SWEET MYSTERY OF YOUTH

Question Of The Week 5-27-13

What is one thing you miss about being a kid?

SKEPTICALLY HOPEFUL

It is here.  A prescription FDA approved weight loss pill.  I have it.  My Endocrinologist in conjunction with my Cardiologist prescribed it. This is my second day on Qsymia.  Right now I am not looking for weight loss results as much as I am looking for the possible side effects that might occur involving my other health issues.  As with all weight loss aids this one is recommended to be accompanied by proper diet and exercise.  Since I have been doing those things on my own with my cardiac rehab and reasonable meals with no results, it seemed time to try another avenue.  My weight issues are causing a lot of my other health concerns.

Qsymia is NOT covered by insurance.  Out of pocket is $150 for 30 days.  I managed to find a coupon for 1/2 off and my first 30 days is only $75 at CVS pharmacy.  If it works for me I will probably try paying the $150 to go forward.  

Has anyone else tried this with good/bad results or do you know anyone who has?

COME ON FAT LADY...SING!

This weather activity in Oklahoma needs to be over but I fear the fat lady won't be singing until the end of June at least.  Yesterday Ron and I were running with the big dogs (big tornadoes) as we drove 80 miles to Tulsa at 9AM for an outpatient surgery.  We arrived in Tulsa safely and were heading  home by 4PM.  It seems everyone on this earth was trying to go east away from the Oklahoma City/Moore, OK tornado that was now heading our way.  Tornadoes were popping up all around us but we managed to get in the door of our home before the severe thunder storms started here and a tornado hit Twin Bridges State Park, just 7 miles east of us.  I was in our new bathroom hiding in the shower stall while Ron was in the den, in his recliner eating a bowl of grits. Poor fellow had not been able to eat or drink before his procedure and we were rushing too hard to get home, so he wasn't leaving his bowl of grits for anything. 

Our family has been threatened beginning with our daughter in Edmond/Guthrie area on Sunday, son and grandchildren in Broken Arrow and Tulsa to our Oklahoma City brother, sil, nieces and nephews and we all give thanks for escaping the monsters. 

The devastation in Moore, OK is unfathomable. Recovery and discovery continues. More tornadoes forecast for today.

ONE MAN'S TRASH

Question Of The Week -- May 20, 2013

Do you have (or have you ever had) a treasure box and what do you keep in it?

My paternal grandmother's treasure box.

She kept her favorite photos from the early 1900's.

I had an old cigar box full of my childhood treasures.  My best treasures were small bisque statues of children who came alive as my imaginary friends.

FAITH AND HOPE

Introducing Faith and Hope born in May to Mama June

Not very pretty surroundings to show our new chicks but soon their mama will have them out of the hen house and into the green grass.  Hope it won't be too soon because that is where danger lurks.  I have a strong feeling that Mama June will give her all to protect these long awaited chicks.  She spent over 46 days on nests of 34 eggs in order to get the precious babies.  

(Thanks to Nancy Leitz for showing up in time to suggest the prefect names of Faith and Hope for this pair of long awaited cuties.)

And the Chicken' Number Pickin' winners are........Lynn of GOOD THINGS HAPPENED and Michelle of RIOT KITTY because they came closest by both selecting 8 chicks, the lowest number guessed.

FOWL WEATHER!!!!

Last night closing up the hen house, June Hen and I were having our usual quiet conversation.  She didn't have much to say and assuming she was sad, I tried to sooth her.  "It will be okay June.  There will come a day when you will hatch some nice chicks." Then suddenly a small yellow chick appeared peeking out from the safety of her mother's red feathers.  I scared every chicken in the house when I whooped with joy.  

It is too early for me to move June around and try to see if there are more chicks but it is a wonderful thing to know that she will have at least one to take care of.  That will cause her to leave the nest a happy mama hen.

Check back to hopefully see a picture soon of the chick or chicks and to receive the final count to know who might have won the guessing contest.

*****HERE IT IS*****

Then there were TWO!  And that might not be all.  June had to get the two out of the nest for water and food so she had to leave the unhatched eggs.  She kept trying to go back but her babies could not get back in the nest.  I moved the remaining eggs into a nest box on the floor and put food and water there. June is settled back on the eggs and her chicks are managing to eat and drink while they await more siblings.....we hope.  Just look at those two cuties!!!

***BONUS PICTURE***

Had to throw in this cute picture of Catness.

