Caleb Gets a Harem!

"While farmers generally allow one rooster for ten hens, ten men are scarcely sufficient to service one woman." ~ Giovanni Boccaccio

"The more excited the rooster gets, the higher his voice goes. He's got a little bit of a Barney Fife quality to him." ~ Jeff Foxworthy

" Caleb loves me.. I've got him eating out of my hand!" ~ Sheron

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Camera Critters challenges us every Saturday to post photos of animals.. this week I have chosen a feisty rooster named Caleb.. at least he was feisty when he lived here on my own personal little farm.. And then we had a visitor... my favorite cousin Sheron came by one sunny day last week with a buck eye tree for my little patch of woods... she had started it from a buck eye and it was almost ready to bloom.. she and I are very much alike.. we both love trees.. and animals and wind chimes and velvet beans and birds and dragon flies and telling childhood stories.. and singing.. and Roosters... we had been talking for a few days and I couldn't convince

her to take a rooster from here.. But then she met Caleb...

Caleb walked around in his cage giving her the eye as she looked him over good.. she had admired a black rooster and a white one but those were two that we had decided would stay.. the others would be stirred into some chicken soup or a pot of dumplings soon enough.. Caleb was the first chicken we hatched and Dave and I hated to see him go to the chopping block but we knew he would eventually make it there.. After all you only need a few roosters for a large number of hens and we have way too many roosters here now.. with a new batch of babies hatching every day we had already decided who would be going to the freezer.. and though we weren't happy about it Caleb was on that list...

Sheron was a little bit worried about taking him because her own chickens are as tame as puppies.. they follow her around waiting and hoping for her to turn over an old board or a wrinkled up tarp so that they can grab a bug or a worm.. she talks to them and picks them up like they were children.. But she was willing to take a chance on him... I assured her that he

would be happy at her house with her ten hens.. he would have a Harem of his own...

Dave caught him and we loaded him up and carried him to Sheron"s house.. he danced his rooster dance and flirted with all but the bossiest hen as soon as we set him free.. but Sheron had to be sure he wouldn't attack her or her sweet nephews when they came to "pick" eggs.. she went into the pen and picked up each hen and showed herself to him again and again.. she touched him just a little and though he shied away I was happy that he didn't get overly excited...

Everyday She has called to let me know how he was doing.. he has fell in love with everyone of the hens except the one bossy one that he fussed at the first day.. and then.. yesterday Sheron called me with a story that I had to check out for myself and Dave even said to bring home pictures of it so that he could believe it too.. She said that Caleb would eat from her hand..

I know Sheron is one of the most honest people I ever knew.. but Caleb eating from her hand??.. I grabbed my digital camera and headed to her house.. and sure enough the chickens were out of the pen and wandering around the yard scratching here and there for bugs and worms.. Sheron ran to the kitchen and came back with some bread.. Pinching off tiny bites.. she fed the once feisty rooster ..Caleb.. from her hand.. I guess it is safe to say that Caleb has found a new home.. Caleb has a harem of his own! He followed us all over the yard and out into the woods where we laughed and made pictures of each other next to an old milk basket that was once a hens nest.. Now grown into the tree it is a strange sight to see.. we plundered around all afternoon in those woods with her chickens scratching around our feet and running to grab any bug that moved.. I was happy that Caleb has found a new home and will be kept out of the soup pot.. I haven't laughed that much in a long time.. Even I fed the chickens a few bites of bread.. but I am not nearly as brave as Sheron.. I snatched my hand back when they got close and she just laughed at me and finally even held my hand still.. teaching me to be a little bit braver.. one tiny bite of bread at the time!!

My wonderful.. Loving.. very special cousin Sheron!
Thanks for being you!!

Have a wonderful Night!
Patsy

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day!

"How does the Meadow flower its bloom unfold? Because the lovely little flower is free down to its root, and in that freedom bold." ~ William Wordsworth

"Let a hundred flowers bloom, let a hundred schools of thought contend."
~Mao Tse-Tung

"Worry - a God, invisible but omnipotent. It steals the bloom from the cheek and lightness from the pulse; it takes away the appetite, and turns the hair gray."
~ Benjamin Disraeli

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Today is Garden Bloggers Bloom day.. it is on the fifteenth of every month.. this is my first posting for bloom day.. I'm not sure if this is just for blogs about gardening or if anyone can join in.. I do garden and even though my blog isn't technically a garden blog..I'm going to say that my thoughts bloom.. and My ex used to say that I was a flower child.. you know.. a blooming idiot.. so I guess that I am close enough to take part..

I love plants and flowers.. Children and adults alike like my yard.. some say it is like being in a jungle.. I have containers of all kinds.. Big old tires... buckets.. barrels.. wooden boxes.. kiddie pools.. a couple of freezers.. washing machine tubs.. some old bath tubs.. and even a toilet.. They are filled first with leaves and then with dirt and my home grown chicken poo.. flowers and veggies both flourish in my rubber~barrel~bucket garden...

I like to plan ahead and was afraid that today would be one of those downpour rain days that we have had so many of lately.. I along with my niece Phoebe and her two little monsters decided to stroll around and see what we had blooming for this months special day.. I told them we would each find a bloom in our favorite color.. Hannah immediately decided that red was her very best favorite color and quickly chose a plant that grows in the chicken garden in an old

cast away mail box.. More interested in the chickens than in any boring old blog that Aunt Patsawee might write she was off to pull grass for the clucking hens and strutting roosters... every once in a while tossing a clump.. from a great distance.. with her nose held... to the fat pig.. called pork chop!

