Redbush's Brambles

New Year Wishes

2011-12-30T13:05:00.000-08:00

Redbush and family are experiencing the best winter weather they have had since they can remember. The weather has been above normal temps for at least over a month. They don't have much snow, either, so that's a bonus. Her new family arrival Fonzi can enjoy himself in this fine weather without freezing his little mitts off. The birds in Redbush's yard are enjoying their feast of sunflower seeds, and bird fat balls, or suet as some people call it. The holidays have let Redbush eat herself into oblivion, but, she has no New Year resolutions because she finds that she never follows through with them anyway, so, why set herself up for failure again? She is hoping that the weather lasts a lot longer to make winter that much shorter. No, she doesn't miss having a lot of snow, either. Her wish for all of you is to have a happy and healthy 2012.

Beatle's New Buddy

2011-12-19T13:09:00.000-08:00

Redbush and family acquired a new arrival in the past week. Beatle found himself wondering when we were going to take him back. He's now accepted that Fonzi is probably here to stay. Redbush and Mr. Redbush have had to discipline Beatle for acting the dominant role. Beatle is now down to taking him down only 3 time a day instead of 8. He is learning that spending most of his life in his kennel isn't as much fun as tugging on his martin with him, and much more fun than having Redbush tug on it with him. Beatle doesn't realize that Fonzi is growing quickly and retaliation will come just as fast. Redbush has sent you some pictures she has taken of the two, and some Christmas cards that she painted recently for you. She wishes you all a very Merry Christmas, and all the best in 2012!

Perusing The Ponds

2011-11-21T12:05:00.000-08:00

A week or so ago, Redbush, and family went out hunting for wilderness water spots to take photos of. She loves to use spots like this for references for her artworks. They are glad they did. This week, the spots would be totally different with the cool -26 degree days. Winter is here to stay again, I'm afraid. Beatle can't wait to get in from the outside after his walk.

Dig In!

2011-11-13T11:46:00.000-08:00

Redbush only cooks this meat once or twice a year. Usually her family enjoys it boiled, but, this time she tried a roasting recipe. Most people turn their noses up at it, but then, Redbush knows frlends of hers who don't like liver,and onions either, but she likes it. She wonders if you can guess what it is and if you have and unusual, or rare foods you enjoy. Redbush wishes you a great week and good eating!

Summer Wildflowers

2011-10-31T12:37:00.000-07:00

Redbush took some pictures of wildflowers that she saw in her travels this summer. This summer didn't have a lot of sunny days, so she took advantage of taking some snapshots when it was. She likes taking photos of interesting water bodies and cloud formations, too. Bonzi and Beatle enjoyed the sunshine as well, as did the grey jay, or whiskey jack as we know them. She hopes all of you are having a great week, and a happy Halloween!

Signs Of The Time?

2011-10-26T11:00:00.000-07:00

This summer, and several summers before this, Redbush sees this sign in her travels. A local logging mill would have gotten the signs produced. She's wondering how many of these are out there. She hopes everyone is having a great fall. There is no snow yet in her area, but, the forecast is for some of the white stuff soon. Redbush hopes the radio station is wrong on that one. She hopes everyone is enjoying a great fall!

Em-Te Town

2011-10-19T12:04:00.000-07:00

This summer Redbush and family visited this cool little place. She could have stayed there all day, especially in the saloon. She hopes all of you are having a great fall.

Farwell To Bonzi

2011-09-29T11:49:00.000-07:00

Redbush hasn't had a very happy spring and summer. Bonzi was getting more and more ill. She knew that it was only a matter of time when he would no longer be with her and her family. He had developed a number of health issues within the last three years, one of them being severe seizures. Medicating him helped but it wasn't a cure. Beatle and Redbush's family miss him badly as there is now an empty spot in their lives. The night before he passed away, Redbush took some pictures of him, including his last quad ride to one of his favourite spots. She and her family had to say their goodbyes to him on August 22. She knows that he is no longer sufferering which is a good thing. Redbush hopes you all had a great spring and summer. She apologizes that this blog wasn't a cheery one.

Winter in June!

2011-06-06T10:20:00.000-07:00

It's been a few days now since we were hit with a bout of winter again, but, Redbush is still feeling the cool weather even though the snow has disappeared. She had to spend some time giving her plants some cover. Hopefully this is the last of the white stuff. It's June for crying out loud! Redbush is still busy trying to get her plants to produce some blooms, but, they are feeling like they should have blankets on every night. The weather forecast for it being a cool beginning to the summer hasn't failed. She hopes that it will warm up soon, or, her gardens plants will develop root rot. There's much needed moisture, but, the warmth is much needed, too. How is your garden growing? She hopes that you are having a much greater beginning to the summer! Have a great week!

Springtime!

2011-05-22T11:42:00.000-07:00

Redbush has been busy in the last month working in her yard, preparing for art shows, and just basically being lazy, but, waiting for spring to arrive. Along with spring, she finds, the weeds never disappear, but, only multiply, so, it's an ongoing job trying to rid her gardens of them. She should learn not to have so many gardens! Mr. Redbush wishes this as well. Her family have been planting the garden, and getting her flower beds ready for bedding plants. In the meantime, she has also been working on small paintings for an art show that her club had at the local cultural centre. She has also been taking Beatle to classes at the dog kennel in town. He is finding it much more interesting to be there because of all the other dogs, however, he likes it, probably maily because of his home made liver treats. Redbush hasn't been taking Bonzi as he is finding it pretty difficult because of all his medications that he is on. He still likes to practise in the yard, and get liver treats too. Redbush will share a few photos of her artworks, and hopes that you are all having a great spring!

Yeah, Spring!

2011-04-01T12:22:00.000-07:00

Redbush has been doing the odd job on her acreage and hasn't been able to muster up a blog for lack of imagination. She is happy that it looks like spring has sprung, although she knows in her country not to count her chickens! Along with spring comes the once- a- year local contest that she said she wasn't entering, but, has decided to, if not for anything, just for exposure. She told most of her friends that she probably wasn't entering, but, after looking at her painting everyday hanging in her diningroom, the urge to enter struck her. Accompanying spring also comes dusting etc. and to sum it up, spring cleaning. She hasn't got up the ambition to do much of either, maybe one day. Almost every spring, Redbush has a visit from Bruce the moose. He enjoys nibbling on the new buds on the family's willow trees when he isn't using Redbush's pickup for a salt lick. Redbush hopes you are able to pick him up in one of her photos that she has posted. She will share some of her spring photos, and, of course, photos of her buddies enjoying their latest time in a hotel room. She had taken them to a competition, and this was their down time. She hopes that everyone is having a great start to spring!

The Old Forest

2011-03-16T13:17:00.000-07:00

Redbush is still dealing with falling snow, an everyday event in her area. Mr. Redbush has been clearing neighbours's driveways with the snowblower from the tractor. When he arrived home after doing four driveways, he noticed an oil leak. This leak ended up causing the Redbush family to take their tractor into the doctor. It was an expensive trip to the tractor doctor! She is looking forward to the day she sees new spring growth. Redbush is looking forward to being able to go out to the old forest in the spring and summer to get photos of moss and water run-off. She loves to use these subjects in her artwork pieces. She hopes all of you are having a fantastic March!

The Upside Of Snow

2011-03-04T11:39:00.000-08:00

Redbush is apologizing for her blogging absence. One of her brothers passed away about a month ago, and she has been dealing with issues surrounding that incident since. She, however misses her fellow bloggers, so, is glad to be back again. She has decided to post some photos of her yard as of late. In the month of January, and February, the area has accumulated some 9 feet of snow. There have been a lot of choice words pass amongst her family regarding the snowfall they have had. The shovelling and snowblowing have become an everyday four -hour occurrence. However, she has learned that complaining to whomever isn't listening doesn't help, so, she is going to look to the upside of the event. Bonzi and Beatle love it, and can't get enough of rolling, chasing and snorkling through the snowbanks. The 9 feet of snow will create a lot of moisture for Redbush's plants in the spring. Even though the temperatures have been extremely cold, the bluejays, grey jays, chickadees, and nuthatches still feed at the feeders and sing their usual tunes. Redbush realizes that she could be experiencing some of the hurricanes, floods, and earthquakes that some of the other parts of her country and other countries seem to be inundated with. Snow has always been a favourite subject for Redbush's artwork. The upside of snow is that she loves the shadows, and patterns it creates, and in the spring the melting of it makes for great photo-taking. She will share some photos of her yard once again. She has been having problems uploading photos, so, she hopes that these will load. But, once again, it doesn't look like they are going to. Redbush hopes everyone has been enjoying the March weather so far.

Brrrrrrrrrr!

2011-01-14T12:51:00.000-08:00

Redbush has felt like a hermit lately, wanting to stay in from the deep freeze temperatures. It was -40 degrees this a.m. with the wind chill. These cold temps have been holding on for the past quite a few days. Beatle didn't seem to get it,though, wanting to do his usual sniffing, but, both Bonzi and he were trying to decide which paws to hold up all at once . Redbush took a few photos of the weather, and a warmer one of this summers fire pit when they were camping, just to try to warm up her day, and her blog. There are birds in a few of her photos, but, they didn't allow her to get close enough to get a good snap! She intends to attempt a painting of the hot logs at some point when she gets the inspiration. She hopes all of you are staying warm, and having a great January!

Blueberry Cheer!

2011-01-04T13:17:00.000-08:00

Redbush has been pulling a blog bland (blank) lately. She can't seem to get her imagination working to create a blog that might be slightly interesting to her fellow bloggers. She has been under the weather since just before the new year. She now thinks that she jinxed herself by telling everyone that she can't remember the last time she had any kind of bug. So much for getting the flu shot! Every year lately she gets a flu shot because her husband tends to catch pneumonia easily, so, to avoid spreading any bugs his way, his doctor recommended that she have a shot along with him. Every health article and magazine Redbush has read, blueberries are mentioned as being an excellent source of vitamins and an anti-oxydent. They are actually one of her favourites to eat as well as a favourite subject to paint. The painting that she created a few years back now was exhibited in a dream home here in her town, and was showcased on a bar in the basement of the house. She was lucky enough to sell it. Redbush is offering up a toast to all her bloggers with her blueberries, and hopes everyone has a prosperous, and happy 2011!

Christmas Noses

2010-12-15T14:34:00.000-08:00

Redbush has a Christmas stocking for her dogs. Beatle loves to grab it occasionally and tussle it about. I'm sure he just loves the fuzzy feel of it, but, on the other hand, he may be checking it out early. She tries to get him to leave it alone because he has torn the noses off most of his other stuffed toys. Noses seem to be the things that Bonzi and him don't think belong. Bonzi tore the noses off a few stuffed toys, and now there is one fox terrier that doesn't have a nose. Redbush hopes all of you are ready for Christmas. She isn't. Redbush has been having problems with her blog site lately, especially loading images. She hopes that the pictures will load this time. She hopes you are all enjoying the month of December!

Who's The Slave?!

2010-12-06T14:55:00.000-08:00

Redbush doesn't have an over amount of snow at this point in the winter season, and that makes her happy. The temperatures have been a bit cooler lately, but she knows they could be a lot colder. Even with the five or so inches that has fallen, Redbush still shovels so that she doesn't have so much to remove at one time. If she doesn't remove the snow, Beatle's feet collect every ice particle and are three feet wide when he comes in the house. Although Mr. Redbush would like to help, he has a problem with his lungs, so, Redbush knows that the shovelling has to be done by her. She has some 800 feet of dog trails to shovel, then has to clear the deck and walkways to the back door, and garage. Bonzi and Beatle are reaping the benefits of this frolicing and wrestling their way in front, or behind Redbush as she is shovelling. They tussle with their ball tripping up Redbush, begging her to throw it for them, making her job twice as long. Bonzi barks and tries to catch every shovelful of snow off the deck when Redbush throws it off. They don't build dog shovels, do they? Too bad all this wasted energy can't be harnessed. He! Redbush is sharing a few photos of her work and her lazy buddies. She hopes everyone is having a fantastic December!

