You May have to kiss a lot of toads

To find your prince - at least that may be one story in tiny pond outside breakfast nook windows. Had big plans about changing up pond - adding trickling water rocks and generally spiffing it up. Somehow the costs in energy and finances of dealing with DH's recent health kick in the pants (aka stroke) has ended up with an amusement park for toads and frogs. Only the smoother skinned pointed snout one is a frog - all others are toads.

We got a real laugh from the morning line up (the toads get in water to eat whatever they find and rehydrate) to exit pond. Larger toad appears to be practicing for some serious rockclimbing.

Doesn't take much to amuse us here on Buhlaland - and that is good - with weather guessers doing a countdown on number of 10o F days in a row - we are grateful for inexpensive amusement close to the air conditioned ceiling fanned house!

Rainy and Growing

Going to try one more time - Blogger has been MOST uncooperative this week - maybe a case of you gets what you pay for??? We had some good rain past week and now very warm weather . Buhlaland has greened up and growed rather fast. Not much worth saying from me today so I'll just wish all a Blessed SonDay and remind you - tell those you love every day and keep your mouth shut about those you don't love so much - then you'll look like a much better person! (that was a note to self y'all)

No Serious Damage Here

Our biggest damage in recent storms --one of the amaryllis stems blew over. We are beyond grateful to have been safe from severe storms thus far. Praying for those folks afflicted by tornadoes and flooding - life is challenging for all nations this year - good reminder "We are spiritual beings going through a temporary human experience" . Absolutely not trivializing the horror and pain -people are asking for answers to ultimate questions. Believers know the answer but to those who don't believe

"1 Corinthians 2:14 (GOD’S WORD Translation) ¹⁴A person who isn’t spiritual doesn’t accept the teachings of God’s Spirit. He thinks they’re nonsense. He can’t understand them because a person must be spiritual to evaluate them."

I regret this will sound like some sort of special club or code you have to have to grasp the Word - it isn't - it is so clear and straightforward it sounds foolish in humanistic thinking.

Bless those who are helping and those making decisions about assistance. Being prepared is the big issue - no matter what catastrophe might occur.

It is thundering here on Buhlaland but only rain predicted - the land is good with rain. Buhlaland is a good place to contemplate eternity.

Also contemplating why the combination of Google Chrome and Blogger is SO danged difficult to manipulate - but it works about as well as a free browser and website can (I guess)

Blue Skies

Last morning of August - picture taken looking north and slightly west from our front drive. Summer has been and soon gone - I don't think I'll feel much regret for this summer. Our major renovation (begun before DH became ill) has turned into a major test of endurance. Combined with our recordbreaking heat in August - well I'm saying adios with no regrets. Just back from getting our flu shots - already available at Walgreen's vaccination clinics. Hoping and planning to have house back in some kind of order before Thanksgiving - would LOVE for this Thanksgiving to be filled with loved ones, family and relaxation. Goats are getting too big to have so many in our little pastures - time to think of who is to be sold. Our dear old Crybaby is showing signs of her age so won't put any stresses on her if possible.

Thinking about friends not seen in years - wonderful gift of the internet is I heard from a dear young woman who worked with me in 2001 - in fact we were at the store together when the planes crashed into the Trade Center. She emailed me last night and we caught up a little on what's happening in our lives. You know - I found my husband on the internet through a personals ad! Proof again the Lord can use anything to His will!

No big news - and that is a good thing on Buhlaland!

We were wondering yesterday if THIS:

had anything to do with the vulture convention in our front yard?? We weren't feeling tip top yesterday but this is entirely premature vulture gathering! Just laughing and staying in the air conditioning here on Buhlaland - cold front coming later this week (dropping into the low to mid 90's - don't laugh it beats 100+ by more than just ten degrees)

Goat Days of Summer

What is it like in North Texas during a normal August - well it is hot. Goats rely on us to keep the troughs filled with fresh clean water. Water is an incredible commodity - our bodies contain approximately 70% water, almost 70% of the earth's surface is covered by water, humans can survive approximately 7 days without drinking water and water is mentioned 722 times in the Bible.

Water and it's hydrating, cooling and blessing effects are a big deal any time of the year - for goats, humans and eternal life.

Y'all stay hydrated - quiet around Buhlaland this August and that is just the way we like it!

Spring Storms

We are beginning to have the normal spring Texas weather - gorgeous a few days and then a storm front rolls through, dumps rain and hail and moves out quickly.
Here on Buhlaland - a few personal storms also - we are planning on rough weather moving out quickly but the situation is not in our control. Didn't want you to think we'd abandoned our blogosphere friends and family - a pneumonia storm hit and has things more than a little unsettled.
We know it will work out OK -
our lives don't stink but we do find Max Lucado's saying both amusing and appropriate!




"Real courage embraces the twin realities of current difficulty and ultimate triumph.Yes, life stinks. But it won’t forever. As one of myfriends likes to say, 'Everything will work out in the end. If it’s not working out, it’s not the end.' "

On Buhlaland - it is NOT the end. We are working through some unsettled weather with prayer and supplication. Best part - we know the ultimate end and it is good.