Danielle walked slowly around looking up and down before informing me that I didn't have anything her color blooming here.. Her color was blue.. well maybe it was yellow or green or wait a minute.. we could do a color her mother liked and she chose Pink..

Yea.. pink would do since I didn't have anything blue or green.. and this metal pink flamingo was her first choice for blooming whatever I said for my thing I did on the computer and anyway.. didn't I say we could do the search for game next time they were here?.. from there she helped me find everything pink there was.. from the azalea's

to the Columbine and from there to the clover.. she said it was pink even though I argued that it was purple.. I guess for a moment I.. in my old age.. forgot that you can not argue with a

child on a mission to find favorite colors.. even if they are not her very own favorite..

Finally it was my turn.. everyone knows that purple is my favorite color... I have lots of purple plants in my yard.. I love purple.. honestly I love anything that blooms.. so if it blooms and is purple I most likely have some of it... I would have to have a huge blog to show all of my favorite purple blooming things so I am only showing a few of my favorites..

this wisteria hangs like curtains around an arbor Dave and I built when we first brought home a scraggly little vine that we pulled up in a ditch.. I love the smell and when it blooms I will often pinch off bunches of it to bring inside.. It always reminds me of my favorite cousin Sheron who taught me to paint the velvety bean seed pods that come on wisteria after the blooms fade away.. dried and painted they make great Christmas ornaments..

Mama calls this thrift and I got this from her.. I have been told many times that it has another name.. Mama got hers from someone ( maybe her own Mother?) when she first married my Daddy and that was a very very long time ago..60 years ago.. in all of our old photo's from when we are children this plant is often blooming around our feet as we stand posing in our best Easter wear.. I brought this with me when I moved here.. it has bloomed every year for the last eighteen years here.. before that it had lived with me at a few other houses..

This deep purple water iris blooms proudly in it's

old outgrown kids pool.. we found this in a pond where we were fishing for large mouth Bass.. we brought home a mess of fish and two of these irises.. Now I have two kids pools full of the beauties blooming under the shade of a tree near the fish ponds.. tiny new goldfish and fat tadpoles were darting around the roots as I stooped in close for this shot..

This last plant doesn't actually grow in my yard but I wish it would.. it grows in the woods.. Daddy called it skunk cabbage...but I am almost sure it is from the lupine family.. and not skunk cabbage at all... I hadn't seen any blooming in years and years even though it used to be easy to find around here.. I stumbled across a patch of it today while I was in the woods looking for something else.. I would have liked to have brought a small plant home and tried to get it to live in my bucket rubber jungle but I was with others on a mission totally unrelated to blogging or blooms and decided not to disturb the plant or the group with my desire for one of these in my yard.. after all.. I now know where some lives and Dave is much better at digging than I am at pulling..

I have other things blooming now too.. daisies and tulips and a few wild things like the larkspur shown with the purple boots.. Banana shrubs.. strawberries.. and many many more things that are just coming up to bloom for another year.. I love my gardens.. I have many things that grow here.. animals and flowers and food and most of all people.. I hope that everyone who visits here enjoys their time with us.. I hope that the lives we touch are made better by our being a part of them.. visit when you can.. stroll down one of the little paths and be surprised by one of our angels or simply find a seat near a bird feeder or in a swing.. I hope you have enjoyed seeing what is blooming in my gardens... Thanks for stopping by!.. Have a wonderful night!

Patsy

Some Saturday Stuff..

"You may not be able to read a doctor's handwriting and prescription, but you'll notice his bills are neatly typewritten."
~ Earl Wilson

"Ideas are elusive, slippery things. Best to keep a pad of paper and a pencil at your bedside, so you can stab them during the night before they get away."
~ Earl Nightingale

"I've got to feel the pencil and see the words at the end of the pencil."
~ William Faulkner

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- Wordless asks us to post pictures that tell a story without words.. I love the photo below of my middle son skateboarding..

- The Photohunt word for today is Balanced- have you ever tried to balance on a rolling skateboard? How about flying through the air on one?

- The lensday word for this week was excitement.. having spent a lot of time at the various skate parks in our area.. I have seen a lot of skater excitement.. they are excited to try new ramps or jumps and even more excited to actually land something new..

I was always excited to watch the young men accomplish a new trick.. I miss hauling them all over the country to skate.. A cooler of cold drinks.. a picnic of sandwiches and chips.. some toys for Mason and a book and camera for me and we were off..

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~ This week for Camera Critters I am sharing some of my own animals..

~ Lucy~ a ringed neck dove.. she and her Husband Joe serenade us while we feed the fowl every day.. we love to hear them Cooing..

~ Janet~ a polish top hat hen.. yes she has some weird feathery hair on her head.. but she is a sweetheart and gentle too.. plus she lays me a warm fresh egg every day!

