When it rains...it rains some more

Since the Marines illness and  hospital stay.  We have fallen behind on a lot of our must do projects.

First of all I thought Miss Piggy was due to give birth the first week in February and we had not built her a separate pen and shelter from our boar.  As it got closer to the date I saw no signs that birth was imminent so we didn't get in a hurry.   Not that I or Papa Bear are experts.  This will be our first rodeo but according to everything I read and pictures I saw she wasn't close.  Thank God I looked at the gestation chart wrong. 

In November Miss Piggy became so frustrated with Kermit our boar that she tried to show him how the deed is done.  OK...she had it backwards too,  but you get my meaning...hahaha  piggy porn!

If they finally got it right and the deed was done during this time, I should have piggies the first week in March.  If she didn't get pregnant during this heat cycle, then 21 days later will be toward the 3rd week in March.









When we got home from the hospital we had so much rain that the pen Miss Piggy and Kermit were in had massive mud puddles.  I had nightmares that Miss piggy was going to give birth and all my new piggies would drown.  Papa Bear and I recouped a couple of days from the day and night shifts at the hospital and then got busy.  We got a new pen put up adjoining the one shown in the photo above with a gate separating the two.  A larger shelter was also built.  

This is Miss Piggy in her new digs.  I had to put a bucket in the corner and tie it to the fence until I can get an automatic waterer installed.  I have to fill it up a couple of times a day.

This is a picture I took today on the 26th.  Any piggy experts out there who can guess if she's due anytime soon?  It is supposed to freeze here again tomorrow night.  Murphy's law and all you know.  I will get as much hay as I can moved in there with her tomorrow.....just in case.








I told you when it rains, it rains some more.  Yesterday I noticed Calico, one of my pregnant does limping.  I am way behind on trimming goat hooves.  I know...bad goat mama.  I brought her into a stall and put her up on the milking stand so I could save my back from breaking.  Sure enough.  She had a lot of extra growth with dirt packed under it that was causing her to limp.  I got the hoof trimmers and pick,  got one front hoof done when Papa Bear handed me a new pair of trimmers.    I trimed her back hoof and went to the other side and got the back trimmed and started to do the front and saw a pool of blood.  OMG.  I thought I was extremely careful not to cut too close.  I called Papa Bear and told him to bring me the ground Cayenne pepper.  He wanted to know if I had cut myself...I said no...the goat.  I got a bucket of water and paper towels and still could not see anything on the hoof and then I felt the blood oozing through my fingers where I was holding around her pastern.  I had cut a nasty gash with those new clippers and didn't even know it.  Calico never flinched or anything.  I got it washed and poured the cayenne pepper on the gash.  It clotted the blood in just a few seconds. (Cayenne Pepper is a great item to have in your survival gear.)  I have used it on myself.  It does not burn like you think it would.

Once the bleeding stopped I put some Colloidal Silver gel on the wound and wrapped it to keep the dirt out of it.  Today she is just limping slightly.  I'll take the bandage off tomorrow and see how everything looks.  I probably should give her a tetanus shot too if I can remember.  She's just going about her usual business like nothing is wrong other than the small limp that I caused!  Her kids are due in March.  It's going to be a busy month!

While running back and forth between the goat shelters, pig pens and house I noticed the pear trees have started blooming.  This is what happened last year.  The trees bloomed out, we had a late freeze that killed the blooms and had no pears.  It is supposed to be 29 tomorrow night.  Such is life.

On a brighter note.  The Marine is doing well.  He is sleeping here through his Nebulizer treatment.  He told me he didn't mind being a lab rat...More on that later.

His fur babies are glad he is home.  We only allow one at a time to sleep with him since his illness instead of all three of his babies piled up with him.  It was Freeway's turn last night.  He just propped up on the Marine's leg and decide he wasn't moving!

Surviving Feminism

This is a really good read.....It's the Women not the Men
HT to High Plains Drifter for posting the link

As a woman, sometimes I think God plopped me down in the wrong century.  I should have lived back during the pioneer days because I hate what most of today's women have become.  I want to stay here on my little acreage, worship my God, take care of my family, land and animals. And I want to do it beside my husband, to be his helpmate.    If I never had to leave the place I would be one happy camper!

