desertflower's Blog at GardenStew.com

Life as an Oklahoman

desertflower — Sat, 03 May 2008 21:20:25 -0400

Author: desertflower
Posted: Sun May 04, 2008 1:20 am (GMT 0)

Well, I have relocated to Oklahoma. It is so beautiful here I can't believe it. We were on the road for like 32 hours getting here. It was impossible to stop at a motel because of the animals we brought with us. so we did stop and sleep about 2 hours after being on the road for six hours. We worked 20 hours straight the day before we left getting things loaded and packed away what we couldn't take. If my cousin and her BF had not been there helping us we would probably still be packing. Anyway it was the longest, most dreadful trip I have ever taken. My son and d-inlaw came too, but we were each driving a vehicle so no one was riding with anyone. Hard to stay awake after the 20 hours working the day before, 1 1/2 hours of sleep then working another 6 hours before hitting the road. It is a miracle we all got here without an accident. We did stop often tho to walk the dogs and make sure everyone had water. I had to leave the birds home with my cousin but brought my chickens. Everyone thought I was nuts because I brought my chickens. But all of the animals fared the trip better than I did.

I do not have internet where I am living but my mother in law does so when I come to visit her, I will visit you. Hopefully I will have pictures. We have been here one week and already have a garden put in, lots of flowers planted and been fishing 4 times. Life is good so far and I fully expect it to stay that way.

Take care all, and I will get some pictures that will make at least some of you envious. The landscape here is like paradise compared to the desert in AZ. I feel so blessed just being here.

Till later,
DF

Life and Living

desertflower — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 12:25:42 -0400

Author: desertflower
Posted: Fri Mar 14, 2008 4:25 pm (GMT 0)

I had just popped in to catch up a bit and realized just how much I have missed all of you and this lovely community. There is always something here to cheer up even the weariest days of life.

I have been struggling just to maintain some form of normalcy in my life. I suppose if I admitted it, I would have to say depression had taken up residency in my life. It's odd how sometimes, or most times, we don't recognize it until we feel better. Anyway, having recognized the problem, I can and am doing something about it.

It's not that my life is so bad. I believe it was due to health problems and some of the medications I am on. Then the new Dr. I am seeing tells me that I won't get better living where I am. I live right next to the train tracks. Sometimes the train parks in front of my house and leaves engines running for days. Turns out the diesel fumes are very bad for me,
among other things in the immediate area.

Last visit he asked me if I had moved yet. It's just not so easy to pack up and move! My house is old, but it is paid for. I love my yard and we have built a little paradise in a small area to escape and relax in.

My Hubby's father's health has taken a sudden turn for the worse. We went and visited him for two weeks. After being out of my house for two weeks, I started feeling much better. I was home for 2 days before I was sick again.

Our plan is to move to Oklahoma to help take care of DH father. Here's where things get tricky. I need to sell my house to have money to move on. We will be staying with FIL as long as he needs us. I have a few dogs and a lot of birds, along with some really cute chickens.

It is just a little overwhelming to try to imagine things will come together with the right timing, but I have faith they will.

At any rate, life is going to be changing...hmmm.
I know it will be for the better of all of us. I like change and I love the area we are going to. I can grow a garden in soil that is not contaminated with lead as it is here. The water here is also not good. It has toxic levels of a few things. I don't know how they can even sell it. We don't drink it but we do bathe in it.

The only draw back is leaving family here that I will miss. I will be leaving my two precious grandsons. I know I will still get to see them but I will have withdrawls from holding and cuddling them. They give the best lovin's of anything I have ever came into contact with. I will also be leaving my mom and dad as well as my four children. But I may be gaining my health back and that is worth every thing to me.

I plan to sell most of my birds, but can't part with my dogs. My baby, Bouncer, is 10 mo old and weighs over 80 pounds now. My FIL doesn't want dogs at his place but my SIL said I can keep them at her house a couple miles away.

I haven't advertised my house, but have one prospect. He is coming by this week to let me know if he wants it. If I sell it I can pay off my car and leave it for my daughter. I will be completely out of debt. Yippie! I hate owing on things.

