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Mothers Day Recap

Another Mothers’ Day has come and gone.

The older you get, the more you realize how important Mothers Day is to Moms. Especially Moms with long-empty nests who don’t get to see their families nearly as often as they would like.

Mike and I are very fortunate to have both of our Moms still with us. While we’ve spent quite a few Mothers’ Days in West Virginia in recent years, this year we stayed in Maryland. So we actually got to visit with both of our Moms yesterday. They were both happy to see us. Especially since we arrived bearing a card, flowers, and a gift for each. We haven’t done such a great job celebrating in years past because of the West Virginia place. So I’m glad we got to see them both yesterday.

And as promised in my Mothers’ Day post, I even made Hubby take pictures.

We stopped at my mother-in-law’s house first.

Me with my mother-in-law on Mothers' Day.

From there, we went to visit my Mom.

Me with my Mom on Mothers' Day.

We didn’t get to visit for very long because we’d spent all morning planting flowers in our yard. (I do have pictures, but they are on my other camera.)

As for our kids, we only saw one of them yesterday. Of course, Shannon lives with us. For now. She’ll be moving to California at the end of this month. I haven’t said a whole lot about that here for a couple of reason, one of which is I’m just trying not to think about it.

Speaking of Shannon, look what she had delivered on Saturday. A whole box of chocolate-covered strawberries. Just for me. 🙂

Yum

The strawberries were delicious. I did share them with Hubby and Shannon, even though the card that came along with them specifically said NOT to share. Meg got some, too, but not because I wanted her to. (When I was eating the biggest strawberry, the chocolate cracked and fell onto the ground. Chocoholic Meg was on it quicker than I could even blink.) Amy called me. She spent the morning with her family having a picnic in the park. Eric sent me a text message.

Is it just my family or are greeting cards becoming a thing of the past? I always made sure both mothers and my grandmother got cards from Hubby and I on Mothers Day. When the kids were young, we got the mothers and grandmothers separate cards from the kids, too. I’m thinking the Internet/cell phone/text message age is making greeting cards obsolete. Which is a real shame. I know my Moms would have enjoyed cards from the grand kids, too.

On another note… I’m in West Virginia with the doggie girls. We’re having the kitchen cabinets at our Maryland house refaced. It’s easier holing up here with the dogs than having to deal with them for several days while trying to work with strange men going in and out of the house making all kinds of construction noises.

Everything is green

I snapped a few pics while out walking with the dogs just past the crack of dawn this morning (crazy morning bitches!). Look how green the trees have gotten.

Morning fog in the hollow.

A thick fog blanketed the valleys this morning. Isn’t it amazing to see how much the trees have filled in? Summer is most definitely just around the corner.

VERY green trees.

The trees are all very green and very full.

Fading Dogwood blossoms.

The Dogwood blossoms are definitely past their prime.

Redbud tree with not even a hint of pink.

The Redbuds are completely finished blooming. Even if the pink is gone, I still get to enjoy them because of the heart-shaped leaves.

It should be an interesting, and quiet, week.

I hope all of the Moms I know had a happy Mothers’ Day. Don’t worry Dads, Fathers’ Day is just around the corner.

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Picture-perfect Easter Greetings

After what has seemed like days/weeks of rainy/cold/otherwise crappy weather, today’s weather is picture-perfect. Yesterday was, too, as you’ll see in the images I have shared below.

Another very cool Graphics Fairy image.
Happy Easter!

I may have started with “all is right in the world” except for one thing. We got word yesterday that my Dad’s oldest brother, Bob, passed away. We knew it was coming (based on other news we’d received earlier in the week), but it is still very sad. My heart is definitely heavy on this lovely Easter morning.

We’re at the WV Place (surprised?). We spent most of the day yesterday trying to finish up all the little projects hanging over our heads. Hubby did the last bit of drywall finishing because he got tired of hearing me whine about it. I started hanging the slate tiles on the half wall that flanks the kitchen. There’s one little spot remaining on that wall, and then there’s another little piece of wall to do. I’ll finish that today before heading back to MD.

Hubby made me a fabulous breakfast of bacon, eggs, hash browns, and biscuits. It was delicious. Isn’t it funny how food always tastes so much better when someone else cooks it for you?

All of my girls are waiting patiently for their morning stroll. And it’s such a nice day, I’m pretty anxious to get out there myself. But first, here are some very Spring pictures I captured yesterday…

Redbud

(I hope you’re not tired of seeing the Redbuds yet!)

Dogwood Tree
Turkey Hollow Road (our "street")

Dogwood & Redbuds
Dogwood

Here a a couple good pictures of the girls. (Post wouldn’t be complete without them!)

Meg (it was her turn to get dirty this weekend)
K and Belle

I hope you and your family have a lovely Easter.

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Belated Happy Friday

I wanted to post this image this morning. Honest. But there was something wrong with my server.

Once I started working, with the exception of lunch, I didn’t stop until about 6:20. Then it was time to pack and hop into the truck for the 3-hour ride to the WV Place.

We made it. I’m pooped. I’ll have more to say tomorrow I’m sure. Or, at the very least, some images to share.

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Spring Hunting Expedition

Friday was a picture-perfect Spring day. Saturday it rained. And rained. And rained some more. For the most part, the showers were intermittent. Until late afternoon when the serious storms rolled through — with thunder, lightning, and even hail — dumping three inches of water on us.

You can only imagine how saturated the ground is.

