2020.....Good Riddance

 Don't let the door hit you on the ... on the way out! 

Now back to rainbows and butterflies, right? Not so fast. If only a turning of the calendar page could magically change the upside-down world we find ourselves in.

I haven't heard much about New Years Resolutions this year. Maybe it's hitting a little too close to New Years Revolutions. 

At any rate, I do wish for all a Happy New Year!

Season of Greetings

 

This is my little outside tree I picked off the edge of the woods last Saturday. It's a scruffy little blob of cedar that was begging to be a decoration. It was beautiful out and I got to drive my tractor to pick up some boughs, hauled yard debris away and puttered along on the trails. I haven't had time to do anything like that for so long and it was a wonderful change of pace before the last big push that was going to be the coming week. 

Now, it's a week later and the last Saturday before Christmas! I ran to town for a few things and found a strange truck parked at our service drive to the hay field. Mmmmm. Was still there when I got back so I snapped a pic of the license plate and headed home. A few minutes later a neighbor dropped in and reported someone told him of a couple apparent hunters had gone in and we might want to know about it. That led to a quick call to the sheriff's office and soon we heard back from a deputy. He was just wrapping up a situation with an inebriated person (at 11 in the a.m.) and that he would be on his way. Not knowing where the trespassers might be, he called in the local game warden and within an hour they had located the  interlopers.

The vehicle was local, but the "gentlemen" were visitors from Kentucky. They were driving an ATV on their way ice fishing! There are MANY places to ice fish but they, probably tempted by Google Maps, chose about the worst place possible. They had gone across two posted properties, crossed the railroad tracks (also illegal), and were then on State property, with a vehicle that is not allowed on State property. To top it they were STUCK with the ATV and couldn't get themselves out! I

We were given the option of pressing charges, or, as it was suggested, let the warden issue citations for their offenses. We chose the latter. I would be curious if they had fishing licenses, but that's the wardens call!

After that little kerfuffle I was ready for a break. I headed out to the shop to finish up the last few orders and was merrily soldering along when Don called. My talented herbalist friend, Susan, was on her way to visit! YAY!! It has been way too long since I have seen her. The past three years have been so hard on her.  First she lost her husband to cancer. Then she had a house fire that required a year long process in the total rebuilding of her house. After that she had a stroke and nearly died! All this grief on a tiny woman who is about 80 pounds of pure grit and strength!

Friends foto from 2014

We have tried to visit many times but there was always something that would happen to prevent it. Today was the day I would finally get to lay eyes on my dear friend. She tiptoed into the shop and, to heck with Covid, we hugged a long embrace and just breathed, laughed and did it again! She runs a very successful herbal tincture business all by herself and we compared notes on the demands of all that, and how it never seems to let up, and how lucky we are to have that opportunity. So much more than we ever would have guessed or expected. We went to the house for coffee, talked with Don, and the state of stuff these days. The Covid. Vaccinations. We are all of "that age where....things could happen". The round table concurred that we choose not to live in fear. 

We walked back out to her giant black Ford truck and had another long hug. Promises followed to not let so much time pass before the next reunion. Forward thoughts to spring and herb hunts to come. Reminiscence of past gatherings of the cinquefoil and horse rides. She hoisted her tiny body onto the booster seat of the massive vehicle and maneuvered down the driveway. Waves and hand hearts to you, my friend. The best gift of the season.

Walker Herbs, Arkansaw, WI

 

The Look of Love

Having a small discussion about WHO gets the chair! I know I need some time in it.

Crazy busy at the Etsy shop these days, but I did make an executive decision to hold off on taking new orders until after the first of the year. Having 60 orders backed up wasn't giving me that peaceful easy feeling! The USPS has been working overtime destroying my shipments and trying to keep up and stay sane was a losing proposition. 

I am keeping a number of "ready to ship" items at the ready so I can clear some of what is on the shelves. That also means that regular customers can still message me for needs that can get on "the list" as I'm able to work them in.

This is the first time in five years that I have done this. No vacations and hardly a day off during that time. I have even blogged about what my "days off" are like! Catfish Corner isn't good at taking care of itself.

The summer of changes

I finally convinced Don (with friend Bob's testimonial) to see a Lyme specialist in Winona. Little did we know the amount of adjustment to our lives that would result in. Doing nothing certainly wasn't helping.

After lots of very specialized lab tests it was determined he has a severe intolerance to gluten, and the "elimination diet" noted lots of foods that were detrimental to his system. All are responsible for causing system wide inflammation. Food was now the enemy; no wheat/gluten/bread, no eggs, no dairy, no sugar, no alcohol, no processed anything! A Whole Foods diet was put in place with fruits (some), lots of veg, meat, rice, oats, nuts. I'm doing this along with him since it would feel irresponsible to eat a pizza while he can't enjoy anything fun. It's lots of slicing and dicing. And lots of weight loss! I haven't been this light since.......forever? Maybe early high school. His 200# former self is now a svelte 165. And sadly he's still prediabetic. 

The lyme bacterias were alive and functioning as well. A small army of supplements and a variety of antibiotics were marshaled to the front. Mold in the body....I have never heard of that, but he's being treated for it. No wonder he's having so much trouble walking.

 

A Year Later

Last Labor Day I picked up our new Chesapeake pup, Phoebe. She's done some growing in the past year! The one dog wrecking crew has several accomplishments over the year. No novice dog trials or ribbons, just a half stack of firewood dragged throughout a yard that sports lots of leg-breaker holes.
 

