Damn You, You Babies!

This morning Lily sent out a group text with this picture in it. 
Also- this one.

And she'd written, "Good morning! Mom I found you a new buddy. I think you need him."

Oh my Lord. Is that the cutest pup you've ever seen in your life? And although I do not now nor will I ever again want another dog, how could I not want to snuggle that darling little blue bully (for surely it is a bulldog, or at least ONE of his parents was), to rub his darling face with my own, to scritch that place between his velvet ears, to hold him like a...well, a baby!
I said it. 
He is a baby. He is a beautiful little baby bulldog. 
He was whimpering outside of Owen's room last night, and he'd already given the little guy a bath and tried to rid him of fleas which he was infested with, and he was staying at Lily's house this morning because she was the only one who could come home on break and feed him and take him outside. 
I had to laugh at Hank's response text which was, "The dog distribution system was very efficient this time around," meaning that Lauren's dog Chloe JUST died and here is another pup to love.
Lily says no. They are not ready for another dog yet and that Lauren wouldn't even hold him because she's wise to that trick. 

Jason says the people at the beginning of the road they live on have let their dogs become a sort of wild pack and thinks that pup might be one of theirs but he's not taking it back to them because it's obviously not been taken care of. 
So. Discussions are ensuing. Jason said originally that no, he is not keeping him but Lily thinks the children will convince him otherwise and Owen has said he'll be responsible for him and since he'll be driving soon can even take him to obedience classes. And Lauren says he can come over for visits. 

We shall see how this all plays out. 
WHY ARE BABIES SO DANG CUTE?

So we will love them, I guess. 

It's been a much better day for me despite the fact that when I got up Mr. Moon had already left for the cabin. I knew he was going but didn't know he'd be gone that early. He told me he woke up and was just too anxious to sleep. He's got at least five very important projects going on at once right now and has a million things on his mental list of to-do's and if I know him he's got at least six actual lists going at the moment too. He'd left me a note saying he loved me and that if I need him to call him and he will come home. 
I know that to be true but there's a little problem with that plan in that on his way up there, hauling a ton of sheet rock and other things, the truck broke down and he had to get towed so he'll be up there with no vehicle and no way to come home if I DO need him although I'm sure he'd figure it out one way or another. Plus, I have four kids and their partners who would come and calm me if I needed that. And I doubt I will. 
I'll probably be driving up there on Friday to get him. He's pretty sure it's the fuel pump on the truck but I have no idea if that's an easy fix or a hard one. 
One more thing for him to do. 

Jessie and I met at Costco where I got to see the Beautiful Brenda. I just love hugging her so much. She is a light in this world. Jessie and I both needed vegetables and a few other things which we got and then we went our separate ways because she had a doctor's appointment to get to. 

I needed to go to Publix, of course, both to shop for a few more groceries and to pick up some prescriptions. That went fairly smoothly and when I got home, before I even put anything away, I went through the refrigerator and pulled out leftovers that I knew needed to become compost. 

Jessie texted me to see if there was any way I could take a new rescue hen of hers. They're going out of town this weekend and she doesn't want to keep the new hen in the coop she'll keep her other hens in while they're gone. At first I was like, "No, no, no. I just can't." But then I started thinking about it and I said, "Well, let me go out and see just how secure the coop is." It's been quite awhile since we kept chickens in there. 
By the time I'd walked around in the run and ducked into the roosting/nesting house I was feeling such a pull to take the pretty little thing. 

I knew full well what that would mean. One cannot have one chicken. Two hens are not enough either. Three is getting there and when you have FOUR, which will happen, and you live out in the country where no one cares, you need a rooster too. And the desire to have a tiny flock again flooded through me despite all my protestations. 
Chicken love is deep and it is real. 
BUT. There are two places in the roosting structure that I feel are extremely vulnerable to either raccoons or possums, both of which will kill a chicken in a heartbeat or a hen-step. So until Glen can attend to those and perhaps do a little sprucing up of wire and wood, I don't feel right about bringing any here. 
And that is not going to happen any time real soon. 

I don't know quite what came over me. Perhaps it was seeing that precious puppy and realizing that I am missing having an animal or animals that I can love on and take care of who probably won't scratch my eyes out. Although I do truly have a deep affection for this cat no matter how insane she is. 

She has stayed by my side when I was sick or in pain. She sleeps with me when she feels like it and is always a comfort, curled up in such a way that I can feel her warmth, her softness. She follows me around outside and let's be real- who among us does not appreciate that level of attention and interest? She came out today when I was watering the porch plants. I didn't get a picture of her but I did get a picture of this.

A bird's nest fern which I discovered last week and then remembered this week, has what appears to be an entire colony of ground bees or ground wasps or whatever you want to call them, buried in amongst the roots and how can there even be room? I don't know but when I water the plant, they pour out of the pot like grease from a hot skillet when you're cooking bacon.
So far they haven't seemed to connect me with the unwanted showers but I'm not counting on that forever. 

Does it seem like there's always something trying to kill both man and beast in Florida? Well that's because there is. 

Pottery tomorrow and I feel fine enough to go. Thank the powers that be. That was a short one. 

Love...Ms. Moon