I made the Deer Flat blog!

See it HERE.

Woo hoo!

Back to bite me ... again ...

Don't you love those mistakes that come back to bite you over and over and over and over and over again?

Kiva, I am so sorry.

You're being bred again despite the fact that you don't have a lick of working ability, but your owner doesn't care about that.

You're being bred to a dog that "is a top notch agility dog, and had dabbled in the herding arena where his calm and cool temperament shows in his work" ... whatever that means.  Oh, I get it.  That would be to counteract the fact that you grip and hang off stock and do not have a lick of sense when you're working because the rocket scientist that you live with thinks all the pups will come out somewhere in the middle because the stud dog has "dabbled" in "herding." 

Disgusting.

I'm so sorry, Kiva.  Still.

You'll have to grow your own ...

CHECK THIS OUT.

I know people have thought I'm off my rocker ... it's not the first time.

But ... it's coming.  Pretty soon, all crops will be Round-Up Ready.  Isn't that nice?  Whether or not you want to eat genetically modified foods will be completely irrelevant.  The farmers love it because it's less work and better yield.  Monsanto likes it because it's more money for them.  Yeah, you can grow your own cows/pigs/sheep, etc., but what will you feed them in the winter time?  You could grow your own alfalfa, but if your neighbor has the lovely genetically modified Monsanto crap, more than likely, the wind will blow, and you'll have it in your crops, and then Monsanto will come in and sue you and you'll be broke in no time.  Don't believe me?  See Schmeiser's story.

So sad.

More to the Story

Ok ok ... stop the nasty-grams! I'll tell you ... I give!

Pretty tree, eh?

A few weeks ago, I met a wonderful man. Yes, his name's Mitch. He's a long-haul truck driver, owns a house about 5 miles from me, and is one of the nicest people I know. He has a very kind and gentle loving nature, yet is able to pick up Kirk's slack of giving me a hard time. The more I get to know him, the more I like him. Wrapped up in his arms has become my favorite place to be; it's the only place in my world where nothing else matters.

Why did he stick around and continue to slowly chip away the wall that's been there for quite some time now? I have no idea, but I sure am glad he did. I'm still having a hell of a time identifying and expressing my feelings, or even allowing myself to have them, or admitting to myself that they exist at all, so I hope he'll have the patience with me while I get through it. (If he were here, he'd probably pat me on the head and tell me my medication will be here soon.) 

So anyway ... there it is. Back to your regularly scheduled program.

Here's Sam.

Before Mitch left for Florida yesterday, we went over to the lake's visitor center on the opposite side of the lake.  I wanted to find out where the osprey cam was, and also the bald eagle nest I've heard is over there. 

Well, the first thing we stumbled upon was the Osprey nest...

I really need to go over to Kirk's house and steal his lens while he's not looking.  It would have to be a very sneaky covert operation.  And hell ... he'd NEVER figure out it was me.

Here's how the Osprey cam is set up.  That's the camera on the left.

I dropped Mitch off at home so he could get ready to leave for work, and I came along the southeast side of  the lake on my way home.  Saw a pelican.  My bird book says this is an adult breeding pelican.  Seems the difference between the breeding pelican and the non-breeding pelican is that little sticky up thingie on its preboscis.  What do they do with that thing?  I'm afraid to ask.

 

I completely missed the focus on this next shot, but kinda cool all the same.  Remember the red-tail hawks from across the street?  One landed in my tree, and I caught him just as he took off.

And I think the bird that took chase is a blackbird, but I could be wrong.

It was like a dance in the sky, though.

My neighbor has a big, green tractor.  Hee hee.

These purple wildflowers are so beautiful.

Bird on a wire.

Ok ... here's where I need some help figuring out what this is.  There's a bird that comes to the feeders (several of them actually) that have some interesting color on them.  I initially thought they were just some sort of sparrow, but now I am wondering.

(That's not a really long beak.  It's a sunflower seed in its mouth.)

In trying to identify it, I initially thought it was a dark adult American Tree Sparrow.  But the markings, particularly around the eye, look more to me like an adult male House Finch.  Any idea?

