Beginning Another Year

 The holidays are over again, and it seems fitting that we start another year on a Monday. 

It is sunny with some clouds here in NE Kansas, and the wind is blowing my flag from the south at the moment, though our days of temperate temps are gone for a while.  We are in a period of cold, but not like the cold and snow our friends on the east coast have seen.  In fact, one year at Christmas we had nine inches of snow... that was hard on man and beast. 

I was stunned to see I had not blogged since October, and I hope to do better this coming year. 

How did I ever find time to do it daily in the past? 

2023 was hard for me here, and I am going to write about why.  I have not written about it... on purpose, because my heart was broken... and I was having trouble going on. 

On April 4th, little Zoey begain to have trouble breathing one day.  I had adopted her from Bonner Animal Rescue in November, 2021. 

This was two days prior.  

She had had a chest infection in March, and had taken medicine for it, and had had several visits to the vet.  That week, she had a follow up, and I was told her chest was fine.  I asked if they should xray again, and the vet assured me her chest was clear. 

Two days later, she struggled to breathe.  As it went on during the day, I began to get more and more alarmed, and I ended up taking her to the 24 hour ER.  They took her right back and put her in the oxygen chamber, and told me to go home they would call in the morning. 

The phone call I got at 9 AM was to tell me she had died. 

They told me the doctor had reached in to get her to give her a lasix shot and she had fallen over dead. 

I was so stunned, I cried out, and I got myself together and drove over there and spent time in the family room holding her. I could not believe it. 

My sweet little girl. 

She had embraced being a farm dog to the fullest, she did chores with me everyday. 

Her groomer posted this for her.  Yes, she cleaned up pretty good thanks to Brooke. 

On May 5th, we had to make the decision for big Buddy to cross the Rainbow Bridge. 

He was only here for nine months as a foster, but oh, my, how he stole my heart. 

Majestic. 

Officer Kendra from Bonner Springs (Kansas), the ACO, escorted us down to the vet, and stayed with us to the end.  He was having increasing trouble getting down the three steps to the yard... and we were afraid he would collapse out in the yard at some point.  

He had a wonderful last nine months. 

That left this guy. 

My Jester, my heart.  Remember, I had lost Snowy and Fritzi before I got Zoey, and Jester accepted them all.  He was good to everyone, even big Buddy.  We had had four pugs, but had never had a Boston until my son asked us if we would like to have him in 2014, they had taken in a Boston and an English Bulldog puppy, and it was too much for them.  

We had dog sat for them and we liked Jester a lot. 

More importantly, Lilly Ann liked Jester. 

One of my favorite pictures of our water baby, Lilly. 

My babies. 

On May 25, at 5:00 in the morning, Jester, who had never barked in the nine years I had him... he was eleven years old... began to scream and bark.  The screams were almost like human screams.  He frantically ran from the living room, into the shower stall behind the curtain, all the while screaming.  My son ran out of his bedroom, and was afraid to touch him, and I was shaking... I hurriedly dressed and in the dark, caught Jester and carried him to the car, and set out for the ER which is thirty miles away. 

The unearthly screaming stopped in the car, but he was panting terribly. 

I got him in the door and they took him right back, for once, the waiting room was empty. 

I stayed for a while, but they told me it might be hours, and I was pretty shaken. 

I drove the thirty miles home.  

I had phone call after phone call with increasingly bad news. 

He had Cushings.  He had a huge tumor wrapped around his spleen (they suspected it had started to come apart)... he had growths on kidney and liver.... 

Fritzi had had Cushings, their life span is very short, and it takes a terrible toll on them. 

There was not one encouraging thing in the doctor's reports.  

I made a decision to let him cross the bridge... and it was horrifying. 

The young doctor had a condition which did not let her empathize, and the procedure was done in a terrible way, with no time between sedative and final shot.  It broke my heart completely, my boy in my lap, literally. 

The ER offered a pet loss psychologist, and I saw her over the summer because I literally felt like I was coming apart.  Nothing had ever affected me that way, not even Keith's death because I had been able to prepare for it and we had talked about it over and over. 

Jester was my last link to Keith, pet-wise. 

It was crushing. 

I have had dogs almost my whole life, and I have none now.  I just can't go through it again, I can't.  I try... I know there are so many in shelters that need homes... I am donating, because I can't trust myself not to go off the deep end with another loss. 

