River Otter

Last year every time I tried to photograph the River Otter at the millpond, he would hide.  I stopped many days in search of a photo.  He is camera shy.

Last Saturday we went by and he was sunning himself on an ice shelf..I was making a quick delivery and did not have my camera.  I hardly ever leave the house without my camera..but every time I do I see something I want to photograph.

Tuesday, whilst doing some spring cleaning I decided it was time to recycle..and made a quick trip to the recycle shed..and just drove by, willing him to still be there..

I got him!  He was playing on the ice, he didn’t appreciate me appreciating him.  He went swimming..and even though we watched for quite some time he did not surface where we could see him again.  He can hold his breath for two minutes and can dive forty feet deep in pursuit of delicious fish, muskrats and turtles.  His long sleek body with short legs, webbed feet and a thick tail make him a perfect watery traveler, he can travel up to twenty-five miles in a week.  He doesn’t get cold, because of the oil that coats his hairs..he is for all practical purposes waterproof.  I was thrilled to finally capture him in a photo.

Last year he was here only a short time at ice out..to play and roll around on the ice and flop into the water at the first sign of danger or an old lady with a camera:)

Wistful Wednesday: Muggy

Muggy was a Chihuahua.  He belonged to Far Guy and his family. He was mainly Far Guys Dads dog..he loved having a dog.  Far Guys Mom loved him too, but the dog would fart, he was on canned food..and that made him gaseous. Far Guys Mom would holler.. “Would someone please put the dog out?” ..Out he went,  he was tied to the clothes line much like Far Guy was when he was little.  The dog was much better at running back and forth, but the dog never learned to unhook himself and run through the neighborhood and then hook himself back up again.

History was made by this little packed full of energy and much loved Dog named Muggy.

Muggy pooped right on my foot the first time I was a guest at dinner. Far Guys Mom was so embarrassed.  Far Guys Dad apologized “I don’t know what got into that damn dog.”

Muggy would snarl and yap at me and chase me from one chair to the next in the living room. He was the only dog I have ever been a little afraid of..but then Far Guy would “sic” him on me and just laugh.

Muggy tried to delay our Wedding by pulling out one of his toenails on the basement stairs.  He had been sent to the basement because there was lots of out of town company..and Far Guys Mom didn’t want a farting dog in the living room with all the company.  I am sure she didn’t want any of the guests maimed either..one day Ray L came to the door..he knocked and went right in..and Muggy started barking and took a flying leap right toward Rays crotch and hung there growling. Again Far Guys Mom was embarrassed.

Here is one of my favorite photos of the little darling..

Far Guys Mom was not in the kitchen..she wouldn’t allow the dog to get his germs all over the plate..or to sit at the table.

He does look like he is enjoying himself. Over the years he did learn to love me..Muggy lived a good long life.

I love looking at the “old kitchen”  the white cupboards would be replaced by oak cabinets..and the old white stove would be replaced by an avocado green one.  The copper colored canister set would go upstairs..and a set of lovely avocado green stackable ones would take up residence on the countertop.

This photo was taken in about 1966 or 1967 someone with one of those fancy instant cameras took this photo, their thumb print is off to the left:)

Long Month of Snow

March has been a long month..well it has 31 days..and we still have a good snow cover. Chance and I went out and took some photos this morning.  Chance has been playing ball in this direction as the driveway is muddy in the afternoons.

I can’t remember that we had this much snow in late March last year.

We didn’t ..last year were were snow free and very brown by March 17th.

My Dad stopped by the other day ..he said “We will have snow until the second week in April now.”  He may be correct.

We still have about eleven inches at the snow stick.  I am sorry Kathy..you are not the winner.  I can safely say that someone that guessed sometime in April will win.

We went to carving yesterday.  The group was happy to see Far Guy.

He did not handle any knives..only files. He was working on a large bark carving that has many windows. And..yes he wears old T Shirts to carving..the bark can stain your clothing. This T Shirt is from back in the greenhouse days..it says Native Vegetable.  Because he was in charge of all the Native Plants and all the Vegetables..so I had shirts made especially for him. The customers used to get a big charge out of it..I am hoping that one of these days the stupid shirts wear out..or become so stained they end up in the rag bag.

