A New Life Arrives at Catfish Corner

Long before the demise of my horse herd a little soul was conceived. We waited for this new one who arrived on Earth on December 3. Little did she know she had a job upon arrival. Perhaps to rescue me from the grief of loss. She came from Kim and Brian Schlomann who operate Bear Kreek Chesapeaks, at Big Bend, WI, near Milwaukee. The same kennel that produced our precious Phoebe who we lost to theft. 

That was a soul sucking event that I would wish on no one. However, the suspected perpetrator has left this earthly realm so I can rest assured that that event won't happen again. 

Having a new puppy in winter has been different! Lots of getting winter coats and boots on just to get outside for walkies and potties. Thankfully she loves her kennel and, other than the first week in bed with us, she sleeps there all night and has been peaceful until she hears me stir in the morning.

I cherish her at this little stage where I can still lift her (21# now!) and give her a cuddle. But that won't last long which will please Win. At 80# he wants to be on my lap but it just doesn't work!

We got out to the big field before the last little snow came it. She pesters Windsor incessantly and, grumpy as he is, I can see he is taking on the role of a big brother as best he can.

 

Their End of Days

The phone call was made. The event scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 15. It was past time for Cerra. It was in time for Ty. But Chy, the least obviously ill one was the hardest one to say goodbye to. My Honey Horse. My heart was breaking since the decision came and so many tears already shed,  I was strangely somewhat composed when the vet arrived. It wasn't a pretty day like the prior weekend but at least it wasn't raining. Dr. Kristen's kind manner eased the passing of my three best friends to green pastures where there would be no more pain or suffering. 

Later the excavator man came and dug a grave to hold all three. Joe is a longtime horseman and I almost hesitated to call him because I knew it would be hard on him as well. He skillfully placed each horse to be facing east in a running position toward the light. Ty, then Cheyenne, with Cerra leading the herd. He brought apples along which he put in place for each of them to enjoy on the journey. I knew I picked the right man for the job.

Then it was over. 

Really?

I was feeling better on Friday when I planted three cheery pink bunches of my flower box impatients on the site. I decided to take the tractor out to smooth the excavator ruts and was headed back to the gate when smoke started coming out of the hood! I immediately stopped and tried to shut off the motor, but it wouldn't stop. I ran to the nearby barn to retrieve the water hose. It barely reached but there was enough stream to put water on the hood. I'm shaking so bad I can hardly dial 911.  Smoke and flames were now rising to a serious level. I just kept running water while waiting, thinking "This week just keeps getting better and better".

Only in a rural area would you get not one, but two fire departments to respond to such a small event. First a sheriff deputy arrived, then a quick response vehicle and young man who put a couple extinguishers on the blaze. The Pepin rig arrived and was followed by the Lund department. I had so many firefighters here it was an embarrassment. As I was apologizing for sounding the alarm one replied, "Don't worry about it. We hardly get called to do anything so we are happy to have the chance to get out!" That they did in full firefighter regalia. They stayed until the heat was gone and then started pulling off the plastic hood and side panels to find the fire source......a mouse nest next to the exhaust pipe. 

This Photo Sums Up The Last Two Months

Since my last post it feels as though the world has been thrown off its axis. Hideous actions by maniacs, bruising the country, states and worked its way down to my little piece of heaven. My world revolves around taking care of Don - first priority. Second is taking care of the four-leggeds. Three of which have now been diagnosed with Lyme disease and anaplasmosis. Horses, Cerra, Cheyenne and Ty have been increasingly non mobile in July. The vet tests confirmed all three have the illness. Who knows for how long, but long enough to cause a cascade of problems. Ty developed thrush. Chy is lame as well with an abscess. Poor Cerra is full-body lame. Barely able to move. Scary lame. The kind that makes one think of having a hole dug before winter sets in. Then she developed an eye infection called urvitis or commonly called "moon blindness". Her eye is watering profusely, clouded over and large spots of infection and drainage. I won't embarrass her by including a photo. All three have had a month of doxycycline and Cerra continues to have it. Three times a day she gets THREE eye potions so nine times a day she patiently lets me poke her sore eye with drops and ointments. Some days we just hold on to each other and have a long hug while I tell her to keep going. Fight, fight, fight. I'm sure she has wondered "what on earth is happening to me".

Pink Lady Update

 

The Pink Lady apple seedlings got new larger homes and they are really coming along. Our hot and humid weather has put growth into high gear. I have seven healthy starts and they are getting lots of TLC.

