So then, this happened.
Beatrice's injury at the Desiree seminar did not respond to a month of crate rest. In fact, her pain and limp worsened. Turns out, she had ruptured a ligament in her 'knee'. She had tibial plateau levelling osteotomy (TPLO) surgery by Dr. Flynn at Cascade Veterinary Referral Center. Surgery went well and she has now been on 2 months of crate rest, well, x-pen with a top rest. She gets to go out 2 or 3 times a day, just long enough to do her business and then back in. Trazadone has worked very well to make her comfortable with this degree of confinement. She goes in for X-Rays in a couple of days. If all is healing as planned, she will be released for beginning rehab. I suspect still lots of confinement, but longer leash walks and so forth. I have missed my little trouble maker. It is hard to have her in a box, on meds.
The lambs were born 12 lambs to 7 ewes. All the lambs were healthy. One of the mommas died. I had to sleep with the orphan lambies for a couple of nights, but then convinced Sweet Potatoe Pie to foster the orphans. Thank you Sweet Potatoe Pie. The lambs keep growing and growing. The pasture is holding up well, so I think I will keep them through the summer.
I got my "egg handlers liscence" and now am selling my eggs at 2 farm stands. The eggs from Poodletopia are very popular, evidently there is a waiting list! I am trying to calculate how many hens I can maintain in the eggmobile, without having to build another structure.
Gabriel is loving being the only farm dog. He is actually becoming a useful, though very timid, herding assistant. He doesn't do outruns, but he enforces my authority and it is easier to move the sheep down pasture with him helping. I think he likes being out on the farm with no risk that at any moment Bea will wreak havoc and I will start yelling. Gabriel hates the yelling. The Keizer Iris festival happened and Gabriel was crowned as the "BEST large pet." In a contest judged by the mayor. Of course he is!
There was a repeat breeding of Badger. I got on a list for a puppy. Then I thought better of it. I DO NOT have time for a puppy. I got off the list. Then I got back on the list. Then I got rejected. Then Julia found a nice French litter. I got on the list. It was a small litter. No puppy for me. I was relieved. Then I talked to breeders in Lithuania, and Poland, and some slavakia or other.
Then I fell in love with this little split faced girl. The one sitting next to Navarre. God help me. I have a puppy coming in the same crate with Navarre. She is named Dove, after the yummy chocolate treat, and the symbol of Peace, and the dove that brought a promise of safety and dry land in the Noah story from the bible.
My heart is filled with trepidation, and excitement. I will do my best to give her a happy life. If I am lucky, we will get to do herding, and agility and beach running and hiking together.
Other things happened. But that is a long enough post for now.
The lambs were born 12 lambs to 7 ewes. All the lambs were healthy. One of the mommas died. I had to sleep with the orphan lambies for a couple of nights, but then convinced Sweet Potatoe Pie to foster the orphans. Thank you Sweet Potatoe Pie. The lambs keep growing and growing. The pasture is holding up well, so I think I will keep them through the summer.
I got my "egg handlers liscence" and now am selling my eggs at 2 farm stands. The eggs from Poodletopia are very popular, evidently there is a waiting list! I am trying to calculate how many hens I can maintain in the eggmobile, without having to build another structure.
Gabriel is loving being the only farm dog. He is actually becoming a useful, though very timid, herding assistant. He doesn't do outruns, but he enforces my authority and it is easier to move the sheep down pasture with him helping. I think he likes being out on the farm with no risk that at any moment Bea will wreak havoc and I will start yelling. Gabriel hates the yelling. The Keizer Iris festival happened and Gabriel was crowned as the "BEST large pet." In a contest judged by the mayor. Of course he is!
There was a repeat breeding of Badger. I got on a list for a puppy. Then I thought better of it. I DO NOT have time for a puppy. I got off the list. Then I got back on the list. Then I got rejected. Then Julia found a nice French litter. I got on the list. It was a small litter. No puppy for me. I was relieved. Then I talked to breeders in Lithuania, and Poland, and some slavakia or other.
Then I fell in love with this little split faced girl. The one sitting next to Navarre. God help me. I have a puppy coming in the same crate with Navarre. She is named Dove, after the yummy chocolate treat, and the symbol of Peace, and the dove that brought a promise of safety and dry land in the Noah story from the bible.
My heart is filled with trepidation, and excitement. I will do my best to give her a happy life. If I am lucky, we will get to do herding, and agility and beach running and hiking together.
Other things happened. But that is a long enough post for now.