It was so wonderful when we were there. I went outside at night and instead of trains (every 15 min day and night) I could hear an owl and some coyotes.

Things will be changing for sure. One of the lovely things about online communities, you can take them with you and it is one thing that you don't have to leave behind.

I am so looking forward to this change, even tho it is stressful getting everything done to get there. I am going to have one huge yard sale. The things I want to move are my big pile of barnwood, my rocks, and some of my plants. My hubby thinks I could leave my rocks and wood here. It's funny how us garden junk people put value on certain things. But I didn't see very many rocks there!

I met my husband in Oklahoma and lived there for 13 years so I know what it is like. I will have to come up with a good bug repellent that doesn't aggravate my sensitivities to chemicals.

I'm not sure when all of this will take place, but it will be soon. Now that I have vented all of my concerns, I feel much better and need to start packing and sorting. I have a lot of stuff.

Once I am there, I am sure I will have a lot of nice pic's. I will be able to take a walk and see trees and streams and different birds and such. It will be a huge change from walking in the desert where almost nothing grows.

Life is good and getting better!

I really have missed being part of this "stew" and hope I can get things done so I will have time to come and visit!

Have a great day everyone! I am going to pack!!

Grandma...Again!!

desertflower — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 11:26:19 -0500

Author: desertflower
Posted: Wed Dec 26, 2007 4:26 pm (GMT 0)

Hi all, long time since I have been on. Lot's of things happening but here is one of the good ones!

My second grandson was born on Dec 20th. I was fortunate to be able to witness his birth and he is one little sweetie. Although he had a few problems at birth, mom and baby are doing great now. He has quite the hairdo....

The next one was taken on Christmas Eve

I am a GRANDMA!!

desertflower — Sat, 29 Sep 2007 17:18:24 -0400

Author: desertflower
Posted: Sat Sep 29, 2007 9:18 pm (GMT 0)

Well, I haven't been on much, been busy. Trying to get things ready so Hubby and I can take a short trip to see his family. My youngest son and is wife, however have been busier. After 36 hours of trying to induce her labor with no success, A c-section brought us the most blessed baby boy. His name is Mason Evan. He weighed in at 9lbs, 2oz and only 19 inches long. He is a little chunk to hold. These photos were taken within minutes of his birth. I can't wait to watch him grow and become his own little person. I never knew being a grandma would feel this awesome! I am truly blessed. Thank you God. Anyway, here he is.....

Dog Days of Summer

desertflower — Sat, 11 Aug 2007 20:34:22 -0400

Author: desertflower
Posted: Sun Aug 12, 2007 12:34 am (GMT 0)

First of all, this may be quite boring to you if you don't love puppies!

I have been having so much fun with my new boy, Bouncer. He has so much personality and is quite smart (I could be just a little prejudice). He is learning his commands very quickly. In fact, I just talk to him like I would my child. But then don't we all? Anyway he knows sit, lie down, crawl on his belly, wait and no. He is so eager to please he doens't usually have to be told twice. He did help himself to Hubby's chips today. Hubby got up to answer the phone and Bouncer promptly got in his chair, very carefully got himself one chip and got down. Not a good habit but it was so cute. He also takes Hubby's socks off for him every night. Today I was out checking on all my dogs and spraying some water around to cool things off a bit. Bouncer loves the water and played in it for quite some time. He will let it spray him right in the face. He like to bite at it and roll in the spray of the hose. His brother, Toby, wasn't sure what to do. He does not share Bouncer's sense of adventure at all. It is kind of sad because Toby seems to know this is not his real home even tho my son only had him for 3 days before he went on vacation and left him with me. Bouncer on the other hand, knows this is his home and actually acts like a child with company.(He is kind of stingy with his toys lol, but we are teaching him to share) I love watching them develope thier individual personalities.Anyway here is my little buddy playing in the water.

