I spent a lot of time thinking today...about my friends in England that I've met through NN, about September 11th in the US, about the dangers of mixing fanatical religion with a cause and about the men and women who are overseas right now trying their best to do what is right and just get home.

My heart goes out to those in England who must deal with this latest tragedy. I really do feel for you. I know how it feels...the shock, disbelief, impotence and anger. Yes, I lost people I knew in Sept 11. I worry about the people I know in England... I don't want to go through it again and I hope no one here has to do so either.

After dealing with that, I came to the conclusion that I could not and would not allow these simple minded terrorists to control me and mine. We will continue to live and be happy despite their efforts to beat us down. We will work on ways to provide for us and for others, good steady food supplies, independence from establlished methods of power and love....which is the strongest thing we have to combat them. We will continue to love our brothers regardless of race, sex, creed or location. This my people, is the only thing that will beat them. Regardless of what they do to us...as long as we have each other...as long as love each other...they cannot beat us.

I love you .. all of you, and hold you all close in my heart tonight and hope that this tragedy has not harmed you or your loved ones.

Happy 4th of July to all my friends who are celebrating it...
Be careful driving and with fireworks but have fun!

Mama's Baby is back home. Yeah! The operation appears to have been a success and although she's a little dopey from pain meds she looks good. I have a lengthy list of instructions with lots of antibiotics and some pain meds. I also have to change the bandage on Wednesday and make sure there is no redness travelling up the leg. Her stitches come out in 14 days.

Here she is...

[url]http://drew.corrupt.net/bp/[/url]

I talked to the vet yesterday and he had an emergency colic call that didn't go well. He only had 2 hours of sleep so he decided that it might not be a good idea to do a complicated operation in that state. I have to agree with him there.

So, his wife has been watching Mama's Baby while he goes out on calls and they are planning to do the operation sometime today. In the meantime he's got her on a new antibiotic and some mild pain meds. He said she seems very happy and is getting around ok. He'll give me a call after all is said and done. Hopefully everything will go as planned and she'll be up and running in no time.

Some of you know that about 4 weeks ago I had a baby goat break her leg. Let me tell you about her and where we are now.

Mama's Baby was born on February 1st around 11pm. She was one of triplets born to an elder goat who wasn't supposed to be bred, the buck had other ideas. Her mother, Mama, tried her best but couldn't handle the pregnancy and had the kids prematurely that night. My husband rushed out to the vet's house, over an 1/2 hour away, to get some meds. In the process I lost two of the kids but I saved baby.

Her mother was already down with a condition called pregnancy toxemia. About a week later she died. So Baby was all alone in the world with just me. She was hand raised in my bedroom for 3 months. I fed her her bottles every day, I cleaned her playpen and I provided her with company. As such, she has a wonderful personality but does not think she's a goat.

When she was old enough and eating grain and hay we moved her to the pasture. The thought was nice but she didn't think so. She really didn't want to be with the other goats but with us. So she would break out. She broke out every day, several times a day ... so we gave up. She never went anywhere so we figured no harm done.

Of course as she got used to being her own independent little creature she would roam just a little further. She liked to go to my neighbor's house across the street and eat her magnolia tree. We figured that was ok. She's actually pretty street smart and would run to the side of the road everytime she heard a car.

Well, one day she decided to go into my neighbor's pasture and play with the horses. My nieghbor raises Morgans and the young filly is somewhat tempermental, high strung. She decided to hoof the goat. Baby tried to run and almost made it but on the second strike her leg was broken. It seemed a clean break and the vet came out, cleaned out the open wound, set the bone and wrapped it.

For 10 days we gave her antiobiotics to counter any possible infection. For 3 days I gave her pain meds. She seemed relatively unaffected as soon as she got used to her PVC cast. She hobbled all around, still went across the street (just not in the pasture) and seemed fine. This past week she seemed a little off to me but not enough to warrant concern. The past two nights she's been up on the porch, crying to come in. This struck me as odd but knowing the vet was scheduled to come today I figured I would bring it up then. I had noticed a pressure sore on her good hip and figured maybe she was just uncomfortable with the heat and the sore.

Well, the vet came today. We sedated her and took the wrap off. Her leg was badly infected and the bone seemed to have no healing at all. The vet guesses that a secondary infection set in or that the bone wasn't as clean a break as we thought. As much as I think practically I should have had her put down at that point, I just couldn't do it. So I gave the goat to the vet and he's bringing home and to the office tomorrow to amputate the leg just above the break. There's some heat a bit over the break so she may have to have it amputated from the hip.

I have no idea why I'm doing this. I'm a business owner and I should just look at the bottom line but I can't with her. I've brought many goats through illnesses. I had a kid with goat polio that I saved. I've pulled mis-presented kids out of does during childbirth to save them. I've bottle raised other goats. I've sat through the night with goats who had stomach problems. I've lost goats that I've nursed through illnesses. I've lost goats to parasites and birthing. I've even had one slaughtered to eat. And I've never been so emotionally involved. There's just something about her that pulls at my heartstrings.

