Marchella

Apple Picking

Golden Delicious, my husband's favorite type of apple. Such a pretty photo, I love it :)

The view from the farm...just amazing...the fall foliage was just breathtaking.

Nora and Taylor.....the girls had a blast!

So many apples :) Apple picking is one thing I look forward to every fall. Its so relaxing. I love walking between the rows, sitting in the grass eating an apple or two. They always look so pretty on the trees. Then of course the cider and the apple pies. Fall is definately one of my favorite seasons (spring and fall are my favs). Todays weather was typical fall weather. It was warm, but not hot, and the air was fresh, turning very cool but not too cold in the evening. Perfect for riding and spending the day outdoors. It was a good day.

Cash & Willy

Foggy

I feel foggy and very tired. Its been a very long two weeks. Lots and LOTS of cleaning, but its good, and comfortable feeling now. Watching the new *Top Design* show, but I'm a bit distracted. The boys hate each other and its stressful. I wish they didn't want to kill each other :(. Chief will be coming *back* home soon :). Now that the paddock is better...Oh yeah I need to find out about better drainage...tah tah for now

So many changes....

I am SOOOO sick of moving!!!! Unfortunately we had to move again :(. It just sucks, I'm really quite upset about the whole situation. We finally moved into the new house we were renting from my father, and after a series of events decided not to stay there. First me and my dad got into a huge arguement about an drug dealing, heroin addicted uncle on my mother's side of the family that I haven't spoken to since I was a kid. I don't trust him, I could care less to talk to him, I have absolutely NOTHING to do with this man. So what that he's my uncle? I can't help who my mother has for brothers.......

Anyways, my Father (who has real issues with my mother's family since they got divorced when I was 9) freaked out on me for *galavanting* with my uncle in *his house*. Which by the way we were paying his mortgage/insurance/etc. for. As I said before I've haven't spoken with my uncle for years. Apparently my brother was talking to my dad about how my mother was dropping him off at camp, then coming to visit me, and was then going to visit her brother. Some how my father heard that my uncle was meeting me and my mom and my brother at camp and having a BBQ and going fishing and blah blah blah. Can we say "Paranoid"? So when my dad flipped out on me...I flipped right back. Admittedly I was pissed. Who did he think I was? I'm his freaking daughter, we had a better relationship than either my brother or sister did with him. I thought he trusted my judgement. Obviously not.

So I haven't *really* spoken to him since. I did see him and had normal greetings, but didn't spend any time with him, and for the most part ignored him. I was really upset. The next day he found out that I wasn't *galavanting* and that he was wrong. Does he appoligize? NO! of course not because that would be admitting that he was wrong. Instead he talks to my husband and says I guess I over-reacted before knowing the facts....Yeah think? And of course my brother is horrified that he caused such a problem...which really wasnt his fault! My dad *always* takes "information" in as he deems fit.

So then, a couple of weeks later Dew got laid off (my husband)....well that really screwed us. I already hadn't been working since April. I had been trying very unsuccessfully to get a new job. We had moved to northern maine because I've always wanted to live there. Its cheaper to live...but definately harder. We were *okay* just as long as my husband still was working...with him getting laid off it would be impossible if he couldn't find a job ASAP. A month goes by and after applying to every trucking company in the area (he has a CDL, there are only 6 trucking co.'s) we were slipping deeper and deeper into a financial hole.

A very VERY close friend offered us to move in with her. She had an extra room in the basement and was comfortable with all my critters coming to live with her too. It helps that she's my snake breeding partner. So we said yes. That week we started looking for jobs back in southern maine. Literally 2 hours after applying to PAF (a trucking co.) My husband got a call back, the next week he was hired (after doing all the prelim testing). He is on his second week of work now. So obviously the move was pretty fast, and my dad is pissed at us for moving out, and hasn't gotten over the *fight* that is somehow my fault.

So thats how we ended up back in southern maine after only 4 months in northern maine. It sucks, it really does. But thats life, eh? I'm so tired of explaining everything over and over to people. It's both embarrassing and stressful to constantly have to answer the same questions....

