How will my garden grow?

Well I’ve been busy gardening.   These are the May garden pic’s and I’ll take more through the summer.  So this is my first back yard (I lived in a condo previously) and I’m trying to use every inch to grow everything I can in my small little space.  I love animals, plants and nature.  They are my inspiration and bring me so much peace and relaxation.

My favorite thing, is on weekend morning to come out and sit on the deck in my PJ’s while it’s quiet.  I drink my morning diet Pepsi,  and motivate slowly.

 

This morning Murphy and Petey join me.
Maybe I'll bring my easel out and paint
 out here before it gets too hot.

 

 

This was a banged up table,  I told my husband to trash it
 on one of my clean up and get rid of excess junk days,
but then I had second thoughts and painted it and stuck it out on the deck.

 

 

Then this table had to get a fresh coat of paint to match.

 

 

 

 

This side garden I extended last year has filled in nicely

 

 

Have you noticed all my rabbit statues.  Can you tell I'm a bunny nut??

 

 

 

My husbands niece moved and gave him this old rust wheel barrel, with thoughts I’d find something to do with it in the garden, and I did. 

 

 

 

Our gold fish pond.

 

 

I keep adding plants around it

 

 

Pond Irises blooming that someone threw out

and gave to my step son.

Looking pretty and happy now.

 

 

Art fair find,  it sits on a pedestal.

Got a great deal, since she didn't want to lug him home.

 

 Every year my step son Cameron and I go plant shopping.

 This year we kind of over did it with the veggies.

If it all grows well it may be bursting at the seams.

 

 

This year I planted all my lettuce in my greenhouse. 

Got tired of the wild bunnies eating all  the lettuce I

planted for my salads and my bun's salads. 

 

 

 

This arbor was made from 3 trellis for my green

beans to grow over.  A family of little sparrows have

babies in the house.  It took a year of it sitting for them to finally use it.

 

 

 

And I'm SO excited that the plum tree I planted 3 summers ago

finally has plums.  I'm eager to see how big they get.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A few California riding pics

I've been so busy doing my spring planting outside

that I'm just getting to posting the riding trip pics.

I so love doing riding vacations, and Matt my husband

is not into riding but he does it for me. 

He's taken me on the best vacations of my life

while we do the things I so love and leaving

memories I will never forget.

I'm so grateful!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On the first day we started at the bottom in the valley

 

 

And rode up the hills to the top

 

 

All the way to the top, just as the fog rolled in, see the beach

below  behind us

 

Stopping for a drink

 

 

 

Playing in the water

 

 

riding through the redwoods

 

 

petting Jazzy's during a bathroom break!

 

 

Horses waiting while we ate lunch!

 

 

Just a wonderful time riding!

 

 

 

Surprise Birthday Trip!

For my 45th Birthday on 6 April my husband gave me

a surprise trip to California.  I knew we were taking a trip (obviously I

had to take off work)  I just didn't know where.

So exciting!!! 

We stayed in room 19 at the

http://www.maccallumhouse.com/ 

Beautiful doesn't even cover it!

So take a look for yourself. 

Lovely...

  

I always wanted to see the big redwood trees. 

  I've always loved mountains & forests.

I love trees!

If I had to choose to be in the woods or by the ocean. 

 I would choose woods and mountains

every time.  The wonderful thing about here is you have it ALL, very mountainy terrain, rain forest, ocean cliffs and gorgeous uncommercialized  breathtaking scenery.

No guard rails anywhere, even along the roads.

  Just walk right along the edge.

Careful...don't fall it's a loooong way down!

Did I mention I am afraid of heights???

 But oh the views as we strolled along the cliffs.

Too many pictures I couldn't make up my mind,

So I will so I'll post in two posts.

Wild Irises growing along the cliff edges

 then the beautiful forest...

It was so amazingly peaceful and the size and height!

See how little we are!

Notice the moss grows on everything, everywhere!

It was such an awesome trip, in the next post I will show

the horseback riding we did!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

I love, love, loved the trip and did not want to leave.

I adored everything about it!  Usually I

look forward to coming home and seeing all

my animal babies.  Uh Ah not this time!

With super birthday surprises like this

I don't mind getting "older" one bit!

 

I'm really happy this weekend I accomplished so much without any migraine.  Yeah!  I get terrible pain, usually caused when my neck goes out from a past car accident.  Of course it happens when all the Chiro's are closed.

I finally finished this painting requested by Marie.  A woman in North Carolina.

It was taken from the following

The horses is a large work in progress,

that I will now focus my attention on.

Happy Valentines Day

Love can be shown to all things great and small...

I found these pics on pinterest and thought I would share them!

 

So you all may know that Murphy was diagnosed with liver disease by her vet.  I was told in order to keep her alive I had to keep her on this med 2 x per day for the rest of her life.  So I said OK, and tried it.   I would say for  8 – 12 months I had her on meds.  She was declining in health.  She stopped talking, playing, singing. She didn’t want to come out of her cage.  She wanted nothing to do with anyone and sat in her cage.  This from a bird that was the center of the house hold.  So I resigned myself that meds weren’t working and she didn’t have much longer.  There is no cure for liver disease just maintaining and trying to get it to work the best you can. In a last ditch effort,  I spoke to a local radio DJ, who my girl friend told me also had a parrot with liver problems- Pepper.  Depicted in the painting that I painted below. 

 

He referred me to his vet that he said consulted the Detroit zoo.  So Murphy went and saw her.  She said she didn’t see liver cirrhosis, according to the blood work, she said to stop the meds and perhaps it was something else and referred me to another vet in Ohio.  Then I took Murphy to another  3rd vet that I heard good things about.  She also agreed  her blood work looked good and to stop the meds.   So I decided to stop the meds and see what happened.  I thought that Murphy was really depressed by having to take the meds 2x per day and it wasn’t worth it.    The end result was that I could take Murphy to Ohio to be ultra sounded to see if it was liver disease or cancer or something else serious.  My thought was she seemed so ill.  How would she take the 3 hr car ride and if it was that serious what was the point? I really didn’t want to keep stuffing meds down her. 

 

So fast forward to now after not being on the meds and She is back to her old personality. Talking, playing, wants to be out with “Mama”. She is happy and no longer depressed or wanting to be in her cage.



Murphy full of it and excited



In fact if I’m trying to do something, and put her in her cage while I am home.  I hear shouts of “MAMA, MAMA, MAMA!!!” until I come get her out.  ARGH!!! I groan, but then I think back to before Thanksgiving when I resigned myself that she probably wouldn’t be here in 2013.

 

 

 I do think there is something wrong with her.  She gets tired, and last week wasn’t feeling as great. Not as spunky.  My thoughts are Quality of life- rather than quantity.  Parrots can live 75+ years when healthy.  I don’t want her miserable or in pain.  She’s happy and not in pain and I love her dearly.



Cuddling with her Mama