I didn't tell anyone for weeks.  I didn't tell members of my family for months... I couldn't.  A few trusted friends.  

At Christmas, I got cards addressed to Jes, Buddy and Zoey, and I just had to grit my teeth. 

Anyway.... they are gone. 

The year otherwise was pretty good. 

My little great granddaughter, Maci, and great grandson, Wyatt, had a great Christmas. 

I had them here on Black Friday because I know they have a huge round of family at Christmas. 

The cats have pretty much taken over around here.... In descending order, that's Bullseye, Wanda, on my bed, Bob, Coco is in the seat of the chair, she is so black you can hardly see her on the coverlet. Molly is on the back of the big couch. Wanda was vetted for a cut on her neck, and has become an inside cat, along with Coco.  The other three still go out. 

Mama, Teeny, and Cleo are still out in the shop, and thriving.  They have a heater and a warming light. 

We have not had frigid temps yet. 

Teeny still sleeps in the wood burning stove, she has a deep bed of straw in it. 

Everyone has their current shots except Cleo, and she is going to have to be a drop off, I think, because it will depend on when I can get her into a carrier. 

Oh, yes, we still have plenty of these.  Mama Raccoon taught her babies how to come in and out of the barn to check for treats.  I pour out a small amount of dry cat food when I close up at night, and if it is warm,  I leave the door cracked.  They also still come in and out through the "cat hole" in the wall. 

That's Bullseye out in the shop overnight on the Kuranda bed, and you see there is a big possum right behind him.... I love them, they are so helpful and eat ticks, etc.. They can carry a horse disease (if they have it) but there are no equines here now. 

They are gentle creatures with short lifespans. 

I feed the finches on the deck rail outside my window only when the cats are in.  

I love to watch them. 

This Cooper's Hawk has taken up a nest in my pasture, and he often sits on the fenceposts.  He is a beauty! 

So far, he has not gone for a chicken. 

Speaking of the chickens, 

I am down to sixteen now.  I started last year with four roosters, I have two and I don't expect the larger of the two to be around for long, he is six and showing signs of being tuckered out. 

Doug the Silkie rooster is still going strong. 

The trees in the wild area across from my place turned bright red in the fall, it lasted almost ten days and was glorious. 

And yes, the sheep came back, and when the big flock went home... I had Snickers the Jersey Heifer, Doodles the goat, and an ancient sheep I called Grandma as boarders for the next month, and I really enjoyed them.

My beautiful rooster Singleton left us suddenly in October; I went out to his house and found him gone one morning.  I lost his dad earlier, and his brother, Buddy, has now moved into his house. 

I hope to do better at blogging this year... 2024.... it sounds so strange to say it. 

I do enjoy reading other's blogs, still, and I miss staying in touch this way. 

I hope everyone reading this has a wonderful year, full of all the things you are hoping for. 

Jester Boy Yoder, 2012 to May 25, 2023

Two Thousand Twenty Four

I sat down here this afternoon to do a blog post. 

I realize, according to my blog statistics, that this is post Two Thousand and Twenty Four. 

Two thousand times I have sat down here to communicate with people far away from me. 

At first, it was daily as I wrote about our life here at Calamity Acres. 

Then, we moved to "The Big House" for a few years, as Keith grew more ill.  

Back I came, after he died... and I have to laugh because he made a point of getting me to promise I would not, because he knew how I threw myself into things. 

Here I sit, a month before my birthday... wondering how long I can do it. 

Last week, I told you all about the cats and how they have "taken over" Calamity Acres. 

This week, it will be about plants, and other things. 

I am going to use telephone pictures . 

When I first started doing this, I carried a small camera in the pocket of whatever I was wearing, pulled it out to take pictures, and then put those pictures into the computer.  Now, I carry my phone but not all the time, because it is awkward.  I still have the little camera and think about going back to one. 

Let's start with Zoey, whom I foster failed last November.  She has just been a delight. She is a true little farm dog, though not raised on a farm.  She loves to be outside, and loves to get into things.  I have to watch her. 

Luckily, other than chasing once in a while, she does not bother the chickens. 

She would love to catch a squirrel. 

She has a bark, too, which I love, because Jester does not bark.  I know when something is happening with Zoey. 

I am gardening almost exclusively in planters and pots now. 