Grosbeak Mystery

2010-12-01T13:41:00.000-08:00

The days have been warmer lately, so Redbush is happy that it's seeming to make winter a little shorter. She doesn't understand, however, why her regular visitors, the pine grosbeaks have not been back like they usually are at this time of year. Mr. Redbush feeds them their usual striped sunflower seeds, and fat balls mixed with seeds. Redbush's sister has had a busy schedule in her life lately, so, Redbush made a birthday dinner for her a week early. Her sister enjoyed her visit and the meal. You can tell Redbush is at a lack for something to blog about. She has kept all the jobs that she needs to do on hold. She has decided that she should blog instead because she hasn't kept in touch for a while. She hopes you are having an eventful week. She is sharing some photos of birds from last winter, and a few of the recent dinner.

Reminiscent Sketches

2010-11-13T13:50:00.000-08:00

Redbush is still reminiscing over her experiences with baby bald this summer. She hopes to sketch and paint the youngster sometime in the future. She is still kicking herself for not having her camera handy when each of the parents arrived to give him food later on when they were camped there. Redbush's camera skills leave a lot to be desired, thus, a lot of her pictures were done on a zoom-in, and are a little fuzzy. Drat! She has some that were just taken as is, so, will hopefully use those as references. Quite a few years back, she did do a sketch of a mature bald eagle from a lake where they were camped. She will share this sketch and more pictures of the baby from this summer. She hopes everyone has a great weekend and wonderful weather this mid- November!

Warm November

2010-11-08T10:53:00.000-08:00

Redbush is celebrating the fact that November has come in like a lamb, and hopes it stays like this for a long time. She hasn't been blogging for a lack of a subject, the only one being " raking leaves". It seems since September, the leaves just keep on falling. Some of her willows still have leaves on them. She has had to rake them to pick up all the branches that have fallen as well. The neighbour's huge poplars have been a thorn in her side for quite some time. She and Mr. Redbush have spent weeks raking these leaves and hauling them away. Redbush, however, has also tried to make some time to work on her art for an up and coming art show. Between picking up leaves, and getting rid of them, she has attempted to finish a new art piece for the show. She appologizes for her poorly taken snapshots of it. She hopes you are all enjoying a great November!

Smaller Garden?

2010-09-24T11:02:00.000-07:00

Redbush has decided in the past few years to cut back on the amount that she planted in her garden, but, somehow, it just doesn't happen. She and Mr. Redbush have been harvesting, canning and creating dishes with what their garden has produced. In tomatoes alone they have harvested more that 100 pounds! She hasn't tackled doing anything with them yet, but, it should make enough spaghetti sauce for the year! Redbush is wishing you all a wonderful warm Indian summer!

Baby Bald Episode 2

2010-09-09T12:59:00.000-07:00

Redbush and family managed to revisit the campsite where baby bald was left previously. They came to find the baby eagle still sitting on his block, but, no parents in view. After watching him for a whole evening, they came to the conclusion the next day that the parents weren't coming back.

The next morning he was seen arriving on the block and making h

is way halfway over to where Redbush and family were camped. Mr. Redbush decided to tak

e a package of moose hamburger out of the freezer to feed it to

him towards evening. He grabbed the hamburger in his talons, and made his way to a spot a little away from where they had given it to him. He dug into the frozen meat and ate the better of most of the pound. That evening, while eating their late supper, Redbush happened to look out their camper window to

see him flying past their unit back to his block. When Mr. Redbush ventured over around 9:oo P.M. that night, baby bald flew off into the horizon and was never seen again for the remainder of their camping trip. Redbush was happy to know that perhaps finally he had found his wings, and would survive. Redbush is having trouble loading pictures at this point because her server isn't working, but will try later. She hopes everyone is having a superb week!

Camping With Baby Bald

2010-08-16T14:24:00.000-07:00

Redbush and family have been camping in the wilderness areas for the past while when they haven't been doing yard work, thus, her blogging time has been non-existent. This last camping trip was quite eventful as they had a number of events happen at their camp spot that made their trip worthwhile. After a few days that they were there, a wolf was there trying to entice Bonzi, or Beatle out so that they could have them for their midnight snacks. Fortunately for Bonzi and Beatle, both of them were in their refuge, Bonzi in his kennel, and Beatle in the camper sprawled out on our bed. Mr. Redbush realized what had happened when he heard some coyotes very close to the camper calling out in their high-pitched yelps . Neither dog said a word, but, upon noticing the next morning, Mr. Redbush found the tracks of the coyotes chasing the wolf. Apparently they put the run on Mr. Wolfee because they weren't going to have him take away their chance for easy food. For this reason, Bonzi and Beatle are kept very close eyes on while Redbush and family are out there. The next interesting event was helicopters landing very close to the camper loading up on spray to spray the blocks where the logging company had logged. Redbush still can't figure out why they are spraying blocks out in the wild. It annoyed them, but when confronted, the company's spray foreman wouldn't give Mr. Redbush the time of day about it.

The most interesting part of Redbush's camping trip was camping with the eagle. Mr. Redbush noticed upon the family coming back from one of their outings, that a large brown shape was sitting on a block very close to their campsite. Upon investigating he noticed that it seemed to be an eagle that was very weak. Their were not sightings of the parents, so Redbush and Mr. Redbush decided to relinquish one of their prized suppers to him. They took their t-bone steaks out of the package, and chopped one of them up. He was only to happy to chow down on the raw morsels when Mr. Redbush fed him from one of their cooler lids. They then decided to feed him the other one the next day as he still seemed very hungry, calling out, and all alone. As you will notice from the pictures, you can see some very large sharp talons and a mighty large even sharper beak. Mr. Eagle was there for a few days before the parents started showing up. He didn't seem to be able to fly, so, Mr. Redbush surmised that he must have dropped out of his huge nest a couple of weeks too soon. The parents took turns bringing him the odd piece of food from time to time while he stayed in the campsite morning and night for all the four days that Redbush and Mr. Redbush took pictures and used binoculars to zoom in on him. Redbush missed her chance to get a picture of the father, a huge bald eagle. Bald eagles are very shy, so,he didn't stick around very long after dropping the food off for the youngster. Both parents perched on different snags close to the campsite keeping watch during the day while the little guy (not so little as far as birds go) called out. The youngling would disappear when dark came, so, Redbush concluded that he must have gone down into the brush by the slough behind him to hide for the night. They were glad to see him perched on his block in the morning as they knew that there were lots of coyotes, wolves and such that could have ended his life each night. The Redbush family feel very lucky to have been able to watch this special event and are sure that this will be a once- in -a- lifetime experience. They really hated to come home as they wanted to be able to see him get enough strength up to fly. It bothers them to know that they will never know if he made it eventually, but they have to believe that he built up the strength to. It felt like they were leaving one of their pets behind. She will share some of the over 120 pictures and a few movies that she took when he was still not too fiesty. She hopes you enjoy them. Sorry! It said the video didn't load, but I've loaded two of them. Have a super August!

Summer Colours - Tiger Lillies

2010-07-13T13:52:00.000-07:00

Redbush has been avoiding the computer for quite some time as you may, or may not have noticed, not that she wanted to, but other activities have been taking much of her time. She has been weeding, mowing lawn, taking Bonzi to new rally competitions, attending family reunions,and the rest of the time being lazy enjoying some of the summer. There hasn't been much summer as the weather has been quite cool for much of the time, with little needed rain for her plants, thus Mr. Redbush has been hauling water to keep her plants, and Redbush happy. She managed to recently capture some photos of colours in her gardens.

The tiger lily happens to be one of Redbush's favourite flowers. One of her friends tells her that she doesn't like them because as a child she found a snake around one of them, so this is burned in her memory forever. Redbush will share a little research that she found written about the tiger lily that is now burned into her mind. The tiger lily is Saskatchewan's provincial flower. The tiger lily was first described by a famous Swedish botanist, Carl von Linne (Linnaeus) in 1753. His descriptions of the lily:

- helps in suppressing aggressive tendencies in individualsand helps in holitic healing.

-often act as a carrier of viral diseases and so becomes a vector infecting other species.

Bag Lady, this one's for you:

-has some toxic effects on cats, ie; can produce vomiting, inappetence lethargy, kidney failure and even death.

-has edible flowers, and flower buds apart from edible

roots and shoots. These can often have a bitter flavour. When baked, lily bulbs taste rather like potatoes. The Tiger lily is cultivated for its edible bulbs.

- look for dried tiger lily buds in an Asian market. They must be soaked in warm water for about 30 minutes to soften them before adding them to dishes. They can enhance the flavour of egg dishes and salads. (Redbush still has the cat info stuck in hermind, so isn't so sure about the last two bits of edible info).

There is an old legend from Asia about the Tiger Lily.: A Korean hermit helped a wounded tiger by removing an arrow from its body. The tiger asked the hermit to use his powers to perpetuate their friendship after his death. The hermit agreed and when the tiger died, his body became a tiger lily. Eventually the hermit drowned and his body was washed away. The Tiger Lily spread everywhere searching for its friend. ( Redbush will look at wild tiger lilies much differently now).

- a superstition about the Tiger Lily is that smelling it will give you freckles.

- a belief that it stands for wealth and prosperity.

After reading some of these excerpts, Redbush is not so sure about this perennial being her favourite. It was part of her wedding bouquet, however, some decades ago. She still tends to have aggressive tendencies from time to time,especially when her computer is on the blitz,or when Beatle decides to take a 5 minute romp through her slow-growingvegetable garden, and especially when the same telemarketer phones five days in a row (of course it's never a real person, so she can't scream obscenities at them and tell them that nothing is free is this world including their exotic trips). Although she isn't a cat, and doesn't have one, she can't see herself adding any to her egg dishes, or salads. Redbush is still trying to find wealth and prosperity, but, the lotteries aren't cooperating with her. What summer colours, superstitions,memories do you have etched in your mind? She hopes you have had and continue to have a great summer filled with colour!

Precious Paintings

2010-06-07T11:34:00.000-07:00

Redbush and family realize that the older they get, the more weeds grow, and the more work their yard is. Thus, Redbush has not had a lot of blogging time, but, has been missing it. They are finally going camping for the best of a few weeks, so will be away from the computer for that time. One of Redbush's neighbors came over and looked at her artworks. Before she knew what she was saying, she sold a couple of her long-time favourites to her neighbour. She didn't have the heart to say that they weren't for sale. One of them have been in her diningroom for quite some time. She finds it relaxing to look at the deer and find herself in that place for a moment. The sunset picture takes her back to a time that they camped at that lake. She hopes you enjoy these paintings, too. She will be blogging again hopefully in a few weeks, or more. In the meantime enjoy your month of June!

Mother Nature's Tongue!

2010-05-23T12:25:00.000-07:00

On Redbush's last blog she complained about the weather being too dry, and hot. She believes mother nature has sought vengeance again her and has given her really something to complain about. The last three days have been wintery with lots of wet snow, and below freezing temperatures. Many of her poplar trees have broken limbs from the heavy, wet snowfall. Redbush has had to take her plants into the garage, so, the garage countertops are covered. She has to make sure they are up high enough so Beatle doesn't eat the occasional pansy, geranium, or begonia. Redbush is happy that she didn't decide to plant her bedding plants until it warmed up more. She isn't complaining about the added moisture,though. In fact she is celebrating that the weather has decided to give her all this moisture. Now all the water tanks in the yard are full, so it will make watering the plants much less a worry. She is hoping tomorrow will make it warm enough to let her plants enjoy the sunlight again. The little guy in the first photo ( a rose-breasted grosbeak) and some of his like buddies have been visiting her bird feeder lots lately. I'm sure he's hoping for the same. She hopes all of you are having a great long weekend, and making the best of the snow. Here's wishing you a fabulous week ahead. She will leave you with some photos she took of mother nature's recent weather attack on her yard.

Spring Clean-up and Planting

2010-05-19T10:39:00.000-07:00

Redbush has been busy in the past few weeks cleaning leaves, hauling them away, and chopping branches. She and Mr. Redbush didn't realize how much they had accumulated in the years until they started hauling away stuff to the dump. It took a few loads on the big trailer, and they can now see their backyard again, but with every load they notice more. Redbush and Mr. Redbush finally planted their garden, just in time before last night's rain. The rain was much needed after the long dry spell they've had. Redbush has picked some bedding plants for planting, but, with the cool nights may still wait a while before she tackles that. She of course always goes overboard on the flower pots, and beds. She has left you with some shots of what she will be planting. She has to pick plants that thrips don't particularly like seeing as they come back to her place every year. She wonders what your favourites are. All of you have a great rest of the week and weekend!

