It’s Snot a Good Thing

On Sunday I developed the worst head cold I’ve had in years.
Neti pots, Mucinex, Vicks Vapo Rub, steaming, cold medicine, NyQuil…
nothing is breaking up the nastiness filling my head.
Where does it come from??? Is my brain melting I wonder?

Small Favor

One of my favorite bloggers is asking for 5 seconds of your time. Please vote for her!
Click on Chickens In The Road in my blog roll list

Wedding Arrangements

I’ve been busy working on some flower arrangements for my friend and former employer’s son’s wedding.
We worked together on all of the table arrangements last week. (we used branches and artificials) and I forgot to get pics.
Last night and this morning were the fresh arrangements for the buffet tables and the bar. I think they turned out pretty cool.

For the two buffet tables…

And for the bar…

I had nothing to do with the cake, but it is so pretty I needed to take a picture even though it was still in the box….

Me and the squirrel both!

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

Positively SINFUL

Yesterday was my birthday although I don’t really like to count them anymore!
On Tuesday and Wednesday I spent the day with my friend and former employer Lindy. I was helping with the centerpieces for her son’s wedding and doing some decoration.
She had forgotten about my b-day so she took me to this decadent bakery to have a little celebration…

We enjoyed a plate of delicious macaroons and some cappuccino.
They offered samples of a couple of cakes and one of them was to DIE for! Walnut something or other… can’t remember the fancy gourmet name right now though.
Anyway, my eyes literally rolled back into my head when I tasted it so Lindy bought one for me for my b-day present!
OH MY GOSH!

Mr C. and I were in heaven last night!

Dog-Duck-Deux

Well, the 2nd Dog-Duck arrived yesterday after a mix-up on the Friday arrival time.
This guy is a bit older and was rescued from even more deplorable conditions than Dog-Duck-1.
He was also housed in an outdoor kennel with dogs but the difference is that all of them were starving. It’s amazing that the dogs didn’t kill and eat the duck… just amazing!
It was clear how malnourished he was when I put him in with D.D.-1
D.D.D.’s bill and feet were extremely pale compared to the bright orange of D.D.-1’s and his neck is sooooo skinny. I can feel the bones beneath his feathers.

When first introduced, the ducks did not know what to make of each other. Neither has ever seen another duck since they were tiny babies!
D.D.-1 showed a bit of territorial behaviour at first but after only one night together they are happy little buddies that just MAY be starting to understand that they really aren’t dogs after all!

I can really see a big difference in D.D.-1’s personality already! He/she seemed depressed before but now he/she is so happy to have a buddy to swim with!

(By the way, I’m convinced it’s a SHE)

We had quite an adventure this morning when I put both of them in Paddy’s pond together for the first time I’ll have to write about that later though. Suffice it to say, Paddy was NOT happy and I think the ducks will have to stay in their own enclosure under the deck until the Crazy Dog Couple have their new home all ready for them!

We Got a DOG

Well…. not really, we got a DUCK that THINKS it’s a dog!
Here’s the story…
I got an e-mail from a friend telling me about this girl in town that had rescued one baby duck out of the road after it’s entire family had been hit by a car and killed.
Bless her for doing that, BUT for some reason she thought it was ok to keep the duck in a 10×10 chain link kennel with a Blue-tick Hound and a Beagle! Apparently, the dogs must not be aware that they are hunting dogs because they accepted the duck and slept curled up together in the less-than clean kennel. He/she grew into a big dirty white duck-dog.
At some point the girl finally came to the conclusion that it probably wasn’t the best environment for a duck… gee, ya think?
When I picked it up it smelled like a very dirty wet dog that had never had a bath in it’s life! I put her/him into Paddy’s pond and the poor thing had no idea what to do in deep water! So, I filled a shallow container and set him/her up in the holding pen under the back deck. It took quite awhile for the duck-hound to get into that water but I’m finally seeing some duck-like behaviour coming out.

Yesterday I put him/her back into Paddy’s pond and he/she swam and and actually had fun!


That is ,until Paddy came out to see what was going on…
Paddy slowly swam back and forth, eyeing the intruder, sizing him/her up.
Then suddenly she literally torpedoed herself towards that duck and scared the bejeebers out of the poor thing.
Apparently, Miss Paddy-Cake isn’t very good about sharing!

I will put him/her back in Paddy’s pond today while Paddy is sleeping. She doesn’t like to rise and shine until mid-afternoon at the earliest!

My plan was to release this duck at Chesley but I’m afraid it would think some coyote or fox was his friend and end up being a meal! I’m currently looking for a new home for him/her.