Here is the downside of having a deck full of flowers... I have about 

four rotted boards on the deck.   Two were under a rug which I bought four years ago, thinking I would have a beautiful place on the deck in the shade to sit and read.  That rug trapped water underneath it, and rotted the boards.  They need to be taken up and new ones laid, and preservative put on the whole deck.  The thing is... all planters would have to be moved off, and there are four the size of the ones in the pictures above. 

So, I am thinking about how this is going to be accomplished. 

My guess is some construction company is going to tell me I need a whole new deck. 

I really don't have 10,000 to spend. 

So, we will see. 

This surreal picture is a mushroom that was growing in my yard two weeks ago. 

I actually got down on the ground to take its' picture.  It looks like a spaceship, doesn't it? 

It's been very hot here lately, and we have been doing a LOT of this. 

Last Sunday night, a lady volunteer from 

Kitty Cat Connection came here and took the mother cat and four kittens from my shop. 

I had had to trap them the day before, and I must have made twenty trips out to the shop to check on their safety in a day. 

I breathed a sigh of relief when they left. 

Mama was returned this morning, she will live here now, but she 

is neutered, had her shots, and wormed.  She is very gentle, and I will be able to continue getting her yearly shots since I can load her into a carrier. 

The four babies will go on to adoptable homes, or barn homes, neutered. 

The happy thing is, they were negative for FIV/FLV.  

I don't post a lot of family pictures anymore, but this beautiful little doll and the handsome little brother in the boppy are my great grandchildren, Maci and Wyatt. 

I have actually not met Wyatt yet, as they live some distance away from me.  Their mom and dad are blessed to still work for employers who provide six weeks of paid time off for birth benefits. 

Two more of the planters on the patio.  They have filled in so nicely this year! 

I have tomatoes and peppers growing in various big planters and tubs.

The young men who keep their sheep in the pasture have gifted me with several lick tubs, 

and they make GREAT planters, once holes have been made.  That green one with the tomato on the right is one of them. 

I am about to be inundated with tomatos. 

Another lick tub being used as a planter. 

This is part of the gorgeous display gardens tended by the Master Gardeners of Wyandotte County (KS) at the National Agricultural Center. They are just amazing and the dedicated gardeners, men and women, tend these beds and a much larger display garden in the back.  

In the middle of the one perennial bed I am trying to reclaim is this beautiful pink hollyhock... the others are wine-red and white.  

I love this color. 

My grandson Jax is helping me to reclaim this bed, and after I finish here, I am going to go out and 

work on cutting even more saplings out of it.  I am using Tordon on them now, they have GOT to stay gone.  To think I once had 4 20 foot long beds!

We are layering (okay, JAX is layering) cardboard and straw on the parts of the bed that had become overgrown with weeds.  In the spring, we will move the straw and plant new perennials in the wells, and bring the straw that will have decomposed back around them. 

This afternoon, I made a trip to a local greenhouse/produce store that I had not visited since the pandemic started... I was stunned at the quality of the plants they are raising there, and 

I hope to buy some for this bed. 

This is actually kind of a funny picture. 

This is the nest box in the big hen house. 

I have not found an egg in it in many weeks. 

Snakes would starve here. 

To be fair, there are only four old hens left in this hen house, and to my knowledge, only one of those is laying once or twice a week. 

One has become broody in her old age, and complains daily when I take the egg (that another hen has laid) out from under her. 

The young girls, of whom there are seven, may or may not lay in their own hen house, I only got four eggs last night.  This week, Ben is going to come and clear my west fence line, and I bet we find a nest under there with a lot of eggs in it.  It has been so hot recently, and I would not want to lay in the hot hen house, either. 

I end with this cool picture I found on Pinterest. 

I love fall.... and we are having a Pumpkin Festival at the Ag Hall, in lieu of a Christmas festival this year (I think).  I would LOVE to do something like this on our pond there!  

Stay safe in the heat everyone, and that includes my friends in Europe. 

 

Cold Weather and a Return

I remain resolved to try to post more often in this new year!

We are one month from Christmas, can anyone believe it? 

Let's get right onto it. 

This first picture is someone who brought a smile to my face, and my heart sang. 

This is my beautiful Rusty, the cat from the header. 

He looks in great shape, doesn't he?