Rain, Rain and more Rain

desertflower — Sun, 05 Aug 2007 12:39:02 -0400

Author: desertflower
Posted: Sun Aug 05, 2007 4:39 pm (GMT 0)

The monsoons have arrived! It has been raining every afternoon and sometimes through the night. I have been busy puting out mosquito granules in any water I can't dump out. Those little gems work so well. Things are really taking off...including the weeds, which isn't so bad. My birds love purslane and there is a lot of it. I hate the puncture vine though and there is a lot of it too. Trying to pick it all before the stickers get here but it is impossible. If there was a market for it. I would be rich!

Puppies + Energy = Chaos (and truly wireless mouse)

desertflower — Sun, 05 Aug 2007 11:48:59 -0400

Author: desertflower
Posted: Sun Aug 05, 2007 3:48 pm (GMT 0)

Hi all, it may be winter by the time I get this one finished! Among the latest of Bouncer's escapades was making my wireless mouse.....well, truly and absolutely wireless. I never leave him unattended(this was a mini emergency) in the house as he is a puppy and puppies chew. I have covered and hidden electrical wires, don't need a hot dog. Anyway, I am having to learn to get around without my mouse and use this little thing on the laptop. I don't like it ....

On with the story...When I got Bouncer, my son picked him up for me and we met on the road(Bouncer lived 2 hours away at that time and my son lives. in the same area. This is son #2,(We have 3 boys and 1 girl)and he is in the Army. Although we have had dogs when they were rowing up, this son has never had his very own dog. He has been wanting a pit for a long time and he fell in love with Bouncer's brother, and the rest is history. Well, he and his wife were going on vacation later that week so son # one lives near me and we told him we would keep "Toby" for them while they were gone. He keeps him but brings him over each afternoon and I keep him till bedtime. Last night they disappeared a few minutes and returned to the living room with a tube of body wash I knew was on the backside of the tub. Well, they had a five minute heyday in the bathroom. Water everywhere! (Good thing toilet was clean) Puppy tracks in bathtub, on the floor, anything that could be reached was in the kitchen. I'm quite sure they took a dip in the mini pool lol. Be so happy when son gets home a takes his. They are doing pretty well on learning commands but it is much harder to be consistent while working with one as the other is so distracting but we are trying. I am quite sure I got the best one of the two lol. Here are some pictures of the two when they chewed holes in my hose and built themselves a small lake (ka mud hole). I have to find a mouse this is so hard to do without it. I feel like someone chewed my wiring..brain to hand is having problems connecting. Ok swiped myself a mouse...

Toby

Bouncer

Boy I am not used to puppies so I have to be really careful and alert. I sure don't want them to come to harm by any means. There are so many hazards in a house not yet puppy-proofed. That will be my goal today, puppy-proof the house. I already did the yard.

Chickie Doodle and Bob White

desertflower — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 18:03:01 -0400

Author: desertflower
Posted: Mon Jul 30, 2007 10:03 pm (GMT 0)

Finally got the pictures of these two characters.
The first one was taken in the very beginning when Bob first adopted Chickie and all you can see is Chickie's head. The second one was taken today. I think Chickie may be bigger than Bob now but they are still best buds.

~Bouncer~

desertflower — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 17:36:11 -0400

Author: desertflower
Posted: Mon Jul 30, 2007 9:36 pm (GMT 0)

OK I have taken my pictures! This is the new puppy, Bouncer.

He will be 3 mo old Aug 7th and weighs 22 lbs.
He's my bud!

Thank You Card...

desertflower — Sun, 29 Jul 2007 12:22:02 -0400

Author: desertflower
Posted: Sun Jul 29, 2007 4:22 pm (GMT 0)

Thank you everyone for the encouragement and understanding. For a few days I really doubted I would survive but today I feel so much better.

When I wrote my last post I was just beside myself with sadness. New puppy came and got in my lap layed his head on my shoulder and I swear he was crying with me. We snuggled and it helped and we also began our bonding. It was so comforting. Then he decided I had fleas or something as he took his little front teeth and started chewing my imaginary fleas. I think it was his way of showing affection but it was funny.

