Category: Uncategorized

Elusive

 We have a family of young red tail  hawks living around this old house.  Frequently I see them gliding through the fields, perched in the trees, sometimes five at a time.  They’ve got their eye on my chickens, I know this for sure.  My husband hears them late at night, screeching in the trees over the house.  We finally figured out through research what the noise was.

I’ve been trying to get photos of them, but they remain elusive when I show up with the camera.

  He settled for three minutes to swallow a mouse on Mrs. N.’s fence on the hill.
This is as close as he’d let me get.

Natural beauty

 I may have posted about this guy last year, but I’m too lazy this morning to look through the archives.  Have you ever heard of Andy Goldsworthy?    ” (born 26 July 1956)  – a British sculptor, photographer and environmentalist producing site-specific sculpture and land art situated in natural and urban settings. He lives and works in Scotland.”

Here’s my attempt last fall…
this year we don’t really have enough color or leaves left.

Why ever not

There will always be something that needs doing.
Always the chores – whatever yours may be….
 the deadlines, the paperwork
the wood splitting, the dusting, the vacuuming, the dishwashing and laundry..
the picking up and dropping off and despositing and withdrawing
the garbage removal,  the lawn mowing, the leaf raking
 the 9-5 grind..
The commute, the coffee run, the..(fill in the remaining blanks)
But is this all there is to life?
Absolutely not, I mean, what would be the point? 
So why is it hard to allow ourselves the time to just sit ..and be. 
Why is it “wasting time” if you’re doing nothing in particular?
Yesterday, after having been at Dog Days for three days…
and a teenage sleepover..
my house was a mess and I needed to get it back in some order. 
It was so warm and inviting out on the porch around 2pm 
that I decided to go out for a half hour and finish a great book. 
Why was I hoping no one would catch me – just sitting– in the middle of the day?

I loved this book – great read! I miss the characters already.


Bravo, Rob Delaney

 I am no fan of celebrity nonsense, such as Jersey Shore trash, most of reality TV and especially the Kardashian craze, which bewilders me completely, because … what have they done for ANYONE lately. Or ever? …. Why are they so fantabulous in the American eye.  Why do we give them such a platform?  It’s embarassing to me that this is part of the face of America…and don’t fool yourself by thinking any differently. It’s sad, people.  When are we all going to rise above and end this crap for good?  It’s easy enough, just don’t watch it!  If you’re actually a fan, can you please tell me why?  No sarcasm intended, here… I really want to know.   

 I read this guy’s article this morning and I’m reposting here, just because he hits the nail on the head. I hope he follows through.  I did clean it up some, because he’s a bit more vulgar than I care to post here.

Take a Stroll… with Rob Delaney –
I Am Suing Kim Kardashian

I wish to formally announce that I am suing Kim Kardashian to stop her divorce from Kris Humphries. I am also suing Ryan Seacrest, E! Entertainment Television, and Comcast for promoting their sham marriage, bilking advertisers, and polluting the airwaves of America and every other nation unfortunate enough to be subject to the disease of Kardashia.

HOW I IMAGINE THEIR “WEDDING” WAS PITCHED:

“I know! We’ll have Kim get married! It’ll be a ratings bonanza! We’ll bludgeon the populace with billboards and commercials, build it up across our 14 execrable spinoffs, hire some psychologists to help Kim and Kompany approximate the appearance of human emotion as they navigate the wedding preparation, split the actual wedding over two interminable episodes—even accompany them on the honeymoon! And the best part is, it doesn’t even have to be real! We’ll have Kris (Humphries, not Kris Jenner, Kim’s mom (though having her marry her own mom once ratings start to slide IS a great idea!!!)) sign a pre-nup that is also a non-disclosure agreement AND a waiver stating that if he even talks in his sleep about the “marriage’s” details, he’ll be beaten, drugged, and given a facelift from the same doctor who did Bruce Jenner, and then forced to walk the Earth terrifying children and animals for eternity.”

POSSIBLY THE GREATEST MAGAZINE COVER OF ALL TIME

Ryan Seacrest is the executive producer of the 22 existing Kardashian programs. Please revel in this amazing quote from him, which recently appeared on the cover of PRODUCED BY magazine, the official magazine of the highly principled and ever-honest Producers Guild of America:

WHAAAAAAAT?! A lot of people toss the word “irony” around without really knowing its precise definition. This quote, from this person, is its precise definition. William Shakespeare would have been like, “Damn bro, I can’t top that.” I’m glad he’s been dead for 400 years and can only see it through a time-telescope that Leonardo da Vinci made for him on his 300th birthday.

THE MEAT OF THE MATTER

I digress. I guess I’m just nervous because I’ve never sued anyone before, and this is not a joke. I AM suing Kim Kardashian and the others mentioned above. It is alleged that Kim Kardshian was paid $18 million to participate in her own wedding. I feel like schools could use that money. Or health clinics in areas hit hardest by the recession. Or Pizza Hut. Or Bernie Madoff. Or my uncle Mitchell, who is a convicted sex offender making a living selling Percocet to the elderly in Rhode Island.

Also, quitting your marriage now is a rather public admission that you are very, very bad at the job you were hired to do. I will be surprised if the venerable fashion house Sears renews your “design” contract.

