Sad day on the homestead today. Our beloved cat Calie fought the good fight, but her little body could no longer battle against the CRF that has plagued her all these years.
She has been laid to rest on our property amongst the oak and maple trees which she loved to look at from her many perches around the house.
RIP Calie.
1992 – 2013
A month ago I decided to utilize a program to look at the analytics of my blog since the old one wasn’t working (and we had changed my site to a different server that appears to be highly finicky when it comes to what it is willing to allow users to access. Think Hal in “2001: A Space Odyssey”).
While I’m still trying to learn the techno-savy aspects of the program, I did come across a little bit of information about you guys.
Although I knew that you were a tad strange simply because you read the gibberish that I throw together and post as my life, you seem to have an infatuation.
With squirrels.
According to this fabulous program, the keywords that are used most that draw people to my site are… wait for it… “Squirrel”.
Grand prize winner is “fat squirrel”. Second runner up: “ninja squirrel”.
Apparently, I’ve posted 21 pictures of squirrels (this being the 3rd time I’ve used this photo – the three “R’s” are alive and well in the Blogosphere) and who knows how many times I’ve used the word “squirrel” in a post.
Guess we can add 6 more to that tally, whatever it is.
Oh, and just so we can award the Bronze medal in the Weird Olympics, third place went to the keyword “teacher”.
Explain that one to me, will ya?
I’ve raised 2 daughters. I’ve babysat countless babies. I’ve dealt with angry customers and obstinate co-workers.
Compared to this, they are a walk in the park.
And this is what we are dealing with now with Calie.
The hustle and bustle of the holiday season is over. All those months of planning, prepping and stress over in a few short hours.
Now comes the Winter Blahs. Those endless months of cloudy, cold days in the Northwoods.
Frankly, I’m already sick of it.
My body craves to get out of the house and do something. Anything. Unfortunately, what awaits me beyond the warmth of the indoors is biting wind and freezing temperatures.
Must. Go. To. Happy. Place.
For there I will remember that in a few short months my greenhouse will be set up with the promise of little seedlings sprouting.
The snow will start to melt and we will be teased by the taste of Spring, only to have our dreams shattered by a butt load of snow.
Fear not, because we are seasoned northerners that know that the longer days and warmer sun will coax those tiny snowflakes to melt, encouraging the hibernating plants to come out of their slumber and bring color to the world.
Yes, my Happy Place is wonderful.
Too bad reality gets in the way and blows it all to smithereens.
At least the squirrels are providing some kind of entertainment to get me through it.
The start of the new year brings the opening for nominations for the 13th Annual Weblog Awards (aka Bloggies).
Each year blogs from all over the interwebs are judged by their peers in different categories hoping to be crowned best of the best in their area. You’ve got sports writers, photographers, foodies and Mommy bloggers that pour their hearts and souls into providing entertainment and information to the masses every day.
Please make sure that you read the rules and confirm your nomination from the email* you will receive from them (or your vote won’t count and we’ll all be really sad). Oh, and make sure to check the box to be chosen for the panel that picks the finalists!
OK, get out there and vote, and make sure to spread the word on Facebook, Twitter and all those other social media sites that you use!
*Don’t worry, you will not receive any unwanted emails from doing this.