Jodi

Striking Oil!

Ok ... so I'm having trouble keeping up with my personal life ... or something.

Lots has happened.

First ... I love snakes.  Now that the weather has started to warm up, the snakes are startin' to hang out.  Love it!  Here's a bull snake.

He wasn't really cooperating so I had to move him a little bit.  No worries.  No venom.  I'm sure the bite would hurt, but they are not particularly aggressive snakes.  Just move slowly.

We had the Dianne Deal clinic at Janie's last weekend.  Some guy with a German Shepherd showed up to test his dog, so Janie handled it.

I took a drive up to the Birds of Prey at the end of Cole Rd.  Cool place.

I didn't find what I came up looking for (I was at the wrong location), so I was about to leave when some guy started telling me about the place, acting like he knew it all.  I think he was just trying to get my attention.

I told him he looked like a homeless conductor turnout guru I once met.  He thought that was funny.

He told me that he used to work for the railroad, oddly enough.  Also said that, at the moment, he doesn't have any place to live, but that's all about to change.  He sold a turnout and made a little bit of money and bought a few things, but he still didn't get a car, and asked him if I would give him a ride down the hill ... he had something he needed to handle.  I reluctantly agreed.  Walking back to my truck, I spotted what I thought was a whistle pig.  The nice gentleman assured me that no ... in fact, it was the reincarnation of his Uncle Joe who passed away a few months ago. 

Apparently this nice gentleman (whose real name is Fred but he goes by Mitch) was up here to see the whistle pig who had a message for him.  Apparently Uncle Joe was a very wealthy man, and left Mitch a small fortune, but the glitch to the whole thing is ... he had to go unbury it.  And where is it?  It's underneath the backyard of the house Joe used to live in, but the house has been taken over by nasty, angry squatters.  Mitch knew just what he needed to do.  We loaded up into my truck, and down the hill we went.

On the way down the hill, I saw a beautiful bird flying in the little valley where two hills met.  He was just souring in the breeze.  I wondered if it was a juvenile peregrine falcon, but it's probably just a dark adult red tail hawk.  Hard to tell.

Anyway, I dropped Mitch off so he could handle some business.  He would be going to "ask" the "residents" of his uncle's home to relocate. 

Apparently it worked.  And not only did Mitch find the millions under the backyard, but he also struck oil!  No more homelessness for him!  And now he can quit his job at the train station too!  He was so excited about his millions, he wanted to buy an old used bike so he had something to drive.  He asked me to take him to Meridian to look at a bike.

I told him that despite how good he looked on the bike, that he could actually afford to buy an airplane.

Not sure if he's going to do that, but I also reminded him that he didn't need that motorcycle.  There was a brand new one on the porch of the house when he "suggested" the former residents relocate.  I couldn't figure out what the rush was, but man, those people came flying out of the house half naked and ran down the road, and didn't stop long enough to take their bike with them, so I imagine it's now Mitch's. 

Mitch had completely forgotten about that bike, and when I reminded him, he's now convinced he can't live without me.

To be continued ...
 

Osprey Cam at the Lake!!!!!

I am SO jazzed!  There's an Osprey cam across the lake from where I live!

Here's the LINK to the blog!

And here's the LINK to the Osprey cam!

There's also a bald eagle nest over by the visitor center over there.  The eagles have returned this year, so I'll be going to check that out also. 

Woo hoo!
Jodi

A few photos from my deck ...

Oh how I wish I had a big, long lens.

A white-crowned sparrow:

A male, adult Red-winged Blackbird.

Idaho Dog Laws Group

I started a yahoo group for people who are interested in the dog laws in Idaho.  The group will be unmoderated, so join at your own risk.  The only thing I am doing is requiring approval to join so I can keep the spam to a minimum, so if you can prove you're human, you're in.

HERE'S THE LINK

This will NOT be a place to spread rumors, unlike one of the other yahoo group that exists out there.  If you make a claim to something, expect to be asked to back it up.   This is also not a sit-and-bitch-endlessly-about-the-laws-and-do-nothing-about-it group, unlike the other yahoo group that exists. 

