Jeans vs Pajamas

I've started writing down what I eat again because my jeans are getting tight.

You know... like when I have to suck in my tummy and hold my breath to hook the button. Yeah...

And I'm laying the blame on my pajamas!

When it was cold and wet out and not that warm inside, I took to wearing my pajamas all day. Lovely warm pajamas!

Well, they didn't tell me a thing about my waistline getting larger, so I kept eating with abandon. sigh... Until my jeans spoke to me.

I still eat pretty much what I have been eating except I find that since I have to go to the computer, open the file and type up the munchies I am much more apt to pass on the delectable tidbit and have a cup of tea (without honey.)

I have cut way back on bread and crackers... starchy stuff, but mostly it comes down to eating less.

And for munchies... I make sure I have my bowl of dried fruits and nuts handy for when I get hungry between meals.

I don't eat all that in one day, but I have it handy. And I have my candied ginger piece in there for a treat.

Having to write down what I eat comes down to having to pay attention to what I eat and make decisions instead of just eating for enjoyment, boredom or something to do.

Today I worked on getting the leaves off the garage roof and did some raking behind the house.

Barbecued hot dogs for dinner. Ice cream for desert? Oh dear... I'd have to write it down. Well, at least I'm thinking before eating.

Morgan...Lyme Disease, Anaplasmosis, Dogs And Cattle, (Chickens?)

Since Morgan is currently being treated with Doxycycline, (4 tablets once a day for 21 days, because she tested positive for anaplasmosis, and Lyme Disease) I have become very curious about Lyme Disease and why she wasn't sick before the treatment started. I do think the Doxycycline is making her a bit nauseous.

Morgan had gone to the vets to get her shots and the anaplasmosis and Lyme Disease antibodies were found during the blood test.

What is Anaplasmosis

What is Lyme Disease

I guess I shouldn't have been surprised to find most of the information I found about Lyme Disease was about its effect on cattle since they lose millions of dollars a year because of Lyme Disease.

It seems that if the cattle contract the disease when they are young they can survive (and then don't show symptoms) but then become infected carriers, however if they get the disease when they are older they can easily die.

So, I got to wondering if Morgan was bitten when she was a puppy or fairly young might she be an infected carrier? Or maybe it doesn't work the same way on dogs? I searched a lot of sites, but didn't find an answer.

I did find that since blood is a vector that the deer tick, the horse fly and man can be responsible for transmitting the disease (when working with animals using different instruments that would get blood on them such as: when dehorning, tattooing, when tagging ears, using needles, etc. Sounds like if the infected blood is moved to a new host the disease can come along with the blood.

And deer ticks don't jump! That's comforting... but they do get on you when you brush against foliage and they climb on you. So, when I'm out working in the forest I do take the precautions of staying away from bushes, having my jeans tucked in my boots, wearing long sleeve shirts and light clothing, and checking to see if there are any ticks crawling on me.

Then the question rises... do chickens get Lyme Disease? Well, I found even less information about chickens than about dogs, but from the scanty info I found it sounds like they can, but they are more likely to be infectious when young.

This page from the US National Library Of Medicine is the closest I could get to some information about chickens and Lyme Disease.

But mostly chickens are sited as good to have free ranging on your property because they eat deer ticks. 

Then there is the neat info that aside from not jumping the boy deer ticks don't take a blood meal, so they don't transmit the disease even though they will attach. And that not all deer ticks have bitten an infected animal so they don't all have Lyme disease (unless they got it from their mom.)

There are a lot of interesting articles on the Internet about deer ticks and Lyme disease.

The American Lyme Disease Foundation page has lots of good information with great photos of deer ticks.

For me... The UCDavis Veterinary Medicine page from 1998 has the most easily read and understood explanation of anaplasmosis and its effect on cattle.

 Photo by Scott Bauer. (USDA ARS) 

This page Lyme Disease In Dogs has some video on how to remove a tick from your dog... and information on

*how to recognize Lyme Disease in dogs.*

I do remember a time when Morgan had a hurt paw, but we thought she hurt it running around outside.

As for vaccines? It seems there was one but it was withdrawn... and there is supposed to be one for cattle? I haven't been able to find a definitive answer because it depends on what page I get on my searches... there is a lot of contradictory information out there.

My best thought is if there is any question about ticks and possible sickness... see a vet or doctor, depending on the patient of course.

I've been doing these searches when I come in the house to cool off after raking for a while. I have most of the driveway rock cover surfaces raked and I'm working on clearing the dirt area behind the house of leaves and branches. (Kristine just came home and I haven't started dinner... oops... )

Now I'm worried about deer ticks... but the chickens are out there following me around scratching up the leaves and ... looking for deer ticks. Good little hens!

Sunny Spring Friday

Most of the driveway is raked, but I still have lots more raking to do around the house and fence line.

I would like to put in a whole day working... maybe next week? I am a bit sore after four hours today.