Annoying Alarm Clocks

2010-05-06T10:45:00.000-07:00

Redbush has experienced some cool weather in the past few days. She has been freezing her fingers helping Mr. Redbush put up chicken wire fencing over her page wire so that Beatle can't squeeze his body through the page wire holes anymore. It's amazing what he can accomplish when she takes her eyes off him for one second! Beatle has become an effective, or not effective alarm clock for her household, depending on how you look at it. He wakes Redbush up at the crack of daylight (hell). When he doesn't wake her up with his whimpering, Woody the woodpecker has become an even an earlier alarm, only his is much louder. Redbush awakes at around 5:oo a.m. to vigorous loud pecking on her metal drainpipe just above her bedroom window. Apparently, Redbush has been told he is attempting to attract a mate. This has been taking place for some time now, so, she hopes that the females don't keep playing hard to get. What males won't do for attention! This does not please her, but, it pleases Mr. Redbush even less. She's posted a picture of Woody in the winter because he's been dodging her snapshots as of late. She has also posted a recent picture of Beatle and Bonzi as they continue to bond. She hopes everyone has had a great week, and cheers to a weekend that is full of warmth and sunlight!

Grandpa's Place

2010-04-25T10:25:00.000-07:00

Redbush is feeling a little sad. This house was built by her grandpa in the early 1900's. Because the estate land was up for sale, this is one of the quarters that sold. She wished that the house could have been preserved at the local museum, however, because of the short logs, going long-wise, alternating with cross-wise logs, movers thought that it would have taken a lot to get it there without it falling apart. The logs are held together with mud. They wouldn't touch it, and it would have been too expensive a project. Her grandfather was a great carpenter. The door still closes and latches almost like it did when it was built. The house hasn't sagged any either, and the windows can be moved open and shut just like they were new. Redbush still liked to visit it from time to time. She hopes that the new owners will preserve it, but, that isn't too likely to happen. She is now heading out to do another back-breaking day of raking leaves and hauling them away. She has to get this done before the weather gets nasty again. She hopes all of you have a great week.

Spring Bugs

2010-04-16T10:29:00.000-07:00

Redbush has caught a spring bug in the past few days, and hopes it subsides soon. She has just been bragging about how long it has been since she was ill. Now that the weather is up in its 20's, she feels like crap. It's Murphy's Law! She has developed a stomach flu with all the symptoms that go with it. She will leave you with another picture of flowers that she hoped would come up in her yard every spring. This crocus picture was taken a few springs ago. For some reason they haven't come up again since then. Redbush believes that some bug was eating their bulbs. She hopes this leaves everyone feeling happy and healthy. Happy weekend!

Yearning For Crocuses

2010-04-09T11:04:00.000-07:00

Redbush is looking forward to seeing one of her favourite flowers when spring finally comes. Usually these are one of the signs that spring is here. The Canada geese have been back for some time, so, maybe she'll see crocuses peeking out soon. The following picture is from years past as hardly a year goes by that she isn't heading to the crocus patch to take pictures. The weather here has been fantastic, although quite a cold wind today. Redbush is happy that the nasty blizzard that hit the Calgary country and down east by-passed here. She has been kept busy with some spring clean-up like raking leaves, but, has a long way to go. Beatle is finding his legs as Bonzi and he play tug-of-war for hours on end. Too bad they couldn't utilize some of that energy in helping Redbush clean up! She hopes everyone has a great weekend!

Tasmanian Devil

2010-04-02T12:31:00.000-07:00

Bonzi was in a competition this past weekend and got one leg of his Advanced Rally. The family was proud of him. On the way home, Redbush's family acquired a new family member. She knows, as does the entire family, that he won't take the place of Bonzerelli. He definitely has his own personality. Bonzi hasn't quite decided why Redbush brought him to their household. At times Redbush is sure that Bonzi wishes that she would take him back to his mother, however, seems to be getting more and more accepting, and attached to him as the days go by. Beatle, no, not Beetle is giving the whole family a run for their money. He has more energy than all of Redbush's other dogs put together, and the Redbush family is wondering what they have gotten themselves into! He has already shown Bonzi that he can rip toys away from him, but Redbush is sure that Bonzi won't always let this happen. When he is put in his kennel for bed, he lets everyone know that he is not too happy with this idea. He ends up giving Redbush, without exaggeration about 3-4 hours sleep tops even though she has put a ticking clock by his kennel plus a stuffed toy his size. Mr. Redbush manages to sleep through some of his top- end vocals, but Redbush is can't believe how he can. She is not sure whether his voice resembles Paul, Ringo, or maybe Tiny Tim or Michael Jackson. At any rate, Redbush would prefer the vocals to be daytime rather than the dead of night! She knows that he must miss his litter mates. She hears from the breeder that his brother is vocalizing in his kennel as well, although, apparently his brother does settle after a bit. She unfortunately can't say the same for Beatle. Redbush is lucky enough to have the strong- willed brother! After three nights in a row she hopes that the longing for his blood relatives will subside at least a little, otherwise she may have to make her bed in the garage with Bonzi. She also realizes that maybe some of it is his teething. Beatle on the good side is very affectionate and really loves to wash faces, and cuddle. Redbush can now identify some with the trials and tribulations of new motherhood and is finding that babies can make life interesting! She is wishing everyone a great weekend and a very Happy Easter!

Betting On Bonzi!

2010-03-25T16:29:00.001-07:00

Redbush and Bonzi are heading to a rally competition. Redbush knows that Bonzi will do well, but her nerves always throw him off. She is attempting to be more calm. Before she left, she has been working on a dog bed for Bonzi and his new brother. The bed is made mainly out of Mr. Redbush's old blue jeans' seats. She worked on this bed laboriously for days! Although it looks simple, Redbush is not a seamstress, so, don't look too closely. After sniffing it twice Bonzi decided that it would work for him. He better! She is picking up his new brother, the same breed as Bonzerelli, this weekend. She is hoping that Bonzi and he will bond like Bonzerelli and he did. She will post pictures of the new member of the family on the next post. She won't be back on the blog until late next week. She will be busy seeing how the new member adjusts, and how Redbush and family adjust to their new lifestyle! She hopes all of you have a great rest of the week and weekend!

Sun-bathing

2010-03-19T09:29:00.000-07:00

Redbush and family have been going out on the lease while the Reno guy has been working on her floors. The days have been filled with sunshine, so, Bonzi has been taking advantage of the sunlight chasing the squirrels and basking in the sun and occasionally just relaxing in the snow. She can't believe what beautiful weather they have been having since about the end of January! The weather man says that we have had the warmest and driest winter since 1948! Her family enjoys building a fire and roasting a smokie when they take a jaunt out back, and it gives Bonzi exercise. Somehow lunch just tastes better when it is cooked outdoors. Because of all the renovations, Redbush hasn't been on the computer much. She has been trying to stay out of the Reno guy's hair so that he can get the job done soon. She hopes everyone had a great week and an even more super weekend!

What Was I Thinking?

2010-03-10T17:01:00.000-08:00

Redbush has been noticing yellowing on her white floor in particular spots. No it's not dog pee, nor does she have a cat! This has been taking place gradually for the past 10 years. She had a brain wave that she should have the white lino in the kitchen, dining room, and bathrooms replaced with ceramic tiles. When the lino was lifted, she now knows why the flooring company would not send their rep out even though she asked them several times. The excuses were: "The rep won't be in for a month, or, "Oh, sorry, I forgot," or just plain ignoring her and saying the rep hadn't come yet. She finds that she probably could have written the company that made the lino and possibly gotten some kind of results. When the tilers came to tear up the lino they found that the flooring company had done a shabby job on the lino, so that's probably why they would not send out a rep. But, after seeing what it entails to put down ceramic tiles, she wonders if it will all be worth it. Her entire living room, and bedrooms are in a shambles! That's where all the furniture had to be moved to, oh and some of it on the deck outside all tarped in. Maybe she shouldn't have been keeping everything for the last 30 years! She needs to do a garage sale! She won't be renovating for a long while after this! She hopes all of you are having a great week!

Water Falls With A Story

2010-03-02T10:21:00.000-08:00

Redbush was so elated from Hilary's nomination last week for post of the week that she hasn't come down yet! She thought she would share another photo and painting of a falls that she and her family have visited on a number of occasions. The falls is some 120 miles south of where Redbush lives. Each time that they visited, of course, she took pictures for memories, and mostly for references to be used in her artworks. Redbush is always in awe of the gorgeous water and how different the falls look in the various ways that the sun reflects on it at the number of times that they have been there. In this photo you will notice that Redbush was lucky enough to capture a rainbow scene. She left it out in her painting as it was too much of a challenge at the time. Depending on the year, the falls have a fuller, or lesser amount of water pouring over. She has painted this falls three times for different shows, and as commissions for people. This time, with the painting she is showing you, she was inspired to paint a 24"x36" of the falls on a thicker canvas, painting over the edges so that the picture had its own frame. It was an artwork done for her brother and his wife as a Christmas gift as a thanks to them because her hubby stayed at their place during his treatments. She really had to cram as she had other paintings on the go at the same time. What a fool!

Redbush would, however, like to share a darker side to the falls (if the falls could talk) story. Years ago, a man drove his pickup down the river as far as the rock that juts

out into the river you see on the right side of the picture. He decided to get out of

his pickup to get a better view of the rushing water.

The rock, however, was slippery! You guessed it. He went in and was never seen again. A week later the "Fish And Wildlife Department" shot a bear and threw it into the falls to see if the bear would surface, but, it never did either. Redbush hasn't really looked at her favourite water scene the same since, but, she can't blame nature for humans' stupidity. She hopes you enjoy her photo and art piece and that you are having a happy and healthy beginning to the month of March!

Gorgeous Sunshine

2010-02-23T12:21:00.000-08:00

Redbush has been outdoors enjoying the beautiful sun lately, so has been ignoring the computer, and hasn't been doing a lot of blogging. (hasn't been watching any Olympics at all -curling, hockey, curling. downhill, curling, biathalon, curling) Ha! She hopes the sun will last as they have been experiencing a lot of sunshine, and Bonzi has been enjoying his outings on the trails out back. It's feeling more and more like spring although Redbush knows there's a lot of winter that can happen yet. She hopes that spring will come early, and the days will keep staying balmy! Redbush will leave you with a spring photo and painting she did of a spot from the lease. She hopes everyone is having a great week!

Cool Cattails

2010-02-16T13:13:00.000-08:00

Redbush and family headed out back with Bonzi to get a bit of exercise to this frozen beaver dam. She took a few snapshots of some wildlife tracks and cattails growing there. She has tried to collect some cattails in the past to dry them for decorations, but, hasn't been successful. She likes to collect them in the fall before they start to break apart. She hopes everyone had a great Valentines Day, and a great weekend!

Moose Muisance Musings!