Thanks again dear friends. Blessings to all

Grief stricken but moving on...

desertflower — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 17:08:56 -0400

Author: desertflower
Posted: Fri Jul 27, 2007 9:08 pm (GMT 0)

First things first...Thank you friends for being supportive and the kind words. At first I could not even talk about it and felt sooo traumatized and this was the place I chose to share my feelings. I am really grateful for the acceptance and kindness found on this site.

I am going to tell what happened, mainly so pet owners can be aware because I centainly never expected something like this to happen. It has happened before, to someone I'm sure, but I had never heard about it.

Thankfully, for my own sanity, Felony had a good last day. I had gone out after a nice rain and played ball with her. When I fed her, I gave her a treat of a tiny bit of can dog food mixed with her kibble. She loved on me and I loved on her. We had company( two of my sons and daughter-in laws) After playing ball she was a bit muddy so I did not bring her in till they left. I took her bedtime dog treat to the door and called her(it was dark). When she didn't come I went out to see what was going on. She was not in her dog house so I scanned the yard and saw her lying with a coffee can, of all things, on her head. I ran to her and she was already gone. I don't (hope, hope) think she suffered for very long, as she was right where the can had been when I came in. No sign of struggle around her. I totally lost it of course and my hubby went running out. After initial finding, I could not go out again. He said the can was on very tightly and it completely sealed the air off. What makes me sick is I had used the can to feed my Chihuahuas (I reaise a few for a little extra income) and had 2 peices of dog food in it still. I never, in a million years, saw this coming.

There is virtually nothing in my yard, where she was allowed, that I thought could even possibly be harmful. She had her toys, a couple of flat basket balls and that was about it. I know it was a freak accident, but I felt so responsible for her safety that I can't help not feeling bad that I left the can in there.

The can was one of the newer metal cans with the lip on the inside that you peal the foil covering off of. I think it would have had a totally different outcome if that lip had not been there. For one, there wouldn't have been anything left in the can and two, it would have slipped off easier.

Well, I can't undo this tragic accident and I must move on and not let it rob me of my sanity. I will post warnings and tell other pet owners so it won't happen to them.

We buried her on our property. I will never forget her and only have good memories while she was with us. Plus, I have a lovely birdbath that she helped me with that has her signature right on the front of it!

I know she was a dog and not a human but losing her hurt as much( and I have lost a lot of loved ones throughout my life). I have learned from this. What may not be tragic to one person, can completely devestate another. The condition that person is in when faced with trauma of any kind also has a lot to do with their reaction and the way it affects them. This showed me just what a fragile state I am in. I will get stronger and healthier(mentally). It would be a double tragedy if the death of something or someone were allowed to destroy a living person. We all have someone (or lots of someones) who love us and depend on us to be in their life. I will work through the stages of grief but I won't put my life on hold to do it. Having said that, I will be introducing you all to my new puppy soon. He didn't take Felony's place but he surely filled a void.

So sad I won't be here for a while

desertflower — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 16:42:28 -0400

Author: desertflower
Posted: Tue Jul 24, 2007 8:42 pm (GMT 0)

My precious Felony is no longer with me. She was like a family memeber not a family pet. When I can I will post the details of the freak accindent that killed her. Just for safety reasons for other dog owners

Picture of Felony and short story

desertflower — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 16:28:04 -0400

Author: desertflower
Posted: Fri Jul 20, 2007 8:28 pm (GMT 0)

This is my dog,
Felony.

I took a stab at making a hypertufa birdbath and the mix was a little too soupy. I had to sit and pick the leaves out, that I used to decorate it with, with a tooth pick as some of the mix seeped under them. Felony set watched so intently. When I was finished I set it on the ground in the shade and filled it with water to continue curing. Never thought anything about the dog. When I returned later I found that she had "helped me out". There were dog tonail marks across the item. I asked her if she did it and she promptly put her foot back on it to show me how. She was so proud of herself for helping. So now I have a nice scratched up birdbath that the dog and I made.

