So this is me, according to my family. Constantly pouring words from my fingers. I feel like this whole post today could be updates of many things circling the universe around here. So let's do that.
One does not simply stop buying chicks. Seemingly a repetitive theme in my life.
The 10 chicks we purchased a few weeks ago have now moved out of the house and into the barn. They are currently confined to a chicken coop there, with a heat lamp area available, should they chose to use it. They are all mostly feathered now, and are eating and drinking like a boss.
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| The chicks watch the Chicken Show on the daily |
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| The Guest House, until they grow big enough to look like real chickens |
It appears by the chicks frantic (and also sweet) peep-peep noises that the guard pups - and Sugar - all think the chicks are calling them for dinner. Therefore, these chicks will need to be mostly grown before they are allowed to free range.
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| Penny and Dutch. Is this not reminiscent of Levi and Whisper?! |
Another wonderful update is that the guard pups, Penny and Dutch are 1) starting the process of patrolling the parameter of the property and barking appropriately at possible predators. Esp in the back pasture where the sheep are kept and a creek runs behind that area, which many predators use as a means of water source, and 2) They are not eating or pursuing chickens in or out of the barn (except for a fascination of the chicks) which basically means they will be able to remain as backups and eventually our replacements for when Levi and Whisper retire and decide they don't want to work so hard every night. We'd love for Levi and Whisper to be able to relax and grow old not working too hard. I've always felt like 5 acres was a lot for them to constantly protect. They do it so well, and we cannot imagine life without them. We just want them to have time in life to not work so hard. Maybe I'm projecting my own desires upon them as they age, and that as livestock guard dogs, they will always work hard. So maybe what I'm hoping for is that Penny and Dutch can manage some of the load of protecting each night. Watching these 4 majestic dogs perform using their natural instincts of protecting their livestock is one of the greatest liberties that I have in life. I try to tell them how much I appreciate them. My touch on their face, wiping a sleepy from their eye, is all from a place of love and I try hard to send my love to them through ways that they would feel it.
Duck's Up
This pup-talk leads me into ducks up with the ducks. We've had 7 ducks for a long time now. Yes, the new pups had been bothersome to them, but not harmful to them and we resolved that situation with further training so that they understand that the ducks are not for them to play with. Luckily, no one ever got hurt.
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| And now there's 4 |
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| The 4 biggest ones are left |
And then, I noticed one day that we had only 6 ducks. I walked the whole property and found no evidence of a duck situation. Yes, some of these ducks can fly, and have actually flown over to the neighboring pasture, but have flown back. So I'm thinking it flew, and never was able to fly back - whatever that means. Or it found a better pond. I don't know.
Fast forward to another day the following week, and now there's 5 ducks. What the duck. Again, I walked the property for evidence of fowl play and there's nothing. No feathers, no body, nothing. I look at the pups and they just stare back blankly at me.
Then, after a day spent in Fort Worth with Brooks, I arrive back home to the 5 ducks, I then fed everyone and headed off to bed. In the morning, I notice we are now down to 4 ducks. Again, no evidence of any duck-gone-wrong around the property. They are just gone. Vanished. And now I have 4 ducks. Frick.
There's options of what's going on here, and I'm happy to say none of the options include guard pups involvement. I'm thinking a hawk maybe, coming back again and again for dinner. There are a million hawks around here and they are always trying to get my chickens. Or maybe these ducks have flown up and away either to another pond (there are several close by) or they flew away and got lost. Each time, I listen and listen to hear their quacks. Nothing. They are just gone.
So here I am, with 4 ducks. And what does David say? "4 ducks is the just-right amount of ducks we wanted in the first place, right?" So I guess the universe is giving him the exact amount of ducks he always wanted anyway. I may not understand this logic, but I'll go with it for now. Stupid hawks. I blame them.
