fence guy today

first estimate at 2pm
we are fencing
period
if the moron neighbors can not control their 21 year old twit of a houseguest....
we'll make sure that they can't bother us

or our ducks
and i want to move
i haven't ever liked this neighborhood

now please tell me how i do that with a house full of animals........and books etc
and yup it's not even 5am and i been up a while
i forgot to give the ducks their meds last night
i forgot to go to the post office
i forgot to go to the petstore for budgie food
i forgot to get the studio magazine
i forgot

ok, i need to make the coffee

again the dogs

well i went out to bring the ducks in again
that little 21 year old twit was out there with the dogs
he spent his time rounding them up
they barked so much
i didn't realize they were out there until i was going to open phoebe's pen door and the dog went off
i jumped and ripped a nail off my finger
he didn't bring them down around the back where he knows they wouldn't bother us
no
kept them on the side
and again and again kept calling them back

i stayed out after the ducks were inside
i had to cut some perches for the babies so i stayed out
he eventually went inside
i am going to take the camera with me at night now, and tape this bullshit

i am afraid to leave the ducks, the vet said the dogs barking at them will stress them out, momma doesn't like the tarp on the front of the pen
but the worst is when i have to move them in and out
or trying to walk them.......
i love walking these ducks.......and due to this twit, i am afraid to expose the ducks to possible attacks

i can't believe that this homeowner would allow someone like this to cause this much trouble
i have lived here almost 23 years..... and the jackass cutting my trees caused me a problem....
but i have ignored everything else.......
i am however thrilled to peices that this homeowner is no longer talking to me
cause believe me that makes my life MUCH nicer
now if they would only control this .......person that they have living there

and with those little dogs..... he doesn't realize that the hawk CAN and could very well eat them..
they are about 4 pounds or so..... and the hawks are migrating and are hungry
letting them run like that, even with him out there.......is not the safest or brightest thing in the world

i stand with the ducks and when they look UP, i put them under cover

we have a noise ordinance

Stroud Township Ordinance 7-2000 prohibits dogs from running at large and excessive barking. Please have consideration for your neighbor.

so since we do, and i am considerate of the neighbors although obviously it isn't reciprocated
i don't have ducks that make any noise at all,
although i am not accorded the same consideration

i got up to a nasty remark from someone not even here during the incident

i so need to move

we are planning on yet another fence, this one a solid fence to contain the dogs that the neighbors are apparently incapable of containing
as these are little dogs we will run solid panels down just where the ducks are

i don't know if they expect us to stay in the house so their dogs won't bark at us either
which they also do
i am still horribly upset

the worst upsetting thing was the nerve of this person to tell ME to keep my F*CKING ducks in the house

i blocked the phone numbers of the homeowner

in better news the vet did call about momma last night
and told me also to keep their stress levels down


i am not in a good frame of mind today

i want to move so very bad

i can NOT believe this one of the 'good' neighbors had their dogs being watched by a friend, out barking at my ducks, i asked the friend of the neighbor who was watching the dogs to not let them bark at the ducks as momma is just out of the hospital

after a few times of the dogs coming to the line and barking i told him let them come and i will squirt them with the hose... figuring water aversion well he told me i would be a total bitch then told me to keep my F*CKING ducks in my house!!!!!!!!...! i told him this is MY property and my ducks and that if he kept it up i would take videos and turn him in

he called me some sort of fat something or other i called the homeowner, as i am still shaking we have noise ordinances here as well


i called the homeowner, who was going to find out what happened however, now she has hung up on me
her final word was 'do you want to not be talking to any of your neighbors'


