Christmas Lights

Well, after a stressful week at work and after a very nice glass of red rose I decided to take a few pictures of some of my Christmas decorations. Actually it was pretty quiet at home last night and was the perfect time to play around with the different settings on my camera. I shot several different ones, but only a few turned out good enough that I want to share. I hope that you enjoy them.

I'm hoping that by taking Christmas pictures it will motivate me to start Christmas shopping. Yep, that's right...not the first gift bought. :-)

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

R

A Few New Pictures

A couple of weeks ago I finally found the energy and time to go for a drive and take some pictures. There aren't many and definitely aren't the finest, but at least it's a start after being unable to get out for so long and see all the beauty around me. I missed being able to take pictures when all the leaves were turning and were so beautiful, but I'll get 'em next year!

I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving and Christmas this year. Especially Christmas since I've not been able to put a tree up the last few years. There will be one this year and I'm super excited.

May God bless you and your family this holiday season.

Happy Father's Day

I would like to wish my Daddy and every Dad a very happy Father's Day. The love and support I've been given from you is something I cherish and will always appreciate. When I have a bad day (and I've had plenty the last couple of years) you're always there to tell me it'll be okay and you always bring a smile back to my face. You are truly a blessing to me and I'm so very thankful to have you in my life.

I love you...

A Should Have Been Perfect Picture

Early yesterday morning as I cut through a road I don't usually go down I passed by a pond. I noticed  a solid white crane or egret (not sure) standing just on the edge. I slowed down and noticed no one was behind me so I backed up. I grabbed my camera and got one shot, but before I could really get it focused in and take that second one a truck came up behind me. I motioned for him to go around, but as he did he stopped right beside me blocking my view. I can't complain really because he was doing a neighborly thing by stopping and asking if everything was alright. I just smiled and said everything is fine I'm just trying to take a picture. Of course with the talking and two trucks stopped by the bird's oasis it flew off just as the nice man drove off. Disappointment reared its ugly little head but, as I sat there for a second I realized I had a reason to not be disappointed. There are still nice and considerate people in this world that care for other people's welfare and well being. It truly was a picture perfect morning.

Well, haven't I messed up!!

Please excuse the mess on my blog. A couple of weeks ago I got a new cell phone, The Samsung Galaxy II Skyrocket. I was thrilled that it linked to my Google account and showed all my pictures on the blog, etc. Well, as I was thumbing through the pictures on my phone I thought I was seeing duplicates and deleted them not realizing they were being deleted off my blog as well. You would think that the word link would strike an understanding in my brain, but No! So I am now tasked with the unenthusiastic job of putting them all back on. I wiped out my entire Spring 2012 album. So please bear with me as I work to get them back on. :-)

Well, I've news of my Vanderbilt appointment last Thursday. It has taken a few days for everything to sink in and to come to terms with the realization of another surgery. After the four previous surgeries on my knee I am now going to have to have a total knee replacement. It's been 6 months since my last surgery and the results weren't as successful as hoped. My new doctor noticed some problem areas on the newest x-rays and has given me the grand choice of either staying crippled and not walking right and being in pain for the rest of my life or have this replacement done. In the back of my mind I knew it would more than likely come to this, but I have to admit I'm pretty upset about it. Just the thought of the pain I will go through with another surgery and more therapy is less than appealing. I thought four surgeries in two years was quite enough myself! My surgery is scheduled for July 2nd.

In the meantime I will try and take some new pictures. The last few weeks have put me in a foul mood and I haven't felt like taking any, but knowing I'm going to be down for a pretty good while makes me want to get to it again.

More later...Have a great day everyone.

What's On My Mind...

I can't believe it's been almost a week since I last wrote something or at least posted some pictures. I had a busy Memorial Weekend. Had some friends over on Saturday night for a little grilling and conversation (Jeannie I wish you and Leonard could have been here) and Sunday visited with my Mother and Step-Dad. Monday I was just too danged tired to do much of anything! Sunday, Monday and Tuesday were just too awful hot to sit outside and enjoy my day watching the wildlife. The last couple of days I've just had too much on my mind.

