Daily observations of my simple life.

Weekend Simplicity:

Saturday and Sunday mornings I enjoyed coffee in bed watching the sunrise. It's a joy  seeing the light begin behind the mountain, relaxing with a warm cup of coffee in a warm bed. Next the joy of going out to to open the chicken house door and all my girls run out to great the day. Sage and Feather brea and whinee softly as I set out their breakfast and I say good morning.

Saturday morning I baked my pumpkin loaf and made a vegitable bean soup in the crock pot. In the afternoon I curled up and watched the movie Frieda. I just love her costumes in the movie, beautiful. Late afternoon I was out taking a walk on the back property with my dog. Snow Prince and Lil Carlos perched on the barn watching me and the goat called, while Sage and Feather raced around their back two acre pasture.

Sunday morning it was up and out shoppping early. Groceries are going up, don't you think?  It seemed almost everything was a few or more cents higher. 

A simple life means simple foods. I have not eaten out for the whole month. Had a warm bowl of oatmeal and blueberries everyday. Enjoyed lots of salads and soups. Hope Feb 1 when I go to the doc. I'll have good news. I'm behaving!

Yesterday was Spring like so I got out and worked in the yard. Hauled a lot of horse manure and cleaned the chicken house, watered all the trees and prepared soil for my Spring garden.

When I stopped off at the Food bank with another couple dozen of eggs which I had carefully put in little sacks full of combinations of colors I felt pleased at the pretty bags. The woman there immediately looked in the bags and began sorting them by color and size. I laughed as I drove away thinking how to me the variety of colors was beautiful but to her they must be uniform.

Today is cooler and breezy.  I may go out to garden some if it's not too cold.

Last night on Extreme homes there was the cutest house made from one of those tin shops. They put a spanish front entry in plaster on it and the fellow had gone dump diving and had all kinds of unusual items to make it unique. Cost $11,000. Really fun. I'd love to build a house but ------excuses, excuses.  

Posted by: cactusandquail at 16:57 | link | comments (6)

A New Day:

I drank my morning coffee looking out my window watching the sky colors change. Feather and Sage were doing a chase around the pasture and kick up the heels. I like to see them do that because it is good exercise and keeps their hooves pared down. Tangerine, my little yellow male cat came running across the courtyard after being out hunting. I do worry about him with the coyotes out . I hauled a sack of dog food out to the wash yesterday to help cut down on the chances of a hungry coyote eating my critters. Tangerine and his sister are garage cats. His sister is in her carrier on my bed so I can watch her. She had her successful spay operation yesterday. She seems a little anxious to be free but I want to wait at least another day before letting her out. 

I'm wondering about humans today. At the vets office there were newspaper pictures of truckloads of dead dogs being dumped. People take dogs to the pound and they are disposed of. It reminded me of Nazi camps. Sickening. Who do we think we are? So careless with other lives.

We have a prison out across the valley. I can see the lights at night. I read that they have a program to transplant the burrowing owls. I love these little owls and often see them out on the dirt roads early in the morning. Problem is this valley now has a proposal for 120, 000 new homes in just one development by some greedy Las Vegas man. Where are these transplanted by prisoners owls going to go after that?  One of the places I often saw them has just this year become a new development. One man who had the cutest little hand built funky house and yard. has moved on due to a string of cooky cutter houses along his once isolated block. 

 In Florida an older man who has owned 160 acres of prestine natural habitat had emminent domain exercised on him because developers left none. Now he has 5 million and is left only with the desire to be back on his own land. They said the community needed a preserve.Why should money give people the right to alter others lifestyles so drastically?  I believe in opportunity when morally sound but this is just greed. I sound off . I'm against cruel mindlessness and harming our earth. There are so many people who contribute nothing to life but their consumption. Think about that, I do.

