A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day....07-02-03..."Love at First Sight"...Aqua's DaisyMae

dutchess and billie | gizmo and codee

[dutchess]

A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day

Free Republic made its debut in September, 1996, and the forum was added in early 1997.   Over 100,000 people have registered for posting privileges on Free Republic, and the forum is read daily by tens of thousands of concerned citizens and patriots from all around the country and the world.

A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day was introduced on June 24, 2002. It's only a small room in JimRob's house where we can get to know one another a little better; salute and support our military and our leaders; pray for those in need; and congratulate those deserving. We strive to keep our threads entertaining, fun, and pleasing to look at, and often have guest writers contribute an essay, or a profile of another FReeper.

On Mondays please visit us to see photos of A FEW OF FR'S VETERANS AND ACTIVE MILITARY

If you have a suggestion, or an idea, or if there's a FReeper you would like to see featured, please drop one of us a note in FR mail.

We're having fun and hope you are!
~ Billie,Mama_Bear; dansangel, dutchess, Aquamarine

How precious we "creatures"great and small are. We bring fun, laughter and comfort to you, our human family and friends. . .. and yes . . . aggravation too! We hope you enjoy this weekly thread and also hope you will allow us the honor of featuring your special furry (or not so furry) FrPet on the Finest.

LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT...The Story of Aquamarine and DaisyMae

Good day FR friends. We just learned that Aquamarine is our newest Finest hostess, which makes her Dutchess, our "mom's" newest "SISTAH"….WHICH makes Aunt Aqua's "DaisyMae" MY NEWEST cousin. (WOW…what a complicated history…hope there's no inbreeding going on!)

Anyway, thought it appropriate to visit, and welcome "DaisyMae to "the fold". Although I've mainly traveled solo, thought Codee and FredtheCat would enjoy a visit to the beautiful mountains of northern Georgia. So…off we go!

Codee: Aqua and Mr. A. greet us, show us around their lovely "retreat" and introduce us to the much loved Daisy.

Gizmo: Sheesh…what's with all this lovely…much loved….three syllable "poetic" words…,. geesh...she's a DOG….not some flower, or like a "special lady" like Aunt Billie or LadyX.

Codee: Giz….you've done well up to now…now it's time to "let the elders" take charge. Miss Daisy is very special…and deserves special attention…PLUS a "female perspective"

(by now…FredtheCat has "bolted", crossed the "invisible fence" and is chasing all sorts of "varmints". She yells back that she hasn't had this much fun since she visited Billie's Roscoe in Texas! Gizmo follows leaving Codee to start the interview…

Codee: I hear you weren't the "first". I wasn't either. Mom and Dad swore they would never get another dog after their dear sweet Dutchess died. Was it "love at first site for you?"

Daisy: Well…a little history….

I'm Mom's third Beagle. I'm the first "girl" The other two were boys...first one a boyfriend gave her when she was 17. He was a beagle that had gotton lost in the woods during a fox hunt. Harold was a "ladies man". He got locked up one time in the dog pound for climbing a 6 ft. fence to get to an expensive female dog that was in heat. Oh the stories…..stories about him that were unbelievable. He was something else.

Beauregard was the second beagle. "Dad"bought him for mom when they were engaged. He was a pure bred, big fat baby that liked to eat. Was always climbing or digging under the fence so he could raid the neighbors garbage cans.

Codee: I'm sensing a sad moment here…something about Beau

Daisy: Sadly Beau was hit by a car….Mom and dad were devastated and decided never to "love another dog again."

Codee: Yes….well…I know that's how my folks were too. Can you tell me a little about yourself before you found "your loving home"

Daisy: I don't remember much except I was "dumped in the woods" with my puppies…..I tried to care for them as much as possible….I would hang out at the side of a road and some nice people from the store down the street would "toss food my way" but it wasn't enough to save my babies….. Although I fought like heck…some wild animal got to them. I still have a big bite mark above my eye trying to save them.

Codee: Oh my…that is so very sad….

Daisy: Yes it was…I was major depressed…and was running into the traffic when the owner of the store scooped me up…..and brought me to the store for safekeeping. They already had two labs so couldn't "adopt" me…but "had a plan" Mom came in later that afternoon and the woman asked her to sit down and rock me...saying I was really sweet.