Welcome Spring - you've changed!

Sarcasm is not a good thing :

1 Peter 3:8 (MSG paraphrase)
Summing up: Be agreeable, be sympathetic, be loving, be compassionate, be humble. That goes for all of you, no exceptions. No retaliation. No sharp-tongued sarcasm. Instead, bless—that's your job, to bless. You'll be a blessing and also get a blessing. Whoever wants to embrace life and see the day fill up with good, Here's what you do: Say nothing evil or hurtful; Snub evil and cultivate good; run after peace for all you're worth. God looks on all this with approval, listening and responding well to what he's asked; But he turns his back on those who do evil things.

Yet here I am - NOT blessing about seasons being upside down! Sorry -not shining my little light today. Life is quite pleasant - heater running full blast - warming up bathroom so I can take a hot bath and put on sweatpants and a sweater. Hmmm - something is just not right with this picture - I'm longing for THIS:

we are getting this - by the way - that is written in SNOW not dust - it is outside not inside our house. Just keeping it real.

According to those who keep records of such things - Saturday March 20 was the beginning of spring - it began on Buhlaland with cold wind driven rain. Progression was to cold wind driven SNOW - the "s" word.

I'm sure the sun will melt away our little covering of "S" word quickly - not all the blossoms and buds are frozen and mid week we'll be back to warm breezy days with birds singing. Right now - it is good on Buhlaland - good we have central heat, hot water, hot coffee, and a sense of humor.

Bless y'all and keep your sweaters near at hand!

Still a tad moist!

No words for this - unusual and unseasonal don't even come close! Wet webs in rosemary, cluckers in muddy run, shortstack of fungi on oak stump, droplets of water on the culinary sage - yep - it is wet in North Texas and Buhlaland is good - soggy but good. For those of you who are loyal (or not) readers - you know we've had some serious health challenges. God is so faithful and good -

doctor's appointment on Monday gave us both some much needed reassurance and sleeping SO much better. Not trying to be mysterious - if you have a real interest leave a comment and I'll send a link to our health site for fuller information Honestly - I feel as if our lives have become such an open book - sometimes a comic book and sometimes a mystery thriller - but read on friends read ON!

Still kidding around

Don't want to do a blog post about the weather - it is just hot - hotter and soon to be hottest. We took pictures of our goat herd recently. Kids born in the winter are still too small for market (I fear having a nubian buck makes for low meat production but beautiful babies). Snickers is the buck - his eye-on-you picture shows his long nubian ears.






The goats with black ears are mother and daughter with their offspring.

Kids are still nursing - some of the does are "weaning" by simply walking away. The patient doe feeding her twin wethers is Yoyo - she was not a good mama but the babies are so persistent she allows them a few seconds of goat milking!




Cute faces and interesting personalities - the light colored twins are a doeling and wether - hope I haven't posted this picture before. Last picture is a doeling I call Brat -it is totally descriptive of her personality.

That's what's up in the pastures around Buhlaland - we bought some round bales of hay so the goatzees will have something to eat - not what they like but it is nutritious enough.

It's summertime on Buhlaland - we are still in a holding pattern about a new job for me and some clear path back to health for DH - but it is still good - possibility of rain soon. woo hoo!

What DO you see?

Looking out toward the front of our property from our house porch. Definitely a summer afternoon - temperatures in the low 90's and a little breeze but plenty hot.










We are hoping this little one was just "parked" here by it's mom. It is less than 50 feet from our front door so I'm not taking my evening walk until it is gone - don't want to spook mama from picking her baby back up. I love being here on Buhlaland and it is peaceful enough in our front yard this deer feels safe in our yard. Cool huh?

Brrrr

Job 37 1-13(The Message paraphrase) "Whenever this happens, my heart stops— I'm stunned, I can't catch my breath.Listen to it! Listen to his thunder, the rolling, rumbling thunder of his voice.He lets loose his lightnings from horizon to horizon, lighting up the earth from pole to pole.In their wake, the thunder echoes his voice, powerful and majestic.He lets out all the stops, he holds nothing back. No one can mistake that voice—His word thundering so wondrously, his mighty acts staggering our understanding.He orders the snow, 'Blanket the earth!' and the rain, 'Soak the whole countryside!'No one can escape the weather—it's there. And no one can escape from God.Wild animals take shelter, crawling into their dens,When blizzards roar out of the north and freezing rain crusts the land.It's God's breath that forms the ice, it's God's breath that turns lakes and rivers solid.And yes, it's God who fills clouds with rainwater and hurls lightning from them every which way.He puts them through their paces—first this way, then that— commands them to do what he says all over the world.Whether for discipline or grace or extravagant love, he makes sure they make their mark."

The size of a Texas/Oklahoma/Missouri/Arkanasa ice storm serves to remind us who is in charge. I'm not complaining Lord - just reminding you why I live in Texas. I live in Texas because it isn't THIS temperature very often! Thank you very much for listening.

