Tuesday, May 26, 2015

Our Memorial Day Adventure


I'm in the house with a mosquito buzzing around me - because of the torrential rainfall and flooding yesterday - but we missed it all because of an overly curious dog.

First of all I hope everyone had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend. "Thank you!" to all of the men and women who have served our country.


We decided to go up Thursday night so we could wake up Friday morning at the farm. It was a wonderful way to start the weekend off.

I noticed this right away - smothered in blooms and smells just heavenly!
Gardenia bush in full bloom



I picked a bouquet and brought it inside to enjoy:

We had pretty nice weather - cloudy with the sun peeking out, showers in the afternoon but nothing to mess up the day. We went into town to the farmer's market for fresh produce,
got a flag to hang at the end of the driveway,  and took care of some other things that needed to be done.

Bruce also got my fountain running. It's wonderful to have it going - I love the sound of the water spilling into the basin:
We had supper over at the vineyard next door. Always fun to go visit with the neighbors. :o)

Saturday was a perfect day. Sunshine and warm. Lots of different flowers blooming and everything is nice and green.
Cardinal climber
 I saw a patch of pink in the field and went to investigate. This is what I found:
sensitive briar
The blueberries continue to get bigger and bigger:

The dogs had fun swimming in the almost full pond, Bruce worked on the barn roof patching holes, and I picked some remaining dewberries. Yes! I have enough to make a pie!

I changed up the flower arrangements in the guest room. These pull in the colors from the new chair:



and added this cute bird:

Sunday was mostly a lazy day as it rained on and off. We did stop by Lowe's after church to pick up the last things Bruce needed to finish the barn roof and later I changed up my chalkboard canvas and  a few things in the living room decor:
Canvas
This toy tractor was Bruce's. I rescued it from his mom's house. :o)


Monday, we decided to leave before noon, hoping to miss the heavy rain that was predicted and some traffic. And that's when the dog got in trouble.

As we were gathering things up, I heard a yelp, went outside to see what was wrong, and saw Herbie (the brown and white border collie) frantically rubbing his nose on the grass. I figured he got stung and went to look in the spot they'd been digging in.
Trouble at base of tree in clump of irises
I didn't see anything in the leaves and dirt. I was worried because I could tell Herbie didn't feel good and his face was starting to swell. So Bruce got the rake and started poking around...yikes! He found a copperhead snake! I'm glad I didn't reach down to move the leaves around! I got the dogs away so Bruce could take care of kill it then ran inside to call the vet.

They told us to bring Herbie in so we got the dogs in the truck and sped off; Herbie definitely wasn't feeling good and the left side of his face was getting bigger. They didn't rush us back - we had to wait our turn - but finally the vet looked him over, gave him some shots and pills, and told us Herbie would be fine. Seems copperhead bites are common and most dogs do fine - the biggest issue being the airway swelling shut.Wow, I thought it would be a bigger deal. Maybe I've seen too many TV shows? I really thought he'd end up on IV's and be really sick.

Even so, we decided to wait until Tuesday morning to head back. We wanted Herbie to rest and be able to take him back to the vet if it was necessary. Turned out to be a good thing because major storms rolled through back at home and roads flooded.

Here's all the water at the end of our street rushing to the creek (Pictures courtesy of my sister):

The creek over the road:

We would have driven right into those storms had we left when we intended. Scary. Never thought I'd be thankful for a snakebite!

Tuesday morning was calm with blue skies peeking through the clouds and while a little tired, Mr. Herbie is otherwise fine and back to normal.
No swelling and looking sweet

We made it home safely and fortunately, we had no damage in our house from the storms. Just the darned mosquitos buzzing around. I think I can handle that!

If you made it all the way through that, hurray! I realize I was kind of all over the place but I had a lot to say. heh. On our way home, every body of water we saw whether pond, creek, or river, was overflowing it's banks. Some where incredibly over. The amount of water was just astounding. We were fortunate but I know there are others who were not and their homes are flooded. Please pray for all affected. Thank you.

Hugs,
Cecilia

12 comments:

  1. I literally gasped when I read about the snake! I would have been just as scared, although I did read recently that it's not as bad as some think. At least that particular kind of snake anyway. Poop baby :(.

