Untitled

I am trying this post out so I can write a blog in Europe. Please bear with me as I explore this new form of communication!

We had a lovely spring rain shower. I was cleaning the barn so got a front seat to the wind and rain....and rainbow! I'm going to try to post pictures with this so here goes...

After the rain came the sunshine, and then more clouds. It made for lovely pictures! This farm is in a good spot to see the storms and sky. Of course, it's also good as a lightning attraction.

When things cleared off, I took a stroll with my camera. I wanted to check out the lilacs that were blooming. I had company though, my kitten Eli, whom you may remember in an earlier post when he was tiny. He's been closed up in the house for a few days because he's gotten so good at hunting my songbirds. He was really enjoying the along grass...

 

Guess I'll finish this up and see if I can publish it. If it works you'll be seeing me in lori-ThreeCities.blogspot.com!

 

Posted with Blogsy

Wednesday

I was sleeping so well this morning. It was dark and rainy, Willie didn't bark, the sun wasn't shining in the east window, and it was somewhat cool. Too bad work gets in the way! It didn't help matters that, as I was driving down the driveway towards the road, I saw a flash of bright red. I thought "cardinal!" which I don't have very often at all in the yard. but watching longer, I saw black wings and thought "Thant's NOT a cardinal!". Sure enough, I had a Scarlet Tanager in my yard. I took a couple of pictures, but, again, work called and I had to leave...

This is my picture from this morning. I think he looks like a parrot in the jungle! He's a little puffed up from the rain... Fantastic!
Today was 'alitl' - a" a little this, a little of that". I let Brandi handle appointments for the most part. I did have another shave - this time a cat. "Skeet" was back and got his usual lion cut. He's a Ragdoll cat, with Siamese markings. I shave the body, the legs to the hocks and wrists and leave a 'ruff' around his neck. I shave him twice a year but I still think he's better looking with hair!



That didn't take all day but I kept busy with other things. Nothing too exciting today. One dog went home that is in need of a pacemaker. Yep, dogs get those too. But the owners may not want to spend the money it would take ( no pet insurance) so they'll try some meds first and also try to keep exercise to a minimum. It's tough because the dog was used for hunting. This is the type of dog, a German Wirehaired Pointer.



Home again - Jacky had put the horses and ponies in the barn when he got home because it was raining...again. We cleaned the barns and fed everyone outside. Before that though, I had to feed the outside birds. Were they hungry! It was wet and chilly, about 50 degrees or so. The orioles were comepletely out of food so I quickly filled jelly cups, oranges, and hummingbird syrup. Then a new nut and raisin suet cake. The seed feeders were not completely empty and the birds were busy on those - sparrow, goldfinches, chipping sparrows, indigo buntings! Also red headed woodpeckers, downy and hairy woodpeckers, and of course, grackles and starlings. Oh yes...mourning doves and an occasional blue jay. Phew!
And then.....I saw him.....my Scarlet Tanager!!! He came to the nut and raisin suet cake. I was able to take a few pictures of him before he got his fill and flew off. Wow!

I am pretty pleased with my bird attracting skills this year! How many years have we lived here and I've never had some of these species. Of course, all my extra money went to food for growing children instead of the birds...Lol.

One last picture I took yesterday of the stormy skies. I tried something new with my camera and used the panaramic view. It came out pretty cool and I will have to try it again sometime.

More birds...

It's been a busy few days - worked almost 12 hours yesterday, but only 9 today. Still, hard to stay awake once we get home. Jacky's been putting in 11 or 12 hours a day for a number of weeks - the farmers are in the field!! Actually, Jacky had a slow day today because of rain. Albert Lea had 1.78 inches today and many times it just poured. I had trouble seeing the road when I went to town to meet Jacky for lunch.
Most of my morning was spent shaving down "Sammy" , a rescue Australian Shepherd. She has only been in her new home since Oct - was found wandering the streets of Clarks Grove. She had a very thick under coat and it took me 2 hours to get through it. She may look funny now, but she is a lot cooler I guarantee!
 No embarassing picture of her today though, just too busy!



Mostly my exciting news today is the birds that came to my feeders tonight after the rain.....Indigo Buntings!!!!! Some of my coworkers have been bragging about the ones they have, and now I can brag back! Never had them here before. I counted at least 3 males. The females are brown and look like sparrows a little so I didn't identify them (poor lady birds..) Here's one of my pictures of the birds in my blooming cherry tree. It's fuzzy because of the distance but at least I have proof!