No...it wasn't because we couldn't handle it, Yes we liked it there, No we haven't sold our house, No we aren't living in it....because we are trying to sell it......etc. *sigh* so I' sick of moving! and hopefully wont have to move for a while.

The plan for the future.....Sell the house! Hopefully we will get a buyer! I need to have a confirmed job...apparently Cabelas is going to hire me....very weird, the contact guy hasn't told me, but when I went in to do a urine test the HR lady said I'd be all set to start once the background check comes through...So I'll be calling there tomorrow to see whats up. Me and dew will be trying to get the bills paid off that we've accured in the last 9 months (between him going to school, not being paid for 2 months due to on the job training.....and me being laid off without work for 4 months) our finances have been shot. So *fun*. So while the house is up for sale, we will be starting to pay off our excess bills (thank gawd for not having to *pay* to live here, we just help out with food and heating expenses, and help out around the house)....Then after the house is sold, I hope to have 6-8 months time to get everything in order and then start looking for a place to rent/buy that is within our means.

Living in Portland started to be too expensive...we can't afford it. C'est le vie.............so that is life currently. It sucks, but I still have my horse....and she gives me sanity.

Cash

Meet Cash :). Our new little tiger kitten. He is super sweet and cuddly. Purrs up a storm. I have a feeling *kitten* isn't coming back, our delightful 7 year old female orange tiger kitty. I miss her a lot. This is why I hate having outdoor cats, but one we were out of the city it was impossible to keep them indoors, especially with my father thinking cats should be *outdoor* creatures. Unfortunately we haven't seen any sign of her in atleast a week to week 1/2. *sigh* So when picking up some feeder mice from a friend she told me that she was getting a new kitten, and asked if I wanted one too. So she picked him out for me, and he is just as perfect as can be. My other kitties don't seem to like him too much. Smidge *hates* him....Abner is indifferent.

Random News

Blueberry bushes. I took this about two weeks ago, all the berries are still green in the photo, but we are just now starting to be able to harvest them. We are estimating about 700 quarts this year. Not too shabby. Such a pretty shot I think, but it's a very pretty little farm!

Prego? you think??? HA! Momma mouse lost all her babies :(. Which sucks because they were to be fed to the snakes :D.....Ahwells....she'll have more.. Isnt she huge?

Pretty flower. I rescued a plant from the ditch a couple of weeks ago, and look what it produced! They started out as four pointed pink stars, and now they are pretty fuzzy white flowers. They look fake, but are definately real..... I don't have a clue what type of plant it is, but obviously i'm doing something right! I wish I was able to get a picture of the pink star phase....but by the time I found my camera (we were moving) they had already transitioned to this. The flowers so far have lasted a week...I wonder how long they will be there.

Last but surely not least, the BEST picture i've taken in a long time. I just LOVE Mr. Toad Man. He is just soo cool. About the size of a baseball. My husband and I found him while doing some lawn work. I put him on the steps to take a photo. He sat there with that grumpy look to his face. He reminds me of an old man. When I was done with his photo session we returned him to the treeline well away from the road AND the lawnmower ;). I wanted to keep him SOOOOO badly...but he's been living a nice long life in the woods :) so I figure I should let him return....but I LOVED him. So enjoy the photo ;). I do.

B is for Baby

So the dreaded conversation came about this past weekend. My husband dropped the *B* bomb.....He wants a baby. I knew it was a matter of time. I've never really wanted a kid of my own, much less go through a pregnancy. But he really wants a child...so I figured it would be *okay*. Under the following stipulations: I get to choose the name... he has to quite smoking...and I will be a stay at home mom. He agreed to all three, so I agreed to the baby. I have spent the last two days thinking about what to name it, whether a boy or a girl....This is what I have come up with. For a girl it will be Kyra Hayden DuEst, and a boy will be Kolton Payson DuEst. I'd rather have a girl, but obviously its the luck of the draw. So thats the news so far. I have two months left of my birth control....and it can take up to a year for that to wear off. So we will stop the bc..and go to the doctor to let them know.

