Spring Please

Was out walking the dogs yesterday morning. The sun was shining but it was still a bit chilly. There is still snow laying here and there in patches and it's quite muddy.

I've never seen my lawn as heaved as it is this year. Guess that's because there wasn't the snow cover when the freezing winds howled through. That and possibly the constant freeze and thaw. I've never needed to roll the lawn here, but this year might be different.

I also noticed how littered everything is with tiny branches and a few small limbs from trees. This is nothing new, but it makes me wonder how there are any trees left after seeing the truck load of twigs and limbs every year.

My almost pet dove is back. I've been seeing it for almost a month now. I call it an almost pet because I talk to it and it seems to have no fear of me. When my son walks out though it flies off. One day I will have it eating from my hand.

Haven't seen any robins yet. So I guess this messed up winter isn't quite over yet. Wish it was, I feel like it's time to get into the fields and get to work.

It's still to muddy to even get an early start on the garden.

This one or two days of winter and then four or five days of sunshine has me itching to get out to work. In other words, I'm bored...

That along with my friend dealing with the absolute lies that are being told about him do no good for the mind at all.

What he needs is the universe to show the truth in some way. Maybe catch the lying butt head in his lies. Or give us a way to catch him and prove it.

There is just no way to prove you didn't do something. Ehh, but enough of that. I'll just keep up the prayers and being there for him.

I have a really big urge to just spend a day on the tractor seat. Feeling the sun warming my old tired body, smelling the wonderful smells of spring. Smelling the freshly turned soil, seeing the birds swoop down for a free and easy earthworm meal.

Was tempted to take the boat out for a fishing trip. With the chill in the air yet and me still not being completely well that could be a very bad idea. So I get done with the usual chores and then just roam around like a lost puppy wondering what to do.

Spring is coming soon though and I'll have more to do than I can do.

Isn't it funny how we are so bored but then when it's finally time to get busy we are so busy we wish for a moment of the boredom...

Well, off to play with the puppy. Have a great day full of smiles and wonder!

Rowdy

Here are some pictures of the new puppy. The first picture shows he wasn't real happy about having to pose for pictures. He'd rather be playing.

Hurmph, back on the leash huh, just who do you think you are anyway...

Bullies

What can be said?

They come in ages from children to adults.

They care about no one but theirselves.

They will say and do anything to hurt others, even if it's a lie.

Trouble is, they are protected by laws. Some even are employed to uphold the laws. When a police officer is a bully how can you teach your children that police officers are the people to turn to and always trust?

When you lose popularity with a bully they even change their story so they can make you look bad. Then when that bully is a police officer he can sprinkle just enough true fact in the story to make you look like the devil himself.

Then good police officers wonder why the general public is against them. But even they don't do much of anything against bullies. Maybe they can't. Maybe they too are defenseless against bullies. Maybe they too are afraid of bullies. Bullies can and do ruin peoples lives with their lies and selfish ways.

Just over this past weekend I watched a very young boy who was constantly getting yelled at. While the other people were busy talking amongst each other and the children were playing the young boy was the one who was caught when there was any loud noise or other child whining.

I sat and watched.

Even when having conversations I kept the young boy in sight.

After I'd had enough, I explained to the boys mother just what I had observed. Another child would antagonize the boy relentlessly until the boy would fight back. Then this other child would cry out as if being attacked. The young boy would be the one that all eyes were on and would be the one who got scolded.

I've observed events like this over many years. A few times I tried, to no avail, to point this out to teachers and school administration. It never seemed to help. Busy adults would only see what they could when someone cried out and would always assume they caught the right culprit.

Now lets bring this to adulthood. When a police officer that is entrusted to uphold the laws and be a good example is the bully, who would think he wouldn't be telling the truth? Yet the accused and the people who know the accused know different.

Does anyone think they don't spread the word? Do the truly guilty bullies think other people won't talk and spread the word? Do they think that all police officers won't eventually suffer because of their actions?

I have friends that are police officers. It bugs the crud out of me that one bad cop is making it impossible for so many to trust all police officers. And this is just one instance in one small area. Now compound that into every area and many more poor excuses for police officers and you come up with a mess that destroys the reputations of an entire nation of police officers. You come up with many civilians who wouldn't lift a finger to help an officer in need.

