From the lily pad...

Umm....
I really do not have much to report. I feel obligated to post something because I know you are all waiting with baited breath for our next post. Well, maybe just the two who actually figured out how to sign up to be followers of our blog. We appreciate your dedication.
Lets see...I was out by the reservation and there were two calves in someone's yard. They were just eating away. There was a fence, but it wasn't completely enclosed. They could have been the home owner's means of lawn maintenance, or they could have wandered in. I am pretty sure I'd seen them there or at least in that neighborhood last week. I have a feeling I will not be seeing them in the spring. Buy hay to feed them through the winter, or have hamburger through the winter? Gee, I wonder what it will be? Like I said, I won't be seeing them in the spring.
What else can I tell you... Jezebell has found it to be very necessary to stuff herself into any open receptacle. Full bathroom drawer? Yup, she is like a bulldozer. Deodorant, lotion, soap all kicked aside to accommodate a comfortable resting place.
Dresser drawers require less re-arranging, but apparently lack sufficient cat hair. Good thing we have pet hair rollers! I know what you are thinking. Why do we leave drawers open all over our house? We don't. She is like a Stealth Bomber. By the time you see her, BAM, she's in there.
Unpacked boxes are the jackpot. Big or small she is in them. I find it amusing when she jumps into the big garment boxes and can't get out. It takes a while to realize the peace and quiet you are experiencing isn't normal. Then you listen for it...mew. Follow it...meow. Closer...MEOW!! When you dig her out she gives you a hiss for good measure. Ungrateful little....
Well, our two faithful followers, that is all I can come up with. Hang in there, something exciting is bound to happen.

From the lily pad...

October 12th, Are you kidding me?!!

This picture gives you an idea of the amount of snow we got last weekend. Keep in mind some of it melted the day before. The picture is a little grainy because it is still snowing when I took it. I heard the total was over 30 inches.

We woke up on Saturday morning thinking the 12 inches we were buried in was crazy. I could tell by looking at it that it was a wet heavy snow. We were getting ready to have a leisurely breakfast, because really, where were we going to go? The door bell rings and the neighbor boy asks if we want him to shovel for us. Sure! How much he asks. 10 bucks. He ponders the offer and asks, "for how much of the driveway?" He is instructed to just start shoveling and we will re-evaluate when we see how far he gets. After a moderate sized square of snow on the upper part of the driveway is removed, he disappears. After our breakfast we head out to tackle the job ourselves. We just get started and here comes the neighbor boy with his mom driving a four-wheeler with a plow. Smart kid. They get us cleared out in no time. Still costs us 10 bucks, but it was worth it.

Sunday morning felt like groundhog's day. We wake up to another 12 inches at least. I shovel a path to the garage. The neighbor yells to me from her balcony that she will be over later to clear us out again. I say thanks and head into the house. By the time I get home from the meeting the driveway is clear. There is no exchange of money, but I have offered to let their dogs out while they are gone to work over the next couple days. Even Steven.

Due to the weight of the wet snow on the trees that still had their leaves, several trees lost branches. The trees in our yard are no exception. One branch is particularly large and another isn't completely broken off the tree. This presents a problem. What are we going to do with these branches. I am told you can haul them to the dump for free if you have a WY license plate. OK, you have seen the picture of White Lightning. If he wasn't buried in snow you would also see that he still has a TN license plate. Since we can't do anything until the snow melts some more, we head off to Gillette and Cody over the next couple days. When we get back home the branches are gone. I call the neighbor to see if they are responsible. Sure enough, they took care of them for us. I thank them profusely and hang up the phone. I realize I will be letting their dogs out for the whole winter at this rate. It is too bad...for them because I got the better end of this deal.

Friends...

To all of you that I'm privileged to call "Friends":

You know, it's not every day that an individual has the opportunity to meet and befriend another human being. In fact, some folks go their whole life not knowing the true meaning of the word. I mean, how do you define it? What constitutes a "friend"? We've all thought, at some point or another, that we were fortunate enough to have at least one friend. In all honesty, were they really your "friend"? Think about it. Do you still talk to them? Do you go out of your way to visit them? Probably not. That's not to say that they're not deserving, it's just that we're all busy living our own lives, so it's difficult to keep tabs on folks that are living their own lives.

Well, it's my hope, that at some point in your life, you were lucky enough to know someone well enough to call them your "friend". And I know what you're thinking. "Oh great, Pond Scum is getting all sappy!" Well, I'm here to tell you that's not the case. I occasionally get sappy, but this is not one of those times. I'm just happy, honored, and privileged to say that I've had (do have) some great individuals in my life that motivate me to be that "friend". Now I could go on and on, maybe even take the time to list them out individually on my blog. But it's not necessary. Those that carry the "friend" label don't need me to remind them, or acknowledge them on a list. Hopefully, I've done everything I've needed to along the way, to let them know that I wouldn't be where I am, without them.

You know, it might not take much to turn that "used to be my best buddy" into a true "friend". Maybe it's as simple as a weekly text page. Maybe it's a visit to their home. Maybe just a call on the telephone. An instant message. If you think it's worth pursuing, then it's worth the effort. An individual can go a long way on his own, but in the end, he would be a long way, on his own. And what fun would that be? "Friends" should not be taken for granted. If you have some, keep them. For in the end, we can't do it on our own. And stories can't be shared with yourself. Unless you're schizophrenic!

So, to all my friends (hopefully, you know who you are...and if you don't, you will), I salute you. I would not be who I am today, or in the place that I am, without your "friendship"! Oh, and if you think it's worth traveling 70 miles out of your way...it is!

And Ohio State still sucks!

But, I love John Deere!

And to my family...I give nothing but love! Imagine a fat guy at the carnival loving on a Pronto Pup (or two)...that's the love I have for you!

I'll see you on the other side! Peace!

M

From the lily pad...

Yellowstone

This may not be the prettiest picture from Yellowstone, but it is the most likely thing you will see. If you go to Yellowstone and don't see a bison, you must be blind. With that said, I thought this trip was going to be the one that we didn't see any bison. I took my in-laws to the park while Mike slaved away at the Cody station. We drove and drove and drove and finally made it into the park. We saw a turkey, a coyote, a wolf and some Mule deer, but no Bison. We only had time for one of the loops in the park. So, we drove and drove and drove some more and hit Old Faithful. It is a must see phenomenon, once. Then you say, "ok, saw it, don't need to see it again". After the ho hum experience of Old Faithful we had some lunch and drove and drove and drove. We were giving up on seeing a bison at this point when Sr. spotted a lone bison eating behind some trees. I whipped the Element around and we jumped out to get a picture. Satisfied with our bison encounter we climbed back in the Element and drove and drove and wait a minute what are all of these people pulled over for? It was for the hundreds(it could have been hundreds, I didn't count) of Bison that speckled the hill side. We jumped out for more pictures (like the one above). Now we really had to get going to meet Mike, so we start pulling forward up the road a few feet and there stands 3 hugh bison on the side of the road. I slowed to a crawl so Sr. could get a picture and the closest one raised it's head and looked at me like "Lady, people have been up in my grill all day taking pictures, if you don't move it I am going to skewer this funny looking vehicle". So, we went on our way pleased with what we had been able to accomplish in the short time we had in Yellowstone and we drove and drove and drove to meet Mike. Back in Cody we were all tired and hungry, but we wanted to get home so we drove and drove and drove and drove......