Robins in my Lemon Tree

Morning to all, Well, we are enjoying the spring going into summer. Down at Nita's home, I watched a robin raise her little ones and watched them fledge from the back porch on a rainy day, the dove at the end of the porch still sitting on eggs when we left. Downstairs outside on the front of the house there is another robin sitting on her eggs on the latticework next to the walkway toward the porch. Just before we left we noticed that one of the eggs had hatched, so there goes another batch of robins, which will fledge before we get back down there, the doves also.

Here is a pic of the robin on top of the electric box and the dove is on the trellis just to the side of where the robin built.

 

When we got to OH. this time around we found our plants blown over and to my surprise was a robin nest and 4 broken eggs next to it on our driveway. So I picked up the plants ( one large lemon tree, and tree-shaped oleander) and picked up the nest and we wired it to the lemon tree. It just looked so cute there is the only reason I did it. Then a few days later Vince was going by on the riding mower and saw a bird fly away from the tree, so he went to take a look, and what to his and my surprise was a single robin egg in the nest. So we have now anchored the pot with heavy rocks on top of the pot and braced the sides so the wind can't blow it down again. So here we are with more robins coming along. This pot is perhaps 10 feet from the garage and we are out there off and on each day and so are the dogs, the robin does not seem too bothered by all this... So today it is raining and I know the robin is good and wet as the lemon tree does not have a lot of leaves to cover her very well, almost want to tie an umbrella over her-----I know I know that is going to far. WOW! Just went out to snap a pic and there was another egg. So she has 2 done and 2 more to go, lol Here is a pic of the lemon tree and the nest.

P.S. yes she left the nest and it is raining and you can see it; raindrops on the eggs. Now for the amazing part, Nita grew this lemon tree from a seed in W. V. She gave it to me when it was about 12 inches in height. I brought it home and planted it in a larger pot and over the years it has grown to this size. I pruned it way back last fall, was just getting too large to bring into the house.

Turkey Buzzard, Oh what a STINK !!!

Turkey Buzzard feather

We are welcomed back home with a robin's nest blown down from a tree on the driveway with the remains of 4 broken eggs, at least they were not developed as of yet. I was so sad to see that. After leaving Nita's home in W.V. where I had been watching 3 baby Robins grow up and fledge the nest before we left. They had built their nest on the back porch of the home and on the side of the porch in the vine on the trellis at the end of the porch, there are DOVES and 2 eggs in the nest when we left. IF that was not great, there is also downstairs on the front porch another robin with 4 eggs in the nest of which 2 had hatched before we left. I just got to love God's country.

Our grass was so high we mowed and trimmed it before we did anything else. During the mowing, I ran into what I have been smelling while mowing the side of the yard, in the neighbor's yard where the remains of a raccoon, oh my did that smell, rode right up almost beside it. Nothing much left but fur and dried skin and maggots, but the next day I got to see up close a "turkey buzzard" in the yard next door picking on the remains, also collected a huge wing feather in my yard next to some bushes.
We do not know what killed the raccoon, this is the second raccoon killed around us. The neighbor did clean up the mess the next day.

Turkey Buzzard eating a Raccoon 

So then the next day went out and started digging up some more Iris because I am moving them into containers along with some other items around the home.

I made a huge homemade beef stew for supper the next day and decided that digging is not for me. Got my broken shoulder to hurting and now my one foot is real hurtful, something to do with eating too much red meat and uric acid. So now I am hopping around waiting for all that to settle down again.

I got my first ever doctor visit scheduled for next month by PHONE. All this because of the new flew bug running around. Everyone is wearing masks and gloves and using hand sanitizer and staying 6 or more feet away from each other.  It is the new world we live in, for now, don't much care for it, but got to stay safe.  I got to make some more masks for us also today.

In the meantime back in W.V. Larry got his last toe on his left foot removed, he is recovering just fine and feels great. All in the Rose Wood manor where Larry is are all negative for the virus and they are doing their best to keep it that way, it is shut down to everyone, no visiting anyone in there.

That is about it for this time around for now anyway.

