Blessings

I generally like to not post much about my family, but since some of you are feeling low this Christmas- with some very good reasons- I thought I'd share with you why I am not.

About two weeks ago my mother fell backwards down the basement steps. She is on coumadin (an anticlotting medication) for a heart condition which predisposes her to strokes and other nifty issues. In falling, she cracked open her head in back and started bleeding. As bad luck would have it, my father was away from the house on some errand. A few years back my folks had decided to put a phone in the basement, which is unfinished, just in case an emergency arose, and after she collected herself (she doesn't know if she lost consciousness or was just dazed) she was able to dial 911. My mother always keeps the front door locked when she is in the house by herself but on this day, she left it open. The rescue squad came right quickly, were able to get into the house, found her in the basement, and got her loaded up when they couldn't stabilize her. About that time my dad came home to find her getting in the process of being transported to the hospital, IVs running like mad because her blood pressure was dangerously low and she was bleeding like stink. Scalp wounds always bleed, but when you are not clotting normally, it is a holy mess. In the ER, they were able to staple her scalp and get that under control, but her pressure still wouldn't come up, so they admitted her. Over the next two days her blood count kept falling; she was bleeding into her tissues; her entire back one massive bruise. They did a CAT scan to see if she was bleeding internally and she wasn't. She was transfused which helped her clot besides giving her some red cells and on day three she was able to go home, tired and bruised and in pain, but home.

This has been a year of some really great moments for me, and I have shared some of those with you. There have been times that have been not so grand too, and I generally keep those to myself, not because I mind hearing about your troubles, but I don't reckon you need to hear about mine. But I will tell you, I feel pretty blessed all in all when it comes down to the important stuff, and I am ready to celebrate the birth of my Savior- you may not know him, but I do. Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Have a Happy Christmas.

The Christmas Cactus

This Christmas cactus belonged to my grandmother and was a fixture in her house for as long as I can remember. When she died, my mother took possession of it and eventually handed it on to me. It has been split about four times and many starts have come off it over the years. Two years ago it was looking rather sickly and so my father and I replanted it, a rather large undertaking. It is looking better this year than it has for many years. Regardless of how it has looked, it has bloomed faithfully and abundantly every year that I have had it. It is on a sun porch facing south. I turn it every month or so. I love plants, but I particularly love this one for the connection it has to my grandmother.

Conyers

Well, I've got all my gear together for a triple pig show down in Conyers this weekend. About a seven hour drive for me, I'll leave tomorrow after packing up the pigs. This show I am trotting out some little projects I have going on in the caviary, red eyed oranges, teddies, etc. Not my big guns. Those girls and boys came home and are all in breeding. I don't want to mess them up by traveling with them. It's rainy here, tons of wet leaves in the yard, but as always (or until we get a tropical system) we need the rain. Have a good weekend. See you round the bend.

Trees in my yard

The leaves are pretty much at peak color right in our area now. We have had several days of rain and so a lot are starting to be knocked down. This is my backyard- you can see one of my squirrel boxes in the pine on the right side of the picture.

This is standing in my yard looking down the street.

My favorite tree in the yard, a white oak. The bottom leaves are still green and the top are brown, it is shaded as it goes up. Most of the leaves will fall from it this fall unlike some oaks that seem to need the new leaf budding in the spring to push the old leaf off. Ded probably knows more about that sort of thing than I so. I could throttle my husband, he nailed that bluebird house to the tree because I cut down the damn pine that the house WAS on.

Earl

TM (The Duke of) Earl. On October 2, we had a litter of creams born and one of the little babies had two clubbed feet in front. He could still scramble to get under mom and get his grub, he just walked on the back of his wrists. We tried stretching the tendons to allow him to walk more normally (the more you walk wrong, the more the bones won't develop right and the greater the chances that things will never improve). And it worked pretty well with his left wrist. His right wrist however remained turned under so that he is really walking on top of the outer two toes. But he gets around. He holds it up when not running, that leg is now shorter than the other, and you can feel that the bones aren't right. But that is what we figured would happen. Anyhow, on October 6th a young man came to look at two girl pigs. These girls were a little bigger and hadn't been played with and were nice breeding sows, not pets. And so I said to the fellow, look, if you want a pet, this little crippled baby is your best bet. We are holding him a lot working with him, so he will be very tame. And the fellow said, OK, let me think about it. So he went home, thought about it, decided a free baby pig was just the ticket for him, and he named him Earl. Earl went home with his new dad this weekend. It seems like a good fit. It was hard to get a picture of his clubbed foot, maybe you can see it tucked up close to his body on the right.

