Chickadees Nesting!!

All winter we've had a Chickadee "couple" that would come and go in our backyard. I had heard them in the past in some bushes along a neighbor's yard, but had rarely seen them. They're probably my favorite bird, reminding me of the house I grew up in that was built next to a wooded area. I remember seeing them a lot and always loved hearing them and seeing how they were always in pairs.

Yesterday (Wednesday) I was looking out our kitchen window and I saw them around the pond again, which is where they are usually. I saw a clump of debris in the beak of one of them, then he worked his way up our lilac like he was hopping up stairs then leaped into a wren box that I made about 3 years ago. We've never had an "occupant" in that house and I'm THRILLED that Chickadees are getting use out of it.

I quickly went and got Savannah because that house was made for her. Andrew's house, on the other side of the backyard, has had house wrens nesting in it each year since I put it out three years ago. However, last year they didn't choose it as their summer home. The male put a lot of work into preparing the house, but the female chose another location instead.

As I'm typing this post the male chickadee has started working again... the female sits in the lilac bush watching as he makes several trips in and out with nesting material. Every once in awhile I'll see her dart into the house to check out his progress.

I just looked out and now I have a thrush working around under the lilac... good year for birding in our backyard so far!! Warblers will be arriving soon :) I've promised Andrew and Savannah that I would take each of them (separately) bird watching with me this spring... I've shown them pictures of the more common migrating birds I've seen in years past and they're excited about maybe seeing them.

The other night, on my nightly walk with Bella, we were walking through Illinois Wesleyan's campus and I saw something in a tree just over where we were walking... as I focused in I realized it was a brown screech owl (much smaller than I was expecting). It was no more than 4 to 5-feet from me staring at Bella and I. He seemed satisfied to just sit and watch us. I was hoping to get another look at him when we came back around the quad, but he was gone.

I did some pond work on Tuesday... I installed a skimmer to house the pump/filter. I had been wanting to get it out of the pond to allow for better water circulation and give the fish more room in the deep end of the pond where the waterfall is. However, in the process of this I lost my larger fish... I had to reduce the pond level down quite low and I stirred up the "yuck" at the bottom of the pond. I'm sure the oxygen level dropped considerably... I saw the fish surfacing quite often to "grab" some good air. I lost two of my larger ones that night and three more Wednesday (plus a couple of small ones). The water has now cleared and appears to have stabilized. We had several fish, so it's not a great loss, but I just hate to be the cause of their fatality.

We already had sitings of our frog this week, too. He appeared on Monday (I think). With the warmer weather we've been having I assumed he would appear soon. He's probably not very happy with me, though. In moving the waterfall pump I had to take apart some of the waterfall... his "hiding place" was behind the rocks of the waterfall. I put it back together, but there isn't a hiding place anymore since the pump/tubing is gone. Hopefully he won't go to our neighbor's pond in disgust.

Sick Doggie

Bella had her first visit to see Dr Torry today (our vet). It all seemed to be going well, until the blood test was taken... Bella has heartworm. Torry was honest about everything with Laurie, explaining the stages she could be in, the treatments, the cost (VERY expensive) and the possible results.

Laurie sent me a text message to tell me and my heart just sank. After I called her I called the rescue shelter that we adopted Bella from. She immediately assured me that they would cover everything, but that they would have to do all of the treatments. The cost to have a vet do it would be too much for them to reimburse, so they (with a vet at their rescue) would do the testing to see what stage she is at, give her the first medicine (an injection) that is very strong and will kill the worms in her heart. They will be keeping her for a couple of days to observe her... she has to be kept calm (as calm as a beagle can be!!) The worms will begin to pass through her arteries and that's when problems can arise... if the worms are too big they can cause blood clots and she could die. If she can make it past all that... 30-days after the injection she is given an oral medication. Then, all we can do is wait and hope. She'd be checked again in a few months.

The rescue shelter didn't do a heartworm test because the shelter in Georgia said they had completed one it was negative. However, it's obvious that she probably had it/got it in GA... so... did they really complete a test or not? Makes you wonder...

I asked the owner of the rescue shelter if they would be reimbursed by the shelter in GA and she said no, it's not even worth attempting. That's so sad.... considering they went down to GA to rescue her or she would have been put down. And this is the result. She also said that had the shelter in GA known she had heartworm they would have put her down.

Everything was explained to the kids this afternoon. Andrew was very emotional about it... Savannah was being very positive.

