Call the vet!

I hate having to even THINK those words, but when  you have livestock, it's a distinct possibility.    These things never happen during regular business hours!  So of course last night, Sunday night (!), was one of those nights!

One of our horses had "choke."  That's when they eat too fast, or eat the wrong thing, or don't get enough water to wash something down, and it lodges in their throat.  Symptoms can be heavy breathing as their airways are partially closed off, EXCESSIVE salivating out of their noses and mouths, head hanging.  We had all of those going on.

This was my FIRST experience with choke, after owning horses for over 40 years.  Hopefully it will be my last!  But every new "adventure" helps me better understand what to do in such situations.  In this case, just monitoring the horse, was the protocol.  He did not need to have the food moved out of his esophagus.  He moved it somehow, himself, either through coughing, or the saliva lubricated it enough to get it moved down his digestive tract. 

Fortunately, this one had a happy ending, and as soon as I get off the computer, I need to go out and give him a smaller amount of food, and a hug!

"The tree is gone"*

*(sung to the tune of "The Thrill Is Gone" by B.B. King)  And we've got the pictures to prove it.  These were taken from the front of the house.

Before the cut...

Dennis surveying...

Cleanup started...

All done...

The tree was surrounded by a really nice forsythia bush. That's the clump that's left. We had been kicking around adding on an extension in the direction of the downed tree, approximately 20-20, which means this bush will have to go. But until then...

your vote DOES count!

I just got home from a "recount."  Whenever the deciding number of votes between candidates on a ballot is less than a certain percentage, the affected candidates are allowed a recount if they so choose.  In this case, the difference was 15 votes!

After we hand-recounted all the votes, which were originally counted by machine, we changed the count by one vote.  The winner won by 14 votes instead of 15. 

In this vein, think of the friends of either candidate.  If only 15 for the winner stayed home, their candidate would not have won.  The same rings true for the loser.  If only 15 more people showed up at the polls, instead of staying home, that candidate would be the winner today. 

You may look at this as just a local race in a small town, but multiply that by all the people who think their single vote won't count, especially in a presidential race.  Of course the totals are much bigger, and the margins are much bigger, but add it all up, and all of your votes might make the difference.  Presidential races are lost by thousands, but when there are thousands of people out there who think their vote won't count...think again!

Why call a tree surgeon?

We had a very, very fast storm come through with horrendous winds this afternoon.  Probably lasted all of 15 minutes.   Don't know how much water was dumped as we never put up any of our myriad of rain gauges. 

Backtrack a bit, we have some very, VERY large trees very close to the house.   One of them, a gnarly elm, had died this year.  We've been kicking around cutting it ourselves (bad idea), calling on a friend who has a lawn service (slightly better idea) or calling a professional tree service (probably best idea).  Of course cost is the all important factor.  

Fast forward to the storm.  Heard something on the roof, (I was on the lower level), and  went outside after the rain passed.   Found that said tree is pruning itself!  The first picture shows the proximity to the house.  In the second picture I tried to show the size of the tree, and the size of the branch.  Now I'm trying to figure out..."if any other branches break off, will they fall straight down or hit the house?  Or was this a wake-up call to GET THAT TREE SERVICE NOW!!!

 The tree on the other side of the house, just as close, is a much taller oak!!!  What about it's branches?   I think I'll go back to reading my book.

Biting the hand that feeds you...

You may know, or not, that we keep various reptiles at our farm.  Some are ones we caught/bought/wanted and care for.  Others are "rescues" which means they're from people who didn't want to take care of them, couldn't take care of them, wouldn't take care of them.  We care for them too.

We currently have 3 alligators of various sizes.  The smallest one is about 18 inches long.  When we got him he would "chirp", as baby alligators do, to gain the attention of their mother when they feel threatened.   I don't think he's grown that much, but he doesn't chirp any more, and he's copped an attitude since he's in an outdoor pen, and enjoying the natural sunlight, and any food that falls into his enclosure (e.g. grasshoppers.)  We also supplement his feed with small mice or chicken parts.

The significant other decided to feed him by hand the other day.  Those little devils have very sharp teeth, but then we always think we're smarter and quicker than the baby...

Obviously this is not/was not the case!!!  This was taken on Day 2, after the bandage was removed...

To Shower or Not To Shower

Okay, I'm hot and sweaty, from just coming in after mowing the lawn, with my PUSH mower, in 90 degree heat, but...Steve Wilkos is almost on.  I love to see people who are worse off, or maybe not, than I am.  Rather a voyeuristic attitude.   I guess since my own life seems so mundane, I enjoy other peoples' dramas.   I still wonder though, if some of these aren't staged.  I mean, how can you get on a plane from Nowheresville, to Connecticutt, to be on the Steve Wilkos show and not think something is afoot!   But then given the apparent mentality of the guests, this would be a stretch.  Everyone wants their 15 minutes of fame, no matter how they come by it.  Their name in lights, that's the ticket.  

