Positively Posting on Pets - Wednesday Medley

Awwwwwww, my favorite photo of Bridger and Misty.

Note: No animals were hurt in the making of this blog post, although the only ones still with us are the two at the end, Tommy & Smokey. The others lived long and happy lives. I still miss them. And to those of you who have been around a while, many of these photos will be reruns for you. So this post will contain a mixture of old and new.

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She writes the questions;

we write the answers.

Plug them into your own blog post

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Thank you for hosting the Wednesday Medley, Terri!
We all appreciate the hard work!

Tuppence, ready to take a nap in the baby buggy

NATIONAL LOVE YOUR PET DAY

On February 20th, pet lovers everywhere observe National Love Your Pet Day.  This holiday is a day set aside to give extra attention to and pamper your pets.  This is a good day to focus on the special relationship that you have with your pets.

Did you know that most households in the United States have at least one pet?  While there are more cats than dogs in the United States, more households have dogs than cats, but not by much. Pets are not limited to the canine and feline categories.  There are quite a few who prefer the companionship of birds, reptiles, fish or rats.  Whoever your pet companion is, we are sure you will enjoy spending a little extra time with them on National Love Your Pet Day and reap the benefits, as well such as stress relief and lower blood pressure.  So on February 20 (and every day) show your appreciation to your pets! (blue added for emphasis - by me)

 Jazzie, the grandpuppy, enjoying our front porch in wonderful July, 
the shortest month of the year.

HOW TO OBSERVE

Bring your pet a special treat, take an extra long walk or give them more attention on National Love Your Pet Day.  Whatever you decide to do, spoil and appreciate your pets!  Use #NationalLoveYourPetDay to post on social media.

Our pets are spoiled every day. No need to take it to a new level. They would totally take advantage of it and demand it every day! :-)

 Misty, in her favorite hunting ground, the alfalfa field north of the house.
She loved chasing butterflies!

HISTORY

Within our research, we were unable to identify the creator of National Love Your Pet Day.

 Lionel, still very much missed. This is the cat that would crawl under the covers and come up next to me, put his head and paws on my pillow and sleep!
Oh yeah, Mr. C. just loved that. LOLOL
It was SO CUTE!!

By the way, I am grateful every day that God, our Creator, didn't just stick us on some remote outpost made of concrete, but gave us a beautiful earth, full of so many good things (rivers, trees, mountains, flowers, etc.) AND all the incredible animals. Thank you Lord. Help us remember that these all belong to You and we are merely stewards of your good creation. You alone are so deserving of our worship!

1.  Have you ever had a special pet in your life?  Will you tell us about it?

 I know, I know. But Terri did ask!
This is Bridger, for any of you who haven't seen his photo before (multiple times). That would probably be almost no one. LOL

2.  Did you grow up with pets in your home?  What did it teach you?

Yes, we had pets on the farm. But it wasn't the same. Although I think our dog (a Border Collie) was allowed in the house once or twice, it wasn't a regular thing. She was a work dog, whose job was rounding up the cows. I think my parents, like lots of people on farms, thought that animals do not belong in the house. Oh, how mistaken they were! :-))

 Bridger, Misty, and Jazz

3.  Do you ever wonder what animals are thinking?

I'm pretty sure that Bridger was thinking what a lucky dog he was to live in the house and yet be able to go out and play (or lie in the snow) anytime he wanted, and how he wished I'd forget the way to the vet's office. And that's probably what all our pets were thinking. Except for Tommy, who is 99% of the time thinking, 'Where is that tuna??'

This guy loved the snow! I don't know how big, hairy dogs survive in the southern heat.

4.  Sometimes a pet gets out and doesn't return for a few days. What do you think happens to them when they go on a walkabout?

They take a crash course in how to become parents, which is why it's our responsibility to get our pets spayed or neutered. Millions of animals are euthanized each year because of pet overpopulation.

 Allowed on the road ONLY when on lead.

5.  With cats and dogs being the most popular pets, what is the most exotic pet you have personal experience with (didn't have to be yours)?

Our daughter had a pet tarantula, Rosie. Believe it or not, Rosie was a nice pet and didn't seem at all like a you-know-what.

Our granddaughter had a pet rat. Unfortunately, it never ceased to seem like a rat, to me. Ewwwww! I did let it climb up my arm once, just to try to prove something, but catching sight of that tail just makes me shudder!