Then here's a picture from a better photographer with a fancier camera...



The feeders were all busy - the thistle socks have had as many as 9 or 10 goldfinches on them at a time, plus goldfinches on the ground under the mixed seed feeder, and a few at the sunflower feeder! We've all commented how many goldfinches there are this year. But my hummingbird feeders were the most busy with three male Baltimore orioles fighting and at least one female. One busy little hummingbird kept getting pushed out of his feeder so he's was a little put out. I found out part of the reason - all the grape jelly and oranges had been eaten up. I refilled everything so they should be happy first thing tomorrow.

Day Off

Lovely 97 degree day today (kidding on the lovely) - and that is 1 1/2 weeks after the huge 15 inch snowstorm! The birds have been so busy at the feeders, I have to fill them twice a day. Quite an assortment. Along with the hordes of starlings and grackles, there's the red headed woodpecker, chickadees, goldfinches, rosebreasted grosbeaks, hairy and downy woodpeckers and now - orioles!!! So excited to have them back.We've all missed 'color' in the outdoors here. For 8 months it's been brown or white. The bright splashes of yellow and orange really make you smile :-)




After taking care of my outside birds, I headed to Northfield to pick up my mother. From there to Fairibault where there is a wonderfull nursery. The varities and color were incredible!

How does anyone ever choose what they want?

Well, I had lots of trouble although I did end up bringing some home :)

Hurried home because Heather was coming to pick up Zoey. First I stopped at Fleet Farm for a new crate for her, food and treats. I know, I know. But I want things to go smoothly so I got a few things. Heather did come and patiently listened to all my instructions....(there were a lot). I'm sure going to miss her. I hope Heather brings her to visit.

Good luck Zoey!

Tour time!

My annual kindergarten tour was today - a BIG class of 6 children! We actually had lots of fun. Started out with Candy my dog in an exam room. Of course everyone wanted to pet her at the same time, but she handled it all fine. In fact she soaked it up! From there we went to look at digital xrays of Uli's foot. Thewn to the microscope to look at cool icky stuff - a swine louse, a horse biting louse, and a live, wriggling ear mite. FANTASTIC! Actually they really did like it. But of course the questions started "I want to see cats,"When do we get to see more animals?" "Are we doing something else?" That was the girls talking of course, the boys were all standing in line to get another look at the creepy crawlies...
Some cool things in bottles (roundworms, whip worms, horse teeth, ticks, bladder stones...the usual), xrays of things in stomachs like fishing weights and earrings, broken and pinned legs, buckshot in a dogs legs....
then on to the boarding kennels to see the dogs ( and rev them up a bit, the noise was deafening). Finally, a stop back in the exam room to get a bag full of goodies like coloring books and animal crackers. Success!

Listening to John Denver on Public Television. Ahhhh, I've missed his music. I know all these songs by heart - unlike the ones now.
Birds are coming back. Yesterday was the bright goldfinch. Holly told me at work the orioles are back so today I rushed back to  put out my grape jelly. I saw 2 male rose breasted grosbeaks in the maple tree. I hope they stay. The red headed woodpecker has been flying back and forth to the bottom pasture and the flickers have been fighting over territory. I think Spring is finally here!



Finally, I have a temporary singing partner who has been enjoying John Denver songs with me. I said yes to boarding a cockatiel for 11 days. We have boarded this clients birds - about 5 years ago. But my kennel assistant has no bird experience and there's no time to teach her before the weekend so I brought "Rudy" home. He's safe in Emma's room so the cats don't get too friendly with him.Wish I could have him out with us. At least he can hear John and chirp along with him!

Ahh shades of Connecticut when I listened to John Denver. I miss those times - walking in the woods behind the house, picnicing by the lakes, visiting the shore, riding my bike past acres of trees. Special times. "Sunshine On My Shoulders Makes Me Happy..."




John Denver's Rocky Mountains

Pigs Again

Sorry folks, another pig surgery day. It's been slow in the appointment and surgery department but the show pig surgeries are still going on. We had 4 today - ruptures and hernias. If you don't like graphic pics, better skip to the end!
This gilt (female pig) has an umbilical hernia. Here's before, during, and after pictures.

I didn't show the close-up of the area...It was pretty gross. I was scrubbing the area so I let Brandi take the pic. Here's Mike doing surgery - and Dennis watching.

We had a scary moment - the pig started getting into respiratory trouble (yes, pigs do too). Mike had lost a pig a couple of weeks ago during surgery and was afraid this was deja vu. He called for a reversal drug to the anesthetic and I ran to get it. We were in time and the pig came through the surgery ok. Look better?

