Veterans Day and a Mash Up

Last Veterans Day, my retired soldier and I were able to 

attend the Leavenworth Veterans Day parade together, on 

a cold day. 

Remember, Leavenworth is a "company town". 

Keith had to go to a doctor's appointment early this morning, and 

someone could not get herself together and get out in the 

25 degree cold this morning to take pictures of this year's. 

I'll make it next year, and in the meantime, heartfelt thanks to Keith and all 

of my friends and family who have served... from Korea to Iraq... we 

appreciate you all so much! 

Our friends at Oak Grove Animal Sanctuary (they are on Facebook, folks) posted this picture this morning of a new barn going up for the rescued animals.  I show it to you because....

Those two brown animals in the foreground... are

(Inca) 

Inca and Aztec, formerly of Calamity Acres.  Renee and Brian were 

the kind people who adopted them two years ago.  I was so surprised to 

see them this morning, and so glad.  Nosy as ever! 

This was also posted on FB yesterday, I don't think it's a joke, either. 

Folks, I raised chickens for almost 20 years.  They can, if kept in decent surroundings, i.e., a decent 

henhouse, some supplemental heat when it's WAY below zero, in good flesh (fed well) and with fresh water daily... chickens don't need clothing.  In fact... they use their wings to balance themselves, and these sweaters would prevent that.  I know these folks are well-meaning... but... 

I don't even want to think about the poop being flung about, and the problems they would have getting up on a roost with sweaters on.  Ugh. 

Surely, surely... this is someone who owns... two hens. 

I know of a very well-known person who wrote a book after two years of keeping chickens (that sold very, very well) was criticized for something like this a few months ago... and her 

supporters flamed the critics roundly... so badly that I had to quit following the site and the FB page. 

Just my humble opinion. 

It's very cold here today, after yesterday's 71 degrees, but we still went out to run. 

It did not take long to get tired. 

I shudder when I hear the phrase "pop of color" on design shows (which I love, unfortunately). 

These are the only pops of color I truly love. 

This is one of the four Bradford Pears in our own front yard.  Give it two more days! 

Update on Keith: 

He is in technically Week Four of dialysis, counting the week in the hospital. 

He feels SO MUCH BETTER but is still more tired than normal. 

Today he met with the surgeon who will embed his permanent connection, called a "fistula" on Tuesday of next week. As he will be sedated for this procedure, and have to go to a recovery room, 

I'll be driving.  It will take about two months for that fistula to mature in his arm, and then 

the same surgeon will remove his temporary pick lines and sew him up. 

We are having to learn a whole different way of eating, as he is limited as to 

certain things he can eat and drink.  The DaVita Dialysis center website, though, 

has 800 some recipes on it, and tonight I made the Alfredo sauce on the site, 

and mixed it with chicken and we had it over fettucine.  YUM. 

We're learning! 

I'm leaving you tonight with a piece I saw on Pinterest... that cracked me up... 

this was Me AND MATH.  Trust me. 

Keith, on the other hand, can figure huge sums in his head.  I'm in awe, and always have been! 

A Big Saturday

Well, it's been some day.  Or, as Charlotte the Spider would put it:  SOME DAY.

To begin with, we re-homed our llama trio, Tony, Inca and Aztec.  We found, through Southeast Llama Rescue, a wonderful couple from Northeast Missouri who drove all the way here to get them in the heat and humidity today.  I have just hung up with Renee, and the llamas are not unloaded yet, they are humming, which indicates they are still worried, but otherwise, doing fine.  The loading was a Rodeo.  We had to go get Troy and his son, Middle Troy ( and yes, there is a Little Troy) to come help.  I got exactly one picture.

That's Keith in the trailer.  It was a BIG step up, and we actually ended up lifting them all in... with a saddle girth under their bellies.  If we hadn't had Troy and Troy there, we would not have been able to load them.  Tony went in pretty easily, but Inca, pictured here... bucked like a wild bronco and actually pulled Keith head over heels at one point.  I don't know how he ever held her.

Aztec made friends with Renee as she was haltered, and actually followed pretty easily once Inca was on.  We sprayed them down with water, I worry so about Tony who went down in the heat last summer.  After they were soaked good, Renee and Brian left for their 5 1/2 hour drive home.

Here is what they brought us this morning.... to stay here until Wednesday, when they go to their new home with my good friend Joani...

If these aren't the darndest most beautiful ponies in the world.  They are Hackneys. 

