Howling Dogs and Screaming Frogs

6 days a week our neighbor has a friend that drops off their dog.  When this first began we weren't sure what breed it was, not that it mattered, but it looked like a large Jack Russel Terrier.  Now that it has been a few months we now realize that it is a mix with a greyhound.  As if I needed one more reason to feel better about my cats never going outside again. That dog can jump the fence like it was laughing at it.  It runs all over the place, and across the road (and its a very well traveled road). 

We both used to be very impressed with that dog.  It wouldn't get too close. It has zero aggression.  It never barks.  I was impressed.

This dog now howls; all the time.  From almost the minute it is left for the day, till someone arrives back at that house in the afternoon, that dog will howl.  At first I was unsettled, thinking maybe one of its friends died; after all its not the only dog next door, and those chihuahua's I once mentioned I have not seen in a very long time. 

I was afraid of what I might see if I went to check on that dog.  It did run in the road a lot; maybe it was hurt.  I have a horror story of a cat I came upon that had been hit by a car.  Stephen and I were living here in Thatcher, when we were first married.  The cat was alive, and I was so horrified that I ran off to pull Stephen out of class. I couldn't just do nothing, but I also didn't want to pick it up.

Anyway, back to my story. 

That dog was just howling out of loneliness.  Nothing was dead, no one injured.  So I scolded it, and every few minutes went back out there to tell it to shut up.  I have kids sleeping and I'll be danged if some stupid dog will wake them up.  This still continues, but a few days ago I heard it whining as if it really was hurt.  "What now!!?"  I had to laugh.  My neighbors either got sick of nearly running over it, or someone heard me, but they now keep that dog tied to a rope in the back yard.  I've watched it longing at the fence, dying to jump over.  Sucker!

The monsoons have been awesome.  We've had some amazing lightening storms, and so much rain.  I'm so glad that my parents have given us the leftover rock from one of their projects; such a life-saver; no more trekking through inches deep mud to get to/from our vehicles.  For any of you that know where we are located, or have been to our home (thanks for visiting, we love having visitors!) we have water treatment ponds nearby.  True, a northern wind doesn't smell pretty, but we do have lots of wildlife, also thanks to the river less than 1/2 a mile away. 

We were watching a movie the other night, and I about had a heart attack.  I heard screaming!  I instinctively wanted to dial 911 but thought I'd make sure I wasn't the only one hearing it.  We paused the movie, and then I realized I was hearing a lot of screaming, not just one voice.  Stephen laughs and tells me its the bull frogs outside.  Stupid frogs!  Ugh!!  They aren't all that loud, but I thought it might have been a murder going on, or maybe one of my kids cries was being muffled by a pillow.  Stupid amphibians!  Just like those stupid peacocks that sound like they are crying "Help!". 

hmmmm...

I've got an idea for a cruel joke.  Get a peacock, and at least 3 bull frogs and put them in someones back yard in the middle of the night.  I can just picture it now...

War of the Sunflowers

Ever since I planted sunflowers, back in April, I have been battling forces to let them grow and keep them alive.  Our home is surrounded by fields, and because we live in farm country we have gophers.  Not just one, or two.  Stephen has been able to catch and kill 6.  The first one Stephen get it stranded by filling its tunnels with water, and it was either drown or face instant, painless death by Stephens hands.  Does that keep them away, or diminish their numbers? Never!

My first sunflower to survive through the first sprout fell prey to those pests.  It was over 2 feet tall and I believed it was going to make it.  Nope.  One gopher ate right through the main root.  We even tried transplanting it into a bucket, but that was a wasted effort.  Out of complete frustration as more sprouts were shriveling up from heat and lack of water and we saw more and more dirt mounds piling up (a sign of more gophers) I bought more seeds.  I planted the seed every 6 inches in hopes that with more sprouts there would be more that could survive all at once. 

A week later I lost another 2 feet tall stalk to a different gopher, a smaller one that I don't believe we have been able to catch.  Because I saw several new sprouts I wanted them to have a chance, as well as all of my existing plants that were still living, I went to war.  We first purchased this funky stake thing that you put in a fuse, light it, and toss it in a gopher hole.  Essentially it gasses them out, or kills them.  We lit one, and for a day or two we didn't see any new mounds.  That supposed victory was short lived.  We tossed in 2 stakes in 2 holes that were 20 feet away from the other.