I told Laurie that I finally came to the acceptance of it all while eating my lunch in the parking lot at Lowes in the rain (no, I don't make it practice to eat my lunch there, but... it was a convenient location today [img]http://mazeguy.net/basic/biggrin.gif[/img] )... if we were meant to see Bella through this and give her last days happy ones... OK. I'm still hoping for the best, but have accepted otherwise.

We've only had Bella just over a month... but she has really become a big part of our lives. It would be difficult to lose her so quickly and in such a terrible way. But... we'll just hope for the best and pray.

Rain Rain Rain

I could complain that the rain is keeping me from working, but... how can I? After so many times of wishing for rain the last two to three years it's nice to see it. And besides... I've been taking advantage of my rain-time by planning for my customer's containers and annual/tropical plantings.

Laurie and the kids started their spring breaks today... I hope they get some sun next week to enjoy their time off.

BRACKET WOES..... My picks aren't doing too well in the NCAA Men's Tournament. In one Pick'em... I only have one final four pick left. The good thing is that it is Florida, who I also chose to win it all. In the other Pick'em, same thing. Only one left, and it's Florida. They are literally my only hope. The best I can do in the "Family Pick'em" is 3rd (which is highly unlikely) and the best I can do in the "Friend Pick'em" is 2nd (also highly unlikely). So much for another losing Pick'em contest. Fantasy Baseball is next... I'm sure I'll do as well as I always do with that, too.

I've forgotten a few things about "Why it's nice not to have a dog":
#1) No wet dog smell in your house when it's raining
(Got to love that smell of your dog after you get back from a long walk in the rain)
#2) No juggling acts while on a casual walk in the rain
(Have you ever tried to carefully pick up poop using a plastic bag in one hand and in the other hand trying to hold the largest golfing umbrella ever made and a leash then feeling the sharp excited tug of a beagle that's just caught the scent of a rabbit... all in a down pour??? Let me tell you, it's a lot of fun...)
#3) Silent nights (Nothing like hearing the sad lonely whines, cries and barks of a beagle thinking it's been left all alone in the world at 2 in the morning)

Yes, we're on a learning curve... but we've been thru learning curves before (marriage, job changes, moves, baby, another baby, more job changes...). Isn't life just one learning curve after another anyway?

Adopting an 18-month beagle isn't for everyone (and sometimes I'm wondering what we were thinking), but I wouldn't give her up for anything. We are finding that she doesn't like to be disturbed when she's resting... by Savannah and Andrew, that is. They're usually the ones that try to pet her when she's just layed down on her pillow (her 5-foot long body pillow that she quickly claimed as hers and seems to think is her "queen bed") from a walk or play time. Tonight Savannah walked over to get a Bible from their book basket and Bella must have thought she was reaching for her.... she growled and snipped at her. It scared Savannah, but she didn't get her. New dog rule #3,573... don't bother Bella when she's on her "throne."

I have a feeling blogging will become less frequent as I get busier. I'll probably be making additions by phone or email more. I'll be sure to begin sharing containers/annual beds as I complete them this spring.

GO GATORS!!

Tournament Time (Woo Hoo!!)

It's always a fun time of year... NCAA basketball tournament. Three consecutive weekends that are completely focused on college basketball. Every year our families compete in a Tournament Pick'em contest and I always stink at my picks, but it's always fun to participate, make jabs at other's picks and ESPECIALLY make fun of how bad Illinois always does (ok, except for recently). Of course I was wrong on the very first game that finished... Boston College beat Texas Tech (my pick). And the only reason I chose Texas Tech was because Laurie is a big Bobby Knight fan... Grrrr... And we all know the number of times Bobby's teams have gotten booted first round.

And of course I'm cheering for my Gators

AWESOME weather the last couple of days. Luckily I got to be out in it yesterday morning, but had to sit at my computer all afternoon. Got to love 70-degree-plus days in March!! But, we're back to reality again today.. 45-degrees, and that's about as warm as it's suppose to get for the next few days.

A friend and I went to Chicago (actually Rosemont) on Monday to the Chicago Flower & Garden Show. I wasn't as impressed with it this year, but it's always nice to see blooms & green foliage when all you've seen are dead-looking things outside. My friends got a few good ideas, but... not much for me. But, it was just nice to get away for a day. If you want any ideas for some small little table arrangements here are some examples... HA HA HA!!! Are these over the top or what? I love them!!

Getting LOTS of birds at the feeders the last couple of days - gold finches, cardinals, and our happy little Carolina Wren who made himself very much at home in and around our pond and waterfall all winter. He's pretty much claimed it as his own the last couple of days... he likes to hop around on the rocks on the ledge of the pond and then hide in the ivy under a lilac bush right near the pond. Yesterday I had the windows open so I could hear him and the gold finches all afternoon.

