medicating a duck is not quite as hard as it sounds at first

IF
you wrap the duck in a towel and make a little duckie burrito
and then convince the duck that if she just lets you shove this thing down her little throat..........
she will be allowed to escape eventually

however i do need a drink ( i don't drink !!!) cause it's enough to leave you shakey
and i could use a chiropractor cause it's enough to strain your back BIG TIME
at one point ONE duck who shall remain nameless but is sort of named after a white flower............
ended up between my knees wrapped in a towel as she was the MOST uncooperative of them all

the things i do for ducks

momma's home ........now

can i do this alone?
can i medicate 3 ducks with a ton of syringes and pills all by myself?
with bernie holding them it wasn't too bad
also
how am i going to keep them seperate with rhinebeck?
the pens were supposed to be completed by now
we lost some weekends to rain
however i found out that pen building went a LOT smoother with me standing out there telling bernie how to do it, and helping where ever i can
(no i am not a total bitch, i actually do know how to do this stuff, i am just not strong enough to do it myself)
the pens aren't even up enough to tarp them and put them in temporarily
i am missing two doors, two gates and a wall

let's see
today i am to run to get more water buckets
two more at least, as ms phoebe is going to lose her little tiny bathtub
i feel bad but it can't be helped, as i can't haul water to wash her tub and then fill it
so she will be getting a bucket
lilli and momma are in full blown exploding duck molts
wonderful....nothing like molting ducks (one with pneumonia) in freezing temps with a full blown molt that has them half nekid........

today i also need to cook and bake for rhinebeck
and pack the coolers
and lay out clothing for me and bernie
i need a new tarp for phoebe's run and one for the big split pen that lilli and falstaff are sharing
i need hay as well for all the pens
two bails should do it
meanwhile i got dishes going and i got the fire going
bernie ended up bringing in wood for me
thank goodness........... as i really was getting tired last night

momma duck is home

the other girls, lilli and phoebe got clean bills of health but are on meds just to insure
that their good health continues, in case it's something we can't see yet

momma is home
the clouding was patches of pneumonia and the meds are fixing that
she looks terrible due to the molt but she is strong again
and not gasping for breath or coughing

we got snow....i drove down in the snow and came home in the snow
it's still snowing
as soon as i thaw out ( cause i don't have heat in the van)
i will bring in falstaff and the wood
and then start supper

then go to sleep early...........
the vet however needs to vacuum duck feathers out of vents and the oxygen cage and the pool she swam in
and the halls and the exam rooms
and off a nice Labrador named sweetie i think

momma ducks xrays

should clouding in the lungs
this can not be good

and a decision will have to be made soon
i am going today with the other girls
and i am going to find out if the drugs will fix this
or if she is scarred or what
she won't be happy living in an oxygen cage the rest of her life, and i agree with her
that is no life

so today first light, i go to the feed store for them
then i take them out and clean night crates
then i putter around and then load them up in the van and drive down to bethlehem

i hope i am bringing three ducks home
but i don't think so

vi

momma duck, icu, my bruises

it's a bad week for the herron family with medical it would seem
hopefully with momma it is going to get better fast
she had her xray last night
and wasn't gasping for breath so maybe now they will find out what is going on and fix it

tomorrow is phoebe and lilli's turn

i am still appauled at the treatment i got at the doctors monday
the way they took the blood pressure was totally against the AHA guidelines
and then to have the doctor decide after 10 minutes and a WRONG bp reading by an incompetant person that i have high blood pressure and need meds NOW

i believe that it is mal practice, not to mention substandard medical care.
and this is with GOOD insurance?

i need to find me a good vet that takes peoples

momma duck in icu

we don't know what's wrong
she started to gasp for breath and turn blue

i am angry

did you know that there are different blood pressure cuff sizes?
and that if you are given a blood pressure reading with the wrong sized cuff, it is not accurate
i also found out that a digital blood pressure machine only will take up to a 17'' cuff
i need a 21''
and that if you take blood pressure with too small a cuff it will significantly increase your reading

SIGNIFICANTLY
now would you say that a doctor that attempts to prescribe HIGH blood pressure meds based an a false reading (and meeting someone for 10 minutes) is competent?