    That's quite a storm that hit Texas! I didn't know it was that bad. Mother Nature seems to be on a rampage lately. So you got nearly four days out of the deal ;).

    (This update was right where it should be! Go figure)

    xxx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Funny about where you're finding my posts. Maybe it will behave from now on. Lol.
      Yes, I was scared. Thought I'd lose my Herbie. I'm relieved to find out otherwise - it's still not good but not awful. The scariest thing is I couldn't see the snake. It's camouflage was perfect. And so close to the house, too. There are still loads of leaves that have never been raked out. Guess what I'm doing next winter when it's too cold for snakes? I will be tackling those in the backyard soon though - with boots and a long rake and a hoe handy to chop.

      Delete
  2. Thank goodness everyone in your family is safe! I keep hearing on the news about the disasters as a result of the storms in Texas. Just like Doreen said, Mother Nature is on a rampage and this can happen anywhere.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Gail. We past over one creek and it was a lake...a huge lake on both sides of the road. I have never seen the creeks and rivers so flooded. Down right scary. And there were areas harder hit than us. They are predicting more rain this week - yikes.

      Delete
  3. I can't believe the flooding going on down your way !
    Poor Herbie - I've never seen a copperhead in my life ( and really don't want to lol )
    To think of you with a hoe to chop - makes me gag - I'm such a city girl!
    But I used to line dance to Copperhead Row LOL
    I love that tractor with the name of your house on it - what vintage perfection !
    Stay safe xox

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well, you know what we say in Texas...everything is bigger, which includes our disasters. It is crazy though.
      I was so scared for Herbie. I didn't want to lose him. Yeah, I may gag too, snakes scare me. It will give my hoe chop extra power, lol. I still can't get over how well camouflaged it was. Eek.
      Isn't that the cutest thing? My MIL had it hanging on her fence, rusting away. I'd say it's perfect but too much longer and it would have been a pile of dust. :-)
      You can bet I'll tell snake stories if I find any.
      Hugs

      Delete
  4. Wow Cecilia, what a weekend! I didn't realize you were affected by the flooding. So scary! I have been reading online and keeping up with a particular family. Seems the dad is the only survivor so far. The mom and two young children haven't been found. So terribly sad...not just for them, but all involved. So sorry Herbie got snake bit, but I am thankful he is OK! That happened to Sadie last year but I don't think I ever shared it on the blog. It happened in the evening when we were walking and she got nosey and ran through the palmettos. She was bitten on the foot...you could clearly see two fang marks. It immediately started sweeling up. I feel most certain it was a rattler, but I didn't see it. We did not take her to the vet, but googled to find out what we should do. We gave her Benadryl and sat up with her most of the night and she was fine the next morning, I pray it never happens again! They say everything happens for a reason and it sounds like Herbie's snake bite saved you and your hubby from potential harm. I love all the decor you shared...such happy colors! Hope you're having a great week. Stay safe...I'll keep Texas in my prayers.

    Hugs, Vicky

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The funny(?) thing is, I told Bruce on the way back from the vet, that maybe we weren't going to be safe leaving at that time and that was God's way to keep us safe. :-) so yes, I think we were being watched over. I honestly thought all snake bites were deadly if it was a poisonous snake. So Benadryl helps? Hm, interesting. The vet said bacteria could be an issue as snakes tended to have bacteria on their fangs. Quite the education I hope never to repeat.
      I haven't heard of that family. So sad. I am so thankful there hasn't been lots more - the few are bad enough. :(

      Delete
  5. Cecilia, your gardenias are gorgeous! I have been praying for the McCombs family from Wimberly too, so sad. I traveled to Houston with my daughter to visit family. The very area we were in on Saturday, had severe flooding by Wednesday! So thankful for God's protection and that you were safe. Blessings, Cecilia

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I am thankful too! I pray all of your family is safe!
      Thank you, Cecilia!

      Delete
  6. Poor Herbie, glad he's ok now, he has beautiful eyes!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! He's such a sweetie, I was beside myself knowing a poisonous snake bit him. I'm relieved to say the least!

      Delete

Thank you for stopping by!

Springtime Projects 3: Have A Seat!

It might still be Spring, but here in Texas, things are starting to heat up and feel like Summer. I knew I needed to get the last of my Spri...