Well...it's too boring, and predictable, so I showered during a commercial.  Nothing missed.  Of course this program is followed, on another channel, by Judge Joe Brown.  More drama.  I guess these shows are taking place of soap operas.  I think I need a job, before I find the only conversation I can have is with other people who have been watching these shows, and can commiserate on the guests.  EEEEKKKKK!!!

Not as easy as it looks...

I'm taking a writing class.  The instructor said a good way to get your work "seen" was to have a blog.  I have a blog.  Now what???!!!

Actually, I had thought about a blog for years.  But, being computer illiterate (and I still am), I didn't get one started until Google practically did it for me!  That's probably a bit of an untruth.  I typed in the word "blog" in their search engine, and the rest is history.  They held my hand, albeit it through the written word and very easy instructions, from beginning to end.

Now I guess all I have to do is figure out how to help people find it!

I tried Facebook, but they confused me.  They're not as "friendly" as Google, when it comes to making/adding a blog, to your profile, etc.

Actually the reason I started the blog was because I was laid off from my job.  Unemployment can be a motivating factor.  I thought once I got started, I'd write a post every day.  Obviously that's not happening either.   I was going to go on and on about unemployment, but there are many of us with that problem, and the news is not good, and it's hard to keep beating a dead horse.

I'm still trying to figure out a  common theme that I can intertwine through my writing.  I'll probably end up just bitching about everything, kinda like Andy Rooney.  And Andy, or anyone from CBS, if you happen to read this-when that old curmudgeon leaves 60 minutes, I'm available!

Until then, I'm going to try to write more, here or somewhere...

Going back to school...yet again!!!

I start tonight.  Class is called "Writing for Magazines."  This is not necessarily something I aspire to do, BUT I have been wanting to take some sort of writing class to help me decide if indeed I might have some talent in writing.  I was going to take a class at the local University, but the technical college offers similar classes at WAY less cost per hour.  Actually us "seniors" get in almost free!!!  Hopefully this will keep me somewhat occupied as I'm going a bit stir crazy not having a structured schedule to follow any more.   

I went back to school years ago to take some classes at the University.  I was terrified,  almost to the turn of  a panic attack, that I was going to be the oldest one in class, and look like a dinosaur.  Turned out I was NOT the oldest one in the class, and the students treated me more as an equal.  I was going to work on a Master's degree, but the courses were limited to the times I was working, and I could not fit them in to my schedule.   At the time writing was NOT what I was working towards, nor is it now.  Now that I'm not working, that Master's might become more of a reality.

Whatever transpires, there's always room for more learning. 

How to lose weight...

I stopped at a friend's house the other day, and she was out on her riding lawn mower.    We visited for a while, and she went back to mowing, and I went home.  Later in the day I got an e-mail from her about an event she was going to,  and she was bemoaning the fact that she wished she could lose the extra 40 or 50 pounds she was carrying.   

The next day, as I was mowing my lawn, with a "push mower" and NOT self-propelled, I thought THIS is how she should have, could have, mowed her yard.  Takes a little longer, and if it's hot you may want to take refreshment breaks often, and perhaps take more than one day to mow.  But it's excercise that you don't have to leave home for.  No payments to the health club.  Wear anything you please.  Stop and go as you wish.   Do it at any time you wish.  No appointment necessary.

Now the disclaimer... I admit I use a push mower because I cannot afford a riding mower!

Vitiligo...what is it?

I was stopped at the bank the other morning, by a woman who wanted to quietly ask me about my skin condition, which is known as vitiligo.  For you who are not familiar with this condition, it is an "autoimmune condition" in which I am losing pigmentation in my skin.  It has caused "white" patches, which are not as obvious in the winter, but more in the summer.  This is because the "white" patches obviously do not tan, and the other areas do.  I have large patches on my neck and shoulders that tan, and also large patches that are white, and so the obvious contrast. 

Vitiligo does not hurt, does not itch, is not contagious, is not life-threatening.  It can start at any age.  Mine started when I was in my 40s.  There is a "cure" of sorts, in which a person takes a drug, and also is exposed to ultraviolet light.  This is done under a doctor's care, and is supposed to work well with children who have this condition, but not so much for adults.  The cost, at the time I looked into it, was about $400 a month, and I figured I'd just live with the condition.   

This IS the condition which Michael jackson was said to have.  If he bleached his skin, it would probably have been so he was all one color.  Obviously a dark-skinned person would be much more obvious than a light- skinned person.   I have some discoloration on my face and so have been using concealers, and rather high SPF sunblock so my face does not get large patches of distinct coloration.