2010-02-09T11:21:00.000-08:00

Redbush and neighbours in her subdivision have been experiencing moose visitations as of late. Quite some time ago the moose were using Redbush's pickup for a salt lick and were hanging around until Redbush washed her truck. She thought they had disappeared until they showed up later to do the same thing when her pickup got salt on it again. This winter, the neighbours have been having loads of problems with the moose inviting their friends to join them using all the favourite fruit trees as their brunch food. Dogs, and bear-bangers don't seem to faze them when they're in the yards. This morning when Redush talked to some of her neighbours, she had reports of a moose bedding down close to their back deck. Apparently this is an ongoing occasion . When the neighbour tried to scare it away using articles like pots and pans , or blocks of wood , banging them together, it just got up only to chew on the trees again, and amble on its way again when it was full. The one neighbour tells of a cow moose and her calves in her back yard chewing on their trees and plants. Behind this family was her supposed moose calf from a few years back who decided that it was still not time to leave mama's apron strings. Mama taught him a lesson by beating him with her front hoofs. This same neighbour thought it was her husband putting hand prints on her windows when he was shovelling snow. She later found out that they were moose nose prints! When Redbush and Mr. Redbush came back the other evening from quadding out back on their snowy trails, a moose had just left their yard only to stand off watching as they went by. It was lucky they had Bonzi on the quad, and not running. It worries Redbush when she takes Bonze for a walk on the dog trails, especially when it's dark because one of the moose has seemingly stomped a dog to death about a month ago on the road into the subdivision. She knows that a flashlight won't fend him off in this case! The neighbours have phoned the "Fish and Wildlife Department" to complain and to see if they could get any help to rid them from the neighbourhood, but, the department has been ignoring their calls. Redbush's neighbour took these pictures of the moose outside her window eating her clematis plants. She had to yell at it to get away for some time before it left. Here are the pictures that she sent me to reveal to all of you to see. If you look closely at the last picture, you can see the holes above the mooses's eyes showing you where he has just lost his antlers. Redbush hopes everyone has a safe but eventful week!

Fat Birds

2010-02-01T09:13:00.000-08:00

Redbush feeds her birds striped sunflower seeds, and bird fat balls. The chickadees, nuthatches, blue jays, grosbeaks, and woodpeckers just love the fat balls. Her problem is that she has ravens, and magpies that come in and steal the fat balls when she or Mr. Redbush aren't around. Bonzi gives chase to the "Dirty Birdies," as they are known to him, when he sees them trying to steal them. When Rebush tried to put up a protective covering like a meshed onion sack, she found a chickadee caught up in it that perished, so she doesn't want to do that anymore. She wonders what kind of a cage she can devise so that her smaller birds can enjoy the balls, and that the large ones won't steal. She would like some suggestions from her intelligent, inventive, creative bloggers. She hopes everyone has a great week!

Out Of His Element!

2010-01-26T12:05:00.000-08:00

Bonze spent the last two months of 2009 (off and on) in the big city, in between travelling back home to check on their place again. Redbush's brother and sister-in-law spoiled him royally, letting him wander the house at will, and finding him occasionally curled up on one of the beds when he thought noone would notice, or catch him. This photo was taken at Christmas when their place had four dogs wandering in the house, and asking in and out their patio door to chase each other in the backyard and romp in the snow. Being as Bonzi really isn't a city boy, he is seen here out of his element posing with the others for a photo while they wait to let their feet dry off on the blue jean quilt I made Bonzi. He became quite good buds with all of them, but, especially the labradoodle.

Missed You!

2010-01-22T12:53:00.000-08:00

Redbush has missed everyone since her computer crashed! She has had a number of family issues to deal with including losing her brother-in-law to cancer. It was a terrible shock to her sister's family and to Redbush as it happened in such a short span of time. She and her family remembers the good times they had this past summer camping and fishing with him. On top of this, Redbush has been dealing with other family members' health problems. She hopes that 2010 will bring her a lot of good news even though she realizes that in her situation things could always have been worse. She hopes that this blog sees everyone in good health and happiness in their families. On a brighter note Redbush is adopting a dog to replace (nothing ever will) Bonzerelli. He will be Redbush's third wire-fox. She is going to be able to pick him up at the end of March. Bonzi has really been out of sorts and lonely since Bonzerelli left his life. She now has the job of deciding on an appropriate name for him. One name sounds right one day, and other names have a better ring to them the next. Any ideas? Redbush will leave you with a photo of a piece that she worked on for her last art show. Happy 2010 to everyone, and hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Our Buddy

2009-09-18T20:48:00.000-07:00

Redbush's summer has been a busy one. She and her hubby started out cleaning up her parents' estate land which took a piece out of July. It seemed that July flew by. Meeting with sisters and brothers was great. Redbush found that with estate business, including selling of land, moving machinery, etc., August came to fast, and by mid- August, she wondered where all the time had gone. Redbush and family have had a tough end to the summer. They had to put their little buddy Bonzerelli down on August 12th due to him starting to experience liver failure and some tumors. It was the toughest thing they have had to do, but, they knew that they couldn't put him through a lot of suffering and pain. Their house is like an empty tunnel without him, and Bonzi who comes in on the mat is still not himself as he continues to still look for him at times. At the same time Redbush's family has been handed a health problem that her family wasn't expecting. But, the doctor says with treatments, Mr. Redbush should be fine, so, that's good news. Her sister's husband has been as of a few days ago, however, diagnosed with a very serious diagnosis, so, Redbush knows that the beginning of fall is going to be a tough one because she's not good with knowing how to handle these types of traumatic situations. She has really been dragging her heels on blogging because all her time and emotions has been taken in knowing how to deal with these last two situations lately. She hopes all of you have had a much happier, and healthier summer. She will try to have a much more cheerful blog the next time. She will leave you with a photo of Bonzi and Bonzerelli.

Blogland-Break

2009-07-06T08:53:00.000-07:00

Redbush is heading to a reunion for a week, or two, so will be taking a break from blogland. She hates missing out on all the hot topics, and the great blogs that she has been reading. She hopes you all have a wonderful July, and she'll be back either at the end of July, or in August sometime. She's wishing you all a wonderful summer! She will leave you with a photo from her wagon that she wishes to do a painting of in the near future.

Blue-Ribbon Bonzi!

2009-07-02T09:53:00.000-07:00

Redbush entered Bonzi in a Rally Obedience competition on the weekend. Their team won three blue ribbons. One of the trials gave Bonzi a second out of 8 dogs. Bonzi now has moved up to the next level, and has won a leg(one out of three) in the advanced level. It made Redbush proud of how well Bonzi worked even though she was a nervous wreck and of course he could feel it. She is taking him to a seminar this weekend, and is hoping the judge will have some suggestions for her on things that she is trying to work on with him as well as how to get Redbush to relax more for these trials! She has posted a picture of him reluctantly holding his prizes. She hopes you have a great weekend!

New Perennials

2009-06-25T09:16:00.000-07:00

Redbush picked out some new perennials at her local nurseries to be planted in her flowerbeds. After planting them, she couldn't tell what the names of some of the plants were. She will share a few pictures of some that she thinks she knows the names of. The first picture is "lamium" -supposedly a deer-proof plant, and the next pictures are "bitterroot." Bitterroot is apparently the official state flower of Montana, and it is illegal to did plants from the wild there. She only found this out after she researched the plant. It apparently goes dormant after flowering, and will totally disappear from the garden, so she will have to mark their spot so they don't get weeded out! It is considered a collector's plant. Redbush didn't plant these for any of the above reasons. She only planted them because they are supposed to be shorter plants, are good ground covers and have nice blooms. She hopes that she has luck with them coming up every year. Redbush and Bonzi are off to another obedience competition this weekend. Wish them luck! She won't be back until next week. She hopes you have a great weekend!

Antiques Restored

2009-06-22T13:43:00.000-07:00

Redbush had the community museum view and rescue some of the antiques to be represented in memory of her parents and grandparents. The following buggy and democrat were built in the late 1800's. She is posting before and after pictures of both items. She hopes you enjoy the changes and are having a great Monday!

Good Advice!

2009-06-19T10:12:00.000-07:00

Redbush posted photos of her frozen tomato plants on her last blog. Look what good advice from her blogger friends did for Redbush's frozen tomato plants!

Precious Plants

2009-06-15T10:38:00.000-07:00

As Redbush is a plant fanatic, she will share some photos of plants that she believes she has saved from frost damage, and some that don't look like they're going to make it. As she said in a previous blog, she has been getting up at ungodly hours in the middle of the night to water them so the frost wouldn't damage them. Most of her hundreds of plants seem to have survived, however some tomato plants, some dahlias and marigolds didn't do so well. Do you think she should let those tomatoes grow, and that they may still do something, or should she just count them amongst the other dead plants? What's your opinion?

Weather-Water Watch Woes

2009-06-09T11:35:00.000-07:00

Redbush apologizes once more for not being in the blogworld in the past few days! She has been experiencing weather woes, and water woes. She has had her bedding plants out now for some three weeks, or so, and it seems ever since then, she has been experiencing freezing temperatures. To save her bedding plants, (some $500. worth) she has been getting up to water the plants around 3:00 a.m. (yawn,yawn) Bonzi gives her the, "Are you nuts, or do you just have your times mixed up? It's bedtime yet?'-look. She has had to do this regularly for the past 7 days, and has managed to save most of her plants, but, have lost some of her cucumber, tomato, and marigold plants. Damn weather! Summer will be over before we know it! Redbush and family have also been experiencing well water problems. The company came to put in a pressure tank to see if that might save them from having to drill another well. The tanks worked well until this morning. Redbush just happened to be downstairs in the vicinity of where the tank is located when she thought she heard loud water rushing. She ambled into the laundry room where the tank is located and saw water gushing everywhere from one of the connections which had burst! The tank holds 180 gallons of water. She raced out the basement garage door screaming Mr. Redbush's name. He came running from way out on the acreage as he was watering the garden, yelling at her to turn off the well. Needless to say, Redbush had to do a lot of soaking up water with towels while Mr. Redbush ran out to get the sump pump to hook it up so that it would pump outside, not all over the downstairs rug. A man from the water-well company came back to fix the connections, and am sure was happy that Redbush had caught it before 180 gallons soaked the entire downstairs area! She hopes that the saying, "Things happen in threes" is true because she lost her watch somewhere in town on Friday. She knows where she lost it, but the manager won't be there until Wed. and it may be locked up in her office. It will all depend on whether the janitor was honest enough to turn it in. Redbush hasn't had much luck lately, so, isn't holding her breath. She knew she should have gotten that clasp fixed! She knows things could be worse, but, hopes this is the end of her bad luck! She hopes you are all having better luck than she is. Have a great day!

Bonzi's Bathing Blues

2009-06-03T14:19:00.000-07:00

Bonzi loves his baths. In the summer, Redbush takes him out on her lawn, and uses numerous pails of water to bathe him while he enjoys being lathered with soap, then scrubbed, in between intervals of soaking Redbush whenever he can sneak in a huge shake. She will video this summer bathing episode when she gets a chance. Redbush has another video of Bonzi's bath at the local "Suds and Tubs" last winter. He usually sings in this case. We're not sure whether he enjoys it, or whether he's hating the metal under his feet, or just because he's getting sprayed in choice areas. Hope you can see and enjoy the video! Have a great rest of the week!

Well?-Robins' New Home

2009-06-01T10:45:00.000-07:00

In the past week, Redbush has been busy preparing her yard for Mr. Redbush's birthday party on the weekend. She had to do the much needed trimming, grass cutting, and weeding. On Friday when she thought she had the major part of the preparing done, her water well ceased to produce water. Her dilemma now was, should she cancel the party, or carry on letting everyone use the bathroom in her holiday trailer, or the bush behind her acreage! The water well people said that they couldn't come to have a look at things until the morning of the party. After being told that it definitely wasn't the pump, the scenario about having to drill another well devastated Redbush and Mr. Redbush. They had just gotten done getting a huge bill for the siding being redone on their house. It wasn't going to be a very cheerful birthday party on the Redbushs' family's behalf. Upon checking more closely the well man told the Redbushs that they only needed a new pressure switch. Wheeeeeeew! What a relief! Hopefully the bill for repairing the switch will be minimal compared to a new well! Redbush and Mr. Redbush wouldn't smell afterall! The party went on as planned, and although the winds were in gail-force, she believes everyone had a good time eating a meal Redbush had prepared,drinking their favorite beverage (beer), and playing hillbilly golf. On a different subject, two weeks or so ago, Redbush noticed that eggs had been scattered on the ground from a robin's nest near one of her spruce trees. A week later, she noticed that probably the same robins started constructing a nest under the eve of her shed. Redbush has a tomato hotbed on the ground below, and lately the robins have become very upset at her when she attempts to water her hotbed. Today it seems Ms. Robin has become used to Redbush and Bonzi wandering around beneath her nest and has stayed put sitting on, and guarding her eggs. Redbush is apologizing for not dropping by on the blog world in the past while. She has posted a few pictures of the robins' family's new home. She hopes everyone has a great weather week!