Lovely spring in spite of the "bug"

Morning to all,

🐤 HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE 🐥

Back from W.V. and all the bulbs blooming and flowering trees and bushes. We get to Ohio and more bulbs and bushes flowering. My redbud and Mayday trees are not yet in flower. Woke up yesterday to sleet hitting the window and today they say sprinkles of snow perhaps. Have not seen it as of yet.

Larry (Nita's husband) is in the Rose Wood Manor in W.V. and locked down, no sick people in the rest home yet and they are keeping it that way. Larry is doing as good as expected with all he has to put up with. We are keeping in touch using a program called "Duo" on our phones and tablets. We can see and chat with each other during this "time of the bug".

Vince and I are staying well and free from the bug also. We are not taking chances with this bug as we are "over the hump" and need to be careful with our health.

Today we are planning to do the dogs. My sister's two poodles and my one poodle. I wash and Vince drys and combs them out and the next day I will attempt to clip and groom them. My arm and its torn rotary cup in two places leave me with a handicap that does not help one little bit. There is just so much I can do. Needless to say, the poodles will never look the way they use to look when I had two good arms. But they will be at least clean.

Then on to making some masks for us to wear and some for the family if they want them. Got the design online for free so will give it a try and if I don't like it will just make my own. Might even embroidery a  🐞 on the front of it.

Well got to get up and get to work, wishing a wonderful day for all.
Margo

Bad Bug Flu - this Covid-19

Hello to every one,

I hope all are staying safe and not getting sick, any kind of being sick is NO fun at all. We are staying away from people as much as possible and using hand wipes sprays and wiping all we come in contact with, just trying to stay safe. Take care of yourself in order to keep those you love safe. 


When we got back to Oh from WV there were 3 cases here in Oh, now a week later, we are over 50 and growing. Want to head to WV as there were no cases there when we left.


Have yourself a lovely SPRING which is just around the corner.

HAPPY SPRING DAY TO ALL.

Lovely Colors

Morning to all,

Just a note to say my pretty Crocus are up and flowering. I want to stay out and enjoy looking at them, but the weather is just too cool for me yet. It does not stop me from opening the door to have a look-see now and then though.

Not seeing much showing life outside yet but, it is early.
Down at Nita's I will be seeing more "spring" in the way of plants sooner than here in Ohio. Just four hours down the road but, what a difference in temps at times.

Hope all are having a wonderful spring.

HAPPY ST PAT'S DAY to everyone.

The Lord works in mysterious ways

Hello to every one,

Just a note to say I am here, been so busy between here (Ohio) and W.V. that have not had time to do anything else. Hope all are still hanging in there. Still missing my sister and always will. I have been going through all her artwork and still am amazed at how many angels she drew and I digitized. I am wanting to resew them out and frame them and hang them all over the house. We have made quilts together using them and had a lot of fun giving them away to family and friends.

I noticed the other day that we have spring bulbs coming up at both homes and they are getting ready to flower and some are flowering now. All the shrubs are budded up and ready for that perfect day.

I can't believe that today it is to be in the '60s here and that makes me want to get outside and dig, well at least "rake" up all the dead from last year. 😏

Did I say that last year in Oct. while at Nita's home I fell down their front yard, fell right off the boardwalk they have that runs all over the front yard? You see their front yard is such a huge "hill", they added boardwalks to get all over the yard, well I fell off one of them and as falling flipped in the air somehow and landed down below about 3 foot and landed on another boardwalk face first hitting my cheekbone and side of my mouth. I also landed hitting my left wrist which left me a huge swollen area before I could even get up off the ground. Must have broken a blood vessel there. But, the biggest item that hit was my right arm, used it as a jack sorta, hit on the lower arm, right at the elbow or just below, which used the upper arm as a "ram" which sent it into my shoulder, which (months later when seen by the VA) now has a torn rotator cup in 2 places so it shows after the MRI that was done months later. This explains why I can not use my arm any more like normal. Can we fix it??????
The doctor told me this, at my tender age of (blank) he wants to keep me away from all doctors with sharp knives. It is better to just let it be, so now I can be considered a cripple for the rest of my life. I spent 3 months sitting in an easy chair because I could NOT lay down to go to be, only sitting and part reclining in a chair. I cannot use my arm worth a hoot. In pain 27-7 all the time. I live on the pain patch and spray, both with the 4% lidocaine. Always have them on and spray all around the patch. Got to say the best one to stay stuck on the best is Aspercreme. No, I do not get paid to say that. 😜 No, it does not get rid of all the pain, but it makes it liveable.

