I am so angry at Shawn’s dog right now I could just scream! I have asked Shawn repeatedly to not let that dog roam around the house un-supervised when I am not at home. Do you think he would listen to me and honor my request? Yeah, right! That stupid dog has chewed up my guitar bag, so now I need to go online to see MF and try to get a new one delivered by the weekend. I don’t have the time to run into town to pick one up. I’m going to make Shawn pay for the new bag and the expedited delivery charge, too! I guess I should just be glad that the stupid dog didn’t ruin the guitar, too!
This time of year there are always a lot of kittens and puppies at the shelter, but there are also a lot of adult cats and dogs being surrendered by owners and many are abandoned or dropped off because of the economy. People are being evicted and having their homes foreclosed and have no way to take care of the pets any more.
This really bothers me – I just don’t see how anyone in good conscience can abandon a pet. What kind of person leaves an animal locked in an empty house and drives off? What kind of person can drive down a road and just toss kittens out of the window into a stranger’s driveway? People who do that and people who beat their dogs or otherwise abuse their animals should be arrested and put into jail.
If you have a shelter in your community, next time you have the urge to take on a pet, I hope you will go to the shelter and adopt an animal from the shelter. And if you have anything you can donate to the shelter, here’s a list of desired items that can be dropped off and will be put into good use:
Clean, old newspapers to be used for litter and lining cages
Toilet seat covers (cats love to lie on them in their cages)
Any type of cat or dog toy (plastic or washable)
Old bath towels and blankets
Canned cat food, any brand
Bagged, dry dog food (particularly desired is Science Diet but other brands accepted)
Laundry soap
Bleach
Heavy ceramic food and water bowls
Antibacterial hand soap
Candles – citrus or spice
Paper towels
Shelters also need volunteers to come and walk dogs and play with the animals for short periods to give them exercise and socialization skills. If you have a good heart, please help the animals in your local shelter.
skunk (free clip art)Last night I was driving home from my friend Elaine’s house and was very surprised to see three skunks in the middle of the road! The sun had set, and I was driving down one of those narrow country roads that have no stripes down the middle, or sides, and no street lights to improve visibility. There were no houses in sight, and the road was twisting and turning. I had just gone around a very sharp “hairpin” turn and saw the skunks walking, on “my” side, head to tail – like you would see elephants on parade! They all appeared to be the same size, so I couldn’t tell if they were a mother skunk leading her babies across the road or not.
When my headlights hit them, I braked as quick as I could, and started to steer the car away from the direction they were walking. Uttering a silent prayer “please, Lord, don’t let me hit these skunks” I tensed up and held my breath. I was SURE that I was going to hear that horrible “thunk” that would confirm that my evasive actions were inadequate. But no thunk came. And no skunk perfume wafted up at me. I let out a sigh of relief, and looked in my rear view mirror to see if I could see the skunks, but the darkness of the night had already enveloped the threesome. They were gone from sight. I offered up a silent “thank you Lord” and started to breathe normally again. But I kept my eyes sharply peeled for any other wildlife that might decide to cross the road as I continued my journey home. Thankfully that was the most exciting part of the trip.
Although I marveled at seeing the three skunks walking nose-to-tail like that, I hope to never see a sight like that again while driving in a car! And now I can’t get that song “Dead skunk in the middle of the road” out of my head! Maybe after watching this YouTube video about the song will help me get over it quicker!
spiders (free clip art)Had to do some yard work over the weekend and I cannot begin to tell you about all the spiders I saw. There were brown recluse spiders under my trailer tarp, orb spiders in the bushes that I had to trim, tiny brown spiders in the tree that drops low over my driveway now, a black widow in the grass, and even a white spider that crawled out from the retractable dog leash that I picked up. I’m not afraid of spiders but I don’t like them and I am going to call the pest control company or head out to the hardware store to buy some pesticides. It just seems like last weekend was all about spiders.
Ron was telling me that he thought that we were getting some undesirable night visitors lately, and he wants to buy a trail camera and install it to see what has been going on in the yard behind the house. He’s nervous about the black bears that our neighbors have spotted in their yards, and the feral pigs that have been spotted a few miles down the road. I suggested that before he just run out and buy a trail camera, that he read some Trail Camera Reviews to determine which one will do the job he wants done. There is no point in buying something that doesn’t fit your needs!
The winter was so mild, that the bugs are really bad this year. Fly’s, horse fly, deer fly’s, mosquitoes, ticks and fleas are horrible. I decided to buy some horst fly sheets for the horses. They will help keep the pests from annoying them or causing sores on them. Since they are light weight, they wont over heat them either. I know that the horses will be more comfortable then they were last summer.
Gosh I had a lot of errands to do today. I had to got to like five different stores to get everything done and make a trip to the dump on top of it. I had to go to the tobacco store for a carton of cigs, then to the Co-Op for de-wormer for the dog. After that I hit the dump on the way to the Dollar and grocery stores. I know that I went somewhere else too, but for the life of me I cannot remember what the other place was. I know that sounds bad, but all I can do is laugh a little bit about it. I think the kids have sucked all of the brain cells I had left out with each birth, not to mention the raising of them. Oh well, I guess it doesn’t matter. I think I got everything done I needed to. Now am doing laundry, cooking dinner and working in between the two. Talk about multi tasking.
My father has gotten too old to ride four wheeler’s anymore, so he bought himself something that he can still play in. He bought a Yamaha Rhino for him an mom. Now he is looking for yamaha rhino accessories to customize his new toy. The weather is supposed to clear up and warm up as well. As soon as it does, we will take out the four wheeler’s and his Rhino to go riding through the preserve. It is part of a state park that allows you to ride on trails that are specifically made for them. We have gone there many times before.
Occasionally we like to camp there too, but it really is not that far from the house. I think we are going to plan a trip as soon as spring hits, to the Smokey Mountains. That way we can camp out in the mountains and ride all over them. There are a great many places to ride. Including the Shenandoah trail. Dad wants to go right away and just rent a cabin. He says we can ride all day, then relax in front of a fire. I am not too sure about that, but I will think about it. If we do, I think I might wait until it snows. That would be really fun.
I love how nature can make the most beautiful scenery. This purple water fall and trees around it are just amazing. The wonder of nature never ceases to amaze me. I hope that you guys enjoy the pictures I post for you. I do try to find really good ones.
This is actually a painting, not a picture taken with a camera. The painter has amazing vision. The realism alone renders you breathless, when you realize that it has been painted by hand. I cannot imagine such talent. I have a child who loves to draw and paint. I encourage him all the time. Maybe one day he will be this good. A mother can only hope.
