Rain Rain Has Gone Away

Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add color to my sunset sky. ~Rabindranath Tagore

We had rain for three days. I'm not complaining (REALLY not complaining -- it's going to take more than three days of rain to make up for our hot, dry weather), but it made it tough on the dog. She's been crazy with energy and no way to expend it. Yesterday afternoon, after she hadn't ... *ahem*... gone that solid potty all day long, I took her to the door, opened and watched as she looked at me and tried to slink away. I KNEW she had to go (my eyes were burning from her gassiness), but she did not want to get wet.

Thankfully, today is clear.

Last night on the way home from agility, though, I knew there would be toads and frogs on the road. There is always mass carnage the night after a rainstorm. So, when I pulled onto the fairly main road that leads to MY road, I slowed down and turned on the high beams and looked for bumps in the road. It didn't take long to find one. I pulled over, put on the hazards and grabbed him. BIG toad. DD wanted to take him home, of course, so we did. :-)

Silly hoppies don't realize the danger of the wet road at night.

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That book I mentioned yesterday that I thought was so good? It's already going downhill. It's suddenly moved away from the warm, fuzzy, goofy cast of characters and unique plot to the "same old same old". We've zoomed in on the H/H and lost some of the charm of the secondary characters who are now FAR in the background. That and the hero is coming across as a big of a jerk who refused to marry the heroine the year before and then married another chick a month later. He's not married now, but so far really all he wants (despite the author telling me he's in love with the heroine and wanting to get married) is to get the heroine into bed.

I'm continuing on for a bit ... because I loved the first two chapters so well, I'm giving it a chance, but it had better shape up soon or it's outta here.

*sigh*

Sometimes I think authors focus so much on the first chapter (we're told to "hook" the reader, so we polish, polish, polish) they forget that there is a whole BOOK that needs that kind of focus.

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You Are Chocolate Pudding

You are both mature and playful. You have two sides to your personality that are constantly dueling it out. Part of you likes all of the finer things in life while part of you is just like a big kid. No matter what side you choose, you are always adventurous and dramatic. You take life by the horns. You are up for fun of all kinds, and it's hard for you to say no. You tend to go until you drop.

What Flavor Pudding Are You?

About 75/25 ...

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Snake and Toad

Life's not always fair. Sometimes you can get a splinter even sliding down a rainbow. ~Terri Guillemets

Can you believe it got down into the 40s last night? It's FREEZING this morning. ::::shivers:::

I swear, the weather this year is totally nuts.

My DH did a good deed yesterday (well, good for the toad, anyway ... I'm pretty sure the snake isn't happy). I was inside when he came in, got these huge BBQ-ing tongs and started out. I knew he wasn't cooking, so asked if he was using them to pick up something dead (eww). He told me to go look outside at the walkway.

I did.

There was a garter snake (not really that big ... maybe a foot long and as big around as my index finger) with a toad in its mouth (the toad was about the size of my palm). DH (who is quite snake phobic, so I give him credit) picked up the snake with the tongs (as an aside, when snakes are threatened they will regurgitate a recent meal to make for a fast getaway, so the moment the snake was touched, he let go of the toad). While DH and the snake headed for the woods, I checked out the toad.

The top of his head was covered in snake spit and he just sat there, crying. Really. He kept making this little high-pitched mewl over and over. Saddest thing I've ever heard (who knew toads could sound like that?). We washed him off and then DD kept watch to make sure he started behaving like a toad again. Once he started acting a little more lively, we put him in our veggie garden.

I wish the snakes would just eat the grasshoppers. We have millions of those.

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You Are a Green Light

You take life at a fast pace. You act quickly and decisively. You have good instincts and trust your gut. You're confident and brave. You are determined and ambitious. You don't allow yourself to waste time. It's no surprise that you get a lot done. You are efficient and productive.

What Color Traffic Light Are You?

Hmmm... yep.

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Fun With Wildlife

“Always carry a flagon of whiskey in case of snakebite and furthermore always carry a small snake.” - W. C. Fields

Once upon a time, there was an itty bitty garter snake with eyes far bigger than any other part of him. But he was stealthy and he was quick and ... SNAP!! He got himself a meal.

Unfortunately for him, the meal was too big to fit in his itty bitty mouth. So there they lay, in the grass: snake refusing to let go, despite the fact his prey wouldn't slide down his throat (and even if it did, it would kill him), and prey struggling in vain to go free.

Until a savior in pink appeared and called, "MOM! There's a snake out here with a toad far too big for it."

And Mom, who was in the middle of weeding, came to the rescue. She stepped on the snake's tail, causing it to open its mouth. The toad, a bit stunned, only moved away an inch or two. And the snake, being nobody's fool, tried to run... er... slither away.

But he hadn't counted on the speed and fearlessness of Mom who caught both Snake and Toad for a photo op.



Toad was handed off to DD to put in the garden, but Snake got to hang out with us a little while.





Yes, I'm raising a DD who has little fear of anything in the wild -- though she's not too crazy about yellow jackets or other critters in the "crazy stinging" family.

