Sunday mornings are not always like this one. I am sitting here with a nice cup of tea and I am relaxed. The reason why I am relaxed is because I woke in the middle of the night with a migraine. I don't get migraines very often any more but one time I got them often. Last night, I got a migraine in the middle of the night, and even tough the migraine is almost gone this morning, I am staying home from church in an effort to not bring it back. If I stay very quiet for a few hours this morning it probably will go away. If I head off to church or do serious work it will come back in a way that I would rather not experience. The reason why I had a migraine headache is because I woke in the night positively panting for water. The reason I woke positively panting for water is because I was cold and turned up the furnace quite high before I went to bed. The reason I was cold was because I was outdoors yesterday working with the animals and I got a chill.
We cut the alpaca's teeth, toenails, and gave them their shots yesterday. It was a very busy day. I did things that were just plain nasty. Like lancing an abscess on Eddie's ear. The alpacas have been fighting... a lot so it seems. They are all nicked and scratched and in hard shape. Eddie has been fighting more than the other animals and we discovered a huge abscess on one of his ears and it was just plain hot, which means infection. We opened it up and cleaned out the puss and poured on some iodine. Hopefully it will heal. this is the type of thing that I wondered if I would be able to do it.
Here's an example of how it goes with the alpacas when we do the caring in the spring and fall.
First we have to corner them and catch them one by one.
Then Hubby holds them while I put on the halter.
Then Hubby keeping his arm around their neck and me leading them on the lead walk/drag them to the table where we work.
Then Hubby lines them up and lifts them onto the table. The girls hold their legs while I hold the head and Hubby ties legs and head to the table.
Then if it is spring we shear them.
Then I get the shots ready. With a hypodermic needle I give Ivomec 1.5 m and Tasvax 8 2 m. the Tasvax is just in the spring.
Hubby actually gives the needle to the alpacas because I always have trouble getting the needle through the skin. They have very tough skin. We give it in the armpit.... foreleg pit.
Then we clip any hair around the face that we missed in the spring.
Then we clip their nails and even them up with the pad of the foot.
Then we stuff a leather pad in their mouth and while Daughter #2 lies on the alpacas feet, and Daughter #1 grabs the alpaca by the ears like bike handle bars, Hubby begins cutting the teeth with a Dremel tool cutter. Meanwhile I hold the leather in place and that helps to keep the cutter from cutting the palette. Then when the smoke starts to rise I squirt water on the teeth to keep them cool. It is a horrible job. We have to keep goggles on because chips of enamel fly everywhere.
Then slowly after all that we have to gently slide them off the table and back onto their feet and then pull/drag them back to the paddock.
Then we have to take off the halter and let them go.
We usually stand around sweating at this point.
I think Benny is starting to figure out that we are trying to help him and he does not make it as difficult. But Dexter, whose never had his teeth trimmed before, was not very happy about the process and fought us all the way. Then he snorted and growled and squealed and made every noise that he is capable of. Eddie and Axton did not need their teeth trimmed. We actually did Axton on the ground since he wouldn't get up and walk. Argh!
Anyway here I sit with a cuppa and I am happy to have some time to sit and relax after yesterday's ordeal. Today???? Later, if my headache clears up.... I think I might try to tackle the closet. Finally!!!
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Friday, October 2, 2009
Frost
Some signs that winter is on its way around our house.
1. Me madly trying to pick tomatoes in the moonlight before the frost ruins them.
these are the ones I missed.
2. Me madly searching for sox that I haven't seen since last spring
3. Me putting on sox in the morning with a look of distaste.
4. Me cursing on the frost on the flowers on "My Deck".
5. Me slipping and falling on the very frosty and very slippery deck as I chase the cat away from the garbage that I put out last night for garbage day.
6. Me out in my poncho and nighty taking pictures of the nasty frost in the morning for my blog.
7. Coyotes howling at the almost full moon keeping me awake because it is a clear frosty night.
8. Me freezing my buns off as I try to take the one last bag of garbage that Hubby forgot out to the side of the road in my nighty and poncho... brrr!
9. Me sighing in relief when the sun finally comes out around 10 a.m. to burn away the fog that caused the disgusting frost in the first place.
10. Me sitting down to a nice cup of steaming tea and the fireplace turned on to warm my buns up after freezing them off earlier outside.. and having a nice rolag of something soft and woolly to spin.
I'm wearing sox.... waaaaaah! Here look at this disgusting picture of frost while I wail!
1. Me madly trying to pick tomatoes in the moonlight before the frost ruins them.
these are the ones I missed.
2. Me madly searching for sox that I haven't seen since last spring
3. Me putting on sox in the morning with a look of distaste.
4. Me cursing on the frost on the flowers on "My Deck".
5. Me slipping and falling on the very frosty and very slippery deck as I chase the cat away from the garbage that I put out last night for garbage day.