i am livid
and i am not going to take it
i have got to find another doctor

and i have to tell you
that discrimination and phobias against larger people is the last area that PC doesn't go
it's not ok to discriminate against people based on color, or race, or mental capacity
but if you are obese........ it's not only fine but it is apparently the preferred treatment

i have pcos, and thryoid issues
it isn't a matter of 'just lose the weight'
however i get treated like i have some sort of HUGE moral failing because i haven't 'just lost the weight'

i'm sick of it
i eat right, my numbers are all very good.... cholesterol of 145 or under
etc etc
yet a doctor i had just met, basing her assumptions on the above inaccurate information was ready to prescribe high blood pressure meds
and told me to go out and buy a blood pressure monitor
that's how i found out about the cuff sizes and that the digital machines will not take over a 17'' cuff
and that using that size cuff on a 21'' bicep will significately increase blood pressure

to say i am beyond livid and discusted is putting it mildly

woodstove woes and duck dilemmas

i started the woodstove last night, first fire of the season which is a smallish break in fire
third time it lit
no such luck this morning when it's like 30 out

there just isn't enough kindling in the house to start a decent fire

and momma duck seemed a bit better yesterday
i made all the ducks mushy food, they all seemed to not want to eat the pellets so i put them all in water
lillianna has a thing on the front of her neck, i think it's from falstaff pulling at her through the fence or it could be her doing it

today is a new doctor...... we'll see if this one is a keeper, i hope so
bernie and i have decided that i need to find a new endo, but not ditch the old one until i do
so i start to interview doctors
oh man...
but i have to as i have new nodes on my thyroid and this one isn't doing anything about it
bernie feels ( and i think i am going to agree with him) that she feels that since i am fat, i am not really worth her time
he kept telling me repeatedly
'it's clear she has issues'

maybe it was the 'sir' thing when she was leaving
she said good by to him 'goodbye sir, nice to meet you'
she didn't say shit to me
he takes offence at that

oh man
so i am out mostly all week
the duck pen isn't done
rhinebeck is in jeopardy, cause if we can't keep the ducks safe...... we don't go

today we pill a duck

it isn't as much fun as it sounds
or as easy as it sounds
poor momma duck
and i tell you....i still can't get over the way she was so calm when i flipped her on her back
with her little feet in the air
hahaha
i swear that is the cutest position those ducks get into
but i do it all the time to them

so anyway, today we pill a duck and give her two different liquid meds
and grapes
and we pray a LOT

during all this
we also are:
working on the duck pens
taking the BR ac out
covering the studio AC
bring the first wood to the deck
and kindling
moving studio furniture
making beef pot pie
walking and washing ducks
mucking chicken pens
cleaning night crates
and i hope i get a chance to knit the border on my shawl
or start a new hat for rhinebeck
hmmmm seems like we need a 30 day weekend, not a two day
and bernie is going to the PO and the store for me as i have to finish waiting for my body to wake up

monday i have the new doctor appointment
thursday the ducks have the new vet appointment
i could sure use a wife

momma duck at the vets

first off, i am so proud of her, she was so tame and so cooperative and sweet.
she is only 6 pounds though
she should be about 8
the vet was trying to look at her bumblefoot but was doing it with her on her stomach

i said 'wait a minute, let me flip her, they all like to be held on their backs'
and i flipped her like i always do, and the vet had no trouble seeing her feet and vent etc
meanwhile i was kissing her little head and neck
she commented ( as did vicki) how momma wasn't scared, and how her heart wasn't pounding and she was just so calm

the tech prior to the vet coming in was terrified of momma, he asked if she would snap at him
i said no
she won't hurt him
and i held her for him
he was amazed
i guess i take it for granted that these ducks are so tame, and i shouldn't
as the tech AND the vet both told me that they have trouble with ducks

i told them .........'not my ducks'

hahaha
the vet did comment that my ducks were 'slightly' spoiled.... hahaha

they also seems surprised that i knew what the ducks all were eating, and how momma wasn't eating well, and what they like and dislike in foods
i told her i also feed them wet food a lot when they are doing poorly ( such as in the molt)


