Nature Therapy

My visit at my parent's house is drawing to a close and I have really benefited from the nature therapy. One day I saw a deer, a rabbit, a bevy of quail, two black snakes, hummingbirds, wild ducks, a squirrel, and some butterflies. That was just in one day! I don't know of many people who live in such a paradise of nature. I hope to be living here one day soon myself. I have enjoyed not only the wild animals but also the company of my mom's dumb ass dog, the chickens, guineas, ducks, and in some regards the turkeys (turkeys aren't exactly cuddly creatures). We released the guineas the other day because they were getting too big to be in pens. They have had a little chicken growing up with them because she was too small to be in with the other chickens, so we released her with them. She copies whatever the guineas do and she is getting spots like them too, so I believe she thinks she is a guinea. I like to go out there and when the birds see me coming they run up to me (I know it's just because they think I'm their meal ticket) and my dad said he really thinks I'm a duck whisperer because they seem to like me so much. I can put my hand down and all the guineas run over to me and the little chick will jump in my hand. Some of the guineas will let me pet their backs. I think all this animal contact has been very good for me...I haven't needed my blood pressure medicine the entire time I've been here. I'll soon be headed back home for a while to take care of some business and go to the beach, and then I am hoping to return to my ducks for some more of the peace they instill in my spirit.

Midnight Misadventures

The other night my dutiful watch by the window was rewarded when the ducks came waddling up the trail in all their web-footed splendor at 8:53 PM. I stayed up late working on homework and watching TV and I was just getting ready for bed when the dog started barking at midnight. I went outside in my pajamas with a flashlight to make sure nothing was after the animals. After seeing that nothing was amiss, I returned to the house, only to find that I was locked out. Great. I was in the middle of nowhere in my pajamas in the middle of the night, locked out. So I started knocking on the door--the answer was simple enough--all I had to do was knock on the door, wake up Katie and she could let me in. She didn't wake up. So I started pounding on the door--nothing. I walked around to her window and knocked on the window--she didn't even stir. I started banging on the window so hard I was afraid I might break the glass--still no response. I banged even harder, yelled her name and flashed the flashlight in and out of her window--still no success. Why the hell can't I ever sleep that soundly?! So I decide I can just go get a screwdriver from my Dad's tool box and take the door knob off. I get to the door, screwdriver in hand and find that are no screws around the knob....nice. I go back to the tool box, get a bondo blade, and decide I will just jimmy the lock. I start wiggling the door knob so I can see exactly where to insert the blade and the damn door pops open! Feeling both frustrated and relieved I put my Dad's tools back and went inside to bed. I learned two things that night, 1) when Katie is sleeping, if there is ever an emergency, nothing short of an air horn and a bucket of ice water is going to get her attention and 2) I really should have paid more attention when I worked at the juvenile detention center because in the event that you need to get into a place that seems inaccessible, you really need to be able to access a situation from a criminal point of view. I also kept hearing a saying (I learned when I worked for the Humane Society) in the back of my mind: No good deed goes unpunished. That's what I get for rushing out to save animals from a terrible demise in the middle of the night--locked out. So I have to stop and wonder, if there really are past lives, what did I do in mine to piss God off so much....

Morning Mayhem

This morning I was abruptly awakened by my mom. She came in my room looking panicked. She said she had walked down to the pond early this morning to check on the ducks after their first night out of the pen and she couldn't find any of them. She went down several trails looking for them (or their unfortunate remains) and still saw no sign of them. She was on her way in to tell us to come help look, when she passed their old pen and saw that they had all gone inside their house and were sleeping. Instead of homing pigeons, we have homing ducks. Somehow they found their way all the way back to the house from the pond last night. Our family is so smart--even our ducks are gifted. (My mom's dog on the other hand, not so much...) Today Katie and I herded the ducks back down to their pond, so she now joins the ranks of the talented and rare duck herders of South Georgia. This afternoon my mom and I went shopping for a while. When we got home my parents left for a trip to move more of their stuff from the house they sold in Florida and Katie and I stayed here to hold down the fort. I have important duties--all related to animal husbandry--while they are away. I spent the rest of the afternoon on a nature walk with Katie, taking pictures of the wide array of flowers and fruit growing on my parent's property--and of course pictures of the ducks, turkeys, and Katie. I will have to post them later because my Mom's ISP is too slow and I don't have the patience to wait for them to upload. For now I am just camping by the window waiting to catch the ducks in the act of their migratory passage from pond to house to get an idea of what time they do it. This will help us know when to check on them--and where to check on them. Now I'm off to do some much avoided homework while I keep vigilant watch at my post!