6. Me out in my poncho and nighty taking pictures of the nasty frost in the morning for my blog.
7. Coyotes howling at the almost full moon keeping me awake because it is a clear frosty night.
8. Me freezing my buns off as I try to take the one last bag of garbage that Hubby forgot out to the side of the road in my nighty and poncho... brrr!
9. Me sighing in relief when the sun finally comes out around 10 a.m. to burn away the fog that caused the disgusting frost in the first place.
10. Me sitting down to a nice cup of steaming tea and the fireplace turned on to warm my buns up after freezing them off earlier outside.. and having a nice rolag of something soft and woolly to spin.
I'm wearing sox.... waaaaaah! Here look at this disgusting picture of frost while I wail!
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Things I've Learned (or a little trvia!)
1. Chickens eat eggs (does that make them cannabalistic??? and we eat them... doesn't say much for us.)
2. Grasshoppers poop... yes they do and its big enough to see!
3. No matter how much you clean house... you have to keep doing it. Its like wiping your a-- with a hoop (as my Dad says) kind of pointless.
4. Friday the 13th is not unlucky.
5. The full moon does make you want to howl and sing and dance and run around naked.
6. Your children are all different no matter how many you have. (that one was a shock)
7. You can have creatures that fall in love even when they are not of the same species. (alpacas and sheep for instance)
8. Brand new door knobs don't always work.
9. Eyebrows sometimes are connected.
10. Not everyone who gets to their 50th anniversary love each other. (this one also was a shock)
11. Grasshopper poop can be almost as big as mouse poop! (I've measured)
12. A really good movie can be watched many times and still give pleasure... even for adults.
13. Knitting is more pleasurable when done with hands than with a knitting machine. (This is very personal)
14. The planet breathes and right now it is wheezing because it has a respiratory virus. It just needs to get rid of the snot..... (that's us in case you were wondering.)
15. Finding money in a pocket of a jacket you haven't worn since last year is great... not all crinkling in your pocket turns out to be money.
16. You always worry about your children even when they leave home.... I'm not looking forward to that.
17. Procrastination never works out.
18. Always check the hole of a squirt bottle with the hole pointed away from you! Remember this one.
19. Bats migrate. A good thing too since it gives you a chance to fill up the holes where they were getting in.
20. Honey bee nests in your walls, while a mess, is a real bonus.
20. If you have a friend with a honey bee farm invite them to put some hives at your place.... you get free honey... its great.
21. Honey bees have orange bums.
22. Hornets suck! Enough said.
23. Flies are irritating bu--ers! As they still persist in showing me daily.
24. Try to finish your projects from time to time without starting new ones.
25. Fingernails that are long are rarely clean when you live on a farm.
25. A husband (at least mine) can be a really great thing. (remember this is "things I'VE learned")
26. Not everyone is as lucky picking out a mate as I was.
27. Natural dyeing requires patience to get good results... (I don't get good results usually.... )
28. A rye sense of humour can help at times.
29. A rye sense of humour can make things worse sometimes.
30. Impart the knowledge you've accumulated... someone may benefit. (But then some may think, "What a ninny!")
2. Grasshoppers poop... yes they do and its big enough to see!
3. No matter how much you clean house... you have to keep doing it. Its like wiping your a-- with a hoop (as my Dad says) kind of pointless.
4. Friday the 13th is not unlucky.
5. The full moon does make you want to howl and sing and dance and run around naked.
6. Your children are all different no matter how many you have. (that one was a shock)
7. You can have creatures that fall in love even when they are not of the same species. (alpacas and sheep for instance)
8. Brand new door knobs don't always work.
9. Eyebrows sometimes are connected.
10. Not everyone who gets to their 50th anniversary love each other. (this one also was a shock)
11. Grasshopper poop can be almost as big as mouse poop! (I've measured)
12. A really good movie can be watched many times and still give pleasure... even for adults.
13. Knitting is more pleasurable when done with hands than with a knitting machine. (This is very personal)
14. The planet breathes and right now it is wheezing because it has a respiratory virus. It just needs to get rid of the snot..... (that's us in case you were wondering.)
15. Finding money in a pocket of a jacket you haven't worn since last year is great... not all crinkling in your pocket turns out to be money.
16. You always worry about your children even when they leave home.... I'm not looking forward to that.
17. Procrastination never works out.
18. Always check the hole of a squirt bottle with the hole pointed away from you! Remember this one.
19. Bats migrate. A good thing too since it gives you a chance to fill up the holes where they were getting in.
20. Honey bee nests in your walls, while a mess, is a real bonus.
20. If you have a friend with a honey bee farm invite them to put some hives at your place.... you get free honey... its great.
