I think We have Faeries. Come See!

Posted by Barbara Techel

2014-01-04 16.39.50eThe snow on our deck has been invaded with bean pods!

Ok, maybe you think I’ve flipped my lid.  Well, maybe I have.  

What started out as frustration with our beautiful white snow being invaded by the bean pods from our honey locust tree have now turned into a new fascination. They are EVERYWHERE!

It is unusual for our tree to have dropped so many bean pods already.  Usually they hang on until March or April. Maybe it has to do with global warming. I don’t know.

Our honest locust tree is a wonderful shade tree in the summer months, but the bean pods make me whine a bit when I think about all the raking we will have to do come spring.

I’ve often wondered if there was something crafty I could do with them.  So I googled it.  I found out you can dry them and spray paint them and add to floral decorations. Hmmmmm. Might have to try that.  Then I noticed someone selling bunches of them on Etsy for $7.00 a bunch.  Hmmmmm.  Maybe I should look at all of them in my yard currently as dollar bills!

But then I read that they attract faeries!  “Honey Locust pods are a useful tool to attract and welcome the Faeries as they are cautious, wary little creatures, and love safe places to hide. Mighty thorns from this tree create a tangible, impenetrable fortress and also protect fairy clearings.”

To think I have all this fairy magic flitting about in my yard has me rethinking these bean pods.

So maybe if I accept what is, and sit very quietly, I may see all the little faeries at play. And by the looks of all the bean pods still on our tree, I’d say our yard is one magical land of wonder! 2014-01-04 16.40.28e

Keeping the Home Fires Burning. Gidget on the Job Front and Center.

Posted by Barbara Techel

2014-01-03 11.50.12We are in for some nasty, frigid weather starting Sunday. Coldest its been in quite a few years around here. Windchills to reach 40 below. 

I always feel so sorry for Kylie having to run outside and do her thing morning and night. Gidget, on the other hand, having IVDD, has an advantage with me expressing her little bladder right over the toilet.  See?  IVDD does have its advantages.

The woodstove John installed on November 21st is going to get a full blown workout these next few days.  Miss G is right on top of things as you can see.

Each time John has left the house today and returns, he brings in a few more logs we have stacked in half our garage so that we can keep a good stock pile inside to combat the cold.

So, I’m sure some wonder, why we wouldn’t just turn on the furnace? Well there is a wonderful ritual that John and I are enjoying with our woodstove.

As I set my 2014 heart intentions for the year (I don’t like the word goals– too formal and stiff), one of my heart intentions is to keep living as simply as we can. We see the woodstove as part of that equation.

We hope it will help lower our heat bill by not running our furnace. A way in which we can live more self-sufficiently is how we have approached this.

There is also something of the experience of picking up and loading 4 cords of wood, which our friend, Cassy, helped John with earlier this fall. Both hard workers, it was also a fun outing of bonding and talking time for them both.

Also, not to mention the ambiance of the winds howling outside, nestled in front of the warm woodstove, reading a good book, Lil’ G nestled in my lap, and Kylie snoring on the sofa….and great conversation with the love of my life.

It’s in the experience of all of this that evokes feelings of a simple, happy life.  Sure, we could get up and move the lever over a few notches on the thermostat.  But what fun would that be?

So, ok, maybe not for everyone. But our woodstove has become an important part of our family and we love her dearly.

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Extra Bonus When Doing Water Therapy with Gidget for Her Intervertebral Disc Disease (IVDD)

Posted by Barbara Techel

2013-12-29 09.05.13Gidget loves her “pool” time. Shhhh, don’t tell her she’s in a bathtub and not a big, luxurious pool. She dosen’t seem to notice the difference.

There isn’t a rehab water therapy facility near where I live to be able to take her for therapy, so this is the next best thing. When the tub is full, I call her and she comes running. She has no qualms about me putting her in the water.

She caught onto the drill quite fast. I have small, low calorie treats I use to get her to walk from one end of the tub to the other. I also have a rubber mat along the bottom to help her with better traction.  This girl will do just about anything for treats so she is happy to do her exercise’s.

It’s so fun to see her wade back and forth in the water. Doing water therapy for her helps keep the muscles in her legs strong, so she can continue to walk and get stronger even though she has IVDD.

The extra bonus of this is I feel like it is a special bonding time between us. I love to cheer her on as she makes strides back and forth in the water.

After she has done a couple of rounds of “laps” I do some range of motion exercises with her hing legs. It’s also a great time to soap her up so she is squeaky clean though I don’t do that every session.

When she is done with her water therapy, I wrap her in a towel and gently pat her down. She then waddles over in front of the woodstove, crawls into her weenie pocket blanket and falls asleep.

A happy, content doxie makes for a happy, content doxie mom.

To learn more about water therapy visit this link on Dodgerslist website.  They have tons of great articles and information on helping dogs with IVDD.

There are many things we can do at home for our pets with IVDD as long as we do them correctly. It saves on time and money, as well as it really is a wonderful way to bond with your pet.

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