Poor little girls!

As I mentioned yesterday, we've been having a lot of health issues. I was found to have a dangerously low Vitamin D level and am currently on a once a week mega dose for 10 weeks. I was quite surprised to learn that low levels of Vitamin D will not only cause softening of bone tissue, but also causes depression and anxiety disorders.

On top of dealing with that, I went out on the front porch a couple weeks ago to discover my cat, Siobhan, had lost all the flesh and hair from most of her tail! The vet called it "degloving" and poor Siobhan had to have all but a couple inches of her tail amputated. When she came home the day after surgery she looked like she had a breakfast sausage stuck to her rear end!

The stitches came out on Wednesday and now that the hair is starting to grow back she has less of a sausage tail and more of a bob tail (thank goodness).

We also took our two youngest pets, Aislainn and Possum, to be spayed. We are very strong supporters of spaying/neutering as we know firsthand the problem our country has with excess pets and the issues that go along with that - abandoned/dumped pets and the diseases they carry and spread, etc. So off they went on Tuesday afternoon to get fixed. Poor things had to spend the night at the vet's since he was not able to get to them until Wednesday morning, but both were able to come home that afternoon, albeit a little woozy still.

Little Miss Aislainn (right) put up quite a fuss at the vet's office. We were told that she was even nipping at them (which didn't really surprise us...she likes to get her way) and being quite uncooperative. Aislainn has been a sad little lamb since coming home. She spent Wednesday evening napping on our bed and has been very uncomfortable. I've never seen a dog behave the way she does and think it must be her stitches. She'll get comfy and suddenly jump up like a bee stung her. My guess is that a stitch pokes her or she has a pain. I feel very bad for Aislainn and will be happy when she is back to being perky.

Possum has been quite another story. She was a meek little lamb at the vet's which surprised us because she is the Devil's spawn at home and reverted right back to her evil ways once the drugs wore off. They must have done her surgery after Aislainn's because Possum was still pretty out of it when she got home. In fact, she's still sleeping more than normal (and that's saying a lot for a cat). I don't think she's been off Don's computer chair in two days unless he's home and moves her elsewhere. Poor Possum, we will really miss her antics when she was in heat, which seemed to be every other week!

At least the other critters have been sympathetic, as well they should considering they've all been through the same thing! Last night Possum snuggled with Darcy. I've never seen Possum snuggled up with anyone! Darcy, however, is a different story. She loves to snuggle!

Aislainn decided to snuggle with her big sister Maggie who is an excellent snuggler, by the way. Even I like to snuggle with Maggie!

I'm still keeping an eye on one ailing critter. My goat Kenobi has a golf ball size lump in her throat just below her jaw. Now, I know she didn't swallow a golf ball because Don and I don't play golf. I wanted to take her to the vet when the others went, but decided to call first as I didn't know if the livestock vet would prefer to come out to the house. Kenobi is a great rider, so transporting her wouldn't have been a problem. However, the vet told me to just keep an eye on it and as soon as the golf ball softened up to bring her in and they'll lance it. He said it's a common thing in goats and to not worry.

HA...easier said than done!

Miss me?

I'm baack! Never did I intend to be away for such a long time, my intention was to take a break through the holidays. However, life had other plans for me!

On February 18, 2012 my precious new grand baby arrived early...five weeks early! Her name is Bellatriks Coraline and she is just the cutest thing, as you can see in the photo above. There were some problems and I ended up staying with my son, daughter-in-law and new grand baby for three weeks. All is well now and little Coraline is growing at much to rapid a pace. I'm missing her something fierce and am looking forward to seeing her again the end of the month.

My daughter has had some scary health issues and I've been worried sick, but it appears that she is going to be okay. She sees her doctor Tuesday to get finalized results from her last test and they will discuss any further treatment that might be necessary. It is such a relief to know preliminary results were good that I've felt like the weight of the world has been lifted from my shoulders.

