Tails Today

Tails 

10/22/2013

Using the internet resources of Wikipedia, I  just wanted to get the word out about something that strikes fear in the hearts of canine pet owners. This is a true story about Tails contracting this virus, in her own yard, where she is always leash walked, and never leaves the yard. The same for her canine siblings, Sadie and Grub. Infected stray animals are likely the culprits to have brought this frightening story with a happy ending into our summer.  

 Canine parvovirus type 2 (CPV2, colloquially parvo) is a contagious virus mainly affecting dogs. The disease is highly contagious and is spread from dog to dog by direct or indirect contact with their feces. It can be especially severe in puppies that are not protected by maternal antibodies or vaccination. It has two distinct presentations, a cardiac and intestinal form. The common signs of the intestinal form are severe vomiting and dysentery. The cardiac form causes respiratory or cardiovascular failure in young puppies. Treatment often involves veterinary hospitalization. Vaccines can prevent this infection, but mortality can reach 91% in untreated cases. Canine parvovirus will not infect humans.^[1]     From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia 

Tails's encounter with this virus happened June of this year. The mystery of her exposure to it remains, since she and her canine siblings,  9 year old Sadie and 4 year old Grub are pretty much isolated from other animals.  The happy ending is that with 2 weeks of treatment at home, Tails is a healthy, and growing 1 year old with liberties and privileges afforded responsible behavior to a pup this age. 

JUNE 

2013 

Monday morning we traveled to a nearby vet with a puppy showing signs of dehydration in just 24 hours after her first vomit episode. One test for the virus later, (Diagnosis is made through detection of CPV2 in the feces by either an ELISA or a hemagglutination test, or by electron microscopy  : From Wikipedia)  the diagnosis was certain. We immediately began the crash course training of how to insert needles for fluids, and a list of do's and don'ts for the next 2-3 weeks... at home, (the hospitalization plan was not in our budget).  

*Footnote to this treatment at home... Take it Very Seriously! This very ill, vulnerable and trusting animal is counting on YOU to get her through this.. and the bond you form here, will live forever.

Treatment

Hydration is critical throughout the recovery period, so leaving the pup alone is NOT an option. Soothing words and  loving attention go a long way in bringing the animal back to full health. Isolation from all other pets is imperative and you won't want the patient to feel he or she is being punished at this time, so being nearby for communication, and taking the potty walks will be a 'special' treat. 

Survival rate depends on how quickly CPV is diagnosed, the age of the dog and how aggressive the treatment is...Treatment usually involves extensive hospitalization, due to the severe dehydration and damage to the intestines and bone marrow. ...Treatment ideally also consists of crystalloid IV fluids and/or colloids, antinausea injections (antiemetics) such as metoclopramide, dolasetron, ondansetron and prochlorperazine, and antibiotic injections such as cefoxitin, metronidazole, timentin, or enrofloxacin.^[25] IV fluids are administered and antinausea and antibiotic injections are given subcutaneously, intramuscularly, or intravenously. The fluids are typically a mix of a sterile, balanced electrolyte solution, with an appropriate amount of B-complex vitamins, dextrose and potassium chloride. Analgesic medications such as buprenorphine are also used to counteract the intestinal discomfort caused by frequent bouts of diarrhea. ...Once the dog can keep fluids down, the IV fluids are gradually discontinued, and very bland food slowly introduced. Oral antibiotics are administered for a number of days depending on the white blood cell count and the patient's ability to fight off secondary infection. A puppy with minimal symptoms can recover in 2 or 3 days if the IV fluids are begun as soon as symptoms are noticed and the CPV test confirms the diagnosis. If more severe, depending on treatment, puppies can remain ill from 5 days up to 2 weeks. However, even with hospitalization, there is no guarantee that the dog will be cured and survive...  Untreated cases of CPV2 have a mortality rate approaching 91%. With aggressive therapy, survival rates may approach 80-95%, a mortality rate of 5-20%.   

