At least we didn't lose power - there are no windows in my classroom, it gets DARK!)

And noisy enough that on the drive home I couldn't even hear my phone ring.

Sorry sweetheart!  Didn't mean to ignore your call!

The pasture is getting lots of needed water though.

Unfortunately, Rod is trying to deliver fuel.

Ugh.

Egg Song

Ha!  

I just uploaded my first video!

I am impressed with myself.

Ok, enough about me.

Rocky laid her first egg in several weeks.

She was also pretty impressed with herself.

There seems to be a lot of that going around.

This is what is known as an "egg song".

You might want to make sure your volume is turned fairly low.

She is LOUD!

I filmed 10 seconds.

She "sang" for 10 minutes.

But at least we have an egg!

Welcome back Rocky....

(Now if you could just mention to Blondie that she should get back to work...)

About Time

The "boys" got a box last night from Grandma and Grandpa.

Jim wasn't home, so Kyle opened it.

(Jim and Sabrina got home late and then he had to rush to work this morning, so Jim still hasn't seen it...)

But Kyle opened his box and this is what he found!

It's a GREAT looking watch!

Yes, he really IS that brown.

And he has beefy forearms.

And he needs a haircut.

LOL

He's not that tall though, he's sitting on the kitchen counter.

His favorite spot in the house.

Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!

(PS his email got hacked so he deleted all his contacts and hasn't checked it in months....)

Frozie

Today is a special day.

Today is my little sister's birthday.

She is old.

I am not.

We spent our childhood sharing a bedroom.

And a bed.

She was allergic to feathers.

We had feather pillows.

She had nightly nosebleeds.

On MY pillow.

She's the little blond bombshell.....

She was/is an avid sports fan.  Particularly baseball.

She used to dream.

Out loud.

I often slept with a female Howard Cosell.

(clearly I am NOT a sports fan - I can't even spell his name right...)

See?  Baseball hat!

She was also a hockey goalie.

On an all-boy hockey team.

In an all-boy hockey league.

Bet they HATED it when she took off her mask and they realized that dude was a GIRL!



Isn't that the BEST picture???


 

Yea for Harry Potter birthday parties!

She loaded up a tent, a mountain bike (before they were cool) and food into her Suzuki Samari

and went to the mountains to camp and ride.

Alone.

MANY times.

(And never got eaten by a bear or ravaged by a random mountain man.)

(My parents went prematurely grey.)

Aren't we a cute family?



She got divorced and then raised an amazing daughter on her own.

Mom and Daughter

She spun the globe and moved to a city where she knew no people.

She had no family.

She had no support.

She had GUTS (and an amazing daughter).

The ever awesome, talented Sam.



She married an amazing human and they are raising 2 daughters and a son together.

Aren't they adorable?  And skinny.  Geez.

She still has guts.

She does TRX.

Outside.

In Arizona.

(That she does ANYTHING outside in Arizona is amazing!)



Sorry this isn't the world's best!  But it IS Arizona!  LOL

She rides a beast of a bike.

It's amazing.

Even if it's not a Yamaha.



Helmet Head!



She IS Amazing.

(And I love her.)

Happy Birthday Frozie!!!!!







After the Rain

Yesterday we got SOAKED!

Not good weather for fencing.

Or selling cars.

Or delivering fuel.

(But not bad for sitting in an office gazing (ahem WORKING) out the window...)

But this morning?

All the world is washed clean.

And the grass in the yard needs to be mowed.

Call in the troops!

Stuff is even growing inside!

A couple of months ago Jim stuck a random sweet potato in a vase on the kitchen windowsill.

It is taking OVER the kitchen!

But it's so beautiful, we don't mind...

One of these days I'm going to grow something useful there.

Lettuce anyone?

(Since I haven't learned how to cook with herbs...)



Good morning!

It's Wednesday.

I got up at 7:00.

I put on my workout clothes and went to let the dogs out.  But as I walked towards the garage I saw Bison running by!  (I'm absolutely positive I put that dog in his crate last night!)