I am not happy with the way the laws are being enforced, those with websites being targeted (despite claims by the head of the shelter that they aren't targeting people ...), the ridiculous fees for a conditional use permit, the inconsistencies in fees between cats and dogs, etc.  The shelter decides they need more money, so the first thing they are doing is finding the websites of those of us with performance dogs and harassing us about registering out dogs.  What about Joe Blow neighbor that has six dogs who does NOT have a website?  Why isn't he getting "a letter" and a follow up visit from animal control and getting charged with MISDEMEANORS (not citations ... misdemeanors ... much like how a drunk gets a DUI)?  Because ... he doesn't have a website for the shelter employees to browse from their computers because they have nothing better to do --- yet the shelter needs money!  Um, I could think of far better things for those shelter employees to do that would probably save the shelter a whole lot of money and drastically cut down the number of dogs in the shelter.

So not only are my tax dollars going toward a shelter I don't believe in, I am then getting to pay for it AGAIN with my dog licensing fees.  What is the purpose of licensing dogs?  None that I can see.  Microchips easily identify my dogs.  Oh, there's another method of identifying mine.  Try taking them from me.  You'll figure out real quick which ones are mine.

Are my dogs a nuisance?  Ask my neighbors.  I just met my closest neighbor the other day.  She told me the only way she knew I even had dogs was because her father (who I met two weeks ago and had him in my house) told her.  I don't exactly live close to anyone.

This entire thing is ridiculous and things need to change.  I would like to take some ideas to the County Commissioner, and would welcome you to come with me.  As dog owners, we need to voice our opinions.  Otherwise, the only side the commissioners hear is that of the shelter.  And this situation just continues to worsen.





 

A Rescue

Last Sunday, while I was out working on my yard, I noticed a dog across the canal.  Initially, I thought it was Sam, but she wasn't nearly hairy enough to be that handsome guy.  Upon further inspection, I see that the poor girl is emaciated.  Several times through the day, I threw food over to her.  She stayed there and just laid down in the sun and watched me, dozing off periodically.  I finally decided to go get her.  I threw her some lamb ribs to keep her occupied while I walked all the way down to my neighbor's house to use their bridge to cross the canal, and then walk all the way back on the other side of the canal and hope she's still there.  She was.  I gave her some kibble while I slipped a leash over her head.  She was not afraid of anything, and walked quite nicely on a leash.  She has a weak rear (or appeared to me) and could use a good brushing and vetting, not to mention a bath.  I fed her and wormed her and had her hang out in a crate for a while so she'd stop bleeding all over my hardwood floors, as she was in full blown heat.

Got her back to the house and called Joan with IDAWG.  Joan came out and picked her up later that day. She's a lovely dog, nice, calm, knows "come," "sit" and "lie down," and is very handler-oriented.  Someone is missing this dog. 

I hope she finds a good home.

Jodi

Meet Reese ...

Here's my new pup.  No doubt she's Echo's daughter.

And seriously ... it took me about 45 shots to get these four. 

And I have to do this three more times ... once each for the other puppies.  Yikes!  But man, are these pups cute now!  Holy goodness!  Jeepers, Batman.

It will take me a while to get them all done, but I'll get there.

I'm working out in the front yard today.  Well, the area that butts up to the street.  I have 7 huge ornamental grass bushes out there that have not been tended to in years, and they have huge piles of weeds wrapped around them, and trash from cars passing by, etc.  What a mess!  I spent a couple of hours this morning on one of the bushes, and have collected a huge pile of crap to burn, and enough mold in my nose to kill an elephant.

Off to burn ... be back later ...

And at some point, I'll fill you in on my weekend adventures.  :-)

Jodi

Teaser

Man oh man ... do I have a story to tell you!

Unfortunately, I don't have time right now.  I'll have to tell you later.

Scary Territory

This is not a post about dogs or anything interesting.  There are no photos.  This is one of those that I'll probably delete.

I am in unchartered waters, and I feel like I'm about to drown.

I was married for quite a few years to a drunk.  I grew up with drunks in my family, so it was very familiar territory.  Somewhere along the line, though, like after the death of my mother, I decided life was too short to be treated like that, and I would rather be alone than deal with that every day.  So I divorced him. 