This rat, on the other hand, is not alive,

and just used to encourage our grandson to eat. You know, imagined competition.

It worked.

 Waiting for me to finish picking green beans.
He never offered to help, although he kept all the wolves and bears away.
I always felt safe from predators with Bridger around.
(UPS, FED EX, USPS, etc.) :-)
Seriously, a German Shepherd would probably give his life to protect his person.
When Mr. C. had to be gone overnight, I always felt safe with Bridger and a 12 gauge shotgun at my side. It's not that I don't trust God, but He did give us tools and a brain!

6.  Please tell us something random about your week so far...

Well, I guess the only random thing I can think of is that we're expecting another couple snowstorms to come through in the next day and over the weekend. Not that we don't have enough snow already. 

 Back Deck

February 19, 2019

 This cute little fella was the subject of the goat?/sheep? debate on my Instagram account this week. I snapped this pic on our way home from Madison, when we took a nice little detour from the Interstate and instead drove on Highway 27 north of Black River Falls. More barn photos coming soon. I was sure that he was a sheep, but the majority of Instagrammers who weighed in say he's a goat. Whichever, it was so sweet of him to pose for me.

 Tommy, held by Mr. C.

That cat loves being upside down!

 Smokey, lying against the footstool, next to the fire.
I told Mr. C. that when we move from the farm, that block of wood is going with us.
He just gives 'that look.' But that block of oak has been used by everyone who sits next to the fire, including the grandkids (and obviously, Smokey!).

 Tommy & Smokey,
our current pet residents
who are SUCH a delight.
(and almost always together)

So, do YOU have animals in your home?  How many and what species and breed?  Inquiring minds want to know! (That would be all of us!). :-) 

 
(Spouses do not count.) :-D

You might be interested to know that my soap room is off limits to furry critters. Just in case you were wondering. :-)

P.S. I LOVE your comments!

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Hodgpodging When I Should Be Packing

Our daughter and her daughter

Happy Birthday to her!


Join Joyce and the Gang
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1. What pets did you have while growing up? Tell us a little something about them.

I should be packing for our trip (repacking, actually), but had to catch the Hodgepodge!

The two pets, whose memory I cherish the most were Shammar, my Arabian/Welsh horse and Sheri, our Border Collie. I probably spent as much time on the ground next to my horse, after he threw me, than actually riding him, but I loved that horse, and when I rode, we FLEW! He was a beautiful animal and I loved him and spoiled him to death. Sheri was an amazing cattle dog. She could be sent to round up the cows from the pasture and would do it. Sheri was sweet and amazing, and ranks right up there with Bridger.

2. What is one thing you absolutely must accomplish today?

I absolutely must go finish packing my carry-on bag, for we leave for England about noon. Mr. C. and I both travel with just a carry-on each, and believe me, it takes a lot more packing and unpacking when you're trying to limit your stuff to just one bag. It was on my first trip to England that I learned that one doesn't take as much as one can possibly stuff into the bag, but as little as possible that you can get by with (my daughter will hate this sentence, but I'm in a hurry). That bag has to be lugged through the airport, all the train and tube stations, up and down flights of steps, etc. I know. Poor me. I can feel the sympathy. LOL.  We'll be going to London, Canterbury, Dover, York, the Cotswolds, Oxford. Pack four pr. of socks or three? (I wash along the way). Decisions, decisions.

 Same girl, flower girl at her brother's wedding

(in 1992)

3. Where were you ten years ago? What were you doing there?

I was probably celebrating our daughter's (pictured above) birthday. It was also the year of her wedding, her cousin's wedding, our trip to London/Yorkshire with our other daughter and son-in-law, visiting my dad in the nursing home and reading books to him, looking at maps with him (we both love maps), and taking him out to coffee or to our house for the afternoon; canning tomatoes and freezing peppers. Enjoying the company of Bridger and Misty. :-(( Those are the things I can think of that I would have been doing. 

 Rievaulx, just after a downpour

4. September 26th is National Dumpling Day. Did you celebrate? Apple dumpling, xiao long bao (steamed Chinese dumpling), chicken and dumplings, pirogi, matzoh balls, or gnocchi...which dumpling on this list would be your dumpling of choice? Have you ever made homemade dumplings of any kind?

