Egg Bound

Here's a new experience for me- You know how much I love my animals.  Each one has it's own beautiful personality, right down to the chickens, so when one of the hens started walking like a penguin, I knew what was wrong.  I, also, knew that saving her would be virtually impossible- but of course, I have to try.

So, here is Donna (short for Madonna) taking a hot chicken bath.  Donna is egg bound, and her prognosis isn't great.  There's all sorts of advice on the internet.... dealing with KY jelly (I'll let you imagine) complete with DIRE warnings of what happens if you happen to break the egg inside the chicken ("infection leading to a horrible death"- and that's a direct quote).

Setting the hen in a hot water bath for 20 min at a time, seemed the easiest route, AND the chicken seemed to enjoy the entire experience.  She even closed her eyes, once she settled in the water.

Of course, I had help.

Hobbes monitored the proceedings.

So, now we wait.  I'm hoping she'll pass the egg on her own.  The internet says to give her a couple of hours, and then, try the hot bath again.

So far, it hasn't worked.

But the cats are keeping me posted.

Take a second and send this sweet hen your healing thoughts. She deserves it. She's one of my sweeties.

MOST fun EVER!

We've never been an extravagant family.  We've always lived on a shoestring, saving up for the big items, making due without "extras".  Gifts are ONLY given on holidays and birthdays, with no money for frivolities inbetween.  I, actually, credit some of our children's success to this fact.  They've always had their priorities straight, and always knew the value of a dollar, because they'd worked hard to earn it!  And we've ALWAYS had what we needed, AND we've ALWAYS been happy!

BUT when I received some money from my father's estate, I got an idea.  I knew all three kids were coming home to be with each other for a week.  After that, Cass was starting a new job in Hawaii!  Chelsey was starting her last year at UAB, and Cade was starting his last year in graduate school.  Keeping in touch with each other is paramount in our family, and ANYTHING that furthers that goal is important, sooooooooo, I decided to take some of Dad's money, and buy each child a brand-new, iPad3!

I figured we could play games together- Draw Something, Words with Friends, etc.  And of course, we could use Facetime to stay in touch, too.  Cade could even use his to present his designs to clients- very "cutting edge". 

I was so excited! so the night before Bruce was to make a trip to Kalispell, then, Helena, then on to Missoula (don't ask!), I tried ordering the iPads online from the Missoula Best Buy.  I quickly found out that you could only order one iPad at a time.... some ridiculous rule that Apple enforces.  I got around that by going to the site three separate times, and pretty soon, had three tablets ordered.  YAY!  Then, suddenly, I realized that I'd forgotten to designate Bruce as the person to pick up the purchase on the first order!  Oh NO!  I called customer service, and they said I'd have to cancel the order, and re-order it.  So, that's exactly what I did.  I canceled the first order, and went to re-order it, when the website told me, Missoula was OUT of iPads.  Grrrrrrrrrr!!! 

Ok... I got to thinking.  I'd just have to order one of the iPads from Kalispell.  And that's what I did.  I got three order confirmations from Best Buy saying the orders were pending approval from my credit card.  I got to thinking my credit card was going to be upset.... THREE iPads? and from 2 different stores???  Sounds pretty fishy- So, I called customer service.... and after pressing 1 for English, and 4 for some other option I didn't need, I found out there was NO number to press for my problem, and no way to get hold of a human.  Grrrrrrrrrrrr! 

So, I listened to my card balance, and the charge for the iPads was on it, so I figured I was good to go!  Not so fast.  When I checked my email so I could run off the forms Bruce would need to pick up the tablets, I found Best Buy had CANCELLED ALL 3 ORDERS!  GRRRRRRRRR!!!!

I called customer service AGAIN, and told the man my problem.  He was sympathetic, and assured me that HE could order the three iPads, BUT first, he'd have to get his supervisor to help him with the order.  Could I please hold?  Sure, I could.... and did.... for a long time, before I realized he'd hung up on me.  Grrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!

Well, Bruce and I figured Bruce could just go to the stores in Kalispell, and Missoula, and buy 3 iPads.  It was my last hope, and I was scared to death they wouldn't have 3 between them- but I couldn't figure out any alternative.  The next morning, Bruce left our house at 6:30 am.  After I'd fed all the animals, I came upstairs to check my email, and lo and behold!  There's an email from Missoula Best Buy confirming my iPad!  ONE.  And Bruce had already left, and it was too late to give him the forms he'd need to pick it up!  GRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!

I called Best Buy customer service AGAIN, and was put on hold.  After waiting about 15 min., I looked out the window, and saw Itty with something in his mouth.  I ran out of the house screaming like a banshee- Itty went one way, the chipmunk went the other, the two Shelties threw themselves at the window screen, barking manically, sending the screen flying through the air to land in the front lawn, and that's when I hear the phone ring- ring?  It's Best Buy... but it turns out they can't hear me, and they hang up!  although, in retrospect, maybe they COULD hear me, but were shocked at what I was saying at that moment!  Grrrrrrrrrrrrr!