No fingers were injured at carving yesterday:)

Rural Minnesota Heartbreak

My heart breaks for the parents whose daughter was senselessly  murdered last Tuesday evening.  My heart cries for the young men who are now Motherless and Fatherless, they will face the rest of their days knowing without a doubt that their Father murdered their Mother.

Restraining Orders are not worth the paper that they are written on. I cannot imagine how it must feel to live in fear, fear of what your husband it going to do next..how do you sleep ..how do you shelter your children?

In a different incident last week…a seven month old child was left Motherless and Fatherless after her teenage father turned the gun on the childs mother and then himself.  Can you imagine how that child must be crying for her mother..I can and it breaks my heart.

We do not live in a big city or even near a big city. This is rural Minnesota “stuff” like murder and especially murder/suicides do not happen here.  Yet there were two last week…it shakes the core of the entire community.

You can shoulda, coulda, woulda all day long.  What is the solution to domestic violence?   I have a cousin who works in a Women’s Shelter.  She has an unlisted phone number..and you know those little blue signs that give the E-911 address..well she doesn’t have one at her house.  She gets threats on a regular basis. I don’t know how she deals with it but she cannot abandon the women that need her help. Some women are helped..some women are helped..I have to keep reminding myself of that.

So what is the solution..?? Is there a solution? After the funerals have been held and the stories become old news will anything have changed? :(

Chance: A Big Yellow Ball

The other day Far Guy bought me a gift…

Oh ya..we still have snow.

The big yellow ball really scoots along in the snow. Pretty soon I had it way over in the woods behind the house.

Far Guy to the rescue, I stayed put while he went and got the ball.

I played for awhile then it got stuck again.  Far Side kept hollering “Nose, nose hit it with your nose!”

I gave up and rested in the snow bank. A little later Great-Niece Anna came over with her Dad..she got the ball unstuck for me ..and then I took it back into the woods..and Anna rescued it again.  Then I got it stuck ..and pop..I guess one of my teeth must have put a hole in it..just like that it was no longer a big yellow ball..but flat as a pancake and it did not roll anymore.  I found Anna a proper ball and she threw it for me many times…I just love all the neighbor kids.

Here is the snow stick photo..sorry Linda P from Alberta..you are not the winner. Far Side says the snow is never going to melt:(

March 26, 2011

A brother shares childhood memories and grown-up dreams.  ~Author Unknown

 

My Baby Brother

57 years ago today..I became a big sister. 

The bossy big sister, the one that used to punch him in the arm until he winced..the one that held him in a headlock till he said “I give” and the one that could beat him at arm wrestling. The one that held his arm behind his back until his feet lifted off the ground.  The one that would wet her fingers and give him red welts all up and down his arm..the old two fingered fight.

The one that played games.  Checkers, War, Chinese Checkers and Parcheesi. I would “let” him win once in a while just so he would keep on playing. 

The one that became a bit of a tomboy dribbling a basketball on the crumbling piece of cement where the old garage used to sit where we played “horse” for hours. Playing endless games of catch..fishing, hunting, swimming and picking leaches off each other. Riding our bikes so fast we could almost catch the wind. Getting in trouble together..wincing as the other received their punishment..knowing you were next.

October 2010, he was going to talk to our Father who was in the cat.

He survived childhood and all the adventures with his big sister..even the time I stabbed him with a pitchfork in the foot..and the time he stepped on a nail playing barefoot at the old grainery, and I am sure I saved him from certain death the time he stepped on the bullhead and got blood poisoning and had to be waited on hand and foot.  He didn’t swallow much water the time we made breathing straws out of reeds down at Zauche’s Lake although he did cough until he puked. I even looked for him the time he got lost deer hunting because he was walking in circles.

Despite me, he grew into a wonderful brother.. Happy Birthday baby brother:)

Tire Art

I have seen some tire art.

