The first victim

My bug zapper racket 2000 just claimed it's first victim and I'm feeling victorious! :)











Bring on the flies!!!


(Thanks Auntie and Uncle Tim!)

Explosion

Soooooo....sometimes I get impatient and want a cold can of pop NOW! Then I throw it in the freezer for a few minutes and voila! Cold pop! This works really well except.......if you forget it. And a few days later you find......


At this point I was just standing there, staring into the freezer...................CRAP!




CRAP!



CRAP CRAP



CRAP CRAP CRAP



ditto




The culprit....cherry coke. I always knew that things could explode in the freezer, but I have never actually witnessed it. I guess I know what I'll be doing tomorrow. (PS-I did eventually laugh...after all, what else can you do??)

Birds, birds EVERYWHERE!

It was a short time after I got back from NY that I started noticing some dead starlings here and there. I didn't think anything of it until I kept noticing more and more of them. Then a whole stinking pile in our backyard! Sick!!! Jed finally told me that some man from the DEC came to the farm and fed the Starlings a "special" meal to help cut down on the population. If there are too many birds, they consume hundreds of dollars in cow feed, which obviously is bad. He said that it wouldn't harm other animals if they ingest the dead birds either. I had no idea there was such a thing or such a problem! I would have been upset, but they were just starlings, so I don't mind too much. Although it is kind of nasty to see birds and bird parts allllllll over and the dog always has a bird or part of a bird in her mouth! Ugh!


Three dead birds (one under the football....Izzy dragged that football home from somewhere, haha)




In our backyard. 7 dead birds in this picture. Jed said that before I got home there were two garbage bags full or more birds all over the backyard.



SICK!

A whole new world

Back in NY, Raja and Nessie's favorite thing to do was go outdoors. I wasn't sure what to do with them out here. I originally thought I wouldn't let them out, but spring came and the cats would get closer and closer to the door when we were going in and out. So, one afternoon I put the harnesses on and hooked them up to a leash and took them out to see Idaho for the first time.



"Holy crap, mom! This is NOT NY!"





"Is that an owl??! He's bigger than me! Idaho birds are big!"




Izz was there 'protecting' the cats from any harm.




Izzy says, "Let's play!" Ness says, "Touch me and see what happens!"



After getting cat slapped, Izzy started feeling sorry for herself. "No one will play with me."




"Would you guys please behave!"



"I'll just play by myself then!"



"Good! Now, leave me alone!"




Raja says, "Don't come sit near me. I won't protect you!"




"Fine! I'll sit in this planter and maybe the dog can't get me here."



"I'm the only normal one around here."




THE END

Springtime in Idaho

Moving to Idaho in the fall meant that most of the foliage/flowers/grass was brown and dead. It looked pretty unappealing, to say the least. I've been looking forward to spring to see what sorts of flowers would appear and yes....Idaho is green in the spring!



Our first flower! Izzy stopped to smell it....and would have eaten it if I would have let her.



"What mom? Tulips aren't for eating??"




I can't wait for this patch of tulips to all open!




Jed and I also decided we would like to have a vegetable garden. I planted my tomato and sweet peppers in these peat moss cups. I also planted some sweet pea flowers and petunias. Now we just need a garden. Haha!



And we need to keep Izzy out of them! I planted some iris tubers I brought back from NY and about 5 minutes later, Izzy had unplanted one of them and it was in the middle of the yard. Ugh!

Out with the old

So, there are quite a few changes Jed and I would like to make to this house. But, since it really isn't ours, we really don't want to put much money into it. One thing we decided we could do without spending any money is removing the partially dead and ugly shrubs that lined the sidewalk and by the garage. So, spring came (and the 80 degree weather) and one day Jed brought the skid steer home from work and we went to town.






Before shot. And of course, Izzy was a good helper!



Another before shot.




Getting ready to take out the first shrub by the garage.



We just tied a chain around the base of the shrub, hooked it onto the bucket and pulled!



TaDa! One less ugly shrub!



All the shrubs are pulled by the garage....MUCH better!



Now, onto the 30 other shrubs



Look what we found hidden in them! Rusty saw anyone?



About halfway there.



What a mess!



Then we found a ball in the bushes. Izzy was pretty excited.



All the shrubs have been pulled. Now we just need to take care of them.



The next day, as Jed golfed, I got the rake, hoe and broom out and found the sidewalk.



After shot. SO MUCH BETTER!!! I must say, during this entire process I ate about a pound of dirt. It was sort of windy and the dusty silt of course would blow right in my face. It made for a pretty dirty kleenex when I blew my nose! hahaha! (sorry)



The rest of the loot we found in the shrubs: A pair of purple reading glasses, a marker, and a clothespin. I should have gotten a medal detector to see what else I could have found!



Now we just need some flowers and maybe some solar lights? A lot of work, but very rewarding.

Happy belated Easter!

I had no idea I would be home long enough to celebrate Easter with my family, but it was great being with family around a holiday. Although, I did miss Jed terribly. Guess you can't have your cake and eat it too! So, of course, we got the annual Easter pictures taken.


Getting pretty for the picture




Jesse and Danielle




Eli and Lishi




Daddy and Mommy




Laura and J......I mean Mr. Bo (Jed's stand in)








The rat pack....what a handsome group!


Happy Easter!