No Grandma!

Granddaughter Amanda didn't want her picture taken!  No make up on!  Hardly a picture - no face, and not all of Jack either!

Saturday afternoon visitor was granddaughter and her horse Jack.  She wanted me to trim her hair a little, saying that the ends of her hair were dry.  Just took a little off-just enough to make her feel better.  She had not brought a halter and rope to tie Jack up, and we had sprayed the yard with weed control, so Jack couldn't graze and eat some grass.   She had to hold his bridle while I trimmed her hair.  Good thing Jack is a very good horse.  Maybe he was tired of the ride over.  Then we sucked on popsicles and visited awhile before she got back on to ride the 3 miles home.

A nice day for a ride.

Findings on a beautiful morning road trip!

American White Pelican

I was standing on the road, watching the fishing boats at the landing at Height Of Land Lake.  These pelicans were busy fishing for food.  They do not plunge dive, but feed by dipping their large pouched bill into the water and scoop up the fish.  The raised bump on the top of the beak is only present during the breeding season, and sometimes they are called the Rough Billed Pelicans.   I don't know if they are still migrating north or if these birds have been at this lake other years and come back yearly.  I'll have to go back in several weeks to see if there any little ones!  It was at least an hour that I watched them.  There were five of them, and they tended to swim together to somewhat herd the fish to more shallow water and then scoop the fish up.  In looking up information on the pelicans, they nest May through August and spend winters along the Gulf Coast, California and Mexico.

I watched the one with a full pouch catch a big fish, a big long fish; maybe a Northern Pike?!  The camera missed the fish sticking out both sides of his mouth.  

I wonder if they were more successful than the nearby fishing boats at catching fish!

Wet Dogs Stink & Good Luck Blake

Impossible to keep dogs dry when all it does is rain!  Odda had a bath a couple of weeks ago, but you'd never know it!  I know that when she drys off tonight, inside her kennel, she won't look so bad in the morning, but if the sun doesn't come out tomorrow will be another day like today.  I brushed her yesterday, and her 3rd coat is really falling out now that it's warming up, but still more hair to come out.  I can't wait until it's nice out again, so she gets a bath again.  At least then she might stay clean for a few days!

She always wants to be as close to you as she can (which means she rubs and leans into you), and you don't stand a chance of staying clean!!!!!  Sometimes I can keep her under control, but other times she's just too excited to see me!  Hooch is dirty now too.  It doesn't help that we have a lot of black dirt and sand as the new garage has not started to go up yet.  Too much rain lately and our cement guy hasn't been able to get here.  I can't reseed any grass until most of the construction is done.  So our spring and summer is going to be messy around here.  If it drys off this weekend, hopefully our cement guy will be framing this weekend or the first of the week.  I know that this rain has put them behind too, so we just wait.

Working on replacing a pole here at the farm.

Grandson Blake stopped in to visit this afternoon.  Leah's son, and he moves tomorrow south to his new job.  He has to be at his new apartment at 8 in the morning to meet the cable TV guy to hook up his tv.  Blake is real excited about his new job.  He starts Monday morning as a lineman at a rural electric company.
His past 2 years experience will help, but he'll learn a lot at his new job; as his old job was construction and no "hot" lines. Now he'll be working what they call distribution, and he'll learn about rerouting power, working on installing underground, and repair of underground and overhead lines, overhead and underground transformers and there's a lot more.  We're so excited and proud of him too, as he starts his new job.   Good Luck Blake!

Renee at 10 months

Renee at 10 months

Got this picture for Mother's Day - see her two front teeth.  Jessica has talked about her teeth for awhile now, but this is the first we've seen them.  Even when we webcam, she didn't cooperate with showing us her teeth!  Love this picture.  Seems like she changes with each picture.  Big blue eyes, but her hair is getting darker. 

Here she is trying to figure out the card she and Mommy got this Grandma!

She really is drooling (spell?) - more teeth must be coming!   Amazing all the things she is learning.  She is really studying this card!