Three fifteen, afternoon of January 27,2009 through my kitchen window here on Buhlaland. Also have a 15 mph wind to intensify the bone chillingness last week in January. Have to find beauty in the sheer frozen-ness of it all -ice pellets on the bright red leaves of poinsettia (a ghost of Christmas past). Even dandelion plants have a crystalline beauty in this weather. The longer green grasses next to our propane tank look like they've been sprayed with Swarovski juice.

It is icy cold today here on Buhlaland, it won't stay this way for long and if I can avoid falling on my hiney - I am enjoying the beauty through my camera lens and our windows.

Day After Christmas

83 degrees today - yes I am writing this post on December 26 2008. I love Texas! After some unusually cold days we are getting unseasonably warm -I just love it.

Winds out of the south bring moisture and warmth which creates heavy cloud cover.
At one point the sun seemed to pull open a peep hole in the clouds to reassure us he was on the job.

Snickers, has a longer winter coat. He is almost a year old so he still hasn't reached his full growth. Little fellow will still come when I call him but he is less my little bottle baby and more a buck goat.























Norman, my favorite doe, is beginning to look more like she will be having a baby within the next month. Her daughter Yo Yo is also looking quite ready to give birth - we think she'll be a good mother like her mother and grandmother (Nubiana). I'm posting mundane thoughts and sights as a reminder to myself - today was a simple day filled with laundry, cleaning ,making soup, tending to some business and then I spent an hour outside. Outside with a warm, humid wind and our animals in God's creation. Mundane perhaps but for me it was way more than good today on Buhlaland, a blogging friend might say it was wicked good! I answered a question on a religion blog about when we worship for Christmas - and my honest response was if we are in relationship with God - our lives are supposed to be worship. Worship on Buhlaland occurred with calm joy around 11 am December 26, 2008.

A potpourri of images

pot·pour·ri - a noun - apparently from the French in the mid 1700's- pot pourri - literally meaning rotten pot ( you can honestly say reading my blog is educational ,I don't always set a good example so I'll just have to serve as a horrible lesson.)
1 : a mixture of flowers, herbs, and spices that is usually kept in a jar and used for scent
2 : a miscellaneous collection
We're going the potpourri #2 - collection rather than smellocybervision because it doesn't work - you could sniff your computer screen all day long and not even get a hint of life on Buhlaland (unless your computer screen is quite dusty - very dusty - then you'd have a sniff of most of my house - I'm keeping it real here folks!) Also need to point out - I'm apparently possessed by an parentheses demon because you'll be subjected to many improperly positioned thoughts excused by parenthetical insertion (in other words - my brain isn't functioning on the grammatical syntactical level today- said she parenthetically).

The moon photo was taken with a view of our back porch one early evening last week.I accidentally (translation of accidentally is: didn't look in the viewfinder just clicked some pictures) included the gutter and side of our house. Kind of cool how the camera caught the deep purple hues - which can make you begin to hum Deep Purple if you listened to popular music in the early 1960's (yep - I'm OLD). You can take a moment and listen to the immortal sounds of Nino Tempo and April Stevens if you are so inclined.





Last Tuesday hurricane Gustav had blown inland and these beautiful clouds were scurrying across the North Texas skies. We were blessed with all the cooling effect and beauty without the destruction and fear parts of a hurricane. I roamed the campus of Tarrant County Junior College last Tuesday, camera at the ready. The lake is man made and the campus is along it's eastern side .

Pink flower - sweet surprise reminder from my late great MIL. She got the plant as a gift from her other son and his wife this spring. Ethel and I agreed neither of us wanted to tend another houseplant so she set it outside in our little garden. When I dug up a big clump of hosta last week I found the little plant had survived the summer heat and was about to bud out. So even almost two months after she went to heaven, we are still getting sweet surprises from Ethel.


It is good to be a cat on Buhlaland. Moe cat is a good mouser, loyal friend and usually the ruler of Buhlaporch Kingdom.

Last but definitely not least in this hodge podge pot of photos are the goat citizens of Buhlaland - they come running when we walk up to the fence. Our goats are anticipating something good is about to come their way - usually hoping for a snack but a scratching is acceptable. Makes me feel wanted even if just for my pockets of goat feed or useful scratching tools (fingernails) . Their persistent enthusiasm for us is a good reminder of how we are welcomed by our Heavenly Father





Psalm 146
1 Praise the LORD. Praise the LORD, O my soul.
2 I will praise the LORD all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.
3 Do not put your trust in princes, in mortal men, who cannot save.
4 When their spirit departs, they return to the ground; on that very day their plans come to nothing.
5 Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God,
6 the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them— the LORD, who remains faithful forever.
7 He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets prisoners free,
8 the LORD gives sight to the blind, the LORD lifts up those who are bowed down, the LORD loves the righteous.
9 The LORD watches over the alien and sustains the fatherless and the widow, but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.
10 The LORD reigns forever, your God, O Zion, for all generations. Praise the LORD.

Yes - it was time to do some praising here on Buhlaland and it is GOOD.