TM Take A Gander

The picture on the left is her glam shot for the front of the JACBA (the magazine of the fancy), the one on the right is her posing with her RIS award. Amazingly, most pigs will sit and pose after you have worked with them awhile. Her showing off her assets is what helped her out,, I swear she was posing and flirting with the judges.

This Just In

I have been busy involved with all the packing and preparation for the ARBA Convention in L'ville, KY. I just got back, had a great convention,, had Best of Breed and Best Opp Sex American Satins and Best JR of Breed American. And,, I won reserve in show, second place in the whole shebang. A lifetime achievement sort of deal. I'll post a picture when someone sends me one. More later.

Drying the pig

Amazing Grace

On Thursday evening, my daughter and I induced a hugely pregnant cream satin sow that we were worried about. We successfully delivered five nice sized pups. Often when you induce a sow the milk doesn't come in. I had to go to Ohio for the weekend and so decided to take mom and the babies along to supplement in case mom's milk came in late or not at all. So they got packed up and taken to Ohio. On the way home Sunday I stopped to feed them. The towel covering them had fallen into the cage on one side and one of the pups (the only sow baby in the litter) had managed to get out. At the gas station in Wytheville, Va., I am unpacking the car trying to find it. Can't. Called my folks in Ohio to see if maybe it had hopped out there and I just didn't notice since the towel was covering the cage to keep the babies warm from the cold air on Sunday. Wasn't back in Ohio. I was very upset- felt like a negligent Mom. I stopped again to feed the pups and look for the missing one. Still no joy. When I got home, I carefully unpacked a full car. Then I heard a squeek. The baby had crawled into the space between the backseat and the back compartment up where you couldn't see her. But you could feel her. Husband went on one side, scared her into shifting a bit and then I was able to get her out. Amazing Grace- once was lost, but now am found. This is a pig that will never be sold. But you all know I am a Sentimental.

Pain

About a month ago I had a basal cell carcinoma biopsied from the tragus of my ear That's that little triangular piece of tissue in the front of your ear. This morning I had a MOHS procedure done- tissue sparing. I said, just make sure I have enough left to hold in a hearing aid- that's probably next year's purchase. They had to reconstruct the dang thing anyhow with a flap they pulled over to cover the cartilage that was left. The numbing has worn off and it feels like someone is continuing to torch my ear- they did do a lot of cautery. They gave me a script for real drugs which is in the process of being filled right now. I will likely use them tonight when I go to bed. Suture removal in 7 days.

Yes, Yes

We got a new rat baby. Kibbles.

Cannon

The editor of the Journal of the American Cavy Breeders Assoc put out a call for little short essays on the first cavy we ever owned. I can remember her distinctly and so wrote the following which was put in the journal several years ago. Hope you enjoy it.



I blame Jim XXXX. I was eight- he was an older man. How was I to know he would start a passionate lifelong affair- with cavies?

In the summer of 1962, my father brought home a pair of cavies he had purchased from a boy who lived in Caldwell, Ohio. Jim XXXX. Dad got the sexes mixed up and so we named the pig that eventually turned out to be a boar- Lady, and the pig that turned out to be a sow- Cannon. Cannon was a golden agouti American with a white snip and it soon became apparent that she was increasing. Imagine our delight one morning when she came out of the box in her cage with two little perfect babies! Lots of babies later, my mother forced us to give up Lady (boar). We found Lady a good home with our bus driver. He had watched us carry the pigs to school for show- and- tell and wanted one for his children. Cannon lived to be 8 years old- I was in High School when she died. She was buried with full Athenian honors in our backyard in a wooden coffin that my younger brother lovingly assembled. And I will unashamedly tell you we mourned her passing. Cannon was such a gentle creature-she would sit under your chin by the hour and hear your sorrows and joys. She was a wonderful ambassador for the species. I have had many pigs over the years who have been very special to me in some fashion or another, but no pig has ever been more special than Cannon. She was indeed some pig. Thanks, Jim.

