Thunderboomers

So people around here refer to thunderstorms as thunderboomers. A phrase I hadn't heard until we moved here, but I think is quite fitting. A thunderboomer doesnt allow one to sleep, unless you are Hubby who can sleep through anything. A thunderboomer shakes the house so that the glasses on the kitchen shelves rattle. A thunderboomer is amazing and what I am witnessing right now. Today was a normal enough day. It was slightly cloudy as we worked outside all day. Hubby emptied out the little red coop completely, down to the bare floor. We moved it across the yard (moving a 400+lb chicken coop is not easy) to be near the playhouse coop. We set it up with new bedding and moved all the chicks over. This time we put a heat lamp in "just in case". Today would never qualify as a warm day, but it was nice enough to turn off the heater. Tomorrow is supposed to be 81 at the highest temp. No wonder we are having thunderboomers tonight! Since we were home all day today, the chickens enjoyed free ranging. As we would move the little coop slowly, they would bring up the rear, pecking at anything they thought might be food. This includes my shoelaces. We moved the ducks into the goat pen so that their pen can dry out from all the mud. Their blue kiddie pool moved with them and they are quite happy. They are not too sure what the goats intentions are. Jackie, just wants to play and she jumps about. If she jumps too near the ducks they all quack and run. Jackie will stand still for a moment trying to figure out where all her new friends went. She gives up eventually and leaves them be. When I checked on them all this afternoon I wished I had my camera (which by the way is on vacation until I find the charger). Jackie, Billy and Kisses were all basking in the sun together. Billy's head was on Kisses' tummy and Jackies was on Billy. Super cute! Even the ducks were laying down enjoying the sun, and having peace of mind that the goats werent going to do anything as long as they were sleeping. On a sad note, Marshmallow the angora is not looking well at all. In fact, we expect he will pass any day now. He was old when we got him, complete with a broken back healed wrong. We figured we would just let him live out his days. He did see the vet about 2 weeks ago for his eye. Friday night he started acting super lethargic. He would fall on his side and couldnt right himself. He was still interested in his food and water, especially his hay. Today he doesnt even open his eyes. We know he is alive because his nose twitches. Poor guy. There is no point in taking him to the vet because he is a really old bunny. When we visited the vet last week even the vet admited that he was old, and no matter what tests we do, he is still going to be old. I explained to the vet that I wanted Marshmallow to be healthy, even if he is old. So the vet gave us medicine for his eye and gave Marshmallow a haircut. I am not sure if Marshmallow is reacting to the meds, or if he would be sick anyways. It is sad to watch him like this and we are doing our best to keep him as comfortable as possible. I will not be surprised if he doesnt make it through the night. Speaking of angoras, and to lighten the mood, we did adopt another angora, Fluffy on Sat. Fluffy came to us from another knitter who is moving and cant take him with her. Fluffy is 2 years old, litter box trained and loves playing with the cats. He had the longest nails I have ever seen on a bunny. They were so long that they would lay sideways . I trimmed them (at least 1/2 inch on each nail) so that he is comfortable and can walk. Each week we will trim them a little more, so that the nail and the quick return to normal size. Other than that, fluffy is extremely healthy and as handsome as can be. We intend to breed Fluffy with the two girls so we can have more fiber animals (or sell the offspring). I am so thankfully that Hubby lets me indulge in them, as they are not very practical. But Hubby puts up with me, and I love him dearly. Hubby and I witnessed Mittens, the cat, jump from the second story balcony to the ground below and run away. We have been wondering how in the world he gets off the deck. Now we know. Mittens was our troubled cat, who would pee on inappropriate places. Mainly the bed. Especially the bed with fresh sheets. So Mittens gained outside privedelges. On nice days we open the french doors and let the cats on the deck. Buttons hasnt figured out how to escape (yet). Mittens always escapes and returns later, sometimes a week later, sometimes days, or like tonight, sometimes hours. Mittens returned tonight just as it started to rain. Smart cat he is! This week will be a busy one here at Victory Garden Farm. We are hoping our tax return comes so we can put up more fencing for the goats. We have one roll of fencing up, and are waiting the funds to finish the real pen. For now they are in a chain link pen composed of many dog pens put together. While it works, its not very permanent. Hopefully we can get the fencing up next weekend. I have the next two days off, and am having fun planning knitting projects. If tomorrow is as warm as its supposed to be I might take my knitting outside for a spell. Hopefully I will find the camera charger tomorrow...