Washtubs With Memories

2009-05-25T10:04:00.000-07:00

Redbush has finally been able to plant her bedding plants which have been carried in and out of the garage for the past two weeks. It has now become warm enough to plant them even though the ground is still cool. The weather has been scaring Redbush since she put them out because the temperatures have been at 0 degrees for the past three mornings. This a.m. at 4:30, Redbush looked at the thermometer and panicked because it was at 0 degrees, so she went out and watered all her plants that she planted. Not a creature was stirring, but, Bonzi! The washtubs that she has posted pictures of are tubs that she used to bathe in when she was a child. Oh, drat, she is dating herself! She remembers bathing, then when done, huddling around the wood stove to keep warm, and dry off with towels. Now she has put the tubs to another use, but, the memories linger. She hopes you have a wonderful sunny Monday!

Snow Haven

2009-05-20T09:45:00.000-07:00

Although Redbush hasn't appreciated the cool weather in the past few days, she can't say the same for Bonzi. He, on the other hand was quite happy to snorkel in the snow, roll in it, eat snow,and catch all the shovelfuls he could while Mr. Redbush shoveled off the steps, and deck. Redbush is happy that today is much warmer at a temperature of + 13, but, she knows Bonzi will miss it! Here are a few pictures of Bonzi basking in the sun after a few hundred ball throws.

Pretty Thripin' Petunias!

2009-05-18T12:25:00.000-07:00

Redbush wonders if this cold weather is ever going to end. Today's temperatures even make her bulbs shutter! This a.m., it was -3 degrees. She longs for the day when she can put out her bedding plants that she keeps putting back in the garage at night, then again putting them out in the morning. Oh, yes, they have already become hardened to the weather, she is sure! This year for the first time, she didn't buy one of her favorite flowers to plant, - petunias. Everyone that she talks to has this flower as one of their staples in their pots with gorgeous blooms that reach for a width of about three feet in diameter. One of her best friends, a rancher's wife always makes her jealous with her beautiful petunia pots that last from early summer to late in the fall. When Redbush tries to grow them, they last for the first few weeks, then the blooms start to droop and other buds won't bloom, just shrivel up and die. A terrible bug called thrips have attacked her petunias for the past five years, or so, thus she has decided to stop growing this flower. (Sniff, cry, sniff!) The bugs go into the flower of the plant, and suck all the nectar out. Then, what you're left with is a drooping bloom, brown undergrowth and leaves, and a slimy film on all the buds, and flowers which then end up dying. She has tried every control substance-chemical possible that has been recommended by gardening places, and gardening friends. She has even tried to make a concoction of cigarette butts and about 12 other interesting ingredients that she had a friend who majored in biology gave her a recipe for. That didn't kill them either, but the stench just about killed Redbush, so she gave up that idea! These tiny black bugs which are about the size of an aphid are also hard to get rid of because they fly. She hopes you don't have these bugs in your area. She is going to miss trying to grow them again this year, but, she won't miss the heartache when she tries to save the plants to no avail again! She hopes you have a wonderful Monday, and a relaxing Victoria Day!

Holy Hell, It's Hailing!

2009-05-15T12:03:00.000-07:00

Redbush arrived home from checking out the estate land. She had just bought more plants to be put in when the weather got warmer. The temperatures are still around + 4 degrees! She hadn't been home very long when she looked out and saw the hail coming down in torrents! She should have gotten pictures of it, but, neglected to do so. Luckily she had put her plants in the garage. The hail wasn't very big, but, it probably would have done some damage. She still hasn't planted her garden, and won't be able to until it dries some so that it can be rotivated. The good thing about the hail is when it melted this morning, it gave us more water collected for our plants. She hopes you all have a sunny weekend.

You're Fired!

2009-05-12T10:00:00.001-07:00

Redbush hasn't been blogging too much lately as she has spent the last week weeding and preparing the gardens for planting, then complaining about her aching body after. Yesterday, Redbush and Mr. Redbush spent the day digging up wicked weeds in the garden, namely quack grass. If you don't have this weed, consider yourself lucky. They have roots some 2 feet long and longer! As you dig, if you break any of the root off, or, even if you leave some of the root hairs, these weeds relish, and celebrate as they produce thousands of more plants. Redbush knows if you don't dig them up, that the rotivator will only spread the damage across the planting area. As Redbush and Mr. Redbush dug and pulled these dreaded plants, they wished that they could harness some of Bonzi's energy, changing it from squirrel chasing, and snooping for varmints to weed-digging! After his prolific squirrel-chasing episodes, he leads a life of relaxation, so, Redbush fired him! But, she knows that his come-back would be, " Well you've banned me from the garden, don't you remember, the last time I made crazy round and around trips in the fresh dirt, racing a hundred miles an hour." With the change in today's temperatures, he is now lounging on the mat in the house, resting from yesterday's activities. Ah, the life of riley! Redbush is wishing she had some of his agile muscles as she feels her aching back today! She has posted some pictures of Bonzi yesterday, and the change in weather today from yesterday's +20 temperatures to -0 degees today. Oh, she's so glad she didn't buy any bedding plants yet! She hopes you are all basking in the sun in your world!

That's Progress!

2009-05-06T20:53:00.000-07:00

Redbush and family decided to take a drive out south where they have camped in the past to see if they could find any birch wood for their fireplace in the winter. When they saw where they used to camp, they were a little devastated. It didn't look at all like it did before. Redbush found that the area had been logged out, and could find no trace of her favorite camping spot. Redbush and family have to see if they can find other places to camp in the wild, but, it is becoming less and less scarce. On their way back, they stopped at the river for a picnic with Bonzi and Bonzerelli. They had a good snooping time! She hopes you have a wonderful day!

Winning Second Thrice; Perennials

2009-05-04T10:21:00.000-07:00

It's a beautiful spring day in Redbush's world. Except for a bitterly cool wind, the weather would be perfect. Last week Redbush went to a gala for her artwork entry, and won second for the third year in a row. She wishes it could have been first this time, but knows that second is definitely a good win! She is going to attempt to post a picture again of the painting, as she lost the last one someplace in her photo file! Yesterday, she buried some water hoses in her flower beds, and today has to try to finish the process along with cleaning all the leaves off her perennial beds. The neighbors have some huge Russian poplars located close to her acreage fence. She is sure none of the leaves, or branches end up in their yard because Redbush's yard is full of them. She has now spent three days raking and hauling leaves away to the compost. Another day won't make much difference. Good exercise, but, oh, her aching back! Redbush has been looking at perennial books to see what plants might be a good addition to her beds. She has been considering the following plants:

pinks, bitterroot, rockcress, saxifrage, sea thrift, stonecrop, phlox( garden, and Douglas) tickseed, campion, yarrow, and verbena. If any of you have any special knowledge of any of these plants, or hints, please feel free to help Redbush out. She hopes you have a wonderful sunny day!

Contest Jitters

2009-04-29T11:03:00.000-07:00

The weather in Redbush's world is a gorgeous, sunny, spring day. She hopes everything else today will follow suit with that! Redbush is heading into a gala tonight, the contest in which her artwork was entered. She was given a phone call that she was one of the finalists again this year, and was asked if she would attend. In the past few years she has won second place, so this year she has her fingers crossed, and she's going for the win, of course! A little greedy, she knows, but, she can't help but wish for it! She has posted the painting again that she posted on one of her other blogs. Oops! She has found that the painting disappeared into blogland somewhere and is no longer in her picture file, but she will take another one at the gala! She wishes she was a computer geek! Redbush hopes the rest of her day doesn't go like this! She hopes all of you are enjoying a beautiful spring day!

Transplanting Tulips

2009-04-27T10:56:00.000-07:00

The weather in Redbush's world continues to be in the miserable department. I'ts been snowing now for the past three days, and is becoming a depressing scenario. She promises not to bring this up a lot in the future because she's sure you are all sick of hearing the same rant over and over!

Redbush wonders if you have any tips for her in transplanting a tulip pot that has quit blooming. She wants to put it out in her perennial bed, and wonders if there is anything special that she should do with it before she transplants it. She knows that the best time to plant the bulbs is in the fall, but, this happens to be spring, and she wanted to save them. She had shown you a picture a week, or two ago that showed them blooming. Right now the ground is frozen, so, she knows she won't be able to put them in the ground for probably weeks yet. She is afraid to clean the perennial beds from all the dead growth because she is afraid that the bulbs that are peaking through will freeze back and die. She hopes she hasn't bored you too much with this. Thanks in advance for your expert opinions. She has posted pictures of what some of her trees looked like in the past few days, and a photo of her tulip pot.

Global Warming- Not Today!

2009-04-23T09:36:00.000-07:00

The birds in Redbush's world must wonder why they migrated back so soon! It's gone from +21 degrees in the last few days to -1 yesterday, and +3 today. The sun is shining, though, so maybe the birds have some hope. Redbush really wanted to do some cleaning up of her many flower beds, and pots, but, will have to wait until it warms up a bit. She will have to resort to doing her dreaded house cleaning instead. Jeeeesh! She has noticed a lot of juncos on her feeders this a.m., so, they must enjoy the weather, or are just hardy birds. She will share a few pictures of what it looked like yesterday evening in her yard. She hopes you have an enjoyable sunny, warm, toasty day with flowers blooming your area!

Hardships Endured

2009-04-21T11:17:00.000-07:00

Redbush wishes to share a part of her heritage with you. She is the youngest of a large family. Her father helped his father who was a gardener for a baron's palace in Russia. At a young age of 17, he escaped from Russia before the revolution in 1917. Redbush knows that it sounds like she's a dinosaur, but, she really isn't thaaaaat old. Her father was nearly 17 years older than her mother who was married at the age of 15. Her father had heard about the golden opportunities in Canada, so, leaving his family of 10 behind never to see most of his family again. He and a few friends left to make their fortune in the land of milk and honey.

Crossing over overseas on a ship, he contacted smallpox. Overcoming this serious disease, he landed in Eastern Canada where a gang of industrialists forced him and other immigrants to work in a forest up north. Here, his designated job was to set up dynamite under rocks. They had to grease their faces with motor grease to keep thick hordes of black flies from attacking their faces. Exhausted they would then try to sleep in quarters infested with lice and cockroaches. Redbush's father would have to take his clothes regularly to the river, build a fire, and boil them to try to kill the nasty insects. One night after realizing that these conditions were much worse than where he came from, the boys ran away one night, catching a train to central Canada. Her father soon found work on the railroad. After this, he hauled groceries to camps in western Canada with his sleigh piled high with flour, salt pork, and other camp needs crossing major rivers with his hard-working mules. He continued this job until on one of his last trips, his load broke through the ice losing everything except the mules, sleigh and himself. Having no more nerve for this job, he then walked 500 miles, stopping at trappers cabins and camps along the way for food and rest. He headed for the big city where he bought some machinery, horses, and two sleighs. He worked He and companions that he knew then filed homesteads quite close together. They made several grueling 300 mile trips one-way back to the big city that winter hauling machinery, groceries, and even a case of whiskey. The three of them lived in a companions small shack until he started selling their groceries to the Indians.

Redbush's father and a friend filed homesteads close together. He then walked back to the big city with his friend to buy a Percheron mare and a draywagon to haul all their needs back. They forded creeks until they came to a large river where an Indian helped them cross. The horse was too afraid to cross, so they coaxed her into the canoe with some oats. (Remember, a Percheron is a huge work horse.) She stood so quietly that it surprised them at how well she behaved while the old Indian paddled them across. They encountered muskeg where they had to lead the horse, and push the wagon wheels by hand to get it across.

After this, when they arrived, Redbush's father built his house on the homestead out of jackpine logs, and a roof covered with sod. He cleared some land by hand with an axe, and seeded a field of oats. He and his friends threshed the crop with flailing sticks. He then built a barn with double walls filled with straw along with a roof of rails and straw. Her father had to get his mail six miles away from his homestead. One Sunday he ventured out on his trek to get the mail only to discover that there was no mail given out on Sundays.