Same could be said for every bully. Do you really think that word about your lying humiliating ways doesn't get spread around? Do you not expect that eventually no one will not want to be your friend? No one will come to your defense when you finally do need help?

Eyes everywhere are seeing. People everywhere have a way of remembering. You will come to a point in time that you need help. Will anyone be willing to help you? Or will you find yourself waist deep in trouble and have no one to toss you a lifeline?

Thinking Cash

Was thinking about the weather we've had over this winter so far. It reminds me of the one winter during my life that I spent living in Virginia. My dad had been transferred there by a company he worked for.

That winter I never needed more than a jacket. It would snow overnight and would melt and be gone by noon. I can recall one day I was riding with my dad in the car and other drivers were slipping, sliding and having problems driving. Coming from the north my dad just went around them and had no problems at all.

We've gotten many snow falls this winter here, but it immediately warms up and melts the snow. The mud though is a different matter.

I'm beginning to wonder just how bad the bug population will be this coming summer. Without the long below freezing temperatures that normally kill the sleeping creatures, I suspect we will be waging a war against many nasty biting insects.

Over the years I've observed bug populations do really well when we get a quick spring warm up. Normally it warms a little and bugs begin to hatch. Then we get hard freezes which gets rid of them before the summer warm up. Those years we have few bugs to contend with.

So here I get to survive yet another year to see something that could be very interesting. Though I guess it could be costly too with the need to purchase more bug spray.

Also I've noticed the supply and demand theory has been blown to heck.

It's been an easy heating winter. Haven't needed the furnace anywhere near as much as normal. The furnace hasn't had to run as constantly either. There are times during the winters here that the furnace runs all hours of the nights.

Now this shows me that in this area people are not using anywhere close to the amount of heating fuel they usually do. Yet I just had my oil tanks filled. $1900.08 to fill my tanks... Like I said, so much for supply and demand being the factor which drives cost. Nope, it's like many other things in this life, costs are now driven by greed!

I'm noticing that many more coal furnaces are being bought and installed. Heck the one that was in this house is still here on the farm and in storage. It may well get put back in. It may be an inconvenience to use, having to put the fuel in by hand every few hours and carrying out the ashes, but at the prices of fuel oil... I'm beginning to see the value!

From past experience I know that when the weather isn't really cold I can burn wood in the coal furnace and it keeps the house hot. The wood can come from out woodlots and costs very very little other than time. The huge benefit is that what it costs the most of is what we all need the most. The physical exercise to carry the firewood from the woods to the truck and then the physical energy to unload and stack the firewood.

That could be a way to save some cash and get healthier.

We burn wood from our woodlots every year anyway. But it's in a wood burning furnace that isn't hooked into the hot water radiators and once it gets really cold it's only a very small help. So by hooking up the old coal furnace and having it more evenly heat the house, I probably wouldn't have even had to buy coal for the winter.

Saving around $4000.00 to $5000.00 to heat for the winter would sure be worth the effort for a weeks worth of time cutting, carrying and stacking. Then also I wouldn't have so many dead young trees or older diseased, sick trees just laying in the woods rotting.

So how are you saving cash for your heating season?

Saving cash always helps add a brighter smile to my face and I'll bet it helps you too. Have a great day!!!

Need Stock In Paper Towels

The floor is all covered with a plastic drop cloth but this puppy is running up the paper towel usage to astronomical proportions!

The two older dogs hide upstairs most of the day. The little guy who is now named Rowdy, is just too full of energy for them.

Lakai the Pitt Bull will play with him but only for a while then even he goes to hide. The big wimp...

When I go out I take the dogs along. The older dogs follow me or take off for a quick run. Rowdy though follows only briefly and then when I get back I find him waiting by the door whimpering to get back in. Guess he doesn't like the snow and mud. It's not really that cold. Heck I don't wear more than a sweatshirt, the heavy coat is just waiting!

Rowdy has been spending the nights in bed with me. He's already figured out how to crawl under the covers on his own and snuggle up all nice and warm. Any movement or noise during the night and his little puppy bark is in high gear. He thinks he's tough...