There is nothing positive that I can say about any dumpling. They're doughy, squishy, gooey on the bottom. Definitely the opposite of the crunchy, crispy kind of thing I like.

5. 'There are two kinds of adventurers: those who go truly hoping to find an adventure and those who go secretly hoping they don't.' William Trogdon

So which kind are you?

I LOVE an adventure, as long as I'm certain of the way back home.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Watch for us

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Missing the Hodgepodge

Look who stopped in to see Grandma and Grandpa!
Look who wants to pull off his socks.

Joyce (From This Side of the Pond) of Hodgepodge fame, is taking a much-deserved break this week. But for those of us who are rigid and inflexible, it's hard to get out of the Hodgepodge Wednesday mode, so I'm answering a few questions that popped into my mind for today.

1. What were your favorite games when you were a child?

Starlight, Moonlight; Pump Pump Pull Away.  Telling ghost stories with the cousins and scaring each other to death; Starlight Moonlight was played outdoors at night. Obviously, we played these outdoor games in the summertime and saved the ghost stories for winter.

From Answers.com:

The person who is "IT" is called the ghost. He/She hides in the dark someplace where he won't easily be seen. All others stay at home base (usually the steps of our house). They chant:

"One O'Clock, Two O' Clock, Three O' Clock Rock, (I don't think we ever said 'rock.')
Four O'Clock, Five O' Clock, Six O' Clock Rock,
Seven O' Clock, Eight O' Clock, Nine O' Clock Rock
Ten O' Clock, Eleven O' Clock, Twelve O' Clock Midnight,
We hope we do, we hope we might, we hope we see a ghost tonight!"

They then break up searching for the ghost. If they see him/her, they can run back to base. The ghost can either chase them or stay hidden to try to get someone else. All must see the ghost. If the ghost catches you, your it for the next game, in other words, the ghost.

Rules for Pump Pump Pull Away, from Yahoo: 

"Pump, pump, pull away" consisted of two teams, each lined up on opposite sides of a field or playground. At the signal, "Pump-pump- pullaway--Come away or I'll pull you away", one side attempted to run through their opponents and reach the opposite end of the field without being tagged by the defending side. Players tagged joined the opponent's team. Each side took turns at running through the opposition until all players were on one side. 

Did you play those games??

2.  Are you a gardener?

My best garden year

A distant memory

I guess I wouldn't call myself a gardener. I'm an enthusiastic planter and a harvester. I dislike the in-between stuff, like the real work of pulling the most robust of all perennials, the weeds. I once heard someone call it 'picking weeds,' which is much more accurate. The carpet worked great for a few years, but this year it's been removed and I'm not planning nearly as ambitious a garden as seen above. Carrots, green beans, snap peas, tomatoes, peppers, and some herbs are about all we're putting in this year. The other stuff just isn't worth the effort. I get tired of dragging sprouted and squishy potatoes out of the basement in the springtime.

3.  With Wisconsin's notorious winters, why do you stay here?

Winters keep Mr. C. in shape. See what I mean? But actually, the reason we stay in Wisconsin is that most of our family is here or nearby and that we love Wisconsin from April through October. Every place has its disadvantages. Ours is the long, long, bitterly-cold winter. (I can say that almost cheerfully, now that spring has arrived). Still, I'd rather sit beside the fire than have to sit beside an air conditioner in long, long, beastly-hot summers.

And this is another reason we stay in Wisconsin. I never tire of this view.

4.  Tell us about your problem with clutter and how you plan to resolve it.

I'm not sure why I'm so publicly admitting to clutter, but...I hate clutter and yet find myself a victim of clutter. Don't you love how I can declare victimhood over a situation I've created for myself? I figure if everyone else is doing it these days, I might as well too. Anyway, I just visited a website that had '34 ingenious ways to declutter' and will follow some of them. This morning I discarded extra, hardly-ever-used bed sheets. And now that I've done that, someone will probably show up at my door with a bloody wound and I won't have the potential bandages I could have used to save his life.