Blackie, on the left, has the most beautiful action I've seen in a long time, pumping her front legs high at the trot.  Rosie, behind her, the bay, is a beautiful girl with roaning on her rump.  Her action is not as high, but she is the loveliest girl, and the friendlier of the two.  Renee had re-homed these from an elderly gentleman who is trying to place his small herd.  Blackie is broken to drive, but neither is broken to ride.  They will go Wednesday to King City, Missouri, with my good friend Joani and her Amish trainer, Chris, to be trained and to be trimmed, as their feet are not in good shape.  When Renee tried to trim them, they went ballistic.  Chris is very experienced, and a good farrier, and, as Joani said, she has never seen a horse or pony he couldn't handle.  Their feet are not horrible, but just need a good shaping and trimming.  They loaded and unloaded like troopers from the same trailer the llamas left in.

Rosie, up close and personal.  How good it is to see horses in our pasture again, even if just for a short time!

This morning, very early, I went to Price Chopper in Bonner Springs, because they have very good ham salad in their deli.  I wanted to get some to make sandwiches, because I figured Renee and Brian would be tired and hungry when they got here.  (They have to have gluten-free bread, so that didn't work out).  I digress.

When I walked in the door, I half-noticed a display for Father's Day... and it said something like "Win a Grill for Dad".  I went over to the display, wrote my name and phone number on one of the pieces of paper on the table, and then stuffed it in the box and did my shopping and left.  Imagine my surprise when I was called and told I had won

THE BIG CHAIR. 

I had no idea what it was.

So, without further ado... here is Keith in his Father's Day gift from me:

The young man who helped me to my car with the prize congratulated me and told me I had won the party chair.  There are SIX cupholders on the arms, three on each side. (It folds up into a carrying bag!)  

Here am I in it, we were laughing our heads off at this:

This truly shows how BIG it is!

I had to climb up in it!

I went to church at five (not in those clothes) and then ran down to WalMart to get some things, and ran to Price Chopper to get the CHAIR.  So guess what I found out when I got there?

I had won the Weber Grill too! 

So Keith got an extra-special Father's Day gift from me. 

What a day we've had!

Are We There Yet?

It's not even summer, but back in the nineties tonight for chores.  I took a few minutes to sit and watch the little birds.

Here you can see the Half-Mille Half Silky chicks.  Cute, aren't they?  They have Silky heads and Mille bodies.   They are doing great in the little coop Kathy made.

I'm thinking of ordering a second one, so that I can put Fancy and April outside for the rest of the summer.

Here is the pasture pen. As you can see, the hens are still steadfastly setting.  I am not sure if these are the original eggs (which would be 8 weeks old now!, and therefore unhatchable) or if these are new ones.  Only one chick hatched and is healthy.. another hatched but one of the hens killed it.  I am debating whether or not to pull all these eggs this weekend.

Notice the tail up?  Inca stood in front of Tony for ten minutes tonight, inviting him, and finally kushed.

She gave him a very perturbed look, finally!

He ignored her.  When he was gelded, he was truly gelded, and I have only seen breeding behavior once since then.

Click on this to see the big healthy muskrat in the middle of the picture, eating out of the feeder.  He wasn't the only one.  I was sitting in the pasture filling the trough and pool when I realized it's no wonder all the food is disappearing.   It's like they are pets, I went into the yard and one calmly stayed there, eating, not six feet from me.  Sheesh.  I have poison to feed them, but I am always wary that the chickens, who love to chase and kill mice, will ingest a poisoned mouse and infect the eggs with the poison.  I guess I am going to have to bite the bullet and do something about it, the mouse situation is out of control.  The Duck House, out of view to the left, had no eggs tonight, because our resident snake has moved into it.  I sure hope he doesn't find the standard chicks in their pen... he can't eat them, but he could suffocate them trying.  They are not the smartest chicks on the block, instead of roosting in the little hutch, they pile into a corner and snuggle against each other.  In the hutch I could protect them by shutting it up each night, and the snake could not get through.  I guess we'll have to see what happens (and cross my fingers).

And while all this fun was going on, look what was approaching from the west?  I am praying we get some rain from this one, too, as the ground needs it so very badly, as do all the crops around here that will start suffering with it's lack.

Back of my Neck Dirty, Gritty

HOT today, don't know what it got up to, but very hot and humid.  When I got home from the grands house, I started in on chores.  It was painful to cut the grass, which has now gone dormant and actually crunches beneath your feet.  The cracks in the ground I pictured here ten days ago are wider, and I'm very worried.

