Sunday, June 30

Black,White and Naked...


Today begins the last week on our farm....

While mom worked outside yesterday, I spent some time lying 
on the sandy Nebraska Beach in my backyard. So here's me in Black and White.

 Caution...the next photos are of me NAKED at the Beach........BOL
Hey, it's my beach and I can be NAKED if I want!!

 It was a perfect day to enjoy my Nebraska Beach

 I let the wind blow my ears back....

 Nothing beats a cool snooze on the sand

 I know, my neck looks a little funny, it's just the way I am situated.

Only one more week...

 Schatzie was out there too, she just prefers to hang out in the tall grass.

Mom says she will try and post a few more times during this week. She's sorry we haven't been commenting on many blogs -- it's just kinda crazy around here. 

P.S. my poppy comes home on Tuesday!!!!

Happy Sunday!!

Love, Gracie

Friday, June 28

Bad Girl, Bad Girl....

It's taken a year for me to coax Gracie to ride in the farm car and now 
I can't get her off of it!!!


Mom, I think I need some sunglasses.

not exactly what I was thinking..

MOM!!!

 Now you're talking

 Do I look like a BAD GIRL???



Happy Aloha Friday!!!

Tuesday, June 25

and then the cat died....

Yesterday armed with my "to do" list, I was enthusiastic, full of energy and determined to accomplish great things.  The moving deadline is drawing closer and while I have managed to complete a number of tasks there are still many that hang over my head. I had prepared my list Sunday evening and just knew I would be able to strike a line through many of my "to dos" and that my dear friends is when reality of both life and death hit me.

Early in the morning I noticed my wedding ring was gone from my finger. Now I don't wear it when I'm outside working in the yard, but I had not been out there yet. I had worn the ring to church the day before, so I thought oh it's just where you always put it...NOPE!! I looked high and low for an hour. In tears, I sat down in a chair and glanced over and there it was....thus would set the tone for the day!!

 I could hear the thunder rumbling to the west and knew that items #8 and #9(mowing and trimming) were now in danger of being delayed.  Suddenly a severe thunderstorm moved through dropping much needed rain by putting a damper on my mowing.  Side note: the mowing was completed at 7:30 p.m.  Check!

Since the mowing would have to wait I decided to catch up on blogging #5 on the list and even readied  a post....but life said.....not so fast lady!!  The thunderstorm would knock power(just as I was ready to post:(  out causing me to have to reset all the electronics in the house. Let me tell you that's my hubby's department. I managed to crawl into the tangled mess of power cords that resemble a pit of vipers and with gnashing of teeth (mine:) I got reconnected with the world or at least I thought so.....if you noticed there was no post yesterday. No check for blog post.  :(

The laundry was now finished in the washer and a window of opportunity was revealed to hang the clothes out on the line....we try to be green when we can. So part of #4 was completed, now to let the gentle Nebraska breeze do it's magic.  The laundry was hung, I went inside to begin # 3 (cleaning housing) as I was vacuuming I heard the sound of RAIN!! Yes, my laundry was getting an additional rinse cycle. Ugh....
laundry completed at 6:30. Check, but I still need to fold it and put it away. It's an item on today's revised list!!

I decided to reconfirm our flights making sure that the Girlz are still on the list as "special cargo" #10. Well with the issues with the power failure I had a difficult time connecting with the airline via internet. I finally talked to a real live person and yes we are all confirmed for our upcoming flight. Check #10


Around noon yesterday, feeling somewhat defeated I opened an email from our friend Jennie giving me news that just broke my heart and brought me to tears again.  She sent a note to inform us that our kitty Blitz had died. I know, kitty what kitty??  Well, before we moved to Molokai in 2008 we had a feline member of our family. Blitz,  he was a handsome Manx-Siamese that we adopted shortly after hubby and I were married in 2000. He was a funny little duck and loved and preferred my hubby. He didn't like kids or anything that made quick moves or loud noises. Unfortunately when we were ready to move to Hawaii we just didn't think Blitz would survive the move, the plane ride or Hawaii life (at that time he was almost 8) so we began a search for a special home for him.
Jennie loved Blitz and she was our pet sitter on a number of occasions and honestly  we could think of no one else that would take better care of him besides us. So Blitz was adopted by Jennie or maybe it was Blitz adopted Jennie!! Either way it was a perfect match. We cried the day we let him go, but knew it was the best thing for Blitz. Thank you Jennie for loving and caring for him to the end.

 no tail... and the prettiest blue eyes. He was a pretty boy!!