My orchid collection of two has been spending summer outdoors under the patio porch roof. Lots of air movement and the welcome humidity has them singing a happy tune as well. The white orchid is so delirious it has sent out a large second flower stem. I have new pots for them as well but will probably wait until the blooming season is over. That stem of white flowers has been going since mid-February so who knows when that will be! I just ordered four baby orchids to expand my horticultural pursuits. It is said if you are lucky to live long enough you will learn how to care for orchids. I didn't get a very early start so I'm grateful for the bit of success I have had so far. 

Easily Distracted by Flowers

And CATS!

 

Bucky Badger at Work

 I took my tractor out to mow the trails a couple weeks ago and found a huge hole in the way! A large amount of sand dug out and it was right in my way. I have found many of these huge dugouts in the horse pasture from time to time, but always figured it was coyotes digging for rodents. This one was much larger although there was no sign of any recent activity of which I thought might be a badger. 

Winnie included for perspective. I decided to just go around the hole as far as I could to the right. Which worked fine until the front wheels of the John Deer fell into the excavation that went far into the opposite direction of the hole! OK. Now I'm thinking "How am I going to explain this one?" However, I have been a regular viewer of the shows that have heavy equipment in situations such as this. After having a think about it, I set the bucket firmly down, which lifted the front tires enough to let the back tires move us out of the pit. I'm free!

Later I went out to refill the holes and tamped down the huge cavity so I don't fall into it the next time I ride Cheyenne out there.

Run, Bambi, Run!

 I took the horses out to their pasture one morning recently and noticed a doe at the NE corner of the enclosure effortlessly bound over the 4' fence. Thinking.....I wonder if..... And sure enough I found a tiny fawn tucked into the corner of the fencing. The horses were already out there, so I couldn't just leave it sitting there for hours until they came home, so I made the executive decision to take the little one to the other side of the fence to reunite with momma. 

The little one was barely the weight of my largest fatty cat. She bleated her disapproval right away when I picked her up! All legs but not struggling to escape. We made our way back to the gate and then back to nearly the corner of the fence. I released the fawn with all my best wishes for her and her momma. She scampered off and I was hoping she found her way to a reunion. My wishes were granted when in the early morning hours a couple days later I saw a doe with her little fawn relaxing in the water of our creek. 

My Grow Operation

 I have had time to get more organized with my meager plant collection. I used to have scores of plants but as other responsibilities took over, they languished and aged out of the system. My renewed interest happened with an apple!

The morning menu usually features an apple sliced and peeled. Imagine my surprise to find seeds inside the Pink Lady apple sprouted with tiny beginnings of leaves. I couldn't just throw them so I got my little sterile Petri dish fitted with a damp paper towel and set the tiny beings on my shelf. They really wouldn't grow, would they?

They did indeed and are under the plastic in the photo. And then.....

They grew and were moved to larger pots and now moved to the great outdoors. I have seven hearty seedlings and two little stragglers I haven't given up on yet. 

The fruit was developed in Australia and released for commercial production in 1989. Pink Lady® apple trees are a cross between Lady Williams and Golden Delicious, giving the fruit good storage characteristics and a sweet, crisp flavor. The Pink Lady Apple tree is characterized as a spur-bearing variety, producing fruit on short, compact branches known as spurs.

Not to count my apples before they are ripe! It will take 2 to 5 years for a Pink Lady to bear fruit. We have several other trees in our orchard so they will be in good company if they can make it that long. One other tree we were gifted this year has a fine start. It's already about 3 years old and is a new variety called "Triumph". Which I have chosen to call my TRUMP apple tree. 

The grow operation has now extended to the basement where I was able to start tomato seeds and assorted plants of honest reputation. 

Fiery Winter Sunset

 

Until recently this was the amount of snow we had. Now it's all white but it probably won't be for long. 

October through January was probably the busiest stretch of orders I've had in a long time. Relentless work over the holidays is the norm. It has been since my Studio Works days of retailing. I'm enjoying a welcomed break now. With luck it will last a long time!

The Innocence

 I recently changed my Facebook header to this photo of my herd. It had comments about the beauty and the peacefulness.

They were peaceful, indeed, after being total brats! Most days I walk the herd out to their 3 acre fenced in pasture. However, on this particular day, the brat in the center, Ms. Cerra Elizabeth, took off toward the big 40 ac hayfield! Ty, who was already in the 3 acre went nuts because she didn't follow him. Cheyenne followed Cerra and then the threesome were off on their merry escape to magnificent knee high alfalfa!

It was a long walk out to get them and they are all ok with me getting a halter on the leader, Mr. Ty. 

Home, sweet home back on the Three, and no, the grass isn't as thick here, but there is plenty for all. 

Cowabunga Floribunda!

