WE'RE BACK!

THE SUNSET AFTER THE STORM

I can't believe how much time has slithered by since my last entry! We're into a whole different month now! Ooopppssss.....OK, what's been going on since the end of April? Well.....

• Zack broke his foot - Classically perfect story for "Young Huck", as he is often referred to. He was, of course, exploring and messin' around on the farm...BAREFOOTED and stepped on a huge horse-crippler cactus. So, he hopped home on the other foot and when he got to the back step, he lost his balance and SOMEHOW...(we've tried to re-enact it and just can't figure out how he did what he did...)slammed the outside of his right foot on the edge of the concrete step and broke the longest outside bone. So, no more baseball, no more "boot-free" days (for 3 weeks). He is having to wear a knee high"boot brace" to stabilize everything - of course that doesn't stop him or even slow him down...he's been caught several times down at the pond or the creek with the dogs and "the red-river-mud-caked boot"!

BULLY, OUR LAB, WAS RATTLESNAKE BIT THE OTHER EVENING...



• Dyke got another turkey- He's been turkey hunting on this huge, expansive lease and the best way he's devised to get where he needs to be by sunrise, is to ride a bicycle...Yup - 260 pounds of sheer...whatever...with a shotgun strapped across his chest Rambo-style, a backpack, flashlight and turkey calls dangling from his neck. His Christmas present from the boys was a new bike - is he regressing already? Anyway, the bike that Santa left was apparently nice looking, but made of cheap plastic parts in the gears and whatnot- they probably came from China. Well, that particular hunting trip proved a disaster when the bike actually "BROKE" and it had to be carried out on foot. He was steaming mad! So, he hauled the mountain bike that he had given to me on our wedding day - nearly 21 years ago - out of the cobwebby depths of the barn and spent 2 days creating a "hybrid" from the parts of both bikes. Fast forward to early last week...the dark journey to the perfect spot to get his bird was not the problem, in fact everything was in working order and he was actually transporting himself across the rugged terrain quite well. Despite the incessant pouring rain, lightning and thunder, he was able to shoot his bird - a fairly large and older, but obviously not wise enough bird. To commence the "expedition" back to the truck, he arranged all of his belongings: gun, pack, and now a large, dead 20 pound turkey. To cut to the chase - if I only had a photo of this situation....in my mind, the visual that I get is one similar to those pictures of a "one-man band"...stuff strapped everywhere, hanging and swinging in all directions, labored movements, impaired vision and incredible balance! Anyway, he was mobile, moving across the rough landscape until the dangling wings of the dead bird, or maybe it was the slinky neck...anyway whatever it was, slung in between the spokes of the front wheel and it was an immediate seizing of forward momentum...He was rapidly forced off the path and CRASHED in an old creek bed, flying over the handlebars and landing in a push-up position! I just can't imagine the hysteria! After "coming to", and probably verbalizing a few expletives, he gathered his stuff...I am not quite sure how he remedied the arrangement of his burden, but he WAS able to finally reach the truck, making it home safely. The fresh turkey was sunk into a homemade marinade for several hours and it was delicious, grilled turkey-ka-bobs that evening...phew...


ZACK - WATCHING SATURDAY MORNING CARTOONS WITH HIS PET TARANTULA THAT DYKE FOUND ONE NIGHT ON PATROL.



• Jake got 2 offense tickets when he and Zack "somehow" were allowed to drive to Wichita Falls alone, together. Dyke agreed for the two of them to cut the apron strings and journey 60 miles away from the nest to go to the mall...I was not too keen on it, but went with the law enforcement officer's judgement. Everything was great until they headed to Academy...windows down, tooling along, a local officer spotted Zack without a seat belt in the passenger seat. Wooooooo went the symphony of sirens and lights and they were busted! Upon requesting Jake's license and registration, the officer informed Jake that his license had expired last month! So it's a visit to the judge in Wichita County, and possible defensive driving. Oh, the other part of it was that he had lost his "prescription" glasses last hunting season. He MUST have glasses on when he drives (his license dictates that clearly). So, on top of fine money etc...it's also a visit to an optometrist and a new pair of glasses! To pass his license renewal eye exam, he used my turquoise colored glasses...LIKE THOSE LADIES DIDN'T KNOW THAT THOSE WEREN'T HIS GLASSES...
  

• Our beloved Cashy (choc. lab) died early one morning on the cool concrete floor of the laundry room - she was 12 and had really gone down hill after we started getting all the rain that we've gotten...don't know if it had anything to do with her decline, but things declined quickly after that. She had been spending a lot of her last days in the coolness of the shade by the barn. One evening while we were grilling supper, she came from the barn to where the grill is. I could tell immediately that she was not feeling well. We had to really coax her to come in the house. From a laying position, she drank and drank and drank some cool water from a shallow dish. After a short nap, we coaxed her back outside to go potty. She was passing ALOT of blood and tissue and I knew that she would probably not make it through the night. She didn't. We will all miss her terribly! Her grave is out by the tree west of the porch, next to Dixie-girl, Bud, and an assortment of others. She was an amazing, talented, driven dog with a heart the size of Texas. She's on the left in this picture. Penny is on the right.