It was like that gopher that took down the second stalk was mocking us.  4 hours after lighting up a stake there was movement around it.  It returned for the remaining roots and water.  I was so angry!  I was losing this battle, and at this rate I would never have a single bloom; not if the gophers kept eating through any stalk that was big enough to produce one.

So I got 2 of these babies.

And guess what!...

There are 2 blooms on that one stalk, with about 5 more close behind.  And I'm not worried that it'll be taken down by any gophers.

Of course seeing that many blooms on one stalk made me realize that planting seeds 6 inches apart from the next was far TOO close for these gigantic plants.  However, now that I've purchased a 3rd gopher repelling device I'm going to extend my line of flowers all the way to the back fence, and maybe even around the corner a little.

I do have to report that though I've won the battle against the gophers, the war isn't over.  The previous tenants were so kind as to dump oil in random places throughout the property.  The biggest dumps sites are along the fence line.  One reason why no weeds have been growing there, and another reason why my sprouts keep dying. 

If you look in the picture of my bloomed flower, the stalk in the foreground is the one suffering from the oil.  The rest of the sprouts (and seeds that never sprouted) have died.  So on Saturday Stephen dug out 10 (5 gallon) buckets full of oil-tainted dirt from that spot, leaving the sad looking sprout.  Today it is already perking up, and its newest leaves look stronger and fuller.

I better set the story straight before it gets lost in translation

Franklin fell off our bed while playing and goofing off.  He cut his head on my elliptical and it bled pretty good for a few minutes.  He was hysterical, and he had every right to be.  We got him to calm down by playing some Wii, so we were able to asses that it was wide enough that we should take him to the ER.  The only way to could brake his need to play Wii is we brought Monsters vs. Aliens (a new-to-our-collection film that he's now obsessed with) on the portable dvd player.  If you don't have one, and you have small children, get one.  You never know when you'll need it for an unusual situation.

I hate waiting, not a fun game when its already after 9:00 that you get to the hospital.  We weren't home till 11:30.  Franklin was so tired, and emotional.  They put 2 staples in his head (sounds odd) and he didn't need a hair cut, thank goodness.  The bandage was to hold the anesthetic to the wound so they could put the staples in.  Upon leaving they told me that we have to wake him every 2 hours just to make sure he's not unconscious. 

We had him sleep in our room, and that booger hogged the whole bed.  We went to sleep after 12:30, and woke up for the day before 6.  The elliptical is on its way to storage till we can put it in a secure place, and Franklin acts as if nothing is different.  Oddly enough he's less emotional today than he has been all week; go figure.  He's also back to bossing Lisette and driving my nuts with it, but I am enjoying the less emotional about everything part.  The staples can come out Thursday.  Now we just need a doctor to take them out so we don't have to go back to the ER.

When did that happen?!

(WARNING: since it’s been a month since my last post, this one is going to be long. Now you can’t say I didn’t warn you.)

We’ve had so much fun this last month, and there was so much going on! Stephen has definitely been busier than ever. We’ve been experiencing 100 degree heat and higher and summer has only just begun. On top of that his company is now down to 2 technicians instead of 4. One guy has a bad back, and too many injuries have caused him to finally stop doing this line of work. The other guy was let go suddenly, so that day was very interesting for Stephen and the other remaining employee who has only just begun taking calls on his own 3 months ago. So they’ve got Stephen and a newbie. All I can say is over-time, and it makes me believe I can learn to be more patient about his job.

One of my old roommates got married at the start of this month and we were invited to the sealing!! It was so great to be there, and my mom overnight babysat for us which made it all worry-free, kid-free for us. It also made me realize I need to do that more often, having overnight sitters. Natalie is so beautiful, and her dress!! You just have to see the pictures, she’s just so stunning, words can’t describe! I ran into her mom after, while she was waiting for Natalie to come back to the bride’s room. She thanked me for coming and I told her that I owe Natalie; after all she was my only roommate who was cheering me on from the start to go for Stephen.