Interestingly, Blitz died yesterday on his 13th birthday.
I am sure he was greeted at the Rainbow Bridge by his Big Black Dog, Maddie who he so loved.

BLITZ
6.24.00 to 6.24.2013


and then the cat died....

Wednesday, June 19

See how they've grown...

Today the 5 baby blue birds are 5-6 days old, depending on which blue bird you are looking at :)
I find it amazing how quickly the grow...check them out.

Late June 13th

We're hungry!!

 Look how fragile, one egg to hatch!

 Tiny tuffs of fuzz

 Finally all 5 are here...early a.m. June 15

 All together now....there's always one that doesn't play the game isn't there!!

 June 18

 June 19

They've come a long way in less than a week.

Happy Wednesday!!

Monday, June 17

Two more weeks...

Today is mom and poppy's 13th wedding anniversary...and I'm a little sad that he is so far away. On the bright side, poppy will be back to get us in two weeks. We will then wrap up all  the loose ends, pack our bags, have our final health exam and then be making our way to the west coast.
 To add to the chaos around here, mom is getting rid of some of our junk, treasurers at a garage sale later this week. So if you don't see or hear from us that's why!!


Happy Anniversary Poppy...See you soon!!!

Gracie 

Friday, June 14

{See Beautiful}

Today we join in the Celebration of the one year anniversary of the {See Beautiful} blog hop. Every 2nd Friday of the month we are encouraged to share how we {See Beautiful} and we are so honored to participate.

My friend Nikki took this shot of Gracie and me a couple weeks ago...
I was only gone overnight to visit college friends, but to Gracie it must have felt like 87 million years.

The love that is felt between Gracie and me is priceless and really can't be explained with words or even photos...it's felt with our HEARTS!!!

Yep, it's BEAUTIFUL 


Be sure to stop by our friend SUGARS Blog to see the beautiful giveaway she is hosting. Now get out there and {SEE BEAUTIFUL}and please drop by the other bloggers that have joined in the hop.

Happy Aloha Friday to you all. 

val and gracie

Thursday, June 13

New Life....

 In the past week I've had a population explosion here on the farm....there's birds everywhere!!

update...this is the little guy I shared last week, he was the only survivor of 5. He/she has grown like a weed and probably fledge in the next few days. 

This is one of 6 bluebird houses we have here on the farm. 
4 of the 6 are occupied--3 house tree swallows and only 1 has a pair of Bluebirds.

These little tree swallows just hatched...
If I counted correctly there are 6 tiny babies.
See all the feathers!!  sure sign it's a tree swallow nest.

Mom, dad and a tree swallow warrior near the nesting box.
They don't enjoy having anyone too close to the nest--but one someone enters their space reinforcements are called to help protect the brood.

 Another nest full of baby tree swallows. I think we're going to have a bumper crop!!

This is the 2nd bluebird nest of eggs. The first was destroyed by sparrows :( 
I hope to find new hatchlings in the next couple of days. Don't worry I'll keep you posted!

The 3rd box of tree swallows.
They sure make a comfy looking nest for the brood. 

Enjoying all these babies is one of the things I will miss about life here on the farm.  I heard from friends that there are 2 baby monk seals on Kauai that will need some monitoring in the near future.
I requested a volunteer application yesterday and hope to be part of the team once we are on island.

***Just wondering, since Google Reader is going away July 1, what have people gone to?? I'm trying Feedly and frankly I'm finding it a bit confusing, but that may be due to me having juggling so many balls and not being able to devote the time or energy to understanding it!! Would love to hear what you are using.

Don't forget tomorrow is {See Beautiful} 


val 





Wednesday, June 12

K9 Kamp Report...

Last week at K9 Kamp a huge milestone was obtained!! Along with adding an additional 30-40 minute walk per day to our exercise routine, mom thought is would be fun to try a new skill, after all that's what Kamp is all about right??  Schatzie and I have now been riding along with mom to do the evening farm patrol in the little farm car.  Now, Schatzie loves to ride in the farm car and has enjoyed the ride since we got the car over a year ago.  As for me, I didn't like the farm car, it's too noisy and it scared me--even though I LOVE to ride in the comfy car, the farm car just wasn't for me. Mom felt it was time for me to overcome my fear and jump on the wagon if you would...So with some coaxing and a little patience I've learned to ride in the farm car and good grief, if I would have known it was this much fun I would have given up running along side long ago.
Schatzie gets into position, shot gun!!