Here's a close up of another pig's foot - and nose. Ok, I was bored after 3 hours of doing this..

The rest of the day was spent mostly getting ready for the kindergarten class coming tomorrow. I am their tour guide each year. Mostly the kids just want to tell me about their own pets but I put a lot of work into pulling out neat xrays, plastic models, and cool icky stuff to look at. Parents who come along are often just as fascinated! Although explaining the purpose of the stallion mount can be extremely tricky...

On the plus side today - goldfinches are back! Luckily I put out the thistle feeders a few days ago. Don't have the hummingbird or oriole feeders out yet.

Jacky reminded me what it was like exactly a week ago....how quickly we forget!

Groomer

Well, today I got to be dog groomer. I am the only one in clinic that shaves the dogs and cats that come in. We do not have a grooming business per say bu those animals that have to be knocked out to be shaved come to me. I have one Shih Tzu who comes to see me every 6 weeks. He's only 2 or 3 but has never allowed anyone to trim the hair around his face. He first came in as an appointment because his skin was all infected around the face from mats - but you couldn't get close to cut the mats off! So I see Sammy now on a regular basis. He's much better with me than at the beginning but we still knock him out so I can do a decent job. And I am the only one who can get Sammy out of the kennel when his owner comes to get him!

Today was a dog I had never seen before. 'Scooter' was a maltese mix that was a year old. I guess his owners were not able to get close to him with scissors, or brush, or clippers. To say they waited too long to come see me is an understatement. The picture does not give you an accurate portrayal of the condition of this dog.

You cannot see the dog's eyes, ears - it's a total mat! The dog was quite nice but a job like this takes a very long time. What you see now, looks like a totally different dog - even a different breed! Other than being a little chubby, he's quite cute now!

He'll have to stay out of the sun for a week or two since I had to shave pretty short due to the mats. Looks good though, doesn't he? The owner was very happy with him too.

We had a horse come in with multiple problems. The main one I was interested in was the horse's coat was crawling with biting lice. The owners put a horse blanket on last fall and never took it off. Under the blanket the horse's coat became warm and humid and the lice found their paradise. I took several  clumps of hair with lice attached and put them in alcohol. Friday I will have a kindergarten class touring the clinic (and I'm the tour guide) and I think this will be something cool to look at under the microscope...

These things are a lot smaller than the hog lice I had the other day but you can still see the tiny gray specks moving on the horse's hair. Poor horse! Don't worry - he was given something to kill the lice. Little fact: multiple critters are called 'lice', one critter is called "louse".

Brought three of my pack in - Gertie for vacc and heartworm test, Teddi for heartworm test, and Uli for dental and recheck his leg. Poor boy had 6 teeth pulled - all in the front. His radiographs show no change, as in we don't think it's bone cancer. But he still has inflammation and I will try to keep him from jumping off the sofa. Lol. At least he has his splint off! And Teddi, poor Teddi. He gets quite panicky. So a simple little blood test resulted in urine being sprayed all over - people, counters, floor...I even had to get a death grip on him until he calmed down. After putting a muzzle on and decided to take blood from a leg instead (the first time was from the neck), we were successful and none of us are worse for wear.

Finally, had a client bring in a stray cat for a feline leukemia test. This is an awful disease for which there is no cure and is very contagious. There is a vaccine for it but farm cats and many many domestic cats are not vaccinated. Cats can also be carriers for years. The client had other cats and wanted to make sure this cat was safe to keep. It was a nice cat - friendly, tame. But he had a very bad respiratory condition and kept sneezing bloody snot all over me (and the counter, the floor, the scale...). I made Brandi stay outside the room and told Emily to keep away when she came in. It would be possible to carry this virus home to their cats. We decided not to do the test and euthanized the cat instead. When we were all done, I had to change my scrubs  to protect my cats at home. I've done this a few times before. That's why I always keep an extra set of scrubs, socks and shoes in my locker at work. You never know what you'll be dealing with...

Last Clinic

Yep, the last vaccination clinic was this morning. First I had to open up. Holly came shortly after 7 but by then I had talked to a client about his Great Dane "Bishop" (I love that name) that was showing signs of bloat. This is found in deep chested breeds like Great Danes, Doberman Pinschers, German Shepherds, Rottweilers....It is fatal if surgery is not performed. The signs the client told me were; drooling excessively, lethargic, dry heaves. In bloat, the stomach starts twisting after gas has started forming. It is very uncomfortable and they can lose sections of intestine quickly. I told Josh to come in at 8 and then called Jen to warn her. Not the best day for an emergency surgery with the vaccination clinic starting at 9.




