Friday, September 23, 2011

It Aint Over 'til It's Over

I've had a week's worth of sick....three, really.... the symptoms showed up three weeks ago in chills and aching, and then a full blown cold this week.  Now I have a stomach complaint so bad that... well, too bad to talk about in genteel company.

I took off at noon today, since Keith was to go up north to Ioway to the funeral.  Mapquesting the route to the designated city made him realize that instead of a 3 hour drive, he was facing a 5 1/2 hour drive, so he has left already this afternoon.  Our local garage here in Tongie was able to get his ailing truck in, replace the battery (which he could have done) re-set the computer (which he could not have, and therefore they get ya!) and have the oil changed and then took off to spend the night in Ottumwa. 

He took along pictures of the new baby to show his parents.

I am pretty worn out tonight, so truncated chores and am in for the evening.  I have most weekend errands done, so will concentrate tomorrow on house-cleaning and getting some things together to prepare dinners for the coming week.  Keith will be working out of town most of the week, but I am going to make a skillet cake tomorrow with some fresh apples, and decorate the porch for fall. 

We have noticed lately that our little Hannah, who was also sick for a while, has lost almost all her remaining eyesight.  She eats by herself, as she cannot defend herself from the two younger dogs. 

Yes, we're in the bathroom.  As you see, she is a messy eater.  She gets regular soft dogfood, cottage cheese, and chicken in small pieces, and relishes it.  Tonight she had just cottage cheese and chicken, and hoovered it up, (her nickname was always Hoover).  It hurts us to see her sitting alone and lost in the house... she backs into a corner so she feels safe, because she can't tell where everyone is.  The really sad thing is, we think her hearing has gone pretty much, too, as she can no longer tell where we are.  I literally have to go right up to her and stamp, and then keep stamping in order for her to follow.  We watched her this afternoon... we were talking in the kitchen as Keith got ready to go, and we realized Hannah was not with us.  When we went to find her, she had backed against the couch and sat there, staring out, trying to figure out where everyone was.  It wasn't until Keith got up to her that she realized he was there. 
We will cope with this for the rest of her life, because of all the dogs, she is the most undemanding and sweet.  She justs wants to be by me, that's all she asks.

The colors of fall are all around us now. 
The birds look especially beautiful in the light, and it's sad to know that soon, it will be dark in the evening as we do chores.
Red, the little cochin rooster, looks so pretty in the sunlight....
But two seconds later the red rooster beat this guy, Boots, up badly, and Boots cowered in the little hutch inside the pen on the right.  Boots is the one that Lilly got last week, and recovered for several days.  We are watching him closely, as he was always rather dominant before.  At some point, some of the little roosters are going to need to be winnowed out, we are aware of that. 

If you remember, a few weeks ago, I got this little quasi-nest box at Tractor Supply:

It's made by Ware Manufacturing and sells for 9.99.  It is the cheapest of the cheap.  But as you can see, the little hens LOVE it.  They fight to lay in it, and there are usually two in it at any time.  So today, I made a special trip to TSC because their wild bird mix (in the white bag) is the best mix for 9.99 for 35 pounds I can find.  I scraped the bottom of the bird seed barrel this morning.  I noticed they had a few more nest boxes, so bought two more, and in the morning, I am going to install them in the little henhouse.  If I'm right, it's going to be much easier to find eggs in there.  This one is not attached, it is just sitting there.  For two weeks, my black-headed blue silky hen has been in it, and I have the bite marks to prove it!
I leave you tonight with a picture of the hyacinth beans... they are so beautiful in the evening sunlight:

Linking (I hope) to Verde Farm for Fall Farm Friend Friday!

9 comments:

  1. Hi Mary Ann!
    It's nice to see another Kansas Blogger. I see you are up near Kansas City...we live just north of Wichita. I'm sorry to read that you've been sick...I hope you're feeling better soon. I feel sorry for your poor dog...she must be old. It's nice that she feels comfortable with you being close to her though...at least she'll know she's loved. We have a Black Australorp rooster who is huge ...then we were given 3 Cochin hens and a rooster. Needless to say Romeo the Australorp terrorized the little fellow until we had to separate them. Now little Leonardo is king of his harem :)! Love your Hyacynth bean...it's a beautiful plant. Enjoy your weekend and some beautiful cooler weather...finally!
    Maura :)

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  2. Hi May Ann! Thanks for following my blog and for the sweet comment that you left on it! I hope that you are feeling better very soon! Your little pug is so cute and you are so loving to take care of a special needs dog, I know she feels very special and loved by you :)Your chickens are beautiful! I have had a few roosters that have been so mean to the others, I find the smaller breeds (hens and roosters), the worst, lol. I have some banties and some mixed breeds and am wanting to get more once we get our coyote problem fixed. Love that little nesting box, I need to get some more built in our coop since our girls are laying more now. Your hyacynth bean plant is gorgeous, I have never seen one before :) Hope you have a wonderful weekend and I look forward to reading more of your blog posts!!

    Hugs, Trish

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  3. HI Mary Ann...
    I sure hope youu're feeling better soon!! I love your little pug...so sweet of you guys to take such good care of her!
    In response to your comment on my blog...yes, it does feel like all we do is milk cows, bale hay, and then milk cows again! Sometimes I think we're just a little crazy...but then life settles down a bit and we can take a deep breath again.. :)

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  4. Welcome to my porch! I'm so happy you joined us. I post Chats on the Farmhouse Porch each week (usually Tuesday). It's so sweet that you're taking care of your little Hannah so well. I hope to see you on my blog hop next week. Have a great weekend!

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  5. Sorry to hear about Hannah. But she`s in good hands.

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  6. I hope you are better soon! It is so hard to watch of beloved pets get old.Hanna has a good home with you,she's a lucky girl.We have too many Banty roosters too and a little D'uccle that looks just like yours but I can't seem to part with any of them!

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  7. I was so deeply moved reading about your little Hannah. It made my heart ache, wanting nothing more than to give her a little hug. You are right when you say they only want us near. That's very true.

    Hope you feel better soon. Enjoy the weekend, and give sweet Hannah a hug for me.

    Blessings,
    M.

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  8. I'm going to see if my old girl will eat cottage cheese....

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