From Wikipedia

Prevention and Decontamination

Prevention is the only way to ensure that a puppy or dog remain healthy because the disease is extremely virulent and contagious. The virus is extremely hardy and has been found to survive in feces and other organic material such as soil for over a year. It survives extremely cold and hot temperatures. The only household disinfectant that kills the virus is bleach.^[19]

Puppies are generally vaccinated in a series of doses, extending from the earliest time that the immunity derived from the mother wears off until after that passive immunity is definitely gone.^[33] Older puppies (16 weeks or older) are given 3 vaccinations 3 to 4 weeks apart.^[20] The duration of immunity of vaccines for CPV2 has been tested for all major vaccine manufacturers in the United States and has been found to be at least three years after the initial puppy series and a booster 1 year later.^[34]

A dog that successfully recovers from CPV2 generally remains contagious for up to three weeks, but it is possible they may remain contagious for up to six. Ongoing infection risk is primarily from fecal contamination of the environment due to the virus's ability to survive many months in the environment. Neighbors and family members with dogs should be notified of infected animals so that they can ensure that their dogs are vaccinated or tested for immunity. The vaccine will take up to 2 weeks to reach effective levels of immunity; the contagious individual should remain in quarantine until other animals are protected.^[35]      

^{From Wikipedia}

^{If I had read this information the first day we started treatment, I would have had a very heavy heart to carry throughout the two weeks we treated Tails. But in my ignorance, I just charged into the treatments of fluids, needles, pills, liquids, and love ( and prayers too ) and saw immediate results!} 

^{Tails is a tale of a happy ending!} 

Gators n Tales

In the Interest of Safety ...

... apply

Duct Tape 

... not your everyday household pet ... 


The Reward

I love the outdoors, and although the critters keep me in a constant state of almost panic, I thrive on seeing them in their own environment. An afternoon of kayaking after more than 7 years since our last adventure in a canoe, left me realizing we are NOT yet too old , and it is soothing therapy to a weary soul when the everyday insanity of this life beats us down. 
An inexpensive way to get closer to my mate, (relying on each other to simultaneously paddle forward and with control, steer, and balance this vessel),  teaches a lot more, than a costly counseling session series. 



KAYAKS 

Kayaking Shell Creek  http://www.charlottecountyfl.com/communityservices/ParkPages/hathaway.asp
offers inland waterways adventures and photo ops in the peaceful natural habitat of Florida.

Kayak Rentals are a great way to test your skills and abilities for endurance, while comfortably exploring the wonderful "Old Florida" in your area. We rented from 
 http://itstimekayakandcanoe.com/  spontaneously last week and they were very accommodating! 

KUDZO

Kudzo covers the native plants along the banks, providing interesting "natural sculptures". Although it is considered an invasive species,   http://plants.ifas.ufl.edu/parks/kudzu.html , it does add visual treats to the journey.  And here is some food for thought on this plant, 

http://maxshores.com/the-amazing-story-of-kudzu/  ,  http://www.thekitchn.com/did-you-know-you-can-eat-kudzu-92488  , just in case you were wondering. 

The photo to the left kind of  made me think of the elaborately sculpted images in theme parks.


In the photo below... what is not obvious... is that less than 10 feet off the stern of our kayak lay a very patient, but soon to be aggravated by our presence, 4' gator resting on the grass. Having seen him on the way upstream, we were surprised to find him still there an hour later when we floated back, and decided it was a photo moment. After a few minutes of video of him, I turned to take a few still shots of the kudzo on the other bank, and shortly thereafter the sunbather loudly splashed back into the creek making sure we understood his frustration of our intrusion. Yes, he got MY attention! 

Over 6'  or ... Larger than Life...

We saw this fellow from quite a distance away and that gave plenty of video and still photo time. To our surprise.. he never left his beach as we slowly approached and paddled past, a bit cautiously I might add. The reflection in the creek provided a pretty cool illusion here.

Justice In the Images

As with most of our adventures in nature, the images we bring back in video or photos just don't seem to do justice to the beauty of what we saw. Suffices to say, get out there and see your surrounding natural beauty and environment for yourself. 

