Summertime

Just be still while I try to take your picture.

Nope their not having any of it.   

They are going into the water to get away from me. 

Thankfully, it has not been as hot as last summer.  I ran the weedeater this morning, watered the plants and took a few pictures of the yard.  I am sad to report that we lost all of our chickens to some critter that killed one or two at a time, eventually getting into the coup and killing the last two chickens.  It was very sad to have the chickens go that way.  We are down to two ducks.  We started lighting the pond at night and I guess that kept whatever ate the chickens away from the ducks.  Ducks and chickens are sometimes stubborn.

This is why the water is not staying in our pond.  Hubs and our neighbor, Mike dragged it out of the pond yesterday.  If you attach the next picture to this one, you'll see how big the tree was.

Just enough water for the ducks to swim
Barely.

Bruno is sitting right beside my computer as I type this.  In fact, Hot Dog, Stinky and Bruno follow me around the house.  The only one that doesn't always want to be with me is Baby, our Siamese cat.  She's independant like only a Siamese could be.  They're with me when I drink my coffee at the computer, when I eat breakfast, when I go to the bathroom, when I exercise, even when I go outside.  I guess it's nice to be needed.

Can you tell how much I love sunflowers?  They have to be one of my favorite summer flowers. 

And the bumble bees love them too.

My sister, Candy, has fallen three times with the last fall being in the tub.  She hit the back of her head on the tub.  Luckily, she did not bust her head wide open.  Her son came and took her to his home for ten days or so.  It wasn't easy, but she did get better.  So home she went only to go down again.  She doesn't take care of herself when she lives alone.  I don't know what is going to happen to her. Her son says she will have to go into a nursing home or something like that. We both agree that she can't stay home alone.  She doesn't need to drive either because the last time she drove at night she ran off the side of the road and busted two tires and the rims. Even Candy agrees that she doesn't need to drive at night. 

Her son and I are trying to figure out why she goes from totally confused at times to attentative.  It is confusing to never know what she will be like.  He thinks she is taking too much medicine.  We wonder if she might not remember when she took it, and maybe she takes it again.  I have to remember that she is an addict.  She is a recovering alcholic. And has a hard time with anything.  She seems to go overboard in all situations.  You know...if one is good then two will be better.  She has grandeous ideas.  That is the bi-polar talking.  She can be deceptive as well.  Of course all of this makes sense to her. 

I'm thinking that if she is in a nursing home or even an assitted living, then she can't over dose herself with her medications, especially, her pain meds.  She reminds me so much of how our mother acted.  Our mother did eventually get better later in life.  I just wish Candy would get better.

I am trying not to worry so much about her.  No one has talked with her in a couple of days.  She is not answering her phone, so I called her DIL to see if they had heard from her.  They went last night and picked her up to come and spend the night with them. 

Last week, Candy ask me if I would come and get her, then take her to her doctor's appointment.  She usually drives herself from her home to my home and then I drive her to her doctor.  I'm glad she is not going to drive.  It is about a two hour drive.  I'm going tomorrow to pick her up.  We'll stop and see our youngest son, Hunter, and go to lunch with him.  It's about half way and a good place to stop for Candy.

I'm thinking of flying to see our oldest son and his family.  I haven't seen their new home.  My granddaughter's birthday is at the end of the month.  Hopefully, I can figure out when's the best time to go.  Next week, Hubs is having some heart test run on him.  He has been having a flutter and feeling light headed.  I'm sure he will be fine.  He just needs to loose weight.

Speaking of weight, I am ready for my next weight challenge.  I want to loose 28 pounds before Nov.  Surely, I can loose 7 pounds a month?  I calculated the amount of time I must exercise everyday and how much I must reduce my caloric intake to figure the weight loss.  I'm giving myself a little extra time because I seem to loose then gain weekly.  I figure it is mostly exercise.  At any rate, I should loose two pounds a week.  So wish me luck.