The geek flag flies proudly here!

(Two quick things, I managed today to do my excising, with NO coughing, and almost back up to the normal 'thing' for me, and to those who caught the fact that I said Marshmallow was a rooster, sorry.  I was busy while typing, and meant to type Jet Puff. Marshmallow is Jet Puff's Mom...)  

Hopefully I am not repeating myself, but I didn't see where I'd typed it before... So.  If I did, please forgive me.  This happened somewhat recently, and I thought it was funny.

Husband and I get up early.  Like, it's dark, and we wait for sunrise early.  So, I get ready for work at the sub, and one of the things I do is go out to feed.  I did this, rather uneventful... I walk back in the house, (remember, still dark), and realize, I see red flashes outside the window.  Oooh, crap...

When there is red lights outside the window, and it isn't the bus picking up the kid next door, it's generally NOT a good sign.  Example: a woman with Alzheimer's walked away from her house, and the red light was from the Search and Rescue vehicle dropping off searchers in front of our place, or when a deputy had to stop traffic on our lane, because a black cow got out, and someone plowed into it.  Now you know why the red lights got my attention, Pronto...

I turn the inside lights out, so I can see outside, and open the blinds.  Yep, red lights. In my neighbor's driveway...  !

Wait... Red lights don't bounce and swerve.  And these lights are... Long?  HUH??

So I watch...

Turns out it's the kid, and his Uncle, engaged in a rousing Star Wars Battle by the front of the drive, with two red light sabers...  I watched for a bit, and they were having a great time...   The bus showed up, and between the light sabers, and all the lights with the bus, it looked like a discotheque had materialized out front. 

Uncle grabbed the kid's saber, kid went on the bus, and Uncle then used the sabers like you would direct a plane, pointing the way the bus was going with both hands... 

May the Force be with the bus?  😉

I had a good chuckle that morning!

OOOOH, Spookity stuff! Hee hee hee...

So it is Friday the 13th.  I happen to be one that has BETTER luck on this day.  All (physco)logical, I am sure, but so be it.

But on top of that, there is a full moon. 

Oh, how tempting to go out and howl, and see if I can get all the local dogs to start up. 

Too bad I am a good neighbor... And people would 99% be sure it's me, because most assume I am a wee bit more than a half bubble off plumb anyway, what with hanging out looking at the sky all the time...

Meh.  Enjoy your day, and may your luck be GOOD!!

(But you know, watch out for black cats and ladders, that sort of thing. Hee...)

You know you are at my house when...

You know you are at my house when-

It's not unusual to have to be fully dressed by 5 am, because neighbors might stop by to chat.  (One is RETIRED, and still does this!)

The road is just as likely to have a horse and cart, as a car.  Or riders on horses...

Neighbors stop on the road when they see each other, to talk.  In cars.  Blocking both lanes.  And most of the time, others wait, then might just be next in line to talk!

The conversations are as often about who has a new calf, lamb, or colt, as doings by people...

Vehicles run from cars with large back seats, to trucks of varying sizes, to horse trailers (lots of those), to farm equipment.  And you might see all of them in one day, if it's spring, or fall.  And most times, the vehicles have plastic sheeting for moving animals or plants.

Seeing a vehicle go by with hay, is no big deal.  Even if it's a Volkswagen with the bale tied on top...

Having a field on fire is now not as common, but was something that you were as likely to go out and watch, rather than call the fire department over.

Going to someone's house, you know what the neighbor's dog's name is, how many gates you need to go through, (and if they need to be open or closed), and where they might be on the place during the day.  Don't go to the house in the morning, they'll be in the barn.  In my husband's case, the shop.

The mail lady HATES this time of year.  She has been known to plan her route differently.  A mail truck full of baby chicks is NOISY!

You know which neighbor you can borrow from, be it an emergency cup of sugar, screw driver, bale of hay, or even a welder...  Or conversely, that you can loan to, and know it will be returned.

Trading goods with great regularity, Oh, you have eggs, what can I trade you for?  Skills are traded, too.

Neighbors are happy to receive veggies, but you do have to be careful not to push it, or you get zucchini logs on your front porch.  Good thing most animals like said logs...