From Spazz to Tails

The thunder and lightning sent Spazz scurrying for elusive shelter and safety. That was the last night we had together. September 7, 2012.

Anniversaries are for recalling the moments past, and creating memories for the future. Some will generate smiles, laughter, joy- others will bring melancholy, sorrow, tears. 
A mixed bag of emotions now wrap the date of September 8th. The anniversary of our wedding, and the day we let Spazz go to be with Shakey. 
Ever since May 30th, our walks around the block had been a challenge for Spazz and for me. Every few steps  Spazz would turn and look back at the house, as if he expected Shakey to come down the road and join us. Heart breaking for me to see this, I would tell Spazz, "No, he's not coming. It's just you and me now." And it always reminded me of the first few days Shakey was with us, before we found his littermate/companion at the Dog Pound. Shakey sniffed the grounds of the Marina (where he had last seen Spazz,) so aggresively for his brother's scent, I feared he would inhale enough soil into his lungs that he would fill them and die! 
A more pitiful and heart broken animal I had never seen... until now ...    They had been so connected in Spirit, that it was nearly impossible for one to live without the other. And the clock was ticking for Spazz.
On the morning of September 8th, he let me know it was what he wanted. To be with Shakey. So a trip to the Batesville Animal Clinic, revealed via an xray that it indeed was our time to say goodbye.  This little fella was the last heart break I can handle ... really .... my adventures with them have been  PRICELESS .... I miss my walks with them ... and I miss their fierce protection of our home ... and I don't want this kind of hurt again. 
But to end this eulogy on an upbeat note ... the following story will explain that I am not so cold and calloused that I don't want to be around animals... just can't take the pain of connection and Devoted Love going away.  

The Tale of Tails

9: 20 a.m. 12/18/2012          Free to a good home 12 weeks old  

Australian Shepherd   Female     

 11:30 a.m. 12/18/2012                    In  My Kitchen Melbourne,AR

From reading the post on an online yard sale site, @ approximately 9:20 a.m. , to calling the owner, to calling Jordan to confirm he wanted her, to the photo in my kitchen ... less than 2 hours for HEART MELTDOWN to occur.  Bo and I got the privilege of the next 4 weeks of house training, until the date of our journey to New Smyrna Beach, to deliver her to her new Dad , Jordan.

 10:30 a.m.  1/13/2013                       Jordan's House  NSB, FL
This is Tails in her new home in New Smyrna Beach, posing for this picture. (well... not really intentionally posing ...)

 Sometime in late January of 2013 with her new sister  Sadie who is teaching her good canine manners.
Tails is happy to be living with her new dad, Jordan, and her new canine siblings, Sadie and Grub. Sadie is aggressively teaching Tails the correct canine manners, and etiquette. Tails has been a quick student ... ( avoiding the head spinning weighty knockdowns of the earliest days in her new home with Sadie and Grub )

2/3/2013  Photo courtesy of "Uncle Joe"  Grub tolerating Tails presence in his personal space

Grub is a very adorable "big" canine brother, typically tolerant of the younger annoying sibling. For that "cute" look, Grub will lay those large ears down and back for his "Jar Jar Binks" impression and win me over every time! 

Jake and Maggie say the Blessing too !

Jake and Maggie always wait for their Dad to finish saying the blessing before they dive in to their dinner.  EVEN if it is half time of the Super Bowl Game before they get to eat ... and EVEN if the guests get to eat first !!!  

Shakey Ground

It happens fast. The bond, that is. When a pet finds you, and claims your heart.

He was thin, scared, anxious, and frantically looking for his traveling mate, his litter mate, his brother. This short haired blonde pup was a sad beauty.

He came into our lives on a July, Tuesday morning in 2004, laying on the steps to my office door, but not quite sleeping or resting.  Hoping, I’d say. That the keeper of  this door would help him find the normal of his life again.

By mid afternoon, he had been conned into the office, where he fought panic, and the comfort offered.

