I have heard the croakin the last couple nites but tonite i took a flashlight out and saw two of them at the edge of the pond....one was sitting in a pot close to the edge of the pond and the other was underneath a rock overhang--- pretty cool!!
i looked up florida frogs on line and i think the little guys are chorus frogs-- which is kind of cool because it said they are elusive ... i did have some frog eggs and tadpoles one day but they disappeared so dont know if the gold fish ate them or what happened to them-- maybe tonite one will lay more eggs-- i will do more research and see if i can find out for sure exactly what kind of frogs they are--

the pond isnt finished yet -- the supplier hasnt had the mountain brown flag stone so i finally gave up on it and went down and found something that is very very close so next week robert will come and put the waterfall in and we can get the plants put around it --- that will be super--
my patio furniture comes wednesday and i finally got my cool firepit at Target a couple weeks ago so things are FINALLY coming together and perhaps soon it will be completed and i can have my party-- cant wait for that to happen!! it will be a humdinger!

Well, Wednesday my friend, Thea, wanted to get a new kitten so off we went to the Shelter...it was so emotional-- all the older cats in cages with tags about how families had just abandon them or they were found in a trash can or worse-- i ended up outside sobbing my head off as it just made me so sad and so mad...

i made the mistake of going back in as i really wanted to see what kitten Thee would pick out-- BIG MISTAKE--- yes i ended up with a new kitten-- he was he terror of the litter and i just couldnt resist the look in his eyes that begged me to take him home! Thee said i should name mine Rambo-- he and Majik will be a pair--

Thee got a darling little girl-- grey and black ..she is precious...and immediately named Daisy-- isnt that so cute?

We couldnt take them on Wednesday as they needed to be spayed and neutered..so Thursday afternoon we were so excited to pick up our babies-- and after plunking down $59 we brought them home!

Initially Rambo was in good spirits and played with the myriad of cat toys i placed in front on him but later he became very lethargic and started sneezing ...he didnt eat or drink anything and that concerned me....so I stayed home from my Thursday Metaphysical group to keep an eye on him..

Friday was the same- -he slept all the time and didnt eat or drink-- then he started gasping for air and i immediately called my vet and they got me right in--

Turns out he had a cold and his little nose was stopped up so he couldnt breathe--- antibiotics and wet kittie food and off we went...

He is some better today but not a tremendous improvement-- he has eaten and drank some - -thankfully-- i hated having to force feed him with a syringe-- he disliked that immensly -- but he is still sleeping alot and gasping but also sneezing out mucuous so i guess that is a good thing--

its hard to see the little guy so sick and i am worried about him but do have follow up vet appt next tuesday so i feel good about that...

the other cats are getting used to him -Poppers is the worst- she hisses and growls at him all the time -- Simon has been sweet and given him some kisses-- Majik is in shock and cant seem to figure out exactly what this new addition is-- he just follows him and watches him but no growls or hisses-- i am sure in a few days when Rambo is feeling his oats they will all play and have a good time together

lots of things have been happening-- the patio and pond arent finished yet due to stone not being available darn it- but i do have fish in the pond -- i bought five comets and one Plecostomus to eat the algae-- i got a good deal on him-- i named him ORECK as he has eaten half the pond algae-- amazing-- he is pretty big -- the guy at petsmart said he had been in a 10 gallon tank and the owner brought him back as the tank was too small-- so i got a deal for $6 ...the price of the small plecs-- felt good about that --

i have learned ALOT about ponds and fish in the last few days-- i lost two of the comets- just turned up dead and floating on the top -- i may have parasites due to who knows what but could be from the plants i bought-- so i have to buy some stuff to kill the parasites and put it in the pond--

i also learned about plants-- its illegal to take plants from the wild-- i found a swampy area on a main highway here in town and picked some pickerel -- then found out i could have gotten in alot of trouble-- i have to disinfect them before i put them in the pond-- so again i have to buy some chemical to treat them--Malachite Green/Formalin
mixture twice with a 1 day gap in between. This will make sure you do not
have parasites in the pond.

also learned i should check the PH of the water--
The basic thing you want to check for is pH. For goldfish and plants, you want above 7 and more like 8

so this is turning into a big deal-- but its worth it for sure-- those little gold fish are so cool-- i want to provide the best home for them i can--
here is GREAT GARDEN SITE-- tons of forums on every subject - ponds, tropicals, violets- you name it there is a forum for it-- they have plant trading too -- i have gotten almost all my plants thru trading -- its really great and you meet super people-- GARDEN WEB

my son and his wife also just bought a house last friday-- its so exciting-- they are much closer to work and also their son will have a great place to play and kids to play with plus the house has a pool and he loves to swim...it backs up on a perserve so no one can build behind them-- it has tons of room - a beautiful screened in porch and its just a super house-- i am so happy for them---

they have to do some painting at old house and some other minor repairs ... but nothing thats too major -- packing will be the big job as they are pack rats -- i cant say much about that as i am a major pack rat-- so i guess like mother like son!!!!

been having lots of dinners with friends, went on garden tour on saturday - it was awesome and a couple of the people gave us some plants- i got a great stand of bamboo and also amazing sun flowers-- very cool

i have been working on my plants - repotting - planting seedlings- and generally giving them some tender loving care--
i cant wait for the pond patio to be completed and my plants in the ground-- its so hot now that i have to water twice or three times a day--




i also got my fire pit-- YAHOO target was out of stock for so long i was afraid they wouldnt get it back but sunday my friend thea called and said it was in the paper so at 8am i was at the door to get it-- will post picture tomorrow

still waiting on insurance company- they are dragging their feet with the check-- and i am OVER IT-- i called today but got nowhere- what a nightmare--
i have gotten contract drawn up for new owner-- and a title company lined up-- so need to get the details finished and sent out -- high priority