I hope I got my daily dose of vitamin D. Ahhh... being in the sun was a real treat.

I raked up to the row of leaves at the bottom of the photo. I raked the driveway four times because as it dries out more leaves pop up. I even raked under the motor home. It needs a bath... something else that needs doing.

Curly the Cochin spent a lot of time on the porch hanging out in hopes of getting some treats. The waiting was not rewarded because I had already given the hens a cantaloupe this morning for breakfast along with their lay pellets.

I think Google has gone goofy! The last two days my stats have shot up to around 250 page views a day. How strange is that!

Hmmm... I did "Follow" a Syrian blogger and (as Kristine told me) maybe the Syrian secret police types are messing with my blog to see who I am. They must be confused... a little old lady?

How disappointing for them... of course, they probably think I am some CIA plot. Seems like they think everything is some kind of plot.

Nope... sorry, I'm just a 70 year old lady with a sore back and arms from raking leaves and hauling tree limbs around.

I'm going to go soak in the tub for a while and see if I can get some of the kinks out.

Raking Thursday

I spent a few hours outside raking a path and picking up down tree limbs. I got half of the driveway done and a start on the paths. It was wonderful being outside breathing the warm fresh forest air.

I hauled branches around and stacked them along the driveway where they will be easy to haul away. Some of the limbs are too heavy for me to move... maybe in the summer when they dry out they will be light enough for me to drag.

It is going to take a long time for me to pick up all the down branches. I only got a small patch cleared today.

It's been about five months since I've done any heavy outside work and I'm trying to break myself in easy without causing myself an injury. I'm too old to push myself. I'll do a little bit more every day.

Today when I started sweating and getting a little tired... I quit... came inside and got my camera and took these photos.

Hard to believe there's only about four months until Fall shows up and we start the Winter weather again. Hope this sunny weather holds so I can get all my projects finished.

I'll work on clearing the paths, driveway and picking up the debris for now. Then there is the garage roof to clear and I need to work on the chicken coop.

And there is the garden. Hmmm... don't know if there is much time for anything to grow. I'll have to talk to Kristine and see about a trip to the nursery for some plants. I think I would have better luck with seedlings than planting seeds.

Morgan  had to stay in my little green garden and couldn't run around with the chickens.

The chickens are running around loose. They are living dangerously without her protection. So far so good.



 Blogger is still acting up a bit... in order to get comments to post I have to publish them twice and one by one. And sometimes when I leave a comment it doesn't post.

Sweet Little Rose...

"What's in a name?
That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet." - Juliet
~ Shakespeare



Such a brave little rose!
This is the first rose bloom I have seen this year.


I took a photo before Morgan, the deer, or the chickens could have it for a snack.

The flower is very pink, but my camera doesn't capture color very well.

We only have a few little wild rose plants that manage to survive from year to year. They are pretty well eaten away to not much every year, but the leaves struggle back and there are a few blooms.

It is usually very dry here, but this year with all the rain and snow they are looking green and healthy. If they were growing by a stream instead of in the forest they would look more like the bushes in the video.

I was very glad to find that these little roses were growing on the property when we moved up here. It was good to find a familiar "face" among all the new.

Is It Spring Yet?

Spring???

Is this the year with no Spring?

The summer solstice is in 15 days

... June 21st.

I don't know about Spring this year.

There was snow last night higher up the mountain.

There is sun this morning!

There was rain last night that left the forest sparkling and ringing with bird song.

We are supposed to have 10 days of cloudy/sunny days.
They will be the first stretch
of dry days I remember in 5 months.

I am not at all sure if this is the last of the rain and winter weather.

I wouldn't be at all surprised to see

another storm move in

and dump some

more rain and snow.

We have had
6 times the normal rain
for June.

The chickens are out scratching around in the forest.

Morgan is sleeping.

I think I'll go out and soak up some sun

and have a cup of tea.

Morgan Positive For Anaplasmosis

Here is Morgan this morning on our walk through the drizzly rain after locking up the gate.

Morgan tested positive for anaplasmosis (and she has Lyme disease) when she went for her heart worm test.

So, she has 84 pills to take... 4 a day for 21 days.

Ticks in the woods... that's for sure. We all get tick bites and have been lucky until now.

The chickens are locked up today and probably tomorrow since we are supposed to have two days of lots of rain. The ticks can play while the chickens are away.

I haven't been posting about the rain and hail and generally cold weather because it's making me sad... after three more days of rain we are supposed to have some sunny days. That would be nice.

I have been trying to remember the words to old rain rhymes that have been running around in my brain this morning:

Rain, rain go away,

Come again another day.

Little Callie wants to play.

It's raining, it's pouring,

The old man is snoring.

He fell out of bed, and bumped his head

And can't get up in the morning.

There was a rhyme about rain going to Spain, but I can't remember that one. I always liked the rhyme about not getting out of bed on rainy days. Makes sense to me. Morgan is asleep. I want to be.