By late afternoon, my good hearted husband reluctantly agreed to see him, and let me be the finder of a permanent home for him. But he was to remain at my office in the marina… not at our rented home just two blocks away.  (I suspect that my husband knew, once in the house, forever in the heart.)

That mostly sleepless night had me envisioning major destruction to property that I would be explaining to my boss, from a young pup who was frightened, lost, and in the chewing stage of his life. But when I turned the key in the door the next morning, I was shocked (and relieved) to discover, no damage or evidence of "pet waste" from the captive animal.

Throughout the day, coworkers who had been aware of him on the property, and now in my care, dropped by to see how we were doing. A passed gas or two during the day at very awkward moments (while a customer stood near enough to look accusingly at me) gave me cause to believe this pup hadn’t had a healthy diet in at least days if not weeks.

Late that first afternoon we had attempted to pick him up to put him in my husband’s van, and take him to our house, just to see if he could or would relax. Cornering him in the inner office, and staging an attempt to lift him, we observed the saddest thing I have ever seen an animal do. With absolutely no aggression, only fear, he leaned against the outer door frame, lowered his head toward the floor, touching only his nose, and surrendered.  I wept.

The staff meeting on Monday morning had included from security and maintenance, the report of two pups wandering the property over the previous weekend, and the call had been made to the Dog Catcher. I mentioned that I had been at my office on Sunday, and recalled seeing a small black and tan pup nearby, yipping his happy little head off at a young couple sitting on the swing, waterside. I had thought he was with them at the time.  It occurred to me that first afternoon that this blonde stranger was the traveling mate who the complaints were about, but where was the yipper? And I guessed that was what this blonde was wondering too.

A call to our friend, Scott, a veterinarian, Wednesday morning, and a trip by Bo over to Scott’s office later that day, determined Blonde pup’s health, good, approximate age, about 1 year old, and a prescription from Dr. Scott to Bo.  “Take this little fella home, Bo, and love him.”  (While signing in at the vet’s office, the girl at the desk asked Bo the dog’s name. Because the dog continued to behave quite stressed and panicky, Bo was reminded of Don Knotts in the movie “ Shakiest Gun in the West”, and proclaimed that the dog’s name was Shakey.)

Dragging the now named Shakey to work with me Thursday and Friday morning, I noticed the first block and a half he resisted frantically the leash, and the traffic had him in a mess, but as soon as we got on the marina property he began sniffing like a tracking hound.  By Friday morning for sure, I determined he could smell his little traveling partner all over the area they had been together.  My friend and coworker, Heather, suggested I try the Dog Catcher to see if they had picked up the other pup on that first day.  Brilliant idea!  A quick trip over there on our lunch break, gave Bo and I our first encounter with the little black and tan pup
I had seen that previous Sunday. He went crazy and acted all spazzy in the quarantine cage he was in when we entered the room with a worker, and when we were told he could not be freed until the next Sunday, we agreed to bring  Shakey there on Sunday morning to see if they had any recognition behavior toward each other.

With the video camera set and charged, Sunday morning we leashed up the reluctant Shakey, got him in the truck and headed for the reunion. (I was certain this was the pup I had seen, but didn’t know for sure that they were companions.)

Bo was instructed by the keeper on staff to wait with Shakey in a fenced area where I would walk the black and tan out to them. Well, Disney would be proud of this Kodak moment in a film!  These two absolutely went nuts the moment they saw each other, and when the gate was opened to the fenced area, there was licking and pawing and jumping and yipping and laughing and crying, (those last two by me mostly) and we were convinced by the matters of the heart to now be the owners of two dogs!

The vet at the pound where the black and tan had been incarcerated for the past six days, had examined and determined his health, good, and approximate age, 1 year old. Could it be? These two dogs looking so very different, including size…Shakey being almost twice as big as the other…. Be littermates?  The vet at the pound stated that it was very possible. And Dr. Scott, after meeting the black and tan stated the same. There are lots of physical features and many more character and behavior traits, which would convince one to agree.  

By the time we were back to the house, black and tan was now known as Spazz. His performance that Friday when we saw him in the quarantine cage and the reunion scene sealed it. He was and is a Spazz!!