5.  Do you have family reunions? Are you the one to organize them?

August of 2013 is the last family reunion we had where everyone was present. It was wonderful! Other years, we've had the reunion the beginning of August but not all are there. I'm hoping for a full house again this August. Plus, we have two babies, a few additional instant grandkids, and a daughter-in-law who have joined the family since the photo above. Yes, I organize them. I build it around my birthday. Isn't that a clever thing to do. lol

6. What's your most recent book purchase? Fiction or Non-fiction?

Non-fiction is not Tuppence's favorite

One of the disappointments (and there are very few) of my life is that somewhere along the line I became an audio reader. It probably had to do with the year I spent in Bolivia, working with Wycliffe Bible Translators, doing proofreading. I pick up typos in everyone's writing (except for my own, occasionally), and that attention to detail, even to the voices in my head, are what slow me down. Still, every book I read is entertaining, and like a movie, since those voices are in my head. I think there's no hope for me to get over that bad habit at this age (I've read almost every book on speed reading), so I'll just keep reading... and enjoying it.

My most recent purchases are A Case for the Psalms by N.T. Wright and Hilary Mantel's Bring Up The Bodies, part of the Wolf Hall series. Have you been watching that on PBS? Anyway, I purchased it on my Kindle because it's inconvenient to try to read hardcover or paperbacks in the dark. So how many books do you have going at the same time?

Almost always my preference is non-fiction, unless it's really good. Hilary Mantel's books have had rave reviews.

7.  What's happening on the farm these days?

 Getting ready to plant corn

16 row corn planter

Before 

  

We rent out our crop land to a guy with amazing equipment. I'm glad I didn't have to pay for it. The equipment is just enormous. I believe the biggest corn planter my dad ever had was a 4-row planter.

 After - April 28 2015 
It took about an hour to plant the corn.

8.  How often do you go shopping?

via

I hate shopping, except maybe for grocery shopping, and I don't actually enjoy that because I don't like standing in lines. Although the Mall of America is about 2 hours away, I think I've been there once. I take no pleasure in trying to find things to buy. I don't understand how any mall, even the small one in our area, can support so many clothing stores. Most of my shopping is done on Amazon. I don't buy many new clothes. I tend to wear the same comfortable and familiar things. So the answer is, I seldom go shopping.

Okay, that's it. I've now got the Hodgepodge bug out of my system for another week. You can be grateful that Joyce will bring it back next week with her much better questions.

Mr. C. and Jazzie
Running away from home

***

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Making a Jigsaw Puzzle from a Photo, Misty My Dog

Misty Amongst Sensible Shoes

I've shown you our little blind, deaf, and elderly dog Misty in a previous post, but this photo looked like it would be a great jigsaw puzzle! Wouldn't that be a fun one?  Anyway, there's no place she would rather be than near me, and the next best thing is our shoes. Lots of good smellin' there, I guess.

Have you ever had a jigsaw puzzle made from a photo? Which company did you use? I see that Shutterfly will make puzzles from one's photo, but I want to make sure that if I spend the money to do this, the pieces are a good quality. Got any ideas?

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Although I usually forget to do it, there is a chance that this post will be linked to one or more of these great linky parties: Inspiration Monday and Make it Pretty Monday and  Making the World Cuter Mondays and It's a Party at Creative Princess and Artsy Corner Thursday and Treasure Box Tuesday and KatheWithAnE and Rubbish Tuesday and Tuesday with a Twist and  Knick of Time Tuesday (vintage)  and   Tweak it Tuesday and Adorned From Above  and All Things With Purpose and Home & Garden Thursday and Good Fences on Thursdays and  Time Travel Thursday and Freedom Fridays and Junkin' Joe and Vintage Inspiration Friday and Precious Pets and Saturday's Critters

Mud Puddle Reflection

The mud puddle, a favorite drinking spot

Having secured a house sitter/dog sitter for the weekend, this evening we'll be off to visit the grandkids who just moved to Wisconsin from Indiana.  Can't wait.

See y'all next week!

Dandelions, Flowers, and Hodgepodge Wednesday

Dandelions, After

I love those cute little Roundheads when the late afternoon light hits them and makes them glow.

***

Click on the button below to join Joyce and us for

1. Since you weren't Hodgepodging last Wednesday, how did you pass the time?

You're expecting me to remember what I did a week ago? It might have involved texting one or both of my daughters, trying to figure out what to make for dinner, planting something, picking asparagus, or sorting through stacks of books.

 Dandelions Before

2. What's the first word that comes to mind when I say marriage? Yes, one word.

Good.

Dandelions in early evening

3. Summer officially arrives in the Northern hemisphere later this week. Does it feel like summer where you live? Describe your idea of the perfect summer day.