My gorgeous orchid is starting to lose it's flowers... I enjoyed it while I could. At least they all were in full bloom for a few days.

I think this is the first winter I've had complete success with all plants that I brought inside my home. Of course, I'm still not sure about the bananas resting in the basement... I know I'm going to have to cut them back further than before. But, I think the made corum/tuber is still good on most of them - at least the larger ones. We'll know in a few weeks when I plant them. I'll keep everyone informed on progress of my gardens all spring/summer/fall. I'm hoping for a good year with my own gardens... it will help that I won't be gone for almost 3-weeks late June / early July.

The palms that I took to the church this winter have done a little better than last year (four triangle palms, a foxtail palm and a spindle palm, all belonging to a customer)... of course I won't REALLY know until I get them back outside and see how they re-adapt. The palms I assumed would die are starting to... Majesty palms HATE it indoors. But, I can't get myself to just throw them away at the end of the outdoor growing season. I also had several variegated gingers and they REALLY hate it indoors, especially after they've been growing outside in the ground all spring/summer/fall. In Florida vari. gingers are more of a shrub, but when grown in containers or in the grounds up north as an annual they are much smaller. Also, we don't get to enjoy their flower

Bella's training is coming along. The above picture is cute of her, but SO deceiving!! It's amazing how much energy a beagle can have!! Last Saturday she went on a power walk with Laurie in the early morning, a couple mile run with me late morning, a long walk with Laurie and the kids in the afternoon, and a long walk with me in the evening. What's really amazing is that she has her nose down and sniffing to WHOLE TIME!! You can definitely tell beagles are hunting dogs!! She scented an opossum in the back yard the other night when her and I were in the front getting back from a walk... she almost literally drug me to the back and then took off after the little creature. Luckily she couldn't get close to it because of the leash. I have a feeling we won't have as much of a problem with raccoons from now on. (See blog dated 10/28/06 for a complete history... and for a good laugh!!)

First accepted bid!!

I got word today that the bid I made for an interiorscape job at a local restaurant has been accepted... WOO HOO!!
This is my first accepted bid and seemed like the perfect first opportunity as I take my business into the interior market. I meet with the GM on Thursday morning to discuss plants, containers, setup and maintenance contract. A week ago I wasn't sure that I would win the bid... sounded like I was too high and he was fishing for more bids.
Hopefully this is the first of many to come...

Fire hazard or normal?

Do you use CFL's? (That's "compact fluorescent lights")

We've been using them for about 3-4 years now in our house. Each bulb is to have a five-year life and can save you between $45 to $75 over the life of the bulb. (That might be a stretch according to many... that's assuming an average use of 4-hours a day)

HOWEVER... we had something strange happen to one of ours last night in the basement. Laurie went down to work on laundry and smelled something strange... she quickly realized it was coming from one of the CFL bulbs in the basement. The smell is difficult to describe, but was somewhat of an acidic/plastic smell. As I researched this online last night others have described it as an "acrid" smell (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/acrid).

When we looked more closely at the bulb it was obvious there was a problem...

But, our CFL bulb wasn't near what some others have looked like, and as far as we know didn't give the flames/sparks/smoke that others have reported. It caused a lot of concern for Laurie and I last night because of how many we have in our house. We're definitely going to start watching them more closely, and will not leave any lights on using those bulbs while we're out of the house or during the night.

The bulb of ours that malfunctioned is as follows...

Here is a link that reported others who had problems:
http://www.execulink.com/~impact/globe13watt.htm

And here is a link that might explain it all... http://www.thegreenguide.com/doc.mhtml?i=ask&s=cfl. Well, sort of... They say, in so many words, what happened to our bulb is normal. If that's normal, to give an "acrid" smell and discolor the base as if it was burning, that concerns me.

Like I said earlier... I guess we'll just pay more attention to use, especially while we're gone or at night.

Dog Training Woes

Well... "it" finally happened... Yeah, you already guessed it. We've had a few accidents (Why do they really call it that anyway? They're not accidents... Bella is just getting us back for leaving her in a little crate while we're gone!!) We've gotten a little frustrated with her at times, but... that's to be expected, right?

But... isn't she cute???

