Barking Dogs

Having 7 dogs in the house makes for a very noisy place.  One of our dogs, Sammie, seems to be the instigator for most barking sessions. We got Sammie from a family giving puppies away on Walmart parking lot.  He was supposed to be a golden retriever mix...judging from his size now...the family he came from were wrong.  He has turned out to be a dog that is easily agitated by the other dogs and is way too quick to put them in their place for getting too close.  I've read about humane ways to try and control unnecessary barking and had came across a collar that sprays a mist in front of their nose.  The ones on the internet sprayed citronella, a scent that dogs evidentially do not like.  A couple of weeks ago, while shopping for dog food at Atwoods, I came across a similar system, that sprays a lemon scent, normally $64.00 marked down to $29.00.  It was still too high for me, but I kept watching it each time I went to the store hoping they would mark it down again.  Today, while buying dog food...AGAIN, Atwoods was running a Memorial Day special that made all clearance items an additional 50% off.  Finally, I could buy the collar. In addition to buying the collar for $14.99, I was able to buy 3 refills for only $3.50 each...a great savings!

This evening, we read the instructions and I decided to test out the collar...not advised!  It has a vibration sensor and a sound sensor, so I put it against my throat and "barked"...and got sprayed in the face!  Very entertaining for my family since it's something that I wouldn't have normally done...everyone got a good laugh...and I now smell like lemons....nice!  We put the collar on a very cooperative Sammie.  It was a very short time before Mack, our Sheltie, ran into Sammie.  He barked, the collar sprayed and Sammie nearly fell all over himself trying to get away from it.  So far, Sammie has yet to bark again this evening.  We'll see how it works in the long run.  It may be that one spray is all it takes!

Caitlyn has spent most of the day trying to get her hair the correct color.  Her results....still PINK!

A Brand New Caitlyn

Caitlyn has always been the one in the family who will change her looks so often she looks like a different kid each time she comes out of her bedroom.  Within the last year, she's had short hair, long hair (with extensions), curly hair, blonde hair, black hair and her natural brown hair.  Yesterday morning she had shoulder length permed brown hair dyed to give it a reddish tint.  She's been asking for a haircut again and I've been putting her off since she had just gotten one within the month.  Last night I gave in...she sat down in the chair...and I didn't even look. When they were done, she had very short hair...actually pretty cute.  She had picked up another box of hair dye, so I knew we were in for a completely new look.  She also had ordered hair color over the internet...it had came in the mail earlier in the day.

She spent all evening in and out of her bedroom and the bathroom.  Finally I heard the blow dryer running.  In a few minutes I got a phone call...from the bathroom, asking if I wanted to see her hair.  Of course, I said yes...then she says...it isn't really the color I thought it would be.  She said it's kind of....hot pink!  Troy was sitting close enough that he heard her and asked if she really said hot pink.  We all waited patiently for her to make her entrance...all staring quietly up over the staircase for her to come out of the bathroom....then...sure enough...she came out...with hot pink hair!

Tornado Warnings...again

It's after 1am...we've been in mom and dad's basement since almost 10pm.  We had been watching all the storms go through Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas all evening.  We were prepared to leave if we had to and watched this line tear through houses and property on the weather channel live feed.  By the time the line of storms reached the Kansas line, the chance of tornadoes had diminished.  I had pretty much came to terms with it being over and had calmed down.  Just before 9:30,  the sirens sounded.  The storm had changed and there was rotation in the clouds.  I yelled at the kids and told them it was time to go.  After seeing what Sunday's tornado did in Joplin, we weren't taking any chances.  I know that because of the tornado 8 years ago, our house was now in a clearing with no cover and if a tornado was coming through again, it would be gone.  It's hard to walk away from our pets...I told them all bye and that I loved them...and cried as I locked the door while they were lined up watching us go.  I tried to get the computer cam up and going in a hurry before we left, but couldn't get it on.  At least that would have given us some idea what was going on out here.

We got to moms and went to the basement.  There were 13 of us in all that congregated there.  I kept in contact with Troy by text message when I could get through.  He was at work...a sickening feeling to be separated and scared.  We all had our phones, ipods and computers keeping track of the storm.  I have a storm spotter as a friend on facebook, so we also had his input too.  When they spotted rotation outside Carl Junction while sitting at 43 and 96, my heart sunk.  I knew if a tornado dropped from that location, our house would be gone again.  We waited until the storm passed...nothing reported as touched down...I could breath again.  We noticed no wind damage on the way home.  They were calling for 75 mph winds with the storm.  We made it though another warning, but I couldn't help but think about all the families a few miles away recovering from 2 nights ago and then having to endure another possiblity of being hit again.