Two Pitt Bulls and a Beagle and they all cower by me if anyone or anything does come around. Some protection... I'm happy though that they do that. I'd rather have well behaved dogs than not. Just the thought keeps most people away. But after being around Pitt Bulls so long I have very little fear of them. I have more fear of the old Beagle. She is just plain grumpy. But then again as I get older I get grumpier too I guess.

I'm really getting grumpy over the price of fuel oil for the furnace. The thoughts of fuel for the tractors to do the work this year are not making me happy either. I'm seriously wondering if growing the crops to make mash and then building a still would be the way to go. Besides making my own fuel, if anything breaks down I could just sip the fuel and become drunkenly happy!

Well it's time for me to make some lunch and then get back to work, have a great day full of smiles!

Just Another Day

So here it is, it's Valentines Day.

Did you forget or have you remembered?

It's also my grand daughters birthday. Her big party will be this coming weekend. If the weather doesn't get real bad before this evening I intend to walk or ride the four wheeler and pay her a visit sometime after school today.

Other than that I have no plans for today but to just carry on with life as usual. Being single with no expectations of a relationship means to me that I also can celebrate that I don't have to listen to anyone else the rest of the year. I'm free to come and go as I please and when I please.

It would be nice to have someone to share what's left of my life with, but she would have to be someone who would really fit my life and be accepting of doing what we feel like when we feel it. That would be about impossible, so I just go on and play and don't even try and find someone.

Some think that's sad, a few understand how I feel.

I do not understand why so many think they need someone to fulfill their lives. Or make them whole.

Sometimes I wonder if that is not what goes wrong with so many relationships.

People think they need someone to make them and their lives whole, when in reality it is only them that can make their lives whole. Then finding someone to share that is like extra icing on a cake.

So many are in such a hurry to find someone that they chose someone who is not compatible and then try and change that person. That don't work simply because people have to want to change theirselves in order to change.

All you with partners to share this day with, I wish you all the happiness in the world. To those like me, enjoy the day with whatever you find that puts a smile on your face and makes you feel happy.

I haven't used my truck in about a month or a little longer. While I was feeling really ill I just stayed home and my kids would pick up what I needed. Then my son has been taking me along when he runs to town and I did the shopping then. I may see if that darned old thing will start and take myself to a nice buffet dinner.

I'm still not quite feeling like going anywhere though. So I may just drop in and see my grand daughter for her birthday and come home to vegetate some more. But who knows? I can do what I want when I want.

Thinking Spring

We had another snow storm over the weekend. Once again it didn't amount to much and this morning the sun is shining, so I do believe it will all be gone soon. From some blogs I read from around the world, the snow has moved to the opposite side of the earth from me.

I seem to remember from science classes years ago (yes, we had school way back in the stone age) that the earth not only spins on it's axis but it also wobbles.

I've observed during my life that once we had heavy snows that would begin in late October or November and wouldn't go away until spring. Over the years those kinds of winters have seriously let up. Now it seems we are in that wobble and the snows are now on the other side of the earth.

Those heavy snows occurred in the fifties and sixties. My grandpap told stories of earlier when the snows were even heavier. I've even seen pictures of them.

I suspect that in another thirty or forty years our old winters will be back. But I somehow doubt I will be here to see their return. It is something I think about though.

I have many serious doubts about the global warming scare. Just seems to me that geology proves the earth has been through so many things and has always survived very well. Some species though have not... Can mankind?

On another note the new puppy is here. He took over ownership of my bed last night. Or so he thinks!

Our other two dogs have accepted him well. Aggie the old beagle just stays away from him for the most part. She doesn't have the energy any longer to spend much time around energetic puppies. She checks him out but as soon as he starts getting playful she leaves for quieter places and sleeps.

The big brave (yah right) Pitt Bull Lakai, spends time with the new pup but doesn't seem to think much of him. But then again if it's not a glimmer of light flashing somewhere, Lakai never does think much. Only way to get his attention is to shine a laser light or flash light somewhere. Then he springs into action.