Sad Summer Ends

 Yup.....still here. Summer is over and it went too fast. The Covid fiasco has continued and all the resulting craziness. Here's pic of my favorite hen...Susie the Speckled Suffolk. She WAS the sweetest one of the flock. Followed me around! Let me pick her up! She evidently was "picked up" by a predator, as have most of the flock. Down to nine hens. No rooster anymore either. I'm just hoping the remaining nine are the SMART ones who will stay out of harms way. No more chicks until spring.....maybe. 

Then there was the cat.

I have prided myself as a cat whisperer; however, I met my match with this one. She showed up on Thanksgiving Day. The same day my good friend passed away. Said friend always commented if she came back she wanted to be an animal at Catfish Corner! My interest in this little refugee was keen. The food dishes were filled, and I did my best to make the new "outdoor" cat feel welcome. But, WILD, wow! This was not a friendly cat. I didn't even know if it was male or female! All I knew was it came, it went, it camped out here aaaaaaall winter through harsh conditions, tucked behind a big hay bale. No amount of kitty talk or coercing would get this feline to soften up and have a nicer life. Figured it had to be a male! The grumpy face, the battle scars. Yup, this cat is going to be called Roman. Roman the Roamer.

Roman would absolutely NOT let me touch him. I got several scratches in the process even through gloves. Deciding discretion would be in order, I spent lots of time every morning and evening just sitting with Roman to no avail. He was feral and it was probably always going to be.

Spring and summer arrived and Roman's mousing skills really came in handy. Since he was well fed he didn't always feel obligated to eat the catch, but would leave the bodies for me to bury. He started looking better! The fur was fluffier and when my friend, Sara, saw him she had another opinion. She thought he was a SHE! Could it be?! One day I got the proof when "he" was rolling around in the grass acting very.....receptive. OK. Now we have an issue. This is a kitty who needs an operation and she's so wild that I contacted the Pepin Feral Friends group to get her trapped so she could be spayed and returned to me.

Maybe after going through that, the newly named, ROMA might become more tolerant.

Roma and I didn't get that chance. I found her body along the driveway. Claw marks on her back and side indicated a feathered predator had tried to take her! She would have fought like hell and might have been dropped. Who knows. All I knew was this white pile of fluff was lifeless. As I cradled her in my arms I found her tummy was round and full of tiny kittens who wouldn't get a chance at life. Sadly, I finally got my wish to hold her.

 

Happy Easter Snowstorm

We had a GORGEOUS day yesterday and today....well, not so much. It would be rare to make it through April without a snowstorm so it's not totally unexpected, but when it hits and makes itself at home for the day it begins to wear out its (not) welcome.

I got very used to nice days and took Phoebe out for some spring shed antler hunting. So far Phoebe has found one, and Ma has found three! I so lucked out with a set found in one spot. They were last year's and have been chewed on a little but that's ok! They fit me nicely.

Being on "stay home" status hasn't changed anything around here. It's been a stay at home three years and counting! Lots of people who are also on that status have found their way to my Etsy shop and are ordering like crazy. No down time here. It's as busy as it was before Christmas!

Who knew I would be an essential business?!

Goodbye to Friends

As the saying goes....time flies and events came and went for the past few months. Some very sad events, too. A dear friend from Luck died on Thanksgiving Day. MaryAnn Ormson and I were friends since the old "Nancy's Gifts" days which would have been about 1990. Many a good time was had at the Studio Works shop and at her home over the years. She was an excellent hostess and had a talent for decorating and entertaining. Her love of her family and friends was contagious. You just couldn't be around her without delighting in her grace and humor. She could draw people in and just made them feel special. Her son Jon and husband Al were already in heaven to meet her. I'm sure they had an exciting reunion where all her earthly pain was left behind. Many fond memories were left to us.

It set the tone for Christmas which was decidedly low key for us. As per usual the Etsy shop crescendo of the season had me swamped. This has been the case for years of being in retail and it goes with the territory. However, I had another member of our Catfish Corner family who was failing as well. My dear Samantha the Siamese was in trouble. Being 18.5 years old was the problem. She had been with me for so long and had been in perfect health for so long she was like the Energizer Bunny. Her recent weight loss had been treated as a hyperactive thyroid so she got a bit of medicine each day which helped, but as she became thinner and more frail the inevitable could not be ignored. We made it through Christmas and by New Years Day I knew we had to take the one-way trip to the vet. Our vet, Barb, checked her over and gave her an X-ray that revealed several large tumors on her lungs. It was a hard one, for sure. She had an extraordinarily good long life I had to keep it in perspective. 

Sam and Phoebe liked to enjoy the fireplace together.

Sammy showed up in our backyard in Luck those many years ago as a maybe 7-8 week old kitten. She had a collar growing into her neck that was the size of a quarter! I had Misha and Boris, the blue Siamese in the house already, so I decided she could be my shop kitty! What a riot she was. She loved to go for walks at noon and I had little harness and a leash that she would trot along on. When she got tired she would continue the journey on my shoulders. Occasionally she would get out on the second story deck, walk the railing and climb to the top of the building! This would usually elicit a phone call from the neighboring store informing us "Your cat is on the roof!". I would go and call her and I would climb on top of the air conditioner unit and lean forward so she could jump down on my back! This happened more than once. She was also adept at being a wall walker. We had a framing shop on site and had a carpeted wall that held the frame samples. She loved climbing it and hanging backwards. Such a character! We miss you, Sammi. It took the rest of the four-leggeds several days to quit looking for her.