Sunday, July 22, 2018

Granddog Blue and Other News.....

We are crazy about our Grand Critters! From Shiner (Mike's white lab) and Jersey Girl (Amber's black lab) and Bandit (Mike's man cat - he who had never had a cat before and could not quite comprehend Amber's devotion to her July and Snowball until he met his Bandit.....
to Sunshine (who belongs to Summer, Sabrina and Rayne and is a certified special needs companion)
to good old boy Rufus!!! Then there's Blue who is a special grand dog, indeed.
Blue belongs to Sherry and is kin to Ruth Ann's Molly.


Dean and Sherry went to Dallas for a karate event and left Rufus and Blue here on the ranch in our care. They are easy. We went down to let them out in the morning and afternoon and evening.


Blue is an older guy and in some degree of pain at all times.
He can't hear very well and is really attached to Sherry.
While Rufus loves special treats, Blue is an older gentle dog who is rather elegant in his way.
It was our pleasure to take care of them this weekend.
Amon took care of the goats and I tended the ducks and chickens......but Louis Dean took extra special care of the grand dogs.


Nature treasures of the country.....
We always seem to find special things on our every visit here.
Louis Dean saw the dead moth and called out, "Linda, bring your camera. You are going to want to see this." And Dean told me, "There's a turtle shell I saved for you and it's in the wagon in front of the house if you want it." I did and I do!
Both live in our front room and are ready to admire when we pass.
We do live in the country here and we are the guests.

Saturday was HOT! Is it hot everywhere?? I sincerely hope not! I would not wish this killer summer weather on anyone!

When I shopped Virginia's on Friday, I bought several rolls of wallpaper border - all different and each one just perfect for the projects I had in mind.


Our camper has a slide out and I could feel the cold wind coming in back in January when we were here and it was below freezing. If cold air was coming in then - hot air is coming in now.
I had a green plaid wallpaper up there along the top above the slide out. I pulled it all down, cleaned the ledge and dislodged the many dirt daubers nests, and filled the 'daylight' with a foam sealant.


Then I stapled up the new wallpaper border and added a new garland of fall leaves.
This is a perpetual fall decoration and I love it.
Here in the camper, I don't change out the decorations for the seasons.
What I love goes up and stays there. I have a sequined Christmas stocking hanging by the bathroom door. Sunflowers live here year round. Winter, spring and summer appear through our front room wall of windows and I love it all.
My goal is to keep the camper as air tight as possible. We are in the country and the front room is fair game. We try to limit the pests and insects out there but in the camper - well, that's not negotiable. 
So, that's what I was doing on Saturday.
Louis Dean was doing some heavier labor!


He installed the AC unit in the front room.
And it was not an easy task since it was 107 degrees and he had to come in and cool off at regular intervals.


It didn't drop below 100 until nearly dark!


It is in!!!
I did a happy dance......


Then we went down to do the Critter Chores and take care of the dogs.
Rufus went out and came back. The ducks and geese all went in like little soldiers.
I took a shower while Louis Dean took Blue out. He stayed out and LD went out to search for him.


He found Blue and I think he was looking for Sherry.
Blue willingly got in the truck and Louis Dean took him back up to the house.
Blue is a very well loved dog.
He is not as boisterous as Rufus but we love him just as much.


The AC was up and running...... 
but we realized this morning that it is no match for this killer Texas weather.

We're gonna need a bigger air conditioner!!!!

This one will work fine for the bathroom! 
It even has a heater.

The weather forecast does not look good. 
110 degrees here tomorrow.
I love it here but we are captive in the camper until after the sun goes down so we have decided to go home. Home - where we have central AC plus four window units!
In time to come - Louis Dean will make sure we can stay comfortable here.
And we are now - as long as we are inside the camper.
But for now - we are going home with no return date in mind.
We will wait for cooler weather.

As I finish this journal entry. Louis Dean is filling the hummingbird feeders.
I need to pack our food up in the ice chest and we will be winging our way home.
We decided to go now under the cloak of darkness where the highways are more friendly.
Dean and Sherry had two blowouts recently in this intense heat so we are taking their advice and travelling in the coolest part of the day.......

So! Louis Dean is chomping at the bit to get home and I am signing off,  packing up my laptop and we will be on our way!

Happy Trails!!!



10 comments:

Kathy said...

It is hot here but you have it way worse. Have a safe trip home. I think under the circumstances you are doing a wise thing to go back to central air. Cooler weather will come soon enough.

Ginny Hartzler said...

You really do know all the tricks to stay cool and safe! I think it was a good decision to go back home, neither one of you wants to get sick. Good thing you took care of that crack with sealant before you left. The moth looks really big! The sunset is gorgeous!! Poor old blue; he must be the sweetest dog! He is lucky to have all of you!

Village Antiiques Mall said...

Safe journey home, you need to keep safe in that incredible heat too and going home to your AC'd home is really important. Hugs and Love.
Joy

Joy@aVintageGreen said...

Whoops, for some reason I commented from a blog I don't use very often Linda.
Joy

Susie said...

Linda, I have complained to Ted that we actually got outside more during the colder months...this June and July has been too hot to be in the shop or outside much.Glad you are not staying when it's too hot to enjoy the ranch. I know you will have more to enjoy at home. The gazebo in the mornings and evenings. Pets can be sad to watch, especially as they age. I see the graying of my daughters' dogs faces. Now one has diabetes. Pitiful. I will never own a pet again...we get too attached. Hope your trip home was smooth. Blessings, xoxo,love, Susie

Misadventures of Widowhood said...

I wish my dog had 'grandparents' to dog sit once in a while. I enjoyed learning about your pet grands. I miss my parents being around to exchanges those kinds of favors.

MadSnapper said...

Blue looks enough like Jake to be a first cousin... tell Sherry about Carphofen. it is NSAID for dogs. Jake was in pain all the time, now he is not. the vet has to give it, but it works so well. you know I love all your granddogs tooooo and glad LD found Blue... Jake gets lost in our small yard, and he is so old that today, bob was in the pool at 5 am and I came in, jake came with me. he forgot daddy was in the yard and was standing at the bed trying to get him up. he is aging quickly like Blue is.

the heat is awful here also.. not as high as yours, but the feels like is that high. it is still 90 when we go to bed. I would be leaving your ranch home for cooler spaces to.... LD is so gifted with handyman projects.

Arlene G said...

I have heard of the Texas heat wave from several people who live out there. I know you are ready for fall or even some 90 degree temps. We came home from Groomwood and I am enjoying my Wifi.lol

I'm mostly known as 'MA' said...

The highest heat we've had has been the 90's and that was bad enough. I cannot imagine the heat you all are struggling with. I don't blame you for wanting to head home where it's better. Most of the time we are in the 80's during the summer but the humidity can make it feel worse. I keep the air on when it's like that. Our winters are so long and so cold that we never get a chance to adapt to the heat. Just about the time we start to, it cools off again. Take good care and have a safe trip home.

Carole said...

Boy I don't envy you coping with that heat. I'm lucky that the climate in Auckland is so temperate - in summer it rarely gets over 26 degrees C (about 78F) and on winter days the high is rarely below 12 degrees C (54F) - so most houses don't have central heating or airconditioning! This means we can feel the cold in the winter but are rarely uncomfortable in the summer. You should visit sometime! Cheers