Jams, jellies, cookies, and quick breads are very common Christmas presents!

Horses or cows out, means a group effort.  Generally, it also leads to a chat over the fence when said animal is back home, as well as a fence check, to make sure that the next animal out isn't too quickly repeated!

I hope that my neighbors love being here as much as I do...

Dogs. And owners.

This is a more b*tchy post than usual.  Sorry, read or don't...

As anyone who has read my blog knows, I think my dog is an a number one smart little guy.  Hardly perfect, but he knows what he is, and is not, supposed to do, and barring selective hearing, is very good about following direction.  We were worried that, being he's a big dog, that he might be aggressive, even unintentionally.  So we trained, and trained, and worked with him.  We keep him in a kennel when small children are around, so he won't inadvertently knock a child over.  He wouldn't do it with malice, but try to explain that to a three year old. 

Dad trained our Saint Bernard not to be vicious about food by "working" with him from tiny pup, picking up the dish when he was eating, gently pulling on his tail, pushing him, putting his hand near the bowl, and so on, until Buddy was more or less "safe" when someone was near.  This must have worked well, because later he "adopted" a batch of kittens, and they would climb into his food bowl.  He would just patiently wait until they were covered with food finished eating, and then he'd go on and have his dinner. (Buddy would also try to groom them.  You know the scene from Ghostbusters when the guys had been slimed? Yeah, it was that bad...)

Husband and I took this a little further, not letting Rudee eat until we said so, so he wouldn't bolt (he has this running thing down to a science).  He will sit, staring at the bowl until we tell him it's okay.  Then he can eat.  The only problem we have ever had, was once Tux got into the bowl, and Rudee growled.  After a little Alpha Female reprimand, and having the food taken away entirely, we worked on him and cats.  He now realizes that cats won't eat much, and most of the time, he just sighs, and waits for them.  I make a point of not letting any kitty stay too long, he is part Shepard, but so far it's worked.

So.  We try and do all this.  We keep Rudee up on his shots.  We make sure we know where he is AT ALL TIMES.  In short, we try to be responsible owners.

Maybe that's why other people bug me so much about their dogs.  One neighbor lets his dogs roam where they will.  I nearly took after the younger dog with a switch, because he was on OUR property, and ran MY cat up a tree.  The response?  Oh, just run him off, he shouldn't be there. 

Ya think?

I picked up the older dog, in my pickup, because it was on the main thoroughfare for our little burg, fairly busy one, and took it home.  Same owner. 

Oh, guess it wandered off. 

Yeah.  Guess it did.

I have threatened to call the Sheriff, but Husband has asked me not to.  So far... I haven't.  

Then the neighbors next to me.  I was admonished, when we first got Rudee, that we had better keep him under control, because he was a German Shepard, and they had sheep, and they would shoot him if he got into the sheep.  So we have been vigilant about keeping track of him (which we would have anyway.) 

But them?  They have Terriers.  The guy neighbor is several tacos short of a combo plate, and can't understand that I don't WANT the dogs on my property. 

But they come over and dig for vermin! 

I don't care. 

I want them to dig on the neighbor's property.  They make Rudee bark, and I have to shush him.  Then, same neighbor whistles, and makes Rudee start up again.  He thinks it's FUNNY!  I actually confronted him, and told him to stop that, because Rudee's a watch dog, and that is really annoying to have him wind up the dog for no reason.  But, not a couple days ago, I think he was doing it again.  Rudee was just about losing it while we walked, and I kept hearing a high pitched whistle.  Couldn't see the neighbor, but... 

And I try to keep my cats home, but said neighbor doesn't like cats, and runs the terriers after them.  This has had the fortunate consequence of making the cats stay home, but I really would like to know the cat is causing problems, not just suddenly see my cat chased half way across the field by his dogs...

And the neighbor after that.  She does horse stuff, and rides on the road.  Her dogs come by, and as like as not, will come on the place and take a dump.  Or wind Rudee up, where I have to grab him to keep him from running after them down the road.  She doesn't see this as a problem, the dogs are just getting some exercise.  (I have this evil thought of filling a wagon with dog poo, tying the wagon to Rudee and dumping in her field.  Gee, he was just getting some exercise.)

