HELP!

I want to get Haloscan and echo off my blog and don't know how. Please if you know, tell me !!!!!!!

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WARNING FOR GARDENERS

My sweet Texas rancher friend sent me this warning in an e-mail today.

URGENT WARNING
Cocoa Mulch, which is sold by Sainsbury's Homebase, Home Depot, Foreman's Garden Supply and other Garden supply stores, contains a lethal ingredient called "Theobromine". It is lethal to dogs and cats. It smells like chocolate and it really attracts dogs. They will ingest this stuff and die.
Several deaths already occurred in the last 2-3 weeks. Just a word of caution -- check what you are using in your gardens and be aware of what your gardeners are using in your gardens.
Theobromine is the ingredient that is used to make all chocolate -- especially dark or baker's chocolate -- which is toxic to dogs. Cacao bean shells contain potentially toxic quantities of theobromine, a xanthine compound similar in effects to caffeine and theophylline. A dog that ingested a lethal quantity of garden mulch made from cacao bean shells developed severe convulsions and died 17 hours later. Analysis of the stomach contents and the ingested cacao bean shells revealed the presence of lethal amounts of theobromine.

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Slug and snail bait is also deadly to pets.

I hope these warnings will save some innocent animals

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SPRING-SPRING, GLORIOUS SPRING!

The old Gravenstein apple tree is covered in moss but the buds are swelling larger each day. Soon it will be covered in white and pink blossoms and by August some of the juciest most flavorful apples in the world.
The Weeping Flowering Cherry has one blossom and here it is!

Nothing says Spring to me more than these lovely, fragrant Hyacinths.

The heirloom Lilac is preparing for a gorgeous show of blossoms. When they open and the sun is shining to warm them the fragrance permeates the entire back yard.

King Alfred is reborn in all his glory. We never have to say much about this royal beauty. He speaks for himself.

Hiding under some Spanish Bell foliage and a few weeds, this Primrose says 'hello' to the welcome sunshine.

The sweetness of this white Violet can't be ignored. Look closely and see the pale lavender tinge at the edge of her delicate petals.

A bouquet of Wallflower will make my living room smell delightful.

The first tulip to bloom this spring. It's quite early but very welcome.

I don't know what the name of these little Daffodils are but they are just as dainty as can be. Ignore that pesty dandylion growing around it's stems.

The first Anemone to bloom this year. I keep telling me to get more rhizomes. I love these lovely flowers.

Here's a macro shot of a single flower on a royal purple/blue Hyacinth. I just love this color!

Little Miss Tildy is enjoying the warm Spring days we are getting. She run's all over the latge back yard with her buddy Tudie and hops like a happy little bunny over everything in her way

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HAPPY SPRING EVERYONE!

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VICTORIA STAR TURNS THREE!

Two of my great granddaughters, Madalyn and Tori.
Sometimes we get so excited we just gotta hug someone! At three, Tori has a pretty good idea what a birthday party is all about. It is so fun to watch these little ones react to what they are feeling. They are like an open book.

When her mama brought her cake she was just plain tickled.
For the record, that is not a baby at the far end on the table. It's a porcelain doll sitting in a dolly highchair against the wall

When we sang Happy Birthday she was embarrassed and leaned on Madalyn for a little comfort. This is interesting actually because Madalyn hid under the table then left the room when we sang to her on her last birthday. LOL

And now the fun begins! Ahhh yes, the gifts. This is the part she may remember a while. She had her brother Kenny and her cousins all ready and willing to help her rip open the gifts. Her brother offered several times but each time she gave him a flat "NO!' This little lady knows her mind.

This picture really touched me. Not the actual photo but if you look at her sweet little, dimpled hand on the side of the bag you can see that she is still a baby at three, but next year her hand will be that of a little girl. They grow up so fast. If only we could slow it all down.

This picture shows just what a cute little darlin' Tori is. Her mama had her hair done up in a really cute pony tail but all that rippin' and tearin' put her in a wild frenzy and the hair do sort of went in another direction.

She is such a little beauty!

I pray that our heavenly Father will guide and protect her throughout her life, and the happy smile she wears today will always be hers.

This is my great granddaughter Hailee Michelle who will be nine in May. She wanted and got a sewing machine for Christmas. I didn't know they made such nice ones for children but she got a super model. Hailee has been creating blankets and other projects since she got it and for Tori's birthday she made her this dress. She had some help from her grandma Cyndi. I am absolutely impressed that this little girl could do such a great job. This is the dress front.

Here is the back of the dress. Hailee should be sooooo proud!