Our glorious summer blooms are coming to a close but I took a lot of photos to carry their memory through the winter months ahead of us.

Casa Blanca

                      

Business on the Etsy shop has been very manageable this summer. Orders still trickle in to keep me busy during most of the week, but I've had many three day weekends! It's a super treat to get projects done. The outbuildings were repaired and painted. 

I painted all the interior rooms in the house! Now I've moved on to pressure washing. I started with the horse trailer which was an obscenely filthy mess. Years of being parked out on the pasture the algae and lichens did a good job of trying to claim it.

It took six hours but I got it done inside and out. Clean and fresh and ready to take Ty up to the vet to have his teeth checked out. Next is to check out the lights and tire pressure. I haven't taken a road trip with precious equine cargo for a long time. 

High Water

 It just keeps raining! Which has put every green leaf on overdrive. Lots of grass to cut, weeds to pull and one of my newer projects.....harvesting hay off the horse pasture!

It grew so fast and so high, the horses didn't even have a chance to keep it down. Nor would I want them to. Too much sweetness for Ms Cerra with her tender feet. She has to have a grazing muzzle on to keep her consumption down and to keep her weight in check. 

My JD tractor has a 60" belly mower that can cut a big swath which I run a couple of lengths of the pasture. I then mow back the other way to put the clippings into a row that is easy to pick up. Just like a pioneer (kinda) out there scying grass by hand! Great for the waistline. 

UPDATE ON THE BIRD NEST... It was not bluebirds, it was the Purple Finch which has tried nesting now two times under our porch roof. Each nest had five eggs and they were all drilled into by some predator. Most likely predator bees. 

The Poppa Cardinal has been presenting the three fledglings to the bird feeder. They are now taking on color and are pretty active in their movements.  He is showing them where the food is, how to get it and how to crack seeds open. They are having none of it! Daddy! Daddy! Feed me! Me first! Peep peep peep and lots of activity with that enterprise. Mommy is off constructing her new nest and probably enjoying having a quiet place to settle into for a bit of rest before the next batch arrives. 

Thank you, God! I love nature!

Can't Believe It!

 I no sooner said adios to the cardinals when I saw a bird flying out of my aged fern that was hanging near the cardinals nest.

It's been flying away before when I left the house and I always thought it was just the lady cardinal, but Noooooo! It's a lady BLUEBIRD. Now mind you. We have 30 bluebird houses that Don constructed and installed in areas near and far. They are cleaned out every spring by yours truly. So why on earth is this bluebird lady taking over an old straggly Boston fern? No idea, but she is welcome and it will give me lots of entertainment keeping track of this new brood. Five tiny blue eggs. Lots more spying to do! I've done more posting in the past few days that the past few months.

Lots of wildlife activity going on these days. Down by the creek we have been watching deer set up in beds along the edge. Today the spyglasses were put on them and they are young bucks! The velvety antlers are about the same length of their ears. These two have been resting along side the creek in canary grass that is almost taller than their heads. They plop down and take turns popping out every once in a while seemingly just to see what is going on around them.

The Fledge!

The fledglings, minus one who had already flown the nest. They are grey with little white marks under their eyes. Good camouflage. 

It only took 24 hours and the youngsters were at the edge of the nest, flexing their wings, doing deep knee bends, flutter, flutter. I watched the first one fly off the nest and was received by papa across the driveway. The other two took lots of time deciding. Ma was chirping wildly at them since morning and I finally decided I needed to do other things. Awhile later and the nest was deserted and quiet was restored.

The adults will be keeping the kids secluded in their hidden places while the little feathers come in. They really can fly yet (no tail feathers have come in) but can have bursts of instinctive flight. Since I've been researching cardinals I know they won't be setting another set of eggs in this nest. They start all over. In fact, mommy is probably out there getting ready to construct a new nest while pa takes care of the young'uns. It was a lovely day for the testing of the wings!

The Nest, the Bunny and the Cat

 Of all places... on top of the porch lantern. It started as a couple of spindly weed branches and I thought it was something the winds blew in. It continued to grow and precious dry leaves were added. Still no idea who was constructing this squatters lodge. As the days passed the construction crew finally showed up. Cardinals! I have never seen a cardinal nest anywhere let alone where we were going to be able to observe up close and personal. As the days passed I got curious and got the step ladder and a mirror out to see if there were any eggs. Three! Paler blue than a robin with little brown specs. Ma and Pa took turns incubating the nest and over the coming days I noticed they weren't on the nest as much. They were too busy finding meals for the babies! One by one, little noggins were eventually poking up in anticipation of their next meal. It's been a week now and they are definitely getting bigger. I can see them preening their feathers and bobbing around. 