That was 2004. This year, 2012, the “boyz” as I often refer to them, celebrate their 9^th year on this earth. Only they and God know what the first year of their lives was like. Bo and I know what the past 8 years of their lives have been.  From the Gulf coast of Florida, Charlotte Harbor and the Caloosahatchee River, to the Pacific coast of central California, Big Sur, to the Ozarks in north central Arkansas, these pups have provided laughter, and company, and some anger and frustration… but mostly unconditional love. 

It was Wednesday, May 30^th, 2012. It happens fast. Merciful euthanasia. The cancer arrived, showed itself and in less than one month it was systemic lymphoma. Again, a friend, this time, Dr.Matt, offers Bo a prescription of love for Shakey. 

Interrupted Freedom...or rescued ?

White Haired Lady tells folks "we rescued them". Big Dude tells folks, "we interrupted their freedom".  The photo above shows us chillin' in our new home, in Punta Gorda, Florida. It was just a couple of weeks later when Hurricane Charley struck the Punta Gorda shoreline of Charlotte Harbor, and changed all of our lives.
Since the day we, my brother Shakey (the blonde) and I, Spazz, came to live with the White Haired Lady and Big Dude, we have experienced several hurricanes; moved from tropical Florida to Arkansas, where it gets C O L D and snows!... AND lived through a Super system killer tornado in 2008; spent nearly a year in Big Sur, California, and got our paws in the chilly Pacific Ocean, and almost experienced an earthquake, (it hit the central coast of California less than 24 hours after we left Big Sur).
These are just a few of the highlights of our journey with these humans since July of 2004. 
Now, while you might be confused as to whether I am bragging or complaining, let me clear it up for you. 
My brother and I are approaching our 9th birthday in human years, 63rd in dog years, and I know that if these humans had not taken us into their hearts, we likely would not have seen our 2nd (14th) birthday. 
Living on the streets is tough for canines, and if picked up by the Canine Police, (which I was) chances of leaving their "pound" alive are slim. So, when Shakey hung around White Haired Lady's office for two days after my incarceration, and she convinced Big Dude to take him home and find him a new owner, it was 3 days later that she realized that Shakey was grieving over our separation. To hear White Haired Lady and Big Dude tell it, his Oscar winning performance of a broken spirit was the reason they began looking for me. 
White Haired Lady called the Canine Police Shelter, and when she and Big Dude took their lunch break to walk through the jail cells of the unfortunate pups who had been picked up that week, they found ME in the QUARANTINE room. 
Two days later, and one very emotional "Walt Disney movie" reunion scene of me and Shakey, at the pound, White Haired Lady and Big Dude surrendered to PET OWNERSHIP.
I have to say, my brother and I can be a handful! And Big Dude has been the most tolerant human we could ask for. He is not exactly partial to having animals, and he has had to take on many unpleasant duties in keeping us healthy and clean. Since loving us comes easier to White Haired Lady, I will just say this... BIG DUDE IS THE BEST !!! and we probably love him the best too.  But don't tell white Haired Lady, we don't want to hurt her feelings. 
Since this is the Dogs-n-Blogs blogspot, we felt it was time to take over the writing duties. White haired Lady has done the best she can to keep at it, but as you can see, the entries trickle in only once or twice a year. So from this entry on, Shakey and I will keep you updated on life at our house, and White Haired Lady will just give us a 'hand'. 

A turtle in a box?

A box turtle? Doesn't look like a box to ME!

There he was... right by the front porch! In the cool shade... in a clump of clover growing wild.

At first I thought it was one of those fake ones from the yard around the pond.

But how did it get over here?

Then I touched it! Looked at it underneath! It did look fake, but real too!

It was closed up, TIGHT! I couldn't see any place it could open up and let a head out!

I shouted.... and laughed.... and took it to let Big Dude see it.

He said "it's a box turtle! Yep! That's what it is!"

He put it in the sun... so it would get hot and come out.

That didn't work. He put it in water... to make him come out for air.