I suppose there's always one that works its way into your heart. I guess she's my one. So tonight, while my vet is nursing her, I get to sit here and wonder if this will work or if it will just be another thing for to fight through to the next problem. She's a fighter. She lived despite the odds from the get go. Maybe that's why I love her so much. She never complains, she never gives up and she just loves me too. So, tonight, just think of her briefly and maybe offer up a prayer (if you pray) that this next procedure works. And if I'm a bit off tonight...well, you'll know why.

Laughter truly is the best medicine. It not only makes you feel good by releasing endorphines into your system but it has the ability to soothe tensions and make things look a bit better.
From reading some blogs and talking to some people, I have a feeling we could all use a bit of laughter.

A friend of mine sent this link to me. I read this site this morning and was laughing so hard I had tears coming out of my eyes. Now mind you, I have a twisted sense of humor and the writing on this page really appealed to me. I hope you can find some humor on the page and have a blast!

[url]http://www.thesneeze.com/mt-archives/cat_steve_dont_eat_it.php[/url]

Well, the weekend that I got away went wonderfully. I had very little traffic driving up to my sister's and we had a great time just being on our own. Her grandson, who lived with her, had recently moved to his father's house so the two of us just mucked about and did whatever we wanted.
I enjoyed lunch with a dear friend, some shopping and nightly lone walks around town and on the beach. I got to see my niece's new house and spend some quality time with my family.
On one of my walks the fog rolled in. I walked about town for a while and then made my way to the beach. I kicked off my shoes and walked onto the cool sand and out into the water which was unseasonable warm. I strolled away from the pier and soon could see nothing except what was directly around me. As I stood in the water with the waves crashing over my knees I looked around and was enveloped by fog. All my senses were heightened because I couldn't see beyond my hand. The sound of the waves, incessant, and the shroud of the fog reminded me of how truly insignificant I am in the greater scheme of things. The ocean does that to me. I realize that regardless of whether I am here or not, the tide will still come in, the tide will still go out. The birds, fish and fauna that survive on the ocean will continue to thrive. The sun will still rise and set, the moon and stars will still shine and my being does nothing to change that.
While some people may find this thought disheartening I see it in a different manner. To me, it is very liberating to realize how insigniicant you are. It reminds me that I must not be too serious and that I need to relax and enjoy the life I have. It hammers home to me that life is a gift and we really don't have it all that long so we should enjoy the moments that we are given. Grab onto life with both hands and take the wild ride for what it is. We are here but a speck in time so take advantage of it. Let go of the pessimism, petty crap, negativity, whatever is bringing you down and just live. Take what you get and go with it because all your ranting and raving and fighting gets you nowhere. It doesn't stop the tides, the rise and fall of the sun or moon and it makes you miserable. And with such a short amount of time on this planet, who has time for that.
I know its easier said than done and many of us are in situations that are less than ideal but take baby steps. I need to constantly remind myself of the lesson of the sea. But, when I do, I'm a much happier person. I send kisses and hugs to my NN family and hope for all my friends to have their moments of peace and reflection.

George

Just a quick recap, the pig and the goat were going to the "processing" facility. The pig finally made it, the goat got away by jumping out of the truck on the highway.

Despite our best efforts we could not find the goat. Several days had passed and I basically gave her up as gone. I liked to believe that she found a nice spot and was enjoying herself.
As it turns out she had.
About a week after she absconded I got a call from someone in the next town over. Apparently the goat had emerged from her woods and just strolled over. This woman had chickens, horses and dogs and I guess Snoopy (that's the goat) had decided it looked close enough to home so she stayed.
The owners of this farm assumed that the goat had to belong to someone around this area. Now mind you, they aren't next door. This goat had to do some serious traveling to get there. The man of the party did some driving around and happened to go by my road and see the other goats. My goats all look alike so he assumed I was the owner.
The woman called and asked if we had lost a goat...Oh yes, I say, she slipped her collar. I didn't bother getting into the whole ordeal. Plus, you never know how someone will take the idea of eating what they would consider a pet.
As we're talking, the woman tells me she's named her Emma and takes her for walks. Then she asks what type of goat it is. My goats are meat goats.
She doesn't quite understand how someone can eat goat she says...because she's a vegetarian.
At this point I'm practically rolling on the floor...damn goat, smart enough to find a sweet home and with a vegetarian no less! How ironic.
We made arrangements for hubby to go pick up Emma/Snoopy the next night. Snoopy was certainly no worse for wear and quite happy to come home. I figured, God must have other plans for her so I kept her around and sure enough, she got pregnant.
She threw my best kid in January, a beefy little girl with all her body characteristics and perfect color. She's certainly a keeper.
So, my smart goat was smarter than me in the end. And, I'm glad it all worked out!