As you can see, the llamas are not comfortable either.  They were to be sheared on May 16, now nearly a month ago.  That day my sister had a crisis, and the shearing was cancelled.  We have decided now to rehome our llama friends, and a wonderful couple from Northeast Missouri who already have two llamas and a herd of goats have expressed interest in them.  We are praying that they are able to come pick them up in the next week as planned, and Inca, Aztec and Tony will be happy in their new home with their new llama and goat friends.  As you can see, Inca is not happy with her little pool, and is still looking for her big pool from last year which sprang a leak.  We were helped in this endeavor by Southeast Llama Rescue, who put us together with this lovely couple.

Drum roll, please!

Here it is... the little coop built by my neighbor Kathy for the porcelain and mille chicks.

That's Troy taking a picture from the other side.

And here it is from the front.  I should have measured it to get the dimensions... it has a box for shelter with a roost in it... and then a little porch.

And with the door up. 

By the way, Troy backed up to the henyard fence, and he and Kathy literally manhandled the coop over the fence.  They then carried the shingled roof in and attached it. This coop was made from pallets that Kathy deconstructs, and some odds and ends of old lumber and plywood laying around, and some shingles Troy had for the roof.  It was $150.00 of the best money I've spent this year!  Is she talented or WHAT?

Keith and I are going to build a simple fence around it this week. 

What I am planning to use it for is a shelter for the almost nine week old chicks, the porcelains from Heartland Hatchery and the home breds from our bedroom.  They are still inside the henhouse in a trough, and it's time for them to get out, too.  Once they are fully grown, they will be integrated with the little henhouse flock.

Here is Bluey on the left, and He Who Has No Name (now called Dandy) on the right, who live in the little henyard.  Bluey would like to have some chicks, so she may be living with the D'uccles for a few weeks to help them get started.  Bluey is one of the last purebred Silkies I still have. 

Totally gratuitous picture of our two Granddogs, Jester, whom you've seen before, and Shiner, the newest Granddog, in the background sleeping in his crate. 

I just spent the last 24 hours with these two, and it was one of the few times they settled down long enough to get their pictures taken!

Have a good start to your week from all of us here at

Calamity Acres!  

A Hot, Humid Day

What is going ON with our temps?

I am starting to believe in Global Warming.

On the other hand, I have the air conditioning going, and Keith is FREEZING and just put another heavy blanket on the bed. 

It was in the upper nineties heat index today in Tonganoxie, and I cut grass for a couple of hours with the wind blowing the dry grass back in my face.  Yes, I need a shower.

On my way to the food kitchen this morning with the eggs, I pulled over to take a picture of Tonganoxie's main street... 4th Street.  Not exactly hustling and bustling at 9:30 AM... but I wanted you all to see the beautiful flag display put up yearly.

I just realized this is not the best picture in the world, taken through my windshield.  I'll stop there on the way home from church tomorrow and take a better one.   Before the post office moved out by the highway, there was more going on on Saturday morning.

Here are Bitsy and Muffy, the two Naughty Girls, taken this afternoon.  This has been one of my biggest disappointments... I wanted badly to breed these two with Boots, my young Mille Fleur rooster.  They were all a year old in March... but these two girls are still in with the Little Henhouse flock.  I am going to try to get pictures of the roosters in there tomorrow, to put them up on the bulletin board at the feed store next week. If I can move them out, maybe Boots can move in.

The south end of Inca, who always lays down to eat.  I didn't feed the llamas until evening today... it was just so hot.  As you can see from this picture, Inca needs shearing badly.  Last year we did not get her neck, and now it's matted.  They were to have been shorn last Wednesday, but my sister was so very sick the day before that I cancelled at the last minute, fearing what was going to happen with my sister.  We have not rescheduled yet, as our friend has to come down from NorthWest Missouri to do it for us.  Before you buy llamas, please consider these things... the llamas should be halter-broken and easily led.  They need to be gotten used to having their feet handled, because llama toes must be trimmed at least once a year, and believe me, they are not easily manipulated like goats. They MUST be sheared in hot areas such as ours, because they literally can die of heat stroke.  Inca has a pool which she uses to cool off in... but still, the heat is very hard on them.  If we could have had the pond that we attempted last year, that would have helped them. They also must be wormed, and have shots, which are usually done at the same time as shearing, but this is a huge production every year, and should not be... this is what you get for having llamas not gentled from a young age.

(and I'm telling on myself here, because we did not work with Aztec when she was born here)

What we had for dinner tonight. 

