Now What??

 I have not been myself lately. Sometimes we all have to regroup and get ourselves together. I think it has been going on longer than I thought. I think I have myself together. However, this weekend was a little hard on me. I am sharing this only for teaching purposes. To show that we all make mistakes and none of us are perfect. I haven’t been around Jeb too much lately. I have not been close to him except to feed him and then I stay way back after being kicked not long ago. As I was outside working, he came over to me and just stood there like I’m not moving until you give me attention. As I looked up at him and started petting him, I realized his halter was too tight and it was rubbing him raw. It was almost like he was asking me to look so he could get it off. It took me a couple of tries to get it off but it came off. He didn’t have any wounds, but the hair had been rubbed off. He was so grateful that he wouldn’t leave my side. He keep almost missing my head and he would just keep nuzzling me like saying thank you. I told him how sorry I was and I just stood there letting the tears fall from my eyes. I mean, he is fine. I cleaned the spots that had been rubbed raw and he was happy. He went on his way of running around the pasture. I felt terrible about it. The only reason we even left it on was to give him meds when he needed them and to be able to put the lead rope on him to work with him. Jeb was grateful and I learned a lesson. I learned these animals really will tell you what they need if you can figure out how to listen to them. Poor Jeb. It’s all good now. 

And again

 Well, Jelly came back from his adventure. Peanut Butter has decided to go on an adventure and he isn’t back. I’m worried and upset. Jelly is depressed and is laying around. Luckily I have seen him eating and drinking, but he seems depressed. Peanut Butter is the one that never leaves the shop so I cannot imagine where he could have gone or why. I’m still holding out hope that he will come back, but the longer it is the sadder I get. I don’t want anything to have happened to him. I cannot imagine him going so far away that a predator could have gotten to him, but I cannot say that for sure. I have never seen him go far. I’m driving myself crazy and my husband crazy, too. He may really be out exploring, but who really knows. I keep watching out the back door to see if I can see him, but I haven’t. I know he is a cat and will do what he wants but my heart is breaking. I have looked in a lot of hiding spots and up in the trees, but no sign of him. I still have hope at this moment. I’m praying. 

Sick Again

 Well, Maggie was sick again this weekend. She couldn’t keep anything down and wouldn’t eat anything. Poor girl. She had thrown up so much their was nothing left, but she continued to throw up water. She had done this over and over. Ronnie and I gave her a bath and put her in the house without the other dogs so she could be calm. I don’t know what happened but by the next morning she was up eating and drinking. I’m so glad she is feeling better. I hate it when any of them are sick. Maggie is getting older and I hate to think of when she is sick. She is better though and I’m grateful. She also had an infected claw so she got antibiotics, so that might have been what made her feel better. I’m still watching her closely. 

Happy Pigs

 It’s starting to get colder the last week. Looks like it isn’t going to stay really cold, but nevertheless, it was definitely cold at night. I have not been putting straw in shelters for the pigs since it has been so hot. They would make a spot in the dirt and they were fine. Now, we bought straw for them this week. I didn’t want them cold. Pigs do not regulate their body temperature well so they need help. Mud in the summer, straw in the winter. I want them as comfortable as possible. You should have seen their little faces when Ronnie and I brought in the straw. They were trying to rip it open themselves. We got the 2 shelters full of straw for them and they are loving it. They have made their beds in straw. It won’t be cold this week but we will start putting more in their as it gets colder. I was happy to see them helping me and the excitement on their faces. 

Happening Again

 I’m having flashbacks of Rona. She would disappear for a day and come back until she just didn’t come back anymore. I was leery of getting more cats for this reason, but I though Earl needed friends. Jelly came up missing the other day. The weather was cooler and he was out and about having a good time. I get it. I cannot keep them locked up. I have let them know they always have food and clean water and a home to sleep in. If they wonder off, there is not much I can do about it. I don’t want them to live in confinement. I want them to be able to come and go. However, cats do what they want to. Earl has never wondered off far. He always comes in for meal times. He knows where all the water troughs are. Jelly likes to hang out with the goats, so I know he knows his way around. So, Jelly was gone for a day or so, I got up the next morning and him and Earl are running through the field. So, he was fine and he has not done that again. Normally, like most cats, he sleeps during the day and wonders night. When he was gone Peanut Butter was a little beside himself. But, all is well when he got home.

Another Full Moon

 This past full moon, things went nuts. It usually does when there is a full moon though. The chickens were attacking each other, the cows were fighting, Jeb was chasing after Noma and Cracker Jack. Pedro was trying to bite me. The cats were running around like crazy and the chickens had stopped laying eggs for a day or two. I’m telling you, when that moon comes out full, things just go nuts. Noma was even trying to kick Jeb out of the way so she could eat all the food. Cracker Jack has been depressed acting. Noma takes Cracker Jack’s food at that time also. That moon is a crazy thing, but these guys are different for sure. 

Suzie Q

 Suzie Q is a bit of a mystery to me right now. She has left her chicks at this point, but they look to be big enough to be on their own. Makes me nervous and anxious, but at this point I’m always like that with the animals. The chicks are staying closer together which is cute and have met up with Edith’s chicks, so the majority are together. Suzie Q has been roosting with her regular pals. I guess the thing I am confused about is the chicks have essentially left the nest. However, Suzie Q shows up to check out the chicks a lot. I was out in the barn and the chicks were having a good time, until they saw me and fled quickly out of there. I look over and here comes Suzie Q running toward the chicks. I just had to laugh. I guess she likes mothering them. 

