More?!?

Yep... still playing catch-up with all these random NC pictures.  That'll teach me to be without a real computer and internet service for months on end.  ;)

 We found out that a tornado came through about 2 miles from our house April of 2011.  There were some homes on the other side of the road affected, but all that remains now of the damage are the broken trees.

 Hopefully this won't happen again while we are here.  ;)

 Before we moved in, a mama and papa swallow built their nest right above our front door on the porch light.  Creampuff loved her new entertainment.  The birds also almost received PCS orders from Jeremy.  I was able to hold him off until the baby birds were grown and gone and then he went out and removed the nest.  There weren't my favorite (ahem...rodent with wings?!?), but they really weren't hurting anyone.  My patience with them began to wane when they started swooping down at our heads when we would try to actually use the front door.  Here's to hoping they find a better place to have their wee ones next year!

 Sweet little beagle puppy sits so well for a picture.

But only if you hold a treat right above the camera.

 This scared little baby bird fell out of the nest before he could fly.  He hid under these bushes and his family took care of him down here.  We are hoping that no cats found him and that he was able to grow up and fly away, but the farmer in me is still kind of saying "circle of life".  I wasn't about to pick it up and put it back in the nest.  We caused a baby bird in AZ to have a second fall from a tree when we did that and his mama kicked him out again.  I would think the first fall was scary enough.  This little guy landed on concrete.  We were very careful with where we walked as he liked to huddle right up against the step off the porch so that if you stepped too close to the stair, you would "mash" him as my Grandmother would say.  She also said that about bread and quite frankly, that word now scares me.  I try not to mash anything for fear of what will happen.  ;)

 Abby took this picture with her cell phone when she came upon Regal and Amelia passing away a lazy summer afternoon together.  I think that's where the term "dog days" originates.

And I'll leave you with this image.

He's not dead.

Or seizing.

I know it looks like it, but he is mostly fine.

He was able to pull himself in the door and yell a raspy "WATER" loud enough for one of the offspring to hear.

He is just thinking that maybe the riding mower would have been worth the extra $.

And AZ is supposed to be intolerably hot...
PSSSSH!