Hey, Baby!

How's about a date? Not with a loser like YOU!

I had a very good TSF show. In this show, I won both the Best in Show and Reserve in Show. The BIS is on the right as you look at it- Julia a white American Sr Sow, and the RIS is Peter- a White American Satin Sr Boar. The other show, I had RIS with a White American Sr Boar- EttaPig.

Hanna hit while I was gone, we had five inches of rain, our basement got a little bit of water in it, not terrible, and I guess not surprising.

I am trying to unpack and clean pigs. More later.

I hate days

when you wake up with a headache and it never really seems to go away. It just sits back there, mildly annoying after the drugs kick in, but waiting to roar back as soon as your blood levels of whatever therapeutic agent you took drop.

I have all the carriers set up and my show lineup for the TSF selected. Want to hear their names?

Patrick, Julia, Oboe Oboe Oboe, Magic Man, EttaPig, Etta Girl, Piccalo, Magpie, Garth, Emmylou, Nessie, Nellie, Peter, Reo Lobo, Take a Gander. Etta Girl and Etta Boy-yes, they were littermates- were the best in show winners. I need to check and make sure they don't need a bath.

Went and got pig groceries. On the road they get all sorts of treats to help them maintain condition. Some pigs say,, ROAD TRIP, and they LOVE it, and love to strut their stuff on the show table. Who could imagine. Others really don't do well travelling and I generally don't keep those guys on the show string. No need for misery. Lots of newbies on this trip. I retired several after the last show in Cashiers. Give someone else a chance to bring home the glory.

I was all set

to spend part of the day trying to get a bird picture for Verb, either a goldfinch or chickadee- something sort of jolly. But, lucky us, and I am dead serious, we got some rain, finally, from Fay. It has been a very nice little gentle rain that has persisted throughout the day, the sort that soaks in and does some good for your yard.

In other news, I started grooming and selecting pigs for the TN State Fair show that is next Saturday. It is about 9 hours from me. I drive over to a fellow cavy person's house, spend the night, show, spend the night again at her house and then drive back home on Sunday. This may be the last year for the TSF. The land that it sits on is very valuable and whoever owns it which would be the city, county or state, wants to move it to another site and do whatever on the current site. They would like to combine it with a county fair in another county, but so far most counties have said, no thanks, we don't want you. State fairs tend to attract a bit larger "undesirable" crowd than county fairs and would involve being forced to give over to someone else's rules etc. Most counties would rather continue rocking along at their own pace in their own way. I guess that I can't blame them.

Spidey's worst nightmare

My neighbor tore out a squirrel nest in his attic and missed getting this one out where Mama could find it and carry it away. So they called me when they found it several hours later. Despite my best efforts, I could only keep it alive for six days.

In other picture, two Teddy sows are happy to have someone hold their banana for them!

First Show of the New Season

Went down to Cashiers NC this weekend- in the southern mountains of NC- for the first two pig shows of the new season. I won both of them! Yippee! With white Americans. Next show is the double at the TN State Fair over in Nashville, so if any of you all live close, come see us Sept 6, in the goat building. They are flying in a judge from California for us, should be good fun. The mountains were wonderful, about 15 degrees cooler than here- it was delicious. I will write more later when I am not so tired and the work is caught up.

Sore Throat, Windshields and Cable Men, in that order

I've had a da'gum sore throat for four days now and am about ready to bust out the pig medicine and swill some. And yes, you betcha. I allus buy human grade so's we can share if need be.



A lot happened on this day in history at our house. Had the windshield in the 4runner replaced. Nice fellow. Did an admirable job in a grand fashion. Had Thomas the cable man out to fix our cable. You know, I absolutely despise TW Cable Co, but their field service guys are top notch. Their office help not so much. But I have to say, the guys who actually come out are knowledgeable and capable and I appreciate them. Which will show on my survey. We tried to get a dish but the trees (obviously I didn't cut enough of them down!) are blocking the signal unless we plant the thing out in the middle of our front yard.