Long story, shortened- Kalispell had 3 black iPads, and Bruce bought them, and brought them home.  It was only days before the kids would be arriving, but I could hardly STAND the wait!!!  I envisioned us having a nice dinner, and afterwards, sitting around the table talking and sipping coffee, when I'd excuse myself, and get the BIG surprise!  It's all I could do from BLURTING out the secret the second they walked through the door! 

Cass drove the U-Haul home on Weds. but Cade couldn't pick up Chelsey until midnight Sat. morning.  They went back to Cade's house and slept for a couple of hours, before driving home, but by 10 am, they were HERE!  I'd made two trays of homemade orange rolls, and scrambled eggs, and we sat in the gazebo to eat our breakfast.  All together.  :)  and afterwards, we were sitting around the table, talking and laughing, and sipping coffee, when it dawned on me that THIS WAS IT!  The right time... and I suddenly couldn't wait a minute longer!

I excused myself from the table, and got the big bag.  I took it out to the gazebo, and told everyone I had something to show them, and to close their eyes... and then, I put a brand new, shiny, wonderful iPad3 in front of each one and said, 'Ok! Open'!  OH!!!  It was SO WONDERFUL!  They couldn't believe it!  They just kept saying... What IS this?  Mom?  Someone said it was just like Christmas! and Chelsey couldn't wrap her mind around the fact that one of those iPads was hers!!!  Then, they were unwrapping the boxes, and pulling out their tablets.  I'd gotten them colored protectors- Cass got blue, Chelsey, purple, and Cade's was clear.  Our server had a difficult time trying to keep up with all the Apps being downloaded. 

Like I said, our little family has never been extravagant- but SOMETIMES, sometimes... you just have to be!  And it's the most incredible feeling in the world. 

It's tough to be the first one done

Every morning, the Shelties and I have a routine.  I give Piper his glucosamine pills in peanut butter (Selkie gets a bit of peanut butter just so things are fair),

and then,

much to their pleasure,

they each get a tiny rawhide bone!

They both love their bones, but there is NO doubt that Selkie loves her more, and lately, that's become a problem... because she DEVOURS hers so quickly!

and then, all she can do is WATCH while Piper finishes his.

It's almost unbearable....

BUT

sometimes- if she's diligent enough, and keeps watching, and biding her time,

SOMETIMES, Piper drops his bone and let's Selkie have it.

At least, that's what Selkie hopes might someday happen. 

:)

Bruce, the celebrity! :)

Trail Cam 3!

Bruce and Cade headed back on July 8th, to pick up the camera. Yeah. Not even a week later! And this time it had a TON of photos on it!

The first photos are always of Bruce and Cade setting up the camera.

You know... making sure it's pointing in the right direction, not too high or too low, etc.

and then, walking away.

More deer photos

 Don't worry, I won't post them ALL!  :)

This poor buck is in rough shape. :(

But then....

ANOTHER surprise!!!

ANOTHER bear! This one a lovely, BLACK black bear!

We had NO idea we had TWO bears hanging around! We've never seen him. Neither of the bears have caused ANY trouble. They haven't gotten into the chicken coop, or feed. What wonderfully good bears they've been!

This guy hung around all day and night, apparently. And we would have had NO idea, if we hadn't had the trail camera!  This is SO exciting! I cannot wait to see what we find next!

Trail cam 2

So- we DIDN'T wait a whole week this time! :)

When Cade came home for the 4th of July, we trudged out to the new place we'd tethered the camera, to bring it back to the house. To our astonishment, we found the camera on the ground.

and the tether clasp broken.

We hoped the photos would give us a clue to what had been going on out there in the woods.

More deer photos, of course.  I don't mind. I never get tired of our deer.

and something new! A BUNNY! Who knew we had wild bunnies around!

BUT

Then! we got a thrill!!!

Our BEAR! Our blonde bear (that I named Cinnamon). She's still hanging around, although we haven't seen her in weeks! No wonder Journey is nervous down in that corner of the property! 

The next series of photos explains WHY we found the camera on the ground.

Bears are notoriously disdainful of trail cameras... which is why they are usually sold with bear-proof cases.  Apparently, Cinnamon didn't like the flash going off when she walked by. She turned around and investigated.

We think this is where she was tearing the camera off the tree.

And this is where it ended up on the ground, face up.

But she wasn't done yet.  The next photo....

she must have turned the camera over.  That's how we found it, face down... no more photos.

The camera is perfectly fine, and Bruce and Cade jerry-rigged the tether.

And immediately set out the camera in yet a different spot!

To Be Continued!....

Trail Cam excitement!

So, for Father's Day, Bruce got a Bushnell Trail camera! He and Cade set it out before Cade left to go back to Spokane.  We waited a week, before collecting the camera.  You can imagine our excitement.

We got a lot of photos of deer- Mule deer and Whitetail.

Even some lovely, big bucks.

and a FAWN! :)  

The does are still keeping the fawns hidden this time of year, so we hadn't seen a fawn yet!

Isn't he sweet?

Well, of course, we could hardly wait to put the camera out again!  (I have trouble waiting an entire week to see what we got).

We'll keep you posted!

My heroes!

Here are my two constant companions!