When Redbush reflects on all the hardships her father endured, she wishes she would have listened to more of his stories as a child. She knows that a lot of us would have a hard time not giving up in a lot of the situations that they were in, but realizes that they had no choice. Redbush knows that today, there are a lot of difficulties that challenge us, and many times we tend to give up too easily instead of trying to solve them, or endure them. She hopes she didn't bore you too badly and that you all have a wonderful day!

More Spring Art References

2009-04-17T10:03:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a very beautiful spring day in Redbush's world, so, she decided to go out to the lease and get more camera shots for potential use in her artworks. The weather was calm, and the temperatures were such that she hardly needed a coat. She also saw a whole group of trumpeter swans, 15 in fact, fly over her house, but couldn't capture the picture in time. Bonzi and Bonzerelli enjoyed the outing on the lease as they always do. Here are a few shots of the spring thaw on the lease. Today is a much cooler day, with no sun, so she's glad she got the pictures yesterday. She hopes you enjoy them. She wishes you an enjoyable spring weekend!

Tulips And Bunnies!

2009-04-14T09:47:00.000-07:00

Redbush had a busy Easter weekend even though she was chasing a cold. She entered Bonzi in a Caro obedience competition. At first she thought the competition was only on Sat. , but realized that it was on Easter Sunday as well. Bonzi showed his best side, winning a first, and a second, and a High In Trial. Redbush and Bonzi were doing the WAHOOOO together with Bonzi doing his usual, "I'll jump up and you catch me,"-( all 86 pounds of him) routine, wagging his tail wildly. When he hears that word, he knows the exercise is done, and he's been a good boy and he can act foolish. Now he has a few more ribbons to sport. Redbush decided to support the local Parkinson's Association and thought the tulips were pretty, so, bought a pot. After all, she can plant them in her perennial garden when they are done blooming. In their appreciation for all the attention she gives them, Bonzi and Bonzerelli shopped for a card for Redbush, but must have been mostly attracted to the front cover,although she knows they do have a sense of humor! After all, what dogs wouldn't be attracted to two cute bunnies?! They must not have read the inside of the card, but, Redbush is still hooting about that. She knows that it was the thought that counted. The card reads:

Cute-

Cuddly,

And H--n-y

You're my kinda love-bunny!

Lots Of Love,

Bonzerelli and Bonzi.

She hopes everyone had a wonderful Easter weekend!

My Perspective

2009-04-09T11:23:00.000-07:00

Creating artworks is a little like viewing people and their personalities. Redbush has been around many different people of whom are not necessarily alike, just as her artworks have different mediums, and perspectives. She chooses to draw on certain aspects of a photograph to create what details she feels are pleasing to her and leave out those that are not, just as she can choose to welcome people who make her feel good about herself. and ignore those who don't. If a photograph is almost without color, she can choose to decide on what colors she feels would bring out the details in her artwork, to show a different perspective of the photo. Just as with certain people who may want to fade into the background, she finds certain attributes in them that are special. She is constantly searching her photos to find a new perspective of how she can portray the colors, light, ruggedness, calmness, and reflections to give her artworks personality. Redbush is still fighting the flu and chest cold, but, is sure that it will be gone soon. The following is a photograph and a painting of a special place on the lease that she and her family visits often. She hopes this finds you healthy and happy, and that you have a Happy Easter! Do you have a perspective on life? What is your perspective?

Feeling Yukky!

2009-04-07T10:18:00.000-07:00

Along with the great signs of spring, Redbush knows that the flu bugs are in the air. The last few days, she has felt the brunt of them. Although she has always taken her vitamins morning and night, she hasn't been able to fend off the common cold, and feeling achy all over. She always takes extra vitamin c when she feels a cold coming on, but, this time she caught it anyway. She hasn't been feeling this way for too long to remember. She is hoping that it will only last a few days so she has enough energy to do something productive. She enjoyed watching the geese coming back to her area, the warm sun beating down and hopes that these are some of the spring signs that are here to stay. She hopes everyone is having great weather where they are at with no flu bugs latching on to them.

Proud Moments

2009-04-02T10:16:00.000-07:00

Yeaaaaah! We're back and it's like spring out there with Bonzi soaking up the sun lying on his straw pillow on the deck. Redbush and Bonzi have been at an obedience competition, so have been gone part of last week and this. She is very proud of her shepherd and how he did. He scored quite highly on two of the days, so he almost finished all of his legs in rally novice. On the third day, he scored high, but his mistress got him non-qualified because through her nervousness, she did a couple of the stations incorrectly, embarrassing herself and of course Mr. Redbush, who wanted to hide under the chair by ringside. Redbush is sure that Bonzi was probably embarrassed, and disappointed because he knew his stuff. So, on to the competition at the end of June to get him his last leg, and to hopefully go on to advanced as long as Redbush can keep herself calm and collected!

Before Redbush left for the competition, she worked up to t

he last minute to get her painting done for the contest, so, she will share the photo again, and some steps in starting her painting, along with the finished product that she entered. She will also share a picture of Bonzi and Bonzerelli being spoiled in the hotel room that she stayed at. She wasn't going to let Bonzi up on the bed, as he isn't allowed any further than the mat at the back door when he comes in to relax at her house. She decided that seeing as they were clean and bathed that she would spoil them, and especially Bonzi seeing as he did so well. Redbush hopes you enjoy the pictures!

March's Lion

2009-03-25T07:35:00.000-07:00

March's lion has hit with avengence in Redbush's world! The wind is whipping the snow around across the deck and off the roof, up to 60 K. Bonzi stuck his nose out of the garage this morning, bracing himself before going out. It didn't take either Bonzi, or Bonzerelli long to decide why they were out there, then back in where it was warm. The school buses were called off because of blizzard conditions. It's a good day for Redbush to stay inside and work on her artwork. She is avoiding the much needed house-cleaning! The weather is supposed to get better later this afternoon. Here's hoping! Redbush has decided that the only thing that will cure the winter blues is making her favorite chili recipe. She will share it with you. She hopes your weather is much better than hers.

Chili Macaroni

1 pound ground beef (or, Redbush uses moose meat)

2 medium onions, chopped (about 1 cup)

1 can of pork and beans ( 15 1/2 ounces)

1 can of kidney beans ( 15 1/2 ounces)

1 can of Italian tomatoes ( 28 ounces) with herbs,or stewed tomatoes

1 can of tomato soup

1 chopped green pepper (optional)

1 cup uncooked elbow macaroni

2 to 4 tsps chili powder

1 tsp salt

1/8 tsp cayenne red pepper (optional)

1/8 tsp paprika

Brown beef and onions. Stir in remaining ingredients. Simmer until macaroni is tender (20-30 minutes). 6 servings

Sunshine-Yeah!

2009-03-23T10:42:00.000-07:00

Redbush is ecstatic to feel the warmth of the sun today! Yeah! It's beginning to feel a lot more like spring now. Even Bonzi loves lying on the straw-filled burlap pillow outside the door now, not wanting to come inside when it is like this. She has procrastinated doing a lot of errands because it has been either cold, snowing, or just plain blah! Since last week, she has been working on a piece of artwork which needs to be completed by the end of this week. If she gets it done, she will load it onto her blog. This morning when she got up, she noticed the red ball of the sun through her dining room window. By the time she photographed it, a lot of the ball had disappeared. It's a photo taken from her place where she heads out onto the lease. Redbush is wishing you all a sunny day.

Spring's First Day-Or Noooot?

2009-03-20T09:32:00.000-07:00

Today is supposed to be the first day of spring in Redbush's world- March 21st. But she is having a hard time spotting anything even remotely representing that first day. At the moment March seems to be indicating that it will head out like a lion. Snow is still falling. The temperature is -2 degrees (she knows it could be worse). The trees are still frost and snow-laden. Bonzi's water dish is still frozen solid in the morning and has to be replaced. Redbush is aching for some of the usual signs that spring is here:

- Crocuses peaking through the ground

- A snipe, or kildeer doing his usual roadrunner run along the water runs

of the driveway.

- Pussywillows forming on the willow trees.

- Water runs trickling out from the ice under the snow thaws on the lease.

- Green grass pushing through the frosty lawn.

- Buds forming on her poplar and mountain ash trees.

- Seeing hundreds of Canada geese in their v-formation migrating back and hearing their honking voices.

Snow Hoppin'

2009-03-18T09:45:00.000-07:00

When Redbush went skiing on the lease yesterday, Bonzi came with her as he always does. In the last week there has been quite a lot more snow fall. She has had to remake her trail and try to guess where the old one was, so it was a slow trip for Redbush. Bonzi, on the other hand, wasn't phased by the deep snow, in fact enjoyed it as much if not more. He did his usual sniffing of rabbit tracks, marking his territory after sniffing where the last coyote had been on the trail. He would go galloping through the bush after the occasional squirrel, then would come leaping through the bush even harder to catch up after realizing that Redbush had gotten a lead on him. After digging through the snow,during rest times, he would stop to get Redbush to throw a stick that he had left there last time. The video shows how deep the snow really was. We're not far from the first day of spring now, but it's going to be a while before the snow disappears. How is the snow in your part of the world, or do you have any?

2009-03-15T15:48:00.000-07:00

Rugged Wilderness

2009-03-15T13:13:00.000-07:00

As promised, Redbush is posting a few of her artworks that she is donating for the banquet when the governor general arrives. A lot of her artworks consist of subjects taken as photos from an area that she used to spend a lot of time camping at in the summer. The gold trees, tamaracks, seen in the picture are some Redbush's favourites. They are the only evergreens that she knows of that change colour in the fall, and lose their needles. She would camp for a month in this area taking photos of landscapes and wild animals that she saw. This area is known as the Wild Kakwa, and is a long grueling trip by truck and camper in the summer when the road is in one of its better conditions. Even in its best condition, the road has many potholes, is gravel, and when muddy can be a nightmare with a truck and camper trailer. For the past recent years, Redbush and her hubby haven't ventured out to camp there because the roads have been almost impassable even with a pick-up and have been told that the gravel is almost nil in spots with holes big enough to lose your truck in. Redbush has collected many photos of the area and hopes to be able to venture out there someday again. She is especially attracted to the area because of its ruggedness and remoteness. She is presently sketching one of the photos, that she has left you with here, which is going to become her next work of art on display next month in a contest that she is entering in a gallery in town. She hopes that you had a great weekend with fabulous weather! Ours is going to pot as I write this with wind and blowing snow!

Frikkkkkkkin' Freeeeeeezn'

2009-03-11T10:28:00.000-07:00

Redbush has decided that going out in the cold these days is becoming less and less inviting. So, she has decided to stoke up the fire and enjoy it's warmth. Today was still a freezing day in Redbush's world, so cold, that Bonzi wanted to head into the house before he did his business. Bonzerelli, no doubt, wasn't long in deciding what he was out there for, and in the house he came, shivering and shaking. Bonzi headed for the house, then back out in the yard, then back to the house, then like a streak he galloped out to do his business, and came right back on the deck to do his usual scrape on the door. This time, though, it was a desperate two loud scrapes. Redbush has had the discussion before about who taught him to do that. It took only once for her hubby to teach him to push the garage door open with his paw. Now, he knows that this is something that he can use to his advantage. When he came in, he had frost on his eyebrows and muzzle. But, they say the warmer temperatures will be here tomorrow. Redbush will share a movie of a fire that they made out on the lease last week. Oh, drat! Sorry it's another bungle on her part. Here's you having to crook your neck again! She promises to figure her camera out for next time! She will also share another part of a classic poem. Hopefully it's the last time that she shares anything much to do with snow,although she doubts it. Bring on the heat wave! Guess the title and give the poet if you know it! Ha!

The frost moved up the window-pane

Against the sun's advance,

In line and pattern weaving there

Rich scenes of old romance-

Armies on the Russian snows,

Cockade, sword, and lance.

It spun a web more magical,

Each moment creeping higher,

For marble cities crowned the hills

With turret, fane and spire,

Till when it struck the flaming sash,

The Kremlin was on fire.

GEEEEEEEEEEE!

2009-03-09T15:10:00.002-07:00

Redbush is ecstatic that the Bag Lady just happened to pick her favourite letter! She is now going to attempt to narrow down 10 things that she likes that begin with the letter"G." It just so happens that she can think of quite a few, but she will try to draw out the top 10. So here are Redbush's 10 favorite things that begin with the letter "G."