TROUBLE IN RIVERCITY

You may remember that tomorrow is the day for our hen June to begin hatching the second clutch of eggs.  She has stayed devoutly on the nest and all appeared to be going well.  In the MUSIC MAN there was a song, "Trouble, trouble, trouble right here in River City".  Well, I guess we could say trouble in our "lake city" hen house.  

The rowdy roosters have been misbehaving.  We barely have enough hens to go around for these four big guys.  Not only have they injured some of the hens, it seems they have been running June off the nest at this crucial time.  They somehow manage to pry her off the nest, have their way with her and then try to prevent her from returning to the nest. I became aware of her plight last night and intervened on her behalf but it might be too little too late. 

June has been setting on nests for over 44 days and if this time does not go well, I will have to prevent her from trying again for quite a while.  Oh how sad it will be if she doesn't get any chicks this time.

Meanwhile to regain control of my flock I must either get quite a few more hens or get rid of a couple of my roosters.  They are beautiful boys but very badly behaved.

How can I decide who must go?
Rooster Chicklet,
Rooster Bonnie,
Rooster King Kong,
or
Rooster Jack Bauer, Jr.?

UP SPOT JUMP PUFF

Question/s Of The Week  05-13-13

What is the first thing you do when you wake up?
What is the last thing you do before you go to sleep?

When I wake up, I put on my glasses.

Before I go to sleep I turn on my bi-pap machine.

CANNOT WIN FOR LOSING

DANGER?  REALLY?

 
Have you heard of Orthorexia Nervosa yet?  It is a disorder that stems from eating TOO MUCH HEALTHY FOOD.  It is a disorder that kills. This new type of eating disorder is emerging where people are becoming obsessed with eating to improve their health.

What ever happened to "Listen to your body.  It knows what it needs"?  

Okay, okay, so my body does tell me that it needs a little too much pie, cake and a few too many cookies:)

UNUSUAL AND UNRULY

Question Of The Week  5-6-13

Do you have a strange or funny story to tell that involves a pet of yours or of someone you know?

Our old dog Mickey ate an entire birthday cake, a two pound bag of M&Ms and a bottle of 250 Ibuprofen tablets as well as various and asundry leather goods and never got sick.

Our cat Mrs, Tiggy Winkle got locked in a neighbor's shed for two weeks and when they found her and let her out, she came home no worse for the wear.

FELINE DEBUTANTE

Mama David decided it was time to bring Catness out of hiding.  At this appoint we are just assuming we've got a female.  I tried to pick her up and she wasn't having any of that.  She is a feisty little thing. David didn't seem to care and was happy to show off her baby.

SPORT OR TORTURE

Paddlefish or Spoonbills? Regardless of what you call them, they are a lot of work to catch and they are a multimillion dollar industry in Oklahoma.  

Sign with rules and regulations regarding spoonbill fishing reads "Oklahoma is home to the best paddlefish fishing in the world".

Twin Bridges State Park down the road from us, used to have a larger trailer open for cleaning the paddlefish in exchange for the caviar.  The river banks are packed with fishermen working to snag these huge fish...and I do mean working.  It is exhausting to watch them wrestle the lines they cast out and then drag in order to snag the spawning fish and then to reel them in. 

 A couple of years ago they invested in building a large facility strictly for handling these fish caught in our area and harvesting the caviar.

New facility just  a couple of miles from Twin Bridges State Park.

 


We always know when spoonbill season opens because our neighbors all fish for them and often Slim will come home carrying a "treat" that we would rather she didn't have, like a huge fish head!

Twin Bridges is where the Neosho River from Kansas and Spring River from Missouri flow together and feed into Grand Lake of the Cherokees.

COMMON UNCOMMON EXPERIENCE

We took a drive around the lake yesterday.  So, what's the big deal?  After all we live on the lake.  The big deal is that Ron did the driving!!!!!!  Neither of us can remember how long it has been since he has been behind the wheel.  This left me free to take a few pictures with my cell phone camera.  It was a beautiful day and a beautiful driver:)

See Ron's shoulder:) See the lake?

Neighbor trimming his trees

Look beyond debris to beauty of lake.

Squint and enlarge picture to see two guys cleaning their catch.

COMPUTER CONDOMS

Question Of The Week -- 4-29-13

What virus protection do you use for your computer and is it a service you would recommend?

My CyberDefender anti-virus program expires in June and the price has almost doubled.  I must find a better service for multiple home computers. 

STANDING GUARD IN THE RAIN

Slim manages to stand watch and stay dry at the same time.  Hopefully all predators will only come in the front yard and not the back:)

Okay, I am adding this video for Tabor to show that Slim does go outside once in a while:)

STINK BOMBS

June unwilling to give up.

