Today was a busy day. Today actually started last night! Our power went off, last evening, and so we were left to make our way through the evening hours as people did years ago.... with no computer or anything else that required electricity. By 9 p.m. we all felt that bed was our best option. (No wonder they went to bed early years ago.) Hubby had informed me earlier in the day that he would be going hunting for elk and so would require a very early morning. An early bedtime seemed to be the best solution. By 9:30 p.m. we were all settled under our quilts and peacefully on our way to la la land and listening to the wind rage for another night against the solid log walls of our home. The wind raged alright, as it had for the last few days. No wonder we had lost our power, there was a tree down across the lines between here and the nearest town.... Now while our log walls might be solid enough, we do have an issue with our tin roof. It is solid enough but, as anyone who has a tin roof knows, it rattles mightily in a heavy wind. There were times when it sounded like a 737 was about to land on our roof and then the tin would rattle till it sounded like our roof might take off like a kite. Our peaceful night was turned into a wakeful, noisy, disaster. At 4 a.m. I was no longer "sleeping" but lying and waiting for the time to pass till I could get up. Hubby's intention was to leave at 6:30 and so a 5:30 wake up call was in order.
When Hubby crawled out of bed, I'll be honest, I was somewhat relieved though, I must say that I was extremely tired. I followed him downstairs and lit candles as the power had not come back on as we had hoped. I knit on my Baby Surprise Sweater (E.Z. The Opinionated Knitter) until Hubby went out the door. Then I headed back to my bed to shiver until my blankets warmed me and I gently fell asleep.
At shortly after 8 a.m. I awoke to my kids slamming out the door to feed the sheep. The wind was still raging. I was grateful that Daughter#1 and Daughter #2 had enough initiative to do my chores for me.... that was great! But I faced the day resolutely knowing that my sheep needed their fall shots and our yard needed to be winterized. The first chore was to tie down the tarp that was whipping about brutally in the wind. This was quite a feat as anyone who has handled a large tarp in hurricane winds will know. Once the ropes were secured for that I cleaned out our tent trailer (thank heavens the wind had not destroyed it). Then the girls helped me to collapse that and secure a tarp over it for the winter. Hubby was home by then as he will not hunt in the middle of the day. We had a quick lunch and then I filled all the needles for the sheep's shots.
The lambs were easy. We were able to coax them into the barn and corner them. Each one had a shot of Tasvax 8 and a shot of Ivomex. Then we entered the other paddock and started to corral the adults. They were a little more warey as they seemed to know what we were up to. Greigg, my Shetland x was most warey and most wiley. We had tried capturing him earlier in the summer and discovered that he can jump three and a half foot fences with ease. So in trying to catch him this time we weren't taking any chances. Hubby discovered how hard flipping them is once you have caught them. The needle went into the soft flesh under the fore leg and since the adults only required the one shot, it was done quickly. A quick check to make sure that general health was good and off they went. Six sheep besides the four lambs got their shots yesterday and it was my first time as doctor to the sheep.
The afternoon ended with taking down the Daughter's trampoline. A day that I approached with serious misgivings, had turned into a productive one. Even my Baby Surprise Sweater is coming along.
Days that are productive make you feel good. There is nothing better than getting things accomplished... you feel like a success. There is a list a mile long with things that need to be done. The barns are still not finished, and they will be a priority over the next few weeks. There is a cloud in the sky that is still like a fist about to deliver the first blow of winter and I expect the hammer blow is going to come soon. The forcast is calling for snow this week so we are racing against the onslaught of winter to get the shelters built for the animals. In between are obligations for other activities like chaperoning and medical trips for the aging parents, (two this week alone).
But one day of success has given me the confidence that we will make it in time..... yee haw!
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