She did it again!

Well our little Patches did it again. Ken and I went to do a small bit of shopping this morning and while we were gone Patches got out of the fence again. We were not gone much over an hour and when we got back no Patches could be found. We looked everywhere and called her to no avail. Then we rode the neighborhood looking for her. We were both really worried. After a while when I was cooking I heard the dog next door barking and asked Ken to see if Patches was outside. There is a man that takes his walks on the neighborhood streets, he walks really fast and looks neither right nor left. Well he had already passed our house and was at the driveway next door. Patches was running along in front of him just like she belonged to him. Passed our house right by. Ken called her the second time and then she looked around and saw him and came running. We don't know if those National Guard guns went off while we were gone or not. They scare her so bad that she doesn't look like she knows what is going on.
We think she is climbing the fence to hunt us down. Guess we will have to shut the doggie door when we leave from now on.
My daughter's back is not doing any better so the doc went ahead and ordered another MRI, it will be done this Thursday then she will see the doc next week. I am looking for more surgery to follow. Thanks for all the prayers and good thoughts that all of you have sent her way.
I did get a few tomato plants put out but not all of them, then I stayed in bed most of the next two days with this back using ice packs.
Ken has been repairing the rails on the patio/porch and then he got that painted plus the floor. Guess he will get a couple of chairs to put out there and do away with the metal glider swing since one foot is rusting out.
Here is a Columbine I got last week.





Have a blessed evening everyone. Helen

My daughter and American Goldfinches

Ken and my daughter Mira have just come in. The doc said sometimes some more of the disk he has trimmed off slides out and presses on that nerve. He said give it two more weeks and if it's still not any better he wants another MRI done. I just hope he doesn't have to do surgery again. He wanted her to have a steroid pack but she is like me on that. She can't take them. He told her no sitting at all just standing or laying down. I am so worried about her. Right now it appears that she may not be able to teach any more this term.
Please continue to send up prayers for her. Thank you for the prayers that you have already sent.
The American Goldfinches have really come in this week. Ken and I went a couple of days ago and got one new feeder, we already had an old one and a sack of Thistle seeds. They are really eating them. By a couple of days this sack will be gone.
This batch is all males who haven't fully put all their summer plummage on yet. I noticed the white is showing up kinda blue looking.




This batch has one female in it. You can see which one is her.



Have a great night eyerybody and may it be a blessed one. Helen

New flower & my daughter

I went to Lowe's last Saturday and got a few flowers which I said I wasn't going to do this season. Also a few tomato plants but I haven't planted anything yet.

My daughter Mira is still having back problems. The scar has healed up good from the outside I just hope it is healing good on the inside. I will be so glad when all that swelling goes down. The pain is in her back, running out into one hip and down that leg. She still has not gone back to work. She is a bad diabetic also. She has an appointment to see her Doc again Wednesday afternoon. She still needs a lot of prayers please. Thanks in advance.

No, mine has not quit hurting either. The pain is not where my last surgery was done but down below there where I had a spinal fusion done many years ago and it is hurting around there. I don't regret having the last surgery because he got out a lot of scar tissue and some pretty good sized bones which I feel sure I would probably had to have fixed in the future and I am not getting any younger so I feel like it was best to go ahead and have it done.

Now on to one of the flowers I got which is a cyclamen.





Have a good night everyone and may it be a blessed one.

Thanks for your input and Hummer

Thanks to everyone for your input on the unknown critter from my last entry. I searched all over the internet but couldn't find anything exactly like it was. I believe Kelly came closest to guessing. It resembles a Crane Fly but the body and coloring look a little different. It may have changed once it dried out but it had flown away when I checked for it again so I didn't see it anymore.

I saw a female Ruby Throated Hummingbird over the weekend. I went immediately and fixed up some juice for it. The last couple of days it has been feeding from it. Yesterday I got off two quick shots through the glass door. It is not as close as I would have liked but I didn't have my telescope lens on the camera.







Have a blessed day everyone. Helen

What in the land is this critter?

As I was throwing pine blossoms out of my flower barrel this morning I threw what I thought was a black twig out then looked at the ground and saw something move. Then I noticed it was wriggling so I took a closer look, then decided to get my camera. When I got back and just had focused on it, it slide out of the black casing. I have never seen anything like this and just wondered if any of you had any idea what it was?



Click on picture for a better view.


Have a blessed day everyone. Helen

Have A Blessed Easter Everyone

Graphic by Sugar, Thanks Sugar.

Ken Eyes and flowers

Yesterday was a great day for Ken. He went to the eye doc for a checkup since he eyes had got so blurry. He could drop his glasses down and see the TV better without them.
Well guess what! His eyes are doing better and the reason things were so blurry was his glasses no longer suited him. They made him new glasses yesterday also. Today he went and got some groceries and he said he could see much better driving and he could read the labels on groceries much better. Praise the Good Lord. He still has the black spot in his eye but what he could see was much better. Those new eye vitamins must be working along with prayers. Yahoo!

My daughter's back is still giving her a lot of pain and she has not gone back to work yet. She still needs your prayers and good thoughts.

We had below freezing temps last night which damaged the flowers and trees. These pictures were made this past weekend.

Sweet Shrubs, check out the pollen on the petals.


The next ones are Azaleas










Have a blessed afternoon everybody. Helen

Yesterday we went to see about Mira , she is still in a lot of pain. This is what happened while we were gone.

They shoot loud tanks and guns which get really loud several miles from here in National guard training. The days they shoot it literally scares Patches about to death. She shakes uncontrollably and pants like crazy and paces all over the house. She was scared because they were shooting when we left but we had to go on and leave her for the first time. We were gone several hours and when we came home we couldn't find her anywhere. I thought she might have slipped out the door when I went out last. I walked the neighborhood calling her. One family said they petted her and she was real friendly then they went back inside and didn't know where she went. No one else I asked had seen her. I called and called her and walked entirely to much. Ken got in the car and hunted me down. I wanted to ride around and look for her so we rode several streets then got on the main road and I spotted her in a yard with two dogs. A man was sitting in the doorway with the door open. Ken whirled into the other road real quick and stopped and called her. I could already see her watching the car. She came running and ran out in front of a car which when they saw her they slowed down. That was one happy little girl that hopped in the car when Ken opened the door. Tail was wagging ninety miles an hour. I shed a few tears and said thank you Lord.
We really don't know if she slipped out when I did or climbed the fence trying to find us. She has never climbed the fence before. She was one happy little girl and I was one happy Mama. She is so friendly if anyone had tried to pick her up she would have went with them plus there are big dogs around here at times.
These were made this morning. It's hard to believe Ken just cut that grass the last part of the week.

Patches



Meanwhile when I came back inside Daisy has been snoozing.


Have a blessed afternoon everybody. Helen

Update on my daughter

Hello everybody, First let me thank all of you for your prayers, good thoughts and comments about my daughter's surgery.
She came through the surgery fine. One of her friends from school took her and called me often for an update. My back was not in shape to go and sit through the surgery. The doc did release her to come home several hours after the surgery with the condition that someone be with her for twenty four hours. Her friend brought her here to spend the night and she wanted to go on home this morning. I did lay in the backseat of the car and went with Ken to take her. She has called me a couple of times today saying her back was hurting pretty much. I think she is going to call the doc's office first thing in the morning and see if they will fax in a prescription for some muscle relaxers to go along with the pain med he gave her.

Here are some azaleas and a Japanese snowball bush that have already put out and in bloom in our yard.










Have a blessed night everyone and thank you all again. You are all great friends.
Love to you all, Helen