So Sad

I walked out to check on our baby birds this afternoon, but they weren't there. In fact, the whole nest was missing. I was so upset...I was so looking forward to watching those little guys grow up. I came inside all depressed and told Jon about it. He went out to have a look and found one of the babies on the ground behind the tree where the nest was. The baby seemed to be ok, but the nest was nowhere to be found. I grabbed an old plastic nursery pot and some paper towels, and Jon cut the top off to make it more shallow. We stuffed the paper towels inside and put what little nest material was left on top. Jon secured it to the branches with zip-ties, and we plopped the baby in. We actually found one more baby, but we couldn't find the third. I wathched from the dining room window to see if the parents would come back. They finally did, and it the remaining babies are doing fine.



It's not nearly as good as the one mommy and daddy built, but it's better than the ground.

Here's momma bird feeding them in the new nest...you can barely see her tail sticking out.




Now I just have to find a way to keep whatever animal did it from doing it again. I suspect one of the neighborhood cats... I saw the daddy bird attacking it a couple of days ago.

It is officially summer vacation - Tuesday was Savy's last day of school. She's not too happy about it (she loves school), but she is looking forward to starting pool school next week.

I worked last week, so we were stuck at home. I took some pics of Savy and Scarlett playing dress-up.





Savy decided last week she just had to have a pet fish, so we went to get one today. She picked out a betta fish and a little tank for him to live in, as well as a decoration and a plant. She named him Timmy and talked to him all the way home. We had to set up the tank as soon as we walked in the door.



Timmy waiting patiently for his new home to be ready.


This is one happy girl!



He seems to like his new home.



He's named after Timmy Turner of "The Fairly Oddparents"




But Jon and I can't help but think of....



I'm going to do my best to keep him alive. Savy loves to feed animals, and she has said "I think my fish is hungry" about a thousand times today. I hid the food to keep her from overfeeding him.

Savy has been obsessed with books since I made these special bookshelves for her a month or so ago. She's constantly asking us to read to her now, and she even "reads" to us. It used to be a battle to get her to go to bed, but now she frequently asks to go to bed BEFORE her bedtime because she can't wait for her bedtime story. She's always had lots of books, but she wasn't that interested in them when they were sitting on a shelf with only the spines visible. Now that the covers are on display, it's completely different. That's probably one of the most rewarding projects I've ever done.

Speaking of books, I signed Scarlett up for Dolly Parton's Imagination Library program yesterday...that's where Savannah got most of her books. It's such a great program, and I just found out that it's not limited to Tennessee residents. Open to children from birth up to 5 years of age, they'll send an age-appropriate book each month...for free! Savannah loves getting her books each month. If anyone is interested, just click on the link and sign up you little one.

When I called to check on Callie today, the vet told me her progress was not encouraging. Her lab values were only a little better after 2 days of diuresis and iv fluids, she'd stopped eating completely, and was obviously in pain. We made the difficult decision to end her suffering today. I went to the office to visit with her, and I stayed with her until she was gone. I am very grateful to Suzie for taking care of Savy and Scarlett so I could be with Callie in her last moments.

We adopted Callie from the West Memphis Animal Shelter about 2 1/2 years ago. We are sad she's gone, but happy that we were able to provide a loving home and family. She was a great watch dog and always kept a close eye on our home. We laid her to rest in the back yard where she can continue to watch over us. She will be missed terribly.

First night at home.


Friends from the beginning.









I want to include Jon's Facebook post on the matter.

We lost Callie today. She was a great dog. She was so loving and patient. Maybe it was a breed trait, but she would always sit on our feet, and watch around us, as if protecting us. She went into renal failure a few days ago. The vet said she had a chance because she was still producing some urine, but today, she was going downhill. She had totally stopped eating and was snapping at the vet staff due to the pain in her abdomen. Christy was with her at the end, when the vet put her to sleep. Unfortunatly I was at work and couldn't get back in time. Thanks to Suzie for keeping the girls so that Christy could be with her.

Callie was Savy's first and oldest best friend. We got Callie when Savy was about 14 months old and Callie was a little over a year. As far as Savy was concerned Callie has always been here. When Savy was a toddler, she would, as kids do, pull, tug, and swat Callie, but she never reacted.

We got Callie at the West Memphis, AR Animal Shelter. She had been at the shelter for almost a year. When they found her, she had a large wound down her back and across the top of her hips. She healed, but it left an inch wide scar in the same area where no hair grew. Because of the scar, the hair going down her back would stand up, like she was angry. But, also because of the damage, she would get arthritis in her hips and hurt pretty badly. She would limp across the yard, but was still very happy to see us when we got home and would come running as fast as her limp would let her.

She was a great watchdog. She had three posts where she would stand guard. The first was at the front door, in the cool shady entry area. The second was between the bushes in front of the window of the study. The third, and probably her favorite this past year, was on the back porch, sitting on a soft chair. She was sitting on that chair, keeping watch when we took her to the vet. She couldn't even stand up, but was still watching.

We buried her in the backyard, in a shady spot under a large tree where she liked to rest in the summer. I had wrapped her in one of the thick pet throws that we used as her bed at night, including her two favorite toys. Savy never saw Callie, but I told her Callie was inside the throw. I started digging the grave and Savy ran and grabbed her pink shovel and started helping. I tried to explain to Savy what we were doing, but she summed it up as only a little kid could. After I made my feeble explanation, Savy asked "is this Callie's bed?", referring to the grave. All I could say was yes, she will sleep here forever.

Whe had kind of a mini ceremony and Suzie came over. Christy had helped Savy pick some flowers, and Savy threw them all over the throw blanket. It's not every day you have to dig a grave for your family pet. I was doing ok until I started to fill the grave and the dirt started falling on the throw. Savy started yelling over and over "Don't do that to her Daddy!" and then it got tough.

Suzie had a good idea. We are going to try to get a custom stepping stone made to mark her grave. Christy is going to plant some crocus bulbs that sprout and bloom in Winter (February). That way the grass will still be dormant and the flowers will stand out from the rest of the yard and not be mowerman bait.