The Link is Broken

Two weeks ago, I took this picture of a happy Nicholas, sitting in the porch of the big chickenhouse where he loved to look for mice. He would follow me on my chores as he followed us while we walked Oscar the Min Pin in Leavenworth when we first moved back, when he would follow us down the alley and out onto Esplanade, running behind us on the curb and laying down under the park bench when we sat to watch the river. When we stood up to go home, up would come Nick, and follow us back. When we moved to this farm, it was like he remembered the old farm, where he had grown up with me, and he couldn't wait to investigate all the buildings and the pasture and grounds. Yes, he did kill some wild birds, but he was an indoor outdoor cat out here in the country. Twice we thought we had lost him, but we know now that Oscar was keeping him away from the house. After Oscar was gone, Nick felt safe to approach us again, and I was so glad to find him again. I had heard him night after night, calling to me, until I thought maybe I was losing it, but he WAS out there.

On the first he did not come to me when I called him from the porch, and Keith found him curled in a deck chair, and carried him in. Two days at Dr. Tom's that week found only that he had a virus, and he was sent home with medication. He lost weight and stopped eating, and finally, drinking. The last night he dragged himself up between us, and gave two short yowls... when I turned the light on, I thought he was gone. I stroked him and talked to him, and cried. Then, at five, he dragged himself off the bed. I left work that morning and came home to take him back to Dr. Tom, where I held him until he went to sleep peacefully.

He was the last of my beloved pets from my "old" pre-married life, at my old farm. They are all gone now, Petey, Ashley, Libby, Stealth, the Elmos, Nicholas the Third and now Nicholas the Fourth. All the chickens and ducks that lived happily there, and the gardens and lovely rolling meadow in the pasture. He is buried here under Beau's tree in the pasture, in a little red box, and the coyotes won't be able to find him. He can look down on the beautiful ponds at the foot of the pasture, and in the summer the mulberry tree will shade him. We are going to plant wildflowers on his resting place, but his real resting place is in my heart.

A Cold December Day

Cold too soon, here at Calamity Acres. Two winter storms on the way, and a weekend spent trying to batten down the hatches and still prepare for Christmas. Lots of projects are in progress... a temporary shelter put up so the ducks and geese can get out from under any precip, and heating lamps on in the big and little henhouses. The haybarn is finished, primed, but not finished painting, and the closeness to the gate of the pasture has been a Godsend, taking only minutes to feed the llamas and equines now. We have a new storage building, so that the shop can be cleaned out and prepared for a big project for the spring. The big henhouse has more room, now that we are using the haybarn for storage of all the hay/horse feed and llama feed.
We have one more small project, to put straw bales around the little dog pen in the chicken yard with the tarp cover... this will give the little birds a place to shelter out of the windy, cold days of winter.

Inside, things are not so well... Nicholas, the Link, the 9 year cat who lived originally at my old far, has been sick since last Tuesday. Despite two days at the vet's office, they could not figure out what was wrong. He is dehydrated, and on antibiotics. He has spent the weekend sleeping, and is hiding now. We are praying he is not dying, but it does not look good. He does not seem to be in terrible pain, just fading.

Ouside, we have a chicken who is showing signs of trouble as well. Brownie, one of old Rambo's daughters, has a crippled leg, and has lived for two years balancing her self on one good leg, and one stuck awry. Something else has happened now, and she is having trouble. We debated all weekend to end things for her, and are waiting until morning. Today I saw her drink water and try to eat a little, so we decided to wait, but tomorrow, Husband leaves for a three day meeting so the decision will be made to end things, or to let nature take her course. This is the unpleasant side of country living... sometimes animals sicken and die, and you don't always know what has happened. She does not appear to be eggbound, and there are no sniffles... we have been through that before. She has been a very plucky girl, and would have been put down months ago by a normal chicken raiser, but we are not normal here... everyone has a chance, until they don't anymore.

Christmas preparations are under way, though the tree is not in and up. Sometimes there are more things to be done in a day than there are hours, so it will have to wait until next weekend now. Someday, when I'm retired, I'll have my ducks in a row!

Both vet and farrier have come in the last week. Lilly Horse is overweight, and now dieting, but in good health. Farrier has pronounced both horses in good shape after trimming, and was astounded at the weight Uncle Beau has put on since the arrival of his companion. The llamas are fat and sassy and enjoying the winter weather better than all of us!