From a fellow breeder

(I measured every car we looked at for carrier space for the pigs before I settled on the Scion xD.)

Pat H’s contribution. This woman is my worthy opponent in Satins.

You might be a serious cavy breeder if:

You buy more greens for your cavies than yourself.
You bought 10# of carrots yesterday and there aren’t any left.
You learned to use a computer just to run your pedigree software.
If your favorite PIN # is 2289 (C-A-V-Y).
The first thing you look at in the Sunday paper is the produce ads.
Your cavies eat more of the produce from your garden than you do.
Your lawn is considered the hay field and you yell at the kids/dogs for running through it.
You only cut your lawn when there will be 3 days of nice weather to dry the hay.
You spill something liquid in the kitchen and you run for a handful of shavings to soak it up.
Every time you go to Wal-Mart you take a spin through the plastic bin isle to look for sales.
You examine a hairbrush before using it to see if it is yours or the cavies’.
All the toenail clippers in the house have migrated to the caviary.
You had to increase your trash service to accommodate the used bedding.
You hang all your coats on hooks because you used all the wire coat-hangers for the water bottles.
You faithfully give your cavies vitamin C every day, but can’t remember to take it yourself.
You can sleep through the TV and noisy kids, but the tiny squeak of a newborn cavy will rocket you from bed.
You plan your vacations around major shows.
You choose your new car based on how many carriers will fit in it.
You choose your new home based on where the caviary would be.

Worm Police

Yesterday I visited three stores dedicated to the feeding and housing of our feathered friends. At the first store, recently opened up by some friends but way far out of my way (I probably won't be visiting there much), I purchased a new thistle feeder since our old one was shot. This store, owned by two nice women, made a commitment to stock with only things made in America. While there, I asked about mealworms. Did you know that there was a nationwide shortage of mealworms now? One woman said, there is only one place in town that carries them, and named the store I generally get them from. And, she added, they will only sell to you if you have already bought mealworms from them. Well, I answered, no problem there because I am in that category. I went to the second store to get a particular brand of feed. If you think gas prices have gone up, you should see what bird feed prices have done. I paid $38 for 20 pounds of seed that 3-5 years ago i think i bought for $23. But you get different birds with the feed than you do with just the regular sunflower/millet and there is no waste and no hulls. Then I went to the third store and asked for my mealworms. The fellow asked, have you bought them here before? I thought, you doofus, YOU are the very person that sold them to me! (and they do have their regular customers, and he has made special orders for me, so I thought it reasonable that he remember me) Yes, I responded, and he pointed to a sign that they had posted by the register- Due to a nationwide shortage of mealworms, we will only be selling to our regular mealworm customers. What if I had lied? He apologized for the worms being smaller than usual, but hey, I figure the bluebirds won't care. I would hate to have to ask folks if they were my regular customers and then turn them down if they weren't.

I come by it naturally

My father went out one morning and saw that the robin's nest which had been perched rather precariously in a rose bush had the side broken out of it and all four of the little nestlings were spilled out onto the ground. Dad wasn't sure it would work, but he took the remains of the nest and put it in a flower pot, put the babies back in the nest and wired the entire thing back into the rose bush in approximately the same spot it had been in. Mom and Dad Robin never missed a beat. Last week when I was up, I got to see all four babies in the nest, and one by one they fledged and were gone. When I got too close for comfort, the mother would fly up on an overhead wire and she must have been sounding some sort of alarm call to them, because they would hunker down and get very still when she did it. Dad also had a clutch of chickadees in one of his boxes. I bought him another hummingbird feeder so he could place it farther out in the yard and not have the battles over the one by the porch. He has a bully.

Bluebird 2

This is her again, setting on top of one of the feeder poles- she comes down to within five feet of you. They are really not bothered by folks. You can see one of my squirrel boxes up on a tree behind the feeder. That is the tree that has the hawks in it.

Bluebird

As you can see, I am not so great with the camera, and she is always moving. You can sort of see the mealworms that she has gathered in her mouth. This is sort of at dusk, I tried taking some during the noonday, but the pictures were all washed out.