anyway, i got all sorts of meds
baytril
some thing for worms
something for fungal infections etc
so she will be healthy soon i hope
i have to bring in the other two girls for the same treatment
that will be next week
phoebe and lillianna will be going in for the full 'spa' treatment
i liked this vet and i am glad that i went today instead of to that stupid vet on tuesday......(where they made fun of me taking my duck to the vet and made fun of momma duck's name)

so momma is home, is happy and is in bed
i am so proud of her, as remember not even a year ago (end of march) we brought her home....
she was a feral wild duck
who'd been living in a HUGE flock of over 200 + ducks, chickens, geese, etc........
and now she is as tame as the ones i raised

she also follows me around (which i had forgotten,)
i left her to eat her mush this morning and ran in the cellar to get more pellets and when i turned around.....she was RIGHT behind me
hahahah
she's a good girl and i am glad that she will be ok

(at least the vet thinks so)

snickerdoodles for bernie

he had good news at work so i baked him snickerdoodles
and made him a nice nice dinner

then he told me that the studio isn't ready to heat yet......
and he's right
he is working on the duck pens all weekend
as rhinebeck is next weekend and we lost a weekend to rain
i have to move the drafting table and the birds out of the studio
and that water cooler bernie brought home that doesn't work

and he needs to move my porcelain workbench
oh man he's right
good thing we only go to rhinebeck one day
and good thing he also let them know at work that rhinebeck is a yearly thing, and that they understood
now if the weather will hold out


onto duck news
momma is coughing and yesterday appeared to me not to be eatting much
i have the vet tuesday for her
and i fed her in the pond so she ate while dabbling......
this way i knew something got in her
i am going to wet her food today and keep her out of the A frame pen for a while so i can watch her and see how much she's really eatting
i will again feed her in the pond

phoebe has taken to standing in the center of her pond and pooping in the water
she is still upset from the molt so won't really let me get too near her but is slowly coming around.
i want to check her feet.
i will say that she is whiter then snow now, the whitest i have ever seen her, and i've known her since an egg!

lilli is still a bit bitchy but she's ok
falstaff is a lot cleaner since i hosed him down and made him bath.....
WHY are mucovy drakes such pigs?

i have an appointment monday with a new doctor, maybe i will find out what the lethargy and pain is all about lately
this endo told me (without any T level results on the blood work mind you) that my thryoid was rock steady, and that the weakness etc was not due to thyroid
(obviously it had something to do with the eating of mcdonalds 16 times a day while watching soap operas)
i do think that it most certainly can be secondary lyme or maybe i have truly been kidding myself all these years and i AM just lazy and have been sucessfully hiding it?

anyway, i know i still need a new/good endo..... my old one was fantastic but that isn't an option now that she's closed her office

anyone know a decent endo that is good with PCOS and thyroid......on the east coast.... in the mid atlantic... possibly between nyc and philly?
oh man

mom we don't like the wind you know

it's scary
MONSTERS are running around behind them blowing leaves you know
monsters that EAT ducks like us

duckies, it's ok, i AM here with you

we know mom, but it's still scary

will going into the pens early help you duckies? although you know......this is good flying weather for kites

mom, in case you haven't noticed.... we're DUCKS.....not kites, and we don't really want to fly in this wind

yes duckies.....ok in the day pens with you all, but you all do remember, you are BIRDS? and birds DO fly..............

MOMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!! *** duckie eye roll***

ok duckies, i am just saying......... you are birds

i am so not a happy camper

that doctor may be smart or whatever but she's not good

now in addition, i had nightmares with dreams within dreams
that is never a good sign for me
the dreams within dreams thing is my clue that all is not well in my head

i think i am awakening from a dream and i am struggling to wake up
or move or something
and only much later and i am totally terrified do i actually wake up from both dreams

again last night
this time i was dreaming that someone had broken in by the ducks, and i couldn't wake up enough to wake bernie up
i couldn't scream
i couldn't move
and i was in and out of the deeper dream sleep
(how deep into rem sleep do you have to go to be in THAT state?)

