good news. bad news. good news.

Good news is...

We have counter tops installed;

complete with kitchen sink.

With the tea pots in place,

it's starting to look even more like home.

(As you can see, we still have trim to be painted...)

The counters almost resemble "Granny ware" in color,

it's a really pretty deep blue; we love it.

We're moving!

Bad news... Well, I really don't want to post this - but I'm

determined to stick to reality on this blog.

It can't all be wonderful, all of the time, because quite frankly -

when you live on a farm; sad things happen. Often.

Yesterday morning, momma hen only had two chicks with her.

Later on we found evidence that something had eaten the rest...

Pretty devastating; yes.

Of course, Mom immediately pointed a finger at the 'Squirrel-y Cat'

because he's new - and nobody around here has done such a thing.

I protested otherwise.

Well... Unbeknownst to us - Dad set a trap in the barn last night.

We think we've got our culprit.

I guess that's the other bit of good news.

This nasty little opossum explains a couple of things

that have been going on around here...

Just be glad you weren't within ear shot, because Spence

was doing his little high pitch banshee yell upon seeing him...

Youch....

We don't have to worry about our two remaining chickies anymore;

and all charges against the Squirrel-y cat have been dropped...

(And no, the dogs were not allowed to eat the opossum or anything like that... he's still awaiting trial in his cage.)

Huck

This post is dedicated to my red-headed, doggy friend

of many years; my hiking companion, guardian, and escort.

A guy with a somewhat abrasive exterior,

and a huge loyal heart.

Huck.

There are those that find Huck to be a bit much.

He can be very loud, demanding, pushy...

I can see where they're coming from;

he knows how to push annoyance to its extremes.

But then there is his very enthusiastic fan club -

a group of very special people that happen

to have the ability to see the good in this dog.

The people who see him as a rusty bundle of personality;

and truly love him for it.

Huck was actually Buster's dog to begin with...

Buster was the first pet we got after moving to our farm,

and he just never made a good loner dog.

He would get scared when he was alone, and chew things up...

So, when he was about six months old, we brought

him home a little black lab puppy that we bought at the

Amish auction for five dollars. "Smokey."

Buster took care of that little puppy like a mother would,

and they did everything together.

Several months later, Smokey was run over by a car

and had to be put to sleep.

I've never seen a dog as devastated as Buster was,

he cried all night long.

The very next day we went looking for a new puppy,

and didn't have to look far -

the red dog down the road had a litter.

And in that dusty old barn,

we first saw our little Huck.

(A baby Huck with Dad - 1999)

Buster and Huck have been inseparable ever since.

A few years ago, Huck had to spend the night at the vet's

office for treatment. That's when we discovered Buster's

name for Huck... "Raúl."

(Think Spanish pronunciation - "Ra'-oool"...)

He sat by my window and howled Huck's "name" all night.

They've been buddies for over ten years now.

That's what brings us to the present,

and the fact that personality ripens with age,

as every photo I take of Huck attests.

At some point, early on in Huck's decade with us,

he gradually starting becoming "my dog."

I love the fact that he has always been such a rascal;

I love the spunk in his eye.

I laugh at the way he squeals to show how much he detests hugs,

and the way he hates bathing and brushing like a little boy.

He's tough.

I can't get over the way he just stares into the camera

and manages to be so photogenic.

Mom has stated on various occasions that she's sure she

has seen a photo of every facial expression that the dog can

make by now, and I can quit photographing him anytime.

Or at least give it a break.

I'm still thinking about that.

So Huck is pretty much my dog by now, yes,

but I'm accepting that it's not at all how he sees it.

I'm actually his person.

He takes it upon himself to keep an eye on me;

and go everywhere I go.

He thinks I need him,

and he's probably right.

There are many tough childhood memories where -

if I were to rewind and look closely,

Huck would be right there -

doing his best to make everything okay again.

He's quirky.

He take his naps on our front porch pew.

A few years ago he had a dislocated elbow injury,

and had to wear a blue cast for six weeks.

The funny thing about it is that he's had a tendency

to cross his front legs when he is lying down ever since...

I took this photo a few days ago -

Huck's not usually allowed in the house,

but the guys were shooting guns outside,

and Huck is very anti-guns...

So he snuck inside,

and for once - we let him stay.

Just for a little bit.

This is Huck.

My buddy of eleven years.

I hope you're here for a lot longer yet, Huck.

Thanks for everything.

Wonderfully Overwhelmed

I'm just overwhelmed with God's goodness.

We're waiting still (until Tuesday) for our kitchen countertop,

and there are still lots of little loose ends to tuck in -

but the sun was really shining through the clouds today.

We are seeing the end (the beginning!)...

and as I stated earlier this evening - we are just tickled Fuchsia. :)

We're overwhelmed;

and wonderfully so!

On a sadder note, the chick didn't make it...