Then I saw Kyle walking into the barn.

So I walked out to see him.  (He's fencing at a friend's today and needed to be there at 8:00)

We had a great visit.  Fed the horses, fed the chickens, played with the dogs.  It was glorious weather!  But looked a little like it might rain.

I noticed Jim's car window was open.  (He took Sabrina to work at 4:45 this morning.)

So I went in to get his keys.

But he got up and closed his window himself.

Kyle hopped on the motorcycle and left.

And then he came back.

He fried his gate opener and couldn't get out of the property!  LOL

So while I was opening the gate, I took out the trash.

(Just in time - the garbage truck came by moments later!  Whew!)

Then Jim hopped in the shower, but not before asking me to Google

"How to tie a double windsor knot".

(They wore ties every Sunday their entire childhoods, but usually they were "zip" ties.  What?)

(Kyle had the Bishop teach him how to correctly tie a tie last week!)

Then I remembered Rod was out of hard boiled eggs.

So I boiled the last of the farm fresh eggs.

(Get back to work Blondie!  And Rocky!  I think I've given up on Red...  sheesh.)

(There's nothing prettier than fresh brown eggs...)

 

Speaking of Rocky - she was STANDING this morning.

Her leg is looking better.  Not putting a lot of weight on it, but at least it's touching the ground.

Kyle was watching her last night - she tried to stand on that leg and fell over.

He laughed.



Hi Rocky!  No, not an egg - a golf ball to "encourage" laying.
So far it's not working...



By the time I found a good You Tube about ties, it was time to attend to the eggs again.

By the time I was done with the eggs, it was time for Jim to leave.  (Me too...)

Long story short (ha).

No workout this morning.

But I DID get a lot done.  And spent some quality time with my boys.

I love my life.

Lost. Sigh...

I wasn't paying attention.

I was driving.

I was talking on the phone... (hands free).

And after about 30 minutes, I glanced at my GPS which mentioned casually there were 47 more miles til my next exit at Yeehaw Junction.

Which is, incidentally NO WHERE NEAR where I live.

Now, in my defense, I normally leave my school, get on the highway and drive straight north for about 2 hours.  No exits until the one that takes me straight to my house.  Simple.  Straight forward.  Excellent for someone who just taught mind-numbingly boring material for 10 hours.  (And did NOT stay in a Holiday Inn Express the previous night.  Thank goodness!)

But with my new(ish) school, I have to get on a toll road and then get OFF the toll road in just a few miles and THEN I can drive and drive and drive for just over an hour with no exits until I get to "my" highway.

But I sort of forgot to get off the toll road.

Darn it!

Luckily, there was a service plaza about 10 miles further down the road, so I had the opportunity to turn around.  The plaza was under construction, so there were some tense moments while I tried to figure out where I was supposed to be going while not getting in the way of those hard-working semi drivers.  (Amazing how my attitude for those guys has changed!  LOL)

Then it was 20+ miles back to an exit to a road I recognized the name of.

Unfortunately, I didn't know if I should turn left or right, so I relied on my GPS to tell me.

Dorothy is often as confused as I am.  (Dorothy is my GPS.  Her nickname is Dot, you know, like DOT, you know, like Department of Transportation?  Ok, if you have to explain it, it doesn't really work, so I just call her Dorothy and move on with my life...)

Anyhow.  She suggested (strongly) that I turn left.  I did.  Then she suggested I get BACK on the toll road I had just gotten OFF!  Uh, no?

So I did what I should have done in the first place.

Pulled over.  And pulled up Google Earth on my phone.  And realized Dorothy was set to favor toll roads.  So I turned THAT off.  And suddenly she said, Oh yah!  Turn around and go the other way.  You'll get home 30 minutes earlier, but still 30 minutes later than if you hadn't messed up in the first place.

Sigh.

At least it was a beautiful evening.



Dorothy.