Our 14 1/2 inch tall, female, bi-black Sheltie,

Selkie

(aka BEAR! alarm dog :)

and her younger brother,

17 inch, Piper.

Small but mighty!

(or so THEY think).

Together, they rule the inside AND outside of Wind's Echo- keeping everyone and everything in line, and running smoothly.

My heroes!

BEAR! again!

It was about 6:20am when Selkie sounded the alarm.  Bruce sat up in bed, and said, 'What's the matter with her?' and I said, 'That's her BEAR! bark'.  Selkie was lying on the trunk, nose pressed to the window screen, when she suddenly sat up, and sounded the alarm again.  It's a very distinctive howl followed by yips and short barks. She sniffed at the window again, turned, ran and jumped on the bed, obviously scared.  Bruce looked out the window, and said, 'I don't see... Wait! There! It IS the bear!' It was over by the garden, and coming closer to the house!  Piper joined in the barking. Hobbes started growling. Itty hid under the bed.  You can imagine what the house sounded like!  It's no surprise the bear dove off into the woods.

but Selkie stayed nervous.

When I took her out to go potty, (because she wouldn't leave the door stoop unless I was outside with her) she kept sniffing, and sounding her bear howl.  I couldn't see anything, but I didn't waste a lot of time trying, either. 

We came back into the house, and Piper walked into the bedroom (which overlooks the front lawn) and started barking. I walked in to see what was going on, and saw it just about the time Bruce yelled, 'BEAR!'

It was right ON THE FRONT LAWN! right by the Canadian Red tree (for those of you who have been here).  I ran to get my camera, and by the time I got back, I had missed all the good photos. :(

Our bear was meandering into the woods between the house and our garden.

Bruce missed seeing the bear the first time she came around.  He had only my description to go by, so imagine my surprise when he tells me I UNDER estimated the size! He says the bear is fully grown- probably 4-5 yrs. old.  He's not sure if it's a Boar or a Sow.... but it likely weighs in around 150 lbs. which is about the standard size of our Black bears around here.  Not especially large, but not small either. 

Once again, it proved to be a very GOOD bear.  It overturned rocks and ate ants and bugs, and munched on some clover.  It didn't even get near the chickens, which is our main concern.

I took the Shelties with me when I went to feed the mares and chickens.

They didn't bark, or show any fear, so I knew the bear had left.  I did tell Journey that she was allowed to chase the animal if it came near our hens.  I just hope she listened to me.

Faux Father's Day

Cade came home Friday night, and because he had to leave Sunday afternoon on REAL Father's Day, we decided to celebrate FAUX Father's Day on Saturday.

I'm fairly certain Bruce saves up work he wants Cade to do when he visits.  Undoubtedly, Cade is a hard worker, and accomplishes so much in these short weekend jaunts.

He mowed the lawn, and trimmed, put up the screen doors, and washed them, washed inside the gazebo AND the front porch (railings and all!).  He helped plant the garden, dig out the weeds from several more trees and shrubs, helped cover some of the baby aspen we found (to protect them from hungry deer and elk), put out the patio furniture AND

helped Bruce finish the flower bed edging.

Apparently, a potentially risky business! LOL!

It's a HUGE improvement!

Meanwhile, I was inside cooking.

I made the marinade for the meat and vegetables, cut them, and put them in to soak. I made this WONDERFUL (man! it was good!) layered salad, as well as

this creamy coconut custard pie AND

French Silk pie! Mmmmm!

All this was AFTER a breakfast of popovers and scrambled eggs.

Bruce and Cade took a well-deserved rest, while I set the table, and put out Bruce's gifts.

It all looked very nice, although my choice of wrapping paper leaves MUCH to be desired. :)

But the table was pretty.

Bruce got busy grilling.

Shish Kabob, of course! :)

 I think we've always had Shish Kabob on Father's Day.  It used to be my Dad's favorite dinner.  He would rave about it! 

We all remembered, and wished he were with us to enjoy it once again.

 Dinner was amazing! 

After dinner, Bruce got to open gifts.

 We got a kick out of this card from Cass- The return address was: Cass Sterling PhD, and it was addressed to Bruce Sterling, MS.  :)

The funniest part was when Bruce opened it, it was a BIRTHDAY card! instead of a Father's Day card! LOL!  Cass said he had a hard time finding a decent funny card...

 

 The kids had all gone in together to get something really cool for Bruce- something they thought he'd really be excited to get.  He didn't have a clue what it was!

Even when he got the box opened, he didn't know what it was! :)

Finally! he found a piece of paper describing his new GREENHOUSE!

He was VERY excited!

I gave him some Hawaiian finishing salts, and a Bushnell trail camera.

I think he was a very happy man!

The next day, before Cade had to leave, Bruce had a NEW job for the two of them.

Assembling the Greenhouse!

It's the perfect size! 4 shelves on each side, and big enough to walk into.

Bruce plans on playing with it this summer- maybe trying pumpkin, brussel sprouts... things that we usually can't grow here because of our short growing season- but it's going to REALLY get a workout next Spring! when he'll start his seeds in March or April! He's excited!

I think our Faux Father's Day was a huge success!