Solar Eclipse!

Sunday. Starting out working the kennels. It was nice and cool today - quite a difference from the last few days. Today though I decided to shave my llama. Oh no! not something I look forward to. Llamas are not very cooperative when it comes to 'grooming'. But Emma had already done Gitana - given her the 'barrel' cut, which is our show cut. I, however, was going to give Will the works - shave down completely. I was open to the idea of doing a little bit at a time. You never quite know how it's going to go. Llamas aren't super dangerous (spit is just yucky) but they tend to kick and that can leave quite a nice bruise (ask Anna). Will usually is pretty good until you try to shave his stomach or his legs. And catching them in the first place can be tricky.
I manages to convince all the llamas to go into the horse barn and then into stalls. From there it becomes the 'llama dance'  as you try to move in tandem with your animal as he attempts to elude you. Eventually he figures you aren't going away and allows you to put the halter on.
Will did pretty good. For the first time I shaved his whole body and neck. So he looks a little weird but will be so much cooler. Jack will be done too when Anna gets home.

I did get a little bit planted - onions and potatoes. Jacky's been too busy to till the garden until recently. And our garden does not stay 'clean' at all - it's not nearly as nice as the one I had in Arkansas. But every spring I still hope things will be different this year. Earlier today I picked some rhubarb and made a crisp. It is so good! My older plant died last year but my coworker gave me a few starts. They're really just babies but I managed to cut a few stalks.
Tonight was the solar eclipse. We were almost too busy to notice but Jacky remembered at the last minute. We tried looking at a reflection on white paper but it didn't work at all. Finally Jacky got his welding mask and - presto! - perfect viewing! Ok, we look funny too - but hey, it works!

I didn't get a photo of the eclipse but here's what it looked like - (this is in Kansas - we didn't have the building and the windmill)

Short and sweet

Short and sweet today. Busy Thursday again. No surgeries today at all so I can't share that. Kennels morning and afternoon - nothing new there. Mostly sitting at the front desk answering the phone and helping clients. Not much business in the clinic though. Maggie the basset hound is doing good today - such a sweet, sweet dog! Hopefully she'll pull out of this and stay away from rocks!
Like an emergency room, you never know what each day will bring and today brought nothing to share. The robin babies at work are filling up the nest. Maybe I'll try to get a picture tomorrow. Tried yesterday but Mother robin came zooming over the building with food for the kids and I scared her, so felt bad and left quickly.
Home not terribly late - 6:30. All my new plants were thirsty, thirsty, thirsty so I spent half hour watering everyone. Had to take the favorite hummingbird feeder down because of the wind - but they are using the other one luckily. Orioles out of grape jelly - filled both feeders. I went to put new suet in and the hairy woodpecker came down to the one feeder (about 2 feet away) and glared at me as if to say "It's about time!". So they should be all set for tomorrow morning at least.
Emma walked her lambs and goats. At this early date, there's a lot of screaming from the goats and throwing themselves on the ground. I'll try to take pics next time she drags them out!
Since I feel bad there's not much to talk about, I'll show you "Ollie" getting a bath before going home. He's a tubby little yorkie who's really a good boy. But he HATES the blow dryer and turns into the tasmanian devil! All you can see is a blur and teeth! Yep, not all dogs are thrilled with this service I offer...

Ollie looking sweet...

Ollie the tasmanian devil...

Let's end with something nice, shall we? I'll look through my farm pictures to find a nice one for you...

Anna jumping Piper on a practice jump last Saturday in Maple Plain. Ignore the random person in front. She was oblivious to me trying to take a picture!

Crazy Day

First of all, I wish I could take such beautiful bird pictures like those on my last post. Second of all, I'm glad this day is over. It was full of barking dogs, pigs, pigs and more pigs, and barking dogs. Just a few pictures - it was a long day...

This is Maggie, who swallowed a rock. It was a very long surgery - probably 2 hours - and I hope she makes it. I didn't help in the surgery at all but I thought you should see this sad girl.

