Animal Crackers -

Howdy - 

 Thank you all for the wonderful comments for Libbie. They have meant a lot to us - 

It has been a quiet week around the house without Libbie, we both have found ourselves looking for her and then remembering. I told Chica she was now the lead dog. First time in her 13 years that she was the boss and now the big dog bed was all hers. Libbie always made her leave it if she wanted it instead of her smaller one. So I washed everything and we stared off clean and new for Miss Chica. The next morning I got out of bed and found Chica squished in the little bed and this... 

Yes.. McLaren has now claimed the big bed. I have never seen any of the cats sleep in the dog beds. But then again... Libbie was always in control. But more than once I have come around the corner and found McLaren taking naps and sleeping in the large bed. Sorry Chica... at least McLaren will share with you at times. 

Went out and saw the guys the other day. Their pen is just stunning with fresh green grass! 

They are LOVING it and the bellies are showing proof! lol 

I would love to move Sergio into the large pen, but he doesn't get along with Patricio and Flavio too well. So for now he has to stay in his smaller private pen. He still has some nice green grass. And he is much closer for lovings and those ear scratches! And honestly sometimes a private place is nice -

Wanted to share a photo my sister sent me this month! Many of you know my nephew Tagen and years ago may have even sent him cards to cheer him up after surgery. Well he is all grown up now! Where does the time go? 

He went to the local rodeo with his class group and he just had to make sure and get a photo with the miniature donkey of course!

Looks a lot like Raffie, my smiling donkey,  doesn't he? So proud of Tagen - such a big heart and great young man! 

Now this last week we were at the Round Top Antique Show - and it has been awhile since I shared any photos of one of the booths that Hubby and I set up with our stuff for sale. So I thought this would be a great week for it since it was one of fullest booths ever! LOL

So big I had to do it in two shots!

Great stuff we have been gathering for this show! Was lots of different things for us, but fun to find! After all the hunt is most all of the fun of it right? 

Hope you all enjoyed this week  - and hope you will be back next week for more! 

HUGS and

Animal Crackers - Cooler morning make nice naps!

Howdy - 

A very rare moment in time - Louise is quiet! She was napping in the cooler morning. It is has been so wonderful with the cooler weather. And she was taking advantage of the temps in the sun. Do you think Hubby would find me if I joined her?

My sweet little Penelope. Oh I love how adorable she is and how she will look towards her Mom to see if she is paying attention so she can come to me for head scratches. 

 You always have to have Mom's approval right? Well it is better to sneak off and do it when she isn't watching. :0)

Oh Look Jolene is coming to see us! She is such a beautiful lady - Love her slim face.

 

I always grin when I think about her being skinny... When we first got her, she was 8-9 months old. She was so little and thin that we brought her home and would find her wandering around out of the pen. Took us a few days to figure out that she was so thin she was just walking out between the gate and post. So cute, but we fixed it right away so she couldn't do it anymore! Ha! 

 

And always right behind her, her stunning daughter Josie!

 

 

All grown up now she really is so gorgeous! And obnoxiously friendly. Love this girl. 

 

Speaking of obnoxiously friendly - Big Miss Juliet. When her head is down like that and moving towards you ... look out. She is seriously coming at you and will "bump" into you. LOL bump! 

 

 

I then looked over to see what other girls I could snap photos of... UH hello? Dad is not out here yet to feed, calm down, no pushing! You would think they were starving! And with those bellies they may have been hungry but not starving. ha.

 

Thought I would show off something I found buried in the back of the cabinet we cleaned out to move. I decided to hang it in my kitchen. Flash back to childhood memories. 

This hung in my Grandma's kitchen. My Mom made it and gave it to her. A great memory - my Mom and I use to go to this place when I was little. It was an amazing place where you walked shelves and shelves of blank plaster items, then you could paint or decorate them. This was back in the day where craft stores were really not a thing. So as a little girl who loved crafting this was a glorious place, and Mom and I had great bonding time choosing our items and then sitting at this big table painted them. It was really special when we had things that we painted and they "re-fired" them and the colors would come out so brilliant! Great memory. And now I can see it daily and thing of that and my Grandma's kitchen!

Do you have something that just a glance brings back a great childhood memory? Love that!

Hope you have an Animal Crackers Smile again - 

HUGS and -

Animal Crackers - Hot Cold Hot Cold

Howdy - 

So first part of this week it was nearly 90 degrees... then the next day there was a more than 50 degree drop! Hot Cold Hot Cold.... it would be nice to have a happy medium for a few days! LOL After the cold wet weather came in I was out checking on the animals and found the three stooges hiding around the backside of the house. It was out of the wind and rainy weather. Cocoa was really back in there... Smart Donkey!

