Kung Foo Liam

I just thought that you all might like to see a true kung foo master. Look at that form, that concentration. Bad guys beware.

Light Shows and a Lot of Bull...

I had to go out late, after we'd watched a movie in the evening, to get the horses off the side pasture, and right after I'd done that, I came in to try and coax everyone outside into the dark. This is the time of year that the fireflies dance. It was magnificent, little sparks of light all over the hillside and in the trees. We stood there in the dark pasture just absorbing the magic. Fortunately, the mosquitos were either over at the neighbors or we didn't appeal for the evening, because our reverie wasn't cut short by the attack of the little torturers. Such a delight in so many ways. I wish we could share it with you.

And earlier, much earlier, while Don was having his morning coffee out on the porch, I happened to look over his shoulder as I came out to tell him something, and saw a great big bull moose, standing there on the hillside as he watched the horses. He was very curious about everything and just strode across the hillside and back again. No hurry, no worry, just stop and look, few more steps, stop again. So cool! Then just as casually, he disappeared into the woods. I remember reading a little piece in a small paper a few months back and a local person had said that although she'd been born here, she'd never seen a live moose. Here we are, barely a year and one strolls across our back yard. A couple weeks ago, we also watched a mother deer take her little baby for a walk across the back hill. Our hillside is our theatre it seems. So here is a picture of Mr. Moose for your viewint pleasure.

Bugs, bugs and MORE BUGS!!!

Our summer has finally arrived, hot and humid! On the other hand, maybe it's just warm and I'm in a sweat all the time because of hot flashes---hmmm, wonder which it is. Whatever the case, the warm weather has brought out the flies and my poor Sierra and Ambra are going crazy. A few days ago, I took their halters off at the pasture gate, and later, noticing that they were galloping back and forth in the field, I went out to discover that they were being swarmed by a couple dozen great big,brown deer flies. They were so frantic I could hardly get their halters back on so that I could take them into the barn. Poor girls. You know, when all the transplanted easterners used to tell me how beautiful Nova Scotia is, not one of them ever mentioned the flies. Anyway, at this point, I'm thinking that I will have to buy full cover mesh fly sheets with a belly bank and a neck cover so that they will be able to graze at all. Even if I leave them out at night, right now the mosquitos get them after dark. They are loosing weight because their grazing is being affected and they are wearing off the calories just be trying to evade the flies. I am going to measure them tomorrow for sheets and we will see.

Who is he?

Last week, a terrible thing happened and if you are a follower of Kims blog you will have already heard but for those that aren't, a quick lowdown. Kim and Oliver had two little dogs, one named Boo and the other called Griffen. To make a long story short, little Griffen, who by the way was the dearest little fellow, was killed. We've all been devastated by his passing (our family is very, very, very attached to our little mutts, thinking of them as family, not pets). Anyway, Don thought that a new puppy might help ease Kim and Olivers grief, so he was looking on Craigslist and found several that he subsequently called about. And as you might know from Kims blog, she found a little merle puppy, four weeks old, that she decided to buy. Even though he is with his mom still, he now has a name and it is Mr. Bingley.

In the meantime, a lady who Don talked to during the search, finally sent Don a photo of her little guy, and to make a long story short (again), we now have a new little charmer too. We haven't decided on a name yet, we have a harder time with names than Kim does, but so far the choices are Patches, Digbey, Bingo, Smudge, Little-bugger-peed-on-the-rug-again, and my least favorite, Bytore. He is very different from Diese,l who was born old. Diesel never, even as a puppy, knew how to play. He is very serious and awkward and fearful of getting hurt if he attempts to climb over anything and I could never get him to chew on acceptable toys which is supposed to be good for their teeth.. This little fellow on the other hand, is fearless, and likes to play whenever he isn't sleeping, and chews on whatever fits into his mouth and some things that don't.

Sitting here discussing names, we got to talking about Diesel and came to realize what a good little dog he is. He has never chewed on anything and destroyed it, he is very quiet, put him on the couch and he's stuck there, you can keep him from escaping by simply putting a six inch board across the doorway. But now I think we will have to exchange the 6" board for a 6' fence , possibly with rolls of barbed wire on the top. Yes indeed, things will be different around here.

Holly, I didn't want to tell you because I know how much you want a dog but your life is in such a place right now that it just wouldn't work. I knew how sad you would be sweetie and I feel bad for you, but your time will come, it will.

Anyway,here are a couple pictures of this new member of our family.

We had the nicest day today. We played hooky from renovating and instead, we went to a yoga class together in Pugwash. Yes, can you believe it, yoga! I thoroughly enjoyed it and the lady who teaches is a tiny, and very nice lady named Mary. She is very good at helping you understand the movements and their benefits and how to achieve them and she makes you feel very comfortable even if you are only a beginner. And at the end, during the time that you lay quietly and let your muscles all relax, she play some beautiful music made up primarily of gongs. Very melodic and very spiritual sounding. I am looking forward to Monday when we go again. Don decided to give yoga a try because he always has such stiff tight muscles, especially in his shoulders and neck. He thinks that might explain the frequent headaches he was experiencing. Anyway, after going once, he suggested I might like it so I decided to come along and I'm so glad I did.

But enough of that, the other thing that I have lately been renovating is my horse stalls. Did I mention that yet? I can't remember. Anyway, I had two smallish box stalls and one standing stall. The boxes were too small for a horse Sierra's size and because she is a bit nervous she is inclined to pace and circle and this just makes a horrible mess of her stall. So I've changed things to two very wide standing stalls where they will be tied for the night and this will keep their business ends in one place so they won't be eating their hay out of the manure, and they will lay down and sleep on a clean area. I'm almost finished with it and when the rubber mats are delivered, I'll build the mangers and then I'm done with that. And one more thing to check off on the To Do List. Hmmm, what can I add on to fill in the newly opened spot then?

Racing against the calendar....

Yes I know---it has been a long time since I wrote anything here, but honestly, the summer has arrived and it seems like I've been waiting since forever to be able to be outside in the sunshine! I need my garden time, or Debby becomes a dull (and cranky) girl. So sorry, just can't help it. Mind you, we are still working on the Stanley Street house for Kim and Oliver so that has kept me hopping too. But it is coming along and before you know it, I'll be putting some before and after pictures on just to impress you with the hard work we've been doing. Just think, in the course of one year, we will have upgraded and renovated three, count 'em, three houses! I am looking forward to retirement.


I have so many projects that I want to accomplish and I feel like I am in a race against the clock (or should I say calendar). Don and I have started a garden area, but that won't get planted until next year. But at least the sod has been removed. We need to get a rototiller as the next step is breaking up the hard packed ground before we add back a some topsoil. We also would like to get a start on a new roadway up into our woods and extend the walking trail. The original roadway was also a natural low spot on the hillside, so in the spring, it becomes a trickley little stream and as a result is not an easy or comfortable stroll. And I want to put some fence posts in so that I can leave the horses in the field when we go to town. I just don't feel comfortable leaving them inside a temporary hot wire when we go away from the property. I have visions of lawsuits dancing in my head I guess (should they decide, for some unfathomable reason, to walk through the wire and go for a stroll up the road). And of course, there is always the yardwork that I love to do....just not enough time, that's all I can say.