That didn't work. He put bricks around a little area for a pen, in the shade, for him to live in.

I put some spring mix and carrots in front of the shell. And waited.

I said, " are you sure he can't climb over the bricks and leave?"

Big Dude said, " naw, he's not gonna get out by climbing over that wall."

And off we went about our chores.

I walked over to the pen and what do you think I saw? A big... long... colorful neck with a head sticking out!

I took pictures with my camera! I laughed... danced... I shouted!

Then I asked Big Dude, " think we should put some sort of cover over the pen to keep the wild animals out?"

Big Dude said, "naw, nothin's gonna bother him right next to the porch like that."

So off we went about our chores.

Just a little while later, when I stepped out of the kitchen to look at him again, what do you think I saw now?

NOTHING!!!

Box Turtle was gone!

YEP! Climbed over the wall of brick... and RAN AWAY!

SNAKEY SHAKEY

The weather turned cool last night, and the morning was perfect for an after breakfast pull.

That's what it's called when T Bird holds the leash.

Cuzz the dog at the front end of the leash T Bird holds does all the pullin'!

Pullin into the sunshine and springtime breeze made my eye-(the bad one)- water up.

So when the pullin stopped off to the side of the road, I took a second to clear the tear.

A sudden jerk on the dog end of the leashes caught my attention.

Shakey made a kind of snorting sound... like blowin dust out of his nose... but that didn't startle me.

It was the long, shiny thing danglin' across the stretched out section of the leashes that got my heart in my throat.... which by the way, kept the scream from comin' outa my mouth!

Yep! Shakey and Spazz had just got introduced to the business end of a snake!

And that snake just got introduced to the business end of Shakey!

Twistin and thrashin on the leash until he dropped to the pavement... that snake just realized he shoulda stayed in bed this morning!

Bravin' the distance 'tween him and me... I got a look at those round eyes shinin with shock!

I attempted to determine if Shakey had gotten a bite, by asking him! "Did he bite you Shakey?"

Shakey just kept sniffing the ground by the side of the road, which meant he did not even know that he had made that snake airborne my way!

So, at first I thought, " I am glad these dogs are with me to protect me from the wildlife."

Then I thought, " SHAKEY!!!! YOU THREW THAT SNAKE AT ME !!!!! "

And while all these thoughts were in my mind, my heart was settling down, and there was no chance of a blood curdling scream from me, the snake twisted himself over two or three times, with belly up to the sky, and head and tail, each end up to the sky, and I said last rights over him and off we went for a pull.

And when from a safe distance away I turned to look again at the sly serpent who met his match today, I saw himlimping, as only an injured snake can do, off to the side of the road where he met Shakey, on a pull.

"Ticks" me off!

Shakey and Spazz had been running free all winter. No leash for them now.

And boy! Were they happy dogs now!

Shakey didn't look so much like a small horse anymore... not so fat !

And Spazz liked laying around on the porch, sunning himself, snapping at the flies.

Pushin' his nose at White-Haired Lady to get her to pet him.

Every morning they bolt out the kitchen door and run for the woods!

They stay gone for a while, but always come back for breakfast and drinks.

Lots of times,they drink from the pond! You should see the fish scatter then!!!!

Most of the time Spazz just stays close to the house when White Haired Lady is out, but Shakey, well you can tell he is on an adventure in those woods!

Barking at who knows what! Running back and forth after something I never see! Sniffing like an old steam engine up a steep hill!

And always has a smile on his face when he comes back!

Just tellin' him he has to get back in the house makes his head drop, and ears hang low, and his tail falls to the ground.

That is one free spirit!

Until... last Saturday.

Big Dude and White Haired Lady were relaxing after chores in the front yard, when Big Dude started looking at Shakey real close.

After getting Shakey to lie still on his back next to him, Big Dude started pullin', T-I-C-K-S!

a-a-r-r-r-g-g-h-h-h-h-h-u-h-h !!!!!

e-e-e-e-e-ey-y-y-y-y-y-ye-e-e-e-e-w-w-w-w-w-w-w-u-h!!!

