HorseShoe Pond - Betty's Pictures

Betty and Jesse spent a Sunday afternoon gator and bird watching at the HorseShoe pond. I wanted to share some of her photos with everyone (Betty, I hope you don't mind).

Sunset

Watching a gorgeous sunset is a very magical moment in life. When we go to the beach, we always love watching the sunset after spending a long, hot day at the beach. Its amazing how much more relaxed and peaceful you feel after watching the sun dissapear into the horizon.

While Kristen was at West Point Lake this summer with Nick and his family, she introduced them to the joy of sunset watching. She also rubbed it in that we (Doug and I) were missing all the fun while she was at the lake and we were home working. She took this picture of the beautiful sunset at the lake.

One-eyed Kami

The vet tried to shave the hair around Kami's eyes because she has a cornea ulcer in the right one. He was successful in shaving around the right eye but she pitched such a fit that he would not try to shave around the left one. Now she looks like someone smashed her face.

She may weigh only 3lbs. but she acts like she's a Great Dane!

Nick and Charkee

Nick and Charkee could be twins...Nick's hair is a black as Charkee's and is as curly! I couldn't get Nick to remove his hat so we could see the resemblance.

Will you please leave my tail alone!

Kami discovered this swishing toy (Bubba Joe's tail) and began playing with it. Every so often the other end of the toy would sit up and swat at her but never hurt her.

Kami now weights a whopping 3 lbs. Bubba Joe probably weighs around 10 lbs.

Amanda & Walker

Here's a picture of Amanda and Walker taken at our house last night (can you tell Walker wasn't too excited about taking a picture). Actually, Doug was cooking ribs and they couldn't stay & eat with us (they had a shower to go to).

Mills' Zoo

The San Francisco and Atlanta Zoos have nothing on us! Check out some of our current occupants.

At the top is Kolle, a large, unique shih tzu. The lady we bought her from said that all her litter mates had been sold but no one wanted her because she was too hyper. We fell in love with her the minute we saw her. She loves cats, dogs, people, bugs, etc. I guess she is the mediator of the zoo. She is also a roamer...she rarely sleeps at night; she wants to make sure everyone is safe and sound and she continuously roams the house to make sure all is well. She whines to get in the bed with us about three or four times a night, which keeps us from getting a full nights rest. She will sleep for about 30 minutes and then she's off to check on things.

Next is Bubba Joe, a solid white cat with the bluest blue eyes I've ever seen. Bubba Joe joined the zoo as a stray around Dec or Jan. At first he wouldn't have much to do with any of us. After I starting feeding him (against Doug's will) he began hanging around more. He was also the neighborhood Tom Cat until I had him neutered last month. His lost of manhood resulted after he abused PollyAnn and she had to spend almost two weeks at the Vet. I either had to get rid of him or calm him down..geting rid of him was not an option. Now he loves hanging out and playing with Kolle and Charkee.

The third picture is of Charkee, the little baby that Judy found running down the middle of the road in Buena Vista in February. We think she may be a mix between a shih tzu and a poodle, but I guess we'll really never know. The minute she came into our lives she let us know that she was the boss. Charkee is the complete opposite of Kolle when it comes to sleeping. This little dog loves to sleep in our bed and refuses to get up in the mornings to go out! We have given her the nickname "Iron Bladder".

The last picture is of PollyAnn, the sweetest cat in the whole world! PollyAnn was also a stray that showed up at our house last November, a few weeks after Mae died. She was an outside cat until July 1st. Bubba Joe attacked her and she was seriously wounded and had to spend almost two weeks at the vet. Because of her wound, the vet said she had to stay inside. She is still recuperating from the attack and now lives in our bathroom. As you can see, she is totally content and will probably never step foot outside again. Kolle and Charkee also love spending time with her and chasing her around the bathroom.

I don't have an updated picture of little Kami. She lives with us partime when Kristen is home from school. When we took her to the vet last week, she was weighing in at 2.4 pounds. Kristen is supposed to take her this week for more shots. I can't wait to find out how much she weighs.

Doug is finally beginning to feel better. He has had three more bags of fluid since the bag he had last Friday in the emergency room. Kristen is home from school for a few weeks and has been here to chauffeur him back and forth to the Butler office to get the fluids. She has also waited on him hand and foot. I guess this is good training for her entrance into the Nursing Program.

For those of you who don't know....I had to take Doug to the emergency room last Friday (July 25) because his blood pressure was high and he was dizzy. After running tests and blood work they treated him for hyponatremia...his sodium level had dropped to 129.

It all started the previous Friday when he had to dig a grave to bury Gabby. It was extremely hot and humid that night and he sweated so badly and did not drink anything that would replace the electrolytes that he lost. The following week he walked just about everyday plus cut the grass, worked outside, ran stadium steps and continued to lose electrolytes. By Friday, his body was all out of whack!

He has been confined to the indoors and is now getting cabin fever. He will try to go to work on Monday. Teachers reported to school yesterday (Aug 1) and students report on Aug. 7.