At the going down of the Sun and in the morning... WE will- REMEMBER Them

Rememberance Day ..... the 11th hour of the 11th Day of the 11th Month. Armistice Day.

My Grandad was a muleateer in WWI... survival time rated 1 week ....and survived the 5 nightmare years. My Dad was on long range penetration behind enemy lines in Burma for 4 out of the 5 years of WWII .. survival time reckoned at 2 weeks... he did 4 years.. Neither talked about the horror and the nightmares... they spoke of the comradeship and selflessness of others.

I like all of us grew up honouring the men and women who bought our freedom with their lives.. and their hopes... and their bravery. Many since have continued this sacrifice in more pointless wars.. and there have been over the centuries amazing acts of sacrifice in the name of Freedom.

Freedom isnt Free and a "Right" isnt a Right... is earned.. with a few exceptions..... and all of us.. combatant.. or non-combatant have a duty of responsibility to see these sacrifices arent in vain.

My beloved Dad died 10th November 1984 .. he was just short of his 63rd birthday ... there is always an extra bitter-sweet about this time of year.

At the going down of the Sun and in the morning......


We will Remember Them


For the Fallen by Laurence Binyon


With proud thanksgiving, a mother for her children,
England mourns for her dead across the sea.
Flesh of her flesh they were, spirit of her spirit,
Fallen in the cause of the free.
Solemn the drums thrill; Death august and royal
Sings sorrow up into immortal spheres,
There is music in the midst of desolation
And a glory that shines upon our tears.


They went with songs to the battle, they were young,
Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow.
They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted;
They fell with their faces to the foe.
They shall not grow old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.


They mingle not with their laughing comrades again;
They sit no more at familiar tables of home;
They have no lot in our labour of the day-time;
They sleep beyond England's foam.
But where our desires are and our hopes profound,
Felt as a well-spring that is hidden from sight,
To the innermost heart of their own land they are known
As the stars are known to the Night;


As the stars that shall be bright when we are dust,
Moving in marches upon the heavenly plain;
As the stars that are starry in the time of our darkness,
To the end, to the end, they remain.

We will remember them


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In Flanders Fields

by Lt. Col. John McCrae, M.D. (1872-1918)
Canadian Army

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

Shake ... Rattle ... and Roll !

People have been p and e-mailing me... so this is the News !

Friday night we had another Quake.

We were 50 miles from the epicentre... Cleveland County... but we rattled and shook for around 10 seconds.

This is the earthquake fault that has been getting increasingly active for 2 yrs now.Its same one as we felt in Norman that October day last year (we have now moved to our own place as some of you know... peace and quiet.. no neighbours and 2 fenced acres!!) when I thought someone had smacked into the apartment building.

It was a real 10 second shaker Friday night... its a shallow fault.. so radiates fast been 14 plus aftershocks from it since then.... but it was doing 4.7s and many more all yesterday from early hours too. I had been following it on the USGS since early Thursday (when the 1st one hit).. and I submitted a report last night after to them. Its a record breaker for Oklahoma.. small as they go... but it can stay away if it likes !!

USGS

The dogs had been restive for 48 hrs.. !! Although its been quietly bumping away yesterday as well.. but we havent felt it.

Well... at 8.46pmCST tonight we had a small 3 second rattler of a 4.7 Nothing much... but showing the "last Hurrahs" arent over yet.

The dogs are becoming excellent Alerters !

All is Well...... Thankyou too to those asking.....

We have severe storms coming through tonight and are on a Tornado Watch ... may as well keep the adrenalin going I suppose !!

Visitors ! John and Wesley came to see us again !

Visitors ! John and Wesley came to see us again !

Its amazing.. 100 days of 100F plus and today....it rained !! BUT.. we need it and it made for a nicer cooler visit !

SO...... it was SO good to see John and Wes again. They are on their way to the Grand Canyon and beyond for hiking. Most of you know that Flicka has had some big problemns we have had to work through. Meeting new folk.. and new dogs is still very hard for him. That makes the day today even more of a triumph. All went well.. and we even managed a real meet for the dogs. That.. for those who know what its been like... was more than I could have dreamed 5 years ago.

It was a wonderful visit.. and Lucas (bless my Little Alien !) was able to really have fun too... he joyfully has never had problems.. and it was so good to see HIM being able to have fun too.

Safe Journeys my friends... see you again next time round .. and John.... BE SAFE... you know what I mean !! We will be following the Journey !

Except from Coco Rose's Diary .. A Plea for Freedom !!

This is an except from the diary of Coco Rose..

Others have also taken up this cause.....

Feel free to copy and paste !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HQ >>>>> IS ANYBODY STILL THERE ?????????????