Sadly, my dear aunt is losing a long and difficult battle with lung cancer. She's been in the hospital and we are hoping she will be strong enough soon to go home for the remaining days of her life. She is a very sweet person and very dear to our family. It's heartbreaking.

My mom was also in the hospital a few weeks back. She had my sister take her to the ER as she was having heart issues. Her BP was high and would shoot up every time she stood. They kept her overnight for observation and let her go home the next day. We're not sure what is going on, but I'm hoping she will see a cardiologist in the near future.

As for daily life here on the farm we've had some ups and downs...mostly downs this year. Right now we have three dogs and a rooster being treated for injuries. Strayhorn, the rooster, has had it the worst. Two weeks ago the three drakes (my ducks Puddles, Rowan and Mr. Bean) attacked Strayhorn during a storm. I heard the ruckus and headed out in the rain to rescue him. He was lying in the pen wet and limp as a dishrag.

Poor Strayhorn lost an eye and had two big wounds on the back of his neck and under one wing. It has been quite a battle to save him. We even stayed up until 4 a.m. one night tending to him. Strayhorn has been living in the house since then, but should be ready to move outside in the next few days.

We've had water leaking through the ceiling in the den and went without running water for over a week and had a cat (Siobhan) go missing for a week. We spent many hours searching for her over the course of that week and then she just showed up at the front yard gate as if she'd never been gone!

To top things off my kitty, Possum, went into heat the morning we were going to take her to the vet to be spayed! She'll be going tomorrow, but we don't regret waiting so long. She provided us with a lot of much needed laughter last week with her meowing and rolling around on the floor. We were the only ones laughing though...the other cats and dogs were freaked out by her odd behavior!

When your bowl is empty, sit in it!

Yesterday when I came into the garage after feeding the chickens I found Siobhan sitting in the bowl we use outdoors to feed the cats. Apparently, it was a comfy place to sit because she stayed there while I went inside to get my phone. I snapped several photos and she never got up.

Of course, she hopped right up when I opened the cat food container (we keep it in an old cooler). All the other cats came running, but I fed Siobhan first. Seemed only fair since she'd been patiently waiting in the food bowl!

Cats are so funny. I've found them curled up asleep in the kitchen sink and the bathroom sinks. I've found them in various sized boxes...some much to small to comfortably hold the cat! I've found them snoozing in plastic shopping bags and one year Hermione thought the Christmas wreath was the perfect place to nap!

They curl up with us, with the dogs and I've even found Fergus napping in the chicken house! There's not a nook or cranny in this house that I haven't discovered a cat at one time or another, but yesterday was the first time I ever caught one sitting in their food bowl.

I don't know...maybe Siobhan chose that seat because it fit her big wide hiney perfectly!

Storm's a brewing...

Since yesterday I've been watching a large storm heading our way from the west. It's been slow moving, but appeared to be getting very close when I went out to feed Elvis, the ducks and chickens earlier than normal this afternoon.

Since this front is supposed to be bringing us colder temperatures (we even have a chance of snow flurries!) I decided I'd better get some firewood into the dry garage before it started raining. I got my little garden wheelbarrow and proceeded to pile it high.

My accomplice, our cat Siobhan (AKA Fat Girl), and I made a discovery while at the woodpile. It was a gooey, icky fungus growing on a large piece of Sycamore trunk. Of course I just had to take a photo of it and hurry in to research it online. It's rather yucky isn't it?

Turns out it is a Auricularia Cornea, commonly known as Wood Ear and quite edible when cooked. They are very popular in Asian cooking (usually steamed or in soup).

It turns purplish with age, so I'm guessing the one I found today is ready for the retirement home!

Wood Ear also has medicinal qualities and is used medicinally for many ailments, including cancer, fatigue and cardiovascular disease. It is high in calcium, iron, carotene and protein. This information and more is available at http://www.medicineatyourfeet.com/auriculariaspp.html.

This is one of the things I love about living out in the country. I just never know, when I step out my back door, what I'm going to find and what I'm going to learn about it!

Best buds...

As I sit here at the computer desk Aislinn and Possum are having a grand old time. It looks like our two newest family members are going to be best buddies!

