Faith's rescue

I posted this on my Freedom blog but thought I'd post it here too.

I have never been superstitious about the number 13. Its a number. Today, however, I think I'll associate it with good luck, not bad.

We started off the day fairly normal. The kids left for school, Rodney and I had our coffee and breakfast together, the dogs went outside, and we started getting ourselves ready for the day. It was only 14 degrees when we woke up so we were bundling up extra tight before we headed out.

I went out to feed the little orphan calf, who, by the way, I've decided to name Damit. (I know I spelled it wrong but this way it isn't actually cursing). The reason I've named him this is because I was constantly going, "Damit, stop it! Get your head out of my butt, Damit. Damit, that hurt!" and so on.

So, back to my story. I was doing my chores... emptying the huge block of ice from the goat water bucket so that I could fill it with fresh, unfrozen water, giving the bunny feed and water, trying to make Damit eat some sweet feed instead of just milk by shoving it in his mouth, "Here Damit, eat this".

I noticed only Sophie and Charlotte were with me so I started calling Emma. It was only a couple minutes and she came bounding through the yard. It occurred to me that Faith was not with her but this isn't too unusual, it generally takes her a few more minutes to get home from wherever the heck they go, so I just kept right on about my business.

Since I was already bundled up, I decided to make the most of the morning and take my camera out to shoot some pictures. This is when the plot thickens.

I was going to go out in the woods. My mind had been made up that I wanted to hike through the trees before all the snow was gone. But, a little voice said, "you'll have to go through the goat pen to get out there and Damit will follow you the whole way and it's not going to be fun. So I made the very conscious choice to walk across the pond dam.

Sophie, Charlotte, Emma and I headed out. They are always so excited to go anywhere, even if it's just to the mailbox.

The pond was frozen over. I thought maybe I'd see some ducks to take pictures of but there were none. I threw some rocks out onto the ice, it makes the coolest sound when it hits and I wanted to see just how thick the ice was. Emma started eyeballing the rocks I was throwing as if she might be contemplating fetching them so I figured I'd better stop or she might just go out there.

We walked a little further, my mind on a million things when I spotted Emma out on the ice. "Emma, come back! Don't go out there!" I started to freak a little because Emma is not one for listening. "Momma has a cookie Emma!"

This is how well she listens.

Then it dawned on me she was headed towards something. I couldn't make it out. At first I thought, "oh no, a duck is frozen to the water or something". So I used the lens on my camera to zoom in and see what it was.

The picture is blurred because as soon as I realized what it was, I went into rescue mode. Faith had fallen through the ice. She was barely above the water could not get a grasp on anything to get herself out.

I don't know if I've ever blogged about my inability to handle emergency situations or not but, I'm telling you right now...it hasn't gotten any better with age. My brain went to another place and my body went with it. I started running, no particular direction, just running. I started to rationalize that I was panicking and trying to calm myself so I could think of what to do.

Call Rodney, Call Rodney. It took me what seemed like an eternity to figure out how to even make a call but I finally got him on the phone. "Faith, gasp gasp, is in the pond!!" He said, "I'm coming!"

He was just down the road in the tractor so I knew he would be there quickly. Then I thought, "Call 911, Call 911". I really had no idea at this point how we were going to get her out. The 911 operator took my frantic call and said somebody was on their way.

Then it dawned on me, finally, "we need the boat, we need the boat!"

I called Mom and Dad and took a few years off of their lives. My voice in a frenzied pitch, "Faith fell through the ice! We need the boat we need the boat!!"

She was barely hanging on. I kept saying her name, screaming her name, telling her not to give up. At one point I contemplated going in after her but that same little voice that sent me to the pond, said "don't you dare!"

Mom and Dad showed up in the Yukon and Rodney showed up with the boat on the tractor (he handles these things much better than me). He and Dad put the boat in the pond and then Dad pushed Rodney out onto the ice. We had no ore, so Rodney used a piece of metal that he plunged in the ice and dragged himself and the boat to where she was and pulled her out.

Once he had her in the boat, he couldn't pull himself the rest of the way to shore because of the thickness of the ice. By this time the rescue workers had arrived and had a rope that they used to pull to boat to shore.