So, I had to go up to her house to deliver an item, had my 'uniform' on for work.  I was standing there, and one of the dogs comes up and starts growling.  She mentions, oh, that's the OTHER neighbor's dog.  It came close to taking a snap at me.  I mention this, and she said something to the effect of, oh, he's just a grouch.  (A grouch.  If he'd nailed me, he'd have been put up for his first bite.  A second means the dog is not going to be in the land of the living long.)  So, I keep an eye on him, and keep my hands close to my sides.  He finally leaves.  Another dog walks up, and sits.  This one is hers, and I know the dog.  So I start to pet it.  It proceeds to jump all over me, leaving slimy muddy tracks all over my uniform.  Her response, oh, isn't that cute?  He likes you. 

Oh, G*d in his firmament, save me from people that think that is cute.  I still remind Rudee that jumping isn't allowed.

And now, when I walk?  The other neighbor's dogs sit at the fence line and bark.  EVERY TIME I GO BY.  I try to be a good neighbor, but I am beginning to want to get my slingshot out, and nail one or two of them, so that I can have some peace. 

I won't.  For one, it's not the dog's fault.  For another, I wouldn't want to hit one of the horses, or even Rudee.  I am a good shot, but not perfect. 

There you have it, folks, one vented spleen. 

I have good neighbors.  Honestly. 

It's just that once in a while, things like this get me down.  And I suppose part of it, I am an animal lover, and I feel it's doing a dis-service, when they are allowed to act like that...

Or maybe I am just over reacting.  I don't know.  But I am really tempted to start creating a dog poo pile, just in case.

(And I lost .2 of a pound.  Not much, but it's down!)

The case of the Baying Beagles, SOLVED...

Our neighbor did end up calling the Sheriff over the beagle incident of yesterday.  And bless her, she called us later, to let us know what had happened.

Our next door neighbor, Bell, had called the Sheriff, and the deputy that came out went around trying to find the beagles, who, miraculously, were quiet.  Well, he went to Bell's next door neighbor, Sam, who I am given to understand, turned a little pink.  Turns out, a friend of his has hunting dogs, and was given permission to practice run his dogs on Sam's property.

This was all well and good, until 1,2, and 3 decided that things needed to be brought up a notch, and slipped the leads.  The chase was on, for whatever it was they were chasing.  (I still don't know if it was the deer, the bobcat, or some other thing that they got a whiff of...)  They circled 'round, and the owner was able to get them caught and put away again.  He then apologized to Sam, who in turn apologized to the deputy, then called Bell, and apologized to her.  Bell called us with the explanation. 

Not 10 minutes later, Sam called, and apologized to us for creating such chaos! 

We had a bit of a laugh about it, and said, hey, we are the 'new' neighbors here, we just didn't know if someone was doing something they shouldn't.  He said he'd have to let more neighbors know if the dog hunter needed to practice again.  We told him that would be nice, we just wanted to make sure that Bell was okay, mostly. (She's in her 80's, as I remember.) 

So, we have a really good phone system, if nothing else.  That being said, I think I will write up something and see what people locally want for a time to set up for Neighborhood Watch.  Couldn't hurt.  And in my case, I could maybe put faces to names a bit better.

So, now you know... The rest of the story.

In other news, I am going in little circles, weight wise.  I must be doing something right, because my pants are getting loose.  So I trotted up to the scales, ready for my happy reward... And what to my wondering eyes should appear, is .4 of a pound, re-stuck on my rear!  This doesn't make sense, I keep going, little up, little down, little up, little down.  But my clothes are fitting me better, even to the point of being loose.  Husband has been really nice, in fact he was of the mind that it must have been the drink I had before bed. 

Warm milk causes weigh gain?  Huh.  But, I guess there is always next week.  Grumble.

But why are my clothes fitting better???  STRANGE.

Walking, while not as exciting as yesterday, had it's share of unique-ness.  I was up the hill, and got a thorn or sticker of some ilk in my boot.  In my sock.  I had to take off my boot, and my sock, and find and remove said thorn.

