The big news of the day comes from Luckie Beaule. Wow! As in Bow Wow! She has a new ride…a new set of wheels!
There is a person at the Toyota dealership in Bristol who walks each new buyer through all of the things that the new automobile features. The only thing I was interested in was in how to fold the back seat down so that the doggies could ride. Seriously who cares about blue tooth when you live so far out that your phone doesn’t work most of the time?
Here’s a full view of our Luckie in her new chariot.
Our old Ford F150 was getting unreliable. It was time for a change. We’re all happy! Even the cherry tree is weeping with joy.
Tomorrow is a big day here at our hobby farm. We’re planting green beans. Mike bought three different kinds, but it’s the half runners that I’m looking forward to growing. Last year, it was 100 degrees when the beans arrived, and I just let them die. I hope this year is different, and I get a good crop.
And…in case you’re interested, here’s an updated photo, taken today, of my yukon gold potatoes (planted with no planning, no hilling and no problems).
When I knew Mike’s knee replacement surgery was scheduled for April 1, I made my mental list of all I wanted to accomplish while off work to be with him. I should have known better. Never.make.a.plan.
I stayed in the hospital at Holston Valley each night and most of each day. I came home once and showered. This wasn’t so bad since he checked in on Monday (really early…like 5:15 am), and we were headed home by 4:30 pm on Wednesday. Upon our arrival home, we switched up all the sleeping arrangements; and, somehow, in a house with three bedrooms, a sofabed in the den, and a blow up mattress for emergencies–and just two people– I ended up in the living room on the couch (not a sofabed). I’ve been there every night until last night. Suffice it to say, I haven’t had a good night’s sleep for two weeks. Last night was THE night to get back to a real bed, and then it stormed and Gracie, who is afraid of storms, started whining and shivering. I got on the floor –with my pillow–and slept on the dogbed with her. We’re both tired today.
I couldn’t NOT do this. Yesterday was a hard day for this dear girl. She panted all Monday night and she fell. Twice. Mike looked at me and said “I don’t want her in pain.” I watched her all night. I texted Dr. Steve in the early, early morning hours and told him that I thought it was the day. He said to meet him at 9:30 am at the practice.
The day. The day Gracie would no longer limp. The day I would no longer have my dog after this 15-year love affair we have shared. Spending time with this dog was one of the primary reasons I wanted to work less. It’s the reason my house is a mess with scatter rugs all over the hardwood since she can’t stand on a slippery floor.
Dr. Steve understands this, and he did not want her to have to walk on the slippery floors in the practice, so he asked me to keep her in the truck. He came out and listened to her heart. She looked directly in his eyes. He said “Eva, today is not the day. Let’s take her out of the truck and watch her walk.” She walked about…he looked in her mouth…felt of her many lumps…pressed on her tummy. We are no longer focused on fixing Gracie — we want her to be comfortable. She was dehydrated and she was a little sore.
We headed home. We have some additional medication for Gracie, and she’s eating well and drinking a lot of Pediatric Electrolyte mixed with organic chicken broth. She’s back to barking at me and wanting to ride in the truck. And eat cookies!
I like this picture. I took it over the weekend; and in it, she doesn’t look like a 15-year old dog. You can still see that she was very athletic. She was such a swimmer and runner. She was always my snuggler.
This Sweet Girl visited the vet today. Mike said she was so very brave!
Dr. Steve says that the “warty” like thing on her eye has to come off. He’s trying an approach of squeezing it (yes, she let him…she’s a good dog) and I’m applying a steroid ointment at night. If it goes away or is reduced enough not to bother her, then we won’t attempt surgery.
He doesn’t want to do surgery due to her age…she’s almost 15. He listened to her heart. It beat strong. He watched her walk. Her arthritis was still manageable. He felt of her lumps and bumps (too many to list). He made a loud noise. She didn’t hear him; her world is quiet.
Most dogs Gracie’s age are very thin. She runs to fat. Yes, her arthritis would be better if she was a little lighter, but Dr. Steve is delighted that she’s not thin.