I'm trying my best to think about what all I need to do to prepare us for more storms.  I think a storm shelter is a must at some point this year.  We will all have our cell phones on us and charged if we know storms are headed our way.  Our dogs will get new collars and ID tags.  We've left our house many times running from storms everytime all the kids have grabbed something that they can't live without.  This time was much different.  No one grabbed anything.  My camera was already in the truck with the hard drive holding most of our photos.  I'll be spending some time soon scanning in the rest of our pictures.  Way too much on my mind right now...off to bed hopefully...nearing 1:30am.

Still Real...

I woke up this morning and hoped somehow that the nightmare in Joplin wasn't real.  But seeing that our area made the Yahoo homepage top news says it is still a reality. 133 pictures of destruction, pain and heartache are on that page.  A sight that brings tears to my eyes. Last night 116 people had lost their lives, but judging from the lost and looking for lists, that number is sure to go up.  How will the 100's or 1000's of people ever recover???

Surprise!

I was greeted this morning by a newly hatched turkey poult.  They aren't due to hatch until Friday.  I suspect that my thermometers...all 4 of them...are a bit off on temperature and it averaged a little high causing the early hatch.  Nine more to go...several are pipped and working on it.

Waiting for Sunrise...

I'm sitting here at 6:32am thankful that the sun has finally risen above the tree line.  Troy was scheduled for work at 5:30am.  I'm usually aware when he gets up, but try desperately to stay asleep...never works, but I do try.  This morning, however, I get a text from him at 4:32am.  I try to quietly untangle myself from Baxter (the Great Dane that has politely taken most of my side of the bed, my pillow and my blanket) and reach for my phone in the drawer by my bed.  The text simply says "call me."  By the time on the screen I know that Troy has just left for work.  He leaves in "stealth mode" out the back door as to disturb as few as possible.  So, I call him. He's obviously been spooked.  Evidentially,  when he left out the back gate, something was in the tall grass at the corner of our property growling. He said it didn't sound like any growl he's heard before.  It unnerved him enough to get back inside the fence until he heard it go back through the grass.  Ok, my first thought...gee thanks, leave me alone with some animal lurking behind the house that I can't see.  My second thought...I can't even load the gun.  We've lost a turkey hen, 2 chicken hens and 3 baby turkeys in the past month, all but the turkey hen in just the past week.  I know whatever took the turkey hen was big enough to carry her and not drag her...there was no feather trail at all through the field.  Whatever took the chickens climbed a fence and was able to drag them over, but wasn't big enough to carry them without leaving feathers behind.  The baby turkeys disappeared from a 8' tall pen.  It looked as if they were all eaten within the pen.  The momma turkey was left alone, and so were the 7 toms that were perched on top of the pen like gargoyles.  So, what's a person to do?  Or, better yet, what does this person do?...sit and listen to all the noises out side for something out of the ordinary and wait for sunrise!  Fortunately, we didn't lose any livestock this time.  I've taken it upon myself to decide not to venture out in the field anymore after dark, or anytime for that matter...at least until the owners mow.  I'll be purchasing at least one spot light today, and probably won't be wondering in the yard after dark armed with only a BB gun anymore.

This morning, Bessie was still down.  We milked her by hand again into a bottle.  The calf still wouldn't drink.  I had told dad that our best bet was to get the milker vacuum out to her.  At the rate we were going, we were going to end up with other problems with her bag.  We decided that it wouldn't be too difficult to extend the vacuum hose across to her.  Dad decided to use a water hose.  With a few fittings, we were in business with a 90' vacuum line to the belly milker.  We left Bessie laying down and milked some off one side and then rolled her and did the same on the other side.  The calf was still up and going, but we still hadn't seen him nurse....and he still wouldn't take a bottle.  The vet let dad know that he would come out again on Saturday to use a hip lift and the tractor to get her on her feet.  Nothing more to do but wait.

Happy Birthday Kyle!

Today is Kyle's 11th Birthday.  He was born on Mother's Day in 2000.  It's hard to believe he's 11 already.  Time seems to fly by.  We don't have plans for a big party this year.  He wants a 3DS and since he knows they are pretty expensive, he thinks if he gets no party...he gets bigger gifts.  For the most part, he's right.  It's tough to have a big party and have lots of gifts too.  We'll be going out to eat at Casa Montez for dinner tonight...his choice.