~ and this guy... we bought him from a man that swore this was a hen... Of course it is hard to tell when they are very young.. we tossed him into the growing up pen where most young roosters will practice their crow and let us know not to add them to the harem of an old rooster.. they will practice holding the young hens down and chase each other around in the pen.. This fellow grew up silently and we really took him to be a hen.. we had a few young roosters who had already started crowing and doing their sideways.. I need a hen dance.. scratching the ground and fluffing out their feathers as they sidestepped and made a clucking sound.. so we chose a rooster for this guy... needless to say as soon as he saw his new "husband" he jumped up on a stick and crowed his head off.. I had named him Delila.. I don't think that name works for a rooster.. do you?? If you have a suggestion for this guy a new name leave me a comment... He needs a name.. he is a beautiful rooster... I will choose a name for him from those offered in comments.. and I will post it on here.. Have a great night!

Patsy

update~ we were offered two names.. Ricky and Delta.. we have decided on calling this guy Ricky.. we both liked the name Delta and will be naming our next rooster Delta.. Have a great day!

Patsy

Three for Thursday!

"A man's true wealth is the good he does in the world. Beauty is eternity gazing at itself in a mirror. But you are eternity and you are the mirror."
~Kahlil Gibran

"What a holler would ensue if people had to pay the minister as much to marry them as they have to pay a lawyer to get them a divorce." ~ Claire Trevor

"Imagination is like a lofty building reared to meet the sky; fancy is a balloon that soars at the wind's will." ~ Frank Gelett Burgess

1:)~ Just rambling! ~~ Today has been a pretty ordinary day.. I slept till almost 1:30pm...That part wasn't ordinary.. I'm usually up early.. I did wake up for a few minutes and looking at Dave there sleeping soundly.. I decided to just stay there and sleep along with him.. His work schedule means that I write and sleep while he works and he sleeps while I cook.. clean.. and compute.. we did all the normal daily things we do.. Most of our daily joint work revolves around out animals.. feeding takes a while longer when everyone has water frozen in their drinking containers.. the pig squealed and squealed this morning.. I had already went back for an apple and then for some bread with peanut butter and scratched her butt before I realized her water was frozen... as soon as we fixed that she went about munching on her red apple.. we had a few eggs this morning that were cracked open.. frozen.. but we also had a few that were not frozen and the chickens were fine.. when I checked on them all just before dark they were all roosting quietly.. they will be up and crowing at around 4am.. I guess they go to sleep early to get an early start... The weather channels are calling for snow tonight.. we never get snow.. well actually there have been a few snows here in my lifetime.. someone asked me if I had been to the store.. I just laughed at them.. in the southeast if there is even a rumor of snow the grocery store fills up and all the milk and bread vanishes... and people know we never get snow.. and even if a few flakes were to fall during the night it will melt just as soon as the sun rises.. oh well.. I don't have bread but I have a bread machine.. I have a well stocked pantry and a freezer as well.. I personally would like to see a little snow... I did check to be sure that my camp stove and the fuel were in the laundry room.... just in case... after all it never hurts to be prepared! If it does indeed snow... maybe I'll have a snowman party like I did when Cooper and Emily were small... It was just me and the two of them who lived here then and they were itching to get outside and catch a cold.. the snow was about an inch deep.. just a dusting at best.. I really think it took all we could roll up to make the three balls we needed.. he was a sad snowman for sure but they loved him... They both had a fit the next morning when all that was left of him was Anthony's old hat.. Emily's scarf.. some wet charcoal .. and a wilted carrot.. Maybe instead of a snowman party I'll just stay inside where it is warm.... after all it will be just another ordinary day! Have a wonderful night.. stay safe and warm where ever you are..
Patsy

2:) A Pantoum ~
3:) ~ a Haiku~

Poems.... I wrote this first poem for a contest and was delighted to discover that is a featured Poem on PoetrySoup this week.. folks always want to know what I get paid to be featured.. I get paid nothing.. but I still love to be a featured poet.. in fact I have been featured two week in a row.. the second poem was featured last week and has just passed into the final round in the contest it was entered into.. the contests began with almost a thousand entries.. the final round has narrowed the field to 263... I know I am still a needle in a haystack but at least I made it this far! YAY ME!!! Winning this prize would mean a small sum of money.. maybe enough to buy me some new pens and notebooks! I think you may have read these two poems before but maybe you will enjoy them a second time around..


~Omega~

In a place of standing stones
a mighty beast awakens
Ivory ribcage aglow
fire raging in his belly
a mighty beast awakens
scaled wings flutter
fire rages in his belly
he is Omega the last of his kind
scaled wings flutter
Ivory ribcage aglow
He is omega the last of his kind
In a place of standing stones.

Written BY: Patricia Sawyer
12-4-2008

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~Wish~

dandelion spores
scatter with a breath's wind~
I make a wish

Written By: Patricia Sawyer
6-23-2009

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Camera Critters..

"The camera looks into your soul." ~ Joe Pantoliano

"Before I got in this business I was in the chicken business."~ Chubby Checker

“When you give a lesson in meanness to a critter or a person, don't be surprised if they learn their lesson”~ Will Rogers

Camera Critters #80

RULES~~~Welcome to the Camera-Critters meme. We hope that everyone enjoys this meme which is all about photos of animals/critters.......... So make your post, link back to the Camera critters site, visit other Camera-Critters captures, and have fun!