 

 

I then went to check on Big Al - technically he has been sold but they don't have his shelter and pen done yet so he still lives here. I'm ok with that ... really hate to see him leave. He is such a sweetheart! 

 

Now at this time I was shivering and decided it was time to make my way back to the house. 32 and rainy is too cold for me! I stopped at the chicken coop to say hello... it amazes me cold, hot doesn't matter they were all buzy and doing their job... scratch scratch ... cluck cluck. Always busy.... 

 

 

They are happy good looking ladies aren't they? 

 

 

Love our chickens... and their yummy eggs of course ;0) We have been talking about the fact we need to get a few chicks this spring.... I think maybe we should get some different kinds of chickens this time. But Hubby says what ain't broke... we do really well with the kind we have, they are healthy and produce well. I guess that makes sense. Last time I got "odd" chickens they didn't last long and had issues.

On the back porch I found Tuxedo or Momma Cat as we now call her. She was toasty warm snuggled in the corner under her heat lamp. She loves that heat lamp. Hubby has invited he inside, but she will only come to the door, look inside and then bolt out into the yard. She is happy outside especially with that heat lamp when it is cold.

 

Thought I would show off a happy smile this week. I added another Steiff Kitty to my little collection. I adore antique steiff animals - I of course have a couple of the little donkeys... but we have 1/2 dozen of the little kitties. They made so many cute ones. Well we found one we didn't have this last week. In wonderful condition still with her button ear tag!

Funny how little things like this make you smile. We need that once in a while don't we?

Hope that this week you got a smile from my fur babies and feathered little chickens. Have a blessed week. 

HUGS and

Animal Crackers - Happy Birthday Josie!

Howdy 

Well Monday our little Josie will be a year old! She is a little girl still, but she thinks she is all grown up But oh how we adore her! 

She is difficult to take photos of at this time. She is one of those in your face donkeys. So So Friendly... she just wants to climb in your lap and get lots of attention. Which we make sure to give her as much as possible of course. Now we have been saying since she was born, that as she grows up she will be a copy of her older sister Pepita... got a photo of the two of them coming at me... 

Once Josie looses the last of her baby fur that fades so much,  and fills out a bit more. These two sisters will look like twins. With years apart.. 

Got a glamour shot of Miss Bella - 

She is really looking skinny here... long ears, long face and the angle I suppose, but she is trimmer than some of my other Big Beautiful Girls. As Hannah stops snacking and following her Mom all the time she will probably fill out more. 

Fancy Pants was watching everyone approach me while I was out taking photos. Well that and "Dad" out checking on all the girls. It is so funny how they keep a close watch on "Dad" while he is in the pasture. You never know at any moment he could maybe pull a bale of hay out of his pocket, right? LOL

Even my pushy big girl Juliet was in full attention of "Dad". 

It is rare to get a still shot of Juliet that isn't inches from my camera. She was really concerned about how far out "Dad" was going. Should she stay with me? Or should she follow him? OH my it was such a decision to make... Ha! 

Now have I shown this before? I don't remember. Getting ready to do some painting in the house, so thought I would get a head start and clean the things hanging. And this little plate is a favorite for sure. 

I collected early creamware ABC plates for a long while. Then decided to thin out and only keep the ones I loved... you think you know why this one was in the top choices? Such a sweet little child's plate. Very old and very special! 

Hope you received your Saturday Smile this week. Our fur babies do bring so much joy and smiles to us that is for sure! Have a blessed weekend - 

HUGS and 

Animal Crackers - Gorgeous Day

Howdy - 

It was gorgeous here yesterday! And everyone was out enjoying the warm sunny weather and early Spring. All though not officially Spring just yet everything is blooming and turning green. 

Snapped a photo of handsome man Flavio - Such a looker! 

He really is good looking isn't he. I think he knows it. Him and his 1/2 brother Patricio are both handsome, and are BFFs. Always together and when they get playing they really play hard and rough! It freaks me out how hard they chase and bite on each other. But they seems to think its fun... sigh... Boys.

Patricio wanted to make sure you saw him and agree he is good looking too..

I found old man Miguel standing just past the guys watching. 

Its ok Miguel I think you are a looker too... a bit heavy, but always handsome. And you do seem to be enjoying all that new green! So much so that you we not really interested in going out of his way to come over to me for closer photos. 

Was out in the back pasture visiting the fur children. Nothing makes me happier than my kids - 

Bella was doing a bit of chatting with me, and begging for full 100% attention. Not easy to do with everyone around but we try... special moments that really warm your heart! 

Hubby sent me this photo yesterday. Gorgeous! 

This is a native wild cherry on our property. Was a bit concerned about a few trees around here after the freeze. But looks like most everything is blooming out now. A little late, but happy Spring is coming! 

Sharing another Antiques/Collectibles this week. This is in my kitchen. 

