Blog Author
dooley
(view profile)
Recent Entries to this Blog It's Fall already!
Posted: 08 Oct 2015
Moving Day is approaching!
Posted: 04 Mar 2015
2015 already!
Posted: 01 Jan 2015
It's been a great while!
Posted: 30 Dec 2014
An anniversary comes but once a year!
Posted: 27 Aug 2014

All Entries
 


dooley's Blog




A little about Chance!

Category: Daily Happenings | Posted: Wed Feb 27, 2013 3:40 am

I just thought I'd write a little about Chance. She was ten years old in November. We got her for Christmas in 2002 when we lived in Mayer, Arizona. She was very small and slept in a box by the bed. It was like having a small baby. Every time she started whimpering I'd pick her up and carry her outside and she'd walk around until she squatted. Then, I pick her up and carry her back to her box. dr build her a sleeping box out of wire fencing when she got bigger and it was in the laundry room. We had a small yard inside of a big yard and she went there in the day time. She learned to eat and drink on her own and liked it out there. When it got warm, dr built her a dog house out in the little yard. She learned to sleep outside, too. She learned to explore the big yard during the day but always was in the little yard at night. When winter came, we put in a doggie door and she had a bed in the laundry room again. Sometimes we'd let her out into another yard if we were out there. That house had seven fenced yards. We didn't fence them, they were all there when we moved there. She got used to checking each yard every day for cats or other imagined things. One year dr put a doggy door into the kitchen and she could go in and out at her own timing. She slept under the dining room table near the wood burning stove. She wasn't a happy camper when we decided to move to Texas when she was about five years old. We were leaving everything she knew. But, Dan was driving the big yellow moving truck and if she could see that in front of us she was okay. dr fenced her a yard when we got here and there was a long front porch which he fenced so she had a front yard and a back yard to check. There were horses out behind the house so she kept track of them and tried to keep them away from the fence.She chased cats away,too. Just barking so we would come chase them. When we moved down the hill, dr fenced a front yard and a back yard so she again could keep check and do her security rounds to keep us safe. She chased the goats away from the fence and barked when cats or other dogs came near her or our territory. Every morning she went out to the front and did a perimeter check and she had various paths she meandered along smelling for traces of cats. She than went out to the back yard and did the same thing. She slept in the house for the most part. She found it hot in the summer but when out when it got cooler in the fall and winter. dr built her a raised bed on the back deck and we put a padded bed on it. She had to come in if it rained so he built a roof over it. It had no sides but it kept off the rain and the sun and she could see what was going on in the neighborhood. She loved being out there. She kept track of everything. She could stay outside when we were gone shopping or to the farm market. When dr hung out laundry she would go down and lay under the clothesline and guard the clothes. After she got sick she wanted to be outside most of the time but we talked her into sleeping inside when it was cold out. Yesterday, she did her morning check and then came in the computer room where she spent a lot of time because I also sew in here and she had to guard me, too. After lunch she wanted to go outside so dr let her out. She went down and laid down under the clothesline. dr put her bed down there. She went to sleep. She was sleeping most of the time. When he went to check on her she had gone to sleep for the last time. We had a very difficult afternoon and evening. There wasn't anything we could have done differently but we kept thinking what if's. Today, we went to Huntsville looking for something to plant on her "grave." We want to make a little flower bed over it to mark it. I spotted some small pots of rosemary. She loved rosemary. I've always planted it and it grows into a nice sized bush. She would rub up against it and then set and sniff the air. A couple of weeks ago, I picked a branch and rubbed her with it. She smiled at me, I'm sure.
So we bought some rosemary and some small orange marigolds. She always stopped to smell the flowers.
dr and I have decided to do a Chance Memorial. There is a new shelter starting up here in our town and they need a lot of things. So, every month we will buy something on their list and donate it in Chance's name. We'll go tomorrow to get a list from them. Today, we took the rest of her unopened dog food. We will remember her with love and maybe some sorrow for all the days to come because she was a large part of our family. When it was time to eat, she was there when we ate. She went to bed when we did. If dr was watching a movie she watched it, too. She kept me company when I was sewing. We will miss her terribly. We decided that we would not have any more pets as we are into our 70's and it wouldn't be fair either for us or another pet at this age. So, that is a little more than a bit about Chance but I'm long winded when I get going.

dooley

This blog entry has been viewed 418 times


Spring is coming, it should be here any time.