My Little Spoon
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| She enjoys being the little spoon, curling up close every night |
My little spoon, Sugar, who David claims came directly from my own womb is going to be 5 years old later this year. I adopted her as an adult at 1 1/2 years old with no name and likely living in a crate most all, if not all, her life. I was told they had tried to breed her for awhile, and since that was not working out, they were going to sell her. Her number/name was M-156 when I took her home, shaking and scared out of her mind. She was scared of everything for a very long time, and will still not allow touch or pets from humans (with only rare exceptions) despite Maybe's best efforts to show her that dogs do love pets and treats. She weighs about 6-ish pounds and is white as snow. Some say she's broken. I say she's pawfect. The one thing Sugar has no clue about is the hawks above her, in the sky. The chickens know when hawks are there and circling above and they run to the barn. It's in their DNA. Sugar does not have those same chicken instincts.
One day recently, I came home from work, and as usual, Sugar and Maybe came running out to the car to greet me as they do every day after work. But something was different today. Sugar was lethargic and not her usual excited self. She just wanted me to pick her up. I grab my stuff from the car, and with Sugar in hand, we go inside. For a little more clarity, The Littles (Maybe and Sugar) stay outside in the afternoons if it's nice weather while David works upstairs in the house. And when I come home from work in the afternoon (because I go to work at 6 am) then The Littles come back inside the house with me. Typically, Sugar acts each day as though she's not seen me in weeks, even though it's only been hours. But on this particular day, things were different. She just seemed so sad.
Maybe, Sugar and I go inside the house and I set Sugar in front of me on the counter to take a look at her. She's bleeding. From multiple areas. As David comes downstairs from a break from work, he finds me inspecting Sugar. We are both shocked. At first, we thought she had been shot by a gun. That's what the holes on her looked like. They were perfectly round holes puncturing her, with one particular area that was more torn apart and a deep puncture wound, perfectly round, going inside her. I immediately called the vet and they said to bring her up to the clinic.
David and I get in the car and take Sugar up to our local vet and find out she's not been shot, but likely a hawk attack. And Sugar had gotten away from it. The vet says we'll need to leave Sugar and he's going to do surgery on her, as he'd need to put her to sleep to inspect the damage, sew her up and get it all managed and sorted out.
As David and I leave Sugar, we go home perplexed that a predator had in fact tried to get Sugar. I'm not sure why we are so surprised by this, as she's small and white like a bunny, but it's just not happened before and we didn't see this coming. As David and I wait for the call from the vet to go back up and get Sugar, we review the happenings of the afternoon, look at the Ring app for activity out the front door, and review the Barn Cam. Nothing unusual there. Therefore, it must have happened in an area such as the side of the house or in front of the garage. We were still trying to figure it all out, and confused and shocked by what might have happened to her. Then, we got the call that Sugar was waking up from anesthesia and we could come get her.
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| Sleeping off the sleepy medicine |
We are so grateful to Dr Shelton for quickly taking such great care of Sugar. He said the wounds look to be from a hawk or owl, and one talon in particular went so deep in her, it pushed all the hair up inside her and he cleaned it all out, but that he would need to leave a drain in her for 10 days. She had stitches in several of the areas indicative of a hawk's claws/talons, and the one laceration might be where Sugar was trying to get away and the talon tore her skin open.
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| Three areas on this side |
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| Bruising and smaller puncture wounds on her undercarriage |
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| We are fortunate her bowel was not punctured |
Sugar came home with a cone on, but we were told she could have a sweater or shirt on instead to keep her from licking and chewing at the stitches and drain. I ended up purchasing a couple of onsie infant outfits, cutting the bottom snaps off and the soft material would cover her wounds. She did well with the onesies, as she was not having the cone and would be frozen in place whenever it was on.