This one was cute..perfect if you a little person with a little butt and you like horses.  There is a whole herd of these tires at our local Farm Supply store.

This is more like it..an old lady planter. 

I found this one day when Jo and I were out garage saleing.  I asked the old lady if I could take a photo of her planter..she said “sure”.  I would have painted the tail on both sides.

If I had this planter I would plant it full of Gazanias..they like it really warm..they thrive and bloom in just about any conditions.

I looked through all my flower photos for a photo of a Gazania. Do you suppose I could find even one lousy photo..nope. The only problem with this plants bloom is that they must have sunshine to open and show their blooms..on a cloudy day they stay closed..independent little cusses.

We still have snow it did not melt:(

It Snowed

Imagine that..our Spring was cut off at the knees by a snowstorm.  How many inches of beautiful white stuff did we get..5 or 6 inches.  Who cares. We have been thrust back into the bosom of winter.

I took this from inside the woodshed..I am now in charge of fixing the fire in the outdoor woodstove.  Far Guy helps one handed and Josh stops by every once in awhile to throw in a really big chunk for me.  I crawled over a huge snow bank and rescued my trusty orange wheelbarrow to assist me.  I fill it with wood at the shed and then wheel it to the woodstove and unload it. It is not a job I really like..but I do like being warm..so I do what I have to do.

Miss Lynda guessed that the snow stick and the green ruler would be free of snow on March 23..that was yesterday..sorry Miss Lynda..you are not the winner. I did not blaze a trail to the snow stick, as you can see there is enough snow for a few more days.

Far Guy had a good re-check, and he got a new club.  This one is just a bit smaller than the other one.  Yes, he wrote a note to himself on it.  I added the gauze you see sticking out..and that bit of orange is vet tape..I wrapped one of the Velcro straps because it was driving him nuts…which it turn was driving me nuts.  I will spare you the gory photos..because they are gory. The original cut was clean and precise compared to the surgery.. the Surgeon increased the size of the cut and made several other incisions down the finger..I counted at least 14 stitches..perhaps more..it is all gunky and gross.

The Occupational Therapist showed me how to exercise the joints in his pinky finger and ring finger so that the joints do not become stiff.  He starts real Therapy tomorrow..that should be a barrel of laughs:)

Wistful Wednesday: “The Kiss”

I have a few things to say today about my Father In Law, Marvin..Far Guys Dad.  He was a wonderful man with a great sense of humor, I learned many things from him over the years.  He died in 1994 at the age of 80.

It is hard to think of him as a young man..but we have the photos to prove it.

This is one of those old photomat photos..he was quite dashing with the collar on his jacket all turned up…and he had hair!

He first met Far Guys Mom on the high school bus.  ( He would marry her when he was 26 years old)  However he did have other girlfriends. There was this photo that Marvin’s Mother included in his photo album, she must have saved a few things from his high school days..

This was one of them..Margaret a cousin of Far Guys Mom’s..he had another girlfriend named Jessie..Far Guys Mom used to tease him about her…invariably the story of “the Kiss” would come up sometime during the conversation about his old girlfriends.

Marvin went to High School with a young lady by the name of Jeanette B.  She would go on to become a Social Studies teacher and teach many children in Junior High including Far Guy and I.  She was a spinster, she never married.  She must have grayed early in life, her gray hair was always curled “just so” in tiny individual ringlets pulled away from her face..she was always dressed perfectly..I remember her in wool suits with a skirt that was properly cut to mid calf, with a ruffled long sleeved blouse that matched..with a brooch at the neck. Her hands and face were uncovered, and a small section of her lower leg..before they disappeared into proper black old lady shoes.

Back to the early 1930’s..teenage boys will be boys..when an entire class is involved in practicing for a class play and the lights just “happen” to go out plunging the whole stage area in darkness and someone just “happens” to kiss Jeanette whilst the lights are out and she faints..now that is a story that shouldn’t be lost.  I never found out who did the dreadful kissing in the dark..but I have a really good idea.

If I have told this story before I apologize..my daughter Jennifer will tell me..she remembers everything.  I guess I should work on a Wistful Wednesday Table of Contents or something:)

A Quickie

Ha!  I bet that got your attention.