Did I mention it's 24 degrees with frost on the ground here?  No snow, but let's just say I was HIGHLY motivated to get that sock back ON.  I had my big toe on the ground, and it was still a bit too much for comfort!  I realize that most folks eastward would LOVE to have my problem, but wow, that was nippy.  I did manage to keep Rudee from licking my foot.  That could have been more excitement than I could have handled, at that point.  Add to that a random Charlie Horse when I was on my 4th lap, and I nearly face planted. 

I walked, according to the pedometer, 1.16.  I think that .16 of that was when I was hopping on one foot, with Rudee deciding that I was great fun.  I wasn't. 

Trust me on this. 

More or less halfway!

Well, this is the 15th, and I don't believe I have missed a day blogging this month.  I think, once I finish the 31 questions, I will go back to Wednesday, Sunday, and random days to be determined.  I find that I seem to be digging a bit for topics...  Let's face it, I enjoy writing, but I can get repetitive.  (And, according to the spell check, I keep screwing up the word "repetitive", but I digress.) 

So, it's been interesting here at Fur 'n Feathers Farm, there has been talk of people camping that no one knows who are nearby.  There is shooting, off and on, at hours that I am rather sure people aren't supposed to be hunting.  There is talk of starting a Neighborhood Watch group.

And guess who is the one elected to be the Law Enforcement go between?  ; )

I am fine with helping, but I am sort wondering if some of the folks don't realize THEY can call in 'suspicious activity'.  I haven't seen these mysterious campers.  I don't know where the shooting is coming from, though I have heard it.  But I keep hearing from the neighbors, well, since you work with them...

(I am overly sensitive, I am the very first to admit this, but when some of the folks say this, the word "them" is said with the same tone of voice to describe stepping on a slug with your bare foot.  You want help, don't make it sound like you are dealing with Satan incarnate!)

So, I have been checking with one of my bosses, who heads up Neighborhood Watch in this area.  I will have the first meeting at my house, I suppose.  Since the Great Cougar Party of 2010, people around here certainly know where I live!  (I think I am slightly jealous of that silly cat, more people have come to see it, than have ever come over to visit me. Jealous...  Me? Snort.)

As for the shooting?  Eeesh.  It's a fact of life in this area.  I guess I try to ignore it, but it did wake me up at about 2 in the morning... Somehow, I don't believe that's a legal hunting time... So, perhaps it's something that can be brought up at the meeting, by someone else, who might actually have a clue about where it's coming from?  Or am I just being unreasonable... 

Nah.  Unreasonable is what I said when the guy was shooting this morning... 

Or at least anatomically improbable.

(Small Edit.  Just so you know, I have gone to ACTION.  It's not much, by a long shot, but I have written a few sentences on my book.  It actually has a start now!  Let the turtles hurdle!)

***

5 Minutes. Imagine you will completely lose your memory of 2010 in five minutes. Set an alarm for five minutes and capture the things you most want to remember about 2010. (Author: Patti Digh)

Without a doubt, I hate this question.  I guess I understand the reasoning, but having a family member that had Alzheimer's, this question struck me wrong...  But I guess I will play the game.

DING! Go.

Blood drawing for my 5th or 6th gallon.  Classes to help me learn what a Public Information Officer does, and finding out that I knew quite a few people there.  Cougars, cougars, cougars...  From the one that killed my llama, to meetings about others that have had problems with cougars, to talking with the deputies that have dealt with real cougars, stuffed cougars, and thought a dog was a cougar.  Finding out that a stuffed cougar takes up a HECK of a lot of wall space...  Tom Petty concert, seeing the guy I love to listen to on stage for real!  Seeing the Heartbreakers all going at it for one tremedous dose of power listening (well, with earplugs).  Walking the hill and finding I like it.  Losing ONE PANT SIZE!!!  Finding out I have a really smart chicken, as she can figure out how to fly over and get on my arm...

Ding.  You know, I would have probably had more written, if I wasn't trying to "beat the clock" and made quite so many typos...  And I think I see one or two still.  Pbbt.  It said 5 minutes.  That's five, folks...

Presbyterian Chicken House, and Fried Brain.