I haven't noticed the eagle in a few days (wondering if it's the heat), but the coyote is making a daily day-light visit. The cows are getting so used to him that this morning only one cow bawled while the rest just laid there. He even walked by the turkeys in the pasture and they didn't even look his way or run. I think they must all be lethargic from the hot temperatures we've been having. Hopefully, things will cool off once again and my animals will start moving.

I'll try and take some pictures this weekend, but can't guarantee. As I mentioned earlier I have a lot on my mind and that's kind of putting a damper on things. For those of you who don't know, I had an accident at work a little over 2 1/2 years ago. Someone's negligence caused me to fall which resulted in my knee becoming severely damaged. I've had to have four subsequent surgeries. I'm still having lots of trouble with walking, stability and pain so I'm going for another opinion; this time to see a Chief of Orthopedics. I'm worried that he'll tell me I can't be fixed and that I'll always be like this. Can't help but worry since it has been such a long time without relief. I can deal with walking with a limp forever, but am tired of the cane and pain (HA, that rhymed!). I would ask that if you read this that you'll say a little prayer for me next week or send happy thoughts my way because I am beyond ready to get back to living my life.

Well, now that that's off my chest I feel some better! :-)

I hope each of you has a blessed and safe day.

Rita

Lots of Activity Today

There were tons of things happening today on the farm. First off, we had a new baby calf born this morning, about 15 buzzards flying around, a chicken hawk, crows, a large coyote in the hay field, spotted new butterflies on the thistles and lastly the male eagle returned for lunch! I posted pictures of all the things I saw today with exception of the hawk (had my camera charging) and the coyote. I got pictures, but the coyote was so far away that they aren't as clear as I had hoped. I have got to get a better camera!!! I keep saying that don't I...

Tuesday Morning Entertainment

Happy Tuesday every one! Here in Kentucky it's a brisk 53 degrees this morning. After the last few days of warmer weather and wearing shorts and t-shirt I'm back to wearing jeans and a hoodie. I know...not very classy or elegant, but can't help it. I'm cold!! The rest of the week, however, is supposed to be in the lower 90's. I'll probably be wishing for 53 again! But, why worry about the temperature when you have no control over it. I just need to roll with the flow and take each gorgeous summer day as it comes.

I set up in my favorite spot on the back deck around 8:00 a.m. with a large mug of hot coffee. I'm drinking Wolfgang Puck's Breakfast in Bed with a little Cold Stone Creamery Sweet Cream in it. Yum!! As I'm sitting here I heard an owl hooting in the distance. That's unusual because I mainly hear them at night. I was curious about what he was hooting at and then a couple of minutes later...you guessed it...the eagle came back. She landed up in a tree by the pond. I must have scared her because she flew off and didn't land down at the pond as normally happens. I think I'm going to stop trying (for a while) to get a picture of her and just sit and watch what she does. Pretty much every day she's been down at the pond looking for fish. Most times I see her anywhere between 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. I just find eagles so fascinating!I guess it's because we're not used to seeing them locally. They must be nesting nearby since they are making a daily trek to my pond. I think there's a male and female because they are different sizes. My guys need to go fishing at the lake and bring them back here to restock the pond. I don't want to run out of fish and the eagles not come back!!

Yesterday, while I was outside with my little Pomeranian I let her go off the porch by herself. She usually looks like a big puff ball with all her fur, but she went to the groomers last week and had her summer cut, so now she looks so much smaller! I was keeping an eye on her and she was just laying in the drive way sunning herself along with Louie the kitty puss. As they were sunbathing I heard the warning cry of the crows and suddenly the eagle flew right over my dog and cat! The eagle was headed to the pond, but circled back when spotting puss and sis!! I didn't want to scare the eagle, but at the same time I didn't want it to get my babies. As I'm standing there trying to yell in hushed tones (that's extremely difficult to do) to the dog to get her little butt up on the porch she prettily turns around and just looks at me as if I've completely lost my marbles. She's giving me that look as though she's saying, "Yeah, right...I'll be there when I get there." Try as I might to get the little heifer on the porch I have to finally yell to make her get up and all that time the eagle is getting closer and closer! Needless to say, but, I scared the eagle off and rescued my girl! They're both inside today...LOL.

Well folks, that's all the excitement I've had recently under the Cerulean skies. I hope each of you have a wonderful and truly blessed week.