I don’t mind that Kim Kardashian got married. I don’t mind that she did it on TV.   I a little bit mind that, as a non-viewer of any of the 61 Kardashian programs, I had to see the billboards every day as I drove to work. But I could forgive that if Kim gave her marriage a real go. I’ve been married for five years. To the same woman. I’ve wanted to divorce her at times. She’s wanted to divorce me at times. But one great thing about marriage, when it’s entered by regular folks, in good faith, is that it’s hard to exit. It costs money. You have to talk to lawyers during business hours except whoops—you have a job that you need to earn money to buy food and pants—so when are you going to both take the time to do that? By the time you’d have gotten around to it, you’ve forgiven each other and maybe even reached a new appreciation for each other as you worked through whatever seemingly insurmountable problem made you hate each other for 20 minutes while you sat in your shitty car outside a CVS yelling at each other and crying. Because guess what, Kim? That’s a huge ingredient in a SUCCESSFUL marriage. Sometimes it sucks.  When you relax, however, and remember that you’re a bigger a** than they are, with enough neuroses and calcified bad habits to warrant their own card catalog, you realize that they’re struggling through life’s storm just like you.

KIM KARDASHIAN, I WANT THIS FOR YOU. I don’t hate you. I hate your shows. I hate that I know who you are. But I could move to Patagonia or New Guinea and escape you if I wasn’t as willingly bound up in our terrifying modern consumer culture as you are. I know that under your unnecessary inch of makeup and Kevlar sheath dress is a heart that yearns for true love and could find and appreciate the pleasures in marriage that I described above. That’s why I’d like you to stay married. And if you won’t, I will sue you. Because when you wrap your marriage vows around a cubic zirconia encrusted baseball bat and beat us about the head and face with them, you can stay the f*ck married for more than 20 minutes, you sexy monster. I’ll see you in court.

Snow falling on Dog Days

On Saturday at Dog Days we had to evacuate the tent after just two hours
and close down adoptions for the day. 
there was fear that the tent might collapse under the heavy wet snow.
I thought that was absurd!
Good thing I wasn’t in charge of the tent decision.
Sunday proved to be an awesome day for the dogs despite the setback…
There were just 10 or so left by the end of the afternoon,
and they went home to foster families.
Even the dog with the acid scar down his back was adopted to a loving family.
We all cried when the bell rang signaling his adoption.
Patty saying goodbye to that lucky dog …
Max and his charge. His family adopted TWO dogs 🙂
It was warm in the sun, so kennels were set up outside the tent for Sunday’s adoptions.

Adopted.
Adopted.

Adopted.

Adopted.

Adopted.. see very last photo below 🙂

They even match!

  She came to volunteer and went home with a new buddy, Kyle.

This is what keeps you going, this right here.

Kinda like the postal service

 …rain, sleet, hail, snow…. Dog Days delivers, just like the postman.  The last Dog Days was on the eve of Hurricane Irene.  This one brings with it a snow storm.  We weren’t surprised.  Today we had to close down and empty out the big tent by 1:30 because the snow was too wet and heavy – fear of tent collapse made the call.  We will resume again tomorrow, under better weather conditions.   Below are some happy faces – I don’t have the count yet, but I’m guessing atleast 30 to 40 dogs found homes in the first 2 hours this morning.  Pretty amazing.  Now let’s hope for a fantastic turnout tomorrow. 

Teenagers working the general store
and earning community service hours…

He took that little guy home 🙂


The rainbow bandana means they’ve been adopted and are going home!

Mill Pond Veterinarian speaks to new owners about care of their dog…
This is the lovely lady who took them in overnight so they’d be warm.

 This guys loves his new pup… that is one lucky dog.
For all you Chip fans… he came to the event, but is not yet ready
to go to a new home.  Here he is modeling a new line of dog crate accessories
and a sweater which he clearly didn’t approve of.  Perhaps it’s the pattern 🙂
This little baby fit in my pocket. 
Thankfully she went home in someone ELSE’S pocket.
 My friend Lynn and her family with their new boxer girl –
Heading home with their new family member…in the SNOW.

…and this is what I came home to.
Weird weather, I’m tellin ya.

Cold

Yesterday 50 or so dogs were checked in…
and this morning 50 more will arrive.
Vet checked, papers re-checked…
accomodations in place at a local vet hospital
because it’s too darn cold for overnight tent living.
Thank you Millpond Veterinary Hospital.
General store for fund raising set up
Food delivered
Banners raised..
and my heart breaks…again..
in a million pieces.
I see hopeful faces in wire cages..
skin and bones on some.
One has an acid line down her spine..
where someone thought burning her would be fun.
I want to take them all home, every single one.
I want to erase their previous experience in life..
and let them know there is good … there is love… there is comfort and security.
In some ways this is the hardest thing I’ve ever done.

If you’re local and looking for a new family member
or just want to support the cause, we’ve got plenty of silent auction items
and the Wigmaster of WPLR is flipping burgers and dogs all day.
There is also a fundraising tag and bake sale and
a new jewelry and key chain line by Nicholas Landon Jewelry.
All sales benefit the dogs.
Branford Elks Club, Montowese Street, Branford, CT
11-4  Saturday and Sunday… SNOW OR NO SNOW.
Wish them luck ~

22

 College girl is coming home this weekend because she has a date  because she just loves being with her family on her birthday!   I remember when she was a newborn and we were about to bring her home from the hospital (my firstborn, mind you).  I was so worried about my precious cargo being in the car while there were egg and toilet paper roll weilding kids stationed at  -surely- every corner.

  This will be a pretty purple when sliced open