YES if they are like THIS
i don't want to be bothered
I REFUSE TO ALLOW anyone to tell me to keep my ducks in my house..... THIS IS MY land the homeowner said her dogs never came over but i have had them come over at times, and ordinarily i just help them back to their lawn

believe me i lived without really bothering with anyone and that is fine with me



i blocked her number and her cell
believe me i don't need this at all
and it is a relief not to have to deal with them anymore

i am still shaking
momma was in the upper pen
and who the hell was this friend of the neighbor to tell ME to keep my ducks in the house
this is MY property and last i heard this friend didn't have his name on the deed to the uphill property
but that isn't my problem

the dogs better say off the property
and i don't want to be harassed by them running up and barking at us either
i will tape them and i will turn them in

and let them not talk to me
ask me if i give a shit
people like that i don't need in my life

as this one neighbor, while she has at times been somewhat helpful, for the most part has always had a nasty thing to say to me.
bernie was livid when i told him

out and about in the middle of the night!! and a shootin star

amazing for someone of my almost amish sensiblities

bernie got a road call at either 10 or 11pm last night
i am not sure of the time as i was snoring peacefully.........
next thing i knew.......
we are on the road going to new brunswick nj
now.....if you look on a map........
we are in stroudsburg pa
giver take
and new brunswick nj..........well that's really really far
even doing 90 the whole way down there

he had a medical coach break down and since the fleet has to roll....... so did we
he told me to stay home
but i told him
i sure as hell wouldn't sleep with him on the road

we got back at 2am
i did however see a shooting star and it was so very cool.....
bernie saw it too!

now the other thing that happened yesterday was one of our chickens dropped dead of a heart attack
one minute fine..... pecking at the scratch, doing her little chicken thing
the next minute dead as a door nail

bernie kept telling me she wasn't dead
i kept telling him she was
she was
she still is dead
she's now out back feeding the fox

when he tried to get her out of the pen the other chickens rushed him
they are nothing if not protective
and even though he's daddy..... they knew something was wrong and were protecting their sister

it most likely was a heart attack
chickens are sometimes prone to them
she wasn't even a year old
i didn't name this batch of pullets as i decided that when their laying life is up.... they will go into the pot
i also expected them to live 19 years that way

the ducks are fine
the cats more or less..... thaddeaus had a hair ball on my foot at 3am YESTERDAY morning
we aren't getting a whole hell of a lot of sleep around here lately

the babie budgies are funny and now like their veggies
and there is frost on my laundry on the line out back

that's my world in a nutshell

oh and i got the knitpicks andean chullo hat pattern so i intend on knitting that
i want the entire line of palette colors as i feel a lot of color knitting coming on
although my workday color knit hats are normally worsted as it seems so much warmer to me

i really need to hit the lotto
as i have a huge order to put into knitpicks
and you know about the farm/barn thing too
oye

rhinebeck

first off there were ouessants
ok so 1/2 ouessant
someone did what i had been talking about doing.... import semen straws and do AI
she used shetlands
i would have used icelandic i think

i finally met jane, and ceci
got to see clara again (it's been years) i got her new book and she autographed it for me
of course got to see the folks at spirit trail...... i swear that is the only place i feel at home now adays

and as we were leaving...... ran into mo barger, who recognized bernie.......sniff....not me
am i really so forgetable mo?

ok the HAUL
one skein of that new yarn from spirit trail "Sunna" silk and merino... i was supposed to get paprika, however some person got it before me and bought jen all out ( if i knew who that person was i would hunt her down like the dog she obviously is........sniff) but jen appeased me with a wonderful wine color.......... which i also liked and really would go better with my goosedown coat
(now i need something in a brownish ginger to go with my wool winter coat)
i got the leaf kit from tsarina of tsocks

i got a medium sized foam hat block for what else? blocking my knit hats!
and i got a color work book from a lovely young woman named mary scott huff called the new stranded colorwork so i got that also signed
so i am getting all these cool books from all these cool folks

now today, i am in reverse
my ARMS and neck and shoulders are killing me
like i wrestled a bull
so i am not all there

the fast good news is momma is finished with two meds
that leaves her with only three now but two are twice a day
and btw, i felt the ducks teeth, no.....they didn't bite me
i just ran my fingers over them
wow
who would have known

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?