*yikes* just the thought is making my stomach churn...a baby???? ME???? *yikes*

Cigarette Burns

Last night I stumbled across the "Master of Horrors" series from Showtime I believe it is. Basically they are short films from the best of the best of horror producers. Cigarette Burns is one made by John Carpenter. It is by far the best horror film I have seen in a very long time! It was just amazing, and left you really *thinking* about it afterwards. I found it on youtube. This is the first segment of the film. It has been seperated into 6 ten minute segments. I highly suggest you watch it....if you like horror flicks ;)

post shed

Today I went to my cousin Garth's house to help his wife Angie with her pom. He was covered in matts and she needed help cutting and shaving him. When I was done he sorta looked like a weird version of a portugese waterdog with a lioncut. It took about an hour and a half to get all the matts out and shave him and such. But he really does look cute with his new haircut. She loves it. When I got back to the house, and brought a bunch of grass up to the bunnies, I checked on the snakes and Kami had shed. He looks gorgeous! Although he seems to have lightened quite a bit with the shed. He's not nearly as dark. So here are some pictures:

Bunnies meet Dad

So while Dad was out doing stuff with his plants....I brought his girlfriend upstairs to meet the bunnies. She of course LOVED them, and thought it would be good to have dad meet them. They've been in the house for atleast a week now, and Dad goes into my room all the time to look at the snakes. (we are here for about a month, until our new house is ready) He thinks "they are like really cool!" Sadly that is exactly how he puts it. Imagine skinny 6 foot bald front toothless man saying that ha! Anyways, so we told him that we had something to show him. And he said what.... and Vicki goes I'm gonna hold a snake! Which is just random because she's scared to death of snakes...so she never goes into my room. So I hand her Sluggy, and I take Kiki, and we bring them downstairs to show dad the "snake".

So he got to meet them finally. I was trying to see how long it would take him to *discover* them in my room, but he never actually saw them, in their cage. We let the run around the kitchen, and eat carrots. They are so freaking cute. Now that dad knows about them, I can let them out to play downstairs during the day for an hour or two. Besides, there poops are soooo easy to pick up with the vacuum.

Phase III is COMPLETE!

Oh yeah forgot to say, but it IS, now we just need to get the damn house SOLD!

Sluggy and Kiki

I have BUNNIES! Two of them, and they are super cute. We've decided to name them Sluggy and Kiki, in tribute to one of my favorite cartoons, Sluggy Freelance! The cats met them and for the most part are unphased. Willy was a bit scared of them, abner was annoyed that they kept trying to hop over him, and kitten just layed there, and went back to sleep. I feel like such a teenager, having to sneak them into the house ;). My husband doesnt like it when I bring pets home.....but he thinks they are adorable too. Here are a couple of shots, not the best, but atleast you can see them.

Kiki:

Sluggy:

Sunset on the farm :)

Happy 1st Wedding Anniversary :)

P.S.....

Oh yeah did I mention Phase II is complete??? Well it is!

A day in my life with basenjis.....

I am worried I may never be able to have Sid and Bramble be together. Today they were ready to rip each other apart. Luckily I just happened to have a hold of both of them when it started. Unluckily my leg was close enough for sid to latch onto. Its not too bad, no punctures or anything, it looks like a giant blood blister with teeth marks, about an inch long.

It all started last week, when we had just gotten to my dad's house. They got into a huge fight, blood everywhere. They've never fought before, but now it seems like that one fight has caused them to have a big grudge against each other. More of Sid than bramble, because he was the instigator today. I am SOOO glad I had a good hold on him. I can't imagine the damage they would have done to each other THIS time. I have temporary tie outs until I can get the dog fencing up. I was bringing them in, sid on the leash, bram I was *going* to pick up. So instead I had to drag two snarling dogs into the house by their collars, making them walk on their hind legs so they couldnt use their bodies to overpower me. Half choking them as I dragged them in the house. There was no way I could just let go of one, and the way Sid kept lunging over and over and over again...I knew he didnt plan on stopping.

