LIFE'S BETTER IN THE MOUNTAINS

Friday, May 10, 2019

Golden Lucy and Sweet Toddler


Lucy takes a very expensive arthritis pill every morning before breakfast.  So first thing when my husband gets up, she takes her place near the kitchen cabinet where the pills and treats are kept.  The two of them get up very early.

Lucy waits patients for her morning treat




Hurry up, Dad.  I'm waiting.

The pills have worked magic for her and she does not seem to have any pain when she takes them.  Her lameness has not progressed to other areas and does not seem any worse than before.  So if she does have a tumor (as the veterinarian highly suspects), it must be a slow-growing one.  She still seems to enjoy her life and we definitely enjoy having her around.

As Lucy ages and no longer runs in the outdoors, our Violet is growing fast  and running and discovering the wonders of the outdoors.  Their very large front yard is full of trees, so they do not plant grass but allow the natural bed of ground cover, weeds and wildflowers to flourish were the grass will not.  They did scatter daffodil bulbs all over which is gorgeous when they are blooming.  Regular trimming keeps the yard attractively managed so the neighbors don't complain about a "field" growing there.  But while others are killing off the dandelions and other wildflowers, our son and his family are enjoying them.

Violet recently discovered the art of blowing dandelion fluff.  She hasn't quite mastered it but she is learning.

First, you find just the right one.




Yes, this one is perfect, so I'll pick it.




Then you hold it up and blow and blow like this.
I think you need to hold it a bit closer, Violet.
But you have the right idea.


It's a common passage of life, isn't it?  Our dogs grow old and our grandchildren grow up.  It's Nature's way and we cannot stop either from happening.  And that's a good thing.  We humans have demonstrated over and over again that we should not be in charge.

Noted anthropologist, the late Margaret Mead provides our first quote:
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world;
Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."

And we would be remiss if we did not include a quote by Jim Fowler, renowned zoologist who died only two days ago:
"Our challenge for the future is that we realize that we are very much a part of the earth's ecosystem,
And we must learn to respect and live according to the basic biological laws of nature."

Compare those quotes to the ones from our (gulp) Secretary of State, Michael Pompeo who is excited about the melting sea ice in the Arctic.  In a speech at the Arctic Summit in Finland, Pompeo gave us the following quote:
"Steady reductions in sea ice will open new passageways and new opportunities for trade...the forefront of opportunity and abundance."
Yes, the Arctic region has reportedly lost 90,000 square miles of sea ice since last year alone, and the United Nations reports over a million species are at risk of extinction due to human influence in climate change.  But  Pompeo also defended President Trump's decision to pull out of the Paris climate agreement.  Because he said:
"Collective goals, even when well-intentioned, are not always the answer."
No, Mr. Pompeo.  But they are at least a beginning.


HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEK, EVERYONE
REMEMBER YOUR MOTHER ON THIS MOTHER'S DAY
AND YOUR MOTHER EARTH AS WELL

10 comments:

Barbara Rogers said...

Yes indeed. Mothers of all kinds to celebrate and be remembered this Sunday. Love to see Violet learning to blow. It reminds me how hard it was to teach one of my sons how to blow his nose. Figuring out blowing is such a neat trick!

Beatrice P. Boyd said...

Happy Mother’s Day go to you as well. It seems that grandchildren grow faster every day and how fortunate that you can share in special moments like blowing dandelions, which I admit to having done as an adult. Sometimes, I wonder whether politicians think before speaking...in fact most times, I wonder that and think NOT.

Nance said...

Violet is growing faster than the weeds she is fascinated by.

Happy Mother's Day to you, too. Thank you for the reminder to celebrate and be kind to Mother Earth. I'll do just that.

Anonymous said...

It's very sweet to see Lucy waiting for her morning meds and a treat. She's so well loved. And Violet is adorable with her dandelion. I love the quotes you chose and a beautiful reminder on Mother's Day that our planet is Mother Earth. Yes! Thank you for that.

Vicki Lane said...

So adorable! And good on her parents for the natural yard -- so much to discover in nature. If only the dolts in power could look beyond the quick buck.

The Bug said...

I might get up early too if someone was going to give me a snack. I'm glad the pills work well for Lucy! And Violet is adorable trying to blow the dandelion fluff.

Since I am mother-free, I shall definitely celebrate Mother Earth this weekend!

Kay G. said...

Mother earth should be remembered every day indeed!

Busy Bee Suz said...

I hope you had a nice Mother's day. I'm so happy that Lucy is doing well and is not feeling any pain.
Violet is a DOLL. I remember showing the 'blowing of the dandelions" to both of my girls too-treasured moments.

NCmountainwoman said...

Thanks everyone for your comments.

Barbara - Yes, the art of blowing is somewhat difficult.

Beatrice - I'm not sure whether they don't think or simply don't care about anything beyond re-election.

Nance - I know you are already one of the green ones. Yes, Violet is growing so fast. My son says it's gone by so fast and at other times it seems so long ago since they brought her home.

Robin - Lucy gets her meds in "Pill Pockets" which must be very tasty. She loves them.

Vicki - As soon as they bought the house they decided they did not want any more grass. It helped that much of the yard was dug up to hook them to city sewer so they did not re-plant any grass.

Bug - It's always a bit sad on Mother's Day if we have lost our mothers. No matter how many years it may have been.

Kay - Nice to hear from you. Yes, we should honor the earth every single day in all the ways we can.

Suz - Thanks. She still tends to hold the fluff too far away from her mouth, but she's working on it. I think she got some of it in her mouth once and she's not taking any chances.

Lowcarb team member said...

Beautiful photographs here, they made me smile.
Learning to blow is quite hard :)

All the best Jan