Thursday, June 10, 2010

Birthdays and Blackberries

Time...I don't know where it goes...Today is my birthday and since it's my last one that I'll celebrate in my 40's, I was trying to remember just what I was doing when I turned 40...I can't remember...It must've been pretty memorable...Time and the years really do seem to have a way of hurrying past. It has been a busy week for me. Along with working, Carl has been assigned to a "detail" at another government agency, which has him gone from home long hours. It has left me to take care of the crew alone; I don't know how single parents do it.

On the flip side my poison ivy is almost a bad memory now. It's all gone from my face, however it did end up spreading onto my hands. For those of you who've never had it, imagine having the feel of thick itchy sand in between your fingers--It's really miserable, I'll be so glad when it's all gone!! With your help I "think" I have it identified and am "leaving the leaves of three, be" because I do not want to go through this again anytime soon!!

In between my scratching, I did notice a few things that are happening around me. The first is Tanner. I would say that he's about 95% recovered from his bout with vestibular syndrome. I took these pictures on Tuesday evening and you can see that the tilt in his head is gone. The stagger to his walk is almost gone as well. Of course I'm thrilled and so relieved!! Tanner is now about 14 years old and looking at his pictures, I am reminded that he's been through so much in the 2 years that he's been with us. We've dealt with his having seizures, separation and storm anxiety, laryngeal paralysis, allergies and glaucoma. ALL of which I'm happy to say are things of the past for him. I really hope that the time that he has left with us can be quiet happy and healthy times for him.

Something else that snuck up on me is the ripening of the wild blackberries. For some reason, it seems early this year. But I guess since the strawberries have all but completed their task for the summer, it's their turn. We are lucky enough to have them growing in several places on our property, and unlike the poison ivy that we have all around, I couldn't be happier about it!

There is nothing like the sweetness of blackberries fresh from the patch! I remember as a kid when we would pick them for my Mom. The thought of her blackberry cobbler was incentive enough to brave seeing a snake and being scratched by the bushes. While I of course worry about seeing a snake, I am however in competition to pick the berries before our 2 berry EATERS Sheba and Rudi get to them. I'm not sure how they acquired their love for them or even realized they were there. It may very well have come from seeing me snack on them during a walk. Our boy Maguire who recently passed seemed to have been acquainted with them on his own because he knew exactly what they were and would so delicately eat them. Rudi and Sheba being girls are not nearly that graceful. They are bulldozing scavengers and their sharp sense of smell has enabled them to quickly find and polish off the ripened ones.

I did manage to get enough for a cobbler which I'll bake later and will celebrate my birthday at home before I'm off to Lancaster Pennsylvania for a visit with our friend Sid. As I write this, the sun has come out, my day lilies are in bloom, the birds are at the feeder, the pups are around my feet snoozing after their breakfast and a walk, it's a good start to a birthday. I hope you have a good day too!!

33 comments:

  1. Happy Birthday!!! Celebrate it as another year you've had to enjoy your crew and look forward to another year of the same. I hope you have a blessed year. Glad your poison ivy is clearing up. That stuff is awful! Can sure make you miserable with all the itching!

    Liz

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  2. Good morning Kim
    A big Happy Birthday greeting to you! Wishing you a wonderful day and good health.

    Apples & Neeli say hello to your berry-pickers Sheba & Rudi - I think Neeli would love to join them! Good news that Tanner is feeling better too!

    Have a great trip to Lancaster.

    Neeli & Apples send hugs & wags to your K9 crew and best wishes from Nadine too.

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  3. Happy Birthday Kim - I'd rather have a blackberry cobbler than a cake any day. Our berries are a bit behind yours - should be ripening in a couple of weeks or so. But our lilies are in full bloom - I need to take a picture for my blog - they are a flower I have not managed to kill!!

    Have a fantastic day,
    Lynn

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  4. Happy Birthday! We are still cool and raining out here in the Pacific NW. We are thinking about building an Ark!

    Have a wonderful birthday,
    Emma Rose and the Duchess

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  5. Have a wonderful birthday Kim...surrounded by your dear four legged friends!

    Bellaboo :0)

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  6. Hey there Kim
    I want to wish you a very, very happy birthday indeed! I hope your place is alight with fire flies in celebration of this special day. Oh how I would enjoy freshly picked blueberries...don't they stain? I know the tinned ones here stain terribly. But they are delicious anyway.
    Enjoy your day and the celebration.
    Lotsaluv
    MAXMOM IN SA

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  7. A very happy Birthday Kim!!!
    I am so glad to hear the great news about Tanner and as for your berries pickers I think if they are brave enough to get in there with those thorns they deserve the spoils, lol. You know berries are loaded with anti-oxidants, I wonder if dogs instinctively know that and that is why they go for them? Could be they were smart to that fact before we had a clue!
    Anyway, enjoy your special day!
    Tina xo

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  8. Happy birthday, Kim! I hope you and your pups have a wonderful day together and I hope you have a great time with your friend in Lancaster too!
    I got a kick out of seeing Sheba and Rudi helping themselves to the blackberries! It's adorable! I walk plenty of golden retrievers throughout the day but I've never had the pleasure of watching them nosh on berries! They are only interested in chewing on sticks and grass, I'm afraid!