I'm still at a loss for a good name for the pup. So far he just reminds me of sleepy. He'll grow into active soon enough though and maybe then I'll come up with a suitable name.

I've started thinking about the garden. Just wish I had luck with herbs. Some years I have a little luck with some, but most years I don't and end up with nothing but patches of puny, scraggly plants.

Many years I get the feeling I should just give up on herbs, but the hardhead in me keeps trying.

I'm thinking of trying something new this year with them. I saw pieces of rain gutter used to put plants in. They were hung on railings of a porch. I'm thinking that would look neat on the porch railing and would be easy enough to keep watered and tended to daily.

Well, I'm off to get something done today. Have a great day full of smiles and warm loving feelings!

Anger Over Lies

Disruption, disturbance, upheaval, agitation, turmoil a general pain in the butt.

Not only was I ill over the past month, but there were other problems building. Problems that are not mine yet that may affect my life.

I'm having trouble trying to write anything sensible because my mind is on other things. The other things include anger, worry and a little depression.

Becoming bitter is not an easy thing to keep from doing when life tosses you a really bad curve ball. But I'm doing my best to stay in control of my emotions. I somehow will continue to smile.

I can't really talk about the problems because I will not discuss someone else's problems. That would be for them to make public if they would chose to.

So many times this week I felt like letting my thoughts about it out here.

What I do know and will say is that the universe will not give you problems you can not handle and everything works out in time. Maybe not the way we want them to work out, but they do. Maybe not even in the time we would like, but they do work out.

When bad people do bad things they do get their just deserts in time. When they do them to someone else they pay dearly. I have seen that work.

Someone I knew a long time ago told some lies that really hurt someone else and caused them some legal problems. The person that was lied about has a relatively good and happy life. The liars seem to go from one devastating problem to the next and are never happy. It actually got to the point that I felt very sorry for the liar.

Patience!

Patience is the thing you need to dwell on and pray for. That and the forgiveness of the person who did what they did to you.

If in some way you try and take vengeance, the universe has a way of punishing you.

So for my friend I am praying for their patience. I am praying that they will find the strength to wait this out no matter how long it will take or what may happen before the universe has it's say.

But my worry for my friend is something that right now is driving me up the walls and right outta my mind.

So if I should happen to miss a day here and there with the blog, please know my thoughts are with you all and I sure do want you to smile!

Have a great weekend!

What's A Guy To Do

It started snowing around eight this morning. I was done with the morning chores and decided to take a short walk in the snow. As I was walking and the snow was falling, sadness came over me. I despise that!

I can't help but wonder at what age a person quits wondering if they will ever have someone special in their life... But oh well, enough of that.

I mentioned to someone back around Christmas that I really liked a pup they had. Still believing at the time I would not be here in the spring but would be spending a month in Australia, I said I just couldn't take it. Well they decided they would surprise me and keep it until I got back.

Now that finances are going to cause me to cancel the trip I will very soon be bringing another pup into the family.

The pup is another Pitt Bull. He is cocoa brown with a black tail and a face that is black clear to his ears. Seriously looks like he dunked his face into a bucket of black paint. I thought I would name him Coco, but I'm just not sure.

Any ideas of a name would be greatly appreciated.

He has a really laid back disposition. He only nipped once that I was told about. He doesn't mind cats, doesn't mind children and loves to cuddle. I tried to give him a few snacks and he wouldn't even take them from me, he just licked at them. After I placed them on the floor he finally ate them.

I really like that because when children have food in their hands many dogs will just steal it. Breaking a dog of that is a pain and I'm hoping that just keeping him from adopting that habit will be easier.

My poor old Beagle girl has developed some tumors. The Vet wanted to open her up and have a look at them. I had that done once before and was sad because there was nothing that could be done and the dog died even faster.

When I found the one I checked her closely and found others. She doesn't show many signs of pain or discomfort. Only when she moves certain ways does she yelp. She is very slow these days in everything she does except eating. But that could also just be because of age.

So I'll keep her here safe and warm and attend to her in her final days as best as I can. She has been a really great companion and the source of many smiles and laughs. I owe her at least that much.