We've had a very cool, very late spring. Last night we had storms and a power outage. Today it's hot and muggy. Eighty degrees F., no breeze, very humid.

The perfect summer day is 73 degrees, sunny, with a nice breeze. Farmers are cutting alfalfa in the fields and I can smell the alfalfa and sweet clover. I can sit on the front porch and read something on my Kindle while enjoying the breeze and hearing my wind chime (if it hadn't got completely tangled during the storm.)

4. "Deep summer is when laziness finds respectability."(Sam Keen) Is laziness ever respectable? Do you have a lazy summer planned, or something semi-ambitious?

I have a hard time thinking that laziness is respectable, but I'm feeling lazier these days, so I'm happy to hear it. Summer is Mr. Cranberry's crazy-busy, 12 hours a day, often 7 days a week work schedule, so it's not a time when I plan get-togethers. And yet I don't want to wish summer away because our winters are so incredibly long. Visiting grandkids (and their parents) is at the top of my list. If I can get this slipped disc under control, I might feel like tackling something semi-ambitious. Many of the projects I want to do involve painting, like on a ladder.

My crazy roses, beautiful for a few days in June

Horrid and ugly for the rest of the year

5. Past or present, who's your favorite television dad? Why is he a favorite? Is he anything like your own dad?

I have always liked the dad on Father Knows Best. I don't know why that old show gets mocked as it does. I hadn't seen it in years, but the other night I saw a couple back to back episodes. Unlike what we think of when we think of the show 'Father Knows Best,' the father is not a male chauvinist, the wife is not a doormat, and the only criticism I can see is that the kids behave normally - getting into trouble now and then, being lazy and stupid, but not rude, crude, and disrespectful.  

In the 1950s moms were usually seen wearing dresses (thank goodness that trend is over), but other than that, I can't see why the show gets mocked. I liked the show and liked the dad. It was cute, fun, and entertaining. And yes, I think he was a lot like my dad - Smart, Normal, Nice, Thoughtful, Reliable, Reasonable, Good Sense of Humor - all traits that are often missing in today's TV shows. Other than PBS and the occasional old TV show, I don't watch network TV because I'm tired of TV trying to 'reflect society.'

Doggone Thirsty

6. June 18th is International Picnic Day...share a favorite picnic memory.

My mom was a great lover of swimming, so we would take a picnic to the lake and swim (I think we had to wait an hour after eating before swimming.)  Shell Lake was a nice place to take a picnic. It was so shallow that one could get exhausted just walking out to where it was deep enough to swim. And of course there was a canteen where we could get ice cream cones, Popsicles, or Cheetos (crisp fried to a crackly crunch).

Beautiful Wisconsin.  Lake.

7. The travel site Trip Advisor lists the top five islands in the world for 2014 as- Ambergris Caye in Belize Cayes, Providenciales in Turks and Caicos, Bora Bora in French Polynesia, Marco Island Florida, and Lewis and Harris in The Outer Hebrides (Scotland). Have you been to any of these? Of those listed (and if price were not a factor) which would you most like to book for a holiday?

Okay, I guess Providenciales in Turks and Caicos. I bet a visit there in February would help break up our ridiculous winter. Unless there are stingrays in the water.  I was going to say The Outer Hebrides, but wow, they really are 'outer' and I would want to make sure the weather was 73 degrees and sunny, with a nice breeze. I don't know if they can accommodate that.  And no, I've been to none of the above-listed places.


8.  Insert your own random thought here

Today is both my mom's birthday AND my mom and dad's wedding anniversary. I miss them.

Do you suppose that my mom was responsible for creating International Picnic Day?

***

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Although I usually forget to do it, there is a chance that this post will be linked to one or more of these great linky parties: Inspiration Monday and Make it Pretty Monday and  Making the World Cuter Mondays and It's a Party at Creative Princess and Artsy Corner Thursday and Treasure Box Tuesday and Rubbish Tuesday and Tuesday with a Twist and  Knick of Time Tuesday (vintage)  and   Tweak it Tuesday and Adorned From Above  and All Things With Purpose and Home & Garden Thursday and Good Fences on Thursdays and  Time Travel Thursday and Freedom Fridays and Junkin' Joe and Vintage Inspiration Friday and A Favorite Thing Saturday