Belated Presidents Day

I was eating breakfast with my 10-year old granddaughter and I asked her, "What day is tomorrow?"

She said, "It's President's Day!"

She's a smart kid so I asked her, "What does President's Day mean?"

I was waiting for something about Washington or Lincoln.  But she replied, "President's Day is when President Obama steps out of the White House and if he sees his shadow, we have another year of bull$#i+!"

 

…You know, it hurts when hot coffee spurts out your nose!

Million American Jobs Project

We are home!

Left the hospital and came home to settle the Marine in.  Papa Bear was very tired so I went back to town to fill prescriptions and get some takeout for supper.   Two hours to fill 3 prescriptions at Walmart.   grumble, grumble, grumble.  Walmart is a necessary evil at times.

Thanks again everyone for your prayers and get well wishes!.  As soon as I get caught up on things I'll be commenting and catching up on the blogs.

You folks are simply great and I can't thank you enough!

He Sleeps

The morning of February 12th is the most rested I have seen the Marine since he was admitted to the hospital on Wednesday.  This is a new type of mask on his face that will allow us to wean him from the oxygen.

The marine started having breathing issues from another bout of an URI.  I could not take care of it fast enough at home so Wednesday morning when the Marines oxygen levels and heart rate begin dropping, we loaded him up and headed to the hospital.

We have two hospitals in our area.   We first went to the one that is not our first choice for two reasons.  The Marine's sister works there and his Pulmonary doctor has an office in the complex.  I thought the Marine would enjoy seeing his sister on her breaks and before and after work.    I made a bad choice.

 Papa Bear dropped the Marine and I off at the ER and left us to park.  They did get a wrist band on the Marine, took his vitals.  It was obvious the Marine was in distress.  They two at the desk said a room was being cleaned and they would get him back in 5 minutes.  Over 30 minutes later we were still in the waiting room, about 10 more people had come in and one who kept pacing back and forth near us was coughing up blood.  I called Papa Bear (who had just found a parking space) and told him to come back to the ER and pick us up.  We needed to go to the other hospital.  The Marine's lips were blue at the time and his heart rate was erratic going from as high as 150 bpm to as low as 24 bpm.

The other hospital is about 15 minutes away.  When we arrived they took the Marine straight in.  With-in 30 minutes we had an IV going, a chest x-ray done, more oxygen going than what our little tank could do and his pulmonary doctor had been called.

We were told that the hospital was full and we may have to spend the day and maybe even the night in the ER.  At this point I didn't care.  The Marine was getting the medical attention he needed. The initial x-ray shows pneumonia in his right lung just as we suspected.  We did not have to wait as long as we were originally told for a room.  We got one by around 5PM.

 The remainder of my post is a few pictures and comments.  I have been trying to write this for a couple of days but with no activity on the WI-fi here at the hospital, it signs you out in 30 minutes or so.  I am constantly having to stop and then try to sign back in.  My little Dell notebook isn't to great either.

The Marine is a very hard stick as his veins have shrunk.  It takes several sticks to get blood and a  IV started.  If IV's and drawing blood gets to be difficult, or if the Marine is going to be here awhile,  I will ask for a PICC line.

Getting two kinds of IV antibiotics and I can already see an improvement but he still cannot get by with just room air. IV fluids and two types of antibiotics has the Marine feeling much better.  Believe it or not but there are no extra pillows at the hospital.  Here we are using a stuffed bear brought to the hospital by his cousin to prop his hand on until Papa Bear can get back with pillows from home.    I can't even tun the Marine to his side until I get some.

When the doctor made rounds this morning (February 14th)  he told us his assistant would be doing rounds over the weekend.   As the Marine's GP is at the Navy base, one was assigned to him at the hospital.  He told me that everyone would be consulted on the Marine's case and he may can go home this week-end.  I don't know if he knows what he's talking about.

The clock is funny in the Marine's room.  Everyday is Friday!  This was the 13th's time and date. 

This was a new to us fitting for the nebulizer for the Marine's breathing treatments.  I told him he looked like Pop-Eye the sailor man smoking his pipe.

The Marine's sister got this thing ordered for him.  One of her patients uses one.  It wraps around the chest, pumps air and vibrates the lungs,  It reminds you of the spin cycle on a washing machine.  It makes the Marine laugh when the therapist tells him she is going to shake him up like pop corn.  The Marine's doctor is going to write us a prescription for the Marine so he can have one at home!







