Man's Best Friend

Ricky sits down and then so does McGillicuddy.  McGillicuddy is actually a big cuddly bear, who we also call "Tractor".  He walks around the yard with 30-40lb logs or pipes in his mouth.  He can get through many a man-made barrier, we know.  He has a fearce deep bark and has been party to running many a'varmint away from the place.  We've seen Marmaduke and McGillicuddy deal with vultures, hawks, skunks - stinky business,  and sometimes we never figure out what they're up to.  As a matter of fact they just had two vultures up a large dead oak tree a few minutes ago.  Second time this week.   They're very loyal and have become part of the family.  Funny how Ricky and I weren't so keen on dogs in the city.  Everything is a'changin'.   For the good.  If you see McGillicuddy running at you - hold on to something or best, get out of the way - he won't mean to hurt you, he's just a tank!*

*Hello to our dear friends in the city - you know who you are!

Moods, McGillicuddy, and Mixtures

The rainy, cold, cloudy, gray, heavy, wet days of late REALLY affect us.  Physically, emotionally, mentally.    Our moods. We are acclimating.  From experience I can say the climate of a region has an effect on folks and if you've been in a specific climate for a long time you probably don't even realize the effect anymore.  Having moved from an entirely different climate we are going through a huge adjustment.  It is tangible.  Thankfully the sunshine appeared today!

We adopted a dog last week!  A lovely cream color lab/retreiver mix.  Wonderful temperament!  We'll call him McGillicuddy here.  He and Marmaduke are loving having each other to roam and play with on the place and they are the same age.  And Little Ricky and  Ricky have fallen in love with McGillicuddy.  Well, okay, actually we all have.  He is an awful mess now after playing in the mud and puddles.  One reason we wanted another dog was for security and to help Marmaduke stave off the coyotes at night.  Two dogs have a better chance against a pack of coyotes than one.  If you knew us before in the city you'd laugh - we now have two large dogs - we were always "cat people" more so.  Liked dogs, but they were too much maintenance we'd say.  Now, we're crazy about our dogs!  And there's plenty of space for them to run and explore - gotta love country life!

Fred's had a sore throat and was feeling icky, like you're coming down with something yucky, the last two days so I've been mixing him tincture "cocktails" of garlic, cayenne, ginger, elderberry, with a splash of water and a squeeze of fresh lime.  It's worked!  He's feeling better and he actually liked the cocktail!  My plan is to learn more about and grow herbs so I can create tinctures at home.  The garlic is already growing!