Hello, friends. I hope you've been well. Life has had its ups and downs since I was last here. We lost J's Mom, which was not entirely unexpected, as she'd been doing poorly for some time. A positive is we got to see family, and our daughter spent two days with us, before flying home to CO. Guinness developed nystagmus and head tilt last week, and had a few rough days. He rallied, unlike when McNibs had the same last year, and in about 48 hours, the nystagmus was gone. The head tilt remains, with occasional wonky walking, but overall he's adapted well.
I really had doubts at first, but he did so well, we were able to take a skoolie trip, as planned, over the weekend. He was nervous as we started out, but once we arrived, he settled in, and enjoyed all the new scents we encountered on our walks. He seemed in great spirits, which made me believe he enjoyed our little adventure too. We had headed to eastern NC, to visit with one of J's aunts, and attend their town's blueberry festival. The festival was right in front of her house, so we were able to park there, and walk to view everything. J had refurbished an older tow dolly, so we had my car to drive, and were able to leave the skoolie at the RV park. The park was a pretty place, on a lake. We were parked among the trees, on an end lot, so there were woods on one side of us. We couldn't have asked for better. His aunt gifted me one of many Christmas cacti she had. The flower color will be a surprise. I purchased my first treasure on a skoolie trip, while walking around the blueberry festival, a vintage 4 oz. measuring glass. It measures up to 8 tbs., which I thought would be helpful when measuring liquids. Instead of trying to measure oil or maple syrup from a large container, by the tablespoon, to pour several tablespoons at a time seems like it should be easier.
The garden has also had its ups and downs. Between the voles and pill bugs, several potato plants, an eggplant, and most of the new planting of lettuce were killed. But, we did get 1 1/4" of rain last week, more than in a long while, and we've been able to harvest blackberries, blueberries, lambs quarter, kale, purslane and broccoli. Broccoli was used in salad and in pad thai. I intend to freeze the rest. Berries were used in fruit salads, and frozen. I tried a new recipe for unbaked blueberry pie, wanting to use up last year's frozen blueberries. J said it was OK, but not wonderful. I expect fresh berries would have been much nicer. Since the rain, there have been many tiny toads and one large one seen, and the bullfrogs have been singing, down at the pond.
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| compost system, with newest pile in the foreground |
Other recent pursuits have been deep cleaning, sewing and mending, and a lake visit with friends. Being out on the water always does my heart good. The chicken flocks are fully combined, and are doing very well, except one of the older hens has had a cough. I've treated her twice with VetRx, which helps for a few days, but then it comes back, so I figure she may not be around much longer. We had no eggs for many weeks, but one hen has started laying again. In a couple of months, we expect to be rolling in eggs. It appears that four of the younger chickens are roosters, though they should all have been pullets. The compost system in the chicken yard is working well. I've made many batches of compost extract, which has been used on all the edibles, and put the compost itself around all the fruit trees, bushes and vines.
Making a pillow with this thrifted piece of embroidery has been on my to-do list, and was finally accomplished. For the backing, I used fabric I had dyed with onion skins. I haven't decided, but think I'll be putting it in the skoolie. The only significant change I can report on my health so far is better sleep. During my appointment, it was mentioned that needing to use the bathroom frequently at night can be caused by decreased air flow. Shortly after the appointment, I learned about nasal dilators, and purchased this one. I find it comfortable, and barely know it's there. That's dropped 3-4 nighttime visits to 1-2. I can't remember how long it's been since I only had to get up once, but it's lovely. I've lost a couple of pounds, and will continue working on that. The eczema has good days and bad, but I've just started two new things they recommended at my second appointment, so we'll see how that goes. I think that about catches everything up. I will say I've enjoyed the freedom of not worrying about taking pics and coming up with ideas to post lately, so don't expect to go back to posting weekly, but will pop in from time to time, as the inspiration hits me. I hope you're enjoying these days. Stay well, friends.