Please release Gizmo and Luke from the dog/cat of the week spots. It was wonderful to read all about them but now I would like to see another dog/cat honored there. For all of our pals out there please feel free to copy and paste this message and spread the word to Dogster/Catster that we would like to see Gizmo and Luke set free. FREE GIZMO (and Luke)!!!!!

Thankyou so much !!!!

Thankyou so much everyone for your kindness on Lucas's Birthday. It is so much appreciated.

Please forgive me if I have missed anyone... tell me and I will add.

If you read Flicka's Diaries of 31st may and 1st June... you will see its been a bit .......cup runneth over !

Thankyou again !

Love from the Little Alien !

Rosies

Petey
The Family of REDFORD , COOPER, Tundra , Manytoes, Lynzee, WISHBONE, and more!
Austin and Doo
The Family of Sadie CGC, Cassie *In Memory*, Sherry *In Memory*, Meesha, Jasper
Zaidie
The Family of Wyoming 6/21/99-3/6/11, Angel Cheyenne 11/15/95-08/06/, Radar, Wolf, Molly
Pepper
Riley
The Family of Fling, NPC♥, Levi, PAWS-My Guardian Angel, Cali- Always Queen of my Heart, Niko- In Our Hearts Furever, Big Head Todd-MISSING 8/14/06, Ringo (Oct '95-Sept '06), and more!~~
Josephine
Droopy
Sasha and Dozer
Cedar
The Family of Maxwell, Roxy, Kodi
The Family of KJ, Rain, Kiska Forever Loved , Banjo♥My Sweet Angel, Greta our Dobie Angel
The Family of Walker , Alexandria, Molly, Pookah , Edwina(Eddy), Emily, and more!
Sunny
The Family of Moss, Tessy, Teddy, Sheri- My Sweet Angel, The 5 Littles Black Devils
Pongo
Darby
The Family of Hudson CGC RN, Troy CGC, Angel Soleil
The Family of Ringo, Webster, Dusty the Puppycat *DLM*
The Chicago' Crew's Black perals Dixie and Burt
The Family of Sadie Jo Forever in our hearts, Dora, Mocha 1/20/87-12/24/09, She~She, Sakari, Sampson, and more!~~
The Family of Joey, Ulli (Forever in our hearts), Frank, Buddha
DarlaMae
The Family of Checkers 1994-2009, BuddyB
Benny
Jayden Noelani
Sarge and Abby Grace
Pogo
Rosco
The Family of Max,Jake,Lola, PERRY
Chloe
Scooter

Messages

Sunny and Mom Deb
Whitley
Scooter
Ruby
Nelly
Pogo

Goodbye for while Dearest Levi PAWS

My heart is breaking.... Levi is one of my oldest friends and his Mum is a very very spacial Lady.

Levi had a wonderful life.. and today at 2pm PDT he is sailing onward to the stars.

I want to Celebrate this wonderful boy's life so that death cannot ever hold dominion

LEVI'S PAGE

LIGHT A CANDLE FOR LEVI

Sail on Fair Winds Sweet Boy

Going to celebrate your life so that death can NEVER EVER win.

You brought up many pups and kits.. 3 kids and 2 humans. You will sit big and strong and large in the stars

Holding you and yours TIGHT in our arms.


And if I go, while you are still here...
Know that I still live on,
Vibrating to a different measure,
Behind a thin veil that you cannot see through.
You will not see me, so you must have faith.
I will wait there for the time when we can soar together again, both aware of each other.
Until then, live your life to the fullest.
And when you need me, just whisper my name in your heart,
...I will be there.

"Ascension" Colleen Corah Hitchcock

Mum's HOME !!!! and We Had Visitors

Mum finally came back to us very very late on Friday night. We didnt know where she went... and we WANTED and MISSED her ! Dad was good with us..... but Dad is NOT Mum ! We are not letting her out of our sight now !

Waves.... yes.. I got home late Friday. Mixed feelings... YES I wanted to be back with Jay and Flicka and Lucas.... but its going to be a very long time before I can go home to England again.. and Home is what it will always be to me. I missed my Boys...

I hope that any of you who followed my trip on the site enjoyed the Journey.. it was a pleasure to take you with me.

Before I left the USA I knew that Sonja who has the amazing cattle dogs (who are her wonderful Service Dogs too) Josephine and Jolanda was coming through Oklahoma via Dallas. Dates and times were very tight.. but with the aid of emails whilst I was in England.. we managed to set up a tentative meeting for the Sunday (27th) after I got home on the Friday (25th).

Sonja was going to be with her husband and the Amazing Josephine .. who is sort of Flicka's twinnie ! With the big stresses on time and me flying trans Atlantic and them flying and driving.. we made the reluctant decision not to bring my Boys along. It really was the best decision if hard.