Take Care,

R

Enjoyable Sunday Afternoon

I spent the afternoon with Kayla, my sweet 10 year old neighbor. Instead of spending the afternoon with her family or her friends she wanted to spend it with me. I'm so glad she did! We had a wonderful time just riding, talking and taking pictures. We rode up and down nearby country roads taking in the beautiful day and looking for the perfect picture to take. We discovered several things we thought would be nice to take a picture of and I've shared those with you in my Spring Album. I hope that you enjoy seeing them as much as we enjoyed taking them!

Farm Life Excitement

Farm life never lacks for excitement. As I sat on my back deck enjoying the cool and peaceful morning with my first mug of coffee I was content to just sit here and listen to the birds chirp and watch the cows grazing in the back pasture. I was trying to look for the two new calves that were born last night, but couldn't spot them. After a while a baby calf was bawling for its mama then a couple of more cows joined in the conversation. More and more cows joined in and louder and louder they became. I looked over trying to determine what was causing their distress and then all of a sudden they bolted and started running. Seeing your whole herd of cows stampede is not usually something you see too often unless something is after them. I got my trusty binoculars and scanned the whole back pasture and didn't see anything. The cows and their calves were bawling louder and louder and finally I spotted a movement in the tall grass. I zoomed in closer and saw movement and then ears peeking up from the grass. A coyote was in the pasture with them! Times are few and far between when you see a coyote in the day time. They are usually night predators. The coyote was too far out to get a shot at him so my dog and I got in the truck and drove down there to scare him away. My dog took off running and barking. Now I don't know that the coyote was after one of the new born calves or the after birth. He could have just been passing through to make his way to his pack. Believe me...they're around here. We hear them most every night; sometimes extremely close to the house. A lot of people say their howl makes the hair stand up on the back of their necks, but I like listening to them. (I know...I'm weird that way!)

We stayed down there by the cows for several minutes to make sure that coyote was long gone. Finally, the cows settled down and started grazing again. I snapped a picture of one mama as her baby was nursing. It's not one of the two we had last night. New mamas don't like for any human or animal to be around their newborns. I'll try and get a picture of them later.

I hope that each of you have a wonderful and blessed day.

Loving and living life in the country where ALL the action happens,

Rita

The Elephant Whisperer

We've all heard how people bond with their pets and the amazing stories of love and loyalty that can come from those bonds. I came across an article on a man named Lawrence Anthony, aka The Elephant Whisperer, who was a conservationist, author and founder of The Earth Organization from Zimbabwe. He was known for his rehabilitation of traumatized African Elephants. He passed away on March 2nd.

Under my "Inspirational Stories" tab I've included links to a news article about him and the amazing love these elephants had for him and to his foundation page.

I hope you find his story as amazing as I have.

The Eagle Landed Again

Sitting outside on this beautiful spring day I heard a disturbance down toward our pond. The crows were having a fit and flying around as if something were bothering them. All of a sudden I saw the eagle flying towards them. My beautiful eagle was back!! He flew up into a tree and the crows were crowing and squawking like I've never heard before. This went on for several minutes. Of course, I had my camera at the ready just waiting for that eagle to fly out of that tree. As I was waiting I kept looking through the binoculars trying to see exactly what he was doing. As luck would have it I couldn't see him because of all the leaves blocking my view of him. However, he flew out and landed upon the post surrounding the pond. He sat there for several glorious minutes and I snapped lots of photos of him. Even while he sat there the crows kept nose diving at him trying to scare him off, but he was unperturbed. He just sat there looking at that crow with a look of boredom on his face. We have lots of fish in our pond so I figure he was sizing it up to see what he could catch for lunch.

A heifer and her baby were close by, but were a little wary of him. They decided to take their chances and walk by him. The mama didn't look his way, but her baby kept looking at it and ran past it just in case it decided to switch his choice of menu items. It was the calf's lucky day to not be picked for lunch since the eagle didn't even bother looking at either one of them.

The crows kept diving at the eagle and wouldn't leave it alone. The eagle took flight and they flew round and round. The eagle knew he had not eaten yet so he landed back down at the pond's edge. He was out of my sight for a few minutes. Hopefully he dined on a catfish, crappie or blue gill.