She still finds joy in her life. She loves riding in the truck, running to the shop, eating, and laying by my feet or on the couch beside me. I’m her “important person.” Mike is her “second important person” but not quite as high as me.
It is one gray, rainy Sunday here in Mendota. Mike asked if I wanted to turn the heat on, but I think the gas fireplace will knock the chill off in our house. “Turn the fireplace on”…that is a term that I did not hear until the 1990’s. We used to build a fire in the fireplace, but now we “turn the fireplace on.” We have two gas fireplaces…the one in this picture is a direct vent, and it throws out a very modest amount of heat which is perfect for a day like today.
While the small bit of heat this fireplace throws out is good for today, it’s not enough during the winter. At that point, we use it more “for looks.” There is something about a fireplace and candles that lightens my mood.
I’ve got a candle stuck in one of the bowls of gourds in this picture although it doesn’t show up that well. That’s okay as the prettier part of this picture is one of my dear girls taking a snooze. That’s Princess Gracie Barker Beaule. She a member in good standing with the American Kennel Club…she proudly mentions this to Luckie daily. Luckie, of course, is of questionable lineage, and as Gracie constantly reminds her, she will never be a member of the American Kennel Club.
Here’s Luckie…it’s an old picture you’ve seen before of her eating her Dogster icey treat. She could care less about Gracie’s snobby remarks.
Back to candles… I put tea candles everywhere I can. They burn about four hours.
While everyone was sleeping and all these little candles were burning, I decided to cook up a pot of something…
Sammy the Cat came home this afternoon feeling so much better than when he went to visit Dr. Steve Dotson at Bristol Animal Clinic. His abscess has been drained and he’s been pumped full of antibiotics (as there is no way I could get a pill down that throat). We’ve been trying to keep him in the house, and he’s been fairly pleasant, although he’s swung at me with his paw, bit at me and growled. I will admit, however, that some of those were in play.
After spending $170 on this little devil, I don’t want to let him out. However, about two hours ago he slipped out. I’ve been calling and calling.
I went and got Mike up and told him Sammy was gone…probably eaten by a coyote.
He went out on the porch with me to call and look for Sammy. He looked up toward the pergola and guess what he saw?
He won’t come down. I’ve held out ham and cooed at him. He just looks at me like I’m a small bug.
Sam the Sinister Cat went to the vet today. He normally gets very sick in the car, but he felt so bad that he did not eat this morning, so he was “running on empty.” He wasn’t very sinister either.
The lump that seemed so hard and didn’t seem painful when I first discovered it turned out to be an abscess. It was opened today by Dr. Dotson and he is spending the night at the Bristol Animal Clinic. I know it is scary for him to be caged and at the vet clinic overnight, but I’ll bet he is much more comfortable there than he was at home last night.
Since I’m working tomorrow, Mike will be picking him up.
I miss that mean little face tonight. I’m the only one he likes!
We’re in about the 4th day of fall, and the nights are getting very cool here in Mendota. I love sleeping in on these cold mornings.
Tomorrow I will not be sleeping in. As I mentioned in the post earlier this week, Sam the Cat has a lump on his little neck/jaw area. I did not think it was bothering him. I just found the lump on Monday while petting him, so I made an appointment for next Monday. Sam is a challenge to drive to the vet, and I wanted to be the one to drive him. Since I’m working on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday this week, I felt Monday was best since he did not appear to be in any discomfort and was eating normally. Now, however, he is in pain, and I’ve left my vet a message that he’ll have to see Sam tomorrow. Sam was abused as a kitten and he’s really a mean cat. He’ll have to be sedated before the vet will even be able to touch him. He also gets car sick. Poop pee puke. You get the picture. I hope you weren’t eating when you read that!
We’re still working on projects and getting ready for winter. This weekend, I worked on the beehives. I worked and took these pictures just as it became daylight as I wanted the bees to be inside their hives and not hanging around the entry way as they do during the day.