Today's critter is my newest little rooster.. We bought him at a livestock auction a couple of weeks ago.. We were amazed at how nice and calm he was in his little cage.. in fact the pair of ring neck doves we also bought were also being very calm despite the rough way they were being handled.. Neither of the four critters we purchased was fluttering or moving around.. When we got home we weren't able to simply lift them from their cages.. pulling back the hay from around their feet we were shocked to find that their feet and tale feathers were glued to the cage bottoms.. No wonder they were so well behaved and sat perfect in their tiny cages.. It's a good thing I only had a seller number and not a name.. I was not happy about my critters being glued.. anyone buying chickens or birds there would be aware that critters squawk and wallow.. But all is well with them now.. no more glue and they are all doing fine..This little fellow has been given the name of SPORT.. the pictures don't do him justice.. he is a beauty.. he is also very tame.. I love my critters... Have a wonderful day!

Patsy

Q&A : The Photographic Interview

"When you crop the photo, you tell a lie." ~ Doug Coupland

"A photo is a creation. " ~ Eva Herzigova

"Sometimes I do get to places just when God's ready to have somebody click the shutter."
~Ansel Adams

Sh1ft.org Has been running some new and different Photo challenges.. The brains and the brawn behind the sight is Tracey a 28 year old wife and Mother of two from Sydney Australia.. she says that the sh1ft.org projects is her labor of love.. her own special way of bringing photography to people, and people to photography... Thanks Tracey for all the hard work you put forth for the ones of us who visit your Sight!!

1. What is the first thing you see in the morning? ~ Did Y'all really want to see a picture of the back of Dave's head? I thought not! I am pretty much blind till I have had a cup of coffee anyway....
The first thing I really see every morning is my chickens... I always have coffee in the chicken garden.. I know you think it smells bad but I have herbs and blooming plants planted in containers in all of the paths between the different pens.. It's a great place to watch the sunrise with coffee and sometimes a friend...

2. The biggest thing to happen to you recently/soon? ~ Someone .. gave me a pig... I have only rarely had the gift of a living breathing thing!.. I love animals.. I am tickled me to death with my new gift.. I love her.. Pork Chop.. she is still a little skittish around people.. but yesterday she took some pea hulls from my hand and today she let me scratch her hiney.. I happen to know that pigs love to be scratched..I'll win her over by scratching her back..



3. Your best mirror shot.. Let me tell you .. there are no good mirror shots when it comes to me.. I rarely look at myself in the mirror and My daughter almost fell over when she realized I had actually made a photo in the mirror for this blog thing..


4. The person that you see the most in a week ~ That poor over -burdened soul would be Dave.. I sometimes think we see too much of each other..Maybe tomorrow every time I walk passed him I'll close my eyes..I will have him close his too...



5. Your favorite shoes.. I really hate shoes..
I do wear flip flops when I have to.. or when I can get away with it.. I have them in all colors...


6. Your favorite meal.. I love Grits and eggs.. I prefer the eggs fresh from the hen too.. I also love a sliced tomato along with my meal of grits and eggs.. I will take bacon or ham or even sausage if it's there and cooked but I can make a meal off of grits and eggs..



7. The color of your eyes.. People always comment on my eyes.. to me they are just eyes and lately they are old eyes at best.. They are Blue.. Blue.. Blue..
My eyes are blue...


8. Your favorite place to be on a Friday night.. My favorite place to be every night is at my own home.. I love to sit outside under the car port/patio/gathering space in my hanging swing chair and swing as I listen to the sounds of nature..
I guess I am odd to some people.. I like home better than anywhere else!


I have managed to get a photo for the answer of each question..
Please visit sh1ft.org to check out their newest project ideas. I can think of a few people right now who love taking pictures and who would enjoy the projects.. I won't name you since I know... you know who you are!! Now I'm going to swing in the cool night air!
I hope you enjoy some small glimpses into my world!
Have a great Night..
Patsy

Three for Thursday!

"If you get simple beauty and naught else, you get about the best thing God invents."
~ Robert Browning

"As you walk down the fairway of life you must smell the roses, for you'll only get to play one round." ~ Ben Hogan

"Some people, like flowers, give pleasure just by being." ~ unknown


Today is Thursday. That means it's time for me to share three things with you. There are so many wonderful things I could share.. Pictures and stories and even a recipe or song. I have a blue gazzillion thoughts running around in my head just waiting to be shared. I reckon that means I shouldn't run out of material for a lot of Thursdays huh? Let's get started with today's Three for Thursday!

1:) A photo~
I searched both high and low for a four leaf clover to share with y'all. As luck would have it, I only found this beauty in full bloom. This plant lives in an old igloo, ice water, cooler on my back step. I love to see it with blooms open wide in the early morning sun. I also like to tiptoe quietly past it as it bows it's head and pulls it's blossoms closed in the early evening dusk. It's as if it is sleeping. I guess it goes to bed with the chickens.






2:) Speaking of Chickens!

This is Red Rooster. He is loud and proud. His hens, or wives as we like to call them are a little bit lazy and don't lay as well as the other hens but nothing stops him from being the loudest crowing rooster in the chicken garden.






The Black and white hen is one of his lazy wives.
She lays only about two eggs a week. Her name is Regina. I keep telling her and her other pen mates that they are going to have a new name....
"Pot Pie" will be a fine name for them if they don't get into the game and start laying me some eggs! Actually I would most likely never eat one of them. They run to the edge of the pen when they see me coming in the mornings. They know I have a treat such as sweet feed or a slice of bread. They are spoiled. I think it would be hard to eat something that you have spoiled like Dave and I have our chickens. We love the fresh eggs though! And we love seeing the little ones hatch in our home made ( cooler) Incubator.


