Coco, my black female dog, loves “crunchies.” Today I was eating a bowl of “Captain Crunch” appropriately named. And before you can blink, she was sitting in front of my Lazy Boy, asking for an handout. It does not matter what it is but if the food you are eating makes a crunchy sound she is there right in front of you wanting some. She is the only dog of three we have who does that. She is this cute looking long haired mid-sized black dog with adorable fluffy ears. Crackers, whatever makes a crunching sound, she is there looking for an handout. And of course, sometimes she gets it. She loves “crunchies” as we put it.
Posted in animals, pets |
The obscene profits of the drug and health insurance companies are immoral. Think about it?! They are profiting royally from your illnesses from you being sick. I read a whole book about other countries that have national health insurance and in each case the profits of such companies were limited. We do not do that in this country. There was some attempts to do so when Obama created his bill during his first term but the pockets of these companies are “pretty deep.” and they did everything in their power to eliminate restraints on these profits. It comes down to one thing: “Are we our brothers’ keeper?!”
Posted in balance, health |
Last week I installed our two air conditioners and brought up the big fan during an heat wave and the next day the weather cooled. And the temperatures remained that way for, at least, five days. Oh well now I am prepared for the hot weather. We were just getting a touch of summer, which has not officially arrived.
Posted in seasons |
This is two animal tales. One of Tilla, my favorite dog (I have three). This morning he twice jumped on my bed near me. He was saying, “Pet me. Hug me. Immediately!”, which I did. He is one affectionate dog. I swear he likes to make me laugh. He will occasional flip on his back, tail wagging furiously. “Rub my belly. You must rub my belly!” He makes me laugh. I never had a dog do that.
Then there is Cheyenne. He is one handsome long haired cat who, for a long time gave me the “Eye” (How can you dare approach me?!) and then ran in the opposite direction. He wanted no part of me. It was that way for years. At some point something changed and now occasionally he will let me pet him. In fact, yesterday he immediately purred loudly when I petted him on the bed. Even pets can change their relationship with you.
Posted in animals, pets |
I love feeling the earth with my fingers. I don’t think you can garden without loving the feel of soil through your fingers. My Mom gardened every year until she moved away. She no longer had a place to hide. I know she missed that garden. I still remember the red roses she had. It was a small garden but she had a variety of flowers and vegetables. I am still trying to plant a fig tree on my property. Fresh figs are almost impossible to get in this area. Even today I can still picture that garden. Both of my sisters garden and one has a house full of houseplants. So many things started in my Mom’s garden for me–an appreciation of flowers and beauty. So many things.
Posted in balance, beauty, life, local |
You can’t have a garden with out a gardener. That seems elementary. The first year I lived in Pa I planted tomato plants but did not weed or take good care of them. It was amazing I even harvested one. My wife loves gardening. I realized I had to help her. She has a bad back and pays for everything she does physically the next day. Each year I help her a little more. This year we have had more flowers than ever. I sometimes suggest where to put flowers. I also like to garden and realized in order to have one I had to put more effort into it. You reap what you sow.
Posted in flowers, relationships, seasons |
Cool Hand Luke followed me into my bedroom immediately. She is the closest I have to being my cat, not that you can ever own a cat: you can’t. I have had her fourteen years. I got her when she was less than a year old and have never had a cat that long. She likes sitting on the corner flannel pillow in our bedroom. She is a black affectionate cat who I often find near me. At night, she sometimes travels back and forth at our heads. She does not get along too well with some of the other cats (we have seven). She is one sweet cat.
Posted in animals, pets |
Tilla’s favorite spot is under the computer table. In fact my dog is there right now. And I did not even realize he was there. He was so quiet. I am typing at the computer presently. There is a pillow he sits on. He likes tight spaces. Sometimes my wife kicks him out of that spot. All creatures are animals of habit but he is one dog who is somewhat unpredictable. He is quirky. I sometimes do not know what he is going to do next.
Posted in animals, pets |
Yesterday we saw A small toad not much bigger than a thumbnail disappear into our garage. I guess there are plenty of bugs there for him to feed on. We saw the same toad twice yesterday. And twice he disappeared into the garage. Every year we see toads in our front yard. All sizes. From humungous to tiny. And everything in between. Sometimes we leave the front lights on which attracts the bugs which in turn attracts the toads. I always wonder where the toads go in the winter time.
Once I even saw a black toad disappear in a crack between the ground and the wall of our house. I had never seen a black one before. Some toads must live a few years because I have seen some really big ones. And to reach that size they must be several years old. Once in awhile a possum comes into our yard and the dogs lose interest in it when it “plays dead.” It is always gone the next day. We live on the edge of country so I am never sure what creature will show up next. Even bears have shown up on our property.
Posted in animals, nature |
I like parts of my yard wild. I do not want to cultivate every section. I like discovering what comes up unattended. There is a section of our yard, which is partially fenced, which we leave alone. Part of the enclosed yard has grass, which we keep trimmed. I like looking out the kitchen window in back and most of that area grows wild. I like peering out that window and wondering what I will see next. Sometimes cottontails play in back. We used to have a yearly visit of a large box turtle although it has been a few years since I last saw him. Twice we found a bright orange salamander under some moist area. I lived on my property for a number of years before I realized the far left corner had a large raspberry patch. One can look and not really see what is in front of you. You always have to slow down to see more.
Posted in animals, nature |
‘Home is where they have to take you in.’ I am not sure if I got this quote verbatim, attributed to the famous poet Robert Frost. I thought about it for awhile. It is from our family we learn grace. We mess up badly and it is, often, our family that forgives us when we return home. No matter how badly I messed up I can return home and start afresh. Grace is a gift. There is no other way to put it. I don’t deserve it. Every person is flawed and makes mistakes. And we return home. No matter what we did.
Tags: every person is flawed, every person makes mistakes, forgiveness, God, grace is a gift, home, our family, return home, Robert Frost, start afresh, we learn grace
Posted in balance, children, God, knowledge&learning, life, relationships, time, wisdom |
My wife spotted the plant from the bathroom window. I had to go outside to inspect it more closely. She brought it to my attention. The plant lay below the window and had delicate purple bells almost like another flower we had in another part of the yard except the other one was white and these purple flowers shaped in a bell were longer although about the same width. Another surprise that day. Life is full of little surprises and all you have to do is pay attention. How that flower got there I will never know. Serendipity!
Tags: flowers, life, life is full of little surprises, little surprises, my wife, pay attention, plants, serendipity
Posted in beauty, flowers, God, knowledge&learning, local, nature, time |
