Wednesday, December 31, 2014

And Another Year Is Gone

It was the
year with something I never, ever thought I would do... move again.



First look at our what was to be our new house... January 29. I still can't believe it. 




I was so happy at the old house, the little house... and imagined I would be there for years seeing scenes like this. 


How I miss them, bad little things!!!  


My little Farm Helper, Abby, became very sick in late January, early February, and we could not 
figure (the VET could not figure out) what was wrong. 

In February she was at least still able to help me do chores in the terrible cold. 


Snow did not stop the Intrepid Lil a bit. 


By March, the snow had thawed and Abby was desperately thirsty all the time... and we 
began going to our old vet in Kansas City, Kansas again... and his new associate told us he was sure she had diabetes... and she did.  We started a regimen of two times a day shots... but we were NOT good at giving them, and Abby was not good at getting them.  It was misery for all of us. 


I started finding homes for all my babies.  Yes, it hurt badly.  It still does. 


Especially my beloved ducks, that I had worked all through the bitter winter to keep watered and protected. 


Moving day came, and the whole family pitched in to help. 


The brothers worked hard and did a man's job.  They spent the night here. 


I didn't think we would get everything put away... ever... and in fact, I am still moving things.  We went from 1000 sq. ft. to 3000 sq. ft. Whew. 


May came, and I was still moving things daily, though by now, all my animals were gone except Abby and Lilly.  Abby was worse, and Keith began to get sick, as well. 


On the fifth, we started our 2014 Kansas City T Bones season, and were back at the ballpark.  Keith began to have to have almost monthly "taps" on his abdomen for the fluid being retained, and we kept hearing from the doctors that his kidneys were worse. 


Our little girl's condition became worse, and she had regular "fits", rubbing her face and head into the floor, or the beds, in this case, the mattresses the kids were using at the time in the basement. These fits would go on and on, until she became exhausted.  


It hurts to see pictures from this time. We lost her here at home, on May 23rd.  We just could not get her blood sugar balanced right.  On the night she died... the vet sent her home with me, and told me her time had not yet come.  I knew on the way home we were losing her that night.  Our poor little doll. 




In mid-May, my friend Valerie had four new puppies in her kennel, Sandy, Shandy, Austin and Billy, three girls and a boy.  They helped the hurt from Abby's death. 

I took care of them all summer, first letting their mama out for exercise while they were nursing, and then, letting the puppies, their mama, and their cousin Mia out to run in the yard. 


They grew by leaps and bounds. 


We celebrated the fourth of July at the T Bones with son Jim and his family. 


We watched a lot of baseball. 


And in mid-July, Keith's daughters and their husbands came to help us fix up the old house.  We were there 9 years, and are still upside down in it, and will be renting it next year... we hope by April. 


Even though Andrea was seven months pregnant!  She watched little Carson for Amber. 


Jace helped, too! 


On the 19th, we had another work day.... but... 


But Keith became very ill and was hospitalized for a week. 


The puppies were almost as big as their mama, Uno, and their cousin Mia, pictured here with Sandy. 

Their owner, Valerie, decided to move back to her home state of Michigan, and I had to 
say goodbye to my babies. 


Lilly Ann and I began walking in the park daily. 


My only surviving sibling, Pete, had had to be hospitalized at the first of the year, after a serious illness.  He was moved at mid-summer to a nursing home in Liberty, Missouri, where they take good care of him.  He suffers from dementia. 


Fall came. 


And Labor Day weekend brought us a new dog, Jester the Boston Terrier. 


My "garden" at the new house began to wane. 


And Keith went back in the hospital, this time, for ten days... from the VA to St. Lukes in 
KCMO... When he came out, he was on dialysis. 



Fall baseball


Jace turned three. 


Haley Kay was born. 


Jes wormed his way into our hearts 


Thanksgiving was celebrated in a small way, as Keith has many new dietary restrictions with his 
new dialysis diet. 

Carson turned one. 


Brynn turned two. 


We Christmas-partied...


and we Christmas-partied some more. 


And I've had a blast this fall learning to use Keith's big Nikon. 


In February, Pete and I lost our brother Mike.  Pete has dementia, and still does not 
understand that Mike has gone on before us, to join our little sister Kathleen, and our mom and dad. 

He left a big family, five kids and many, many grandchildren, as well as a wife to whom he had 
been married for over 50 years. 

I still can't believe he and Kathleen are gone. 


Our Sweet Girl. 

Here's to a more interesting 2015! 


Your blogger and her smiling Lilly Ann 

Tuesday, December 30, 2014

The Little Camera


I think this piece of the pasture is interesting. 

It is all clover... this is where we fed the llamas for 
four years... and the grass appeared to disappear under
the feeders... but clover established itself. 

It's right inside the big tractor gate, and right outside the goat-llama-pony pen. 


I ran back to the car to get my little camera... because 
yesterday, there were dandelions blooming! 


I drive by this cow frequently.  Until two months ago, she had a companion in 
her pen.  She has a little barn over on the right (by my mirror) and 
a nice pond to drink from... but no companion.  I don't know if the companion went to freezer
camp or what, but I feel so sorry for lonesome herd animals.  She often lays in the corner 
on the left out of the picture... there are cattle in the pasture one down from this place, and I know 
she can hear them from time to time.  Breaks my heart. 

In the house next to this, there is now a lone horse, where before, there were two. 

Same thing... breaks my heart.  

When we lost Lacey, the mini horse, we went to the trouble of borrowing another 
mini to keep our pony Beau company.  

I am going to think positively that this cow is bred and will be having her calf soon, and have another companion. 


You can see the ponds are beginning to freeze... some of these geese were standing on ice. 
We are plunging to the lower single digits and possibly zero tonight. 

Everyone stay warm! 


Monday, December 29, 2014

The Last Sunny Day


"Just start that car and drive on, Ma'am"


"Okay, that's it, I'm outa here" 







No hawks were harmed in the filming of this sequence (which is out of order, a
little) 

They usually move about 50 feet, to another high tree. 


Say goodbye to that sun, Lilly Ann. 


And you'd better hurry, because the cold air is descending on us, and there 
won't be any more runs in the pasture for a few days. 


You too, little Jester... run your heart out! 





Even the weeds looked beautiful in the sunlight. 


But before we left, the clouds began to gather, and the sunlight 
to dissipate.  It's going to be a cold week at Calamity Acres!