No further nap-times with Amy Baby (Savannah's baby doll... see picture in previous blog entry) have been allowed. In fact, Savannah's princess couch was put into her bedroom. However, Bella has made claim to a body pillow that we've been keeping under the couch and the kids pull out sometimes to lay on (or use as their gymnastics pad). Savannah and Andrew are also learning that they do have to keep their things (little and big) off the floor. Savannah also learned today that her "secret hiding place" for her pack of gum wasn't that secret for Bella... she sniffed it out and had quite the fun time with it in her bed. Luckily it didn't stick to anything.

We need to really think about sending Savannah to make-up school... and I don't mean like a Mary Kay camp... I mean makeup school for like aspiring makeup artists for movies. Checkout the job she did on herself to make us think someone beat her up!!

Orchid update... check this out now...

You can't really see it too well, but the flowers form a perfect spiral up the main stem. It's brightened up our blah winter days.

My jasmine plant has stopped it's blooming :( So, back to using scented candles in the house again.

It's already started in our house... a few years before I thought it really would... Savannah made this sign today (remember, she's only 4) and had me tape it at the top of her bedroom doorway...

When Andrew got home from school and saw Savannah's sign, he decided to make his own and taped it on the wall beside his bedroom door...

Andrew also has entered the "kissing is so gross" stage. If he sees any kissing at all on TV he immediately covers his eyes and groans. Many times if he sees it coming you'll hear an, "Oh no" right before. He's told Laurie and I that he really doesn't want us to kiss him anymore, that it's just too yucky. He's also announced to us that he can't ever get married because girls are just too yucky. We'll see how long THAT lasts!!

Website for my business is up and going... it's all text right now, though... I'm hoping to get several pictures up on the site this weekend or by Monday at the latest. Website address is www.tropical-touch.com. It gets across the basic info about my business, and that is what's important right now. I also delivered display signs with business cards to two garden centers in Bloomington today. That's where I've received most of my business in the past, so I hope and pray that it continues. However, if I want "business from businsses" it'll take more work and better preparation... I'll have to start making contacts, calling, visiting and selling myself and my business. It'll be much different than working solely with residential customers as I did previously.

I'm much more anxious (in and good way) and excited about getting back into the swing of things this year compared to last year. Last year at this time I was very frustrated and I was dreading spring and summer. But, this year is much different.

Andrew & Savannah Sledding

After our big snow a couple of weeks ago, Andrew & Savannah went sledding on our front "hill." It's not much of a hill, but they had a blast anyway for about an hour!! Oh to be 4 and 6 again and not have too high of expectations! (just click on the video file below)

100_0439.mov

Southern Bella

Meet... Southern Bella... she was born Aug 23, 2005. She arrived in Northern Illinois just over a week ago after being rescued from a high-kill shelter in Georgia. Her given name was "Bella", and since she is from Georgia we added "Southern" to make it more appropriate. She's already house-broken, very lovable, does very well with the kids and LOVES DOLLS! (See below... We'll be sure not to let this become a habit... she has a nice new comfy bed right next to Savannah's princess couch, but for some reason was attracted more to the princess couch where Amy Baby was laying... isn't that cute!!) She is very healthy and lively, but we've yet to hear her bark... she cried for about 10-15 minutes last night when we put her down, and it was actually very light crying. No accidents yet in the house, either... I know, we'll get it yet. She did take the time this morning to hide two chew-bones in the house, from Andrew & Savannah I guess (one in our coat closet and another behind Laurie's desk in the living room)... it was hilarious to watch her do this.


When she's playing hard she likes to lightly "nibble", but you can't really feel it... she has a good sense with her teeth while playing... she basically just wraps her mouth around your fingers (or for Savannah it's her arm) and doesn't even squeeze. Savannah hasn't liked that too much, though. To her, a "playful nibble" is a BITE.


Anyway... she's doing well... I'm sure she feels a little confused by her move from GA to IL (she's still not too sure about snow), a stay at the shelter for awhile, then to a foster home for about a week and now to our house. But, I think she's going to adapt just fine.

Robin Arrival!!

Woo Hoo!! I saw my first Robin yesterday... Maybe word got around the animal kingdom after Groundhog's Day. I also had 4 male cardinals at our bird feeders this morning... no females. I guess they had a little male pow-wow to discuss spring coming, too.

My jasmine plant is in bloom and W-O-W!! Savannah and I counted 44 open blooms this morning... And it smells SO sweet!! It's probably my favorite flower scent. We don't have to burn any candles for a few days at least. I put it in the same window every winter getting the most sun possible, away from any vents and watering it quite often to keep the soil evenly moist... when it starts developing it's buds it takes even more watering, about every other day (the soil mixture allows for quick drainage so it won't get soggy).