1. Green trees are Redbush's favorite plants, not just because they indicate summer, but, because she uses them a lot for references in her artworks. She likes anything green, of course, except cheese and meat!

2. Gardening is Redbush's favorite spring and summer

activity especially flower gardening.

3. Geraniums, gentians, and gladioli are some of the flowers that she grows.

4. Grosbeaks, evening and pine, are at the top of the list of her

favorite birds that visit her feeder winter and summer. Redbush loves to drink her coffee in the morning watching them on the deck.

5. Garlic, ginger are spices that she uses a lot and she enjoys anything grilled, especially steak.

6. Golfing is an activity that Redbush enjoys in the summer, even though she isn't good at it.

7. Gold comes to mind, and although she doesn't have any, a little would be nice, maybe one, or two bricks.

8. Golden eagle, is a gorgeous bird that flew up in front of

Redbush when visiting one of her mom's estate properties on the river bank.

9. Generosity is an attribute that Redbush admires in her close friends.

10. Gouda is one of her favorite cheeses.

Do You Carrot?

2009-03-06T09:59:00.000-08:00

One of Redbush's regular grocery list items every week is carrots. Usually Redbush buy's 3 five-pound bags of them for her family. Now, you know all the pluses about carrots, like, beta-carotene, good for the eyesight, and probably full of vitamin c and d. Redbush and her hubby enjoy carrots raw, cooked, in stir-fry and in stews. But the main reason that Redbush buys so many is that her buddies Bonzi and Bonzerelli enjoy them too. Each morning and most evenings, Bonzi and Bonzerelli have a carrot connection. It is usually initiated by Bonzi touching either Redbush or her hubby with his nose to make them realize that they have forgotten something. So, Redbush knows that at this time we have a twenty minute span of carrot competition. I believe that it's a time for Bonzi and his buddy Bonzerelli to bond. It does Redbush' heart good to watch them crunch away in unison. Redbush usually knows when Bonzi doesn't want anymore when he drops his on the floor and Bonzerelli immediately picks it up, not to be wasted. Oh, by the way, neither one of them will eat them unless they are peeled and cut lengthwise for their appetites to enjoy. Redbush is going to attempt to load a video of the two of them crunching carrots.

Wednesday Winter Warm-ups

2009-03-04T11:24:00.000-08:00

One of Redbush's good friends called her asking if she and Bonzi would like to go out on the local cross-country ski trails for a ski. Redbush informed her that after her wrist had been cracked a few years ago that she wasn't brave enough to deal with any steep hills. We agreed to take the dog trail that only had gradual slopes and Redbush survived the trip even though her good friend is an avid skier and would much have preferred trails with much more challenge. Bonzi enjoyed himself, too, sniffing out all the new smells, and tracks, turning to check on us to see if his mistress and friend were still coming. The weather was grey and cooler than yesterday, so, Redbush had to stop occasionally to let her friend know that she had to warm her fingers even though she was wearing gloves. Poor circulation! She doesn't want to admit that maybe it comes with age. Yesterday Redbush worked a bit on a watercolour artwork, one of two, that she has to produce to donate for a banquet when the governor general visits. OOOOOOO that sounds so important! The local art society was asked to have 200 artworks for display on the tables at the governor general's banquet when he comes sometime in June. I haven't finished it yet, but thought I would show you the photo along with the unfinished 4"x6" painting. Redbush wants to appologize for her illiterate way of presenting these pieces. She will make sure to attempt to turn other ones the right way next time. I hope you're having much more sunlight than we are in your part of the world. the world.

Icing Sugar Snow Shadows

2009-03-02T11:24:00.000-08:00

Yesterday Redbush ventured out to the lease on her skis because the weather was beautiful and has turned milder. The mounds of snow and shadows mesmerized her with the colors of blues, purples, oranges, and browns. Since she takes a lot of photographs for her artworks, she tries to capture the scenery, and take advantage of the sunlight on the warmer winter days. The trees, snow shadows, twigs and grasses are used a lot in Redbush's paintings whenever she does winter scenes. The one day, when she went out on her skis, she had a terrible time coming back as on her way back, it got warmer, to a temperature that made the snow stick heavily on the skis , making it impossible to slide, so she basically had to walk with her skis with heavy snow stuck to the bottom of them. She had a dilemma because if she took them off, she would have sunk deeply with each step, or if she kept them on, it still would be a heavy load with each ski step, sticking, and almost causing her to do a headstand. Hey, now that's exercise! Bonzi, as usual, would trot ahead without a care in the world. Redbush wishes she had his energy. The snow yesterday was just right, creating beautiful shadows that in some instances resembled icing mounds on a cake. She will share some pictures of the lease and her yard and hope you enjoy them. Do you recognize the classic poem following the pictures? She has written one stanza of it. What was the title? Who was the poet?

Before I melt,

Come look at me!

This lovely icy filigree

Of a great forest

In one night

I make a wilderness

Of white:

Common Courtesy Or Common Sense?

2009-02-27T07:25:00.000-08:00

Redbush is heading into town again today to do some errands and to bear the traffic and the people. Do you ever wonder what comes into people's heads sometimes, or are they just too busy to give a sh-t? There's the driver who doesn't have more than a pinhole to get between you and the person in front of you, but, somehow manages to sandwich- squeeze his vehicle into the spot while you slam on your brakes. There's the person in the supermarket who races to get ahead of you in the line like it's the last place on earth, or, like he is going to gain at least 10 minutes in his heavy schedule. Or, the person who can see that you are looking at an item, the last one on the shelf, and takes it right from under your grab. Then we have the long lineups at a supermarket, and you're almost to the teller, and, notice that the person in front of you has one item (that's why you chose that line), but, as this person goes to put the item on the grocery belt, she waves in her friend who has two carts plumb full to push come into lineup without so much as looking at you, or " oh, I'm sorry, that was rude, I guess I should go to the end of the line. " Then you get up at some ungodly hour to go in to get your blood test to be the first one there because you know the lineups can be long if you don't get there early. You offer this person who gets there three-quarters of an hour after you do your seat , but they refuse only to butt in front of you when the door unlocks so that they can be the first one at the counter. Yesterday, Redbush waited with her pickup backed up ready to back into a spot because she could see the person was leaving and because it was a nicer wider spot for her pickup. Redbush most often backs into spots because she finds it easier to see the parking lot this way and to see people backing out of theirs. She was about to back in to the parking spot when a large expensive looking car whipped into the spot. Redbush slammed on her brakes once again. Getting out, this well-dressed older-looking b-tch looks at her, shuts the door and makes her way into the store. Redbush had to bite her lip once again. She looked at the man who backed out because he was still sitting there in shock shaking his head. Does this ever happen to you? What would you have done? Do you have similar incidents? Is it just common courtesy, or common sense? Redbush is wishing you a great weekend with lots of sunshine, nice weather, and lots of kind courteous people in your life.

Dog Psychology?

2009-02-25T12:03:00.000-08:00

Redbush is racking her brain trying to figure out what goes through either of her dogs' minds, but especially Bonzi in the last three months. Bonzi, her german shepherd, has always loved his doghouses. They have been supplied with home-made straw burlap pillows to keep him warm in the winter. He has always used them as a refuge as well, to give him a rest from chasing squirrels, or if it's just too warm out in the summer sometimes. He has a doghouse in the garage and outside the garage. He is locked in the garage at night so that he doesn't have to deal with wild animals, or crazy neighbors even though the Redbush family has their 3 acres fenced. Lately, when they go to let him out in the morning, Redbush, or her hubby notice that he doesn't seem to want anything to do with his doghouse in the garage and just lays on the rug at the top of the steps. Sometimes the temperatures are really cold, so this concerns Redbush because she doesn't want him to end up with arthritis if he is sleeping on a cold rug. Redbush used to have some small space heaters that pointed at the doghouse to help keep him warm. He has always enjoyed these in the past and felt toasty warm to the touch when Redbush ,or her hubby go to let him out in the morning. The heaters have never been a problem to him in the past, but she wonders if they made some kind of noise that scared him. Because Redbush and her family think that the heaters may have scared him in some way, they have removed them. The heaters have been removed for some time now, at least 3 months, but even when Redbush encourages him to go in to his house, he almost seems to want to hide, but will go in finally, then pushes himself out just as quickly. Redbush doesn't want to take him to a dog psychologist because she doesn't want him telling her everything, (Ha!) and she would have to pay big bucks for it! Maybe Bonzi is just playing with Redbush's mind. Redbush is wondering if any of you have any suggestions for her.

Smorgasbord For Birds

2009-02-23T12:14:00.000-08:00

Yesterday and today, Redbush has concluded that her mild weather has gone to pot. It has become much cooler with continual falling snow. She thinks that it will be a good day to stay inside, however, the deck and steps have a foot of snow on them, so, will need to be shoveled. Redbush sits drinking her morning coffee, watching a variety of birds gathering outside her diningroom window. It's unbelievable how such small bodies can flutter around without a care in the world, not freezing up in the process! She watches them and marvels at how lucky they are to be in her yard.

Grosbeaks, bluejays, nuthatches, chickadees, red polls, and finches are some of the birds that frequent her bird feeders. Every month Redbush and family buy huge bags of striped sunflower seeds to fill their five bird feeder. They also buy a large amount of fat balls to keep these birds happy throughout the winter. They really are breaking the Redbush family! She is sure that they all tell each other that the place to be is in this yard, so, be sure to spread the message in the bird world! Redbush has tried making the fat balls, but unless you know what you are doing, the birds won't touch them. Apparently if the fat is too compact, it can actually glue the birds' beaks shut. Her suppliers tell her that the birds must be ecstatic in Redbush's yard. Occasionally, Redbush tries to be creative and attempts to make appetizers for them such as "Bejewelled Apples". She hollows out an apple and fills in with small seeds, cooked rice, and rehydrated fruit.

Magpies, nuisance birds in Redbush's yard, fly in regularly trying to pack off a fat ball from the fat ball holders and have succeeded on numerous occasions. When spotted by Bonzi, he bounds off after them to warn them them that those fat balls are for his little bird friends, so, paws off, or rather beaks off, or maybe talons off! He gives chase because Redbush has taught him that they are, "dirty birdies". For all you bird lovers out there, Redbush will leave you with a recipe for treats for your birds. She has also attempted to load a few pictures of her wild bird population. Redbush wonders what kind of birds visit your yard?

Cranberry Terrine

Place a layer of rehydrated cranberries into the base of an individual oval pan. Drape

a length of string so that it will emerge from the top for hanging.

Pour over just enough white fat to secure berries into place. Leave to cool.

When cool, add more melted fat to form another layer. Cool again. Add the next layer

of berries. Secure with a little melted fat Leave to set.

Vacuum Massage

2009-02-19T15:25:00.000-08:00

Redbush and Bonzi took a trip to the obedience practice session again last night. Bonzi was a very good boy and listened well, but the yummy elk liver again probably had something to do with it. She didn't used to use treats with him, but, his response was, "Do you want me to sit today, or tomorrow? Yesterday, Redbush put off doing almost everything that was needed doing in her household. If you can't think of what needs to be done among the millions of things to do, procrastinate as usual! Around Redbush's household vacuuming is a dreaded activity at the best of times, except for one individual. Her buddy shepherd, Bonzi, scratches at the door when he hears the vacuum and persists until she lets him in. He then proceeds to watch Redbush vacuum and wags his tail every time she looks his way. Bonzerelli used to run the other direction to hide as far away as he could. Now, he simply can't believe his eyes when he watches Redbush vacuum Bonzi. Redbush is going to attempt to load the video onto her blog. It isn't a very good attempt, but, she thought she would publish it anyway. She hopes you understand that it's her first, because she definitely doesn't know what she is doing! Now here goes:

Cross-country Fitness Snoops

2009-02-17T10:12:00.000-08:00

Soooo, Redbush is finally getting a blog out! Yesterday she had a lot of nice names for our beloved power company that kept the power off at their household from 9:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. It screwed a lot of plans at Redbush's house. So, consequently, she has learned that perhaps doing things such as exercising and showering should be done a lot earlier like one person Redbush knows in blogger world whose day starts often at 4:00 a.m. Redbush used to get up at 3:55 a.m., for decades, but has gotten a lot lazier these days! After giving up waiting, Redbush decided that her blog had to wait until today. She and Bonzi decided to go out on the lease for Redbush to take out her cross-country skiis for the first time this year. Redbush knows, she's getting lazier in her old age. Actually, she is a little bit chicken, too, because the year before last she cracked her wrist, and still can feel it if she twists it wrong. It screwed up things like racquetball, and skiing for quite some time! On her way, she noticed large round tracks, that looked fairly fresh and knew that with cougars occasionally out back, as she said, she is getting a little more chicken. She doesn't want the cougars to spot 2 items for lunch, namely Redbush and her buddy shepherd. Redbush is dedicating some flower pictures( an artwork, and a photo) to all the people who read her blog, and hope that your Valentine's Day was sweet! She has also created a cheesy poem about Bonzi's and her trip to the lease! I hope it's not too cheesy for you! I know some of you don't have it as part of your calendar, but, what did you do with your family yesterday? Here goes: Cross-country Explorations

With sun beating on bright snow,

Ice crystals in the air.