Here’s Hive #2. If you look at the base of the hive, you’ll see an opening going across the width of the structure. We leave that open during the “honey flow” so the bees can get in and out easily. If all is well, these hives have many thousands of bees bringing in pollen and nectar, and traffic can get quite congested. It reminds me of Federal Express in Memphis during take offs and landings. Quite fun to watch as they zoom in with their little pockets full of pollen.
As the weather cools and the bees become less active, we close this off. We do this to keep out cold and pests such as mice.
Here’s a picture of the same hive after I inserted a spacer. Look at the bottom now…
When it gets much colder, we’ll close this off to a very tiny opening which is much smaller than what you see in the picture above. I’m very worried about my bees and how they’ll do this winter. They are positioned so that they don’t get strong wind, but they also are in the shade. I’d really like for them to get the morning sun and the evening shade but it’s reversed. If we know in advance that there is extreme cold this winter, we may bubble wrap the hives to help hold in warmth. The bees will cluster around the queen and keep her at about 85 degrees. In summer, they fan her to keep her cool.
It is also time to remove the vents from the top of the hive. In the picture below, I’ve removed the cover, and I’m getting ready to remove the vent. The dark brown that you see under the screen are a few hundred bees.
The vent is very useful in the summer. Just like in your house, the hot air rises and the vent allows the heat to escape. If you have attic vents, it is a similar principle.
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In the picture below, I’ve removed the vent and placed the heavy block back on the hive to keep the roof in place. I left the vent on the side of the hive so that the bees will be able to get back into their hives. On the day following, I picked up the vents and took them home. I’ve now got to ask Gerald how I clean them up to store it for winter. We’ll be using these vents again next summer.
I really enjoy these bees. I was up at the hive this evening swapping around Mason jars of sugar water for these little guys. They’ve got used to my being there every day and are paying little attention when I make the swap. For some reason, one got up my sweatshirt sleeve (I wasn’t wearing the protective clothing). “Yikes,” I thought..”I’m going to get stung.” Wonder of wonders…I did not!! Thank you little bee (who by the way would have been dead tonight had he or she stung me.)
There is so much to learn and so much to risk if you do something wrong.
I will be so happy if next spring I have four hives of healthy bees.
To those who buy our honey, we greatly appreciate it. We are working hard to provide a quality honey and to to our part in restoring honeybees to Southwest Virginia.
Hello everyone! “Mavis” found my blog and commented on it. Hi Mavis! It’s fun when someone I don’t know finds me and LIKES me! Just so you’ll know, I can’t see who is following the blog unless a comment is left. I can see the number of views, and I can actually block IP addresses for spammers or trolls, but I don’t really know who reads until a comment is left. I know I like Mavis because she is a canner. Yeah Mavis!
So…I worked today. I’m working until the end of August! Anyway, I got home from work and as my diet has blown up this past two weeks, I decided to go for a walk. Mike was going to take the “dear girls” (our dogs Gracie and Luckie) for a “loop” on the “outer belt” of Mendota (large Swinging Bridge Road loop) so he dropped me off. I decided to take you along on my walk.
This is the first little face I saw on Swinging Bridge. Let me introduce you to Patty.
Patty is a rescue dog. She has quite a big of Great Pyranese in her, but today that is not what she is talking about. She is talking about the very bad haircut her Mommy gave her.
Patty: “Look…she cut my fur!!
Punkin: “You don’t expect me to look at you, do you?”
Patty: “I don’t care how I look..I love my Mommy.”
And just like that, it was time to visit the chickens. As we enter the wire enclosure, we’re greeting by a Welcome Feather. These are no ordinary chickens.
These chickens live at the Dean’s Hen Hilton. How many hens do you know that live like this?
The sunflower shelter is made completely out of recycled materials. I had to insert a large picture. (I’m using a new photo editing software…free of course…hope it’s not all elongated!) Very cool.
Speaking of needing a haircut…see the feet on this chick…
I think Margie said that the chicken pictured above is a Brahma. We weren’t quite sure if this is a rooster or a hen. No one is crowing but no one is laying yet! It will happen soon!
