Fish, Sunburns, Snakes and Ambulances

(Mom, Sue, Janet....okay really all of you-Andrew is 100% fine. He did not get bit by the big snake. He's drinking some OJ, waiting on a waffle and watching Little Bill with his cousin Stephan)The boys spent ALL day in and out of the pool. They are playing together so well. Andrew has been waiting for Stephan to grow up just a little so they could play. Stephan turned 4 in January and Andrew was 6 in March.

There was much fishing, some floating in the lake, laughing, of course a trip to Walmart and just some general hanging out.

Then Charlie saw a snake.

Now anytime you are near the water there are snakes. We learned this in Arkansas when we were kids. Snakes just...are.

Charlie killed the snake that was in the brush pile after much too do. I was slow getting the camera so I don't have pictures of the three men...dancing around with their weapons.

It was a pretty big snake.

There is a hole in the base of this tree and the other snake retreated to it's hiding place. We knew it was in the hole so now the guys worked to flush it out. They flooded it with water (pumped from the lake so not wasteful)It wasn't working so Dad came with the bleach. Now this was probably not good in any way for the environment but...well...it was a BIG snake. In the yard where the kids are playing.

Desperate times call for desperate measures.

We, of course, watched from the safety of the deck.The little boys were very worried.We waited. And out came the big snake. Quickly beheaded.
Now those are some dang BIG snakes.

I don't feel bad about that bleach at all.

Later in the afternoon...after swimming and playing, Andrew came in the house complaining of feeling sick to his stomach. We took him to the restroom where we were very quickly aware that he was in some real trouble.

He was showing all the classic signs of heat exhaustion. We called 911, stripped him down and started rotating towels dipped in ice water, no shivering, not very responsive.

I won't lie. It was so incredibly scary.

I wanted a paramedic. I wanted IV fluid, O2 and a look at what his heart was doing.

Knowledge is not always helpful. Sometimes it scares the shit out of you.

The paramedics got here quick. They were professional and kind. They got some O2 on him, got good IV access and started giving him cool fluid.

It was the LONGEST 30 minute ride to the hospital.

By the time we got there he was awake and talking.

They checked all of vitals, electrolytes, he even had a cat scan just to rule out any thing else.

This morning he's fine.

He will, however, quickly grow tired of us today.

It happened so quick. We were all here.

It was about 90 degrees but very humid. It's not like he was somewhere where no one was keeping an eye on him. They were in and out of the house, in and out of the pool.

Eating, drinking, peeing.

The little ones are very hardy, resilient. But they decompensate so fast. When things start to go south they go south fast.

Love them, play with them, kill the snakes, put the sunscreen on, keep 'em hydrated, bring them inside once in a while to cool off.

And the very second you think something isn't right. Call 911.

"here's my frisbee...I lot it a lot!"
"oops...if I drop it sometimes I can't find it"
"what was that...did Maggie just walk by?"
"Hey...I think Mom is over there...Hi, Mom!""Really...are you just gonna take her picture all afternoon..."
"if no one minds I'm just gonna go over here and lay on some nice comfy plants"

"yeah...maybe those mums"

"all that looking for my frisbee makes me tired"

The First Suit Of The Season

The first one is soooo hard. Even if you have one from last year that you can still wear. I, unfortunately, have been a little hard on my suit. Swimming, jet skiing, you know...water fun.

That and the massive chubbiness of my thighs.

Now...please don't start with all the...'but you are not fat' (because that would be untrue), 'but you look just fine' (that may be true but I'm still 40 pounds heavier than I was 10 years ago and that it HARD). I don't have a self esteem problem. That should be obvious.

So, back to the thighs.

I have swim suit top that I feel comfortable in and I went to the...gulp...mall, yes the mall. I went to the mall to see if I could find a pair of swim shorts. You know...something with a bit more coverage.

We are going to Texas to see the folks. We spend all day on our suits. In and out of the water. You better have something you feel comfortable wearing all day.

Why are all the big girl suits so...ugly. I mean, crazy girl from the group home, ugly. You know...something you'd tease your mom for if she went out in public wearing. Yea...like that.

And the lighting in the dressing rooms...I am certain that you cannot see every fat wrinkle on my chubby thighs in regular lighting. Who does that to us poor souls searching for a suit that isn't so damaging to the ego.

This getting older has been quite an experience.

Yesterday MUD had a post with some pictures of my mother, my aunt and himself. I scrolled back and forth looking at their faces. Wrinkled, sure. Fuller than when they were young, yep. And I thought...I wonder how they feel, inside. I don't feel much different than I did in my early 20's.

Maybe a few aches in places that haven't ached before. Maybe less worried about money and jobs. More content in my everyday life. But inside I'm still the young girl who enjoyed being different, stronger than was good for me, often more comfortable around people I didn't know than around folks I did.

The essence of me is then same. And I suspect that the essence of Mom, Sue and MUD is the same.

And then I put on the swim bottoms in the bad lighting at the mall.

And I realized that the inside of me is the same. But dang...the outside is taking a real hit.

Who Needs An Alarm Clock

This little darling has been creating a racket since sometime around 6am. With all the windows open it was hard to sleep through.

I think he/she is a Grackle. They nest in the ginormous pine tree next to my house. Their babies fall out of the nest fairly regularly and I've taken several to Operation Wildlife. They've told me that Grackles are not great parents and they see a lot of their youngsters.

I looked around on the ground to see if there was a runaway...or would it be 'flyaway'...or 'fallaway'...anywho...no chicks on the ground that I could see but the noise continues.

(and just a note...spell check didn't flag 'ginormous'...who knew...is it really a word? I did however misspell 'they, their and regularly')

And We Fished

In The Interest Of Full Disclosure

My post yesterday may have left the impression that my yard is all brightness and blooms...sadly this is not the case.

This is the little side garden that I hope will be beautiful blackeyed susans, decorative grass and some dianthus...but my darling Maggie seems to think it's a great place to lay and dig.
This cactus has some unidentified funk.
FYI...corn plants DO NOT like full sun...just so ya know.
A bit more regular watering and a bigger pot would help this peace lily.
Like my siding project on the shed? Yeah...not quite done.
This is/will be a fire pit in the front yard...one I get the weeds and dog toys cleaned out.

The buterfly bush needs some pruning.
Remnants of the never ending fence project. Fence looks good though.
Plastic planters should be moved prior to burning the grasses from last summer...

A First Time For Everything

This is how I found three of the four terrorists this morning when I got up. I guess a sunny spot can create peace even amongst the furriest enemies.

Gus was busy chasing a tube of chapstick around the kitchen floor. Priorities, you know.

A few thing going on in my yard (or...a post for Papa Alan)

Okay...Alan, these are the funky purple buds on the lemon tree.

This is a sweet little rose bush Aunt Sue tried to kill...she seems to like her new home. These Iris's came from my grandpa Curley's yard in Arkansas. Mom gave them to me a few years ago and this is the first time they've bloomed.
My peonies are about to bust out in bloom!
I have these crazy insane columbine...they get like 4 feet tall...love them!

This is my new Japanese Lilac. I planted her last fall.
And my new purple smoke tree...so pretty.
This is a little bleeding heart that got nailed last spring in that late freeze. I thought perhaps she was done for. But here she is, tiny but blooming.