There was huge ruckus on that side of the yard today. It finally dawned on me that Reba had escaped earlier. The cardinals were on loud chirp high alert, and purple finches came to the aid as well. I stepped outside to find Reba lounging on the patio. Near her, wedged by the edge of the house was a palm sized baby rabbit! Totally alive and keeping Reba company while sending everyone else into a tizzy. I picked up the poor thing and of course, like all rabbits will do, it screamed bloody murder. I turned to take it to the woods after getting the cat inside. Here was Mommy Rabbit a few feet away! I walked toward her and of course she ran to the woods, stopped and waited for me to catch up. She darted into the under brush and I left the baby bun close to cover. I'm sure she will be back and I'll check in later as well. 

There is more to come with this story and I hope it has a happy ending as well. The fledge!

Pole Cat

Reba DEMANDS to go out most days. She follows me and Win out to the barn for her morning escape. On this day she decide to climb the old tv dish pole....which is pretty tall! There she was perched atop and gave me her best vulture interpretation. Very impressive m'lady!

Fall Visit With Friends

High school chums, Lori Lundquist and Suz Thomson, made the trek from Frederic and Balsam Lake this fall. If I'm lucky I get to host this duo once a year. A visit into the workshop is always on the itinerary as well as a walkabout the property and lunch in town. This was their introduction to Reba kitty. 

Oldies taking selfies! We were into music when we were in high school. Suz and I sang and played guitar. I wrote long forgotten songs. Lori still plays guitar and sings with her Sunday school gang. Suz and her husband, Bryce on guitar, are now the duo of "BT and Suz" and they perform a local gigs from Bayfield to Balsam Lake. Semi pros, indeed! A fun day of reminiscing and hearing their plans for future travels.

 

Chick Chick

The name is the most creativity I could muster when I found her . It was late afternoon when I went out to feed the horses and this youngster wouldn't budge. She let me pick her up without a fuss. Dang!! She has a broken leg! That is not a good sign since most little ones would just perish from the shock. I figured she was just holding on and I set her in a box in my workshop and concluded I would have a dead pullet by morning. I set food and water and she practically lunged at it. Good sign.

When she was still alive in the morning I knew I now had to do something about her leg. She was amazingly compliant when I got her on her side and gently pulled the leg as straight at I could get it, put on a splint made from cardboard and taped it up with vet wrap. She camped out in her little box for a couple weeks and we did chicky PT a couple times a day. She had no balance and made no attempt at walking so I just held her up under her breastbone and we stretched legs and moved up and down. We went outside a couple times a day to keep her spirits up, but made sure we stayed away from the flock. She was "different" and had evoked a violent response from "The Old Biddy" hen. They would no doubt want to attack since she was now an outcast. We turned the corner when one morning I went to work and she was perched on the top edge of the box! She was learning how to cope with her handicap and was coming along with her walking. Then I lost her in the shop! She wasn't really hiding from me but had just FLOWN to the top bank of cabinets and perched there for the night. 

Through all of this we have become quite close! She always lets me pick her up and we check out the flowers and all the best places for a bite to eat. She's becoming more accepted by the rest of the flock and I expect one of these evenings she will go in the coop to perch for the night. My little Chick Chick is not going to need me for much longer! 

Long Shadows on the Trail

 I've had several very nice evening jaunts lately. For some reason there are NO mosquitoes, deer flies or other pests! At least for now. It was so nice to enjoy a rare ride on my bestest girl, Cheyenne. We take it slow since neither of us have been in the three-rides-a-week routine. I guess we are both slowing down at the same time. Windsor is trotting along with us and he probably gets the most benefit from the romp.

My photographer friend, Janene Nelson, posted these amazing skyscapes which precluded the hail storm last week. She really captured the drama from her location. They really remind me of Mayfield Parrish paintings. 

Mother Goose is at it again...

But with chicks! I got a variety of hen chicks that joined us a couple weeks ago.

First in the "baby box" that they arrived in. Once they are out of the box, they won't be going back in! They grow that fast. I haven't even looked up what varieties arrived, but the two Goldens are probably Buff Orpingtons. Sometimes it's hard to have different colors because if some pass by the wayside you KNOW. It's kind of easier when everyone is the same if a predator strikes. I have never been one to name them because it's hard when they are struck down. I've had "Elizabeth Taylor" and "Little Scottie" and it doesn't make it easier to say goodbye. 

I set up the big kids pen, maybe a bit early, but they were getting kind of "birdy" in the shop, so it seemed time to move. It's warm and they will be fine.