Category: Daily Happenings | Posted: Mon Feb 18, 2013 1:33 am

Spring is coming. I know that is is coming. I've been saying that since last fall. I planted my fall garden and the grasshoppers ate it as it came up. I was happy when we had a frost and then a freeze because I thought it would get rid of the grasshoppers. Well, there are still some big ones around out there. Not so many as before though. They are just waiting for things to come up so they can be giant grasshoppers by the end of summer. I've just been pretending that it's spring and going out on any nice day and doing spring cleanup around the yard. I still have a little scrubby brush in the front yard but I think I have it all taken care of in the backyard. I need to find the weed eater and cut down some of the grass that is growing now. Today, I went out to the storage yard and started breaking up that large pile of branches that the neighbor gave us when he cut down some dead trees. The small ones went on a pile to be burned when it's not windy. 25 mph winds today didn't make for a day to burn anything. Wish we had a chipper machine and I could make mulch out of it. The medium ones got broken up for kindling wood and put in a large storage box. The ones I couldn't break went into a pile for getting cut up with the chain saw which I don't use. Then, dr and I restacked the windows that he moved so he could build the greenhouse. They are in the corner out of the way for now. We couldn't finish everything and tomorrow it's going to be spring again and we'll have thunderstorms or so it says (60 percent chance). I have a new veggie bed dug at the front of the house and the two ones in the back dug up. Yesterday, I hoed the one in the front and dug two furrows in it and planted 35 potato pieces that had sprouts growing, two on each pieces. I had cut and air dried them. I hope they come up because they are just from the store and not seed potatoes. I've planted them from the store other years and they did okay. But, everyone around here says they have to be planted by Valentine's Day and I was three days late. I'm not sure what will go in the back beds yet, but time will tell. In the little shaped beds in the front there are snap peas which finally decided to grow and have flowers so maybe we'll get some peas. There is spinach, kale and swiss chard and a few carrots. Of course there are weeds, too so next day it isn't raining I guess I'll take my hoe and go tackle the weeds. I still have some scrubby brush to do and I need to plant some flowers. I have to do something with my honeysuckle. It's growing on the fence and I know that as soon as those goats see it, it won't be growing on that fence.
I've been doing a fair amount of sewing. Probably not as much as I should have been doing. I stopped doing aprons and tote bags for awhile and concentrated on making shopping bags for relatives in another state where they have to take their own bags now and they don't like those fiber bags. I've been making a few to sell and at the Writer's Guild book signing next week I might take some and call them book bags. I've spent a couple days this past week passing out flyers for the book signing. I hope we do well. It's a day for local or Texas authors to sell their books and sign them for the buyers. We have a Writer's Guild meeting on Tuesday night and it will probably mostly be planning for Saturday. But, I have two stories ready in case there is time to read.
One is about learning to sew. I learned to sew on a treadle sewing machine and was very impatient waiting for my legs to get long enough that I could reach the treadle and make it go back and forth. I enlisted some help from my little brother to get under and work the treadle while I sewed. Needless to say, it did not work very well. I was about six and he was about four. Not a good combination to get anything done and we ended up breaking the belt and then we were in real trouble. Mom made all of our clothes and with a sewing machine that didn't work it was a problem for everyone. I sew better now and haven't broken anything in awhile, knock on wood.
There is a small flea market opening here in town that will be the first Saturday of every month so maybe I will try selling things there. We'll see how it goes. I did well at the farm market last spring.
I know spring is coming because it's going to rain four out of five days this week. We need the rain but it could be spaced out better. dr says it's only supposed to rain at night while we are sleeping. We had an inch and a quarter last week. We'll see what happens this week.
Meanwhile, I'll just keep waiting for spring to come and when it gets here I'll wait for summer. You all have a nice spring now.

dooley

This blog entry has been viewed 424 times




You're reading one of many blogs on GardenStew.com.
Register for free and start your own blog today.





Archives All Entries
March 2024
February 2024
January 2024
December 2023
November 2023
October 2023
September 2023
August 2023
July 2023
June 2023
May 2023
April 2023
March 2023
February 2023
January 2023
December 2022
November 2022
October 2022
September 2022
August 2022
July 2022
June 2022
May 2022
April 2022
March 2022
February 2022
January 2022
December 2021
November 2021
October 2021
September 2021
August 2021
July 2021
June 2021
May 2021
April 2021
March 2021
February 2021
January 2021
December 2020
November 2020
October 2020
September 2020
August 2020
July 2020
June 2020
May 2020
April 2020
March 2020
February 2020
January 2020
December 2019
November 2019
October 2019
September 2019
August 2019
July 2019
June 2019
May 2019
April 2019
March 2019
February 2019
January 2019
December 2018
November 2018
October 2018
September 2018
August 2018
July 2018
June 2018
May 2018
April 2018
March 2018
February 2018
January 2018
December 2017
November 2017
October 2017
September 2017
August 2017
July 2017
June 2017
May 2017
April 2017
March 2017
February 2017
January 2017
December 2016
November 2016
October 2016
September 2016
August 2016
July 2016
June 2016
May 2016
April 2016
March 2016
February 2016
January 2016
December 2015
November 2015
October 2015
September 2015
August 2015
July 2015
June 2015
May 2015
April 2015
March 2015
February 2015
January 2015
December 2014
November 2014
October 2014
September 2014
August 2014
July 2014
June 2014
May 2014
April 2014
March 2014
February 2014
January 2014
December 2013
November 2013
October 2013
September 2013
August 2013
July 2013
June 2013
May 2013
April 2013
March 2013
February 2013
January 2013
December 2012
November 2012
October 2012
September 2012
August 2012
July 2012
June 2012
May 2012
April 2012
March 2012
February 2012
January 2012
December 2011
November 2011
October 2011
September 2011
August 2011
July 2011
June 2011
May 2011
April 2011
March 2011
February 2011
January 2011
December 2010
November 2010
October 2010
September 2010
August 2010
July 2010
June 2010
May 2010
April 2010
March 2010
February 2010
January 2010
December 2009
November 2009
October 2009
September 2009
August 2009
July 2009
June 2009
May 2009
April 2009
March 2009
February 2009
January 2009
December 2008
November 2008
October 2008
September 2008
August 2008
July 2008
June 2008
May 2008
April 2008
March 2008
February 2008
January 2008
December 2007
November 2007
October 2007
September 2007
August 2007
July 2007
June 2007
May 2007
April 2007
March 2007
February 2007
January 2007
December 2006
November 2006
October 2006
September 2006
August 2006
July 2006
June 2006
May 2006
April 2006
March 2006
February 2006
January 2006
December 2005
November 2005
October 2005