the other night same deal but different scenario, as my mom tried to tell me where to go and buy a house/farm and how to do it
i didn't bring much back from that one

anyway this morning's dream within a dream was ended mercifully by the alarm at 4:15 am

and in waking i did realize that anyone actually attempting to break in would have to deal with large startled irate poultry.......

now as to this doctor
and her 'walk 20 minutes while watching a sitcom'
that is got to be the most worthless waste of time invented
now if she had said......
spend 30 minutes hiking the Appalachian trail
spend 30 minutes walking a dog or training for agility....
spend 30 minutes cooling down a horse
spend 30 minutes raking leaves
spend 30 minutes mucking a barn
spend 30 minutes cutting grasses with a scythe

i would not have been as pissed off
but first she didn't believe me when i told her i eat healthy, no processed foods, very very rarely eat out,
eat a ton of veggies and no bread
(not a lot of 'white inside' foods)
bernie had to jump in and tell her 'no she eats healthy and cooks from scratch'
no she doesn't eat bread
no she rarely eats out
then she started to say i ate way too much......
again she didn't believe me
bernie had to tell her, 'she rarely finishes her dinner, and puts it way for lunch the next day'

why is it that she didn't believe me?
why?
cause i'm fat?
excuse me
i have a few reasons to BE fat
one biggie would be heredity...i am shaped EXACTLY like my mother
and i suppose the thyroid and the PCOS have NOTHING to do with it all

as obviously if i am fat i must be eating McDonald's 16 times a day while watching soap operas on my industrial strength lazyboy
right?
or i would be a toothpick no?

i am beyond pissed off
so i will worry this for ten days

even bernie said she really shouldn't be dealing with people....
i would amend that to dealing with LIVING people........ i'm pretty sure the dead won't give a shit

off to jersey to the very perky young doctor

who i hate
damn pill pusher
i am dreading this
if she's going to do a biopsy .......... i don't know
i do know she's going to do another gooky ultrasound
i don't know if she took t levels this last blood work or not
it would have made sense if she did as she's trying to see thyroid issues
but i read the thing for the lab and didn't see t levels on there

i HAVE mentioned i don't like this doctor right?

i got the SHELVES moved!!

well temporarily for one of them
one is in it's now home, and the other will be when we get the porcelain bench out
i did it myself
so there.......pfffffft to bernie who thought i couldn't do it myself

now i am trying to sort some of the other stuff out so that we can heat if we have to
i can't find a spot for the doll cabinet and i need a bunch of casters for stuff

the caster list:
small bookcase
drafting table
desk
porcelain workbench
7' workbench
both file cabinets

then we are ok in the studio as i can just move stuff around easily
of course the CRP (ethan allen stuff) can't be but maybe that needs to come out of the studio?
i need to do something NOW about the windows, since the mini blinds broke
oye

but the big shelves are MOVED

woodstove done CHECK

wood stacked.....half a check

pens done .... half a check

studio..... we won't go there

i got some furniture moved but not all....... and a mini blind fell on my head not ONCE mind......... but TWICE.......
cause see i learned SO well the first time
tomorrow is the endo
i am thinking of baking a chicken with stuffing and mashed tators and such
since bernie will be home, as he is taking me...... just in case she makes good on her threat of a biopsy

he has to redo some of the duck pen..... THE ROOF, it won't hold a snow load
but it's not really any biggie

ok i have to get the ducks out and the furniture moved

moving furniture

all by myself
i feel like i got run over by a moving TRUCK

bernie worked on the duck pens

i moved studio furniture, the good news is i got my old doll cabinet out
the bad is that i got whacked on the head by a mini blind that broke when i moved the doll cabinet out

today i get to move SHELVES
aren't i lucky???
i am thinking a career change should be in the works..... give up being an artist..
become a migrant farm worker


anyway, i can tell you
my rotator cuffs feel exactly like they did when the doctor said i had torn them
my neck is so stiff and hurting so bad....but then that's been for a few months now again
my arms are tingly numb
my leg muscles feel like overstretch rubber bands.....
and even my hands hurt

so what am i doing today, did someone ask? (pretend someone asked and is vitally interested, cause frankly i really am very boring)

more of the same
i have to be nuts

and now i need casters as well.................
(nuts on wheels?)

