{"id":4791,"date":"2012-05-03T14:23:21","date_gmt":"2012-05-03T21:23:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ruffledfeathersandspilledmilk.com\/?p=4791"},"modified":"2012-05-06T04:29:01","modified_gmt":"2012-05-06T11:29:01","slug":"whats-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/ruffledfeathersandspilledmilk.com\/?p=4791","title":{"rendered":"What’s Up?"},"content":{"rendered":"

I ran into a friend at the kids’ school.<\/em><\/p>\n

“Hey,”\u00a0 she said, “What’s up?”<\/em><\/p>\n

Well, the chicks in the incubator hatched.<\/p>\n

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Which means they’ll be added to these chicks in the brooder room as soon as they’re old enough.<\/p>\n

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Or as soon as I get tired of changing this brooder box in the house.<\/p>\n

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Or when the dogs start barking at them all night long because the constant peeping is keeping them awake.\u00a0 The dogs need their beauty sleep.\u00a0 Or else they might have to take 8 naps on the couches during the day.\u00a0 Instead of just 7.<\/p>\n

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Unlike a lot of people, I’ve had reasonably good success with adding chicks of different ages together.\u00a0 As long as they born within 4-6 weeks of each other, they seem to do OK.\u00a0 Probably because the natural aura of peace, harmony, and togetherness that we promote on our property.\u00a0 That or they figure they are safer off making friends with each other than making friends with Daisy, the barn cat.<\/p>\n

Do you see her outside the brooder room waiting to make friends?<\/p>\n

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The poppies have popped in the wildflower bed.<\/p>\n

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Which means it’s the season for cut flowers in the house again.<\/p>\n

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Also, the season for wandering around the house trying to find that stench, only to discover it’s the slimy water in the cut flower vase.\u00a0 I think you’re supposed to add Sprite to the water to keep it from getting slimy.\u00a0 Or change the water every few days to keep it fresh.\u00a0 Which is so much work that by August it will be the season for fake cut flowers.<\/p>\n

The vegetable transplants in the garden are doing well, despite the recent heat.<\/p>\n

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Which is more than I can say for this guinea hen that I thought was setting on eggs.<\/p>\n

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She’s not setting on eggs.\u00a0 She’s dead.\u00a0 When I was in the garden weeding, and then transplanting, and then watering, and then staking, I glimpsed her there and meant to go over and get a better look, but never did.\u00a0 That’s the crazy thing about us Type A personalities.\u00a0 We get a lot done—-rushing from the barn chores to the garden chores, from the bank to the school to the library, making lists and checking them off, but we don’t always pay close attention.\u00a0 Sometimes I have to say to myself,<\/p>\n

“Whoa!\u00a0 Slow down, girl!\u00a0 Look again.\u00a0 That guinea ain’t sittin’ eggs.\u00a0 She’s deader than a doornail!\u00a0 (Also, that cop sittin’ in the church parking lot that you pass going into town ain’t just doin’ paperwork.\u00a0 Slow down, girl, slow down!)”<\/p>\n

I talk to myself like that (parentheses included).\u00a0 Or else I hear voices in my head.\u00a0 Whichever.<\/p>\n

I’m pretty sure the Orioles passed us by.\u00a0 Those punks.\u00a0 But we attracted some other visitors on their migratory path.<\/p>\n

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We have a pair of rose-breasted grosbeaks frequenting the feeder.\u00a0 They normally summer in Canada or the northeastern U.S.\u00a0 I have no idea what made them stop for a visit, but it was thrilling to see them.\u00a0 Until Big pointed out that we might never see them because maybe they shouldn’t be here.<\/p>\n

“You don’t think you upset the balance of nature with all those feeders, do you?” he asked.\u00a0 ” I mean, what if they don’t continue up north?\u00a0 What if they stay here?\u00a0 What if they turn into a threat for native species?\u00a0 Like coqui frogs in Hawaii, or red fire ants in Texas?\u00a0 Or kudzu???”<\/p>\n

