OMG...I forgot what it was like to wear high heels all day. My interview was at 2:30 so I left the house about 1 because I had some errands to run first. I was dressed up for the interview replete with high heels. Now these shoes are normally quite comfortable...at least for a few hours at a time.

I ran some errands, went to the interview, then the bank, then shopping for groceries at two different stores. Finally done all my "things" I headed home. By now it was close to 5pm. I had to unload the car (thankfully my son and wolf finished that). Then I started running around putting things away and starting dinner.

I never bothered changing...just kept the suit and heels on. When I finally kicked off the shoes, around 9:30 or 10pm, my feet had had it. Today I can still feel the tenderness in the balls of my feet.

Geez, your legs look great in heels but what in the world is it doing to your feet? What was I thinking in my teens when I would wear heels all day and night? How in the world did I manage to walk all over the city in them?

It must be getting older...I'm way more prone to comfort now as opposed to fashion. I'll probably never stop wearing heels altogether but give me my nice flat mocs and boots anyday.

tenderfooted kitty

We're still looking for spanish names for the twins but we've opted on Mimolette for the single girl. Mimolette is a french cheese and for some odd reason wolf thought the little doe looked french. I just thought the name was cute.

I'm off to another interview today while I wait to hear from the folks I interviewed with last week. I like the sounds of the job I interviewed for last week so I do hope to hear back from them. I know they checked my references so here's hoping. The job today is actually only part time but I figured it was better than nothing.

I had hoped to land a job at the college but I'm tired of waiting for the government boondoggle to straighten itself out. They were having some kind of issue with the administration regarding payscale. Who knows ... maybe it'll come through at some point or maybe I was just not meant to get that job. Either way, whatever happens is meant to happen.

going with the flow
kitt xx

I thought I only had one doe left to kid but apparently there were two. Both of them had their kids on their own with no complications (all girls)...


Brie's Baby


One of Spanish Girl's twins


The other of the twins

smiling kitten xxx

It's Monday so I figured I could now say that Snoopy gave up the ghost. I think the kids were in her too long and that was too much for her system. So...wolf got to drag another one off to the woods.

What else happened this weekend? Not a whole heck of a lot..I think the lazy days syndrome was going around. Like Lunna I don't feel like I accomplished a whole heck of a lot.

The curtains still beg to be done although I did manage to sew two panels together and pin a hem for a side. The milk house is partially cleaned (no thanks to me-that was all wolf). The laundry got done. I did make a trip to WalMart for guinea pig food. But other than that...lazy!

Even Saturday night, when we went to the neighbor's house for chili and chat, proved to be a quiet night. For some reason we were all tired, even the neighbors, and we were back home by 10 and watching a movie.

Oh well, it's Monday now and the start of a new week. Wolf got his job extended and is working 6 to 4 now, Mon thru Thursday. Sweet deal there, 4 days on, 3 days off. I'm still on the job hunt myself but I do have an interview next week and I'm still on the list for the college (man alive they move slow).

And today is MDGUY's birthday! Happy birthday my friend! So despite how most of us feel about Monday's...this one is spectacular!

kitten kisses

Just to let y'all know, Snoopy is tough...she's the one who escaped a ride to the "processing facility" and ended up at the vegetarian's house. She was eating for Wolf last night and getting on her knees so that's a good sign. We'll be helping her along for the next few days but if there's any chance of her recovering she will.

Sorry if I bummed everyone out with the last blog. It certainly wasn't meant that way. It's just another day in the life over here. You learn to adjust to that. My first year here I was a wreck everytime I lost something. I would blame myself and cry or just get depressed for days. I've learned to accept things that happen in this world though and I think it's actually made me stronger and more appreciative of the positive things.

On to lighter things....I picked up almost 3 dozen hatching eggs yesterday so I'm pretty excited about that. I got the incubator going and I'll put the eggs in later today. It's always a good idea to let the incubator run for 24 hours to make sure everything is set ok and the temp is holding steady. It takes 21 days for the eggs to hatch so I should be seeing some lovely little reds towards the end of February. This weekend wolf and I will clean up in the milk house and get everything set up properly for when the hatch arrives. Cross your fingers...hopefully the eggs are fertile and weren't too cold before they were collected.