Georgia Ducks

I have been in Georgia for the last few days taking a much needed reprieve from the hustle and bustle of life at home. I feel so at peace here in nature. I have been helping my parents take care of the turkeys, ducks, chickens, and guineas. We released the turkeys yesterday night and then a hellacious storm came and blew down all these tree limbs. It also hailed and knocked our power out for 11 hours! We were so afraid something happened to the turkeys, but this morning they were fine and had flown into the duck pen to weather the storm. We let them out and then I did something I have never done before--I was a duck herder. My mom and I rounded up the ducks and herded them down to the pond because they are finally old enough. Their little feet were flip flapping on the trail all the way down. I like to think of myself as a "Duck Whisperer" because they followed me around the pond when I went back to check on them later. I just sat in the swing by the pond for a long time and watched the ducks swimming and they came and hung out right by my feet. It was so relaxing! I told my mom that people should not be using prozac for mood disorders and depression, they should just go get some ducks and watch them. I think I will talk to Walgreens and see if they can start dispensing water fowl to treat depression and anxiety. I think I may be on to something here....

My Dog Looks Like A Sea Lion

See the Sea Lion on the far left with its mouth open...my dog looks just like it!
Weird post, I know, but the resemblance is uncanny. I wonder if she can balance a ball on her nose...

School's Out For the Summer!

Today was a cool day at work and home. It was the last day of school for the kids (we still have to work) so we had a huge celebration all day. We played games and cooked out and had a big water balloon and water squirter fight. We danced and ate and laughed and had so much fun. We had a staff musical chair game and let's just say my new nick name (along with Rasputia) is Musical Chair Nazi. (Evil laughter--I'm not a cheater I'm an innovative thinker...no one can take the last chair from you if you carry it around the circle under your butt or slam all the competition out of the way with your big butt--I knew I have been maintaining this thing for a reason.) It was also great because the staff who are annoying and not-so-nice with the kids stayed away from the festivities (I think fun is against their religion or something like that) so the kids were able to really let loose and enjoy themselves without the threat of someone being evil to them for it. Kind of like Ms. Hannigan on Little Orphan Annie, "Is that laughter I hear??!" Anyhow the day ended great and I'm glad all the kids had such a blast. I am almost afraid that I had more fun than they did.

I decided to get home early and fill a bunch of water balloons up. Then when it was time for the kids to get off the bus Scott and I hid in the bushes by the front porch with our stash of balloons and had the front door locked. When the kids got up to the porch we jumped out of the bushes and yelled, "BANZAI!!!!!!!" and attacked them with water balloons. They started running and we chased them (which resulted in me falling and twisting my ankle--but like a good soldier I finished the battle by rolling on the ground and launching balloons). Somehow Katie got through with only her feet wet so when she got inside I snuck in the kitchen and filled a water squirter up and then I jumped into the living room and nailed her right in the back. Then we all got changed into our bathing suits and went to the lake and swam and went out in the boat. We even brought Suzi who did a little surfing on her boogie board and went on boat rides. My Aunt and Uncle came out and swam with us too. It was all so much fun and I wish everyday could be such an adventure and filled with so much joy and laughter and surprise. The kids were very impressed that we made such a big deal over the last day of school. The only glitch was because there was so much water assault involved today--there was no camera on me. I just have to be happy with all the pictures in my head.

Garden Delight

These are flowers from my mom's yard in Georgia. I spent an afternoon photographing them because they were so delicious with color and shapes! I have no idea what most of them are--so enjoy and feel free to drop flower names if you know them. Begonia?

Pansy?
Some kind of lily

?

Daylily

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Salvia? or Shrimp Plant?

Pansy?

Pansy?

Gladiola

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Impatient?

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Impatient

Petunia?

Yellow Rose

Lady Bug on a leaf

Katie's Feliz Cumpleano Ocho

These are pictures from Katie's birthday where she got a pie in the face at our favorite Mexican restaurant in Valdosta, GA--El Toreo's! OLE!

Last Trip to Georgia

These are a sampling of photos from our last trip to Georgia--excluding Katie's birthday shots from El Toreo's, those will be on another post. Saturday night we went to the drags in Cecil, GA.
Scott, Dad, Jarhett, and Mom at the race track

These little birdies had just hatched in a duffel bag in my dad's shop that a bird decided would be a great place to build a nest!

Jarhett holding a baby Guinea

He's no chicken, farm life suits him just fine!

Jarhett holding one the chickens

Mom and Dad's baby ducks huddle in fear in the corner (they really didn't like my camera).

Scott, Jarhett, and Katie fishing at Deer Pond

Katie holding her chicken, "Carly"--remember how small they were at Easter???

Katie helps take the baby ducks to the pool for supervised swim time. When they are babies they have to be watched in water because they can drown very easily (I never knew that, so I thought I'd throw that in).

The baby ducks get swimming lessons from the big guys.

They had trouble getting back out of the pool, so my Dad built them a little ramp and Katie put food on it so they wouldn't be afraid to use it.

All the things we did on this trip make me even more certain that nature and family time is good for my soul. Scott said, "How come you're always nervous and stressed out, but when we go to Georgia and you get out there on the farm, you look totally relaxed?" That is exactly what I've been trying to explain! The kids didn't even argue and never once said they were bored! I am reading a book about how children are suffering from nature deficit disorder because of the loss of opportunities to enjoy and explore nature and it really rings true when I see the kids on the farm.