We had an 'emergency semen collection'. Yes, that is what  said. A lady from Idaho had used Kim's stallion, "Gunner", to breed her mare (his semen, sent fed ex). I guess it didn't take and she was 'open', meaning she didn't get bred. Well, now she's almost ready so they need the semen ASAP. Here's a picture of Gunner on his poster (I had trouble finding time to take a picture myself)...

I did help a little with the collection (of semen). Gunner is a fantastic stallion - wonderful disposition and gorgeous! We get him 'excited' with a mare in heat, and then he runs to this dummy and mounts it. Underneath is a collection device but it is kind of complicated...

I don't want to talk about all the pigs we did surgery on, or the ones we did necropsies on. Instead I'm going to tell you about when I got home. I am super tired tonight but my most popular hummingbird feeder was empty so I filled it and then sat on the steps and dead headed my new pansies and Johnny Jump Ups. All around me was the buzzing (whirring?) of hummingbirds. It took them about 3 minutes to come back to the feeder once I filled it. Aren't the flowers beautiful?

Birds!!!

Ok, I've missed a few days, although I have pics to publish. But right now I want to brag about my birds here at the house. It actually started this morning on the way to the dentist ( :( ). Just as I was passing Russell's (about 1/2 mile from the house), a Great Blue Heron flew in front of me heading towards the  creek. I literally stopped the car in the road because he was so close and low down. We don't see a lot of water birds - and certainly not close up.


I actually couldn't see the yellow eyes but he was almost this close!
After a busy day at the dentist, Edward Jones, eating, buying vegetable plants, buying flowers, buying food...I went home to fill up all the water troughs because it's been hot. While waiting for the bottom one to fill, I watched a bluebird in the bottom pasture! He was just doing his own thing, eating bugs in the grass I guess. But how exciting to know I have bluebirds living close! Maybe even nesting in my nestboxes! I hope to entice them closer to the house with mealworms but haven't got the feeder up yet.


While trying to hang up a new hummingbird feeder that Anna gave me for Mother's Day, I hear Emma calling from inside the house "Llama loose!" Sure enough Will was wandering around. I had just put up a temporary fence to give them new grass. It didn't take long for him to push and walk over a section. The other llamas were pacing, trying to figure out how he did that! Oh boy, I thought it would be easy to get him in...not so much. First I got Gitana in a horse stall, then Jack in the barn. When I went to look for Will, he was galloping back towards the house after going for a look-see down the driveway. Eventually I got him in but not before deciding the temporary fence was NOT going to work right now!

I got my beautiful new feeder up. While eating supper in the living room I watched an Orchard Oriole come fill up on grape jelly, as well as Baltimore Orioles

Orchard Oriole male

Baltimore Oriole male

I now can recognize the oriole's song and hear it constantly. It's wonderful to know they're up there in the trees, happy and content! One last wonderful birding thing... Emma and Lee were leaving the house and she called that I must have a nesting pair of hummingbirds because they could see two flitting around. As I watched out the window, I must have counted two at the close feeder, and, in the background by the garage, I could see 4 hummingbirds chasing each other around!!!!!! I had no idea. Finally after what, 17 years? I finally have started figuring out how to bring the birds here. One really important fact - get feeders out early! I think I've always waited too long. Plus, be very consistent with keeping them filled! The red-headed woodpecker still visits all the time too and I have to keep an eye on all the feeders. I've put them up in various different areas - now some in the middle of the yard, some high, some by trees..trying to keep a variety so the birds can pick what they feel the most comfortable with. And....one can NEVER have enough bird feeders!!!!

Day Off!

I love my days off. Too bad there's not endless days off...some day, I suppose. I ate too much chocolate in my ice cream last night so was awake most of the night. Of course I was sleeping this morning when the dogs decided they had to go out *sigh*.
The day starts with going outside to give Rudy his medicine and let him into the pasture. I also open the chicken door for the first time this year. They were a little hesitant but came out to enjoy the sunshine, dirt baths, and especially the grass!