Happy Fathers Day

Just spent a wonderful 45 minutes or so chatting with Dad and Mom on the phone.

While sitting in my hotel room, knitting on a blanket Mom helped me start

while we were in Tucson.

One of these days I might actually finish it!

Fish Taco

I've heard of fish tacos.

I've seen pictures of fish tacos.

I've been curious about fish tacos.

But I've never eaten a fish taco.

Tonight after school, I wanted....

Fajitas.

LOL

But I couldn't find any good mexican restaurants in the area my hotel is located.

There IS a Chili's.  (No comment on whether or not it's a "good Mexican place.)

But it is 2 miles the OTHER direction from my hotel, and by the time I remembered that, I wasn't about to turn around.

So my GPS told me the only other choice was Tijuana Flats.  

I've never eaten there, so didn't know what to expect.

But it's mexican... so there should be fajitas, right?

Wrong.

But they did have fish tacos.

And there's a McDonald's next door - as a back up plan.  

LOL

So, I went for it.

And they were pretty good!

Needed more "stuff" on them.

And definitely more "sauce".

But they were good.

Not sure I'll rush right out and order them again.

But at least now I can say I've had a fish taco.

(and not gag)

If I Could

If I could, I would title every post "Oh What A Beautiful Morning".

I find myself singing that nearly every morning.

I'm sure it was done by Doris Day or somebody like that.

But my favorite version (besides MINE) is by a famous singer named Joyce.

Oh what a beautiful morning

Oh what a beautiful day

I've got a beautiful feeling

Everythings going my way.

Even when it's not.

I got up this morning and the horses were loose in the middle yard.  (Back yard to all normal folks, but the BACK yard is the pasture.  And now we have a back back yard, since the pasture is divided into two parts... well, ok, 4 parts, so we have the back back, the back, the green yard, the sand yard, the middle yard and then the front yard.  Confusing, I know...)

Rabbit trail!

So anyhow...  the horses were loose in the middle yard.  Kyle fed for me last night, since I was LATE getting home from work.  He accidentally left the pasture gate into the barn, open.  But he DID put the chain across the feed room, so no harm was done.  (Although I had a couple bad moments when I couldn't find Andy...  he was in the front yard.  Rebel.)  But it was such a beautiful morning, I enjoyed spending a couple extra minutes rounding them up and bringing them in.

I even drove to work with the windows open in my truck.

Does a number on my hair, but who cares.

Nobody can see me anyway.

It was a Beautiful Morning!



Terrible picture, but this is what I see out my window at work...
Beautiful!



Extreme Kayaking

Kyle and Rod went shooting as soon as the sun decided to show itself on Saturday. 

Kyle is a CRACK SHOT.

Vermin - be warned...

And then they decided to chance it and go kayaking.

There was a storm looming on the horizon, but figured it would hold off.

We've had plenty of rain lately, which has really raised the level on the creek.

Places you couldn't get to before are now "rapids".

Kyle tried out several new short cuts and had an absolute blast!

He tried to explain the feeling - it was sort of like paddling through a cloud.  Or jello.  Or marshmallow creme.  Soft and bubbly and FUN!



The water level is really quite high!



The current is usually just enough to give you a boost on the way home, but not enough you can't paddle against it on the way in.  But they said it was pretty strong on Saturday.  You had to bring your A game so you didn't get pushed into the banks or a hanging tree or something hidden under the water.  (Lots of fun obstacles on this course...)



I'm 21!!!!!



Kyle took one particular short cut, turned around to check on Rod and saw him hit a tree, try to correct, and go over.  CAPSIZE!

Which meant Kyle had to try to turn his boat and paddle UP a section of rapids.

He's a mean paddler.  The kid is a beast.

And he had adrenalin on his side.

And he couldn't move more than an inch or two at a time!

(SO glad I wasn't there...)

But eventually he made it back to his Dad.  Rod's boat was partially submerged and he was just barely peeking out of the water - blowing to keep the water out of his mouth and nose.