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| Not feeling well, just stiff and sore |
For 10 days, Sugar's drain drained lots of ick and gunk. Technically, as a nurse I'd call it serosanguineous fluid. She was on antibiotics and pain meds. Then at our follow up appt, it was noted that the 'worst' wound had not adhered together due to the necrosis of the skin edges, therefore the stitches could not hold it together and heal. So Sugar was left with an open wound in one area. (I'll leave that photo out because it could be a bit shocking). In addition, after the drain was removed by the vet, she had a hematoma of fluid collection in an area of close proximity, whereby the fluid had not made it out of the drain, and instead collected in a pocket nearby. The vet took a syringe and aspirated several syringes of the fluid, and then poked another hole nearby to pinch and get the rest to drain out. The vet then offered us: 1) surgery again to attempt to close the wound, or 2) to give the open wound time to heal and close on its own (will take time) while continuing to stay on antibiotics.
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| 10 days out and feeling better |
For the meantime, we picked option 2, as the vet recommended it and we'll give that a go first. So here we are, changing her clothes each day, washing her wound and trying to keep it from getting infected. It's still draining, even with the drain out. But we are hoping it will dry out soon. Sugar is doing well overall now. She's beginning to feel better, but is still a bit clingy which is expected after the trauma and treatment. She will need more time to heal from this. Even though we can never be sure of the source of her injuries, all signs point to a hawk. Sugar is not afraid of any of the animals on the farm, which leads us to believe that it was a predator. Her first time out to potty after the event, Sugar made sure to look all around (and up) before stepping too far out the door.
After talking about this at work (in the OR) I learned that several doctor and nurse friends had people they knew that had small dogs taken up and away by hawks. Literally off the ground and up in the air, taken right in front of their eyes. After listening to other people's experiences with hawks and dogs, it's hard to believe that Sugar actually got away and survived. If I were to come home from work and Sugar was gone, I would be devastated yet not have considered a hawk, but rather someone picking her up or her getting lost. Now, I understand. You hear about these things happening. It's like us with cancer. It happens to other people, but never really realizing that it's about to happen to you. We, too, had a small dog almost taken by a hawk. I shudder at the thought of losing Sugar. She's my dog soulmate, and it's a special relationship that I'm not able to put into words. And I know a lot of words.
Yes, hello, I was supposed to get a delivery of love and affection (Hope and Dora every day)
The irony of my last post being about my so-called conundrums brought about escalating dilemmas. Maybe God thought he'd show me what conundrums really are, because what I was speaking of were rather small issues. So here, here's some bigger issues for you, Cyndi. Nothing you can't handle. But try these out.
And sure enough, what I thought was an issue with Hope (in my last post) has escalated to her skin condition doubling in size within a matter of days. I cannot for the life of me figure this out, and have been unsuccessful with a regular vet's help. So, I called an equine vet this time. And Dr Nancy from Mid-South Equine came over and took 3 punch biopsies from the area in question. A punch biopsy is a device that is like a small, circular sharp cutting tool that is poked into the affected area, and the skin and tissue underneath it is then brought out and sent to a pathologist for review. Dr Nancy did not know what is happening with Hope's skin/wound/hair loss on her right shoulder, so maybe the biopsy will tell us what it is so that we can treat it accordingly. Dr Nancy gave Hope a sedative to calm her so that the procedure could be accomplished. What I learned is that most vets, and even farriers, feel like mini horses are difficult, mean and ornery. Yes, mini horses are super cute, but they have a reputation for being badly behaved. Hear me out, I do make excuses for Hope. She came from a Kill Pen after being abused most of her life. Hope is not going to be that sweet, trusting soul right now. She's just not. She's come a LONG way with us, and only time and continued loving care will propel her forward. Dora, on the other hand is just a sweet nugget. No, she did not come to us that way, as she came to us as a biter and a kicker. But over time, she too has sweetened up to the point of being a lovey-dovey. I trust her impeccably, and feel like she trust me that way as well. Mini's take time. Sometimes I think Dora would love to come live in the house with us. She's like a big dog, following me around. Hope is right there, too, but keeps more distance. She halters easily, so I know she trust me. Her memories haunt her at times, and I have to understand that. These two horses teach me patience, require me to calm my energy before asking them to do anything, and always bring me in the moment when interacting with them. And Hope's favorite thing is to do when I halter her is look square into my eyes and stare, looking straight into my soul. She's searching deep inside me, finding the love and peace she needs so badly. I stare back and let her know she's safe, with no words spoken. We'll get you fixed up, my girl. We will.