Bishop weighed about 169# and Jen and I had to pick him up and put him on the xray table. Okay, 169 divided by 2 people comes to  85 pounds each!!! See why I have to eat my wheaties in the morning?



When you look at this xray, the round dark area is the stomach which is filled with air. Look at this diagram to help -


As you can see, the xray looks like the last diagram in the series above. Poor Bishop was miserable. Unfortunaely he was 7 1/2 years old which is towards the end of a Dane's natural life. Josh said he's had a really tough year - aging a lot in a year's time. He and his wife had discussed the possiblility of bloat and had decided to euthanize Bishop if that was the case. Jen felt he would have had a hard time recovering from surgery. Jen and I put Bishop down and then had a REALLY hard time lifting him up onto the guerney from the floor. I must admit I had to stop for a few minutes to catch my breath.
A couple of years ago, one of my boarders came down with bloat while being kenneled at the clinic. They did emergency surgery but the springer spaniel died on the table. He had not been feeling well for weeks - the stomach had probably started to twist but hadn't  twisted completely until he was baording.

Lots of people came to the last clinic, in spite of the weather. The temp never got to 40 degrees and my feet got a little cold but it was still successful. Never thought I would have to make up signs for the May 4 clinic that read "Watch out for Falling Snow!"

Saw 2 does down by the fence line again. They wandered south to the gravel road and walked along it for a while. It's a big deal when I see deer - it's so rare!
Very tired - driving to Hudson, Wisconsin  tomorrow to meet up with Aren and Becky so they can ge their cat back. They were in Wisxconsin for Becky's grandmother's funeral. I know I can sleep in the car - unless I'm playing addictive iPad games!

Snowstorm!

Wow, what a difference ANOTHER day makes! Looks like we've had about 15 inches of snow. Good thing - I was able to have a snow day! Actually, half a snow day, which is better than none. Jacky and I went in for a half day. We had to wait for the plows to go by, and then Jacky had to plow the driveway. But once that was done, it was smooth sailing!
This morning I took the opportunity to take several (uh hum) pictures. It was very heavy wet snow that stuck to everything. We did have some broken branches but, unlike many people in the area, we never did lose our power. I wish I could post ALL my pictures from this morning, they turned out so well.

I had the most fun with bird pictures. They were so hungry. they posed for me. The white snow also provided an excellent backdrop and showed them up well!

Just think, 2 days ago I was taking 'spring' pictures! Well, the dogs enjoyed it anyway -

I know, the birds posed better than the dogs and cats! Slow at work for Jacky and myself. Of course, I had to shovel quite a bit of snow at work. I hope that keeps me in shape! Still had to take care of the animals outside too. That snow was hard to walk in this morning! Most willl probably be gone by Saturday.

May Day?

Hmmm I think we just passed by spring, summer and fall and went right back to winter. Not so bad this morning - just rainy. But by the time I came home, the roads were ice and slush. I passed one car that had slid off the road (well, 3 wheels had, the fourth wheel was in the air!). Hopefully she had help coming. A truck was stopping as I went by. Whew! Only 40 mph tops.
Horses were happy to get inside. We hurried as much as we could but 3 dogs left big messes for Jacky to clean up first since I was running late at work. The ponies came in covered in  slush, ice and snow. Poor things! Here is a scene out our window this evening -

If you look at the foreground you can see Trixie having a good roll in the snow. One of her favorite things!

Out the back window it was even prettier - 

The birds were really hungry tonight. I had to put new suet in (the grackles and starlings are eating everything) because the woodpeckers were getting desperate. In the front yard I had some new visitors - Mourning Doves!They just showed up this week and I'm sure they're wondering why didn't they stay south!!

Finally, I took a picture pof Truely, Aren's cat. She's much more comfortable now - finally remembering that she grew up here! Still tends to hide in the room though but that's fine since she's recovering from surgery. Don't tell Emma but she's staying in her room and gets into trouble all the time, just like her brothers!

This is Truely meeting her brother Sambo. Notice Uli on the sofa trying to get his long nose in on everything. It's hard to do with a splint on your leg! On the sofa is the other brother, Eli, who's snoozing away.

One last note - yesterday I spent taking pictures outside of spring - first buds, first leaves, first rhubarb....What a differnce 24 hours make!!!!