So here we are in March. I must say though by now the pain is getting easier to live with, still can not use my arm like normal and if I forget and try to do so, it will sit you down on your backside with a reminder that will last for a few days. I can now at least lay on my one side with much less pain and if I want to take a pain pill (over the counter) it will let me sleep for at least 5 hours. The most sleep I have gotten was about 3 hours at a time, and that is from exhaustion.

I still thank the Lord that I fell the way I did because if I had fallen over sideways, I would have had a metal rod stuck through my chest, which could have killed me. You see there was a rose bush there and my sister had a metal rod stuck in the middle of it for support. So to this day, I feel the good Lord just gave me a push back and downhill which caused me to miss the rose bush and therefore landed on the wooden boardwalk below with a face plant.

So that has been my fun since Oct. so what have you all been up to?
Margo

Today is my sister's birthday and I know she is with our Lord and taking care of all our pets who have gone to Heaven before us.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY NITA

Sad Sad News

Hello to all,

I don't know where to start, but I want and will have some kind of memorable update to my site about losing my sister, Nita T. She had hand-drawn most of the artwork on my site in which I turned into embroidery. You can see our work together on my blog. URL= https://craftyroseangel.com
I have been away for some time. I have been caring for my sister and her husband. They were both told they had cancer in the month of May this year. Nita passed on Dec. 2, 2019, from pancreas cancer. She fought hard having done the Chemo and radiation, but this cancer was nasty and would not let her win. 

She left some artwork that she had not given me yet of which I will in time digitize for her. She also had two toy poodles of which are now mine to take care of along with my guy "Kricket". So now we have 3 dogs underfoot which do keep me quite busy most of the time. I have not had 3 dogs in many years, I am older and they give me a run for my money. During all of this I fell while at Nita's and did something very bad to my shoulder, so have been running back and forth to this Dr. and that Dr., In fact, every day this week since we got back up here. All seem to be thinking that I tore something. Time will tell, yesterday got a "shot" in the joint.  It seems to be feeling a little better.

We have to keep going back and forth between W.V. and Oh. until we can get all things settled. This is taking longer than normal as Larry (Nita's husband) has the kidney machine 3 times a week, what time that is left leaves him so tired and worn out he can't go much.

Only touching on this so you will understand why I may be gone longer than normal for me for a while on posting. Why I may not want to post for a while, I need time to just be me and heal from my problem and my own time for greaving. I don't feel the other foot has dropped yet and I don't feel like my sister has passed.  Just doesn't seem real for me at all.

So, for now, please just try to hang in there for me if you can. I will return in time and try to carry on as best as I can.

Margo

back to Ohio

Hello to all,

Well, we are back in Ohio for now. Nita is now in Rose Wood, a care facility, her husband is also in there for now getting stronger we hope. Nita is not doing so great. As cancer progresses she is getting weaker. I cared for her non-stop 24-7 for two weeks, no sleep nor rest as she needed me all the time. As time went on I got so week and clumsy that I fell down the hill (their front yard) and landed on the boardwalk, banged myself up pretty good. As Nita got worst, I could no longer care for her, her husband decided that she should be in a care facility for her own health care, better than what I could do for her. I am afraid that Nita will not be coming back home anymore. Larry does now and then make a day trip and come home on weekends.

When I think that about 4 weeks ago Nita was home and doing her own thing, cancer is not nice!
So we are going back and forth from Ohio to W.V. every now and then getting things taken care of.

I don't know just how often I will be posting on the blog. I will try and keep you all informed.
Prayers are much appreciated now.
thanks,
margo