Back At Nine

Yes, I know, quit rolling your eyes!
Here’s the story, we kept getting middle of the night calls from the security company about the warehouse that Mr.C. runs. The motion sensors kept being activated.
It was happening quite a lot and usually birds are to blame. But this time someone spotted a small orange and white cat who was the culprit!
“WILD, FERAL, no one can get anywhere near it” Mr C said!
So on Sunday we took a havaheart trap and a can of cat food out to trap the little rascal. But FIRST, I said I wanted to call it and see if it would come to me.
He was in my arms in less than 10 minutes. Purring louder than any kitten I’ve ever heard! The poor starving little thing hadn’t had anything to eat or drink for nearly a week! Unless you count the rat poison he ate in desperation.
I knew within seconds that he was MINE… Mr C knew it too, AND Mr. C was perfectly fine with it! He calls him his “Little Man”
We named him Casey, because he was found in the case center.
He throws himself at your feet offering his belly for a rub at every opportunity. He wants to be around us at all times and purrs constantly
So far the other cats seem to be ok with the situation, their noses are a little out of joint, but no major problems. Casey actually pretty much ignores the other ones which I find kind of odd.

He seems to have had no ill effects from the poison so far. We are giving him Vitamin K tablets which is the antidote for rat poison.
On Monday there were two of his brothers found outside by the dumpster that Mr.C caught and took to the humane society.
They were all obviously friendly and socialized, I will NEVER understand how people can care for animals and then just dump them somewhere.
It makes me physically sick.
So meet our “wild and feral” Little Man, Casey…

Mr. Personality Plus, that’s him.
Have I mentioned that I don’t even LIKE orange cats??

Big Excitement!

Mr. C has been distraught that he hasn’t seen a bear all year while I’ve seen several. So this morning we got up early and drove into town to do some grocery shopping. As we rounded a corner on Browntown road there was a young bear right in the road. Just a small one, but Mr. C was so pleased that finally he saw his first bear of the year!

We came home and split a bunch of wood for later this winter and then both of us jumped on the lawn mowers to git-r-dun.
After we finished that up. we decided to take Paddy for an afternoon stroll on a different route then we usually take… we took the hill along neighbor Mike’s place and planned on heading down towards Rocky Lane. The sound of Mike’s pool was distracting Paddy and she really wanted to go for a swim.
Mike saw us and came out with a pear for Paddy and we stood on the hill just shootin the poop when a movement in the horse pasture caught our eye… it was a deer running at full speed. THEN we looked behind the deer and saw ANOTHER BEAR running after the deer!
Then the bear must have smelled us because it stopped and stood there for a minute trying to figure out where we were. Mr.C decided to see how close he could get and snuck down the hill along the brush line and got within 30 or so yards of him. THEN some-one’s boxer(dog) off of Rocky Lane got a whiff of the bear and the chase was on! Mr.C said that the last time he saw the bear he had jumped between a split rail fence and sent the top rail flying into the air! Needless to say, Mr. C will go to bed a happy man seeing TWO bears in one day! I won’t remind him that since I saw both of them as well that I’m still way ahead of him on bear sightings this year! Not that it’s a contest or anything…

Man It’s A Hot One…

…like seven inches from the midday sun….
Miserable outside… just plain icky! Guess I can’t complain too much though since this is the first real summer-like heat we’ve gotten this year.
I only worked for three hours this morning before I just couldn’t take it anymore.
We had a productive weekend here on The Hill. Mr C and I spent all day on Saturday repainting the shed and replacing all of the trim boards.
We went for a more rustic look this time…

I even started cleaning up the areas on either side and behind it, that was long over due!
Tomorrow it’s back to the wildlife center, hope the heat doesn’t kill me!

The Silence Is Deafening

What a whirlwind of a weekend! Such laughter, such fun, such tired feet!
I love all of these fine girls…

Shopping, food, games, wine, more shopping, more food, more wine, a little whine, lots of fun and laughs.
Now they are all gone and I’m all alone… even Mr.C is away on business.
I can’t wait til they come back… every one of them!

An Open Window

Oh how the Sassy-Cats LOVE when I open the windows for some fresh air!

This is awesome!

Left to right…
Kubota, Bits and Kibbles

What’s Bloomin?

The gardens are really blooming right now. When company comes in two weeks the show will be mostly over… doesn’t it just figure?!
Better show off some stuff while I’ve got the chance…
The Callas look good this year…

This red day lily has finally decided to bloom again after I divided it two years ago!

The Mordens Pink Lythrum is especially yummy this year, it loved the spring rains.