The eggs removed while June still unwilling to leave the nest. So sad

Sad day on the Estate.  The eggs were not hatching.  Some had exploded and new ones were being laid in the nest.  I have learned that when one hen abandons a nest, if I can't get them in an incubator right away (our thermometer is broken), they will not hatch under a second broody hen who moves in a few days later.  All appeared to have been viable for a time.  The smell was just too much so I had to clear out the nest,  June still will not leave.  I am so very sad for her.  I broke the eggs open and discovered that two might have hatched in a few more days.  The rest were black liquid ready to explode. Never fear oh ye who guessed, as soon as I get another broody hen I will get some more eggs going and will let your guesses stand for my first batch of spring eggs.

About the second kitten, he/she is named Catness.  That was the guess of Cube and our granddaughter Hope selected the name.  Catness is the main character in the HUNGER GAMES and I should have known Hope would be biased.  Thanks everyone for the great suggestions.  Would you like to see where Mama David spends her time to get away from her demanding kitten Catness?  Here she is trying to disguise herself as a chicken:

Guesses that will stand for our next 
clutch of eggs. 
Lynn and Riot Kitty - 8
Jeanie - 11 
Munir and LL Cool Joe - 12
Seriously Though and Cube - 13
Bonnie - 15
Snaggle Tooth - 10 
Loraine Nielsen - 16
Sonny - 9 
Sparkling Red - 14

BREAKING NEWS: (no pun intended) 
My Araucauna hens hide their eggs from me.  They don't sit on them they just hide them.  Guess that is why they are called Easter Egg Chickens.  Not only are their eggs green, they make me go on an egg hunt:)  Anyway, I found a cache today and have placed them with a few other eggs under June Hen.  She accepted them with great excitement and scooped them safely under her wings.  Mark your calendar for May 15th as we await another hatching.  There are another 17 eggs and your guess will stand.  I just hope June doesn't suddenly realize she's been at this too long and give up.

I have since learned that I could have "candled" the eggs and found those two that were okay without having to have broken them. I have been at this 12 years and still learn something new every day. Wish I could go back and do over. Meanwhile June is protecting her new clutch of eggs with a joyful smile.

IF IT AIN'T BROKE

Question Of The Week 4-22-13

What steps have you taken or are you taking now to improve yourself?


P.S. June is still on the nest, but as of last night there was no egg activity.

LOST IN THE SHUFFLE

Do not lose the memory of the victims and the struggles of the 170 wounded in the constant displayed face of the youthful perpetrator.

NOT TOO LATE

This is June when she successfully hatched 19 guinea fowl keets.  Hoping she will be as successful with the 17 chicken eggs in the nest she took over when abandoned by Lucky.

Today we are  hopeful that the eggs under June Hen will begin to hatch. Here is the post that tells about guessing.
So far we have:
Lynn and Riot Kitty - 8
Jeanie - 11 
Munir and LL Cool Joe - 12
Seriously Though and Cube - 13
Bonnie - 15
Snaggle Tooth - 10 
Loraine Nielsen - 16
Sonny - 9 
Sparkling Red - 14

There is still time to guess.  Just because this is the due date, it hasn't started happening yet. Once it does, it will take about two days to get a final total.  The prize to the winning guess/s will be a Poetry Portrait by Angie Worth.  (see my sidebar for information)

Sad news to report.  Longfellow did not make it.  Once more we had a battle in the nest box between a very large hen and Mama David.  I'm guessing it overwhelmed the newborn kitten.  We are still needing a name for the kitten sibling and suggested names are:

Sneezy and Wheezy by Tabor
Henry by Lynn
Ralph (Ralph Waldo Emerson) by Seriously Though
Lord Byron by Riot Kitty
Wadsworth by Talon
Waldo by Snaggle Tooth
Catness by Cube
Pippen by Loraine Nielsen 
Shakespeare and Talula by Sonny 
Cornelius or Twyla by Sparkling Red


We will take more suggestions here and if any of you want to change yours since we lost Longfellow, you may do so. I will add your guesses and the link to your blog to this post throughout the weekend.

DO UNTO OTHERS

Question Of The Week 04-15-13

"A friend is someone who will tell you that you have gunk in your teeth."

Are you the kind of friend you would want as a friend? If yes, how?  If no, why not?

Be sure and read my Sunday post to guess the number of eggs that will hatch this week.