We have a  snowstorm headed for us. We just walked into the house after an all nighter with the grand girls..they needed Grandpa and Grandma to get them from a Hockey Clinic and help to stuff their faces with pizza and keep the boogie men away during the night.

We could not get a Wifi signal up there. 

We are venturing out again to a big city for Far Guy to have a recheck on his arm. The bags are still packed and in the car..and Chance is going with us again..poor little guy is exhausted he was stalked by kitty's all night long.

I missed Pamela in the guesses yesterday..sorry Pamela..you did not win.  Miss Jennifer..you will have to take my word for it that the snow did not melt overnight.

I leave you with a beautiful Minnesota countryside springy photo:)



6:30 PM Update:  Returned home safe and sound about an hour ago. Far Guy had a good recheck and he has a smaller club now..we traveled the last 25 miles on terrible ice. It is going to be a terrible snowstorm..we are glad to be home:)

Happy Spring!

Today is the first day of Spring..coulda fooled me ..other than it is still drizzling out there..I did find some green.

One of Chances balls that was lost over the winter and the stupid Daylilies that think it is safe to come up because the line from the outside furnace runs under their roots on it’s way to the house.  The birds have made quite a mess..Spring in Minnesota is a non pretty time of year. Dirty snow, shades of brown and grey..

Soon we can have a campfire…

The dirt road that runs on the south side of our property.  It is icy.

Snow Stick Report:

Chance and I went out and took a photo about 10AM.

The Oak tree is making a skirt ..and the snow is getting less.  I doubt that the pretty green ruler will be free of snow today. I am sorry Country Gal and Jan from Alex..you both guessed March 21. 

Tomorrows guess March 22..was from my daughter Jen..she threatened to bring over a hair dryer and melt the snow around the snow stick. It sounds like she will have her work cut out for her as we are supposed to get dumped on..3 to 8 inches of snowy spring fun is headed our way:(

Rainy Day

It is raining a bit outside.  A fine misty drizzle.  Chance and I went out to check the snow stick.

Sorry Day Photo Linda..today is not the day.  The snow is going away slowly and look how dirty it is today..we are making progress!

The driveway is almost free of snow..we don’t play ball in this direction anymore..or if we do then we play ball in the other direction before Chance comes in the house.

We still have lots of snow to melt.

Far Guy went for a walk yesterday..I told him to be careful..Chance walked with him to get the mail.

We used the zipper in his jacket as a sling support.  He still has considerable pain..and lays down with his arm up in the air quite often.

We have both enjoyed watching Hockey the past couple of days..the Fighting Sioux won last night and advance to the Frozen Four!  It was a great game against the Denver Pioneers..but the Sioux won in double overtime.

Far Guy has a follow up appointment this week to check on the progress of his injury and he will begin occupational therapy.  I guess we will skip Wood Carving this week…I suppose I could go and carve..and he could watch:)

“Yes, we’ll gather at the river

… the beautiful, the beautiful river; gather with the saints at the river that flows by the throne of God.”

That old hymn’s chorus ran through my head many times yesterday. We didn’t get to sing it much in the Lutheran Church..but the Baptists..this was their song..and they sang it upbeat and with joy in their voices.

We went to town, we had to get Far Guy some new shirts that will accommodate his large “club.” The shirts needed the left arm seam split.. Jo fixed them all up. Thank goodness for neighbors that sew!  It is still a bit early for T- Shirts..although spring has come to the river in town.

I got out of the car and walked to the river while Far Guy and Chance watched..Chance was such a good boy..he never even barked.  Then we drove along the river so Far Guy and Chance could get a good view..

The Swans, Ducks and Geese just went about their business..they think it is spring. Watching them swim around, sometimes fighting, sometimes flying off..gave me hope that spring will come again soon.

The open water looks quite beautiful to me!

Far Guy is doing OK, he is still uncomfortable and is learning just how difficult it is to navigate in a two handed world when you can only use one hand.  Thank you for all your kind comments..he read them all:)