3:) a Haiku

Hidden

the weeping willow
shelters a laughing maiden ~
a young man searches

Written By: Patricia Sawyer
5-7-2009


Well there ya go with three for Thursday! Today has been a good day for me. I enjoyed some time spent watching my newly hatched quail babies try to figure out how their legs worked. I picked some fresh dill for a salad and stood and ate strawberries right out of the barrel where they grow in my back yard bucket garden. Dave and I walked off a quail run for the males that we hope to either sell to the hunting clubs or eat. We spent some time together just watching the babies in the brooder as they try to figure out rather they want to fly or just run. Take time to enjoy simple things.
Smell the roses or the evening primrose or whatever blooms near you. If nothing blooms near your home you could always plant something in a tin can or a cast off ; cut off; milk jug. I love the simple things! Relax! Enjoy a few minutes daily just looking at the simple things in nature. It will lower your blood pressure and who knows, you might even see something that leads you to a smile! Have a wonderful day!
Patsy

Short and Sweet!

" Life is short, and it's up to you to make it sweet!"~ Sarah Louise Delany

“Strange how a teapot Can represent at the same time The comforts of solitude And the pleasures of company”~ Zen Haiku quote

Today I am going to be very short and I hope very sweet! This has been a very busy week. It's a long and complicated story all of it's on. Suffice it to say that I have been hunting a job. I had no idea or maybe I had forgotten just how much work there is to finding a job. Maybe instead I'll just ask everyone I know for a dollar? I really wonder how many people would give me a dollar? While dropping the e-cards on other blogs sometimes I see little things that say Buy me a beer or sometimes it says coffee.. Sometimes it says donate. I personally don't want donations.. I want dollars! What would happen if I said everyone please mail me a dollar bill? Maybe one day I'll try that. Years ago there was a chain letter thing going around where you mailed a couple of people a dollar bill and sent a gazillion copies of the letter and eventually you were supposed to get a load of dollars in the mail. I tried it.. I carefully typed the letter over and moved all the names up one space just as I was supposed to.. I had copies made of the letter and bought all those stamps.. I sent out how ever many dollars I was supposed to and what do you think I got back? I bet you guessed nothing huh? Well, I got a letter back from some woman that said I was a crook and she was turning me in to the police in her state for sending out chain letters. I also got three envelopes that contained dollar bills. So basically I went in the hole for the stamps and the copies and the envelopes and I probably still have a record in some state as a chain mail sender. All that for a measly three bucks... I did see on the news last year where a woman asked on-line for money to pay her credit card debt and she got a lot more money that she even owed. If enough people promise me a dollar I'll even rent a post office box to accept all those gazillion dollar bills. Then I can quit looking for a job and get back to the things I love best like chickens and writing and planting flowers and playing in the dirt... But in the mean time, since I never like to fool myself, I think I will keep the interview I have planned for tomorrow morning.

Please enjoy these few Haiku!
Patsy

Good Morning Spring

peach tree blossoms
in the over-grown back yard~
a rooster crows

By: Patricia Sawyer
4-8-2009


Fishing Allure

wiggling ripples
lure a bass to shore~
Daddy whistles

By: Patricia Sawyer
4-8-2009


Irony

a fat hog wallows
in the sun warmed morning
Grandma fries bacon

By: Patricia Sawyer
4-8-2009

One Promise Down!

"Oaths are but words, and words but wind." ~Samuel Butler


























"But I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep, and miles to go before I sleep."
~ Robert Frost


"Promises are like babies: easy to make, hard to deliver." ~Author Unknown

Everyone has been wondering where I have been. I have been very busy. I have been making Beef Jerky and drying fruit for Trail mix. I do that every year around this time. I have been getting buckets and barrels ready for planting and have even planted Cabbages and onions this week. But beyond all of that, I have been very busy helping My Beloved Dave fulfill a promise he made to me while we were dating. I think everyone knows how that works. We promise each other the moon and then the moon moves further and further away.



I have always wanted my own little farm. With chickens and a pig; Maybe some goats and of course a horse or even two. I wanted plants of all kinds and grape vines and fruit trees. I still have the drawings we made one night just sitting under the car port together watching the fire burn itself out. The Children were long asleep and we were just dreaming. Or maybe even hoping. Dave drew the whole farm out on Notebook paper stolen from Anthony's book bag. Chicken pens and a pig pen behind the house. A Kitchen Garden back there with Vegetables and herbs and a Horse and cow in the field. He folded the paper up tiny and promised me in a whisper.. "Someday Baby, if you will just give me a chance!"

It took me a while but I married Dave. I have never regretted one second of it. But I have been thinking about that folded up paper more and more..We are getting older. I still carry my dream paper around in my Purse. It has it's own special place there. Last year I wrote Dave a poem. Just a reminder of that night we sat and planned. This week he and I decided to carry out a small part of our dream. The pictures are of what we have been doing this week. Notice the one pen that is an "A" frame. Can you guess what it is built from? It is an old swing set that the children have long ago outgrown. I am Happy to hear the roosters crowing early in the morning. I am Happy that Dave is "One Promise down~ a few more to go!"
Please enjoy our chickens today as we have all week. Have a great day!
Patsy


Broken Promises!