Hailee always greets me with a big hug and says goodbye the same way. no one tells her to, it's just what's in her heart. This kind of hug is very special to this great grandma.

Thank you honey girl!

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BAKER LAKE WITH MY SISTERS

Another fun sister day. We are so blessed to have so many fun times together. Thank you Lord!!!!!
!!! If you click on the picture it will enlarge so you can read about this beautiful trail of ancient trees.
I only walked a short distance but far enough to see some of these magnificent evergreens. It was awesome to walk among them. The small trees in this picture must be great great great grandchildren of the sentinels!
Here are some of the larger trees. The one in the back looks so stately. Just imagine all the storms it has weathered. You will notice that the trees in this area are covered with many years growth of moss, some draping down and resembling Spanish moss. This place was on the way to Baker Lake.

And here she is in all her glory! The water level is very low and we could see to the bottom in several places. This lake was made over a logged out area and there are thousands of stumps under water making fishing a really tricky sport. Nevertheless, fishermen and campers flock to this lake when fishing season opens. I have fished it myself a few times but didn't catch anything but snags!

Looking to the tan area on the other side of the water are many stumps and logs. The lake is usually so full of water that not many of these are visible.

Here is a closer view of all the stumps and logs. This is usually all water. I heard that because we haven't had the usual amount of snow, water levels are low in many places. Makes sense to me.

As we drove up the very bumpy dirt road my sister and I were trying to capture as many pictures as we could. without poking our eyes out with our cameras. Here is another shot of the heavy moss on the branches. The sun shining through it gives it an interesting appearance.

On the way back we stopped to see a herd of elk that were resting beneath some trees. (Click to enlarge)I think there were around thirty of them. A kind lady let me use her binoculars so I could see them better. She said that a few days before, there were around eighty elk out there, some even came up close to the fence. These are BIG critters!

Here's another one to enlarge. This mountain seems to have plenty of snow. When I see mountains covered with white it always reminds me of a vanilla ice cream cone.

This is a photo of a very common Northwest Washington species called "hitabumpdidntya"

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St. Paddy's day is coming and I have to practice. :)

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ANOTHER BEAUTIFUL SISTER DAY

My sisters and I are blessed to live close enough to one another that we can spend some wonderful time together. We occasionally drive to a beach not too far away that is actually quite secluded. We walk in the wave washed gravel looking for agates, jade or whatever strikes our fancy, but ostly we just enjoy having time together. I thank God for them and the precious time He allows us.

This shot is looking west, up the beach. Many years ago Native Americans were here. I always hope to find an artifact.

I was surprised to see this pretty leafed plant growing in the crevice of a wave washed piece of driftwood among the smoothed pebbles. This is salt water.

This Cave Of Treasures makes me think of all the treasures our Heavenly Father has for us. We only need to open our eyes to see them, shaken down and spilling over. We have a generous Lord!

It had been raining so the beach was wet and everything was more defined. I was fascinated with the grain in this piece of wood. I can imagine that some woodcarver would enjoy creating something out of it. I wonder what would cause a tree to grow in such an interesting way. It looks like it was confused and didn't know which way to go.

YES!!! Spring his happening here and I am so happy about it. Winters seem much too long for me. I was delighted to see these pussy willows. They had rain drops on their fuzzy coats but still, The Pussy willows are out!

When I was a little girl, my mother told me that if I put some in the oven of our old wood cook stove before I went to bed, they wold be cute little kitties in the morning. It didn't work and I was very disappointed. She said maybe the oven wasn't hot enough but I was afraid if it had been any hotter it would have cooked the poor little kittens. LOL

She also told me that if I could sprinkle salt on a birds tail I could catch it.

She must have laughed her head off watching me chase birds all over the yard.

Did I tell you that mother was part Irish and Scottish? She had quite a sense of humor.

This used to be an old road that went along side the beach but is now just a narrow trail through the tall beach grass, I enjoyed walking it and imagining how many people before me had drove or walked on it as they went to dig clams, have picnic's or just enjoy the beauty of it all as I was doing that day.

The sky was gray that day and even though there was a breeze it wasn't cold at all. I took 100 pictures and whittled them down to about 30 when I got home and viewed them on my computer. The trees are leafless still, but inside those cold, barren branches life is awakening and soon they will be covered with new green leaves, fluttering in the wind, and providing hiding places for the nesting birds. Seasons come and seasons go and there is something good about each of them, but Spring....well it's just special!

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I pray you are all having a good week. Please remember our troops and our country in your prayers.

Be Blessed!

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