The good news? The morning-after light and clouds made for a very cool picture (if I do say so myself).

Spring Morning After the Storm

The bad news? The saturated ground made for some very dirty dogs. Especially since they were hunting.

Belle Hunting

K is our most-dedicated (fanatical) hunter. Belle has been learning from K, apparently. She discovered this rotted stump earlier in the day on Saturday. Rotted stumps seem to be the preferred homes for mice and other woodland rodents.

Belle Hunting

Later in the day, while we were walking between rain showers, Belle revisited the aforementioned rotted stump.

She was so obsessed, she stayed there, digging, while I walked to the end of the road with the other girls. That is VERY unlike Belle, who usually doesn’t like to let me out of her sight for more than about 30 seconds.

"What!?! Can't you see I am busy?"

This is the look I got after calling her name repeatedly. She was obsessed I tell you.

"I know you're in there!"

The girl was definitely on a mission. But she did finally give up and leave her stump, near the end of our driveway, to return to the house with me. Maybe because it had started raining again.

Later (right before dinner), Belle and K were tag-teaming whatever critters were lurking under this stump, which is very close to our house. In fact, I could watch them from the kitchen.

I knew they had to be getting dirty. But every now and then, just like with kids, you have to say “what the heck” and just let them have their fun.

Dirt washes off, right?

"What!?! Would you QUIT calling me already? I'm hunting!"

Belle was the only one who would even stop when I was calling their names.

A Rare Face Shot

I actually caught a shot of K’s face. She wasn’t completely ignoring me after all.

Dedicated Hunters

That glimpse of her face was definitely fleeting. She was back at in in milliseconds.

They did eventually give up on that stump. Maybe because it was time for their dinner?

The Hunt Resumes

During our after dinner walk, Belle was back to the original stump.

"I know you're in there. I KNOW it."

She did not want to give up. Notice how dirty her legs have gotten?

I shot a video, too, which I’ll have to share later. She dug and dug and dug. Finally, I tipped the stump over so she could get at whatever it was she was going for.

There was nothing there. Just some old nesting material. Either it was an old nest or the residents had decided to get out of Dodge during Belle’s earlier assault.

She did finally give up on that stump. But even after it got dark, despite the fact that it was raining, she and K kept running in and out, digging (I assume) at the stump right behind the house.

During the course of the evening, Belle got progressively dirtier.

By the time bedtime had rolled around, she was one DIRTY dog.

Belle (After the Hunt)

So much for our cute little princess.

Belle (After the Hunt)

I think she was even a little embarrassed. But that didn’t stop her from going out for more.

Belle at Her Dirtiest

This was the last shot of the evening. She even had mud caked around her eyes.

A short time later, after she’d dried, I noticed that the top of her head and sides of her face were crusty with dried mud. I couldn’t let my baby girl go to bed looking like that, so I washed her face for her.

You should have seen how brown those paper towels were. Yuck!

Have your critters been enjoying the wet Spring as much as mine have?

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Happy Spring Day

We didn’t come to the WV Place last weekend (one of Shannon’s girlfriends, who we’d never met, came to the MD house to visit). So I was looking doubly forward to this weekend to see what changes the coming of Spring had wrought.

One of my favorite things to do is walk through the woods, looking, listening, and just observing all the subtle natural changes.

I was delighted to see the trees have started blooming.

"Hello, Spring!"

I was especially happy to see the Redbuds have started blooming. That’s when you know Spring is really here.

Rudbud Tree Starting to Bloom

I was also very tickled to see this little butterfly (or moth). It was only about an inch and a half long.

"Hello, little butterfly!"

Another of my favorite pastimes is watching the dogs enjoying their freedom in the woods. Each and every one of them absolutely LOVE the WV place.

K in one of her rare moments without her head buried in something.

I swear they all run around with big, silly grins on their faces when they are here.

K the Hunter

That’s K in a more-familiar state. If you ever wonder why I post more pictures of Meg and Belle than I do of K, this is why. She’s usually got her head buried under something or is dashing like a crazy dog through the trees sniffing stuff. I think she has some cat blood in her. She’s supposed to be a bird dog, not a rodent hunter.

Click here for a larger version of this image.
Belle

Belle is a follower. She and K were just walking along when K decided to stick her head under that stump. Belle stopped and looked back as if to say, “Hey, wait a minute. What’s under there?”

The Tag-Team

Belle just had to go back for a better look. K was by that point shoulder-deep under the stump. And Belle was watching closely to see what she would find.

Bored Tree Cavity

The previous evening, the two young ones had bored out this tree cavity. No rodent is safe in our yard. Not one.

Waiting for Dad

This was Meg earlier in the day, waiting for Hubby to come back from town with lunch. My lunch, not her lunch.

Speaking of Meg, while the young girls were chasing rodents, she was off doing some hunting of her own.

Look what she found…

Meg wins the prize for finding the largest bone EVER.

That is a big bone. I have no idea where she got it. The thing is, it didn’t smell all nasty and decayed like most stuff they drag home. It sorta-kinda smelled like ham. Which makes me think Meg may have robbed one of the neighbor’s smokers.

You should have seen Belle’s eyes light up when she saw Meg walk past with that big-ass bone.

"Can I have some?"

K was too busy hunting to notice the bone right away. But she did finally notice right before I took it from Meg.

They were all looking at me as if to say, “Aw, c’mon, Mama. Where’d you put the bone?”

What sort of Spring changes are happening in your neck of the woods?