While I was out, the dogs and I weeded the asparagus bed. Emma and Lee had picked a bunch yesterday but, hmmm, left all the weeds! Actually it was quite enjoyable as there were no mosquitoes yet, it wasn't hot, it wasn't cold....wish gardening was always that nice. Then I had 10 brand new Arbor Day trees that came in the mail yesterday. They needed to get in dirt fast so I pulled out some large pots and dirt and got to work. All the trees but the blue spruce looked like twigs.It's always fun to watch them green up and grow. They don't all make it unfortunately but it's fun to try. I have 3 trees that survived the winter. I still have them in pots and kept them in the garage in bags filled with leaves. There's a arrowwood virburnum, crabapple, and washington hawthorne. It's time to plant them in the yard now. Two have survived for 2 years now - they're in the vegetable garden and need to be transplanted. problem - I don't know what kind they are!
I also went to Owatonna today and had loads of fun in Fleet Farm picking out bird feeders, bird seed, suet...
With the pocket book empty and the car full, I went home to put everything out. So exciting!!!!! Here's just one of my new feeders -

The orioles have stuck around but I'm not sure they like the jelly feeder so close to the house. So I bought a new one and put it way out in the front yard where the one was last year. I also bought a bat house for the bats that use our barn. We love bats here so I'm excited to put up an actual house.
Had to fill up the horse water trough again. While waiting for the water, I watched the barn swallows swoop everywhere. Willie loves this time - he chases (herds?) the swallows all over the pasture. These are the 'scouts', the others should arrive soon and start building their mud nests in the barns.

Barn
swallows

There was also one of the Baltimore Orioles trying to get a drink from the trough I was filling. He would not stay for a picture although I waited for a long time (while the water was flowing over). I also took a few pictures of the animals (of course). My favorite has to be Will who was absolutely sure my cell phone was a treat in disguise!

Terrible Thursday

Ok, it wasn't terrible, but not great either. It started at 7:00 am with a high school girl coming in for a job application and to talk to me. I wasn't exactly expecting her yet and then couldn't find any of my job applications because someone had replaced them with a generic form. ARGHHHH! Not a great way to start off. Also had the appointment with the client with the dental dog. Everything went fine there but Mike got a little frustrated. Clients want and expect to have a doctor available to answer any and all questions. They are often not even medical (or veterinary) questions but basic care, behavior, hair cuts (!). The doctor really doesn't have time to answer these kind of things. I'm sure it's the same with medical (human) doctors. In this day and time though, there is so much information at our fingertips, all we should have to do is direct the clients where to look.
Charley's dental went fine. He's a 3 year old rescue schnauzer/westie mix and already had tartar on some teeth. But his owner is anxious to stay on top of it so that's what I did. After I was done with Charley, Mike asked that I do a dental on his yorkie, Susie. Actually Susie had a retained baby tooth that needed to be pulled but I cleaned her teeth as well.
Last was our little chihuahua from yesterday. However I messed up and found out his testicles were not where they were supposed to be. Mike felt one in the abdomen and one in the inguinal ring. Soooo, it meant a phone call to the owner to tell them of the problem and the $100 difference it would be to neuter him. They decided to do it anyway (good idea) and so we went ahead. Mike had trouble finding the one but eventually was successful. After waking up, little Cubbie started licking so I had to put an e-collar on to prevent him from taking his sutures out. Doesn't he look pathetic???

You can see the bandages on his little legs where we took his dewclaws off. Poor little guy will take a while to feel good I'm afraid.
Over lunch I was sitting at the front desk when a woman came in , hysterical, carrying a bleeding kitten. It seems she had shut the recliner on the kitten. It didn't look good but I had to find a doctor and bring him/her back to the clinic since they were all at lunch, comfort the woman, check out Charley and his difficult owner, answer thew phone...all in a day's work. Not a happy ending for the calico kitten, the recliner had broken her neck so we put her down. The owner couldn't stop blaming herself.

