Sunday, February 07, 2010

OMG! We Won!


Good golly, you should have been there!
We were behind by ten or so points almost the entire game and then in the last 4 minutes, a rally led by Junior (the floating blue entity above) tied us up.
In the final seconds, we took the lead and won!
Getting ahead was captured in the photo above ... Junior had just stripped the ball away down at the other team's territory and raced down for a layup.
I was so proud of him, not just for being athletic, but for rallying his troops and leading by example.
It was electric... I'm always down on the sidelines shooting pics for our yearbook and at one point in the final minute, I realized my legs were shaking with adrenaline.

Soooooo, we have at least one more game as this was the first round of a district tournament.
Okay, enough Dad bragging.


I posted about this when I first made it a year or so ago. You know I like to tweak my woods here at PFHQ with little habitat "improvements". When I first installed this little critter refuge, I had it nicely camouflaged with palm fronds and a very small brush pile.
Over time, the plant material rotted away and the Florida rains washed off some of the covering soil.
None of that diminished the useability of the plastic tunnel. If you were a deer mouse or a snake trying to avoid a hawk 0r just looking for a cozy dark shelter, it still provided that.

It just wasn't very natural looking anymore.

So, I tweaked it.


Now it looks like this.
Yes, the openings are still there, just a little more camouflaged.



Last weekend, Mrs. FC and I tore down the ancient chicken pens that had existed in the garden since the kids were little.
They were looking pretty rough. With gaps and rusting wire, they were more of a death row for chickens anyway.
The last few birds who were placed in them were eaten by something soon after.

If I get a few banty chicks this year, they will only be in a cage for a little while anyway since I like my birds to roam PFHQ and fend for themselves. Right now, I'm thinking my tiny flock could use some new genes ... and Laya, the only hen could use a rest. Did I mention that she is the best hen ever?

Speaking of genes ... I'm listening to the audio book, "Next" by Michael Crichton whenever I am driving the JEEP and I am loving it.

Dju read it?

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi FC,

Never stop Dad bragging! It's what sets you apart. And frankly, a lot of the reason I keep coming back. My dad (mom too) was proud of us and I miss that.

Congrats to Junior!!

No, haven't read it. Ever heard of M.D. Abrams? She is a retired UF professor who has written 3 books about this area. I just got Murder on the Prairie. Will probably start it today unless I got to the pond club meeting today at Kanapaha.

Have a great weekend...........p

MamaHen said...

YEA! for Junior and his team!!!

Nicolezmomma said...

FC, how do you avoid coyote casualties? Or do you just let nature take its course? We were warned that if we had chickens, the coyotes would come.

cinbad122 said...

Is it one I can borrow?

Caroline said...

WOOHOO!

jean said...

More Dads should brag about their kids. I love it and it's what makes you so great to read. Not that the photos and the dogs aren't a nice addition.

robin andrea said...

What great news about Junior and his team! There's never too much bragging, FC.

Island Rider said...

Go, JR., go!

Dani said...

Great job Jr.!

"they were more of a death row for chickens anyway." BAWAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Love that. ;)

h said...

Not sure if you're more proud of Junior or Layla!


Grrherhahahhahahahaha!

Doug Taron said...

Yay Junior, and also congrats to you. That's an awesome action shot of Junior going up for the basket.

R.Powers said...

Patti,
No danger I'll stop! LOL!
Have to look up that author.


Annie,
Thanks! They did a good job!


NMomma,
Our big lab Bear seems to keep coyotes at bay around here. I keep banties which fly up in to the trees at night to roost.


Cindy,
Shuah!


Caroline,
We were doing that.

Jean,
Thanks. I can't help it.


Robin,
We play tonight too so wish us luck!


Cathy,
Thanks! BIG game tonight.


Dani,
Well, it was generally more dangerous to be caged than free for a while.


Troll,
He has not produced near as many chicks as Laya.


Doug,
Thanks, it was a quick reaction shot as one minute he was down court and the next he was racing to my location.

roger said...

wow!!! nice layup jr. nice photo dad.

best of wishes for the next game.

Florida Native Mom said...

Thanks for the pic of the basketball game. Brought back memories of high school for me. Cheerleading during basketball season was my absolute favorite thing to do. And when I 'grew up' I became an Orlando Magic fan. I even got to see the great Larry Bird play when the Celtics played the Magic one year.

Anywho - congrats to Junior. You should be proud!

And a request. Haven't seen the majestic Layla in a while. Please post a pic of her chickeness!

Aunty Belle said...

hooray Jr.!!

lisa said...

Dad bragging is sure allowed! Go team!

kathy a. said...

go, junior!

and my, you play a lot of roles at the school. [my dad took tons of photos that ended up in yearbooks in our youths.]

LJ said...

As it happens, I was just searching the Miami Dade library system for books, and have gone back and added this to my list.

However, I do have a recommendation for you: Conn Iggulden (either the Genghis Khan series *amazing!!* or the Emperor series *fabulous*).. you can't go wrong. Get the books though, as I don't think they would be as great on audio tape.

LJ said...

... Oh, River God by Wilbur Smith was also EXCELLENT. That's also a series, but the first book was really the best.
Sorry for going overboard, but I do love my books;)