You promised me some chickens
You promised me a goat
You promised me a castle,
But I don't see a moat!

You Promised me a horse to ride;
upon a steed so fine.
You promised me a vineyard
But I don't taste the wine!

You promised me a yard so fare
They'd come from miles around
"Well, let them come!" Is what I say!
we have lots and lots of ground!

You promised also Peace to me
and love for me and you.
And for all the ones you broke my Love
At least you kept these two!

Written By : Patricia Sawyer
2-5-2008
11:41pm

Daddy's Crooked- Legged Hen

Do not count your chickens before they are hatched. ~Aesop~


“The key to everything is patience. You get the chicken by hatching the egg, not by smashing it.”~Arnold H. Glasgow~


I was six when we first got the chickens. We loved to go to the chicken yard and stick long pieces of grass through the wire to see them snatch it and run away. Daddy would come out every afternoon and scatter corn and scratch feed around on the ground for the hens to eat. He'd always fill the troughs with fresh water and laying mash every single day. Daddy took very good care of his chickens.

He would gather their eggs while they scratched and pecked at the food he had scattered.One Friday afternoon daddy was running a little late getting to his chores. He had had a bad day at work and then it seemed like everything that could go wrong did that day. He sent me and Jimmy to the chicken yard and told us to just scatter some scratch feed and gather the eggs. I reckon that he planned to see to everything else early Saturday morning before he went to work.

Jimmy scattered the feed and told me to get all the eggs from the nests. I checked high and low in all of the baskets until I got to the very last nest. Sitting there in the last basket was an ornery old hen we all called big red. Big red never missed a chance to peck you. She would peck at you through the fence if you got too close. I told Jimmy I wasn't bothering big red even for eggs.

Jimmy and I were standing there trying to decide what to do about this mean old hen when Daddy came out to see what was keeping us. He told me to bump the bottom of the basket and scare her down. When that didn't work he tossed a handful of feed right in front of her. She still sat there looking at me with her beady little eye. Finally Daddy went into the pen himself and I backed away under the shed because I knew he was mad. He was mad with everything right then and he was especially mad with big red.

Daddy reached under that mean old hen and grabbed her by both feet. Just as Daddy closed his hand on her feet she pecked him hard about ten times in a row. My Daddy was a kind man and as gentle as any person I ever knew but right then he lost his temper with that mean old chicken and tossed her to the ground. I watched in amazement as she squawked and limped across the chicken yard. Clucking and falling over and over. Daddy yelled at me and Jimmy to get inside and get washed up for supper. We ran for the house; Glad to be away from daddy and his rare anger.

Daddy stayed outside for a good while that evening. Mama had already fed us kids by the time he came inside with the eggs. He didn't say what had happened to that mean old hen and we didn't dare ask him. I thought for sure he had buried her behind the pen where I had seen him bury other chickens that had died.Saturday Morning I woke up early and decided to go and see where daddy had buried that mean old hen. I just knew daddy had killed her for pecking him and making him mad. I hurried out to the pen and ran around behind. No where could I see any turned over dirt. No where could I see where he had dug a hole for a mean and nasty hen. Suddenly with a cluck and a squawk I saw the mean old thing coming for the wire. Striding along on her leg taped up with two Popsicle sticks was big red. My gentle daddy had fixed her broken leg rather than wringing her mean neck.

Big red always did have a crooked leg after that day and Daddy and her seemed to have an understanding between them. I never saw daddy snatch her off the nest again and I never saw her peck him again either. Big red set her nest whenever she wanted to and would hatch at least a dozen bitties every year. Daddy always had a soft spot for her after that and I would sometimes catch him tossing a worm from the garden right to her in the late evening time.

My Daddy lost his temper and then regretted it. That crooked legged hen lived a long long time to remind him and us that he was human. I had never thought so before that day. To loose your temper is human; to be sorry for it should be human also. Have a great day!
Patsy

Blessings Rambling Through My Mind Today.!

" Our Greatest Glory in not in never failing but in rising up every time we fail." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson~



" Expect trouble as an inevitable part of life and repeat to yourself the most comforting words of all " This too shall Pass." ~ Ann Landers~





Troubles of one kind of the other come to every single one of us at some point in our lives. For some of us it seems to be a constant companion but it visits us one and all. It likes to surprise us. We worry over our children fearing they will find trouble. But Trouble will always find them. For some of us we also have the extra trouble of worrying over our parents. Maybe they are old or just forgetful. Maybe either the children or the elder is Ill? Illness in the lives of either can devastate us.



Illness in our lives can bring financial difficulties. Sickness can strike quickly and wipe out any savings quick as a wink. For those without savings even minor illness can spell disaster. I have heard many people say that they can't afford to be sick. I have tried and I really can't think of any one, That I know, who can afford to be sick. But Sickness passes. Most people do recover. The debt is repaid even if it is done slowly.