They were able to get his life vest on, drag the boat over to the "bank" (but really just thick vegetation growing on top of the water), get the boat partially emptied of water, at least enough for it to float, and get back in the water.

All the while lightning and thunder was cracking all around them.

(SO glad I wasn't there...)

But they made it.  They were smart enough to put their phones in ziplock bags before they left.  (We never do that...  Good thinking Rod!)  Rod didn't lose his $$$$$ glasses.  He thought he saw his hat floating down the creek, but it ended up being in Kyle's boat. 

And they have a GREAT memory to share.

(SO glad I wasn't there...)



Made it to the spillway turnaround.  Storm rolling in - better go home!



Mega Motivating!

I started the annual 60 Day Challenge with T-Tapp on April 10th. 

Sunday was the final day.  You have to take (horrible) before pictures and then (hopefully amazing) after photos, each time with a newspaper showing the date.  I was in Boynton and had intended to bring my camera and take the pictures in my hotel before school.

But I forgot my camera.  (Sheesh) 

And I didn't pick up a newspaper. 

I was training another new instructor, so instead of leaving the school at 6:45 and getting home around 8:30, I didn't leave until nearly 8:00 and didn't get home until 10.  And then I sat with Kyle and had him tell me all about his birthday and their near-death kayaking trip.  (Lightning, capsize, gators, just a typical Florida kayak trip!  LOL)  (watch the blog tomorrow for THAT story...)

By the time I got into bed at 11:30 I realized I hadn't taken my photos (I could have used a newspaper website on my laptop and taken a picture with that...) but it was just too late.  I didn't care anymore.

This morning I got up and took my measurements anyway.  Just so I would know.

I lost FOURTEEN AND ONE QUARTER INCHES!!!!!

Wowza!

I could tell from my clothes that I was tightening up - but thats pretty impressive!

I'm still fluffier than I want to be.  (Loving this menopause stuff...)  But at least I'm holding my own and heading the correct direction.

My workout schedule for the first 30 days was an average of four 15-minute workouts and one 30 minute workout each week.  The last 30 days I kind of fell off the wagon and was lucky to get 3 workouts each week. 

I'm happy.

Beautiful Cloudy Day

We had a nice thunder storm last night.  The yards and pastures are all looking pretty and green.

The mushrooms are growing in the horse yard.

Kyle tossed out some left over brown top millet seed and it's GROWING!

The girls are loving their house.  One thing with a tractor - when you move it, sometimes it ends up facing west.  So I hung a sheet on the end, providing shade for the afternoon.  It gets HOT out there!

Meanwhile, the birds are growing.  Casper is FINALLY becoming accepted in the flock.  
(aka herd'o'birds)
We named her Casper because she is light in color.
And when she first arrived, neither group seemed to like and she tried to be invisible.
Like a ghost.

Rocky the Chicken

Kyle was moving the chicken coop on Sunday afternoon.

By himself.

And he accidentally ran over Rocky.

Oops...

We are pretty sure her hip is either dislocated or broken.

Which means we can't really splint it.

She is up on the patio in the bunny hutch.

And today she layed an egg.

What a chicken.....

Happy Birthday Jimbo!

It was a fairly uneventful day, as birthdays often tend to be once you are, you know, old.

He had to work all day.  Had a couple of good "nibbles" but it rained most of the day and who buys cars in the rain???



It was late, and dark in the house - so these are terrible... But they are all I have...



We took him to Texas Roadhouse for dinner.  A family tradition.  We had a good time - laughing, talking, and watching a girl from our town come in 2nd in the National Spelling Bee (for the 2nd time!) on the bar TV.

I gave up his favorite cake recipe.  (They ARE engaged, after all...)  Sabrina made it.  And it was DELISH!  They packaged some up and took it over to their friend's after dinner.



I promised nobody would notice his "duck lips"....  LOL



So.  He's old now.  Working on the last year of his first quarter century.  Amazing.