I assured him it was fine and they would move on eventually.\u00a0 Probably.\u00a0 Maybe.\u00a0 But I took down the meal worm feeder for a few days.\u00a0 And if the state becomes infested with grosbeaks, you didn’t hear that it started here.<\/p>\n

Brianna is due to kid in a week or whenever she feels like it.\u00a0 So she is confined to the kidding barn on most days.\u00a0 Most of my ladies complain bitterly about their confinement.\u00a0 But Brianna is way too experienced for that.\u00a0 She knows the kidding barn means free access grain and hay, fresh water that no one else has slobbered in, and frequent visits from the farmer with treats and chin scratches.\u00a0 I let her out in the mornings while I milk and do chores.\u00a0 And as soon as she has a cool morning stroll to eat some blackberry branches and acorns, she’s waiting at the door to go back in.<\/p>\n

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I remember being pregnant with my first child.\u00a0 I told my grandmother that I planned on being home within 6-8 hours after giving birth.\u00a0 I didn’t intend to spend any more time in the hospital than was necessary.\u00a0 She laughed.\u00a0 A lot.\u00a0 I had no idea what she was laughing at.<\/p>\n

By the time my fourth child was born they had to haul me kicking and screaming out of the hospital.<\/p>\n

“No!”\u00a0 I cried.\u00a0 “I haven’t had a bowel movement.\u00a0 I don’t think my milk has come in!\u00a0 No!!!”<\/p>\n

They threw me a bottle of Colace, a free sample of Similac, and wheeled me out the door.\u00a0 That’s why they use wheelchairs, you know.\u00a0 Postpartum mothers can walk.\u00a0 They just aren’t willing to leave the room service meals, cable TV, and free 24 hour nursery care under their own volition.\u00a0 Not the experienced ones anyway.\u00a0 I know exactly where Brianna is coming from.\u00a0 And now I know why my grandmother (who had 9 children) was laughing.<\/p>\n

With Brianna due to kid and new babies on the way, the lambs are on weaning.\u00a0 Which means I have 2 fuzzy, fast moving rams attached to my heels wherever I go in the barnyard.<\/p>\n

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They are not pleased with the teensy amount of milk that they get in the mornings and are hoping that at any moment a bottle will fall from my pockets.\u00a0 They also feel it is ridiculously unfair that Tina continues to get milk twice a day.\u00a0 But with Tina’s bones and muscles healing and gaining strength we have no intention of weaning her too soon.<\/p>\n

As a matter of fact, Tina just got new splints.\u00a0 The PVC tubes began sliding off, which we took as a good sign.\u00a0 She now has rulers taped to the front and back of her legs.<\/p>\n

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They keep her legs straight, and force her onto the flat of her hoof so she gains strength while walking.\u00a0 They are much more lightweight than the PVC pipe and she is much more agile in them.\u00a0 Plus, they are easier to relax in.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

We are still holding out hope for her full rehabilitation.\u00a0 Because she has already made a special friend.\u00a0 A special male friend who may have great relevance for her future.\u00a0 Time for Captain to move to the buck pen.<\/p>\n

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Carmen turned out to be fat instead of pregnant.\u00a0 Boo for Carmen.\u00a0 I saw some behavior that indicated a heat cycle but I just wasn’t sure.\u00a0 So I put her in with Merlin to test it out.\u00a0 A doe that is not in heat does not want anything to do with the buck.\u00a0 Carmen, however, was pointing out some of her finer features to him.<\/p>\n

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Oh well.\u00a0 Better luck with kids in September.<\/p>\n