You may think...eh, they are only 25lbs a piece, but these little dogs mean business! Sid snapped at me...because he could reach me, and was displacing his anger on me. He got me a few different times, but luckily only one was of any consequence. I may post a picture of it...but i'm not sure.
About a week has passed since they got into the first fight, and for the most part I have been keeping them seperate so they can cool off a bit, but they've walked by each other and sniffed and there hasnt been a problem...until this afternoon. Its so frustrating.

After working with basenjis I know that this could mean that they will never be able to be together again, and quite frankly I don't want to even TRY to put them together. I don't want them hurting each other. So now it comes down to the split...who do I split??? Bram can't go out alone....But on the other side...If I keep one dog with Bram and the others seperate from here on out, I have to be careful because Tira may decide they are bad too. (gotta love basenjis ha!) So I think what I may do is this:

Split the group so Daisy stays with Bram. Daisy is really too rough on Tira, and she is a bully to Masi. Keep Sid, Masi, and Tira as a little group. They play well together. But that leaves Daisy without a true playmate. Bramble won't really play with her, he doesnt *really* play much with the others. Basically they run around together, and if he gets annoyed at them he starts growling and snapping till they leave him alone...he's starting to be an old man...which may be just another reason to keep the two boys apart. So Does that mean I get another dog so that Daisy has someone who will really play with her??? So I'll have two packs of three? Three is a lot more easy to manage in the house at one time, thats for sure. And just do shifts between the two? Dew wants a wolfhound....but they are relatively fragile, and I don't want a dog like Daisy...who is very VERY rough when she plays to inadvertantly hurt her new friend??? I would like a doberman...But again getting any dog as a puppy throws the risk of Daisy being too rough, and Tira wanting to *kill* it.

As if I didnt have enough stress in my life at the moment...THIS has to happen.....*argh* well for now they get tied out. We will have to wait on the new house to figure out anything further. And no more walking the boys in/out together. *sigh*

Phase 1 completed

So I've split moving into 4 Phases.

Phase 1: Get all pets and myself to new house.

Phase2: Finish physical move into knew storage container.

Phase 3: Have horses shipped up and all fencing/shelter finished.

Phase 4: House SOLD!

So far I have completed Phase 1 and Phase two is nearly complete. I moved all the small critters, kitties, snakes, etc. on Monday April 21st, then on Friday the 25th, I moved up myself and the dogs. So basically everything I need to live, clothes, laptop, etc. is here. I have spent the last two weeks, preparing our storage container, and packing up stuff at the house. We are about 85% packed. This coming friday May 2nd, my husband will be home (he's a OTR Truck driver), and we are going to finish Phase 2. Which means we need to load up whatever is in our current storage container (not much thank gawd, after I've brought 6 truckloads to the dump!!!) and load whatever is left in the house (mostly furniture), and bring it up here to unload it all in the new storage container.

The farm I'm living on is my fathers (also a OTR Truck driver), he's home currently but should be heading out soon. Which will be good, because that means that i'll be at the house pretty much by myself. My grandfather does live here too. We are taking a few weeks to decide if I either want to A: build a new house a few fields over, or B: buy the house I grew up in. I really sorta want to build :) so I can be close by. Especially because the horses will remain here, even if I do buy the house I grew up in.

Phase 3 will be completed in a couple of weeks. Yesterday Dew, my grandfather and myself put up the first paddock, when dew gets back on wed/thurs we will put up the second paddock, and attach the electric wires.

Here is a picture of the first paddock. The next one will be sorta right next door, but back a little bit. I am stressing a bit on making sure everything is ready, but I'm sure everything will be fine.

And of course Phase 4....just as soon as someone wants to buy our stupid place. We *need* to get rid of it. I hate it there, and it sucks! It would make a great refinishing project.

Sid and bramble had to christian the move by full on attacking each other in the field! Stupid basenji's...they are doing well though, limping a little bit, but have greatly improved since friday. Dumbasses. But they seem to have resolved their differences.

baby balls

OMG how gorgeous are these little guys? And that silver bullet in the center, just magnificant!!!!!! I would be proud to have any of these little guys in my collection.

Its a Magical Liopleurodon!!!