Santa Paws Pet Photos

Mark your calendars for the first FOSA Santa Paws Pet Photos at the Senatobia Community Center, Dec. 3.  Pass the word!

Critter Camp

                                                  

Beauty Unsurpassed

I took this photo of the famous Senatobia First Baptist Church Ginkgo tree this morning with my cell phone. I can use that as an excuse for the photo not exactly capturing the amazing beauty of this tree, but if you want to know the truth—it's just one of those things you have to see for yourself.

You need to stand back, look at the beauty of the color of the yellow leaves, with the sun shining through to enhance the color even more. After a day or two of wind and rain, you'll see the magnificent yellow leaves lying beneath the bare tree like is has just dropped a silk shawl.

I've never gotten the perfect picture. Last year the leaves were still a little green. That particular afternoon several amateur photographers had gathered there to try their luck at getting the right photo. The next time I drove by the leaves were gone.

This morning, the tree was breath-taking.  If you stood there long enough you had experienced a worship service of sorts without ever going inside the church.  What a blessing.

The only thing that made the tree more beautiful was the sight of my two granddaughters. While they said it was pretty, they were really interested in its inviting, low limbs. If they could have just gotten there a moment before I did, they would have been sitting on one of those limbs in their Sunday clothes.

And this, our life, exempt from public haunt, finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, sermons in stones, and good in everything.  ~William Shakespeare

Bella and Caroline

Coffee Drinkers Beware

I, like millions of Americans, have been concerned about the state of our nation—falling stock market prices, the increase in unemployment, just to name the top two.

But starting today, I got a real wake-up call about our economy.  If you go to the grocery store today, don’t be surprised to find that coffee prices have soared, peanut butter is no longer a cheap alternative source of protein, and yes, even chocolate is now a delicacy.

J.M. Smucker, the maker of grocery store stalwart Folgers and of packaged varieties of Dunkin' Donuts coffee, said Tuesday that it is raising the price on most of its U.S. coffee products by 11 percent, its fourth increase in a year. Kraft Foods and Peet's Coffee and Tea also have recently raised their prices for brewed and packaged coffee, according to a report in the News Observer. http://www.newsobserver.com/2011/05/27/1229548/coffee-prices-rising.html

This is a nationwide crisis for blue and white-collar workers who need that jump-start for their day. And why the increase? Higher temperatures, long droughts followed by intense rainfall and crop diseases have reduced coffee supplies dramatically in recent years. For example, between 2002 and 2011, Indian coffee production declined by nearly 30 percent, says the UCS. http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/food/articles/2011/10/23/coffee_chocolate_endangered_foods/

Coffee giant Starbucks is reacting by “entering the cold-pressed juice bar business, as reported by the New York Post recently.”

Rising temperatures in West Africa are to blame for the increase in cocoa prices, and a super hot summer is the culprit for the dismal peanut crop.

“US Environmental Protection Act (EPA) says that crops that are currently near ‘climate thresholds' like wine grapes in California are likely to suffer a decrease in yields and quality,” according to the boston.com article.

While some of this news does not affect me directly, I’m very concerned. I don’t drink coffee, but my husband does, and life will not be good here in this house if he doesn’t have his morning brew. He came home yesterday with two cans to stockpile.

I don’t eat peanut butter, but my grandchildren do. But now chocolate is another story. Every woman knows the importance of chocolate—one of the major food groups.

Oh dear, what if this happens to Diet Cokes? My daughter posted this graphic (see right) on my Facebook page for me to use when expressing love to my children, friends and family. 

 I’m not being flippant about this news. I know that coffee and chocolate are not survival commodities, but peanut butter, for some, is. I just know these things sure do make life more pleasurable.

I say continue the drink coffee and cut out something less important to your mood and family harmony.

Riding or reading—both wonderful on sunny afternoon

Yesterday my friend Terry invited my daughter Olivia to accompany her on a trail ride.  She wanted her to ride her husband's horse, Henry's Last Shadow, a spotted saddle horse. Joe has been a little "under the weather" lately, and Henry hadn't been ridden since spring.  Since I am a rider too, I thought, "Well what about me?  Am I chopped liver?"  She probably didn't want to hear me complain the next day about being sore, my back hurting, and more aching body parts.

Terry, Snowball, Olivia, Henry

She said since Henry hadn't been ridden in months, he might be a little frisky, and she thought Olivia could handle him.  I must be getting old.   Terry was riding her spotted saddle horse/Tennessee walking horse cross, Snowball.

Snowball waiting for the ride

So they brushed and saddled and off they went, leaving me at the house. That turned out to be a pretty good deal. The Pegrams live in an old farmhouse, built around 1880, located several miles outside of Sardis.  They bought the old Sanford Place in 1974 and have made several improvements while honoring the home's original look.  The house had been owned by the same family from the time it was built until the Pegrams purchased it.

Dining room fireplace

While Olivia and Terry rode, I sat in the sunny kitchen sitting room with Belle, Terry's therapy Collie. She and Terry visit schools and medical rehabilitation facilities—letting Belle work her healing Collie magic.  Kids pet her, tell her to sit and sometimes even get to brush her teeth. She makes seniors smile and helps them with balance as they walk her down the halls.

Belle

On the back porch were other Collies, Hattie—a conformation show dog, and Tanner—a recent national Collie champion who specializes in herding and obedience.  Sheltie Blue is making his comeback in the obedience show ring.

But that's not all. There are four cats, the alpha being Kittyman, who sat with me while I read.  What could have been better—riding through the beautiful fall woods on a perfect day or sitting in this wonderful home, reading a good book and the latest Cowboys and Indians magazine, surrounded by great animals?  It's a toss-up.

Kittyman

Meet My Jilly

Meet Jilly. I'm so lucky to have been blessed with such a great dog.