For those of you who enjoy blogs I highly recommend Tilac Girl's. I had the opportunity to look at her profile and blogs yesterday and I was very intrigued. She's an interesting person and she writes some very thought provoking entries. She also has some lovely lingerie pictures. Of course I love learning about other people and their cultures so don't take my word for it...go check her out yourself.

Today is visit Mom day so I'm off to RI in a bit. I want to get out there early because my son has a half day today. He's old enough to spend some time alone but I hate leaving him out here on his own for too long. Anything can happen here and we only have the one neighbor to speak of.

For those of you who are into informing yourself of governmental intrusion into our lives I suggest you learn about the NAIS (National Animal Identification System). The proposal suggests that by 2008 ALL owners of any type of livestock will have to have their stock microchipped so they can be monitored via GPS by the federal government. Think about that for a minute....that means if you own so much as one horse, a couple of chickens or even one...ANY type of livestock...you would have to have it microchipped and allow the federal government to monitor your property at any time. It also pretty much spells the end of the family farm or farmsteader. AKA...Pauline with her geese, me with my chickens etal, Strawberry and her horse. The theory behind it being to keep our food supply safe. Ahem..MY food supply is safe...it's on my property, raised by me.

In addition, it would require all owners to report, within 24 hours, every time an animal leaves the property, is killed, dies, etc.., It would require all vets to be mandatory reporters. If you call a vet for an animal and it's not chipped they are required to report it. First off they would have to hire someone just for me...I would be calling every 5 minutes..."my chickens are at my neighbor's house under her bird feeder", "my chickens are back home now", "my chickens are back at the neighbor's house"..."my goats just got out...they're down the street in the woods"..."my pigs just got out..they're at the other neighbor's under the chestnut tree"..."oh wait, the chickens are next door again"

Personally I can't see it. They want to monitor livestock more closely than they monitor guns. Just a pet peeve of mine...I think we already have too many laws, rules and regulations as it is, most of which aren't even enforced. But, that's just my opinion. Feel free to come up with your own after you educate yourselves.

Pondering Kitty

I came back from my client's house last night and wolf had just finished up all the feedings. He said he was going to go back out later and check on Snoopy because she was just laying in the corner and wouldn't get up to eat. She was due any day so we both assumed it was "time". I started dinner and then decided to go out and check on her. It seemed quiet over the baby/barn monitor but you just never know.

So out I went in my $2.50 levi's from the Salvation Army, my insulated muck boots, a heavy sweatshirt and a coat. Sure enough, something was amiss... She had tried to deliver but the kid was mispresented and wasn't going to come out. Back I went into the milk house...grabbed my arm length gloves, a couple of towels...couldn't find any KY Jelly so into the house for oil, clothespins (to hold the gloves up). Grabbed a feed bag on the way through the milk house (easiest way to collect the mess and simply dispose of it).

I went back out to Snoopy, removed my coat, kneeled on the feed bag behind her, put on my gloves and "went in". Sure enough, the kid was in the wrong position. I moved it around and then had to pull it out. Poor thing never made it. Her sac had already busted so it didn't have a chance. Now for the fun part...back in to see if there are more. Yep...great...said in a very sarcastic tone. Snoopy stoically laying there, moaning once in a while because let's face it, this isn't pleasant for her.

By now Wolf's come out...he gets to dispose of the kid before she sees it. Not that she doesn't know she had one .... I decide to wait a bit to see if she'll progress on her own. Wolf's rubbing her head and sides and I'm watching her tail and the sides of her abdomen. She starts pushing again but it's stuck. I reach in again and this one is in the wrong position as well. I get the legs forward but the head keeps twisting down. I finally get the head over the legs and start pulling. Poor girl is working her butt off to get this kid out...

After what seems like forever I finally get the head and shoulders out. This is the worst part. I wait a bit to give her a little rest and start pulling again. This one had died too. If you catch a mispresentation right away you can get lucky and save them....if you miss the onset of the labor your odds of delivering live healthy kids decreases with the time lapsed. We don't really know when she started but too much time had already gone by.

