July Farming Days

Torrential rains keep hitting the Midwest. The tomato plants should be producing wonderful tasting tomatoes, but they can't ripen because of the amount of rain and lack of sun. The leaves are dying from the bottom up. These plants actually look like plants at the end of the growing season rather than in the middle.

There is a volunteer pie pumpkin plant that is doing quite well. I have allowed it to grow beside, up, and over the top of the chickens' fenced area. The seed was from last year and must have been flipped just outside the protective fence by the chickens. The big leaves are creating a natural shade. Baby pumpkins are starting to grow.

Is there a difference between pie pumpkins vs. Jack O' Lantern pumpkins? The answer is yes. Pie pumpkins are small vs. what most people know of - the carving pumpkins. Pie pumkins have more "meat" and are not as watery as carving pumpkins. There are various websites which can provide more information if you desire to learn more.

Once again, I have a broody Golden Lace Wyandotte chicken. Since I have three Golden Lace, I cannot tell them apart. This means I do not know if it is the same chicken being broody.

When I encountered this broody behavior back in May, I wasn't sure of the situation and what I was seeing. I am a newbie chicken owner, as of a year ago this past May. Anyway, this chicken growled at me.

Two of my Golden Lace Wyandotte chicks 2014
Photo by Tracey R. Simmons

The chicken books and magazines talk about 'breaking up' a broody chicken. It means separating her from the others. This keeps her from laying on the other hens eggs. If she is allowed to sit on the other hens eggs, she may not get off the nest to eat or drink and this can lead to her death. During this broody time, this hen will not lay eggs.  Once separated, it will take a few weeks before her body will start producing eggs again.

Off to "broody jail" this chicken goes, but she can still see her sisters on the other side of the fencing. Hopefully, she will start laying soon.

Hoovey

BELIEVING MAKES IT POSSIBLE, FAITH MAKES IT REAL.

When promising high school basketball player Eric “Hoovey” Elliott collapses on the court, doctors discover a life-threatening brain tumor. Hoovey will survive the high-risk surgery, but at what cost? Can he relearn to walk, read, even to see clearly? The road is long, and meanwhile overwhelming medical bills threaten to undo everything his parents, Jeff and Ruth, have taken a lifetime to build. With seemingly no one to turn to—but with tenacity and love born of faith—an entire family regains its footing. Hoovey learns to read again, to dribble and shoot a basketball and, finally, stepping out in faith, he’s back on court for another shot at his dream . . .

• RATING: PG
• DIRECTED BY: Sean McNamara
• WRITTEN BY: Howie Klausner
• STARRING: Patrick Warburton, Lauren Holly, Cody Linley, Alyson Stoner

My Review

This is based on a true story. Eric loves sports, but loves playing basketball more than any other sport. When a brain tumor threatens his life and his dreams, how will he handle the difficulties? This story is about how a family can love one another and be there for each other no matter what. It is about when one person is feeling low,  how another person can say or do something that makes a positive difference.

This movies is out on DVD. It has the Dove "Family-Approved" Seal for all ages.

I recommend HOOVEY to anyone wanting to watch an inspiration story of overcoming life's obstacles. Since my blog will have a lot of animal information/stories, I am going to use Paws Up instead of stars or thumbs up for my rating scale. Five Paws Up will be the best rating. I give this movie 5 Paws Up.

Hoovey - Official Trailer

Life Isn't Always Fair!

Life doesn’t seem fair a lot of times. We have no control over the storms that can devastate our lives. We only have control over how we handle them. And right now I am not handling a sudden storm that snatched the life from my four-year-old three-quarters Chihuahua one-quarter Min-pin – Koda.

Koda means friend in the Dakota Sioux language. He was my little buddy, my little munchkin, and my baby. I never would have thought that I would fall in love with a “dinky dog” as I had always called little dogs, or what some people call ankle biters. I was always a bigger dog person.

Koda came into my life when another dog was not doing well. I felt like God had brought Koda into my life to help with the eventual loss of GhostDog. I was smitten with this little puppy from the day I saw him; and he was put into my arms, lying there as if he’d been waiting all his young life for me.

When Koda was three and a half years old, I lost my black lab, Worf, on Christmas morning 2013, after dealing with his hospice care for a month. I knew Worf’s life had been long – fourteen and a half years and two days old, and was prepared for him to cross the Rainbow Bridge.

A few days after Worf died, I adopted a deaf dog, naming her Hope. She was just a few weeks away from being a year old. She came with a lot of fear and separation anxiety; but then steps in Koda, who became Hope’s ears and who helped with her anxiety when I had to go to work or run errands.

We just recently got through dealing with Hope being very sick for over three months, and there were moments we were not sure she was going to survive. Her weight is nearly back to normal. She was back to playing with Koda, stealing his toys and just pestering him.

Saturday, Koda was hiding behind the toilet after yet another storm, or so I thought. In reality, he was not feeling well. He’d been fine the day before, the week before, etc. Saturday night, Koda peed blood. That can happen with a bladder infection, but just a few hours later, in the early hours of Sunday, Koda died. How can this be?

I feel like someone has grabbed a hold of me by the back of my neck and slammed me into a brick wall. My heart has been ripped to bits, and Koda has taken a chunk with him.

I don’t know why God has taken Koda at such a young age and without warning. I don’t know what lesson or lessons I am suppose to learn at this point. All I know and can say is that it isn’t fair; and I’m not just hurt, but I am angry. Most of all, I feel lost once again.

Walking on a Cloud

Thanks for stopping by. It is a nice warm spring day, with the sun shining brightly.

I am happy to announce my author friend, Candice Sue Patterson will have her debut novel, How to Charm a Beekeeper's Heart, in print and e-book published soon. I know she is walking on clouds with this exciting news. She has two novellas, Bright Copper Kettles and Silver White Winters already available as e-books. Candice is a Christian Romance writer.You can visit her website: www.candicesuepatterson.com.

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~Photo credit:  ddpavumba/freedigitalphotos.net