White Haired Lady was not close enough to see, and Big Dude wasn't tellin' her how many were on Shakey.

But soon enough, Big dude said, " think we better get him in for a bath."

So White Haired Lady and Big Dude took Shakey in to the bathroom, and began the task of

"Tick-Pickin'".

Nobody countin' to be exact, but there was more than a hundred of those ticks on Shakey!

And White Haired Lady was near tears when it was all said and done.

Shakey had a body full of tick welts, and sad eyes too!

Sad because he knew there was no more "runnin free" in the woods now that the ticks were out.

And next was Spazz's turn in the tub.

Almost Super Bowl Sunday again.... won't be watchin it this year tho... choosing to NOT have TV and that leaves more time to live in the moment! Making music is the goal... and its a slow but sure thing now. The studio is up and running, even if it is only our music being produced, its a great thing! Winter has made its presence known this year... record low temps and snow falls in one 30 day period! AWESOME !!!! I have chosen to see everything as good this 2010.... and I will!!!!! That is not a tempting fate kinda statement... it is a promise to me.... even the browns of winter and the barren trees have a beauty I never saw in my distress over winter... now I know they exist in their own right to be!!! And they are beautiful! The dawgs found it to be very interesting, a challenge and FUN !!! Chest high without the drifts made for potty runs to be an acrobatic act.... no squatting here... just plop and run!!! Couldn,t even lift the leg over the snow... so dribble.... FAST... and dash back to higher ground (the porch) . Woo hoo! check out the pics of the snow and the pups! Til next entry.... MJ

Great HolidayS !!!! Atlantic Coast of Florida, kids and grandkids, sunshine, memories! Old bodies crumpled into the front seats for catnaps to make overnight drives... making evryminitcownt!!!! Smiles, laughter, and yes, tears too. ...sigh.... yearning for a kinder gentler life now. reality CAN BE GOOD TOO !!! 2010... the F.I.-J.D.I. year! Going for it!!! When there is nothing to lose, it becomes easy to risk it! So we wil grab ahold of that, and follow the trail it takes us on. AM EXCITED !!

Purple! What a color! As it stands alone it is overpowering! As a mixture in rainbows, portraits, landscapes, it's complimentary. So in this blog entry, we'll deal with it, because I'm trying to explore moods and colors as they apply to each other. 6 weeks into a job on a weekly publication, and I'm still learning ... A LOT!!! It's sort of a passive job, and the work environment is good, except for the smoking... which is ... well if you are a non smoker you get it! I am 3 days on the job and 4 days off. YEE HAAA!!! This coming Saturday, I will try something Ve-r-r-r-r-y new and different for me. I've been invited to attend a painting class. h-m-m-m-m-m... I'll see. Who knows, may discover something within I never knew existed. Been FaceBooking lately, connecting with friends and family nationwide! Good to see my sons hooking up with friends from another life too! Makes me think they are realizing the value of life... Life has begun to show me the slower pace of age is a good thing for me. Stepping back from the fast paced aggressive person I have always and only known myself to be. Allow me to introduce me to you... s-l-o-w-l-y over the next months of blogging. This might very well be the vehicle for the Story to come! See you again soon!

Decided to text in green because I'm feeling blue. There is something about fall and winter that take the happy out of me. I have to struggle to see things as I see them in Spring and Summer. I know there is a biological effect from less sunshine, which is a form of vitamin D for us. I wonder if I could use a supplement several times during the day to replenish. h-m-mmm. Anyway, very thankful for the leaves still on trees and the grass still green although it is very slow growing now. Only mowed once since returning and probably won't need to mow again now 'til next spring. Weather forecast for today, after several days of rain and overcast, was sunny. Spell that c-l-o-u-d-y!! I AM solar charged and can do nothing about that! Am trying in every way to determine my future, I'll reveal more when it becomes more clear. I know that up to now, there has been no mention of any Grubulah Adventures. I haven't forgotten, just have difficulty putting it all together. Bear with me, for now, I am lost.