Buff Orpington

This little girl is a bit slow. Maybe she is old or maybe just cold. The hens have their feathers fluffed up and their heads tucked in like turtles.

So, whatever the case, she didn't run away when I took her picture. She just stared at me.

She has her toes nailed into the cabbage pieces, so she is sure they aren't getting away. Smart chicken!

It rained and hailed yesterday and rained last night, but gave way to a sunny/cloudy cold day.

This is Fall weather... cold and wet.

I'm making spaghetti sauce... spaghetti is fun food... that ought to cheer us up. I'll have to give some noodles to the hens.

Wet June 1st - Use Cast Iron Dutch Oven To Brown Toppings

Treats for the hens this morning on the wet deck.  It rained last night and thunder storms are forecast today with more of the same  and rain for the next week+.

The sun should be out for a couple of days?




I got the quilt stuck together and ready to quilt... now to hook the other one together. That will keep me busy.

I tried out this technique of using a metal lid for browning the top of meringue or potatoes without using an oven.

I love my cast iron dutch oven. I'll have to do some more experimenting.





I think the angle of the lid in the bottom photo does a better job of shooting the hot air over the potatoes.

This is a cottage pie with mashed potatoes on top.



In the photo you can see the tops of the potato starting to brown.

Chicken Apron Thank You!

This Buff waited until her sisters finished eating and left for the woods and she could enjoy having the scratch all to herself.

She doesn't like me taking her photo... or maybe she is guarding her feed.

The blue patch in the sky was quickly covered by clouds.

I gave up raking the driveway until the weather dries out and warms up.

Maybe we are going to skip Spring and June is going to be another wet month?

Still a week more of thunder and rain forecast.

The quilt sandwich is still on the floor waiting for me to finish basting it together. I got about halfway and the cold and gloomy weather got to me and I quit to take up reading and watching videos.

I'm making a deal with myself... no more movies until I work on the quilt. sigh... it is so dark in there it is hard to see and... I have a lot of excuses. I do feel better today... not so depressed... the cold and gloom does not improve my mood at all.

I want to say thank you again to the dear generous lady who gave us all the beautiful fabrics which made it possible for me to have so much fun.

She sent me some lovely clear photos of the apron I sewed since I hadn't managed to get photos.

The apron is lined with red material and is reversible. I want to make one of
these aprons for me too.

Chicken mug rug!

Much better than my photo.

I had to add this photo of a bug that Kristine found and took a photo of last night.

I don't have a clue as to what it is, but it does have some interesting antenna.

I hope it is lost and trying to find it's way outside!
Or... it might be hiding from the chickens?

Memorial Day 2011

Rain And Then Sunshine

There was heavy rain last night after a cold gloomy Saturday, but the sun came out to play today and everything looks so green and bright. More rain later today.

The low 60's and wet weather is not my idea of a warm sunny Spring.

The chickens are having a good time scratching up the wet leaves, Morgan is curled up in her bed resting up from her trip to the vets for vaccinations. I don't like shots either.

I'm trying to get over a chest cold or maybe it is allergies? I made a large pot of ginger tea that I hope will help.

Update: Well, the sunny day didn't last long... it's raining again.

And Hail!

Here is Morgan sleeping off the trauma of shots and a long trip to the vets. Poor baby.

I finally figured out how to view images of my iPhoto pictures (before I choose them to post) by clicking the "show items as cover flow." That option was set up on my other account, but I just realized how to get the same result on this account.  It was such a pain to try and find the photos by looking for their numbers.

Myrtle In May

The Myrtle blooms in May around here and is alternately flattened by rain and snow and then picks its self up and stands tall for a while.

I'm experimenting here to see if this posts. Kristine can't sign into Google dashboard. Blogger is loading slow. Google having more problems?

Chickens Forest Foraging

There are chickens out there amongst the trees following me as I spent some time this morning raking the driveway clear of leaves.

Pretty funny... I'm raking leaves and they are scratching them up putting large divots all over the place. So quiet... just scratch and rustle noises. Chicken herd passing through?

Things have started to dry out a bit, but there is rain forecast for Wednesday which will make it a day to work on the quilts.

Morgan is going to the groomer... OK... she is back and I'm cold, sleepy, ....going back to bed. Only place I can get warm... alright, that's an excuse.

Kristine just came home and woke me up and let Morgan out. We spent the afternoon asleep. Not getting anything done, but we were warm. Had to put on the little heater.

Morgan's groomer trip left her at least four shades lighter... smells nice too. I tried to get a photo of her standing, but every time I pointed the camera at her she laid down. Taking her photo causes her stress? I gave her cookies after to make up for the trauma.

I will be so happy for some warm weather. Hopefully, my energy will come back. Well, back to sewing and listening to QI.

This would be a great way to start off the day. I'll have to find a cd of this song or I could always just play this video every morning. Love the children!