Season 3 of the pandemic continues
As we start to unmask a little bit more, and wait for the next variant, it feels good to take a breath for a minute. Spring has arrived and the weather warms our bodies and soul. It's time for those spring projects to come to life. One of ours is bringing in a dump truck of dirt (12 yards is the term they used) and spreading it. So as I watch youtube videos of How To Operate a Skid Steer, we will spend the upcoming weekend repairing a portion of the side/back pasture that the huge concrete truck tore up. Yes, the concrete truck had to get to the back pasture and we are glad it did (love the concrete floor in the back barn). But repairs are now needed due to the deep gouges in the dirt causing irrigation issues and further dirt erosion. So, on Saturday, the dirt will be delivered and we'll be the ones to spread it. After that, we'll get a delivery of rock that will be spread on top of the dirt. Wouldn't that be fun if we got good enough at this, we could make it a retirement job. We could buy a Bobcat skid steer and spread dirt for people. Some people charge $100 an hour to do this. I digress. For now, we'll see how this goes. I gotta get back to watching Skid Steer 101 and how not to accidentally flip it over. And check my insurance policy.
In other news, John (rooster) and Paul (turkey) are co-existing together very well. Can you believe I still have that rooster? The chickens are all glad it's getting warm and laying eggs like you wouldn't believe. I get so many eggs a day that even I'm amazed. I shouldn't be that surprised because I have so many chickens, but winter took the egg production down so low, that I'm just now seeing just how many of my chickens are actually laying eggs. And it's a lot.
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| Besties who roam the land during the day |
Maggie and Prissy are busy being pigs who squeal loudly to get what they want. I now now what a real pig squeal sounds like. The sheep are scheduled to be sheared this spring before summer. The guard pups survived the eating of the coban/gauze dressing and their dew claw removal sites have healed up nicely despite their attempt to sabotage it. They'll be 6 months old and are huge. And in doing something I thought he would like, Washington has had the privilege of going outside in a fenced area during the nice weather, and much to my surprise, he's not liking it.
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| Washington and Sugar are fond of each other |
He prefers his inside home over the opportunity to visit the outside grass and sun. I guess not every rabbit loves the outdoors. He's more of a home bunny.
All the barn cats are enjoying time outside with the warm sun. The Cat Room (our laundry room) is more vacant than ever as I watch the cats have the freedom to roam. And Little Brooks is enjoying more time outside in this warmer weather. He says 'outside' and is a lover of all things outdoors. Recently, he and I walked to the Fort Worth Stockyards to a Quarter Horse Show - and it was amazing.
He's always up to trying new things and going new places. He turned 17 months here in March, and it's hard to believe that in October, we will start with years and no longer go by months. I love it that he says Nana, and that he brings me to a simple place in life of appreciating the articulation of a new word. Any new word. It feels like a blooming flower every time a new word flies out of his mouth. I imagine you have your own loved ones in your family that are young, and watching them flourish is amazing, despite that humans have been doing this forever. It never gets old.
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| Monkey see, Monkey do |
Time to go rest my body so that I can seize the opportunity of working in the OR with pediatric patients during the week. It's the sunshine in my day when it's raining outside. Their little faces. Their sweet smiles, their trust, their innocence, and just knowing that we are helping them in life brings such a sense of satisfaction and purpose. I'm forever honored with the trust these parents have to hand their child to a nurse to head into surgery. It's also a constant reminder of how fragile life really is.
May you have all kinds of happy today,
Cyndi
Happy 60th Anniversary, Mom and Dad!
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| I'm heading out to visit these two cuties in a couple of weeks 💕 |