And it's been a struggle.  But I've managed.  With the help of many many people, I've fixed my credit, bought the house, and made it more comfortable to live in.  And being alone, I'm emotionally safe.  No one can hurt me.  I don't need to open up to anyone.  I don't need anyone to open up to me.  And life just goes on. 

And then ... out of nowhere ... you get hit in the head with a 90 mph baseball.  Out of left field.  The carpet gets pulled out from under you.  The little "safe" ozone you've spent so much time creating has a leak.  And something managed to seep in.  And that leak is starting to turn into a gaping hole.  And the safe zone is starting to fill with water.  You have two choices.  The safe thing ... run for your life.  Or ... hop on the speedboat, wrap your arms around the captain, and go for the ride of your life.

I am a deer in headlights ... and just as scared.

"Maybelle!"

Well, Sunday I was pretty darned useless.  My back was bothering me, so I relaxed for the day.  The ducks didn't produce any eggs and I was kinda bummed.  Bacon is looking really good, though.  He's getting quite large.  His appointment is May 10th.  Yummy!  I imagine our beef will be ready around then also.

"Maybelle!  I'm comin' fer ya, Maybelle!"

Got home from work yesterday and lo and behold, there were two eggs!  I ran them in the house, washed them real good and put them in my carton in the fridge.  I love this!

How come is it that if someone has a beef with ya, they prefer to yammer crap to the public rather than taking it up with the person directly?  208-412-6107. 

"Maybelle!  I'm here for ya baby!  C'mon out, Maybelle!"

I think Echo is just about done nursing pups, so I am going to figure out which clinic to take her to this weekend to get her rabies shot, and then transfer Whiskey's registration to her.  Then I'll have another 6 weeks or so before I need to get Reese done.  Reese!  Oh yeah.  I've decided to call the pup Reese, I think.  How did I come up with that?  The movie about Johnny Cash ... Reese Witherspoon played June.  I think I like it.

"Hey Maybelle, big daddy's home!  Come 'ere, darlin' ... I bought you sumthin'!" 

Well, I'd better run.  I've got ... um ... something to take care of.

Talk later!

Mayb ... er, I mean ... Jodi

Spring is Springing!

Well, last night, Janie came over with her sewing machine to work on my curtains!  Woo hoo!  The one window in front of the bathroom (that goes floor to ceiling) really compromises my privacy on my travels between my bedroom, the bathroom and my laundry room, so I asked Janie if she would make a sheer for it.

Voila!

Then she cut the material for the main drapes in the living room.  We started with the two short windows.  She cut and sewed, and then made ME iron!  I told her I suck at ironing, and in fact, I don't even OWN an iron and had to go to her house and get one because she thought I had one!  Ha!  So I whined a lot but kept at it.  I totally screwed up the first one and that was quite frustrating.  Then Janie helped me with the rest of it and sewed up the hems. 

I messed with the lighting a bit to try to get the colors more toward the real colors. 

Really, the fabric ties the colors in the living room and the dining room together.  I'm so glad because ...  bought the paint based on the fabric!  LOL!

Here's a closeup of the fabric.

I moved the puppies out of the middle of my dining room, into the entry way.  Smaller space, but it's right near the front door, and I can start running them out to go potty and such.

I hung my little hooks for the apple coffee cups.  I think it came out kinda cute.  Just need to finish the grout behind them.

So I went outside hoping to collect the day's worth of duck eggs, but I found none.  I was so sad.  I walked around the property checking out what kind of growth I'm getting.

Someone cared about this house at one time. 

I have quite a few trees on the property.  I am interested to see what this turns out to be.

Here's what the entire bush looks like (next to my trailer, of course).

And I have one of these ... which I think might be an apricot tree or something?

Then there's a few of these ...

And this is what the rest of it looks like ...

There's some of this growing by the house.  Don't know what it is, either.

This looks similar to the bush above.

And then just kind of a random, scattery bush that looks like this:

So it will be fun to see what all of this turns into.

Jodi