(Daisy goes off for a moment and Aqua stops in to see if everything is okay. I asked her first impressions)

Aquamarine: She smelled terrible, probably never had a bath and my lungs closed up as I have asthma. But when I saw she still had milk in her breast I just felt like life had been too cruel to her and wanted to take care of her. (as Daisy returns Aqua gives her a pat on the head and leaves me to finish the interview)

Daisy: I was so scared but mom was so sweet…and comforting. I nuzzled in her lap and knew I found a home. IT WAS love at first sight.

Codee: How very special

Daisy: Yes it was….

Codee: So what's it like now????

Daisy: It doesn't get much better. Well…mom and dad were so afraid that I would suffer the same fate as "beau" that they got an invisible fence…and shock collar. NOT FUN! BUT I do understand it's for my own good. I do have a tendency to get excited and wanting to chase things. You know I'm a hunter by instinct!

Gizmo: (running wildly back through the invisible fence with Mr. Rabbit in tow) Hehehehee…Yeah right…hunter my tail! Mr. Rabbit has been telling tales on you Daisy. From what I hear, the only thing you can "catch" has to be at least 4 weeks gone!

Mr. Rabbit: You should see her try to chase me. What a poor hunter! She loses the trail going in a circle for five minutes. I always slip away with no problem. (but we have FUN!)

Gizmo: Codee…NOW WE'RE HOPPING….get it…bunny rabbit…hopping?????? How about you and daisy take a little break and I'll find out a little more from Mr. Rabbit. Time for a guy thing…you "gals" are just getting too mushy!

(daisy and codee go for a walk)

Gizmo: So…Mr. Rabbit. Is life as good for Daisy as she says?

Mr. Rabbit: Couldn't get much better. She has four beds! One in the laundry room where she sleeps during the cold winters, another in the garage and one more on the back patio in her dog house. She's been staying there a lot lately...she has a better view of the yard and woods back there plus that's where we all hang out and "play." And she loves to smell the flowers!

Oh…and of course the bed in the living room where she hangs when Aqua is freeping. (a common occurance in the household…don't you know!)

Gizmo: Anything else you want to add?

Mr. Rabbit: Well…it's pretty amusing when the "folks" are gone for a while and come home. She acts a little huffy about them ever leaving her but her tail is wagging and she can't stay mad long.

Gizmo: So…Aunt Aqua is clearly a music freak! Is DaisyMae into all kinds of music?

Mr. Rabbit: Actually no…she hates classical and "mellow" stuff but LOVES banjo and bluegrass!

Mr. Rabbit: Shssshhshhh…I have a little secret…Aqua is "a little overprotective" but on the cool summer nights when she and dad go to bed…well Daisy has the best parties for all us mountain varmints…definitely bluegrass…. Actually she has one planned for tonight…in your honor!

Gizmo: Just now Codee and FredtheCat return and Aqua feeds us a lovely "spread" on the Patio…freepmails mom to say we're fine til the morning and leaves us enjoying the moonlight.

Gizmo: As the lights go out…..the PARTY BEGINS….DaisyMae certainly has an assortment of friends….We partied until the WEE hours of the morning.

Gizmo: As the sun rises…we realize it's time to go home. Aquamarine and DaisyMae were special hostesses but I'm ready to nestle in mom's lap. So…FR friends…as I rest my weary head all I ask is that you give your special FRPETS an extra hug and a special treat! See you all next week!

THIS WEEK'S THREADS 06-30-03...Military Monday 07-01-03...Lift Off!...RadioAstronomer

Opinions by our own 'King of Ping' The guy's good, folks!

Thanks, Mixer!

1) Click on the graphic to open the Calendar.
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5) If all else fails or simply if you want me to do this for you send me an FReepmail and I will gladly do it for you. ~Mixer

[dutchess]

Giz has a special flair for journalism...maybe Maggie and Johnny Mac can borrow him someday, to help us snoop around, looking for clues to our Freeper ancestry...betcha he has a nose for news

As long as you offer him a soft lap and a few treats...he'll be there in a heartbeat!

[ST.LOUIE1]

Just happened to think of how very tiny they must be when they hatch from an egg!!!

Their nests are made from spider webs and about the size of a quarter. I personally have never seen one.

Found a picture of a distant cousin of yours, AHROOOOO-IE...:))

LOL Love it! : )

[dutchess]

NOW WE'RE HOPPING...Love that Gizmo! He's such a card!