We wrapped her in my coat, loaded her in the Yukon and brought her home. I called my vet to find out the best way to warm her. They told me to put her in a luke warm bath then get her dry and gradually warm her up. At first it seemed perilous. She was ridged and shivering, unable to even keep her head out of the bath water. I had to make smart decisions to keep her from going into shock (although she might already have been) and get her body temperature back up.

Once I got her somewhat dry, I wrapped her in a towel and blanket and sat and held her closely. We rocked in the rocking chair and I assured her that everything would be fine. She shivered for a very long time but I had learned from searching google that this was actually a good thing. When the shivering quieted a bit, I laid her on the couch with a heating pad. This is when I took her temperature. It was only 93〫. I got a little more aggressive with the warming until she was back up to normal temp.

Once she was warm through and through, I gave her a little something to eat and let her have a nice long nap in front of the fireplace.

I'm gonna start listening a whole lot more closely to that little voice. For some reason it seems for me to want to keep Faith around, that's for sure. I've always said that things happen in threes. This should be number three. I rescued her from being abandoned. I rescued her from the well. Now, I've rescued her from the frozen pond.

Thank you to my husband and my parents that jumped to her aid. And thanks to the rescue workers for their efficiency and speed in getting here... all for the life of a little, blind dog.

Happy Ending

I have been hesitant to post anything about this, but it has turned out happily, so I'll share. There have been too many sad posts about my doggies. Seems like I ran into a string of bad luck or something when it came to my canine companions.

Faith went missing on New years eve. She and Emma went on one of their little adventures, Faith did not return. For days we've been looking. Last night we were discussing the whole thing and decided she probably wasn't coming back. She looks an awful lot like a coyote from far off (that is what I thought she was the first time I saw her on the road) and we thought maybe somebody may have shot her. I couldn't bear to think of what might have happened. It kept occurring to me that she very well could have fallen into something. Since she can barely see, she is so vulnerable to falling off things or into things.

So, this evening, for some reason (uh...fate!) I decided to go for a little walk. As I was passing by the barn I heard a faint whimper. I stopped and listened and heard it more clearly. My heart about beat right out of my chest and I RAN towards the barn. Emma and I were bounding through that messy old barn looking, stopping, listening and then searching more. Then, a lightbulb came on in my head. "I bet she's in the old well!!" There is a fairly shallow (about 5 feet deep) old rock well behind the barn. It is at ground level and drops off. I ran as fast as I could over to where the hole is and ... there she was. I've never been so happy to see a dog in my life!

I reached down and lifted her out and carried her all the way home. She was practically clinging on to me like a monkey. She was thirsty and hungry but seemed no worse for the wear. Her little tail was wagging as she filled her belly and she went right about her favorite game of cat chasing. I'll have to blog about the game she plays with the kitty.

So, one less thing to be anxious about. Faith is home and home is a good place to be.

Dog Rescue

Yesterday, I got a phone call from Taylor as she was headed out. "Mom, there is a little dog down by the creek. I couldn't stop to get it, but can you go see if you can find it...He's really scared." I asked Kyle if he wanted to run down there with me to rescue the poor thing. "You're gonna have to stop being so nice." he replied to me. I always thought being "nice" was a good thing??

We looked for about an hour and didn't see anything.

This morning as Rodney and I were on our way back home I saw her. Rodney reluctantly stopped and let me gather her up. I figured I could at least find out who she belongs to by her tag. She was wearing only a rabies tag. I called the vet's number on the tag and the serial number led us nowhere. It was loosely connected to a cat? I figured somebody just threw a tag on her so she wouldn't look like a stray.

There is something wrong with her eyes. She seems to be able to see, but not well. I will be taking her to see Dr. Devlin in the morning, who is the Sevier County Humane societies president. We will assess the situation and go from there. I've offered her a foster home until we can find a forever family for her.

She is just as sweet as she can be. Scared, but sweet. She does NOT like Emma's shenanigans which is quite confusing to poor Emma. Typically, Emma's over exuberance is tolerated quite well by her peers (and her humans).

If you know anybody looking for a dog and would be willing to adopt one with a slight malady, please let me know. You know, it is the dogs who are broken and in need of rescue that make the best pets. I'll be posting pictures of her via Facebook and the Sevier County Humane Society tomorrow.

Catching Leaves

I posted this on my freedom blog but decided to share it here as well.