I felt around again and I could only feel the afterbirth so I let her rest. She was understandably tired. Wolf got another bag and left with the second kid. By the time he got back she had her head up again and I was telling her what happened...who knows if they actually understand us but they do go through a mourning period after something like that. I've actually lost a doe who wouldn't come out of it...she just refused to eat or drink and spent her entire time where the incident happened...occasionally she would cry out for her kids..it's sad.

I put a towel over her to help her retain some heat and let her be for a while. I stood up...my jeans were covered...in mud, blood and some other nasty stuff we won't get into (which is why I refuse to pay top dollar for jeans). Of course you really don't worry about that when you're in the middle of a delivery. My back and neck were aching, still are, from all the pulling. I can imagine how she feels.

Wolf went out to check her later and give her some antibiotics. She was still there but looking a little more alert. I e-mailed my vet and told him what happened and he gave me some medication advice so we'll be giving her antibiotics for a few days and some BoSe...it's vitamin B and selenium and helps boost them up. Once she's back on her feet she'll be wormed and hopefully she'll be ok. I'll have to milk her out so she doesn't get mastitis.

It's been a rough year kid wise but it's probably a blessing in disguise. It's real lean for cash so extra feed and meds would really strap me. Sometimes we don't understand why things happen the way they do but God always has his plan. Maybe it would be much worse if all my does had kidded out as normal. A couple of kids would be nice so here's hoping the next doe does ok. She would be devastated if she lost hers. Last year she kidded out during a cold snap and her kid froze...she spent a couple of days crying for her lost one and then she adopted her sister's kids.

Well, it's morning again and I have meds to administer so I'm off...

Poor wolf...he had a favorite chicken. He named her Renee and she liked him. She would follow him around ... she knew he meant food. She was a young one, one that was hatched a couple of months ago. Well....she is no more. In her incessant efforts to follow Wolf she managed to position herself right behind the tractor as he was backing it up. Needless to say it was not a good thing. At least she went quick.

I was in the kitchen preparing dinner and finishing up a soap order when he rushed in with Renee, her poor little neck snapped. "I killed Renee!" he says. "Oh no! What happened?" I ask. He proceeded to tell me the story and at the end, the ever practical Texan says..."so, you want fried chicken for dinner?" And typical of me I respond with "I'm not dressing her." She actually wasn't really big enough to make a meal and I didn't ask what he ended up doing with her. Sad day for Renee.

Thankfully I'm going to RI on Thursday to pick up some hatching eggs. I'll need to get the incubator set up...finish cleaning the trays from the last hatch. Maybe that's what we'll be doing this weekend...cleaning that whole room in the old milk house that I use for hatching. Out of the last hatch I only ended up with about a half dozen birds, half of which met their demise in various ways. Charlie and Four are still in the bedroom and it looks to me like Charlie will be a male so no eggs there...There's also one barred rock left in the milk house but she's still too small to go out. The next warm spell I might move Charlie out and the barred rock in, keep Four company.

BTW, the bedroom and chicken cage did get cleaned although those damn curtains are still hanging around. I suppose I should at least start them today. I need to get those done before I start on a new quilt so I need to stop procrastinating. If they were smaller I probably wouldn't be so hesitant but these are long and heavy! They're for the sliding doors so I wanted them heavy and long to cover the windows completely to help with heat loss. Guess I better go break out the ironing board and iron and get going on that...

ta ta for now...

homesteader kitten..

I'm so efficient today. By 9AM I had all my floors swept and washed, the dishwasher going, my son off to school, wolf off to work and even my son's room cleaned (scary, scary place). I even had the opportunity to have a chat with a friend. The only thing I hadn't done was my own room and that's a special case because I have a cage with chickens in there. I'll get to that after I blog. Maybe...just maybe...I'll even get some curtains sewn. I won't hold my breath on that one though.