today we are doing the studio

due to the recent cold snap, and resulting panic
we figured that the studio has now become top prority
although bernie just informed me 'it's 60 degrees out right now'
(it didn't even get to 60 yesterday)

so
here is the plan
we move the small bookcase, the doll cabinet and the stacking draws along with the cat tree over,......... we slide the one big new shelf down
and move the other shelf flat
then pull the cutting table out
move the drafting table over
and spend 6 hours burning excess paper i was trying to shred but couldn't get it done

the paper thing will actually free up the most space!

meanwhile i continue to be a bit overwhelmed by it all

ok last nights supper..... cider glazed pork chops cooked with red cabbage was a HUGE hit
over rice
like i predicted
bernie ate three of the 4 chops i cooked
hahahaha
not too bad huh?

ok my coffee is waiting so i will go and drink it and then start with this room

again i'm down at 5am

just sort of reading around the net
drinking coffee

trying to sort the weekend
we have these next two days, part of tuesday after my doctors appointment
next weekend and that is pretty much it
then there is rhinebeck

and last night bernie told me, that the other person who takes calls on the weekend won't BE there for two weeks starting thursday
i told him
did you NOT tell them a year in advance about rhinebeck weekend?

you have to tell them you had these plans since LAST YEAR

meanwhile it is getting colder here
i need to bring the plants in this weekend

i need to make more headway in the studio
i got out of the daily thing, and while it was slow i was making progress
and i need that burn barrel NOW
i have tons of paper to burn that i can't burn in the woodstove

and i bet i need the lyme meds again as i am getting very lethergic
and a bit withdrawn again
not to mention ( was it last week?) that i couldn't walk for a few days

oh the joys of aging huh?

ok i have to try and get something done here today

ttyl

pellet food, and the last days of summer

this time of year always reminds me of harvested fields, tucked down in valleys... in the eastern woodlands of 300 years ago.
of close living with the rhythm of the seasons
i swear the mists that rise are ghosts from those times, and briefly relive their lives, and that is what touches us now


i broke down and got pellets for the poultry, and scratch cause it's that time of year
i need to add oats
i also let phoebe out to graze, hoping for her temper to have improved and that she'd score some worms
nope
all she wanted to do was fight with momma, and lilli
ok phoebe, back in the top pen

her flights are growing in now and she's got pink wings from all the blood feathers

she doesn't argue with me anymore about going in with the chickens......seems THEY are safe from her homicidal mood

poor phoebe, she doesn't want any comfort, she's just totally off her rocker at the moment

meanwhile i am bleaching the ducks food/water pails so that they are nice and disinfected for the winter

i made chili yesterday for supper, beans i'd canned last summer ( i need to can more)
frozen chopmeat and a jar of purreed tomatoes, dried onioins and sweet peppers plus some odds and ends spices
bernie took some for lunch today and i have some for lunch as well
leftover stew for supper and then tomorrow most likely porkchops
although i DID find liver in the freezer

we have two weekends left to rhinebeck
the duck pens must all be finished including the coops
the woodstove must be cleaned and the new gasket installed
wood brought in and the kindling barrel stocked
the rest stacked
the studio rearranged
the air conditioners winterized and/or removed

i should also get the furnace cleaned and if i could afford it top off the oil tank........which we haven't filled since summer 2005
yup still on the same tank of oil, due to the woodstove
i could also use a few more cords of wood, like three i think

in baby budgie news, the little ones are eatting that beak appetite stuff, which is great as it's veggies and i am going to slowly start moving them over to a mash diet
they have been really starting to play with their toys now and i am enjoying their chirps and warblings
they also get bernie to stand there for a bit and just watch them
he's always so amazed.........
i don't get it, we've always had finches and canaries and the last time i got parakeets he hated them......this pair he adores
maybe it's the time in his life?
he is looking forward to a very large aviary/flight for them

i am debating if i should really actively try and tame them
i always did have tame budgies, but i am so enjoying them just as they are, that maybe i won't

ok
coffee is ready
my day is ready