Does it go away?   I've read some reports where people have gained their coloration back, and I believe I've gained some back on my hands and arms.  One of the possible reasons for this condition is stress.  Since I've been unemployed, my stress level has probably gone down (no job-related stress) but it's also stressful looking for a job.  That's another story...

What is it about turtles???

This is the time of year, when they're coming out of their burrows and dens, looking for something to eat, and someone to make little turtles with.  Of course, they're crossing the roads, to look for those new loves.

So, why oh why, would anyone want to purposely run them over?  They're living, breathing animals.  If that were a rock in the road, the observant driver would try to AVOID the "rock" so as not to ruin a tire, or whatever.  So why does the turtle suffer?

I once talked to an old farmer who said he ran over turtles because they would get in his strawberry patch.  I was dumbfounded  A turtle, on the road possibly miles from his strawberry patch, deserved to be squished out of existence?  That made no sense at all.

Give 'em a break!!!

YIKES!!!

Couldn't resist putting this on here.  We knew one of the horses got out of the pasture late at night, and so we closed the gate along the roadway.  Much easier than tryng to find a black horse after dark.  This is our paint mare who's quite fine.  She just likes to sprawl out when she sleeps.  If I had my wits about me this afternoon, I would have taken a picture of all 3 horses prone in the pasture!

They're back!!!

Yes, I started bird watching, in some earnest, a few years back, and when the Cornell Bird Watch started, I became more interested.   I keep out 4 seed feeders and 4 suet feeders at any given time. I also keep at least 2 hummingbird feeders out.   I bought Audubon's Field Guide so I could identify the birds that I did not recognize at the feeder.  I mean everyone probably knows what a goldfinch or a cardinal look like, but there are quite a few different types of sparrows, and some of those sparrows are wrens, NOT sparrows at all. 

Then a couple years ago I had my first Rose Breasted Grosbeak!  The following year I had a couple more, and then I had quite a few.  And I also had a different kind of grosbeak, a Blackheaded Grosbeak.  And then a Baltimore Oriole!!!   They don't stay long, but now that they've found my lttle "layover" they come back every year.

The hummingbirds are back too.  They came back on April 20 to our house  hat's the earliest I've ever known them to show up.  I used to wait until Memorial Day, but was told they show up earlier, and the experts were right!

So, disregarding the last post, life is good!

Great interview but...

No job!!!  Had what I thought was a great interview, for a job that I really wanted to try, and only 4 other applicants, but...no luck.  I shouldn't be too unhappy as there are people who have been out of work for a year or more.  I've only been out of work for 2 months.  So I'll have to return some of the clothes I thought I might have needed for the job.  The only reason I bought those was that I needed to buy clothes just for the interview, and I found a few more things that caught my eye.  Plus they were on sale!!!  NEVER pay full price, although one is limited when one buys only only sale.  Makes it a bit harder to find your size in the color you prefer, etc, etc. 

I realize that some people have had to take pay cuts when taking a new job, but I've taken so many pay cuts in my lifetime, I'm ready to wait for something big.  I didn't lose a high powered job, so I'm ready to take one on! 

Or contemplate retirement, start a big garden, and renew my fishing license! 

Garage in, garbage out...

We (the significant other) and  went out of town this weekend to a wonderful wildlife refuge/research natural area, in Illinois's Pine Hills area.  The weather was beautiful, and the hikers were abundant.

Unfortunately, so was the trash!  So many, TOO many plastic bottles, aluminum cans, paper wrappers, etc, etc.   When will we ever stop leaving a trail of garbage behind us?  I'm especially disheartened when I think that the people who utilize this area are conservation-minded. 

Come on people...if you're not one of the culprits, then please take a trash bag with you, and help clean up someone else's mess, before it gets to be too much to clean up!  You might even be setting an example for others to pick up!

Dots update!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WOWEE...looking for candy to take to a friend in the hospital, and omigosh.  Found SOUR DOTS at the grocery store.  I was a very big fan of Gummy Sours, made by Hershey, a few years back, but they were discontinued.  They have since reappeared in a smaller package, but there are not as many flavors, and it's just not the same.

These SOUR DOTS are wonderful, although the box I got seemed to be a bit sticky.  This could be due to the fact that I had them in my car, without air conditioning, and the car was hot inside, as it sat in the sun. 

Please, please, please TOOTSIE ROLL, don't stop making the sours! 

As for my friend in the hospital, I bought her chocolate.  I didn't want to share my DOTS!

Dots, dots and more dots...

I love Tootsie Roll Dots.

Unfortunately they are not carried by all candy outlets, and some of the more uncomon flavors are not carried in my neck of the woods at all (SW Missouri.)  I am blessed with a relative who works for Tootsie Roll, and occasionally  do get some of the more uncommon varieties.  This post will just be personal observations on some of those varieties. 

