Showing posts with label Turkeys. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Turkeys. Show all posts

Thursday, July 11, 2013

Talking Turkey


I'm so glad you all liked my Fatty Breadkins post from yesterday...I think she would be pleased to know that her legacy lives on through my feeble attempts at silver polishing.

I awoke this morning at 4 am, and could not for the life of me fall back asleep for over 3 hours!  In case you are wondering I watched a little bit of the movie Babe and realized that it's not the happy go lucky story of a pig that I remembered...at least the part I saw had a much darker tone when I was watching it pre-dawn.

I also can tell you loads of info about Lewis and Clark's expedition, the show I found on PBS, which I opted for once the sheep dog in Babe was muzzled and drugged and I realized I had probably traumatized my children by letting them watch that movie when they were little and we had herding dogs like we do now!




It turns out that as the sun is coming up there is a heck of a lot going on in the field next to my house which I can see outside my bedroom window.  None of the pictures in this post are what I saw then, these are all from later in the day, but I'll give you a rundown of what I did observe at about 5:30 this morning.

Eagles were flying, 2 deer were chasing one another, bats were flying (which would normally freak me out if I hadn't been so exhausted), songbirds were flitting about, and the neighbor's cat was doing a balance beam routine on our fence...which would normally drive our dogs nuts, but they were exhausted because I had been awake half the night.

When I did finally get up around 10 am, after just a few hours of actual sleep, I was greeted by turkey vultures sitting on our fence, hmm should I consider this a bad sign I thought?




Then, as I mulled over the possibilities of why turkey vultures would be sitting on our fence when they never have in the past, my attention was drawn to a juvenile eagle making his way across the field.

His mottled head feathers made him look almost vulture like I thought.




Turns out they weren't here for me, they were just feasting on something dead in the field, so that's a relief.  They aren't the prettiest birds in the world, but I know they serve a purpose and who am I to judge right?!




English Shepherds are not fans of interlopers in their yards or on their fences, so after taking a picture of the 3 vultures on the fence through the french doors, I slipped outside and took a few more pics of the two remaining before letting Mr. Quinn and Misty out to inform the trespassers that it was time to move on.




All was quiet for a few hours until our resident wild turkeys showed up...




Accompanied by some deer.  I think it may have been a party of sorts, or maybe with the rain we've been having I could say that in this picture they may have been looking for an ark.




Whatever their purpose for being nearby, it wasn't good enough for my ever attentive watch dogs.  Misty Belle says that her work is never done, and she thinks she and Quinn deserve a few extra hugs and treats for their very full day!

Thank you to those of you who left comments yesterday, you guys make me smile and I just think I have the smartest and most amazing readers on the planet!  And for those who asked, I did try the foil, soda, salt thing for removing the tarnish, but it was no match for my tarnish, though it did help a lot.  I ended up using Twinkle silver polish and then using a special polishing soft cloth, because when I tarnish, I tarnish big! :)

Also, Phyllis is an eagle eye, because my chandelier is by Solaria!

Oh, and I read this quote on Pinterest today and thought, how perfect for my sleepless night...I wonder who was dreaming of me?!!!

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(source)

Sunday, November 13, 2011

Call Me Crazy


Oh go ahead, I will accept the title of crazy, for any number of reasons.

I'm crazy  behind schedule on returning emails (those that even make it through, either coming or going *ugh*!), reading comments, and finishing up work.

I'm crazy ready to get that #*%$ oriental rug out of my living room that matches nothing anymore! 

But I'm crazy because I can't decide what the heck I want to replace it with...hemp? grass? kilim? sheepskin?...*sigh*!




I'm crazy for hanging some of my own artwork in my house.  It seems kind of weird to me to showcase your own artwork, but hey I'm loving it anyway!

I'm crazy for wanting to get rid of my big green sofa that is in perfect condition to replace it with something...anything...linen!

I'm crazy for wanting to blow out that wall where the chest is and put in a fireplace, for nights like tonight when you just want to sit in front of a fireplace and do nothing but watch the flames dance.




I'm crazy for wandering around the house looking for a place to stick some stalks of wheat.

I'm crazy for wanting to add on to my house so that my garage door doesn't enter into my formal living room!  Ok, that one really isn't so crazy!!




After driving 2 1/2 hours home last night and seeing houses all lit up for Christmas, apparently I am really crazy for having these all over my house.

Yes, I am one of those bah humbug people who refuses to decorate before Thanksgiving.  I've tried it once or twice...throwing out a few Christmas'y items before the last gobble is over, but it's just not me.

I don't mind it if others do it, but its just not my thing.  You see, I have lots of beautiful Thanksgiving decor, from turkeys to acorns to pumpkins.  So I embrace everything that is November, and I reserve Christmas for December, and when I'm lazy a bit of January too!

I have this feeling that if I overlooked my turkeys, never letting them see the light of day each November, they might come alive and kill me in my sleep...call me crazy! :-)

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Happy Turkey Day


I hope that those of you preparing for Thanksgiving are taking time to enjoy the process of getting ready for the holiday.




I will be spending the next few days cooking, cleaning and getting ready to have a house full of people here on Thursday...13 to be exact!




I will finish cleaning tomorrow and then set my table, but the rest of my Thanksgiving decor is in place and ready to welcome friends and family.




Thanks to my friend Doug Vogel, I have a beautiful centerpiece...all I had to do was add the pumpkin and I was set!  I'll add some fresh flowers throughout my house, not so much for the guests, but because having fresh flowers around always makes me happy!





I've collected Thanksgiving decor ever since I was first married.  It was much harder to find turkey day decor 20 years ago!




And of course you have to have acorns to commemorate the holiday!




I gave my parents this turkey from Williams Sonoma about 8 years ago, my mom had an amber one like mine above, but wanted a red one too!




My parents were married on November 27, 1953, so every year they were busy preparing Thanksgiving for our family right around their anniversary.  We always managed to have a few close friends, or even some stray military folks join us who were too far from home to celebrate it with their own families. 

I think the largest crowd we had was 26 one year, and my mother always managed to cook WAY more than we could ever need, but oh the leftovers were wonderful!




Thursday will be a little reminiscent of those happy gatherings.  It will be the first time that all of us kids will be together again since my father's passing 3 years ago.  And today I received a crazy phone call, one of my sister's best friends accidentally called my phone number while trying to reach her realtor, who has the same first name.  When I asked what she and her husband had planned for Thanksgiving she said they were going to a little French restaurant near their home.  I asked if they wanted to make the drive to spend the day with us, and after calling her husband, she called back to say they would love to!  So it will be like old times in many ways!




But if I stay on here much longer, all of those people will arrive to a messy house!  Contrary to popular belief, dust bunnies are not edible!  And I'm thinking they might want some food while they are here.  Thankfully, everyone will be bringing something.  But after I finish cleaning, I still have to make a turkey, lots of corn pudding, candied sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, and peas...so I better quit procrastinating and get crackin'!!!

I know I'm crazy to host such a high work load holiday right after getting a tiny puppy, but hey no one ever accused me of being sane! ;-)  I'm just thankful that we will all be together again!

I hope each of you celebrating Turkey Day this Thursday will be surrounded by family, whether biological or chosen, and that you'll save room for dessert!