I had not seen him in four months, and last week, I caught him on the deck camera. 

I was so relieved, and then was "rewarded" with this additional picture of him on the twenty-third. 

My theory is that when the females came from Kitty Cat Connection, Rusty gave up and departed. 

I nearly cried when I saw him last week.  

He actually came from Kitty Cat Connection four years ago, with his three siblings, as kittens. One by one, they disappeared.  I thought he had, too. 

But you know what?  Now that I stare at this picture, as I type... I am no longer sure this is he. 

The face looks too narrow, but... I am going to look at the many pictures I have of him to be sure. 

This cat, with a collar, and in great flesh, appeared Sunday night. Remember, that basin is heated. 

I pick up the cat food most nights, except when it is really frigid, and then I leave it down, because the raccoons and possums generally den up. 

I don't know this cat.  

This is the only swinging feeder I have left.... I have not had to fill it except once or twice a day, however.... for some reason, I had to refill it at least six times yesterday and today.  I finally went out there and taped it to the shepherd's hook so it will not swing.  I had so many of these feeders, but they are so wasteful... I wasted pounds of birdseed last winter.  It's far too expensive to waste this year. 

A 40 pound bag of Back Yard Blend has gone from 18.99 at this time last year, to 33.95.  I have all the feeders stored in the shop now. 

I put sunflower chips in this feeder, the most expensive of the feeds.  

Yes, it was horridly cold. 

Here is Wanda, in the big hen house.  She has made her bed in there for the last three nights. I believe Cleo, who normally sleeps rough, has run her out of the shop.  Cleo has been sleeping inside since the really cold weather hit.  

Wanda has a bad eye, and I know it looks bad here, but it is actually open when she is up and about. I am studying about how to catch her, and have talked to a local vet about her being treated there. 

Unfortunately, I was going to let her live in there... I put soft fresh straw in the nest yesterday... but this morning, as I walked out to open up... I caught her going after the old hens with mal-intent.  She was ushered out.  

There are enough mice in there that the hens should not be enticing... I suspect she was playing, but it looked rough. 

Cleo, the Queen of the Shop. 

She lets the others know it, too. 

Bullseye's work.  Remember, he started out feral in the woods. 

I have been keeping him in as much as I can, and I believe tomorrow I am going to get him a collar with a bell on it, one that can be heard by anything he is after. 

Sorry for the gore, but it's a fact of life in the country. 

There are thirty or more cardinals eating here right now, and I hate to see any go down to the Killer. 

There was another possum on the Kuranda bed... and you can just see Coco's head in the deck chair in the middle of the picture.  That is an electric heater in the middle, and I have to say that it is making the shop livable for the cats ... the possums are just visitors (I think).  In this sequence, Coco's head came up every once in a while as she made sure the possums were not bothering her. 

You can see where they have been drinking out of the heated basin in the front of the picture. 

I took this through the window last week... I felt so sorry for the birds and squirrels.  On days like this, I don't let the chickens out at all.  I hate going out, the older I get, the more I dread the cold, I admit it. 

Also staying inside in the bitter cold. 

That heater looks like it is right on the bed, it is not.  

Zoey has been in front of it all day today, and Jester is with me here in the office. 

It is 24 as I type this.  It was 52 yesterday.... go figure. 

The Killa better be glad I love him. 

Starliings gotta eat too. 

I would like them better if they didn't poop all over everything... but... I have to admit to you that I am not getting them this year in the hordes of years past. 

I watch this redtailed hawk at the bottom of my pasture every day, he is watching one of the ponds on the Spehar's property.  I always want to to tell him to turn around, there is a cornucopia of birds in my yard just behind him... but he always watches the pond and looks so cold and lonely. 

These guys love Back Yard Blend, though. 

So do these, and they were waiting for their turn. 

Hoping she was not The One. 

I caught these beauties up in the walnut tree. 

So grateful I foster failed.... again. 

And so grateful for this old guy, who has been accepting of everything and everyone that has come into this house in the last five years.  He's my doll, and my big buddy.... Jester. 

He is the last pet Keith and I had together.  

That smile on his face is for real. 

Comparing the two... it's Rusty. 

So relieved, I can't tell you how much. 

I'm putting food in the pasture feeder again at night, just in case. 

He's eating good somewhere, though.  

Stay warm, friends. 

Spring is in 54 days!