I also have reached 100 sales with my on-line store, and it’s only been picking up faster since. I’ve recently added more styles to my inventory, and in celebration of reaching 100 sales I am giving away a “Bright Blue Tie” that I personally love. The way to win it is fan me on my facebook fan page and comment on my picture of the tie. On Friday at midnight I won’t be taking anymore entries and will announce a winner on Saturday (this is for any of you who may read this and haven’t been on my facebook page and want to enter). We’ve also changed things around a little at home to make my work station more organized and easier to see what I have made and ready to go.

Franklin has been so funny. Just on Monday I heard him say “Oh Man” and I couldn’t help but giggle. He’s definitely been paying attention to things we say, though he hasn’t been repeating it; yet. I’ve begun the whole “if you’re a good boy, and obedient, then you get a treat”. An almost sound like I’m training a dog, but since I started it there has been far less whining, and that was my goal. I have to keep snacks with me at all times now so I can stop the whining before it gets out of hand. Trips to the store, getting into his seat, opening his scriptures, putting a game or toy away, etc. has been far more pleasant. Threats just weren’t working anymore, and now I know that I can make a positive situation work with rewards.

Lisette is miss attitude already. What am I going to do when she reaches the phase that Franklin is at?! (Rhetorical question) At least she’s been letting us put her to bed when Franklin goes to bed, no more of this 10 p.m. or later nonsense. She definitely loves her brother to the point that she’s annoying him already. Because of that annoyance he’s been having episodes of not being very nice to her. She’s also very quick. Sometimes I just can’t keep up with her. I get distracted by Franklin or the cats doing something they shouldn’t and all of a sudden she’s practically falling into the bath tub (empty of course) reaching for the knobs, under a bed, in a closet, or if I left the gate down, on her way to the cat box.

She still stares down people she doesn’t know but she can sure smile, laugh, and play it all up around people she’s close and comfortable with. She’s a ham too, she knows when people are watching her, thinking she’s cute, and plays it up; little miss center of attention, what kind of monster are we creating?!

Lisette also LOVES the water. It’s another one of those bravery things. I’ve got to start her on swimming lessons as soon as humanly possible for her. Franklin I need to because he’s afraid of not having something under his feet, so he sat on the steps the whole time, but still in the water. Lisette was too funny, I’ll need to keep the camera close by next time, but she was leaning back in her floater thing, and kicking her feet so she started to travel. She thought it was so great! That’s my girl! She doesn’t like the feel of grass on her knees though, changing subjects.

My baby is 1!! However, unlike most parents, I was ready for her to be 1, and move to the next stage; walking! She's a brave little girl, oh my goodness. She loves to jump, and almost achieves air. Mostly she jumps on her bed while holding onto the rail, or similar situations. She still has yet to completely let go of things to stand on her own, but you can tell that she wants it very much. She's also starting to cut teeth again. Finally!! Back to her big day…

To tell the truth we had to big days if that makes sense. We had a party with the Reed’s in Sierra Vista the weekend before her birthday, and one the day before her birthday with the Quinn’s. Sierra Vista was busy, but so much fun. That Saturday morning we went to a little ranch with Heidi, Sam and their kids, of someone Sam works with. They have alpacas, goats, horses, chickens, dogs, and donkeys. Franklin really enjoyed himself there!! Oh boy did he throw a fit when it was time to go. That night we had a little picnic on my parents’ porch since it was too windy to go to the park. Lisette got a wagon for her birthday, and because Reyn (7 months older than Franklin) and Tanyth (6 weeks older than Lisette), Heidi and Sam’s kids, have one too, we all went for a walk after the party to take the kids for a ride. They loved it!! Franklin and Reyn rode in the green one while Tanyth and Lisette rode in her red one.

Then for the Quinn party we went to the local park to do a joint birthday party for Lisette and Bridger (Travis and Jamie’s little boy that is 2 days older than her). So much fun! I was allowed to make the cakes and I tell you it was an ALL day event. I used 8 cake mix boxes!! What was I thinking?! Well, it was worth it when I saw some people’s reactions to my fancier cakes. After all I do like to entertain and cook/bake. We stayed till it was getting a little too dark to stay any longer, but it was so much fun. Stephen could only be there for an hour and a half before he had to get back to work (on-call that week) but some friends came to our place afterward and we had an after party, I guess, till Stephen got home.

Whoa, this is a novel so I better end my stories here. Just know that it’s been an exciting month, and we’ve been so busy, and very happy. Enjoy the slide show!!!!