Not that I'm bragging...but yes he is!

[dansangel]

AhhhhRooooo! Back at ya!:-)

Now I *really* must get back to w-o-r-k (ugh!)

Free republic is truly addictive! :-)

[Pippin]

Your hummingbird picture has gotten me all nostalgic for the days when we used to go up the Saskatchewan to visit with my grandma and aunts and uncles in the summertime. We had some folks who lived in the town and everyone had hummingbird feders by thier windows and we would look to see if the tiny creatures were around! :O)

[ST.LOUIE1]

AhhhhRooooo! Back at ya!:-)

Well, that calls for another AhhhhhhRooooo! : )

Now I *really* must get back to w-o-r-k (ugh!)

Oh, alright.....phooey! : (

[Mama_Bear]

Lori doesn't quite believe me. LOL

Now, I never said that. LOL. What I said was, I'll have to take your word for it, since the base of my feeders are opaque and I can't see what their little tongues are doing when they are feeding. :-)

Did I tell you I have put out six feeders now? Those little guys are eating us out of house and home - and some, I've noticed, are beginning to develop little pot bellies from being a little too well-fed.

I did as you suggested, Louie, and spread the feeders out a bit so one bird can't commandeer them all. They still do a lot of squabbling over the feeders and who gets the best one. LOL.

[jwfiv]

Oh, hey...how'd that flutterby get in there...?

[Mama_Bear]

Hi Pip. You don't see hummingbirds around your neighborhood?

[Mama_Bear]

We have the incubator up and running awaiting the new eggs.

How interesting! Hope you'll take pictures as share them with us.

[FreeTheHostages]

Those little guys are eating us out of house and home - and some, I've noticed, are beginning to develop little pot bellies from being a little too well-fed.

LOL, kinda like a bear, huh? I don't feed the birds in front of my place -- it's a space front, inasmuch as it's an urban environment -- and there are tons of them always in a tree in front my place because it's a Hawthorne that has juicy berries.

I do miss the red-wing blackbird of Vermont. It doesn't get this far south, and last weekend in Vermont I was reminded of its delightful plumage. Such an abrupt, brilliant red on the jet black wing.

[dutchess]

A couple year's ago I looked out in our patio and FredtheCat had this thing fluttering in his mouth. At first I thought it was a dragonfly but at closer inspection realized it was a hummingbird! Made him let it loose and it flew away. Finally figured out that the bird must have been momentarily knocked out after running into our patio window! We now have tons of suncatchers there!

P.S. Fred was really MAD at me!

[dutchess]

Oh what precious pictures...especially mama feeding the babies...

[ST.LOUIE1]

Lori doesn't quite believe me. LOL

Now, I never said that. LOL. What I said was, I'll have to take your word for it, since the base of my feeders are opaque and I can't see what their little tongues are doing when they are feeding. :-)

Ok, I take it back. LOL

Did I tell you I have put out six feeders now? Those little guys are eating us out of house and home - and some, I've noticed, are beginning to develop little pot bellies from being a little too well-fed.

Now, fuzzy, "pot bellies"? LOL

I did as you suggested, Louie, and spread the feeders out a bit so one bird can't commandeer them all. They still do a lot of squabbling over the feeders and who gets the best one. LOL.

LOL Yeah, for their size....they're bullies! LOL

[dutchess]

Need to get working on tomorrow's thread...see you all later!

[ST.LOUIE1]

Great shots, JW!

Afternoon to ya. : )

[LadyX]

Daisy Mae shared her favorite picture with me,
taken under a blanket on the floor in front of the fireplace:

l to r - - Me - Mom - Dad

[Mama_Bear]

LOL, kinda like a bear, huh?

Yeah, kinda. LOL.

I love birds! The most interesting ones we have around here are the tiny little gold finches that come in January. I guess they are just passing though on their way to 'somewhere' because they only stay for awhile. A group of about 15 to 20 spend a couple weeks playing in our fountain out front and then move on. They become very agitated if we don't turn the fountain on for them. I swear, they act like it is their personal vacation 'spa'. Sometimes the water will have a thin skim of ice on it, but they spash and play like they are having the best time. They are the happiest little birds. LOL.

[Mama_Bear]

That's cute, all those feet lined up. :-)