Bruno apparently needs dental care.\u00a0 Don’t be fooled by his smile.<\/p>\n

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At his check up, the vet pointed out his layers of plaque and tartar.\u00a0 Which I felt was very irresponsible of him.\u00a0 How could he let his teeth go like that?\u00a0 He now receives a very expensive dental chew each day.\u00a0 Or every other day.\u00a0 Or every 3 days.\u00a0 However long I can manage to stretch out those costly cookies and still see a decrease in plaque and tartar.\u00a0 At least his fur is taken care of by someone else.\u00a0 Bruno has a heavy undercoat that he begins to shed this time of year and needs to be brushed out.\u00a0 Daisy has dutifully stepped up to handle this.\u00a0 Thank you, Daisy.<\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

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But Bruno’s not the only one getting a new coat.\u00a0 Papa is wearing his summer colors.\u00a0 Dried southern red clay on top and dark brown pond muck on bottom.\u00a0 It’s very fashionable.\u00a0 All the pigs are doing it.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

He obviously recognizes the importance of taking the time to update your style.<\/p>\n

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Unfortunately, there won’t be any tadpoles this year.\u00a0 When I went to the pond to gather some for the aquarium on the deck, there wasn’t a single one in sight.\u00a0 Instead the pond was mobbed with baby fish.\u00a0 Can you see him?\u00a0 Look for his big bug eyes.\u00a0 Um, big fish eyes.<\/p>\n

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They were everywhere!\u00a0 Those are not leaves in the water, they are fish!<\/p>\n

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And not all of them were small!<\/p>\n

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I wish I could show you the huge schools gathered around the pond banks.\u00a0 But my photography skills are limited.\u00a0 And, even though I tried to slip up to the water silently, my walking partner was not so stealthy.<\/p>\n

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Although I was sad that there wouldn’t be any tadpoles to watch morphing into frogs, I was thrilled that there were so many fish.\u00a0 4 or 5 years ago, drought conditions caused the pond level to drop really low, the vegetation on the pond banks died, and the pond got a leak.\u00a0 Since that time, it has yet to refill up to the dam level and I worry all the time that the water will get stagnant and unhealthy.<\/p>\n

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But I suppose life will find a way.\u00a0 And the frogs will have to lay their eggs where there aren’t so many hungry fish.<\/p>\n

Last, but certainly not least, Middle caught 2 fly balls in last night’s baseball game.<\/p>\n

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And Little made a run and threw in a ball from the outfield for an out.<\/p>\n

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Most importantly, no one tried to catch the ball with their face and everyone went home with their teeth intact.\u00a0 Amen.<\/p>\n

When I finished talking, my friend stood silently for a minute.\u00a0 She blinked a few times.<\/em><\/p>\n

“No…”\u00a0 she murmured, “I meant, what’s up with you today?\u00a0 Why are you here at school?”<\/em><\/p>\n

“Oh,”I said.\u00a0 “Pretty got a Terrific Kid award.\u00a0 I’m here for the ceremony.”<\/em><\/p>\n

My friend smiled weakly, gave me an awkward pat on the back, and started moving away.<\/em><\/p>\n

“Tell her congratulations, ” she called over her shoulder as she hurried off.\u00a0 “I’ll see you later.”<\/em><\/p>\n

I don’t think that woman really wanted to know what was up with me.\u00a0 And I don’t think I’ll be seeing her again later.\u00a0 Not if she sees me first.\u00a0 Sigh.\u00a0 I think I need to get off the farm more often.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I ran into a friend at the kids’ school. “Hey,”\u00a0 she said, “What’s up?” Well, the chicks in the incubator hatched.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4791","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/ruffledfeathersandspilledmilk.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4791","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/ruffledfeathersandspilledmilk.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/ruffledfeathersandspilledmilk.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ruffledfeathersandspilledmilk.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ruffledfeathersandspilledmilk.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4791"}],"version-history":[{"count":23,"href":"http:\/\/ruffledfeathersandspilledmilk.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4791\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4842,"href":"http:\/\/ruffledfeathersandspilledmilk.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4791\/revisions\/4842"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/ruffledfeathersandspilledmilk.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4791"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ruffledfeathersandspilledmilk.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4791"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ruffledfeathersandspilledmilk.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4791"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}