Problems with Bessie

By this afternoon, Bessie was having trouble getting up from laying down.  By this evening, we were unable to get her up at all. She had managed to "crawl" out of the dry barn and into the mud.  We had thought that once she had room that she could get up easier.  It didn't take long to realize that was a bad decision...there was no way she was getting up.  We milked her by hand into a bottle for the baby, but he still wouldn't take it.  Her milk is dark and I really wonder if it tastes right at all.  There was nothing more we could do, we got the baby back in the barn and Bessie had to be left outside the door.  Before I left for the night, I drove up and checked one more time.  Bessie was down, no response.  Her legs were straight out and her eyes were dilated and didn't respond to light.  I called dad, who was still in the office to come back up...I thought she was dying.

Dad called the vet...at 9:30pm...he said it sounded like she had milk fever and he would head that way to give her a calcium IV.  He wanted us to get her rolled up and propped up with a bale of hay to keep her from going down again, which we were able to do.  She perked up a little, but wasn't well.  The vet arrived and gave her 3 bottles of Calcium solution, checked her temperature and tried to get her moving.  He said that usually the cow will get up pretty quick after giving them calcium.  Bessie had been dry for several months and her body just wasn't able to keep up with the milk production once the calf was born.  We left her for the night.

What a difference!

We were greeted this morning with a snow white calf...quite a change from the messy newborn from yesterday.

Both momma and baby are up and going and looking good.  We still haven't seen the little one nurse yet and he refuses to take a bottle.  He's up on his feet, so I'm guessing he's nursed when we weren't watching.  

Bessie came in and milked this morning.  She's still having a problem staying on her feet, but she's better than she was last night being milked.  Now, I'm off to regular work.

Some Things You Just Don't Get Over...

After work, Caitlyn and I ran in Walmart.  When we left, they were announcing on the radio that Jasper County was under a tornado warning.  It was cloudy out, but nothing unusual.  We live about 7 miles from Walmart and I had left Kyle at home.  By the time we pulled out of the parking lot, the wind picked up and the rain started.  All they kept saying on the radio was if you are on 43, 171 or 96 highways...take cover.  So, I panic...Zack was leaving storage, Troy was leaving work, I was with Caitlyn leaving Walmart and Kyle was alone at home...right smack in the middle of all those highways!  I called Kyle and told him that if it got bad out there to get in the bathroom and sit tight that we were on the way home.  He said that it wasn't doing anything there and that he was fine.  Now, having been through losing our house in the tornado 8 years ago on May 4th, I don't cope well with storms.  By the time we made it to 43 and 171, we could barely see to drive.  We knew Troy was headed home and that Zack had made it to Mom and Dad's house, but I couldn't get back ahold of Kyle.  About halfway home, the cars were all pulling over.  We were in heavy rain and hail.  And...we still couldn't get Kyle.  Sirens were sounding and we were right in the middle of the warned area.  Our driveway never looked so good!  We got in the house...and I found Kyle sitting quietly on the toilet...perfectly content.  He had no clue there were warnings...just that the rain started and was pouring in under the back door.  Never again will I leave him alone...well, just not until he's older.  Troy pulled in shortly behind us and the rain had already stopped.  The yard was dotted with hail, some the size of large marbles.  I survived without too much panic..thanks to Caitlyn...my personal "get a grip" coach.

We were supposed to be back at work to feed at 7:30pm.  Just as we were loading up to go, Troy hollered for us to look out back.  We watched a front move across the field and hit the back of the house.  It was pretty spooky to watch, but didn't last long...thank goodness!  The barn has been blown over, and the roof has been blown off so many times, that for now, it's covered in a tarp.  Soon, we'll burn it down and replace it with something a more secure and a lot more pleasing to look at...it's a bit of an eye sore now.

I got to work this morning and got the news that the vet was coming to induce labor for Bessie.  We were told that it usually takes 30 hours from the time he induces which puts delivery sometime Thursday evening.  Around 3pm the vet arrived.  He decided to go ahead and deliver the calf.  Within a very few minutes he had the chains on the calf and at 3:37pm, a beautiful Charolais bull calf hit the ground.  Obviously, he wasn't biologically Bessie's calf, he was the result of an implanted embryo.