As I saw his head come back into view he took flight again and the crows gave chase once more. They flew and dove around each other for a couple more minutes and finally the eagle flew off. Darned old crows!!

I feel so blessed to have been able to see the eagle in all his majestic beauty once again. Hopefully, he will make a permanent home here so that I can sit outside each day and watch him. That would be a sight I don't believe I could ever grow tired of.

I posted a few of his pictures in my spring album if you'd like to see them.

To all the mothers who may read this I wish you a heart felt and blessed Mother's Day this weekend.

Take Care,

Rita

New Photos

I added a few new photos to my spring album. I hope you enjoy them.

A Surprise Visit

Wow! What a great weekend! On Friday morning as I sat outside on my back deck I was entertained by a variety of the local wildlife. First there were ten turkeys right along the fence line bordering the back yard. The jake was strutting his stuff and showing off for his harem of hens. His strutting captured the attention of our chickens and rooster so they decided to get a close up inspection of them. The rooster thought he would show up the jake with his crowing to his own harem of chicks which the jake took offense to and gobbled right back at him! I've included a little video to show you their antics. With all the showing off going on two squirrels decided to join in. They were hopping around and eating whatever they could find in the yard.

A short time later, as I was uploading the video I had made of them, there was this loud and sizzling pop just to my right and as I looked over I noticed something falling and then a kerplunk as it hit the ground.  A sick feeling washed over me and I thought, "OH, NO!! It couldn't have been!!" As you might have guessed I had just witnessed the untimely demise of one of the squirrels I had taped earlier. Unfortunately for the squirrel and thankfully for me it only blinked the power off and didn't totally wipe out the transformer.

As I sat pondering the ill-fated squirrel I noticed buzzards flying around where one of our mama cows had just given birth the night before to a healthy and beautiful baby calf. Buzzards will eat anything and afterbirth is no exception. (My apologies to those with weak stomachs.) As those ugliest of God's creatures were circling I caught a movement out of the corner of my eye to the left. Something was flying towards the buzzards. Immediately I noticed it was larger than the others and then I noticed it had a white head! I had to rub my eyes because I thought I was seeing things...it was an American Bald Eagle!! I have never seen one in the wild before much less right here on my own property. For those of you who don't deer hunt a hunter will get what's called Buck Fever which simply means when they spot that big buck they get so excited that they start to shake with great anticipation and excitement. It is the highest of highs for a hunter. Well, I'm here to tell you I had EAGLE FEVER!!

Thankfully, I had my camera beside me and as I was turning it on I was fervently saying a prayer to God to please let me get at least one picture because I knew if I didn't no one would believe me because we just don't see them around here. I was shaking with utter excitement and it's a wonder I didn't drop my camera! This beautiful and majestic bird landed in a tree and I was able to get that picture I so desperately wanted. It sat there for a few minutes and then started to fly towards my house. Of course, I didn't have my camera set to take multiple frames or fast moving objects so I was all over the place trying to focus in on it. Let me tell you...that eagle flew right at me and I did manage to get a partial shot of him flying. He flew right up and over where I was standing and I was just in awe!

After loading the pictures to my laptop I noticed in the shot where he was flying that he carried something in his talons. I can't tell exactly what it is, but I'm thrilled with the fact that I was even able to get a picture. It sort of looks like a fish, but I'm just not sure. If you can figure it out I'd be grateful to know what you think.

Well, that's all I have for now. Have a great day everyone!!

Living and loving my life in the country where ALL the action happens,

Rita

Chickens and Squirrel

I commented earlier about the rainy weather today and thought I'd share this small video clip with you. Some of the chickens we have are hiding under the old farm truck while the squirrel is enjoying the nice spring rain. :-)

Kentucky Weather

What crazy weather we're having here! Yesterday was a beautiful and sunny day in the 80's where I could wear shorts and a t-shirt and today it's rainy and cool and back in jeans. Oh, well...that's life in Kentucky.

I think I'm starting to get the hang of this blog thing. It was a tad bit frustrating at certain points, but I'm getting there. I've added a circle of very talented photographers on Google+ so I'm looking forward to seeing all their work. Hopefully my future photos will be as good as theirs. :-)

For everyone who reads my post...Have a wonderful and blessed day.