Tiffy, Nikki is actually a German Shepard-Border Collie mix, but it's kinda hard to see all her hair in a picture (she is a HAIRY thing!) She definitely has the hearding instinct of a Border Collie (she watches out for the cats and defends them no matter how mean some of them are to her, despite the fact she could eat them in two gulps). Karen and PV, a Bahamavention sounds really nice right about now. This must be why my dad goes home to Jamaica this time every year since I was a kid! Hoehum, I wish I could PASS on the bragging rights (LOL)! Some things it's better to be on the low end of. But I look at the positives of it all. This will be good for the farmers (and my garden too). And a lot of people around here are on a well (we still have ours too). No one should have to call for water this coming summer (it's 50 bucks a delivery!). Imagine that people were trudging through all this kind of stuff during the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812! Even with horse and buggies before cars existed! Yeow. Here's a few more pictures: One of our cats managed to get under the porch yesterday morning and was scared to come back out. There's 5 feet of snow in that spot, but it's pretty "good packin'". Still, I don't know how Mario managed to get in there: Here's Nikki, the "Snow Doggers" we call her! I still want to catch a pic of her lying on top of a snow bank, as she loves to do: Here she is again, looking like a rabid racoon...lol. (And yes, that is the way the porch looked yesterday, after it snowed again): We're going snowshoeing this morning, so hopefully I'll have more pictures from AWAY from the house for a change :-)

Yesterday was my father's 83rd bday. One year ago on his bday, our ice storm hit and by this time of the day, hundreds of limbs were down,(One through the thin tin of our mobile into the living room), the electricity was out and a huge limb bigger than my waist fell into the field where we had parked the cars, just brushing the rear bumper of our son's van. This year it can't possibly be as bad for us as we had a metal roof built over the trailer and a carport built, and there just aren't that many limbs left to fall. We also bought a generator and a couple battery operated lanterns to go with the candles and oil lamp. We survived 9 days in our home because we have a wood stove and propane cookstove, but no electricity because the small generator that we borrowed was only big enough to keep the freezers cold, although DH did disconnect the freezers each evening long enough to pump hot water into the house for showers. I've prepared though. Filled several gallon jugs full of drinking water and brought in 2 five gallon buckets of rainwater to flush toilets if need be. Done laundry, charged cell phone, filled woodboxes. Now need to take a shower and I'll be prepared. Right now here in extreme eastern Ok, it is either 27, 30 or 33 depending on which of the outdoor thermometers is right. There is a thin coating of ice on the porch railing and 3" icicles hanging from the roof, although the sidewalk is still just wet. So far we have only had light rain and right now it has stopped. I pray it stays stopped until DH gets home this evening. George, we also cook on our woodstove a lot in the winter, soups, stews and beans mostly. Thanks for the idea of making bread. I ground the last of my wheat yesterday and will make 18 hr no-knead bread for tomorrow. The recipe is simplicity itself. 4 cups flour (I use a mix of whole wheat, 7 grain, and unbleached white) 1 & 1/2 cups warm water 2 tsp salt 1/3 tsp yeast Mix everything briskly in a glass or crockery bowl, cover with a towel and set on the counter overnight. The next morning beat it down and let it rise again--twice. Then oil your hands good and form it into a loaf and allow to rise for the final time. Cook at 375 til done. Great stuff. Develops a bit of a sourdough taste. The 18 hours is an estimate. How soon it will be ready will depend on the room temp. Everybody stay safe.

Finally back home after a temporary fix on my heater has it running again. Hope to get seeds out now to everyone promised. Sorry for the setback here. Got my seeds from Remy (Sample Seeds), of Salvia subrotunda, a red flowering subshrub Salvia, that is supposed to reseed here, Frank's Extra Large Dill, a dill that is supposed to be super tall, about 6-10', so wanted to try it. Dill doesn't generally like our hot summers, so usually wilts when it gets hot, so will let you know on this one, Salvia coccinea 'Lady in Red', Nicotiana sylvestris, Phlox paniculata New Hybrids, and Victorian Dwarf tomatoe. Will start seeds this week. On Austrian pines, I have two. One is about 20-25' tall, but very fat and squat, the other is about 12-15' tall. They have never lost any branches to ice or other elements so far. But they are so thick, the branches are so heavy and thick, and none of the lower branches have been removed either. I can't foresee them ever going down in a storm because of their sturdiness. Tiny Mama Wild Kitty came up for food yesterday finally. She is so precious. Very small, predominantly white with black spots. We hope to get her spayed this spring or summer (an effort of us neighbors) as she has become more used to contact with humans now and will come to us and let us pet her. Took a very long time. Wish someone would adopt her and Zena, the male Manx, who is very friendly and sweet. Kenna has been very sick with diarrhea, vomiting and chest congestion. I've never seen her down this long. She usually springs back after a couple of days, and it has been 4 or 5 now. The black birds discussed are probably Starlings. They love suet. I have had them on my suet feeder quite a lot, and of course, they tend to scare the other birds away. I have never seen the Cowbirds which don't come to my feeder or suet. They scrounge on the ground for food. especially food dropped by us humans. We had tons of them at Leadership Square when I worked there, because people would drop scraps of their lunch, etc. The grackles don't come to the feeders either. However, the Eurasian Collard Doves will come to scrounge on the ground for seeds or pieces of suet dropped by other birds. I wish I had my little white-breasted nuthatches back, but think all those sparrows scared them off, too. Have a nice day everyone! Susan

This is my first spring watching birds, so I am learning a lot about their behaviours and migratory patterns and such but I have such a long way to go! I am so impressed with some of you and how you know which birds leave when and when to expect their arrival! The best I can do is consult my field guide. But I have noticed the flocks of goldfinches I only started getting maybe two months ago have disappeared. I mean, I am not seeing a single one. Disappointing, because I was noticing they were getting brighter and prettier! The other thing I have sadly discovered is the American Kestrel that was living by my neighbors house seems to have left. It had gotten to the point that I would see him almost everyday in a tree in the house three lots away from mine. I attempted several times to get a picture but I scared it off. And now, its gone. :( But I am soo excited about spring. I live outside Savannah where we have had the coldest winter I can remember! We had our first measurable snow since '96 (so much fun!), but the last time it really, really snowed was '89. So all the birds I was enjoying the last few months are definitely on the decline as the weather warms and they have a bigger food supply, but at least we can enjoy beautiful weather and the birds can too!