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In other wildlife news, we had another release in Pillar Place: Swallowtail. Ethel hatched! We were actually able to watch her emerge from her pupa and pump up her wings. Unfortunately, she's in the box with Carole, so I couldn't open it up for pictures. I took one through the netting of her fat little behind and crumpled wings because I'm always amazed at how they begin:



We waited and watched and hoped this one would finally be female... and she WAS! Meet Ethel:




You can tell that Ethel is female from how blue the bottom spots on her wings are. Compare her to Daniel:



See how yellow the spots are on his wings?

Also, the females are significantly larger than the males. We think Hannah will hatch today -- her pupa is getting quite dark. We have only Bugsy and Carole left (and maybe Greg and Fiona... but I have a BAD feeling they are going to overwinter).

Still no monarch eggs. Last year, we found our first eggs on July 15th. Not this year.

:-(

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Intelligent Toads

Animals have these advantages over man: they never hear the clock strike, they die without any idea of death, they have no theologians to instruct them, their last moments are not disturbed by unwelcome and unpleasant ceremonies, their funerals cost them nothing, and no one starts lawsuits over their wills. ~Voltaire, letter to Count Schomberg, 31 August 1769

I saw the neatest thing yesterday. While I undertook the glamorous job of pooper-scooping, I noticed that the anthills we have in our lawn (and there are TONS despite our use of insecticide... I hate using it, but if we don't we have ticks and nasties in the lawn. Ick) were teeming with life, ants--both with and without wings--were crawling from them in massive numbers. I don't know what message had gone out for hill evacuation, but someone surely sent the news.

Anyway, after being both fascinated and grossed out, I started looking for dog bombs when something else moved in the grass near the hill. A toad. I laughed a bit, figuring he was having quite a snack from all the ants, but moved on.

Found another hill in the midst of the ant exodus, found another toad. This happened a few times and I have decided we have the smartest toads around! It was one toad to a hill, and they were having a marvelously good time with their snack!

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Okay, so no Sawyer Thomas for my little boy. Finn Huckleberry? *G*

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You Are the Father

You are a strong, powerful figure in the lives of your friends and families. In general, you value justice and fairness. You appreciate structure and rules. At your best, you protect and guide those close to you. You are a born leader. You are good at establishing order in chaotic situations. At your worst, you are a tyrant who rules through intimidation and criticism. You are quick to condemn other people as pathetic losers not worth your time.

What Family Role Do You Play?

Hmmm.... I wonder if my DH knows this?

The Days of My Life

Weather means more when you have a garden. There's nothing like listening to a shower and thinking how it is soaking in around your green beans. ~Marcelene Cox

So.. Saturday. DH was feeling better (we'd dosed him Thursday and Friday with zinc, vitamin C, Echinacea, and oregano oil) but it was far too windy to go boating. So he stayed home and puttered. The lawn is cut, the vehicles washed and he hung out with some family who dropped by unexpectedly.

I put in my veggie garden. I think I may have overdone it a bit. It doesn't look like I did, but when stuff starts to grow? Oh boy.

Here's what it looks like now:


I planted peas and potatoes and cucumbers (along with my monster rhubarb plant):



Tomatoes and corn:


Peppers and squash:



And here is DD's private garden with one of everything except squash (because it takes up too much room):


Told you it didn't look like much. But for those of you who garden, you'll understand when I give you numbers...

18 Tomato plants
12 Pepper Plants
16 Cucumber Plants
8 Potato Plants
20 Corn plants
3 Squash Plants
25 - 30 pea plants

All in a fairly small area.

Wish me luck.

It wasn't all work, tho. DD found a friend (that's her releasing him back where she found him... she'd carried him around a while first):


Here's a closer look (I think he was having a drink in the dribbles from the faucet):


Isn't he cute? We found a bunch of little toads hopping around this afternoon. They must be waking up.

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I got another good review for "One Love For Liv" from the Gotta Write Network. Kathy rated it 4/5 and said, in part:

One Love For Liv was an enjoyable romance of a heroine completely out of her element, and a hero who is, at heart, a hero. Liv has absolutely no concept of how to perform the job assignments she received from Mike, so she has ingenious alternatives - primarily to have others do it for her. I particularly loved when she went grocery shopping. Mike knows that it is risky to trust a stranger, but he can't not help someone in need. It is just an innate reaction, just as he kept the ferret that was left in his apartment, and brings leftovers for the local stray dog. I simply adored Mike.

So far, so good!

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Did you know that The Wild Rose Press offers free reads? There are several up now, and they add more each week. What a great chance to sample various authors for free and see if you like their style. Click on the following links for non-erotic and erotic free stories.

Have fun! I know I did :-)

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You Are Cowboy Boots

This doesn't mean you're country, just funky. You've got a ton of attitude and confidence. You're unique, expressive, and even a little bit wacky. You wear whatever you feel like – and you have your own sense of style. You are straight shooting and honest. You tell people how it is. Low maintenance and free wheeling, you're always up for an adventure. You should live: Where you can at least get to wide open spaces You should work: In a job that allows you to take change

What Kind of Shoe Are You?

What is it with these quizzes saying I like change and adventure?? I don't, really, I don't. And, I don't think I'm high maintenance. Otherwise, though? Pretty close.