Last Show

Yesterday down in Columbia, SC, I attended my last show of the Spring Season. It was 94+ degrees- absolutely sweltering. A passing rain shower did nothing but make it more humid and miserable. I had to get up at three to load up my car (the new xD) and drive down 230 miles to get there by 8:30. Loading takes me about an hour. I am not an overly fast driver. I tend to try and go exactly the speed limit with the help of cruise control. Had two shows and then I drove home. I was so tired I was just this side of nauseated. Do you ever get that feeling? I find it very hard to sleep before a long drive I know I am going to have to make- granted this one wasn't that long, I just was worried about being late. So I had very little rest Friday night. Anyhow, I did good, not great. Did have one reserve in show with TM Tumbleweed,, a pretty damn nice little cream satin boar. The judges have liked him all spring. Time now to find him a girlfriend and make little tumblelets.

I got my hair cut

I had all my hair cut off to shoulder length straight around and rediscovered my two types of hair. From my father I inherited a fivehead (not a forehead) which means my hairline starts very far back on my cranium and has deep indentions back to my crown in it on either side. This hair is straight and thin. Then the occiput cap hair, I got from my mom,, very very thick almost coarse hair that is wavy to curly if you crunch it while it dries. I probably should have got the hair layered around my face like the woman wanted to do but I wanted to have enough length on the side to be able to twist it back up and clip it off my face and neck- which I can now do. Do I like it? Well, combing and brushing and washing and drying are certainly a lot simpler. But I am not one to monkey with my hair and plan on doing as little as possible with this so no wondrous styles I guess. The woman who cut my hair was Russian and I was able to converse with her from my college Russian. That is to say,, I remembered hello, goodbye and how are you. That pretty much covered day one and the limit of my rememberance of all things Russian.

I was wrong

The dang hawks are back and there is a little one in the nest. You can hear it cry. I went out today to dump gp bedding and heard it. Looked around, saw a parent drifting around up high on the breeze. I waved my arms to get its attention, and unbelievably, it stooped and came down straight at me to see what was up. I again waved my arms!!@! and said, you stop right there, missus! It stopped about treetop high right overhead (which is pretty high up for these pines), hovered for about two seconds and then took back to the heights. There is hawk poop all over the trampoline. (I never really figured it was gonna get me, but then I never really figured it would approach me at all. It is a bit unnerving to see something just a speck in the sky one moment bearing down on you until you can see its body parts.)

Results

Well, I didn't do outstanding at the big show, but neither was I skunked. I did win the prize for largest white American pig- a bottle of Fat Bastard chardonney, which, to borrow Kath's phrase, was consumed by the assembled. And I won three of four best of breed satin americans and two best opposite and a reserve in show. Got some lovely ribbons, and a fleece throw, money and best of all! I came home with a dreadful cold!! yah me! It has probably been two years since I have even had a cold and this one has made my sinuses hurt to the point of making my top molars ache, and coughing. Lovely. Somewhere on the boards I think I read that someone saw the film Juno and we rented it and really enjoyed it. If you haven't seen it, by all means go rent it. Very few films hold my attention anymore, this one did.

I saw something amazing today

While I was setting up pig carriers for the upcoming show, I happened to look at the window that was right in front of me. These are on the second story and rarely get washed so that there is a plethora of cobwebs built up in the corners on the outside. I saw a female(?) hummingbird gathering the cobwebs to use for nestbuilding. Initially I thought, are you after the spiders? (they are not averse to eating a small insect or something if they can get it) they are long gone from these webs, but no, she was picking up the strands. She worked for about 30 seconds and then flew off. I had my daughter come over and look, but the bird was gone. And then she came back! Something I never in my wildest dreams would have ever expected to see. In other news, damned hawk got one of my squirrels. It picked it off on the ground in the backyard and then flew up to the darned squirrel nest box and sat on it. Squirrel was dead so me flying out the backdoor screaming and swirling a dish towel at it didn't help the squirrel, but it did make it fly away. Damned hawk. I would like to have been able to smack it with a baseball or something. I love my squirrels and I hate those damned shitting hawks.