I'm kind of at a stall on blogging.  With all this rainy weather I haven't been outside to take pictures and the dogs don't cooperate as photogenic objects.  So everything seems so boring.  I've been busy making some more of the beaded childrens socks (like Renee has on above) for gifts.  Sit and crochet them onto socks as we watch TV in the evenings.  I've finished up some more pin cushions, but just haven't been in the mood to get into my quilting like I need too.  Did weed in my flower garden the other day in between rains.  I have cleaned out a couple of closets.  Leah was over the other night to get a blow up mattress for when Blake comes home.  When we opened up the closet - stuff fell out!!   So then after she left yesterday, I dug into that closet.  How embarrassing!  Now no one will need something out of there, until we've piled more stuff in!  Ain't that the way it goes!

 

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY TO MY BLOGGER FRIENDS!

Hope you are all having a great Mother's Day with your families!   We just got off the web-cam with our youngest daughter and granddaughter Renee from New Iberia Louisiana!  Now the tears come!  Dah - wish they were closer, but they'll be here for a summer visit in 2 months.  So can hardly wait to see them again.

Later today Leah, Steven and Amanda will be over.  But our other daughter Stephani and Cullen won't make it home.  The best job I've had has been Mother to our three daughters.  Wouldn't change a thing.  I know I wasn't the perfect mom, but did the best I knew how.  That's what we all do.  If we all do the best we can, what else is there? 

  

Our kids and the other grandkids!

Have a great day!

Do you Collect?

This red and orange rooster greets us every morning.   He is on the counter next to the coffee pot.  I don't remember where I got him.  Rather unusual isn't he?  One of my favorites.  I haven't found any others like this. If I did, I'd be sure to buy other colors!

These are the rest of the hens on nests that are on my side table on the wall across from the counter.  Another favorite is the blue one below.  I keep my watches inside this one, as I always have to take my watch off to wash dishes (I don't have an automatic dish washer).

I love to stop at antique shops whenever I'm on the road, and I bought many of these  when our youngest daughter was in college in Iowa.  I'd drive the 7 hour trip by myself to see her play volleyball and for the music concerts she was in.  From Minneapolis/St.Paul, I'd take Hwy 52 south through Rochester, and several little towns.  One very favorite little town is Harmony and there are several good shops there to stop at.  This is an Amish area also.  Just writing about this makes me want to go back.  It's been 9 years since I've been down that stretch of highway!

 

This picture also has some little swans.  I had 4 of them, but made a pin cushion out of the pink one.  Turned out really cute.  That sold right away.  I also have some of the miniature nesting hens too.  The one shop in Harmony was the only place I found the miniatures.  I have quite a few more roosters in my kitchen.  Years ago, it was apples, and many years ago it was pigs!  I do like to change things up a bit!  I've had the roosters and hens since we remodeled the kitchen.  Oh, that was at least 10 years ago.  Youngest was away in college then, and she graduated in  2001!   My how time flies by.

Evening Visitors!

Had a very busy weekend with company staying and a wedding shower to attend on Saturday, also a prom grand march to watch our granddaughter and her date on Saturday evening. On Sunday after company left, I spent time with the dogs, as they had been all but forgotten on Saturday and early Sunday.

Tonight while we were watching tv, Hooch was sitting looking out the window, and we had 3 deer in the yard. The deer would chew on new grass, and look expectingly at the house, waiting to see when dogs would appear! You could tell they were a little nervous. Our dogs usually keep the deer out of the yard, but the deer must know when the dogs are inside!

This is one of the three.  There is a doe with her two off spring from last year.  This is one of the yearlings.

She looks like she came through the winter just fine!

I took this picture from my bedroom window.  Then she went over to the apple tree there and tried to nibble on the new buds!  Soon after she turned and went back across the road into the woods.

Oh - I need to put in a picture of Amanda from the other night.  They looked so nice all dressed up!

I haven't talked to her yet, but hope that she had a good time. 

 

During the Grand March at the Prom.

My package came the other day from Karen at SewManyWays.  She sent me a quilting magazine that I didn't have, and I have had my face stuck in it every free moment.  Lots of things I want to make, especially a quilt pattern that is shown in that one.  Also got a sewing necklace, (will take a picture for you).  Thanks Karen.  This was the first time I've won a give away.  Now I'm going to get a few things together to do one.