Dackel Princess

New Feeders On The 4th!

After a couple of weeks of watching the larger, somewhat meaner birds eat all the suet feed in my feeders, I bought two, small bird feeders, for small birds.

These have a little roof on them which overhangs the feeder and feed, with no place for the larger birds to sit on top of the feeder and empty it!

The smaller songbirds can feed and the larger ones will go elsewhere. At least eventually they will.

This morning they are out there trying to figure out a way of getting to the feeder and they are having no luck!

Meanwhile, the Woodpeckers, Chickadees, Baltimore Orioles, Cardinals, and some other birds, that I have yet to identify, are out there having a good old time.

It’s not that I am a mean bird feeder, it’s just that when you have grackles and crows coming and emptying a feeder in 20 minutes, something has to change!

So I am very happy on this 4th of July to watch my little friends enjoying the feed.

Oh yes, the window reflectors are on the way! Safety above all else!

I wish I was one of those strong people who could go to Physical Therapy and be very brave. However, my therapy is rather different from most, as I am having Dry Needle Therapy to get my muscles to contract and release.

This therapy is painful and I found that Tuesday’s therapy knocked me on my…bottom! Wow! It really hurt.

I called Jack on my way home and told him I would arrive at 2:20 and he should have a stiff drink ready for me. Which he did.

Every time I stopped to relate my experience and pain, he stopped me and told me to drink more.

After that, I took an hour-long nap. And when I woke I was feeling okay. Just okay.

Dinner is frozen lasagna for Jack and Cauliflower Pizza for me. All easy peasy.

I’m working hard with the Physical Therapist because I want to be well. I want my pain level down below 4. I want my life back.

I hope that by tomorrow morning (Wednesday) I will be feeling worlds better.

Fingers crossed!

In Memorium of Starling

After several weeks of feeding the birds, and enjoying them more than I can tell you, there was a death on our yard.

Some of the larger birds at the feeder.

Yes, a cute little Starling flew into the sliding glass doors, more than likely to get away from a larger bird. But the end result was a thud on our sliding glass door.

I jumped to my feet and raced to the door and I could see the little birdie still alive. I grabbed my gloves and went out to see if I could save him the way I had to save Woody Woodpecker a few weeks before.

Unfortunately, Starling had broken her neck. As I carefully picked her up, she was struggling for breath. I carefully stroked her and spoke to her until she breathed her last.

Then I came inside and cried. I asked Jack to bury her little body. Which he did. While I went on the computer and ordered Bird Stickers for the windows.

Meanwhile, I have put stuff in the windows to prevent further deaths in my yard. But I am so sad to have lost little Starling.

Clogs

I tend to over keep things. That being said, Sunday, while doing some cleaning, I suddenly felt a sharp pain in my toe like I had stepped on a shard of glass!

I immediately stopped what I was doing, took off my 10-year-old clog, that I use as a slipper, and checked the sock and then the clog. Yep, inside the clog, coming up through the sole of the shoe, was a thin nail! Now, this wasn’t anything I had stepped on, it was actually from the construction of the clog! I attempted to get it out, but while trying to do this, I noted the holes and tears of the inside and I finally admitted to myself…”This clog must go!”

That is actually two pairs of clogs I have ditched today. A record for me, because I keep shoes forever! Really. I hate to break in shoes and my Merrell shoes and clogs last me for years.

The new clogs.

Fortunately, last winter, there had been a sale on Merrell Clogs on Amazon and I selected a pair that I would use as slippers. So it is not like I am shoeless.

Still, I’m sad to say goodbye to those shoes. I say this as I am putting a band-aid on my toe to stop the bleeding! Darn clog!

A Tale of Two Bags

Back in 2011, I flew to Germany with Anneliese to breed her for the second time. I was Pass Riding with the company my husband had flown for before his retirement, and since there was an open First Class seat, Anneliese and I were upgraded.

Anneliese and me on the way to Berlin.

It’s always nicer, when flying with a doggy, to have good seating. And so it was with Anneliese on that trip.