Most of us feel afraid sometimes. We fear many things. We fear what we don't understand. We fear the future because we don't know what it will bring to us. Will it bring Blessings? Will it bring Troubles? We are scared to imagine what it might deliver to us. We can also fear the things we have already lived through. If you have survived a violent storm you may become afraid of even the mildest thunderstorm. I actually like storms myself, but I understand why some people don't. I'm sure if I ever survived a really violent storm I would feel differently about them too. Some people fear flying, some fear heights. Some fear bugs or spiders or snakes. I knew a lady who was in a car accident and who feared driving or even riding in a car for a very long time afterwards. People can fear absolutely anything. I personally am not afraid of many things. I hate crowds of strangers and mice. I am afraid of both. I don't know why. I Just know that I loath both of them. It is troublesome to fear crowds. That means I hate malls and Christmas shopping. I do those things but they are hard for me.



When we are young we often fear failure. AS we get older and look back we sometimes don't like the way things have turned out. Many things we planned while young , simply didn't come to be. Other things are different than we had hoped for. My Daddy used to say. " God works all things together for Good." What we thought was a failure maybe was part of a bigger and better plan. Daddy also said " Nothing beats a try, But a Failure, and nothing beats a failure, but a try, try again." I have tried and I have failed But I accept that. I have learned from my mistakes. I think That's what my Daddy meant. I have beat a failure By a try try again. I don't fear failure. I do fear not trying.



When my children were small we were often separated for periods of time. A hospital stay with one meant being away from the other two. I hated it then. I am not fond of separation even now. I hated the fact that Anthony lived on the other side of the Country till I went there for a visit. He misses us who still live here in this tiny town where he began life. He however loves it there. "THERE" has become his home. I realized that long before I visited there. I knew his heart was there long before I accepted it. When I visited him in his new home I accepted that he would Most likely always live there. Cooper joined him there this year. Cooper is still dealing with the separation issues in his own way. New Mexico may not capture Coopers heart like it has his brother's But I am almost sure that if it isn't there, It will most likely be some other place besides here. They aren't like me. They enjoy the crowds of the city. I don't. It is only miles that separate us. We talk to each other almost daily. Memories keep us close. Love binds out hearts together even though we are far apart.



I love my children. I loved them when they cried and I loved them when they Talked back to me. I loved them when they did what I hoped they would and I loved them still when they did what I prayed they wouldn't. I let them know when they did wrong. I even let them know loudly some times. But they always knew, even when they were in the wrong that I loved them. They didn't get into trouble often. I count that as a blessing! None have ever been in jail. I count that as a Blessing. I am also blessed that they are all grown now.



I am at a point in my life where I can look back and see some things that I thought of as horrors at the time in a different light. So many trials and troubles have become over time another blessing. Socrates said "Our prayers should be for blessings in general, for God knows best what is good for us!"

Sometimes troubles weigh heavy upon our hearts. Sometimes they cast a shadow that hides our many blessings. It is up to each of us to remember that our blessings are there. I was going to try to day to count my blessings but I ran into a Small problem. I can't count that high. Don't fear failure unless it's the failure to try. Remember you can only be separated from those you love by miles. Love is a binding bond. When you have troubles, meet them head on.
For troubles are quiet often the escort of another blessing. To the world I am sure that I do not appear to be a wealthy woman. My life is rich with blessings and joy. Have the courage to count your blessings. Troubles visit us all. Sometimes they seem to move in to stay. It is natural to feel scared. The most frequently repeated command in the Bible is ~ Be NOT Afraid~ and remember that no matter what the problem is, "This Too Will Pass!" Have a great day!
Patsy

Animal Parade!

The greatest pleasure of a dog is that you may make a fool of yourself with him, and not only will he not scold you, but he will make a fool of himself, too.
~ Samuel Butler~


Money will buy a pretty good dog but it won't buy the wag of his tail.
~ Josh Billings ~


Heaven goes by favour. If it went by merit, you would stay out and your dog would go in. ~Mark Twain ~


My first was Diablo. He had short brown hair and deep brown eyes. He had very short legs But he was perfect for me. I loved him with all of my six year old heart. He was my best friend for a few years. I cried as I searched for him one Cold November Afternoon. He was missing. I was certain My cousin took him because she didn't have one like him. I cried and searched till Daddy came home. Diablo was gone, Daddy had found him that morning on the back porch steps. Daddy took me out back near the chicken pens to show me where he had buried my friend. Daddy explained that Diablo was old But I didn't care. I said I didn't want another one! EVER! Daddy just laughed at me. He already knew what I would learn. Diablo was my first but he wouldn't be my last. I was an animal lover. I loved Dogs!


I have had many furry friends over the years. I think they are like people in a way. Some impress you more than others. Some you remember for a little while. Some you never forget. We all loved animals.
I was a country kid. That meant I lived outside of the Small town. My Daddy wasn't actually a farmer. My Uncles had farms growing hay and corn and soy beans. They had mules and tractors and Combines. My Daddy just grew food crops. Tomatoes, peas, some corn, String beans, Butter beans, cabbage and Okra. Daddy grew what we ate. That included some of our meat. That meat came from animals.


Daddy never let us name any animal that we might eat. We could name the Hens and Daddy had one old Rooster for years and years. He called the old Rooster Captain. Young Roosters were for the soup pot they were all known as pullets. My Sister named a pig once. We all loved that pig. When it came time to Butcher that year we all cried and begged and pleaded. We hated bacon, we didn't want any sausage that year. We weren't going to eat Madam no matter what Daddy said. Even Mama shed some tears. Daddy called uncle Oneal to come and get Madam. I am sure that he butchered her and ate her. My daddy was upset over the whole ordeal. That night he made the no naming food rule. But that was also the first time we were allowed pets. An animal of our own.