Our family would like to thank all of you for your prayers and nice comments.  As I get the time I will comment to each of you.  We ask that you do keep up the prayers for the Marine.  They are working!

The Marine is in the Hospital

Please say a prayer and send good thoughts his way.

Puppy Love

The last of Ella's puppies went to their new homes this past weekend.  This is the son of one of my new blog readers. What a beautiful family!  They read about Ella and the pups on my blog and offered to re-home one! 

When they arrived from their two hour journey to pick up the pup, we were presented with a fresh loaf of whole wheat bread and a jar of apple butter from the Mom!  I should have taken a picture of that!  I never have good luck making whole wheat bread.  Mine always comes out like a dense brick but I learned a couple of secrets and will have to try it.

These folks are amazing.  I wish they had a blog! Trees that were planted by the father as a young boy was cut and harvested for their log cabin home which they built.  Their children are home schooled, they have honey bee hives and they raise pigs!  I will have to pick their brains on that one too as Miss Piggy does not seem to be getting in the "piggy way".  I want baby pigs!  Which translates to I want bacon...and ham...and chops and....

 I promised Papa Bear my undivided attention with help on the pole barn this week.  I'll post pictures when I get a chance.   I hope everyone has a great week!

Busy Week

The Marine had labs and doctors appointment at Navy base this past Monday.  Of course the post office called about 30 minutes before it was time for us to leave and tell us our baby chicks had arrived.  When I ordered them my deliver date was the week of February 3rd.  I did not know they would be here on the 3rd.  Mom had spent the weekend in town so I called and asked her to rescue the chicks until I got home.

The Marine's appointments are an all day affair for us.  Labs are at 10:45 and then his doctors appointment is at 2:PM.  Since we are a little over an hours drive from the base, there is not enough time to come back home and go back.  I called daughter and asked her and SO to meet us for lunch at Red Lobster.  Lobster Fest is going on for the next 10 weeks and we had a craving for some lobster.  We had a nice leisurely lunch before we made the second appointment.  All is well with the Marine.  It was just a check-up.  We did find out that sometimes during the year the VA is opening a home health service for severely disabled vets such as the Marine.  The doctor will actually make house calls if needed and they will send nurses out to draw blood for the labs.  We can also have a nurses aide several times a week to give his bath.  I am trying not to get my hopes up too high for this as we all know the government is cutting out as much as they can from the Military.  Any disabled vet and their caregivers post 9/11 get all kinds of fringe benefits that my Marine doesn't.  It's simply not right to treat one generation of veterans differently from others. But don't get me started!

When we got back home Mom had already opened the box of chicks and gave them all a drink of water.  I put them into a temporary cage under the shed with a heat lamp.  I used to put new chicks in the sun room in a kiddie wading pool but Papa Bear gave the pool to the piggies last year when they were babies and I have not purchased another.,  Besides that the Marines Rat Terrier "Baby"  may have thought they were little rats and needed taken care of so no chicks in the house. Look at those cute little Rhode Island Reds who is going to start our new flock.  I am still trying to find a Barred Rock rooster for my 4 remaining girls that made it through the massacre.

The weekend before the Marines appointment Papa Bear and I had started building a new baby chick house/brooder.  I had an idea in mind what I wanted and we kind of made it up as we went along.  The only thing I had to buy to make the new chickie/ brooder house was a small box of roofing nails.  We already had bits and pieces of everything already here.  My new blogger friend Izzy over at The Compound calls all of the piled up stuff, resource inventory and all of this time I have been calling it JUNK.  Sometimes junk resource inventory comes in handy. Would you believe the shingles are from leftovers when we built our house almost 20 years ago.  That man (Papa Bear) doesn't throw anything away.

It has sliding doors on both ends so I can reach in and clean it out, fill the feeder and waters without having to stand on my head!

Since it's still a little cold and breezy, we stapled strips of cardboard around the bottom to keep the air off of them.

So far, so good.  I have since put a long feeder in there since they all want to crowd around one like this although there were two feeders in the brooder box like this.

Look...the chickie/brooder house is next to some blueberry bushes and they are beginning to bud out.  Surely spring is aound the corner!

A Funny for Friday