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  9. A very HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!! Have a lovely day.
    I have never known a dog to eat blackberries before!!! LOL xxx

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  10. A very Happy Birthday to you. Poison Ivy....arggggg, how awful. Take care please. Glad to hear Tanner is making a full recovery. He has some strong survivor genes. That's a lot to go through for an old Golden.

    Blackberries are plentiful here in the NW, but come later in the summer. Nothing better than cobbler....YUM. Don't think I've ever known a dog to go after blackberries. That is too funny.

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  11. I am also alergic to poison ivy and poison oak. In the future each time you break out it will be worse each time. My doctor told me when I realize I have been exposed to it to take a shower and take a dose of Benadryl and if I break out use Hydrocortisone cream. Hope it helps you too.

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  12. Happy Birthday! Looks like the crew is ready to celebrate with you! Love the pics of them snarfing up those berries!

    Elizabeth & Luna

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  13. Fun finding your blogspot today...your dogs are sweet...Happy Birthday!!

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  14. On a windy day you can catch Poison Ivy without even going near it or touching it. The wind carries the spores through the air and if they land on you it's not your lucky day if your alergic to it. Spring seems to be the time when this happens.

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  15. I hope you had the most wonderful Birthday today ~ it did sound like you were off to a good start! It is so true life slips by so quickly. The 5-0 is quickly approaching for me as well and I can't even imagine it! But ~ as long as we stay young in our heart and in our mind! :)

    Best wishes to you!
    xo Catherine

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  16. HAPPY BIRTHDAY ! Hope you have a great weekend.
    The border collies we had when I was a teenager ate blackberries !

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  17. Happy Birthday! I did not know collies ate blackberries!

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  18. Happy Birthday (= "vse najboljše za rojstni dan" in Slovene:))
    I found your blog through That British Woman and I just wanted to thank you for your rescue work. I teared down a couple of times while going through your older posts, I have to admit it, but sad times are part of our lives.
    I'll be coming here often:)
    Sandra, all the way from Slovenia

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  19. i sent you a birthday wish from my iphone and i don't see it here....so once again happy day!
    i will be 50 in december, so have a few months on you! i think the end of the 40's is a time for reflection and a wonderful time of life...everything makes more sense now....enjoy! 50 is around the corner! :)
    xoxo
    love the pics of the goldens eating the berries...too funny!

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  20. I'm a day late, but I hope not a dollar short, in wishing you a Happy Birthday.

    I'm glad the poison ivy is going away. It must be just miserable. On my blog, today, I posted a picture of a meadow full of poison ivy. You might want to take a look at it. Though, I am sorry to be the bearer of such bad news, but if dogs run through poison ivy and then you touch them, you can get it from them. Do you hug them (bet you do)? That could explain how it got on your face.

    Our strawberries are just coming in, here. The blackberries won't be ripe until around the 4th of July. Mmmmmmm, I can't wait!

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  21. Yumm-o! I wish I had planted some berry bushes this year. That's two years in a row. And I still have no berry bushes. :(
    ~Randy

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  22. Daddy told me not to print your age in this reply so I won't be so cheeky...lol..Happy Birthday anyway..:-)
    Blackberries grow everywhere...and scratches are part of the life of an avid BB picker...oh well...munch on!

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  23. Sister Wiff! I remember being about 13 or 14 and coming over to your house to meet your golden retriever puppy. :) I'm really enjoying reading your blog and looking at your beautiful pictures. Happy Birthday!

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  24. PS..thanks for the kind remarks re: pansies!!!

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  25. Hope you had a lovely birthday Kim. Love the pics of the dogs stealing the berries! Sue x

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  26. Happy Birthday!!! Cobbler sounds fantastic! Mom's just beginning the 40's birthdays...but so far, so good :)
    Love the photo of Rudi and Sheba in the bushes!! And, glad Tanner is doing better.
    Blessings.

    Hugs and snaggle-tooth kisses,
    Sierra Rose

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  27. Happy belated birthday.
    I hope you had a great day

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  28. Hi Kim
    Gee, I did not make it here in time to wish you a happy birthday.
    Can I still say it? HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
    Our black berries will not be ready until August. The strawberrys are ripening now- but with all the rain we have had- some of them have just plain rotted.
    I know those doggys are smart to be out eating those blackberrys.
    Our blackberrys have thorns- do yours?
    I hope your birthday was awsome.
    love
    tweedles

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  29. Belated wishes for a Happy Birthday Kim! Sorry I was late but I hope you had an awesome day!xx

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  30. You live a very pretty life! (We are glad to here your poison ivy is almost gone!)

    Sam

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  31. Kim, I'm so sorry I missed your birthday! Sounds like you had a wonderful day...Blackberry picking is one of my fondest childhood memories...Have you ever gotten chiggers while picking? Our wild blueberries are blooing now and the blackberries will be ready soon.
    Hugs and belly rubs to pups,
    Kit

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  32. Happy belated birthday!
    And many more..

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  33. Happy belated Birthday. Hope you had a great day.
    Hubby's Birthday was Friday so I was busy making him a cake.
    If you lived closer I would have been able to deliver you a piece. Vanilla with a butter cream icing.
    Your flea market experience sounded like a bust, but Hamlet looks cute as ever. I never realized that dogs would eat berries. I've learned something new today.

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Speak--I really enjoy your comments! Thanks for stopping by today!!