Calico kitten

                                                                        

About 3:30 I had another high school girl stop by for a job interview. Again, I wasn't expecting her so she got to wait while I tried to do some lab work and answer the phone. Another emergency - a chihuahua had tried to jump on a sofa yesterday, screamed, and was now 3 legged lame. After telling her to come right in, I finally was able to get an application filled out from this second girl and send her on her way....Of all days, Thursday we are the most short handed and to have 2 girls need to talk to me, I guess is Murphy's Law.

That chihuahua came in and had a dislocated hip! Dennis was able to pop it back in place (accidentally while he was taking x rays) so if the owner can keep the dog still, there's a good chance it will stay put. The chihuahua looked a whole lot like my Teddi!

After a super long day, I went home to my own pack. The hairy woodpecker was upset because the suet was all gone. He kept checking and rechecking all the suet hole. I did have one last roll so I hurried outside and filled his feeder. It didn't take long and there my woodpecker was, happy as a ....bird.....

Another Horse Day

Another busy day. Kennels first - not too many dogs. Then it was slow for a while. We had a couple of horses come in - one to ultrasound for heat. When you use artificial insemination (very, very common in horses) you need to know exactly when the mare is ready for sperm. Sometimes we A.I. mares here with semen shipped in from a stallion that lives, maybe, in another state. Other times we are the ones collecting the semen and shipping it out. It's all very complicated and not very many vets do this. Anyway...the stallion's owner has been called, the semen will arrive tomorrow and the mare will return tomorrow for A.I. The other mare, same owner, was supposed to have her hocks (on her legs)  injected (joints lubricated...) but Tom decided to let his son Scott do it tomorrow in Waseca.
Tom had another horse surgery to do instead. This time it was a newborn draft horse foal that was born with a strangulated umbilical hernia. This is where the intestines bulge through the abdominal wall. The foal was born about 3:00 a.m. and this surgery was the only thing that could save his life, before the intestines actually fall out! I got to see a little of the surgery but it was quite extensive. Here's this baby laying on a mattress with two doctors working on him, intestines all outside his body while the hole gets sewed up. On top of that the testicles were also up inside the abdominal wall. Tom was able to castrate him too but this was very unusual to find. Tom, who's been a veterinarian for about 40 years (!) has only done about 12 of this type of hernia surgery so it was kind of exciting. Also quite amazing to see this surgery and think that this baby can
actually survive this...

An example of a wall hernia. I don't know if our foal looked like this before surgery.

Right now the baby weighs about 150#, actually not too big for a draft horse. Here's a picture of an adult Percheron which is what our little baby hopefully will grow up to look like!



Tom asked me to help get the foal up when he woke up. I had the halter and head and Tom held the tail up. It's a common way to control foals. He was quite wobbly at first but gradually we were able to release him. An hour later I stopped in to check him and boy was he hungry! Remember he was born that morning and needed to be nursing. I stepped inside the stall and he started following me and nuzzling me all over.It was a very good sign that he was up and hungry!

Little Guy and Lori

As you can see, the halter is just a little too big! This baby is all legs which you can't see in this picture so I have to include another photo....

Little Guy swishing his tiny tail

New, newborn foals are not the cutest things. They're very ribby and need a few good meals to fill out some. But just imagine this baby is only 10 hours old! How did it fit inside Mommy with those long legs? Nature can just be incredible. Good luck baby!
Tomorrow is shaping up to be an extremely tough day. I have two surgeries - a neuter and a dental. But the dental dog has a crazy person for an owner and  that is what will make it challenging. One of our absolutely most difficult clients. The neuter hopefully will go well - a 7# chihuahua. I hope he'll let me get him out tomorrow morning - those small dogs are often fear aggressive...and quick! We'll see how it goes. We also have to take off his dewclaws. That actually is amputation of dewclaws and involves a tourniquet to slow the blood supply to the foot. We do quite a few but I feel sorry for the little guy. He's going to be in a lot of pain for a number of days...

Cubby waiting for his big day tomorrow!