I adopted her from the Senatobia-Tate County Animal Shelter (http://stcpets.org/) in March 2010.  We didn't know what she was except a ball of white fur with a black and brown eye patch—some kind of Collie mix, I was told.  She looked like a white possum when she was little, so Howard still calls her that and she doesn't seem confused with our calling her different names.

Jilly blends in with stuffed animals.

She had a rough start with some upset stomach problems. Then in September 2010 she disappeared. I walked through the woods, calling her. We rode up and down roads. No Jilly.   Finally after a week or so of looking, I put a little message on Facebook about losing her and what a great dog she was becoming. Moments after I posted, my former 4-H-er Denee Crockett Turner called.  "Miss Nancy, I have your dog!" 

Denee lives about two miles from us. She and her little boy were checking the mail in her Gator when Jilly jumped right in for a ride, like she does with Howard.  Denee's dad brought her home the next morning.

She must be a Border Collie mix.  She herds the kids when they run and crouches when she plays. After another failed attempt to take Cash through obedience school, I substituted her mid-way through the lessons, and she was amazing.

Sample photo

This is the kind of dog you can adopt from the shelter. And speaking of the shelter, Dec. 3, Friends of the Shelter Animals (FOSA) will host the first Santa Paws Christmas photo event. (See display ad in my sidebar) You can bring your favorite pet, if it can be contained or managed on a leash, to the Senatobia Community Center between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.  Cost for a 4 x 6 print by Batesville-area photographer Malcolm Morehead is $10.  Proceeds benefit FOSA's spay and neuter program.



Hope to see you there. Jilly may make an appearance.

Out of the Zone

None of us like being pushed out of our comfort zone.  I am the worst.  When we got instructions from our Loose Threads Guild leaders that we were going to do this Christmas Nine-Patch quilt, I thought, "Ya'll go right ahead.  I'd just do some more big rectangle-strip-easy quilts."  But no, we all did our versions of this quilt. I worked on it a little at a time for weeks.  I was uninspired.  Around the end of September, it started taking shape.

When I brought it home from Cotton Treasures http://www.cottontreasures.com/ where Chantay Rhone quilted the pieced top and back together, I was glad I'd been pushed.  I may have a few little Christmas projects, but basically my quilting projects are leaving the dining table, where they have been taking up space for months, and going back in the storage bins. Howard is glad. I'm sure they will come back out when the holidays are over.

The next time I turn my nose up at a suggested pattern, I'll just go look at my bed.

(A Loose Threads Guild project, quilted by Chantay Rhone, and pieced by me.)

HELP!

As I look over some of my past posts, I realize that I am in dire need of a proofreader. Julie, where are you???!!!! It was so nice to have someone at my side for 22 years who could catch my typos and errors.  I'll try to do better.

Horse Sweat, Dirt and Memories

I'm scrolling through my Facebook posts and see one from my girls' former 4-H Youth Agent Gina Wills, now the agent in New Albany—Union County.  She congratulates her youth and brags on their accomplishments.  We know her work is not 9 to 5 when she writes, "me and a load of goats are almost home from state fair.."

I think that my grown children have some of their best characteristics today because they were involved in 4-H.  We took a lot of kidding from those who didn't understand exactly what we were doing.   My son, Jason, especially got teased by his coaches and fellow players.

We were involved in the horse program. I served as the volunteer leader for the Young Riders horse program for 10 years.  It didn't just teach the kids how to show, groom and ride a horse. They learned valuable life lessons that are part of everyday living. They cried over an animal's death, and they made decisions when thinking about getting a new animal.

When Jason did a poster for National 4-H week, he wasn't just making a poster. He was learning how to structure a speech, how to make something look visibly appealing, how to talk in front of an audience with confidence. When he did a record on dog care, he learned how to document and record data.

We had some of the best times of their childhood days, traveling to shows, making friends with other horse people. The mamas learned how to drive one-ton trucks, hook and unhook trailers, and do what it took to get the job done. One of my friend's daughters piped up saying, "My mama can drive a truck and trailer with four horses and eat a cheeseburger at the same time."  I guess that was our version of "distracted driving," but we really were careful and safe.

You haven't lived until you spend the night in a hotel with a bunch of giggly girls who have to go to bed so that can be up early to  work their horses, get dressed, and hit the show ring.  It usually fell to me to get up in the dark and feed. Many fights and nasty words have been said trying the get their hair in a neat "horseshow bun."

They thought of ways to torture me and make me cry before we left each show.  When you're tired, it doesn't take much. 

Junior judgers Christin Hancock, fellow blogger Kara Givens (http://whitehouseredroof.blogspot.com/), Olivia Patterson and Andrea Slocum.

Along the way they learned to be responsible for their animals, to learn to win as well as lose graciously. They had to use judgement and back up their opinions with fact when they were members of the judging team or horse bowl team.

When my oldest daughter got the high school science, her teacher said, "I love 4-H students. They do the best science projects. They are good, and the kids know how to defend their ideas."

My youngest daughter stayed with it longer than the others. She seemed to find her confidence there.  Let me tell you, it is not fun to stay in a living quarters trailer the size of a small kitchen table with a know-it-all teenager.  Those days were hot, dirty, exhausting and crazy fun.

Thanks to Gina, Julia and Sandy for the memories. I wouldn't have had it any other way.

PS:  My dad was one of my judging team coaches, and thanks to my Youth Agent Jimmy McLain, maybe I turned out half as good as the kids did.

Judging team, Andrea Slocum, Hayley Patterson, Geri Wills and David Slocum.

Note To Self

Note to self:  Do not leave quilt and binding unattended, even if just to answer the phone, especially if Ellie is around.  Sorry about the photo quality.  It was the best I could do under the circumstances.

Vamaro's Elegant Gal—in trouble again.