Seeing how much everyone enjoyed the Mario story I decided to share another wild and crazy day at the farm.
This happened back in August. We were having a pig roast for Labor Day and made an appointment at the processing facility to have one of the pigs processed, while they did that we also had some goats to cull. Now mind you, this was our first ever experience with pigs.
We have a pick up truck which does not have a cap on it. So the week leading up to the big day hubby makes this cage contraption from a cattle panel (very heavy wire fencing), some wire/rope/electric ties, and a tarp. For some reason he decided the tarp was needed for the 1/2 drive. Whatever, I rarely bother arguing because its just not worth the hassle.
Anyway, the big day arrives. Our appointment is at 11am. Around 9:30 or 10:00 we go out to the pig pen to herd the pig into the truck. It had to be the hottest day of the summer. It was already sweltering and we were dressed in dark t-shirts, jeans and muck boots. If you've ever been in a pig pen you'll know why..
Hubby drives the pickup down the pig shelter, we prop a board against the tailgate and get ready to guide the pig into the truck. We figure, how hard can it be, these are very food motivated animals. I have a bucket of grain and I start spreading it from the door of the pig shelter to the cage. Out come 4 pigs following the trail of food. Half way up the board they start going back down. These pigs are smart little shits and they want no part of going for a ride.
After about 45 minutes of trying various foodstuffs, pushing behind them, begging and pleading, we start getting really frustrated. Both of us are soaked in sweat and mud and getting very nasty tempered. I start chasing the pigs around with a pitchfork hoping to prick one of them and get them to jump up in the truck. No luck. All I'm accomplishing is to get them all worked up and further away from the goal.
We take a break, reevaluate the situation and start talking options. Well, I say, too bad we don't have an electric prod. My husband, innovator that he is, decides that is an option. He finds this really long branch, pulls a piece of wire from the electric fencing, wraps that around the branch and say, this might work. Keep in your mind the image of us both soaked in nice salty sweat, wonderful conductor of electricity. Also picture the truck backed to the pen with two metal cattle panels surrounding it to keep the pigs from going out into the fields. Now picture my husband standing on the side of the metal panel, leaning against it, with this stick covered in wire. Yes this is a good idea, don't you think?
He tells me to go plug the fence in. I'm shaking my head. You know honey, I don't know if this is such a good idea. Just go plug it in. Off I go to the barn to plug the fence in. The plug is mere hairs away from being inserted when I hear "Stop!".
I go back out and ask what's wrong. Now he's shaking his head..I don't think this is such a good idea, he says. Gee, whatever gave you that idea honey?
By now its past 11am. We need to call the facility to tell them we won't make our time. These people are the sweetest folks you could ever meet and tell us not to worry about it we can come a little later.
So off we go back to the pen. I've changed to a white t-shirt because my other one was soaked and I can't take the sun beating into the dark color anymore. On the way back I start talking about hot pokers. What if we heat up a piece of metal and use that? What the hell, we've tried everything else... So we start a little brush fire, throw a poker in there and wait. This really isn't working well but we give it the old college try and off I go back into the pen to chase pigs again. This isn't working either. We can't get the metal heated enough, its not staying hot and the pigs are smarter than us.
We resort to the food again. Still no go. We finally just give up and call the facility again. Its close to 1pm now.
The guy my hubby talks to asks if the pigs have tails. Yes. Ok, he says, this is what you do...get a bucket and put it over the pig's head, one of you hold the bucket on and the other one grab the tail and guide it to where you want it. Off we go again, on goes the bucket with me holding it on piggy's head. Hubby grabs the tail, pulls it back to the truck,up the ramp and in the cage. This in 5 minutes flat. By now our neighbor's are down in the field watching us, laughing their asses off.
Now to get the goats...I say oh to hell with Howard, he's a bitch to catch and I can't be dealing with that now. So we grab Snoopy, who hasn't been getting pregnant, and put her in the truck with the pig. Piece of cake.
We figure we're all set now. Off they go down the state highway (yes the same one Mario was on), not more than 2 miles down the road the tarp catches the wind and lifts a corner of the cage. Snoopy thinks this is cool, sticks her head under, lifts the cage and jumps out on the highway. My husband and son stop, run after her, get her and her collar slips off her head. In the meantime the pig is thinking she doesn't want to miss out on this opportunity either and she starts pushing the cage around. She's doing a pretty good job too. So husband pushes her back in, turns around and comes barrel-assing home. He pulls in the yard, blowing the horn and screaming with the pig halfway out the truck bed. As soon as he stopped she jumps out and starts moseying back down to the pen.
I'm freaking out because he left our son on the highway to watch the goat. Off he goes again to get our son and try to get the goat. That was a no go...she just took off into some adjacent woods and fields.
We call the facilty yet again. They tell us to let the pig calm down and we can drop it off anytime in a pen they have in the back. We both rest, shower, get something to eat and drink and go back out about an hour or so later. No problems with the pig this time and hubby has removed the tarp. I have to follow him to the facility this time but it was now pretty uneventful.
During the ride we keep looking for the goat but it seems she's disappeared....stay tuned for Return of the Smart Goat.

And the pig roast was a big success!