Mom, I'm a little scared, but you'll be right here with me right??



At first I had to sit on mom's lap--cuz that just made me feel safe.

Me and Mom 
(I'm the one with the floppy ears :)
This is FUN!!
Well Mom, I am glad you convinced me to ride in the farm car.

Look NO Hands!!  I ride comfortably on the seat now with no assistance.
(pssst.....Poppy--I can even get onto the farm car all by myself)

guess you can cross Farm Car Jockey off my "bucket list" 

WOOHOO!!

Gracie 

Thursday, June 6

Just a Peek....


A doe in the pasture...I'm sure there's a fawn in that tall grass.

 A tiny tree swallow, probably a day or two old. 
Unfortunately, this one was the only one to hatch. The other 5 eggs were non viable.

The orioles right out side my kitchen window.
 Check out the kung fu action!!

Things continue to be hectic as our departure date creeps closer. I am  patiently awaiting the arrival of the Kauai permit so the Girlz are legal to enter the state of HI. I did receive a temporary notice of approval pending a confirmation from the Kauai Humane Society. 
So we're in...just need that magic number in my hand.

I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed right now with all my chores, sorting of necessary belongings that will be taken with us and decluttering for a garage sale in a few weeks. 
Seems that there's just not enough time in the day to get it all done.
But, this too, shall pass. 
Happy Thursday Everyone!!

Tuesday, June 4

What STINKS????

I tell you, I was framed.....

No Gracie, you were not framed...
you stuck your nose somewhere that you shouldn't have...


 Sigh....


Oh the shame!!!
(not to mention the smell)


I checked my "to do" list and 
skunk smell removal was not on there!!
oh and Gracie, no amount of whining is going to break me,
 you're NOT coming inside.
So STOP whining!! 


MOM

Monday, June 3

I have arrived...

Yes, I have arrived...no, not at my new "home" but to that place in life where you have discovered you just don't need so much stuff anymore. Come on now, show of hands--how many of you have way more stuff than you need??? Okay, I see most everyone's hand.

Let me share....the following is a photo of our little cottage on Kauai. R got the keys this weekend and I will share more inside photos once I am there. As we were chatting last night he said, "it's small!" Yes, it is small, the main floor is 20x25  (you do the math :) but, it does have a loft, giving us approximately 700 sq feet of perfect space--give or take a foot!! 700 square feet...good grief, I know people that their master bedroom is that big! Am  I envious... not in the least. I'm thinking less to clean,  more time to enjoy life,spend time with R and the girlz,  monitor Hawaiian Monk Seals,  take photos and blog.  I will have a roof over my head, a place to cook, a place to sleep.... really what more do I need??

I am so excited for this next chapter of living life simply, being creative on storage spaces and sorting through what's really important and necessary in my life. Hmmmm, now that I think about it, Schatzie's dog kennel will double nicely as a television stand or table for four....just place a piece of plywood on the top cover it with a Hawaiian tablecloth (which I already have) and we're good. Oh, the possibilities are endless!






Yes, I have arrived...


Val 

Saturday, June 1

Come on Kampers...it's time to Rise and Shine...





We are K9 Kampers!! 

We're joining Peggy's Pet Place and Kol for K9 Kamp. 
Kamp runs from May 31-June 21
and we are challenged to "Get Fit". 
You can run over to there places to get all the details. 

As you know Schatzie and I are pretty fit, but it takes hard work. With our upcoming move to Hawaii we need to continue to hit the trails here on the ranch so we are swimsuit ready!!  

So here's how the first day of Kamp went....

0600---the sun is calling us
To RISE and SHINE!!!
 Mom...we're waiting, hurry up and get your shoes on!!

 We're off...this would be the first of two major walks.
approx. 40 minutes each :)

Schatzie is posing with mom, I'm in the deep grass.

 Schatzie's favorite activity...SWIMMING

 She doesn't even need a towel....

 Look at my feet... they are MUDDY!!
So.... I guess today was really a MUD RUN.
 When you are finished....demand, I mean ask your mom for 
a deep muscle massage in the sunshine.

 Time for chow...
it's important to get a good quality kibble and be given appropriate amounts.


Good thing we got up early...cuz I don't think 
we're going to see much more sunshine today.