 

My last "care package" was composed of regular Dots,  Valentine Dots, Easter Dots, Yogurt Dots, Tropical Dots, and my absolute favorite, Crows (that is to say Black Crows.)  One benefit of getting them straight from the factory is that the freshness level is wonderful.   I must admit though, it's been years since I've bought "stale" Dots at any store.

 

• The Valentine Dots were superb.  Greast taste.
• The Easter Dots were strictly okay.  Nothing too out of the ordinary.
• The Yogurt Dots are on a par with the Easter Dots.
• The  Tropical Dots should be sold everywhere regular dots are found.
• Crows, or "Black Crows", are always a delight.

Interestingly enough, I found a reference to Crows in a Robert B. Parker book.  He also referred to them as "Black Crows" which is the only way I've ever known to refer to them.  It may be an age-related moniker for the best licorice you can buy.

I'm saddened that not all the big box stores carry Dots, and many of the grocery stores do not carry Dots either, except for an occasional special display.  Maybe it's time to call your congressman or congresswoman, to demand these stores carry more Dots.   Extra sales would mean beefed-up production which could only mean increased job creation.  It's a win-win situation

And...I saved the best for last...they're FAT FREE!!!

 

 

 

Beer cans in the wilderness...

Okay, we (the hubby and I) went hiking this weekend.   We went to a place we had not been before; a rather unspoiled hike down a path in the national forest.  When I say "unspoiled" I mean, no motor vehicle tracks, no tracks of any kind.   BUT, there were signs that others had used that trail.  They left beer cans like Hansel and Gretel left bread crumbs.  Now it seems every time we go on a hike, anywhere, there are beer cans, NEVER soda cans, only beer cans.   Can't we go anywhere without taking beer with us?  Should we put more of a tariff on beer, like a deposit of $.05/can?  I'm not anti-beer, but leave it at home!!! 

And for all you Chevy truck haters/lovers, they may have a tendency to rust around the wheel wells, but the beds never seem to rust!  We also found a chevy truck bed, on our hike, that had obviously been there for quite a while, and the paint still looked pretty good.  I guess we could say it's now "habitat" for some of the forest creatures.

So if you're walking around in the great outdoors, leave the car parts, and the beer at home.  Bring a water bottle you can strap to your belt.  You can always put something other than water in the bottle.  As the saying goes "...leave nothing but footprints!"

Bird Watching...

Since I'm unemployed, I have time to take care of matters around the house during the week.  Of course there are things everyone says they're gonna do on weekends, but the weekends tend to be filled with too much to do.  The other day I finally got around to emptying out last year's bird houses of old nests, etc.   I also repositioned a couple of the houses because they did not have bird nests in them (wasp nests yes, but no birds.)   

The next day, while I was out feeding one of the horses,  I heard an odd chirping, and looked around to see what type of bird it was, as  I am not an expert on bird calls. Looking over one of the bird houses was a downy woodpecker.  I never thought that woodpeckers used man-made bird houses, so I will be watching that particular house more closely.

Which brings up another subject...I need to clean up my hummingbird feeders.  I believe I read some where that the hummers are due back around the end of March, and that's right around the corner.  At our first house, when I had out feeders, I was always greeted by the birds hovering by my kitchen window when they first arrived, as if to say "We're back!!!"  That usually corresponded with Memorial Day, but experts say it's much sooner. 

I'm also watching out for favorites who seem to have found my feeders on their way north  This includes the grosbeaks.  The first year I noticed them, I had one.  Since then each year has offered a couple more, and last year I also had an oriole.  

The birds that have overwintered here are probably some of the fattest in the area, as are the squirrels and chipmunks, but  that's okay!  It's cheap entertainment, and with the loss of suitable habitat in the area, I'm glad to do my part.  Speaking of habitat, we have a flock of over 20 wild turkeys that have taken up residence.  That's a future story...

The start of nothing big...

Nothing like unemployment to make you go places you didn't dare, or have time for. I was recently let go from the "biggest retailer in the world." I guess more of my shopping will be at Target. I just wish they'd increase the size of their grocery departent.



I've talked about doing a blog for more than a year, but my recent, unintended, departure from the working world, affords me the time to put my thoughts to paper. I fancied myself to be somewhat of a "good" writer, so this will be a test of my ingenuity, and endurance.



Topics may include everything and anything, since my interests outside the working world of retail and MUCH different than any job I ever held. Topics relating to the environment, horses, house pets, and reptiles of all sorts, will be mentioned from time to time. Politics is not off limits, but I feel whomever we have in office, we'll never be happy.

Comments, or suggestIons are appreciated This is my first rant, but won't be my last!