(No pictures today, I will later, but don't want to deal with yet more computer s... uh. Poop.)

Well, guess I should think about writing this puppy on occasion... I would love to say that I have been to exotic locales, drinking fine fruit juices and looking at handsome men. Ok, Husband IS handsome, to me, but well, exotic. Uh, I did a performance near the faire site, with several faire folke. I think we did pretty good, considering my bodice had a tear right where the wood boning is. Imagine walking around, leaning over, "cheering" a dance, etc., while a chopstick busily impales your stomach. Yep, that about sums it up. Oh, and the fine fruit juices? Costco grape. Does that count?

We have a brand new chicken house. I will post a pic soon, since I did get it painted. Finally. It was in the front yard, so Husband wanted it to look like another building on the property. I have said both that I am going to throw out the chickens and have it as a guest house or studio, and that it will be on next month's "Better Homes and Chicken Houses". (I actually will send a picture of the house to "Backyard Poultry", which I subscribe to, so maybe it will be published in a magazine.

Why Presbyterian, you ask? When we were getting materials, Husband noticed a 10 yard dumpster in front of the local Presbyterian Church. It was during the one rainstorm we had this summer. So, he jumps out, and goes to the church office, where the door was OPEN. Nobody home. So, he then walks to the main door, knocks, neh. Goes to the back. Did I mention it was raining? Dripping, he then finds a door heading to a basement like area. Gets inside a big fence with DANGER- CONSTRUCTION posted all about. NOT A SOUL!!!! (Literally or figuratively...) So, I am thinking, he's got to give up now, right? Neh, again. He finds one door I hadn't noticed, and he opens it and walks in bellowing, HELLLOOOO! Then the door closes, nothing. Suddenly, he opens the door, and there is an older gent gesturing with a hammer. They chat for a bit, then Russ comes back. Says I, no? Says he, We can take as much as we want. So we back up the truck, and get some gloves on (Husband is prepared for these kinds of things), and we proceed to pick out boards from the 10 yarder. We probably took 6 of the ten yards! As we were leaving, someone noticed our dumpster diving antics, and took our parking spot to purloin any other goodies.

The wood is straight grained old growth (Church is... uh, about 100, if I remember rightly), and so we used it for supports and "showy" spots on the house. Husband now says that if we use any of the chickens for dinner, we will have to say special grace over them...

We are helping out with a new Neighborhood Watch. I am sort of helping by printing out the phone list. Thought this would be straight forward... Name, number, tada... WRONG. Turns out several of the neighbors dispise each other. And I found a name of one of my teachers from grade school. The one teacher that I detested. In fact, that was the only year I faked being sick so I wouldn't have to go to school. This worked for a day or two, until Mom noticed I was only sick until the bus left... Uh. Oh, cough. Yeah, still don't feel good, can I go out and get some sunshine? (No, my life of crime didn't last long....) So, Husband says, we need a lead person the police contact, then two columns, one for the ones they like, one for ones they don't. We got the ones they don't. Executive decision, teach went on THEIR list. Heh.

But.

(You knew that was coming, didn't ya?)

But, Husband said he didn't think the list looked right. I should do it on Excel. Ahem. I hate Excel. I don't use Excel unless I am at gunpoint, normally. (And, having only been at literal gunpoint twice in my life, I don't use it much...) So, Husband says, here, I will show you what to do. And commenced showing. My eyes glazed over on a couple items, but I thought I understood. So I started.

I had written the whole list in 15 minutes on Word.

I finally beat the computer in Excel into submission, getting it to look passable in 3 hours. Have I mentioned I hate Excel? I showed the finished product to Husband, pleased that it came out legible, and actually almost like the demo they have in the Neighborhood Watch book. He looked. Then commented, gee, that is pretty close, we just have to make a few changes, I will help you with it later.

Gee, honey, does my sticking this phone list in your ear hurt? AIIIIIGH!

So, now you can see why no pics. I just don't have the heart to do battle with the computer for a bit... Fried Brain. It's what's for dinner. Sheesh.

(On the bright side, the spell check finally worked for me on Blogger... Hope springs eternal...)