On Friday, which was a non-instructional day for my granddaughters, I loaded up the girls for a trip to Prince Rupert. We were picking up my daughter, Bernice, from the hospital there where she had had her foot operated on. She had her big toe fused, which is done by cutting the joint ends of both bones off, then screwing in a titanium plate to hold the bones together. I had the exact same surgery a few years ago, on my left foot. While it leaves us unable to bend the toe, the pain relief is immediate. We had this operation due to extreme osteo-arthritis in the joint. After such surgery one must stay off the foot completely for 2 weeks. A long time when one is confined to couch and crutches, especially in this neck of the woods where sidewalks are non-existant! Best wishes to Bernice for speedy healing!
Amigo, the maremma guardian dog that I was looking after, went home yesterday. He is completely recovered from his neutering and has put on a good amount of weight. He eats a minimum of 6 cups of dog food a day, along with 1/4 can of tripe and other meat juices and fats that I have left from cooking. He was a wonderful guest. He was happy to go home though, and very happy to see his owner.
Our chainsaw finally gave it's last gasp. We rushed it twice to the saw doctor. On Tuesday it was pronounced dead on arrival. We were hoping to get the final 2 cords of wood without buying a new saw this winter but that was not to be. So, $534.17 later, we have a new saw and a 6 pack of oil! Dennis is pleased with the way it starts on first pull and stays running while he's using it. Getting wood is a difficult enough task without having to fight with the saw to keep it running or to start it. So, he's out getting wood again today. There is snow in the forecast for today through the weekend. It is ugly to get wood in the snow so now is the time!
While daily living keeps me busy enough around here, I am now getting calls for dog training. People get pups, not always the most suitable for their lifestyles, then at around 6 months old the pup turns into a teenager and the owners don't understand what is going on. However, if one does not train a puppy, one cannot expect it to suddenly be trained when it turns 6 months old! It is like sending an English speaking person to a foreign land, giving the person orders in a foreign language, then expecting the person to understand and do as asked. To be upset with the person for not understanding just complicates things further. I am happy to be called so I can help improve the relationship between people and their dogs. Most of the time it goes well once the human understands the dog and how dogs think. It is so rewarding when the dog's behaviour changes as soon as the humans change theirs!
Yesterday I made and froze tomato sauce from a lot of my Roma tomatoes. Very delicious and handy to have at the ready. Today I am making a cake for Dennis' birthday tomorrow. We will have a couple of friends over for dinner.
The ewes and lambs are all down by the house. After building the beautiful barn we just ran out of time and money to put electricity there. We need power to keep the water tubs from freezing. This wickedly cold weather was too much. Even though we would break the ice each morning it would freeze over within the hour. When the sheep are on hay they drink a lot more water than when they are grazing grass, so the sheep are now in the dog kennels down by the house. We will put Ben, our ram, in with the ewes in early November for April lambing. The following pictures are of Ben, taken last year when he was in with the ewes. He is a very nice, friendly, handsome boy!
Ben looks as fat there as our ewes do now...well, almost ;)
ReplyDeleteYes, he is a big boy, tipping the scales at just under 300 pounds! Our ewes look as fat as yours so I think it is just their shape! Mind you, yours have round cheeks, making them incredibly cute! Will you have lambs in the spring?
Delete