Part of the First Class experience was being gifted with a small toiletry bag of goodies. Toothbrush, toothpaste, sleep blinders, and tissues. The contents were nice, but what I really loved was the Little Red Bag they came in!

It was made of a material that would not absorb water. Best of all, since it was mesh, you could see the contents in the little bag.

I knew immediately that this little bag was perfect to help me to organize my purse.

I set it up with dental floss, lipstick, glasses cleaners, Splenda packets, and chapstick. I have used that bag every day of my life since.

That was until 10 days ago when I lost my Little Red Bag! I was so upset. I tried to recall the last place I had used it, which was at a Chinese Buffet, and I even called them. No luck.

I searched the cars and even looked inside my purse again. Oh my, I felt terrible. Losing something that one loves and uses is not easy to deal with!

I searched Amazon.com for a replacement type bag and finally found one that would do. Same material, same size, and when it arrived I put all the things that had been in the other bag, with the exception of my favorite lipstick. Which, unfortunately, had disappeared with the Red Bag.

Saturday I needed to change pocketbooks so I can wash my Vera Bradly bag, after spilling my flavored water on it, and as I went through the pocketbook I heard a noise. Like Tylenol tablets in a bottle (also in my little Red Bag!). I searched again and there it was in this secret zippered pocket! Just where I had stashed it!

The Red Bag alongside the new Gray Bag. For now, I have tucked my Red Bag away for safekeeping and will use the Gray Bag.

Oh my gosh, I have now reached that stage of my life where I can hide my own Easter Eggs!

PT & Shopping

Yesterday was my first Physical Therapy treatment. It was not as bad as I thought it would be, but afterward, I was sore. The therapy treatments are not acupuncture, but they do use needles to stimulate my trapezius muscles and get them to spasm and release. Since my surgeries in 2017, my muscles have been clenched and I’ve been in a lot of pain. I tried everything myself to deal with it, but gave up in the Spring, and begged for help.

So my Physical Therapist, Evan, spent about half an hour yesterday sticking my muscles with needles looking for a reaction. They are a stoic lot, my muscles, but eventually, my left trapezius spasmed. Yikes!

On my trip home, I felt sore, and last night I had trouble finding a comfortable position, but finally, I did sleep.

On another positive note, I met my new GP in the Women’s Clinic and she is amazing. My previous and much liked GP’s, husband was transferred to Japan. So she left last Spring. Dr. M. took her place and we hit it off immediately. Yay!

The drive home, which included a stop at the grocery store, was crazy. You see I live in The Lakes Region of my State. We are the place to be if you want to fish, boat, or camp in the summer. The craziness starts in May and really doesn’t end until September, but the fourth of July is the worst!

Yesterday, many people got off work early, packed their cars, trucks or campers and were headed north. More than likely, they will stay up here throughout the weekend, and stay during the week until the Fourth on Thursday. The grocery store was packed as was the gas station at BJ’s. Everything took more than twice as long as it should have, and all I wanted was to get home.

So, Friday was a good day and I did get everything accomplished before I fell into bed last night.

Have a great weekend everyone!

The Friday Five

Once again the week flew by. I don’t know where 2019 is going, but it sure is slipping by at an alarming rate! In any case, here is this weeks list of five things that are on my mind!

Today would have been my mother’s 90th birthday. I’ve been missing her a lot this year and so many times I have wished I could have called her and chatted with her, even if it was for a few minutes. She was so beautiful and she was loving and kind. Happy Birthday, Mom.
Each day I start my day walking the dogs and feeding the birds. The birds have caught onto this and while I am walking the dogs, the birds are singing to me reminding me to get their food out!
I have been continuing with cleaning and clearing a space in our house each day. Some of the junk will go to the recycling center and some will be donated to charity. It will take me a long time to get this done, but it simply must be done.
Today I start my extensive Physical Therapy. After my surgery in 2017, no PT was ordered. After such a lengthy illness and recovery, my body was in very bad shape. And the muscles clenched in my shoulders and neck. I am starting this new PT program and it will hopefully relax those clenched muscles and then help me to rebuild my strength. I have a great hope!
I would be remiss without mentioning that all the rain we have had has turned my yard into a lush green paradise. We have had many summers that were dry and everything turns to burn toast! This year, the grass is thick and green, and the fruit trees are full of green leaves and tiny apple, peaches, and plums.