All About Birds: Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Life

I am gearing up for the Macungie Classic next weekend for the 2 day, 4 show extravaganza. This year we are holding a challenge, the GREAT AMERICAN WHITEOUT for white American cavies. If I had the pigs I had last year, I might have a chance. The show sow I have been showing all spring, TM Mandolin, got her ear ripped the other day by another sow and so she is now out of the picture. I have nice pigs to show, just not one that says, pick me. Now,, in satin americans,, that's a different story. If my white satin sow holds condition, she will be damned hard to beat. But, you never really know what the judge will pick or how they will fault each pig. We shall see. Generally speaking, if I don't win, one of my friends does! We are a fairly close-knit bunch and all get along and are happy for each others' successes.

I ordered a new car last night, an xD scion. I want something that gets better gas mileage yet can haul a few pigs. Thought about the Matrix- not good enough mpg and the Fit. My son has a Fit which I like but I thought I would like the xD better. Not sure when I will be taking delivery on it. I don't like lots of options on a car,, went with the basic radio,, who can hear and appreciate good sound anymore? yet I wanted alloy wheels and a wind deflector so that I look younger and sportier than my years :). And it has tire pressure sensor- one of my great anxieties in driving- a flat tire.

Today

My freaking Neptune washer finally burnt up last week, and by burnt up I mean it. I could smell the thing and when I opened the door, out poured smoke. My husband insisted I try to have it repaired but the repair was 484 dollars so I declined and paid the technician for his trip. Money down the freaking drain. I did not point this out to my husband (I said, it will cost too damn much to repair). I did get another front loading machine because despite its poor service, I did like front loading. This time I bought an LG machine, neither the top of the line with steam cleaning capabilities nor bottom of the line with small capacity- and for the first time in my life, I bought extended five year warranty. I am thinking of you, M Sb- it's ironing duty today.

Garter Snake

As I was carrying buckets of used pig bedding out to the compost heap, I startled a garter snake that was sunning on the steps. I didn't even see it until it moved.

Eastern Garter Snake - North Carolina

TM Pear Blossom

This is TM Pear Blossom the sow that won the two BIS last weekend. A friend- the judge actually- sent me a picture of her this morning. She was a posing fool that day for him. I have to admit, she is a pretty nice animal.

Weekend In Conyers, GA

I just got home from a weekend in Conyers, GA- a triple pig show was my main reason for attendance, but apparently it was also the Cherry Blossom Festival and there was also some sort of very large horse show(s). My white American Satin Sr Sow won two of the three Best In Shows- I was so overcome at the first one that I started boohooing (at the presentation of this wonderful Chinese print). You know the wonderful thing about friends, really good friends? when you start crying, they start crying too. A sad or happy occassion,,, they are willing to get their faces all blotchy with you. We are likely a bunch nincompoops (my husband said,, why did you start crying? you won! I said, it's a woman thang.) but somehow, I fell into a wonderful group of women (and men too! but they don't cry with me).

New Roof

This week the big project is getting a new roof installed. We had one put on ten years ago but the workmanship was so poor that it has failed in three places and no amount of caulk seemed to be able to shore it up. I have to say,, repetitive noise does drive me up a wall. I am also cleaning out a closet,, do you GW (Goodwill) those clothes you no longer fit in, or do you keep deluding yourself that ONE day, oh that happy day! you might fit back in them again? They are all going. I have one skirt left and about twenty pairs of jeans- which is my uniform. If I could wear jeans to Sunday service, I might start going again,, well, if they moderated their tune that is.

Pig Shows Sunday

First shows of the season for me. There have been others held that I would normally have attended had not health issues intervened. Totally new lineup this spring with the exception of Mandolin. I won best of breed and best opposite sex of breed in American Satins in both shows which was decent. In two weeks I will be down in Conyers, GA for a triple show. Tree, I finished a season of fire and ice by Zimpel published by Unbridled. A very bleak book. And am about 1/3 through Buyer's book which I AM enjoying just as you reckoned I would.

Can you say biddies?