 

I'm not doing so well this morning.  I got woke up by Zack sometime after 10pm last night.  He told me that the chickens and goats were all on the back porch going crazy.  He grabbed the gun and went to check it out...he found nothing unusual.  By 1:30am, I was up to take the Baxter out.  I browsed the yard and checked on momma turkey and her babies.  Everything was fine.  When Troy left for work at 4:30am, he called to let me know that momma turkey was roosting on the pen and he didn't see any babies.  I got up and grabbed the flashlight, searched the pen and didn't find any signs of the babies either.  I went on back to bed until the alarm went off at 7:15am.  Momma turkey was pacing the fence and calling her babies...with no answers back.  In their pen were remaining parts of the babies.  This time I did cry.  We've lost 2 hens and 3 baby turkeys in 3 days. I'm just pretty much sick.

Some good news...

Kyle yelled from the back door earlier this morning to ask what color the missing silkies were.  Turns out that one white silkie was at the water in the yard.  She seems to have survived some kind of predator.  She has a large gash across her back and some missing feathers, but she is alive.  I honestly don't know where she came from.  I searched the whole yard and part of the field for them earlier.  The two have always been together, but this time she is alone.  I'm assuming the worst for the second hen.

Will it ever end???

Well, another sad morning.  I noticed this morning that my 2 white silkie hens were missing from the yard.  There were no signs of anything, no feathers, no blood, no trail of any kind.  Of course, silkies are pretty small and would be easily carried off with no signs left behind.  We've had the silkies for 4 years now...this was their home and I failed to keep them safe.  I can't help but take responsibility.   We have to get better housing figured out to keep from losing more.

Truck Problems

Left work today and ran to the gas station.  I got a call from mom that Bessie was acting like she was in labor.  I went ahead and swung back by to check on her.  I jumped out of the truck, and left it running since Caitlyn was waiting in it.  A few minutes later I hear a big bang.  Caitlyn comes running around the corner yelling...turns out it was my truck!  It had overheated and blew a fitting between the motor and the radiator.  The big bang was a spring shooting out of the hose and smashing into the underside of the hood.  I got ahold of Zack at the feed store and had him come back and see if it was a quick fix.  Thirty dollars, a new fitting, coolant and about an hour of Zack's time and we are up and going again.  Unfortunately, we barely made it home before it overheated again.  We've decided it's the thermostat that needs replaced next...but it's too late to get one.  I'll be dependent on Zack for transportation to work tomorrow since Troy works.

It's another sad morning.  The spring predators are on the prowl.  While feeding I found a trail of black feathers leading from the side of the barn and over the back fence.  The black Foo-Foo head hen is missing (she's actually a Houdan Cochin cross hen that had a poof of feathers on her head).  I just hate it when this starts...  I didn't go search for her remains this time like I usually do.  It just hits me as too depressing this morning.

Mother's Day

What a great day! Actually a great weekend.  Saturday started off with Caitlyn going with mom and dad to look at a truck for her.  They bought it.  A 1983 GMC S-15.  It's a cute little thing...needs some cosmetic work and a little TLC.  It's a 5 speed, so I'm out on teaching her much...I never learned.  I have a fear of rolling backwards on a hill at a stoplight and hitting the car behind me...something I've never gotten over.  Sad, I know, you would think I would have outgrown that by now.  Caitlyn doesn't seem to be phased by fear of anything...I'm glad.  She'll get further in life than her mother who fears everything.

Troy, Kyle and I went and ate at Cafe Del Rio.  I had the realization that it won't be too long, with Zack and Caitlyn nearing 18 and 17, that it would be just us 3 alot.  Reality has a way of slapping you in the face sometimes...I don't think I'm ready for them to grow up. They aren't so old that they wouldn't fit in a round of miniature golf when they got home from Springfield...and...there's no way they would pass up frozen custard from Shakes!

We missed church this morning.  It wasn't the plan..somehow time got away from us.  Stacy called to figure out Mother's Day plans...we always plan ahead...at least a few hours ahead anyway.  We ended up at Cheddar's for dinner.  With 13 of us, we had a very long wait.  It was a bit stressful and way too expensive...but it was Mother's Day...and it was pretty good food too!

I finished off the day by doing the grocery shopping for the week...fun fun!

Baby Turkeys

While I was cooking breakfast this morning, I noticed that the 3 of the toms had flew in the turkey pen with the new momma and her babies.  Kyle and Troy went out to walk them back out.  Momma turkey had left her babies to get away from the toms.  Unfortunately, we had temperatures in the 30's last night and the babies were nearly gone.  As always, all cold babies go into my shirt. After keeping them close for nearly an hour, 4 of the 5 perked back up and were able to be put back with momma turkey.  We lost the 5th one.  We seem to have such a terrible time with baby turkeys.