It’s a shame that nurseries around the country have been banned from selling this plant. They fear that it MAY cross-pollinate with the wild Lythrum that has become an invasive weed in many states. I have found it to be very well behaved and just about the least invasive plant I’ve got!

The Stargazer Lillies are filling the evening with their scent.

The tree-form hydrangea that I snagged off the clearance pile for $10 is bloomin pretty, although I don’t think it’s terribly happy where it’s planted.

I need to get some major weeding done. I’m smacking myself for allowing Mr.C to convince me that we didn’t need to mulch this year!
But this is what has been keeping me busy the past few days…

Painting shutters! YUK!

A View From the Bedroom Window /Part 2

Bedroom Window Part 1 was back in the springtime.
Here’s some July views…

Looks like soup time!

Creamy COLD cucumber soup that is!
Click for recipe.

Front Porch Sittin

My new blogging friend, Angie, at Homegrown posted a picture of her beautiful and inviting front porch. She asked that other people do the same and send her a link so she can come visit.
Since I love my porch too I decided to join in…
Welcome to Sassy Cat Hill

There must be a cat on the porch at all times (in this case on the step)

The front porch furniture is looking mighty empty right now

The side porch is too

Hopefully, if all goes well, those seats will be filled with company soon!

But the best part of the porch…
…this VIEW!

Ahhhhh yes, I think a long slow glass of icy lemonade is in order!
Life IS good!

Check out Angie’s place and if you decide to join in on the porch sittin let me know too!

Heart-Aches and Updates

It hasn’t been great around The Hill lately. First our friend and neighbor passed away.
Then I found out that Rudy the Red-Tail Hawk had to be euthanized. He had been struggling lately, losing the strength in his legs again so he fell down alot and broke alot of his feathers. He was also losing weight. We just were never sure what was wrong with him. The vet suspected nerve damage but she couldn’t figure out why he would seem to start getting better and then relapse. I forgot to ask her if she was going to do a necropsy. It would be nice to find out what his problem was.
Anyway, I take comfort in the fact that for the past year and a half he was kept safe and very well fed.
Rest in peace now sweet Rudy, go fly strongly over that rainbow bridge and land on strong sure legs on the other side.

And next… yesterday I came home from work to find one of The Twins laying dead in the backyard… my first thought was that it was a cat attack, but no, she had been shot with a pellet gun.
It makes me so mad! I brought them here thinking they would be safe! What makes it even worse is that a previously good relationship with a neighbor is going to be very strained unless an apology is forthcoming. It wasn’t hard to piece together what happened and I’m hoping said neighbor will fess up.
So, may you too rest in peace my little friend…

Tux has some type of eye infection going on and the ointment the vet gave me isn’t doing a thing. He looks pitiful.

*SIGH*

Enough of heart-aches, let’s have some updates…

The persevering barn swallows are diligently keeping their eggs warm and guarding the nest.

Paddy is doing great and we’ve taken to having a stroll around The Hill each evening. She stays right on my left heel like a well trained dog. She still loves Mr.C. too…

We had a new visitor at the pond the other day…

I’m sure that the fish and frogs were happy when he left and hope that he doesn’t come back!

Mr. C left this morning to go fishing with that same group of guys he went with last time. This time they are going out for tuna and mahi… hope to get the freezer stocked back up!

So that’s life on The Hill this past week or so…

Cancer Sucks

There’s just no other way to say it.
Today we went to the memorial service for our neighbor down the street.
He was only 47.
Death is never easy but somehow when the person who has died is young and vibrant and still so full of life it’s even harder.
Even harder still is that he leaves behind a family that are so incredibly close that they will all feel the pain of his absence for the rest of their lives.
*sigh* Hug your loved ones.

Way Back On The Hill

As I look out over the gardens it’s hard to remember just what it looked like when we first moved here and before I started tilling, digging, planting, and reshaping the landscape.
So I dug into the old pictures and found some photos taken not long after we moved here in 1998.
I’m also including present day shots for comparison.
Way Back…

And Now…

Way Back…

and now…

Way Back…

and now…

Way Back…

and now…

Way back…

and now…

A little blood, a LOT of sweat, and maybe a few tears now and then has made this house our home. It’s a never-ending, ongoing project that I wouldn’t trade for anything.

It’s Pickin Time!!!

Oh Yes… those luscious, antioxidant-filled, plump little berries.

Tux came to help guard against any marauding Mockingbirds or Catbirds while the protective netting was pulled away.

And the payoff from a mere six plants…

That container is 8″x9″ and the bushes are still loaded with green ones! Just an observation…. green blueberries are really tasty try one next time you’re pickin!