We still couldn't have just any animal. No snakes or Big lizards were going in Mama's house. Mice and rats were also out. No wild animals. Grandma swore they all had rabies and we ate rabbits and squirrels so they were already part of the food rule. We already had some cats around even though they were all half wild. I only recall two of them that ever had real names. They were "Old Black Mama," Called that because she was solid black and the mother or grandmother to every other cat there; And Tinkerbell. I found Tinkerbell after she was abandoned by Old black mama. She was half starved and I fed her milk with an eye dropper till she was old enough to eat on her own. She would purr and rub against me. Grandma said she thought I was her Mother. I liked her all right. I just wasn't really a cat person. I Still had Diablo then. I was a dog lover. I had already made my choice as to what would be my pets.


After Diablo came Dave and Bruno, Sugar and Lucky, Lady and Mister. We had Daisy and Doll, Doobie and Shadow. There was Red and Blackie and Brownie and Twitch. We had Piggy and Spanky and Sissy and once we even had one called Pot head. Not because she smoked pot, but because she had showed up at our house nearly starved to death with an old pot stuck on her head. Jimmy freed her from the pot and fed her and she stayed. We had lots of dogs that just showed up there. Daddy said the town folks dropped their unwanted dogs off in front of our house. He always said we weren't keeping any more but he always fed who ever was there at feeding time. Somehow we always had at least one extra dog.


After I was grown I had a parade of animals. We had horses and ponies and spiders and hamsters. We once even had a snake. We had lizards and gerbils and turtles. We had fish ... so many fish. I still have thirteen ponds full of Koi and gold fish and frogs. We have a blue million frogs. We have had rabbits and squirrels and ducks and chickens. We have had a few cats. But mostly we have had dogs. We have had all kinds of dogs. We have had purebreds and mixes and just plain mutts. We have had barkers and growlers and one that people swore could talk. We have had big dogs and little dogs and Middle sized dogs too. I loved them all. I love them too much. I want them all. I once had, including puppies, thirty-two dogs. Dave said they had to go. He was nice about it. We couldn't afford all those dogs. I got to choose their homes. I wasn't very happy about it, But he was right That was too many and they had to go.


Since then we only keep four or five dogs at the time. Usually having three outside and one inside dog. Last year was rough for us and our dogs. We had had all of them for a good while. Max was 14 years old, Hot-dog was 25 years old and Piglet was 4 years old. They all died. We think a car hit Piglet but the others ate tainted food. My heart was broken. That left only Buddy outside and Cocoa inside. Cocoa fussed and whined for days until finally we let her go out with Buddy. She refused to come back inside. Colt was brought to us by a friend to replace Hot-dog. He is crazy but he's lovable. Since Cocoa had decided she was a yard dog we had decided that we wouldn't get another inside dog. Then we met Little Man.


We debated it. Since all the children are grown and gone we could go places and do things. Not if you own an inside dog. They have to be let in and out and washed and brushed. They have to be petted and fed and played with. Outside dogs need the same things but inside dogs are different. You can leave outside dogs for a short time. Inside dogs are harder to leave. But< I argued he is so tiny and he won't get bigger and he fits in a coffee cup. We can take him with us! And we did! He'd sit on the console between the seats in Dave's truck or on the front seat with me in my car. He loved to go visiting and even went all the way to Tennessee with us to visit Dave's Aunt Ruth. We fell hard and fast for that tiny dog. He became Dave's friend. Dave's dog! I'd catch Dave talking to him when he thought no one was listening. He followed Dave everywhere he went. Until last week. Last week Little Man wouldn't come when we called him. He was no where to be found. I thought someone had stolen him. I searched till bedtime but couldn't find him anywhere.Dave found him the next day out near the trash cans curled up in a ball. At first he said he thought, (I feel hoped is a better word for here), that Little Man was asleep. He was not asleep. Our tiny dog had died. Our friend was gone.


Dave buried him out where all the others are. Hot dog and Max; Trigger, Boo and Smokey. All our animal friends who enriched our lives. Some for years and some for only short times. We agreed that we will rest for a while. Dave said he didn't want another inside dog right now. I agreed. I washed and cleaned his dishes and toys. I packed everything inside his kennel box and put it away. I had just carried it all out to the shed when Dave called from work. He had found out about some new puppies. They are tiny tea cup Chihuahua's just like Little Man. I reminded him that we are resting.We are he agreed. He just thought we should know where we can get one. Just in case he said. I figure that we will rest about five more weeks. By then the babies will be old enough to take from their mama and we will have rested from having an inside dog for about as long as we can. We are animal lovers. We are dog people.


Not everyone is an animal lover. If you aren't then admit it and don't have pets. There is no shame in not being an animal lover as long as you don't harm them. If you love animals but can't keep one, there are plenty out there in shelters who are looking for homes but need to eat Every day! Help them if you can. Remember to help control the strays by having your pets spayed or neutered if you can't or don't want to raise puppies. Train your animal to be a part of your family But never forget that they are an animal. Love them, Laugh at them, and enjoy them for how ever long they remain with you. We are resting, But only for a few weeks. We can't help it. We are Dog people! Be kind to animals! Have a wonderful Doggy Day!
Patsy