The Story of Chickie Doodle

desertflower — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 00:30:00 -0400

Author: desertflower
Posted: Tue Jul 03, 2007 4:30 am (GMT 0)

A friend of mine gave me four baby chicks to raise. Unfortunately, only one survived. I kept it in the house and babied it and kept a bottle of warm water in it's cage since it didn't have a mom. I don't know for sure how it got it's name, but I just called it "Chickie Doodle" whenever I talked to it. (I talk to everything) I am not sure if it is male or female.

This same friend had given me a Bob White Quail some time ago. This poor thing is missing one eye and can't see out of the other. It seemed very depressed and ran into the sides of the cage all the time because of the blindness.

When I had had Chickie about a week, I wanted to take it outside during the day and decided that the quail probably would not hurt it. The quail lives in the cockatiel aviary. I put Chickie in the cage with the quail. First of all, the quail went on high alert instantly. I kept an eye on them for while and everything seemed ok. I went out that night, with it still being so small and cooler at night, to bring it in. I was surprised to see it was under the wing of the quail. I brought it in anyway, but noticed how warm it was. The next day I took it back outside. Quail seemed to be pleased it was back. That night the quail had it completely covered so I left it out. The quail has completely adopted the chick and the chick acts like the quail has always been it's mom. The qual is no longer depressed acting, sings all day and I guess is happy to finally have a purpose. Chickie is also thriving. I have never had quails before so I looked up the bob white to get more information. The strangest twist to all of this is Bob White is a male. So Chickie Doodle still doesn't have a mom but has a very good dad.

I have a Felony!!

desertflower — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 00:06:03 -0400

Author: desertflower
Posted: Tue Jul 03, 2007 4:06 am (GMT 0)

Yes, I have a Felony. Got her in December 05.
She is an 85lb American Pit Bull terrier. We decided, since they have such a bad rap, we would name her Felony. She is a beautiful dog both in looks and personality. She loves our chihuahuas. Sheespeciallyy loves the baby ones.She would have been a good mama but she lost that option at 6 mo of age. I raise chihuahuas and love pits but didn't want to raise them because I feel they need a certain type of owner and don't want to be responsible for one getting into the wrong hands. We try to socialize her with everyone who comes to our home, unless they a afraid of her. So far she loves everyone and has never shown any aggression, with the exception of two people who came that were really afraid of her. She did bark at them and frightened them even more. I am not saying she would not bite because in the right circumstance I think any dog might bite. So if people are not comfortable with her she doesn't get to know them. Just don't want to take any chances, for her protection as well as theirs. She is very much a part of our family and we love her too much to put her in a situation that might not be beneficial. She loves company and never forgets anyone. Tonight when I got home one of the chihuahuas had dug into her pen. This has happened before and she has never hurt any of them. I don't want to invite problems so I do not leave anyone with her. She is our house dog but lately has been outside more than in but she always sleeps in the house. She is a very smart, loving dog. When I feed her she will not touch it till she gives me a kiss. This is something she started on her own and does every single time we feed her. She only gets 1 cup of food in morning and nite. (She is on the verge of being very overweight and has never been over fed. She is just like some of us people...everything seems to turn to fat.) But her food is very special to her and she lets us know. As soon as I have the time I will post a picture of "My Felony"

Birdie words

desertflower — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 11:38:56 -0400

Author: desertflower
Posted: Sat Jun 30, 2007 3:38 pm (GMT 0)

Hi everyone,
welcome to my very first blog ever! As you know I live in the desert of SE Arizona. I love the desert but I also love the "Tropic Feeling" we get with certain types of animals and plants. I am currenty trying to create a mini tropical paradise within my yard. the area is between two houses, with bamboo,varius vines, and anything else I can manage to get to live there. I have five aviarys, two ponds and about 12 cats residing there The cats think they have five big screen TV's. I say about 12 cats because it varries depending who is visiting them. Here are just two of the local residents. I hope to introduce you to most of the critters over time. These are Love Birds. Some of the more colorful birds I have.

You will be meeting the Budgies, Cockatiels, Quail and a little guy I dubbed "Chickie Doodle" and how he found his place in this society while meeting the needs of another. It was quite heartwarming.