So that’s my week and I am feeling so positive about it all. Have a great weekend and enjoy your summer!

Things That Go Bang In The Night!

Where I live we do get Thunderstorms. However, that being said, a lot of times the storms sort of go around us because of Cardigan Mountain, which seems to steer them either north or south.

I guess the Mountain must have been sleeping last night, because at about 11:00 we had one big storm right over us.

I used to see the lightning like this, bright and totally illuminating a dark room when I lived in Florida, but last night it was incredibly bright with one flash right on top of the crash of thunder! And again, more rain!

Stock Photo from Google

Arnie and I were already in bed, and of course, this woke me up. I got up to go to the bathroom and Arnie followed me. When I got back in bed, Arnie came up his little doggy ramp and came up and commando crawled under the covers.

I could hear Lili at the door, but since Jack was still up, I figured he could handle her. Anneliese could care less.

This morning it is still damp and drizzly. I have walked the dogs and fed the birds and now I am just having a quiet time.

Cactus & Other Things

About two weeks ago now, I took three Christmas Cactus plants outside and repotted all three of them. I had hope for two of them, after all, being pot bound and all dried out is nothing for a cactus, right? So the two larger plants I repotted, carefully putting some stones in the bottom for proper drainage and I used a combination of Potting Soil and Moo-Poo (Yes it is exactly what it says it is, only composted with dirt and mulch) to re-pot.

The third plant was almost a total loss. In fact, I kind of decided that if it didn’t perk up in a few days I would simply chuck the plant and I would have learned that even cactus need tending. This poor thing was so dried up and pathetic.

Unlike many other cacti, Christmas cacti and their relatives don’t live in arid environments. (So thought I!) Their natural habitat is one of an epiphyte living in tree branches in the rain forests of Brazil! (Brazil?) In other words, they prefer a humid climate, not a dry one, so it’s important to water these cacti more regularly than most succulents. (Who knew?)

The oldest and largest of my Christmas Cactus, before I neglected it. I hope one day it will look like this again.

After doing all the re-potting, I started to bring them back into the house, and then I stopped. After all, it is warm outside and that is the southern side of the house. Perfect for revitalization. Especially since we have had rain almost every day.

After a few days, the first two plants began to perk up! Their color got better and they began to look stronger! I’ve been so excited!

The third plant has been more of a challenge. I watched and watched and two or three times I came close to tossing it in the compost heap. But then a few days ago I checked its base and it was green! Some of the stem segments (called cladodes) have fallen off, but the new ones seem to be growing.

The two healthy ones are at the top. The one who is still struggling is on the bottom.

Despite not know that a Christmas Cactus was not really a Cactus, it does seem that they can handle a lot of abuse.

Meanwhile, the birds continue to be happy in the yard and I am happily watching them. My favorite is the Downey Woodpecker.

He is small and so adorable. Some of the other birds try to push him around, but he doesn’t let them.

Ah, nature in all it’s beauty!

Thoughts

In the last six months, I have felt a great change in me. It probably was a result of losing Candy, and then several other close friends in rapid succession, but it all got me thinking.

I’m sixty. I know I mention this often, but I watch how my friends have been dropping like flies and I realize that I am truly more than halfway through my life. I know I need to work a little harder at getting my life all together, so I can ease into my mid-sixties and seventies.

Although my bones creak and pop, in my mind I do not feel sixty! In my mind, I still see myself at this young non-number age. Young, definitely not past middle age!

I have started to stop and smell the flowers, to feed the birds and then sit and watch them.

Life is passing by so quickly and my plan is to savor each day I have.

So, I will enjoy the sights, sounds, and joys all around me, and keep working to lighten my closets and drawers and prepare for the future!

Author: Dackel Princess