We all met up for breakfast and a quick walk.. and it was truely a super meeting. Sonja and Hendrik and Jojo are shining souls who I am proud to call friends. Hopefully.. there is going to be a "next time" when time and weariness arent factors.

Jojo.. Sonja (and of course Hendrik!) we love you dearly. !

This below is a link to just a few pics we took between us.

Josephine came to Visit

(I dont know why this link refuses to work properly here is the url)

http://s239.photobucket.com/albums/ff141/Snowdrops10 /Josephine%20Came%20To%20Visit/

and these are the links to Josephine and Jolanda's pages

Josephine

Jolanda

Mum has some NEWS !!!

Mum has some NEWS !

Beloved One retired at 55 on the 17th January as some of you know already... and this is my NEWS

I AM GOING HOME TO ENGLAND for 3 weeks !! Leaving 4th March - returning 25th MARCH.!


I am SO looking forward .. I am so homesick. Will be the 1st time in nearly 5 yrs since I got here.. and the chance of going again for another 5 yrs is very small. We will be tied in to buying a house and hopefully be moved by early Summer.. can't look yet till we get the deposit... but its all in the plans. Hopefully can start looking when I get back from England.

Jay will stay and look after the Boys.... I will miss them... but I NEED to go home.

I am just setting a Shutterfly site up for the Trip. Will try and keep a Diary/Journal there and download pics as I go as I will be taking a Netbook with me

I am flying into Manchester and staying with a dogster pal KAREN who is Sadie and Meesha's Mum !! arriving Sat 5th -Thurs 10th March ... then Thurs 10th going by train to Bristol to stay with Stephen .. who I call my brother.. he isnt.. but is a brother I should have had...and a friend of many years long before I came to America.

Staying with Karen the 1st week will mean I can be around the places in my much loved Peak District and with Stephen I will be close to my hearts home in the West Country. AND.....I will see the SEA ! I desperately MISS THE SEA !

Two weeks with Stephen... then back up to Karen on Thurs 24th March ... to fly out of Manchester on Friday 25th March back to Oklahoma.

Its going to be deeply emotional... it already is.


Some of you have the site link already ... if anyone else wants it.. pmail or email me.

I am going to miss the Boys.. never been away from them this long... and no matter what.. you can't explain to them. I have a webcam and mic on my Netbook.. but I think that confuses them more.

This has been a long time coming... and will have to keep me going for some time. The countdown is on !

Remember remember the fifth of November !!

Remember Remember the Fifth of November
Nursery Rhyme & History

Guy Fawkes & the Gunpowder Plot
Words of "Remember Remember" refer to Guy Fawkes with origins in 17th century English history. On the 5th November 1605 Guy Fawkes was caught in the cellars of the Houses of Parliament with several dozen barrels of gunpowder. Guy Fawkes was subsequently tried as a traitor with his co-conspirators for plotting against the government. He was tried by Judge Popham who came to London specifically for the trial from his country manor Littlecote House in Hungerford, Gloucestershire. Fawkes was sentenced to death and the form of the execution was one of the most horrendous ever practised (hung ,drawn and quartered) which reflected the serious nature of the crime of treason.

The Tradition begins...
The following year in 1606 it became an annual custom for the King and Parliament to commission a sermon to commemorate the event. Lancelot Andrewes delivered the first of many Gunpowder Plot Sermons. This practice, together with the nursery rhyme, ensured that this crime would never be forgotten! Hence the words " Remember , remember the 5th of November" The poem is sometimes referred to as 'Please to remember the fifth of November'. It serves as a warning to each new generation that treason will never be forgotten.

In England the 5th of November is still commemorated each year with fireworks and bonfires culminating with the burning of effigies of Guy Fawkes (the guy). The 'guys' are made by children by filling old clothes with crumpled newspapers to look like a man.

Tradition allows British children to display their 'guys' to passers-by and asking for " A penny for the guy".


Remember Remember poem

Remember remember the fifth of November
Gunpowder, treason and plot.
I see no reason why gunpowder, treason
Should ever be forgot...

Felt THAT !!!!

At 9.06am this morn we had a 4.3 rattler!

U.S Geological Survey Earthquake site..... Details

We were right on top of it... The whole building moved.. and creaked and the dogs went into orbit.I honestly thought something very large had run hard into the building. Except the only sound was the building movement.. no big bang. The builders are next door in the burned out apartment and I thought half the building had collapsed !!!

Anyway.. No aftershocks as yet.. but whilst 4.3 is small for California.. it was a rattler for here.. and we were smack bang on the top of it.