Happy 2nd Birthday Lola!

Happy Birthday to my girly-whirly, Lola. CKC. Ch. Mountainair's Lullaby of Kimberlite. She's a big two now.

Move Over Dumbo

I was out clearing and cleaning up the caragana bushes that surround our house, when suddenly my right ear lobe is on fire. I've been stung, by what I presume is a wasp (could be a hornet) and I go howling into the house and put an ice cube on my earlobe. WOW! Does that ever hurt. Now, my earlobe has blown up. Fortunately, I am not allergic to stings, but, I've kind of lost my interest in clearing any more brush. I went back...sneaking like a thief in the night, least those little buggers were still around, but I could not find a nest. So, maybe this was stray wasp, or maybe the nest is in the ground. Or maybe, this is retribution because I went and cut down a wasp nest this morning on the other side of the lawn. Perhaps I am being targeted now?

Working My Butt Off and Getting Fatter

Sigh...I was weighed and measured on Thursday, July 22 and I was SO SURE that I would be a winner. My scale showed a loss of 8 pounds and my clothes are not so tight anymore and my sister said I looked different. However, Curves said I was bigger by 1 inch EVERYWHERE!!!! and what's more was 1 percent more FAT than what I was when I joined, and I'd only lost 2 pounds according to their scale.

I've been literally busting my ass for the last month and apparantly burning at the least 400 calories per workout - yet, no results. This is just not making sense to me.

King Birds

Imagine - no posts in over a month and then two in one day!

Two years ago we had a pair of Western Kingbirds nesting in our Blue Spruce Tree. They are highly entertaining to watch and are very territorial about their tree. They would fight off anything that was around their tree, including us, the cats, and other birds. This pair successfully raised 4 babies. Both mom and dad care for the babies.

Last year they attempted to nest in the same spot, unfortunately something ate/destroyed their eggs.

This year, instead of the Western Kingbirds, we have a pair of Eastern Kingbirds, nesting on some dead willows out in our pond. I've been watching them, and apart from not having the yellow breast colour of their western cousins, these birds are very similar. They are also extremely protective of their nest and both parents care for the feeding and toilet duties of the babies. Today I spent the better part of an hour (while sitting in my hot tub) watching the parents feed their four babies - about every 30 seconds these babies received some sort of bug. And when the babies pooped, the poop was quickly scooped up and dumped about 50 feet from the nest. When I went down to take these pictures, the parents were VERY upset with me and dive bombed me screeching! The babies remained in a "frozen" position while I snapped these shots - I am sure the parents were screeching...DANGER! DON'T MOVE!

No, I Have Not Fallen Off the Face of the Earth

So, it's been over a month since I've last posted. Perhaps some are wondering about "Tweet"? I've not had the pleasure of "Tweet" since my last post - I have seen a young robin flying about and I am hoping it is "Tweet", but he doesn't come to me. But, I should be happy about that, as it means he will make his flight down south and be a real robin.

It has been super wet here and all we've been doing is mowing lawns. It grows so quickly that I actually create "wind rows" when I mow. The lawns look wonderful - lush and green, but enough already. Luckily our property is on a hill so we have no worries of flooding, unlike many unfortunate people throughout the Prairies, including the farmers, who are dealing with this unprecedented wet weather. Hoard your flour people - the price of bread will be sky rocketing.

Peter and I went on our first vacation ( in 8 years) away from the dogs last week. An overnight in Regina - we went to the Science Centre and saw the amazing and extraordinary exhibit: "Our Body: The Universe Within" and also went to the Kramer Imax Theatre and saw the show "Mummies". Wish I had that flat screen in my living room.

My friend Lynne looked after our dogs and cats and did a fantastic job. She is going to look after them when we attend my nephew's wedding at the end of July. This time we will be gone a whole 4 days!

I have joined the gym "Curves" and it's been just a month now and I am already seeing results. I will be getting weighed and measured this week. I will certainly be posting my progress.

Lastly - perhaps the real reason for the inactivity on my blog is simply having nothing to say. After losing the 4 dogs this year and no luck in breeding, I am still trying to regroup and just figure out what my future holds.