21. Honey bees have orange bums.
22. Hornets suck! Enough said.
23. Flies are irritating bu--ers! As they still persist in showing me daily.
24. Try to finish your projects from time to time without starting new ones.
25. Fingernails that are long are rarely clean when you live on a farm.
25. A husband (at least mine) can be a really great thing. (remember this is "things I'VE learned")
26. Not everyone is as lucky picking out a mate as I was.
27. Natural dyeing requires patience to get good results... (I don't get good results usually.... )
28. A rye sense of humour can help at times.
29. A rye sense of humour can make things worse sometimes.
30. Impart the knowledge you've accumulated... someone may benefit. (But then some may think, "What a ninny!")
The State Of The World In Our House (continued)
And so it goes (sigh)
Daughter #1 is still on her block-head kick. I went to the school to pick them all up yesterday.... her science teacher came up to me and said,"You really need to encourage her to pass in her work assignments on time. She passed in her assignment after I had all the others marked and handed back and I couldn't accept it."
I promptly knocked my head on the wall....
Daughter #1 is now grounded. No horse for three days. Poor Hubby now has to feed it on the way to work. Poor Hubby has to muck out its stall on the way home from work. Daughter #1 says she is going to try harder but she is not making a good start as she just p----d away a half hour this morning playing with her cat instead of getting ready for school. Argh!
I'm starting to worry about my poor dented and somewhat bald head!!!!
Daughter #1 is still on her block-head kick. I went to the school to pick them all up yesterday.... her science teacher came up to me and said,"You really need to encourage her to pass in her work assignments on time. She passed in her assignment after I had all the others marked and handed back and I couldn't accept it."
I promptly knocked my head on the wall....
Daughter #1 is now grounded. No horse for three days. Poor Hubby now has to feed it on the way to work. Poor Hubby has to muck out its stall on the way home from work. Daughter #1 says she is going to try harder but she is not making a good start as she just p----d away a half hour this morning playing with her cat instead of getting ready for school. Argh!
I'm starting to worry about my poor dented and somewhat bald head!!!!
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
The State Of The World In Our House
Daughter #1 has just made blunder #1. She came home this evening at 5 p.m. with a pile of homework and a test tomorrow. She had just spent two hours at the arena with her horse.
Stipulation 1: There will be no horse fun in the afternoon when there is a pile of homework.
Why do kids break the rules?
They want to see their parents bald from pulling out their hair.
I hope I don't regret this horse!!
Stipulation 1: There will be no horse fun in the afternoon when there is a pile of homework.
Why do kids break the rules?
They want to see their parents bald from pulling out their hair.
I hope I don't regret this horse!!
Monday, September 28, 2009
We All Are What We Are
I decided a while ago that once a week I would try to find a blog written preferably by a woman that was international (so not Canada or the US) and not political, but something written by a woman with a normal life that was primarily interesting and somewhat diverse. If I liked it well enough I would add it to my favorites.
So far I have found a few but not as many as you would expect. I got started on this because I thought about all the people out there who are blogging regularly and it is one chance in hundreds of thousands that you hit them and while some of them are not worth looking at, (partially because they are not maintained) there are many that are worth looking at. I found just such a blog tonight since this is a day for taking it easy (and wiping my nose a lot... I hate colds!)
I really like this blog because her pictures are inspiring. I really like this blog a lot because she talks about all aspects of life. I like this blog a lot because there is so much about art. From hand made tiles from Algeria to fashion from Afghanistan, this woman has a lot to say about lovely things world wide. How interesting.
Sometimes I read other blogs and think why can't I make my blog interesting like that. But ultimately we all are what we are and we can only hope that someone reads what we have to say and find it interesting enough to take something away. How cool it is to be able to touch someone's life and not even know it. It is very fulfilling.
Oh yeah check out my links for her blog. Anarkali
So far I have found a few but not as many as you would expect. I got started on this because I thought about all the people out there who are blogging regularly and it is one chance in hundreds of thousands that you hit them and while some of them are not worth looking at, (partially because they are not maintained) there are many that are worth looking at. I found just such a blog tonight since this is a day for taking it easy (and wiping my nose a lot... I hate colds!)
I really like this blog because her pictures are inspiring. I really like this blog a lot because she talks about all aspects of life. I like this blog a lot because there is so much about art. From hand made tiles from Algeria to fashion from Afghanistan, this woman has a lot to say about lovely things world wide. How interesting.
Sometimes I read other blogs and think why can't I make my blog interesting like that. But ultimately we all are what we are and we can only hope that someone reads what we have to say and find it interesting enough to take something away. How cool it is to be able to touch someone's life and not even know it. It is very fulfilling.
Oh yeah check out my links for her blog. Anarkali
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