I've shared a couple of things individually here I think. The large Donkey cookie cutter that Hubby gave me for Christmas a few years ago, and maybe I showed the stoneware Rooster? But here is the entire shelf. I LOVE cobalt blue graniteware - one of my favorite pieces is the skillet with the original label still on the bottom. Never used. Oh and love the muffin pan, it weighs a ton. The Dairy Ice box is a favorite as well. Might have something to do with the fact that the old Dairy shares our last name. I guess you can tell we are not minimalist here... not even close. ha! 

Hope you enjoyed again this week. More smiles from my fur family to you - 

HUGS and 

Animal Crackers - Sunny Afternoon

Howdy - 

OH my yesterday it was in the mid 80's and gorgeous! Everyone was just taking the afternoon off and relaxing. Chloe had found a partially shaded area and was so beautiful enjoying life. 

Sunny and Warm and such a nice afternoon. It is going to be a little chilly over the weekend but then we will quickly bounce back next week. 

I think some of the fur children know Spring is coming... nature usually is pretty smart. 

Sweet Pea is one of many that is shedding out her winter fur and getting ready for Spring and Summer. And when they start doing that we can start looking forward to it too! We still shake our heads at the fact it was 4 degrees here two weeks ago. 

I found Crissy sneaking some of Alvin's hay... The "Hay" on the other side is always better on the other side you know. 

Same hay.. same bale actually.. but still better when you can sneak it away from Alvin.. LOL 

Now this photo just cracked me up! I was trying to get a photo to show off his new haircut. But nope... he was feeling great and loving running and barking at Big Al the other side of the fence. 

He is such a sweet boy. And I do LOVE seeing having fun! 

Hubby sent me this photo this week. And WOW! 

This beautiful Bird was perched in our old tree watching things. We love watching the Hawks in the area. They are so stunning. 

Ending up today I thought I would share another favorite antique/collectible from our collection. We have had this sweet antique painting for years. Frame has a few bumps and dings and the painting could use a little cleaning probably, but it still makes me happy. 

I hope that you have smiles from this weeks blog post. I love sharing my fur children and life. 

Have a blessed weekend - 

HUGS and

Animal Crackers - What a difference a day Makes!

Howdy - 

Wow... things changed quick here! We went from totally frozen to warm and sunny here in Texas. In just a couple of days! The day after the snow melted and we went above freezing the animals were so happy to see the sun again! 

They didn't get a lot of relaxing sleep during the winter storm last week. So when that sun came out they were really loving that sunshine! Most everyone was snoozing in that warm sunshine! LOL 

I went out and had a chat with old man Black Jack. Just wanted to check in and make sure he was doing ok after the storm. 

He was all good... now he was thinking maybe I was there with some sort of treat. In the cold everyone got extra rations. It spoiled them a bit and they all have been screaming for the good bonuses this week as well. LOL back to normal around here dude... LOL he is such a sweet old man. 

And from our oldest man to our youngest... Big Al 

Now this guy is a love. He is getting hard to snap photos of he is so quick to be right at me and insisting on head scratches and lovin'. The thing we are working on is the bit of pushy attitude if you don't pay 100% attention. he he throws a bit of a tantrum and nibbles and shoves on you when not getting what he wants. But still adorable! 

Now speaking of that extra rations... I think the goats are the loudest and showing they want that extra alfalfa... Chipmunk was telling "Dad" that he really wanted that yummy stuff lots of it. 

They are so funny.... they think we are so mean. They would eat 24/7 and be wider than tall if we let them. Gotta stay healthy and happy... not just spoiled and happy! 

I think I may have mentioned the new little mouth here ... a little kitten showed up out of no where a couple of months ago. So little. She has been living under the goat huts most of the time. But she has been seen sleeping in the barn in the back from time to time as well. But the other night Hubby was so excited to see it making itself cozy in a stack of hay right out our back window. 

Hay was brought in and stacked up for the storm. A few bales right up against the house under the porch light must have been a great choice of a safe and comfortable place to bed down for the night. Kittie is still very skittish and bolts when you get very close.  But each day Hubby has contact at a distance with Kittie he or she seems ok with the distance getting a tiny bit smaller. Now this photo was taken through the window. Even so Kittie was very cautious and kept watch on him! 

Today for something from our collection I wanted to show some pretty Spring! 

We love antique art - especially Texas art. One of my favorite artist is Carl Weber. I love the peaceful feeling of his art. Many of his paintings have blooming fruit trees, and usually always some sort of livestock. This one has cattle, with a calm stream. I have a few of his pieces, this one has a little damage on the top corner. But it doesn't take away from my love of this beautiful painting.  Now if Spring would settle in here just as beautiful as this landscape - 

Hope you have enjoyed this week, and have a smile. Have a blessed weekend - 

HUGS and