Unique Chick

 I found I have a unique looking chick. I had wanted a chick that was unique. I had already claimed her as staying here. I mean, they probably all will stay here. However, I had already said I was going to keep her and name her Annabelle. I’m waiting to make sure she is in fact a she. The chicks are still young. Anyway. I was out talking pictures of the animals and got a good one of her. I didn’t notice there were hearts all over her until I was showing someone how pretty she was. This little chick has hearts on her. It makes her unique. I’m not sure if the hearts will stay since the chicken that hatched her looks like lace all over her which is also really pretty. To me, I find it amazing in all the different looks chickens have. 

Butterfly

 This has been a month ago or more, but in my office, I found a cocoon and a butterfly freshly out of it. No idea how it got there or how long it had been there. I was actually treating a patient when this happened. It is one of the most meaningful experiences I have seen. This little butterfly would not have made it long in my office. Luckily the patient I had in the gym was highly mobile, so I showed her what was going on. It was a beautiful reaction from her as well. Her and I decided to save the little butterfly. I let him crawl onto my hand, carefully as to not touch the wings. He stayed there through the building as he knew I was trying to save him. My patient and I walked outside and found a flower to put him on so he would be able to live. It really was a wonderful experience to have. 

Porkey

 A few weeks ago, Porkey had something wrong with his leg. He wouldn’t put weight through it and he was being bullied by the other two goats. If you don’t know this, I am going to tell you, and I hate to even say it but if a goat shows weakness or illness, the other goats try to get rid of that goat to not spread disease to the herd. Having said that, I have learned my lesson before this and we separated him from the other two. I thought it might be his knee but then I thought after Ronnie and I looking at him, it might be a stone bruise in the hoof. He was separated for about 2 weeks and then he was all healed up. I went ahead and left him in there a few more days to make sure he was completely healed. The goats were calling to each other so I figured it was time to put him back in with them. As we did, I watched for a while to make sure it was going to be fine. Turns out, they were ready to welcome Porkey home. They are still doing fine. 

Bacon Bit

 Bacon Bit has been mad at me since we moved here. I know Gus has been bullied her and everyone else in there. We are working to prepare for winter and I think all the pigs need to be together to stay warm since winter is coming so fast but then we will build another pen and get them separated. I know it needs to be done. Bacon Bit is the only one though that refuses to come near me. She is one of those that would just fall over for belly rubs when I went in to see them before we moved. Now she runs away from me and that hurts. She is a sensitive pig and Gus doesn’t want anyone near me but him. However, Bacon Bit finally came over to me this weekend. I was so excited. She let me pet her and rub her belly. I sure do love that feisty pig. I’m hoping this means she will stop holding a grudge for the move and putting all of the pigs together. That’s all I want, for them to be happy and taken care of. It made my heart happy to get to pet her and love on her this weekend. 

More Eggs

 Ronnie found another clutch of eggs outside. There were another 2 dozen of eggs. I did not get them cleaned up and have no idea how long they had been there. I didn’t clean them up when I should have because I wasn’t sure how to get it done. They are in some tall weeds that have spikes all over them. I wanted no part in that. I go out yesterday to look and see if they were still there thinking if they were I would clean them up if I could figure out how to and not get bit by a snake or filled it spikes from the weeds. I go out there to see if they are still there and there sits Edith on the pile of eggs. I waited too long. Now she will hatch them out. That will add to more chickens. I swear, these guys need to start laying in one area or I will be over run with chickens. 

Old Barn

 Our old barn has seen better days. It’s old and run down. It was like that when we bought the place. We had been planning on fixing it since we came here. We weren’t here long enough to get it done before winter since I’m pretty sure it snowed the week after we got here. And it snowed a lot this past winter here. There wasn’t an opportunity to repair the barn and hasn’t been a need to since winter has past. This weekend, we decided to fix the barn in preparation for the winter coming. You never know when winter will hit here. We enclosed the barn except one area that wasn’t enclosed. Now the north wind won’t get to the animals like it did last year. I’m so glad that’s

Porkey

 Porkey seems to be doing better. Ronnie and I wrapped his leg with some soothing pain relief. He hated it. I took it off 24 hours later. He was still holding it up and wouldn’t put weight on that leg. This weekend, I caught him stretching. As crazy as it sounds, he was stretching. Yesterday Ronnie and I sat down and looked at his hoof again. It is possible something got caught in his hoof. It looks like he might have a bruise or something on his hoof that is making him hurt. He is starting to put weight on his leg and he is starting to feel better. He is still sore and not back to 100 percent but he is better. I’m hoping maybe another week on his own and then going back in with his friends. I know they miss each other. I think the worst for me is Porkey being alone. He doesn’t seem to mind and gets all kinds of attention from some other goats, donkeys, and chickens. But, I’m ready for him to go back to his pen. 

Wild ones

 Edith’s babies are wild ones for sure. She has definitely left them thinking they knew everything they needed to know. They are surviving fine and pretty sure they are living with the goats. They stay pretty close together these days. They are cute running around. However, they do fight like siblings. They are growing like crazy and making it on their own. They know where to go to sleep, eat, and get water. They run all over this property. I never know where I’m going to see them around here and when they see me they run away so fast. I love to watch them. They are entertaining for sure.