I've apparently reached a pinnacle. I overheard wolf talking to his mom this weekend and telling her about the ham I cooked on Sunday. Now you know you've hit your peak when you hear a guy bragging about your cooking to his mom. LOL And to think, all I did was throw some maple syrup and some merlot on it and bake it.

On another note...I've noticed that there are two tree rats, aka squirrels, that frequent my pine trees behind the house every morning at 7am. The next time I let the dogs out I have to remember to take the shotgun and try to get some more meat....I have one in the freezer but they're like cornish hens...you need one for each of you.

Well, I'm off to tackle the bedroom now...Charlie and Four will get a reprieve from the cage for a bit while I clean it. Lucky chickens.

energized kitty...xxxx

I'm funny. I can give some damn good advice but I'm so bad at applying it to myself. I just pm'd someone telling them to grab life with both hands...do what makes you happy...you're moving forward so well. Yet, here I sit wasting time, procrastinating, when I have a list and a half of things to do and the weather is actually good enough to get some of them done.

I was outside earlier today pulling fencing. Wolf came over and I started explaining my "plans". I want to do this with this here building...move the fencing this way...yada yada. We went over it together because part of his conditions of moving here were to help with the farm work. We realized that what we really need to do is draw up some plans for what needs to get done and then take each project one by one...a slow and steady progression. Also a "living document" meaning that it is open to change as we go along.

I did get some things done but next you know, as we're walking about the property, the lady down the street comes by with her dog. My LGD was chained but broke her collar and immediately bolted down the street to eat her dog. For some reason she (the lgd) hates that dog. Needless to say that didn't go well. So now, after getting Cassie in the house, I'm on the net looking for a heavy duty leather collar because no one seems to carry them anymore....it's all nylon and plastic now. Plastic with Cassie is like a toy...she breaks them in a day. I can't tell you how many collars I've gone through. The same collars the goats wear for years, she destroys in a day.

She's a big dog and she's strong and she's bred to protect her property. As far as she's concerned the street is her property too. Woe to the dog that crosses by if she snaps her collar. Now this woman insists on walking by here regardless of the fact that she's already had one encounter with Cassie off her chain but that's neither here nor there. I don't let Cassie off to run loose although from her reaction you would think I did. Personally I wouldn't walk by here ... I don't walk my dogs where I know there are difficult dogs out (because most people around here don't bother to tie up their dogs despite the leash law)...but, if I did I would carry mace or pepper spray.

So anyway...here I am .. back on the net instead of pulling fencing. I could be back out by now but now I'm procrastinating and have no desire to continue with that physical labor. So where to now? I'm thinking I might be able to convince myself to draw up some plans of the property and start listing out projects. I could hypothetically convince myself to go out and work again. uhuh... I'm thinking the plans are more likely. Either way I have to get off my butt and get something done. Hmmm,,,,maybe I should learn to take my own advice huh?

wandering kitt

Well, I managed to get rid of the dog that was eating the chickens now we have some psychopath critter that prefers to just bite the heads off...

We put Cassie, the live stock guardian dog (yeah right), into the barn last night to hang out with the chickens. Hopefully today there will be no headless carcasses waiting.

In case anyone thought living a rural farm life was romantic you might want to spend a week or two here. Nothing romantic about finding headless chickens in your barn.

On a better note, Wolf found a job. It's a temp position but might turn permanent so he's pretty happy about that. It's close to home too so he won't have to worry about driving through too much nasty weather.

Speaking of which, the wind is brutal today. We're under a high wind advisory with gusts up to 50 mph. It's supposed to be about 50 degrees today but in that wind you'd never know it. It's raining off and on and the wind is whipping around...I can hear stuff moving about on the porch every now and again. I'm sure we'll have a lot of fun picking up downed branches and trash strewn about after it's over.

My job hunt continues but I did get some good news today. One of the jobs I interviewed for and really liked is still open. They're just having some administrative issues regarding pay scale before they run their second round of interviews. The manager didn't say I was out of the running so here's hoping. It's at a state college so not only would I be getting the salary and benefits but my son could go to college for free....that alone would be worth taking the job if it's offered.

Off to run errands...

wind blown kitt...xxxx