She fits her boots into her skis,

Across the lease they dare.

We must be careful, his mistress thinks

We're out where wild animals tarry.

But ice beneath the slippery skis

Makes Redbush even more wary.

As Bonzi sniffs each deep snowdrift

And dark holes that appear,

He gallops on upon the path

Chasing the scent of a deer.

A cougar's been here that's for sure

His mistress calls "Bonzi come"!

His bulby nose into the breeze,

"Don't call me, this is fun!"

It's homeward bound after an hour

A breeze sifts through the snow,

With Bonzi exploring way ahead

Stands saying "Come on, let's go!"

A coyote's smell, a squirrels chatter

It's home round the bend

Bonzi relaxes at the gate,

With hope that they will go again.

Dreaded Confrontations

2009-02-13T10:00:00.000-08:00

I'm off to town to deal with the dealership about the oil on my pick-up seat. The mechanic pretended to clean it, but, when I looked at it in the light, he did a poor job. By the looks of him, though, he was ticked because I had caught him getting out of the truck with his oil-laden coveralls. He certainly didn't apologize for the incident. Now, I'm back to deal with the boss to see if they can do a better job.

We leave Bonzi in the garage because our wonderful neighbors tease him silly. They are adults, but, have quite an empty spot upstairs when it comes to thinking, or other things. We take Bonzerelli with us because sometimes we aren't home for quite a few hours, and nature calls.

I hope you all have a great weekend in Bloggerland!

Dust Bunnies

2009-02-12T15:56:00.000-08:00

Redbush is pulling a blank today, and after reading some of your blogs in blogland, and being a first time blogger, she realizes that she is not half as creative as some of you writing-wise. She wonders where you come up with the ideas, photos, etc.

Today was the dreaded house-cleaning day around Redbush's house. There should be some invention, as there are so many technical inventions these days, in which you could just push a button and all the dust bunnies, toilet cleaning etc would be automatically looked after. Barring that, Redbush got through it, and Mr. Redbush helped with the vacuuming while Bonzi and lay on the mat and Bonzerelli lay in his dogbed fast asleep. Bonzi has now learned that when he hears the vacuum cleaner, that if he scratches on the door he will get vacuumed too. It is quite hilarious because he doesn't want Redbush to stop once she starts. Redbush has decided that it is better to get rid of those dust bunnies, or mites after seeing them magnified on one of the Science channels. Yuk! Redbush doesn't get to the vacuuming under her bed

that often, so can just imagine the magnification! It's been quite cool here today, although we had lots of sun. I hope you had a warm sunny day in your part of the world. The following is a picture of Bonzi and Bonzerelli relaxing.

Yearnings Of Spring

2009-02-11T09:43:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was one of those days that nothing seemed to go right for Redbush. She headed into town to get the oil changed in her pick-up. When she went in to the dealership later, and went to get into her basically brand new truck, she found oil on her seat. She then had to deal with the mechanic who had more oil on his coveralls than he put into her pick-up. He attempted to clean the oil off her seat, but when Redbush got home, she also noticed oil on the rug, so had to phone the dealership. When she tried to log in to the internet, she had to phone her provider because it was down, apparently all over her province, and the neighboring province of B.C. She and Mr. Redbush then went to scrub all the salt off both pick-ups wheel hubs, a grueling job!

The above made Redbush yearn for the signs of spring. Water running in the ditches, snow melting, flowers pushing their stems through the ground, and the sun shining on some of the remaining snow patches are some of the things that Redbush is yearning for. The following is a picture of a sign of spring taken in the neighbor's lease a year ago. Redbush and family took Bonzi and Bonzerelli out to the lease on their quads. She the

n later did a painting of the picture. Can you guess wha

t made the ripples in the water?

Salt-Lick Pick-up Style

2009-02-09T10:18:00.000-08:00

Saturday night around 9:00 Mr. Redbush happened to look out the front window and noticed a huge dark figure between Redbush's pick-up and his. He concluded that it was a young bull moose. Not wanting to startle him, because of the closeness of the pick-ups, Mr. Redbush waited until the moose moved to the other side of his pick-up. It was lucky that both of Redbush's dogs were in the house, because a bark may have caused possible bends in one, or both pick-ups. In the meantime, Redbush was fumbling around trying to get her digital camera out of its case, but it was too late. Mr. Redbush opened the front door and yelled, "Yeaaaaaah," then gave a grunting moose call, and the bull trotted North to their favorite neighbor's. When Mr. Redbush went out to check the pick-ups with a flashlight, he could see lick marks all over Redbush's dirty, salt-covered silver pick-up.

The next morning, it was very evident when they checked Redbush's pick-up that he either wanted to wash it, or use it as a salt-lick! There were very few patches on Redbush's pick-up that hadn't been licked. Mr. Redbush's pick-up, which hadn't been out on the salted and calcium-covered roads, hadn't been touched by the moose. Redbush and Mr. Redbush then proceeded to throw snow on Redbush's pick-up to try to get rid of the salt and the lick marks.

The Redbush family thought that they had gotten rid of Mr. Moosekin's, but realized on Sunday night around about the same that he had come back to his salt-lick, only to find that most of the salt had been taken off. He was then checking out Mr. Redbush's pick-up when he opened the front door and did his yell to scare him away. Redbush and Mr. Redbush are worried that he will now start using both as a scratching post seeing as he hasn't gotten rid of his antlers yet, and there is no more salt on either pick-up. They are considering setting up a salt-block near their favorite neighbor's. Hey Bag Lady, maybe the moose was checking out the rancher's pick-up for the same reasons! The mild weather has been nice, but certainly is bringing all kinds of animals to visit the Redbush house.

Will I Pass?

2009-02-05T11:54:00.000-08:00

Redbush is off to obedience classes with her shepherd tonight to do more practising for the up- and- coming competion in the spring. He starts to bounce around and do some whining when she asks him if he wants to go to practice? Bonzi knows his stuff, but, when it comes to being there with other dogs, he is four years old, so tends to have a mind of his own at times. At certain times, we get the teenage attitude which says, " If you want the dumbbell so badly, why don't you take it and hold it yourself." Bonzi has had a problem with sniffing once he is in the ring, so, as he is heeling at practice, he is finding that he doesn't particularly like to have his nose pushed into the floor as Redbush and he are moving. He's saying, " Alright, I like to sniff, but, not that badly!" Then on his long sits, he practically, without toppling over, just about touches the dog beside him on its long sit. Redbush is really working on the "Watch me," routine. But, he is smart, and knows if his mistress is a ways away from him that he just might be able to stretch his nose out on his tippy-toes without Redbush being able to be close enough to correct him. Hopefully they'll get where he doesn't care about the other dogs. He is actually pretty good, Redbush just has to show more enthusiasm. He loves it when she says "Whoohoo" when he completes an excercise correctly. The thing is, who's obedience class is it? Will I pass? So, Redbush hopes that this blog hasn't bored you too much. What's going on in your part of the world?ld?

Off The Hook

2009-02-04T11:18:00.000-08:00

For 3 months Redbush has been dealing with phone problems. She has been getting call displays every 5 minutes even though the phone itself does not ring. Redbush has called the company on numerous occasions, and they say that they have dealt with it on their end. That is, they have changed the software, and have sent a technician out to Redbush's place. Three different brand new phones have been sent back to the place the phone was bought at. The managers at this place say that the phones have been tried out and they work just fine there. Redbush has now been told by the phone company that it has to be a problem with the phone, or a wiring problem in our house. The last technician that came out said he had basically no idea what was going on unless it's because we live in the country and the city has a direct line through, and ours has a few different boxes to go through for our reception. The phone company has also told us that if they do anything with wiring, etc. that it will be our problem, and we will be billed. Our other call displays workjust fine. The company that they bought the phone from are reputable people, so, the family doesn't think they have been scammed! The calls that display, but don't ring have either a bunch of jumbled numbers, private, or, out of area. The last week, Redbush has been getting calls with the caller saying, "62". Go figure! If anyone has a solution, or a comment, let me know. Redbush is ready to scream! She does pay her bills religously, by the way.

On another note, Bonzi, the shepherd has been giving her "the look", that says, "for god sakes, can't we do something?!" Redbush's place has been a skating ring for the past week, or so because of all the mild weather, so hasn't been able to do a lot with the dogs. Bonzi and Bonzerelli have to walk gingerly on the paths when they are out. I'm not complaining, the weather can stay as long as it wants! Redbush has to be careful, however, because she did crack her wrist on the ice when she went skiing with her shepherd in 2007. It hasn't been the same since.

Eagle Sighting

2009-02-03T12:22:00.000-08:00

Today is life-changing for Redbush and family. They have sold their snowmobiles after snowmobiling since '75. It was hard to do, but, Mr. Redbush has operated heavy equipment all his life and has an ear problem. No loud noises. I wonder what will happen to all those boom-box babies when they get older?

Redbush doesn't believe it! Today is the second day that the bald eagle flew over her yard past her front window! Redbush and Mr. Redbush have never seen one here before. He was gorgeous! My only hope is that he doesn't spot the old boy, Bonzerelli when he is out on the trails. He might be lunch! The only sightings they have had is either at a remote lake way back in the wilderness, or on the lease behind us that my friend and a rancher own. Redbush and family spend much time on the lease in the summer, sometimes meeting the rancher and his wife for a beer. Bring on summer!

Moose Legs

2009-02-02T12:49:00.000-08:00

This morning while doing the dreaded exercise routine, Redbush noticed a huge figure ambling up to the chain link fence near the garage. After hearing the shepherd bark a warning bark, the moose turned himself to walk down our driveway towards the road. The young bull found himself strolling gingerly down the icy road showing no concern for his surroundings. Man, does he have long legs! It looked to Redbush as if he needed ice-protectors on his feet, he was moving so slowly. Bonzo, our shepherd, had barked about 4:00 A.M. to let us know that we had an intruder. When Mr. Redbush looked out at that time, he didn't notice anything because of the dark. It wasn't until about 8:30 this A.M. that he was noticed. Mr. Redbush noticed the mess that he made of the willows branches all over near the driveway. They are sure that the moose is now sleeping soundly somewhere until he finds another late-night feast of young willows. Redbush has pictures, but has to learn how to attach them seeing as this is only her second blog.

February Groundogs!

2009-02-01T22:04:00.000-08:00

Today, the beginning of February, I can't believe the mild weather! Redbush and Mr. Redbush threw the ball for their shepherd, Bonzie, about a million times. The ice was, however, so bad, that he had to find a snowbank to sit in and to run in when the ball was thrown, to avoid the icy path. Being as he is only 4-years old, he kept Redbush and Bonzie's master going for hours. Redbush and Bonzie's master built a fire in the outdoor firepit to keep him happy chasing his toys seeing as the weather was so mild while Bonzie' s brother, a fox terrier, Bonzerelli, now almost 14 years old slept in his dogbed in the house! A tough day in the life of a dog! Hopefully the weather lasts!