Now that I know I can't go on my planned trip this year I'm trying to decide if I can go on a shorter trip somewhere. Just don't quite know where...

Somewhere I could do some exploring and fishing would be nice.

Well, it's time to get outta here and do something with the rest of my day so have a smile filled day!

Hmm, maybe a snowman...

Thoughts While Being Ill

Housework does not do itself.

Neither does a son clean up after himself.

A son can not hear the words, clean up your mess in the kitchen.

A son can not see the messes they have created.

A sons can not follow a simple shopping list.

Say fruit to a son and he hears meat and potatoes.

But they can follow every unintelligent word and motion on U Tube.

And think you are interested even when your eyes are closed.

When not feeling well all food ties knots in your stomach.

Food smells make you gag.

Doctors think all internal things that could possibly go wrong for an old man requires them to suggest shoving something up your butt.

Doctors do not have all the answers.

Doctors love to prescribe the most expensive medications possible.

The expensive medications don't work as well as what grandma made for free.

When your in pain and someone drives you to a hospital, it is impossible for them to miss any pothole in the road.

When illness moves in my humor moves out.

It is possible to live without food for two weeks.

It is not possible to live without coffee for more than a day.

Plain yogurt with a drizzle of honey makes a great topping for a bowl of mixed fruit.

Thinking of perfect foods to clean out the digestive tract gives me headaches.

Severe stomach pain makes my back hurt worse.

When you can no longer lay or sit, standing gets old real fast.

Eating nothing but fruits and salads makes the toilet your best friend.

Fruits, salads and gallons of liquids really does help clean out the internals.

Dogs don't care that your ill, they still want to play tug of war.

If the phone is going to ring, it will do so just about the time your drifting off into a nap.

All pills should be made to taste like M&Ms.

Here I Am

I seldom complain about illness. It's usually the common cold or some other silly bug that is gone in several days and quite quickly forgotten. But when you are down for several weeks or almost a month it becomes ridiculous.

I still have no clue what exactly was wrong, but I was out of it.

Hospital for tests and x rays full of doctors and all I get is bills. Yes, even they didn't have any good answers. And my normal doctor wonders why I don't go to see him...

After one week of doctors BS I decided to do what I thought would be best and I did it. That was the only thing that started making me feel improvement. All I can say is, thankfully I listened and learned from great grandparents and grandparents. They did not have the luxury of seeing a doctor once a week or even once a year, but they survived.

Whatever I had gave me enough internal pain that I couldn't even think straight. Then I cut the pain pills I use for my aching back because they can cause stomach problems, so there was the added pain of the back. I couldn't even stand the look of food for two weeks.

Now I'm well on the way to being back to normal but I'm waiting to see the bills and the damage they will do to the wallet.

I'm pretty sure that my planned trip to Australia is doomed along with a few somewhat major purchases I had planned for this year. Yup, back to the make do for another year.

But that's life! We make plans and then some dumb thing comes along and messes them up. Life goes on and we try to make plans for another day.

So maybe next year will be the time I can take that trip I've dreamed of for a lifetime.

What made it all worse for me was the weather. Unlike our normal winters with fields covered in feet of snow and winds howling harshly, we have had a winter where the snow falls one day or two and then it gets warm and sunny. Well when it's warm and sunny I like to get outside and do anything. So here I was feeling like crap and looking at the sun streaming through the windows making me feel worse from the desire it gave me to be outside.

Last week I had finally had enough and made the decision that no matter how I was feeling I was going for a four wheeler ride. I went but within half an hour I was back in. At least I broke this jail cell of a house for that long.

I also had my suspicions confirmed of television. What else could I do but watch... Yes, there is nothing really worth watching on that darned idiot box.

To say I'm bored would be a vast understatement! I'm still not quite back to my normal self, but when I start getting grumpy and bitchy I know I'm almost there. That is always a sure sign I want, no need to get out to play. Even a simple walk through the fields and woods or a ride.

Now I just have to try and get back into writing something here on the blog. I was having blogging constipation before this all started. I really need to get out and start doing things again so my mind can contrive ideas to write about.

Well I'm here and still alive so I'll leave you for today with prod to smile and share your smiles!