It has always amazed us how the newest addition is always taken under the wing of the addition just prior to them. It's happened since the first two dogs we had...Huck and Becky and has progressed on down the line to Caoilainn and Aislinn. Now it looks like Aislinn is going to take Possum under her wing and show her the ropes!

I can't recall this ever happening between dog and cat before, but perhaps that's because Aislinn is more cat size than dog size!

Oh well, it's all fun and games until someone gets her nose pinched in the crate bars (Aislinn is now pouting in her own crate)!

Hello Harley...

Almost every evening when I go to the pond our barn cat, Harley, is there to greet me. Some days he's lounging on the old picnic table, sometimes he's in one of the chairs. He always wants some petting and his motor is always running. In fact, that loud motor Harley has is part of the inspiration behind his name.

I got Harley from a local feral cat rescue when he was just a kitten. One of his ears had been clipped when he was neutered. They do this so they can identify feral cats that have already been caught, fixed and released. The rescue folks were afraid no one would adopt a scrawny scruffy black kitten. When I picked him up at his foster home I figured he was about the ugliest kitten I'd ever laid eyes on. Harley's ears were to big for his head and his fur stuck straight out in all directions. Don came up with his name because he had a big motor (purr), was dressed in black and very scruffy...just like a biker dude on a motorcycle!

Anyway, Harley proceeded to grow into a huge gorgeous fluffy lazy love bug. He was about a year old when we moved to the farm and couldn't run more than a few feet without huffing and puffing. He rarely went outside, preferring to stay in the comfortable house where he didn't have to travel far to get a bite to eat!

Seven years later it's hard to imagine that Harley is now an outdoor cat that hates to be inside. One day he decided to move to the barn and there he's stayed ever since. He ambles down to the pond to say hello and he comes to the house at night to have a can of wet cat food in the garage when Don comes home from work. Most of the time Harley is at the barn earning his keep by napping on a bale of hay or surveying his kingdom from the barn loft door.

If it's true that cats have nine lives, then Harley has a lot more living to do. Best I can figure he's only used three of those lives so far...one as a feral kitten in foster care, one as a spoiled house cat and one as a barn cat. That's a comforting thought because I hope mellow old Harley will be around for a long time to come!

Welcome home Aislinn...

Tuesday night Don and I were headed home when we spied a small black animal running up the road in front of us. I thought it was a cat. When the little critter got to our driveway it dashed off the road. Don turned in and I got out to check on the animal. What I found wasn't a cat, but a very small puppy huddled against our garbage can and shaking like a leaf.

Her name is Aislinn (ash-lynn) which is an Irish name that means "beautiful lady in peril"...exactly what she was out on that deserted dark country road all by herself! Aislinn gave us lots of kisses on the way up the drive to the house and continues to do so.

Don took her to the vet Wednesday morning. To his surprise the vet announced that Aislinn was a pedigree! Don asked what breed and Dr. Slocum replied, "Full blooded mutt!" adding that she has a lot of terrier in her. He said Aislinn is about 10 weeks old. She only weighed 8.3 pounds (poor little thing's tummy was growling when we found her).

Don said she literally screamed when the vet gave her a shot (immunization, one of three puppy shots)...not a whimper, growl or yelp...a human sounding scream! Then she gave Dr. Slocum a bunch of kisses to show she wouldn't hold a grudge and he gave her a bunch of treats.

Aislinn has been a perfect angel. She hasn't had an accident in her crate and always does her business when we take her outside. She loves running and bouncing around the yard with the other dogs, but they haven't quite figured out what she is...puppy? cat? crazy bouncing toy? As usual, our dog Brenna has appointed herself Aislinn's surrogate mommy and won't let the other dogs get to close.

I've been wanting a new kitty and earlier Tuesday night I tried to sweet talk a feral cat in the Wal Mart parking lot to no avail. I think Fate sent Aislinn to me for a reason. She's not a cat, but she's going to be small and I'm going to make sure she's a Mama's girl!