I made a run to the Tractor Supply this morning for pig bedding and they had little chicks and ducklings for sale. It's been a few years- there was the uproar about Avian flu and so for awhile, they didn't sell anything, just gave you the number of the hatchery to order from and have them come to your mailbox. They had little bantams with fuzzy feet,, it was all I could do to not bring a few home,, had I been able to sex them I would have had a little pen in the backyard (covered of course because of the D'd hawks) and had me a little fresh egg factory in about 18 weeks. Don't ask me why, but I like chickens. I technically live in the county (with the city on every side) and so there is no proscription against livestock. My neighbors probably wouldn't say a thing either- over the years, being the only mom at home in the neighborhood, I have had the occassion to do lots of favors and lookout for lots of kids coming home from school- including picking kids up from car accidents, carrying kids to the ER for broken leg and driving child home who had been drinking and was smart enough to call and say- I need a ride home. I am the Chatelaine,, the keeper of keys for this section of my street. Anyhow, they don't say anything about my pigs nor my enormous compost heap, so likely they would just think it was another manifestation of my personality and hope for fresh eggs.

What a lovely day

Mid 60s, lots of sunshine,, the daffodils are starting to bloom,, the bluebirds sat watching me thru the window,,, and this morning,, I heard the damn hawks screaming. I was hoping maybe since I cut down an adjacent tree they would go nest elsewhere,, but they were back,, investigating the old homesite.

Debate

I thought about whether or not to post anything and decided to wait until the outcome, but things went smooth this week. I had an ovarian mass that had to be removed along with the other associated feminine body parts and everything went well. It was benign and I only spent two days in the hospital! I am one tough old broad if I do say so myself.

Migraines

I think my 18 hour migraine has finally let go of my brain. Went to bed with it last night after taking some medicine- woke up early to take more medicine (this was good,, I checked on a sow who was heavy pregnant,, found that she had been in labor for some time,, had to pull the first baby,, first and fourth were dead, middle two alive but depressed,,, sow depressed,,). After dealing with sow I proceeded to throw up,, I get so nauseated when I have migraines,, tried eating, lying down- shutting out light and noise- and finally, it seems to have decided to move on- hopefully not to your brain. Oh happy day!

Fundy Hair

It has been several months I think since Schell and I were both in the BS at the same time. We were discussing hair, and I said that I had long hair,, she asked if it was Fundy hair,, I replied no,, mainly inertia hair. I haven't a clue what to do with it, and so let it grow. This is my daily uniform: blue jeans, athletic shoes (someone was optimistic when they named them!) and fleece sort of jacket over a teeshirt. I tried rotating the picture, but it made me look very short and hefty,, which I can manage all on my own thank you!

Veterinary Meeting

Went to a veterinary continuing ed meeting today,, good topic- vomiting and diarrhea. Learned a few new things, none of which are pertinent to my area of interest,, picked up a couple of books,, zoonoses($46) and wildlife and zoo medicine($150). Good stuff. Now,, off to clean pigs. Gonna save these books for an event coming up. More about that later. Maybe.

Man in Tree

Men in Trees

I had the tree folks out today to take down five trees: four pine and one sweetgum. They brought in this crane to get them down- the pines were about 85 feet tall.

The fellow cutting down the trees would get hauled up into the trees with the crane. He was incredible. They took the trees out in sections. I must say it is rather amazing to watch large lengths of trees pass over the top of your house.

Bedding

This morning I went out to Tractor Supply to get bedding,, 25 40# sacks of pelleted pine called Equine Pine and then five bales of pine shavings. That is over half a ton. I helped the fellow load it and then I stacked it in my garage for storing. Is it any wonder that my elbow hurts? The litter of six continues to do well and gain weight. The least 'un has gained about 18 grams! It's afternoon already and I haven't started my pen cleaning. In an effort to lose wt I have gone to tea drinking instead of coffee. I can drink tea without milk and sugar,, but I like my coffee sweet and white. Nothing beats a cup of coffee- especially this time of day -when I am starting to run out of gas, though. Time to press on.

Today had a few highs

but was generally business as usual. Etta May pig had six babies around noonish. Little bits. It has been awhile (or should that be a while) since any of my sows have had six and all of them alive, but tiny. Mom is experienced so she will do her best, but with six, you need to supplement some- well, that's my philosophy anyhow. The rest of the day was the usual feed, water and clean. And! I did a load of whites! How decadant of me. Now I just have to go fold them- I'm talking serious fun, can't you tell?