He was just a little beyond helping by the time I found him.

I figured so, but I've always had this

sympathetic doctoring tendency that I can't seem to shake;

no matter how hopeless the case may be...

I just feel better having tried. :)

Not a Spring chicken...

I don't know how many times I've told the chickens not

to even think about sitting on eggs after June.

November was the worst timing decision they've made so far...

That was rough.

Well; this year, I thought we weren't going to get any chicks.

One poor hen sat on a nest for three months with no success -

(it takes three weeks; poor thing.)

Well, yesterday, a momma showed-up with her September brood.

Today, I went out to visit - and found this poor little guy.

Don't worry - he's still alive in these pictures.

Evidently, his momma got a little bit antsy about getting up -

and he wasn't kept warm long enough to finish hatching;

I'm afraid that he was stuck this way for about 24 hours.

I have no idea how he survived that long.

So, glutton for heart-ache that I am;

I brought him inside and starting warming him up with a damp,

warm cloth.

Like moths coming out of their cocoons -

little chicks can't have any help hatching out,

or they will never fully develop.

Even though it's tempting...

I felt awful about this poor chick - he was so close.

I got him on a heating pad, and he starting coming back a little.

He kicked and stretched, with lots of little naps in-between.

He eventually did get out - and is all warm and resting now -

but I still doubt that he's going to make it... :(

I just had to share these precious little shots - it's so

rare to get to witness this amazing process.

There are seven little healthy ones though -

and they are awfully sweet.

Even if they do grow to be tomato-eating monsters someday... ;)

Update!

It's been a full couple of days...

The tomatoes don't know that we're too busy to deal

with them - so they just keep coming.

We're fine with that -

we can always use a few more pints of salsa...

with lime;

and roasted garlic and peppers...

I canned 14 pints of it last night!

I've been in denial about Autumn -

but the combines never lie...

The corn is ready, whether I am or not!

And... I have family members anxiously awaiting a house update...

It's coming together so beautifully!

We now have flooring, light fixtures, plumbing -

and a refrigerator.

The cabinets went up soon after I took these.

It's getting close!

Looks like we might be moving in next week...

painter's cramp...

That's what we all have...

And if it weren't for the help from several of our generous friends,

we'd definitely have more than that...

Maybe death by painting, I don't know.

So we are very thankful for each of them!

Everything inside is painted,

except for the new kitchen cabinets.

I just finished up my room, about fifteen minutes ago.

I didn't have the presence of mind to photograph the progress,

and am yet to document the finished look -

but Dad did happen to get a picture of me mid-stroke.

You can't really tell from the angle,

but those are ten foot ceilings...

(no, I'm not seven feet tall.)

We got pretty brave with some of our color selections,

I went with the lighter aqua for my room,

and am very happy with it.

Well, this is about all of the typing I'm up to at the moment.

Hopefully I'll have more to share in the near future.

Thank you to everyone for all of the kind,

sympathetic, and encouraging comments -

they've been such a blessing to me!

Just Life

This post is teetering on the edge of being random;

just a life update I guess.

Mom had a birthday this week...

So purple flowers were in order.

Too bad I didn't get their picture sooner,

they weren't feeling so good by the time I got around to it.

Mom made a lovely batch of peach preserves,

which can be seen in the background.

Those peaches went quick!

I made a big batch of Sweet and Sour sauce out

of some of them.

Slowly but surely, the mud is going on that drywall.

It takes a day to dry between coats.

You should have seen the stilts these guys wear!

I sent brother Joe out to get a few photos for me,

it was pretty odd looking.

Now we are in the stage of figuring out paint -

the walls will be ready Saturday.

We're pretty attached to our current kitchen scheme;

which leans towards French country.

I promise, the yellow isn't quite as breathtaking in real life...

It makes us cheerful.

Here's just a view of one corner...

As for my portion of the house,

I'm thinking seriously about one of these...

Dad says they remind him of moisture resistant drywall...

He's got a point there.

They remind me of the one hundred-year-old paint that I found

in my current room.

One day, I got the bright idea to find out what was

under that hideous wall board...

I didn't get past the "chimney area" though,

because on top of that beautiful aqua and cracking plaster -

I found some mold stains.

That was our first clue to what was going on.

I never got to see any more of it;

But I've dreamed of a "healthy" room that color ever since.

And here's a pic of our sweet little Polly bird;

just because she hasn't been seen here for awhile.

This afternoon, she was doing her little routine where

she screams, and then cracks up laughing.

She's recently started singing this song whenever Dad gets

home where she just says "Pretty-whoop"

over, and over; again.

We did not teach her that.

She and I had a little chat about why she 'needs' to shred her

newspaper, dump her food, and weave her loose tail feathers

between the bars of her cage...

She's the messiest thing I have ever seen.

Creative expression?

Nesting instincts?

She's keeping her reasoning to herself.