I can't tell you how good this was.  It was a splurge for both of us, I had not eaten much today, and Keith had just picked, too. I will print the entire recipe tomorrow, but I can foresee making this when the kids are here (at double the recipe) so there is plenty to go around.  Briefly, it's a layer of macaroni, a layer of hamburger cooked with onion and I used some Rotel tomatos with green chiles.... a layer of cream cheese, cottage cheese and sour cream.... (the white you see) then another layer of macaroni, then meat, and then on top, grated parmesan cheese.  I did NOT put salt in it, as we are trying to cut down... but I did use Onion and Garlic Mrs. Dash... and let me tell you... it was wonderful!  We each had a second helping... and I am stuffed full.

Time to take a shower and read a good book.  I'm going to work in the garden tomorrow after church... and will take lots of pictures.

The day dawned bright and clear.

The grass, did indeed, look like diamonds.

I fed and watered this morning, and it was brisk, but not too bad.

Inca has laid down to eat ever since she was a small cria.

We let this one sleep late because he stayed up late watching cartoons (Grandma's have eyes in the back of their heads).

We sat at the kitchen table in togetherness and read the morning paper in the "dark", without turning the lights on, and talked quietly before I went to church.  Abby found a shaft of sunlight to listen to us.

Here's Keith this afternoon, starting to lay out the hoop house. Notice he's in just a sweatshirt.  I had a heavy coat (my adorable chore coat) a warm knit hat, and gloves. I was at the other end of the yellow tape.

We had plenty of help

Bessie was out there too, but out of the picture. She loves to run around the yard, and is getting more and more engaged with us.  She's able to hold her own with the pugs, too.

While Keith tapped in the side stakes, I wandered over to check the chickenyards.  For the THIRD TIME today, I found this:

Depressing.

Note ring of starling poop around it, and starling poop in it.

Poor chickens.

I filled them AGAIN.

Wandered back across yard to find that Keith had been busy.

Took picture from different angle.  Check out the sky behind Keith.

Within 30 minutes, the color changed, the clouds came over, and everything was gray.  Our beautiful day went away.

I finished up chores while Keith came in to see Phil Mickelson win the golf tournament.  We experimented with putting the hoops together, but are going to report on that in another post.

While I turned my back, they invaded the wild bird feeding station.  Sheesh.  If you biggify the photo, you will see at least five of them hanging on the suet feeder on the pole at the left.

When I finished, look who was finishing up his dinner and waiting for me!

He is so tired tonight, he did a lot of walking and running today, and it's hard on an old gentleman.

It took over an hour for this post to post the pictures, so I'm off to catch a little of the grammys and the second-to-the-last weekend of Downton Abbey.

Monday Night

Today was kind of a bleak day outside, but a wonderful day for me.  I was off work, and took Hannah for another look at her eye... Dr. Tom is trying a stronger medicine on the eye with glaucoma, to try to relieve some of the pressure.  She is not feeling much hurt from it yet, he confirmed, and I came home with the stronger steroid.  She has begun snuggling up to us... Hannah never did this before, and we aren't sure where it's coming from... but she is getting very snuggly in her old age. 

She can't really close her lid over the bad eye (here on the right) but it only looks closed... because she is smushed together against me on the couch.

This afternoon, my friend Jill from work came over.  Jill has been so encouraging to me for blogging, and she is a great sounding board for things.  She is also a registered veterinary technician, so a good one to run animal problems by.  She had long wanted to stop by, but lives an hour from here.  As she was off work today, she made the trek over.  Once she met all the creatures here and we had a good visit, we hopped in her truck and drove all over Leavenworth County, through all the farm country.  It was so much fun, and we visited as we went.  I forgot my camera, but hopefully, Jill will share with me the pictures of a beautiful black mare we saw.  You know that true black is rare in a horse, but this horse was solid black, with only the faintest hint of a white dash under it's forelock.

Jill's hobby is photography, and she got out of the truck to take wonderful pictures of the mare at the fence that we passed, so hopefully, you'll see them soon on the blog. 

This girl has been agitated all evening:

There is something outside... I think a deer, maybe, that has had them all worried this evening.  As Keith must get up at 5 to drive to Salina, I have brought everyone in and that's where they are staying.

And yes, I'm off work again tomorrow.