I took some drastic steps on a couple of plants recently... I always hate to do it, but now is the time when I cut back those that need it before they begin their spring growth spurts.

My Night Blooming Jasmine was the first to be "reduced" to twigs... it hasn't taken long for new sprouts to start appearing.

I also removed the main stem of my Dwarf Cavendish Banana (above)... I had three new pups coming up and the old stem wasn't producing new leaves and I wanted all of the plant's resources going to the new pups. This morning I saw a fourth pup peeking through the soil and the old original stem has begun to push up a new leaf. I'll be transplanting all of the pups shortly into their own containers. I'm hoping to find a nice partly sunny/partly shady spot outside to put them in the ground. I had one in the ground for a customer last year and it did very well. I'll probably keep the orginal stem in this container, though.

I de-leafed my "Mini Benji" (that's my name for it, not the real name) a couple of weeks ago... I've had this little guy for about four years and I pinch off all of the leaves when they get to be full size... Usually about three to four times a year.

I LOVE this orchid (Oncidium Jiuhbao) that I bought a couple of weeks ago. This is probably the most beautiful orchid flower I have ever seen. I wanted something bright and colorful but I wasn't expecting THIS.

I originally wrote this blog on Wednesday, but spent most of the day on the couch sick. I woke up Tuesday night with an upset stomach and it continued to get worse. By the time I got up Wednesday morning I was really feeling sick... cloudy in the head, nauseated, all of my joints aching. Such a wonderful feeling!! I even went to bed early (I never do that). I'm feeling better today, but still not 100%... and with the little warmer temps, my sinuses are bothering me. I strict orderes today from Laurie to not overdo myself. :)

Another Cub Flub

Is it just me, or do others think they really should have given Wood the boot during the off-season? And people wonder why I started wearing a White Sox cap rather than a Cubs cap in 2000... My fury with the Ivy Covered Beer Garden is justified once again.


Kerry Wood hurt in fall from hot tub
By Associated Press

MESA, Ariz. -- Oft-injured Kerry Wood is out again - this time because of a flub in a hot tub.

The Chicago Cubs pitcher is not expected to throw off the mound for a few days after he slipped this week getting out of a hot tub at home. Wood landed on his stomach and chest."

It was just a little spill," Wood said Thursday. "I didn't think anything of it. Nothing's wrong. It's just going to be a few extra days. My arm feels great. My body feels good."

Wood said he probably would not have thrown off the mound until Friday had he not gotten hurt. He participated in most drills on Thursday when pitchers and catchers worked out for the first time.

Bothered by an injured right shoulder the past three seasons, Wood is being converted to a reliever after being limited to four starts last year.

Blizzard of '07

Here's what we woke up to on Wed. morning... 13-inches of snow was nice to look at for about... 5-minutes!!

Ok, so it wasn't all that bad... until I had to start shoveling, and shoveling, and shoveling. So maybe it was nice for about 15-minutes.

The car didn't get out until today (Thursday) due to the city forgetting about our street. After a few calls and some detailed explanations of how nice all the other streets in our area looked... two trucks with plows finally showed up.

It took about 2-hours of work to get the truck out... Having rear-wheel drive and no weight in the back didn't help!! Though I did find that throwing the shovel and kicking some snow clumps did seem to help :) And it was very entertaining for the neighbors, too.

The bad part was that I had to park it 2-blocks away to leave room for the street to be plowed. The last thing I wanted was for the plows to come by and bury the truck back in after I spent so much time digging it out.

I had a good time this morning taking the kids to school and Laurie to work... I had a little trouble getting onto our street since the intersection had a 2-foot snow mound blocking it. See the fire hydrant in that picture? Our street is just beyond that... of course, you can't tell because the snow mound continues from one block thru our intersection and to the next block.

But once I broke thru and found my way onto the tire ruts made by a few other trucks that had driven down our street, I was in good shape... until I had to break through the snow mound at the other end of our block.

So... I picked up Savannah first and took her to pre-school, then came back and picked up Andrew and took him to his school, then came home and got Laurie and took her to work. You would think by then I would have some good tracks leading onto our street, but as I pulled onto our street to run into the house and get something... I got stuck again and spent a couple of minutes rocking back and forth.

Needless to say, I was VERY happy to see the plows come down our street... My neighbors might have thought I was a little crazy, though, when they saw me jumping up and down on the sidewalk cheering for the plows like a kid at a Fourth of July parade. Just kidding... :)