'Keets and Other News

Haven't posted in a while, so here's an update.

We have a new member of the family. An escaped or evicted parakeet flew into the cab of our neighbor's truck--and he brought the parakeet to us to see if we'd give it a home. That makes 4 (yes, 4) parakeets now. Oscar is one unhappy dog! But the parakeets are safe & seem to be getting along just fine.

The new one is the green one with yellow head and our neighbor's son named him "Hurley." We believe he is a boy (notice the blue cere above his beak), so will have to quit calling our 'flock', 'the girls'.

We celebrated Sept - Dec family birthdays at our house this past weekend. We enjoyed everyone's company; it is always nice to get the whole family together. I have to admit, though, that the great nieces & nephew were a special treat! Hunter was such a good baby and Ruthie & Riley were a lot of fun. Oscar was worn out after playing with Riley all afternoon--he napped all evening, slept all night, and then slept most of Sunday too! I suspect he could not maintain that pace too long.

We were too busy enjoying everyone to take pictures, but here are ones of Hunter & Ruthie that Ivan took.

Update on the Back 40 (feet, that is)!

Well, Mark's been busy lately.

Thanks to some friends from church, we are trying red potatoes this year. Mark also has planted grape tomatoes, jalapeno peppers, and squash--good eating is ahead! The carrots I planted and the herb garden are growing nicely, and I noticed new blooms on our blackberries (the only kind of blackberries you'll find here are the kind you eat.)

We're thankful for the much needed rain! It's a little colder than I would like, but I don't think it is cold enough to bother the plants. Oscar isn't too happy with the weather, but the plants look a little happier to me.