I had to do a short errand before Jill got here, and I had left our gate open.  When I pulled in, there was a large, strange black dog with a collar on in the yard.  He looked startled when he saw me, and disappeared.  I parked quickly and ran back around the house, just as Tony ran at the fence.  Tony is quite able to clear that fence if he wanted, and is very protective of his territory... but when I looked, I saw the dog had run down the road to Troy and Kathy's.  I suspect it lives across the road, I have heard a dog barking over there lately.  The thing that worries me is that these folks owned one of the dogs who attacked and killed our chickens and our huge tom turkey three years ago, after we had asked them repeatedly to keep the dog enclosed.  I hope that they are not letting this new dog run loose during the daytimes, thinking we are at work. They live quite a ways back on their property, and this is the first time I have seen the dog.  Then again, he may be a dumpee, which everyone in the country has to deal with, unfortunately.

Tony could easily clear the fence you see behind him.

By the way, Inca has begun weaning Aztec, who still tries to nurse.  Inca, as soon as Azzie bends her neck, sidesteps... into a circle, so that Azzie has to keep following, and finally gives up.  We figured she would do it before too long, as Azzie is now 13 months old.

I made Christmas treats all weekend, but they were either given away or consumed, so I did get a batch of cookies made tonight, and will get several made tomorrow, as well as some more pretzel treats.  We're at four days and counting before our Christmas party!

Aztec, Part Two

Well, we decided to wait for a bit and watch Azzie's lower eyelid, but after showing her picture to a vet tech at my office, I decided maybe we should have our vet out after all.  Imagine my surprise when I called the vet's office yesterday (thinking it would be Thursday or Friday, at best) and was told the doctor's new associate could be there in just an hour or so.  Yikes!  I got hold of Keith to make sure he could swing by, since it was late afternoon, and he said yes.  Of course, he beat the vet here, and hung around, waiting, calling me with "Where is she's???".  (I have been through this before, People). 

Then the vet pulled up.  Sorry, I have no pictures of what ensued, but I got the encapsulated version when I got home, JUST as they were releasing Aztec from the catch. 

Vet pulls up in humongous vet truck.  Views llamas, tells Keith to catch the patient, and goes back to truck.  Keith manuevers Aztec into catch with help from mama and papa, Inca and Tony, then runs them back out into the pen while he tries to keep the upset Azzie in the catch.  Maintains choke hold on her nether regions, all the time praying that she doesn't kick him in his Manhood.  Vet goes back to truck again. 

Keith asks vet to get halter... vet brings halter and lead rope, while waving shot apparatus full of sedative dangerously close to Keith's arms and legs... Keith maintains additional hold on bucking llama while vet gets halter on her, so that Keith can move up and try to exert additional control.  Vet finally takes a stab at sedative, and administers some.  Examines eyelid, and decides that IT WILL HEAL WITHOUT A STITCH because the tear is in the middle, and it is too far to pull the skin together.  The top eyelid comes down fine, and protects her eye.  She dabs salve all over it... gives a penicillin shot, and, as I come down the drive, the patient is loosed.  Father, mother and baby all gallop out to the pasture as the gate is opened. 

I met Dr. Beggs, who assured me that if I had been there 10 minutes earlier, I would have heard her cussing like a sailor, along with my husband.  However, there was laughter all around, and she gave us instructions on how to make sure Aztec gets her penicillin for the rest of the week... ground up and watered down on her feed... and did we think we could put more salve on her boo boo... emphatically NO.... and then she told us she'd send us a bill and was gone in a flash.  We loved her, but then, we love Dr. Jeannie, too. 

Keith did mention several times during the evening he was unusually worn out. 

So here was the scene this morning as I was leaving for work:

Mom and Dad, post breakfast.  Why, o why did I not think to ask Dr. Beggs to look at Inca's skin condition???? 

Here is our little patient.  You can see her eye still looks sore.

Go to work!  Let us chew our cuds in peace!

Our Birthday Girl

She's big and fuzzy, but she's our baby! 

And she won't hold still to get her picture taken!

She still has the most beautiful eyes in the world... and the most beautiful fringed ears... and you can see her lovely silver neck muff.

And here is she with her nether regions nearest to the camera, as she and Mama Inca trotted away tonight.  The cooler weather is making them feel very good.

And here she is a year ago today, in all her cuteness.  Totally unexpected, we did not think Inca was old enough when Tony (before gelding) bred her.

She was such a dark baby I don't have any closeups of her cute little face.

We love our llamas!

To all of you who extended comments about my illness last night, thank you.

I had a flu shot 3 weeks ago.  On Monday, I didn't feel very well after a very busy day at work, and during the night, began getting very sick.  By Tuesday I tried to go to work and was sent home, and 24 hours went by in a fog.  I spent yesterday on the couch and in bed, and managed to get to the office today.  I would just as soon not have THE FLU again this winter!