Here’s another sweet girl…actually two sweet girls. Margie and one of her Aracaunas. This chicken is special as her eggs will be a blue green color. Very pretty. It’s a color Benjamin Moore would like to copy I’m sure! Once she is a bit older, she’ll start laying and I’ll show you a picture of one of her eggs.
Check this out…what do you think this shelter for three of the girls is made out of?
Did you say it used to be a table?
It’s time to leave. In just a short while, I’ll be visiting Margie and the girls weekly as they begin laying eggs. I have committed to one dozen beautiful, healthy free-range eggs each week. If we don’t eat the eggs, I’ll whip some scrambled eggs up for the dear girls.
I head out Swinging Bridge. Not much going on this evening. Here’s a truck. We have way more trucks than cars in Mendota, and if someone doesn’t have a truck, they probably wish they did! I feel like I’m walking through a salad bowl at I approach this shady area. Have I said that before?
Almost home. I walk by the unfinished barn which is being built of recycled materials. The work is going slowly but at least there is shelter for some hay. The goats will need that this winter. You’ll never hear me complain about someone who works a little slower. My projects take three times as long as everyone else!
I’m home from my walk. I have a large project ahead of me this weekend. I’m going to reorganize my pantry closet where I store cleaning supplies, filters, vet supplies and quite a bit of my canned goods. I wanted to share the BEFORE picture to keep me motiviated to tackle this project this weekend.
Two window treatments and the pantry. I will be a happy camper if I get this done by Sunday.
Thanks for reading my blog. It means a lot to me. Talk later!
One of my friends who reads this blog is Diane Malcom. Diane commented about country living being the best. She’s right. There’s living…and then there’s living in the country!
Sometimes, however, there are inconveniences. Power outages are one inconvenience. We have storms in the forecast this evening, and I saw Appalachian Power’s trucks in the area earlier today. Usually Mike and I are in the group without power. I can recite AEP’s phone number from memory!! Following last week’s June 29 storm where so many folks in our area were affected, we were not. (Well, there was a six-hour outage, but one that small doesn’t even count!) Just up the river about a mile on Barnrock Road, folks did not have power for several days. There’s no public water in this area, so when the power is off, there is also no water. Miserable.
Before we had a generator, if there was a storm forecast, we’d run water in the bathtub, fill plastic bottles and the teakettle, and hurry around doing all of the things that required power. People in the country are very attuned to weather, and it’s our nature to prepare.
A few years back, we set money aside for a full-house generator. It was installled the winter of 2010. The generator was installed on one day and went into use for a 36-hour period the very next day. Talk about luck! You will never hear me brag about a car, and I own no fine jewelry–no diamond ring in my possession. However, I will tell you that I kept that generator box in Mike’s shop for weeks beyond what was necessary, as I wanted to make sure everyone who came in saw it. We were playing Rook around that time, and I could not wait for my friends to see that Generac box. Just so proud. Can anyone relate? The generator is up there at the top of my list of favorite things.
It’s a Generac, so I call her Genny.
However, she’s a bit slutty. Won’t do anything unless her boyfriend Wally tells her to.
Wally Watermelon….
Genny thinks Wally is a gas! Wally thinks Genny is a little square.
Wally isn’t really ours. He just stays here loafing around until Genny needs him. At first his owner, Ferrellgas, frowned on his appearance. Eventually, however, they came to accept him, and I’ve even sent them pictures.
It’s all worth it…we have to keep the house comfortable for our pets.
As I look at this picture, I feel a need to put a disclaimer…small print. I’d change the font size here if I knew how!
Gracie is a beautiful dog, but she is also one dirty little dog. I’ve been waiting until it’s cooler to bathe her as I’ll have to do it outside where she can stand on the rough pavement. Her hindquarters are so weak that I’m fearful she would injure herself if groomed professionally.
I’m looking for a day with low humidity in the 80’s. We have warm water outside so it won’t be shockingly cold. I’ll bathe her and then drive her around on the golfcart until she dries enough to bring inside. (She’s afraid of blow dryers.)