Dreary Days

Today is one of those epic dreary days. The day started out drizzly, turned to rain, turned to cloudy, and finally thunderstorms. As I type, its pitch black outside, I have the window open and can hear the rain, and the loud thunder booms. Lightning flashes across the sky allowing me to temporarily see the front yard and tree. It lights up the neighbors house and yard across the street, and then its gone. I sit and wait for the thunder, counting seconds inbetween light and noise. A dreary day for sure, but perfect in my world. We need these to counter the 70 degree days I also love so much. My garden needs the rain. The rain barrels collect the water to be used for all the poultry and livestock. I wouldnt wish everyday to be like this, but for now I am enjoying it. That said, I did have to brave the day to run errands. My frist errand of the day was driving into Pennsylvania to pick up livestock fencing. The drive went smoothly. On my way home I stopped at Sonic Drive In. Sonic is on my list of favorite eateries, not because of its good food. I love it thanks to its epic Route 44 Ice Tea, along with all the memories Sonic holds. Fresh in my memory is the Sonic in Texas near our house. When Hubby was deployed, I would walk the dogs to the Sonic, get an ice tea and bones for the dogs. We would sit in the scorching Texas heat and enjoy our treats before walking home. When Hubby came home he too joined in on our Sonic walks. We could easily make tea at home, but I cherished the walk and talks we had. Delving further into my memories of Sonic, I revisit my childhood. We didnt have a Sonic nearby. I do remember family vacations to the midwest, visiting family in Arkansas and Texas. Sonics are plentiful in the midwest. I remember my first visit and how I couldnt believe one didnt have to leave ones vehicle. The icing on the cake was when the car hops delivered our food on rollerskates. To a little girl far away from home, something as simple as this was memorable. I remember laughing with my sisters as lowrider trucks circled the Sonic with nothing better to do. So today I enjoyed my tea, despite the fact it wasnt delivered via rollerskates. I brought home a tea for Hubby, not wanting to exclude him. When I arrived home, there was a box on my front door. I have been awaiting two boxes eagerly. One is a box of hydrangeas, and the other is our bee equipment. Todays box was small, thus being the former. I opened the box to reveal three small twigs . These twigs aka hydrangeas will grow to be huge bushes hopefully. I want to hide our parking area and thought I would do so using hydrangeas. Hydrangeas too have a special place in my memory. Growing up, my mom always had dried hydrangeas about the house. They were also our wedding flowers and due to that fact will always be special. Today's hydrangeas will bloom white and turn to green. They will take years to be the huge flowering bushes that grace the gardens nearby. I will have to remember not to mow them over with the lawnmower, mistaking them for sticks and twigs. On an extremely dreary day, what better than new blooms to brighten my day? After enjoying my package, I had to take Marshmallow aka The Kid to the vet. The Kid is our male angora, given to us as a spent 4H project. When we got The Kid, he had an eye issue. Not knowing what to do, as it was getting worse, I took him to the vet. The vet examined The Kid, flushing out his ducts, shaving off ruined fur and observing his nature. The Kid has always "hopped" funny. The closest comparison would be to the slinky dog on Toy Story. The Kid hops with his front legs, and his back follows later. The vet's theory is that a while ago he must have broke his back, and it healed wrong. The vet went into detail about what we could do if we wanted to know for sure. X rays, blood work and the likes would let us know what is going on while costing us a bundle. I told the vet that my main concern is getting him healthy. If he isnt in pain because of his back, then we dont need to research his history. The Kid is an old bunny. Thanks to the vet and some meds, he will be back to new, but with his own style of hopping about. Obviously he can still have relationships with the girl angoras so I dont think he is lacking too much. We returned from the vet with lighter pockets and a happy bunny. He was returned to his cage with some new chew toys (everyone got new chews) and I am sure he has already told the other bunns about his adventures. After dinner with the hubbs, I relaxed in a hot bath. A hot bath is my favorite way to unwind after a long day. Wrapped in my bathrobe and slippers, with the window open, here I sit enjoying the crisp air and writing to you. A good, dreary day indeed.