Posted by: cactusandquail at 16:44 | link | comments (2)

Coyotes:

Since late summer a mother coyote has come to the fence line with her pup. It's fortunate for me that my computer is set up to look right out on the barnyard. Yesterday, on line, I looked up and there they were scouting the fence line. She is very bold and often just stands and looks at me when I come out to frieghten them away. Once she and my dog stood nose to nose, one on each side of the fence. I have respect for her life and the pups but I also don't want her taking my chickens. Lenny, the genuea fowl, usually sets up a commotion but for some reason yesterday he was silent. Out I went and she ran and looked back and ran and looked back until they were finally out of sight. I then went and check to see if all the chickens were safe. The younger ones, savy, were hanging out in the chicken house up on the roosts. Ms. Coyote has not yet braved a daylight venture past the fence. I was relieved to find the others gathered on the other side of the house. So all was well. I have a bag of dog food I am going to haul out to the wash so she may not come so boldly to the fence when she is hungry.

Today Oprah is going to have some information on the bird flu. I truly enjoy my poultry but if it endangers others lives I must be aware. I tried having a covered pen but the handyman did a very poor job and it is coming loose. I have a new idea, wrapping chicken wire around pvc panels and then setting them up across the chicken yard.

Yesterday after the trip to town I dropped off the baskets of eggs at the food bank. Outside in the yard there is an old fireplace where hobo type old fellows sit out and keep warm and company. As I brought them up one fellow spoke up, " Oh cackleberries, no, easter eggs." after seeing the pretty colors. I think next time I will bring hard boiled eggs since these fellows could easily eat them without cooking.  My good deed for the day done I went to a neighbors with a goody bag and a thankyou note for there nice gift bag they left on my gate during the holidays. Surprisingly they were all home and we had a nice little visit. He is a fireman and they are one of the respectable families on the block. They had just come from Mexico and told me about the dentist they visited. Guess, I'll soon be going down to get a couple teeth fixed. My neighbor, sweet guy , had made me a fence puller so I can stretch wire for my fenced pastures. Nice neighbors.

Tomorrow morning I must get up early to take my two kitty's to the vet for shots and fixins. I wonder if they will like me after that?

Posted by: cactusandquail at 17:35 | link | comments

Monday morning and feeling well,

It was two weeks ago today that I had to go into the Doc's office. I do so wish I had asked for a phone consultation but when the nurse said , " The Doc wants to see you Monday", I of course   felt it was something so important , such as death is emminent, but no, just a change of meds.  So I walk into a packed waiting room full of very sick people , flu season. One very loud mother with four very sick and noisy boisterous children terrorisd the room. A poor elderly old fellow sitting in the corner with oxygen finally gave out and yelled at the noisy mother to keep her kids away from him or he would kill them. Loud mouth mother did not gather her children up but had to call the police. Oh what drama, nurses calmed the old man while mom left the noisy kids in the waiting room so she could go outside and smoke a cigarette. I of course caught the flu and can't help but think that many of the fragile looking elderly folks did too after her kids coughed, sneezed, wiped runny noses on hands and touched everything. Sigh

When your sick the cold is painfully cold so it was really wonderful to go out in the nippy weather yesterday and find I could deal with it. Good to be alive.

On the counter I have three baskets of 6 eggs each, blue, green, rosey brown, cream and white, ready to be dropped off at the food bank. My industrious hens are keeping me well supplied with beautiful eggs.

Sage and Feather think I have abandoned them as I have spent little time with them these past two weeks. Sage actually turned and kicked at the fence this morning when I fed. She doesn't like being ignored.

I look in my mirror and see a body getting smaller. My new eating program is working, I'm feeling good and maybe I'll be back in a size 12 before I know it. Too many buffets, oh my , too many. No more.

Posted by: cactusandquail at 15:59 | link | comments (1)

Dreary January Sunday,

I can't believe I found my way back! It's been so long ago and I thought I had lost it all. I just started a 360 over at Yahoo and someone who liked my blog wrote and asked about this one, so I tried again and found my way in. Sigh, home again.

It's one of those steel grey cold days. Going outside is a bit uncomfortable although I went out to hang out the laundry. I just finished eating a lovely pink gratefruit. Butter, the white peacock, I have now named him Snow Prince, watched through the window as the segmented pettals disappeared. He loves sitting on the lawn couch and starring in at me. Yes, he is pure white and is all ready spreading his lacey white tail feathers in the tipical peacock stance

Posted by: cactusandquail at 20:09 | link | comments (5)