So far this year, the leaves on the big oak in the back yard have been clinging pretty tightly to their branches. Over the past couple of days, they have finally decided to let go. This morning those leaves put on quite a spellbinding waltz as they twirled and perfectly pirouetted to the dance floor beneath them. Rodney piped up once and said "they sure do fly a long ways don't they?" which started me counting seconds. Yep, sipping coffee and seeing just how long any particular leaf could stay in flight.

I told Rodney it was like watching an aquarium. There really is no explaining why it was quite so fascinating but, for some reason, we sat there in a trance. I counted one leaf that floated downward for a full 7 seconds...he was the winner this morning, according to my data.

I couldn't quite capture the thrill of it all with my lens, partly because the wind wasn't blowing when I decided to grab my camera, and partly because I didn't feel like waiting till the wind decided to blow again.

I headed out into the mystical morning dawning my big ol rubber boots but decided to leave the umbrella behind. No, I wanted to be in it, to absorb the moist autumn air, and even let it mess up my hair. After I fed the goats and bunnies, I started back to the house but thought I'd try to see if I could catch one of those falling leaves first.

I stood staring up at the tree, waiting. My glasses became foggy and covered with drops of rain but, here came a leaf! I ran towards it but it escaped my fingers with ease. Now this was a challenge between me and the tree (and the wind, and the rain, and my own skill and balance). I found myself laughing out loud as I missed one after the other. They would seemingly head strait for me and then, as if tied to an invisible string, would dart away. Emma became very excited by what I was doing and wanted to play too, she just wasn't sure exactly what her part in it was. Finally, I caught one. It was a great victory.

My trophy (along with the pear I intend to eat later today). I momentarily thought "what a waste of time, counting seconds of leaves falling and running around like an idiot in the rain". Then I went back to that idea of being authentic. I feel better this morning than I've felt in a while. Perhaps there is healing and a connection with God in the moments we "waste". If God puts on a show of waltzing leaves, it might just behoove us to take a second to watch it. And if you feel the need to play a game with a tree, there is probably not a more constructive use of your time.

Big Girl Emma and Farm updates

My blogging has been averted to the Freedom Journey blog lately but there are things that must be bloggerized with reference to the farm.

First of all, I am so so proud of Miss Emma. Over the past few days she has made leaps from puppyhood. In a way, it makes me a little sad but mostly, I am bursting with delight. The first thing is that she has graduated from having to sleep in her kennel. For about 3 nights in a row, she was waking up at least once a night needing a drink or to go potty. Opening a kennel in the dark while half asleep and ushering around a boxer in a groggy haze is not a fun as it sounds. Monday night after she made her rounds to potty and to get a drink, she jumped on the couch laid down and gave me a look that clearly said, "pleeeaaasse let me sleep on the couch". I patted her head, gave her a kiss and told her to be a good girl then went back to bed. Morning came and she found her way to my side of the bed and was ready for our first snuggle of the day. Good girl Emma.

Then this morning, Rodney and I had to sort some calves down at the corral. It has been a rainy, foggy morning so I made another big decision and left Emma in the house while we were gone, not confined to her kennel. I asked Sophie and Charlotte to keep and eye on her told them all to behave. We were gone for about 2 hours. I hesitantly came through the door, wondering what I would find chewed or broken. Joy and rapture! Good good girl Emma. All was in order. Needless to say, everybody got an extra cookie this morning.

We have been without Goat milk for over a month now. The does have all been bred this month (I hope) and are due to kid in March. I've really been missing the daily chore of milking and certainly missing the milk. When we bought our first gallon of cow's milk from the store, Taylor drank a big glass of it and it very much upset her tummy. I guess she had so acclimated to the goats milk that her poor tummy had no idea what to do with pasteurized, store-bought cow's milk. We no longer have our mean old buck. I sold him to a friend and then "borrowed" another buck. He did his job and went back home which leaves me with only my 8 does and one wether. The wether is the little goat that I bottle fed from an infant and has a bit of identity-confusion. He isn't sure if he is a goat, a dog, or a human. They continue to find ways into the yard and, almost daily, I am diverting them away from my pumpkins and trees and back into the pasture.

This weekend will be 11 years since we made the farm our home. It has been, at the least, a learning experience. I am beginning to compile a list of things I've learned over the past years of being a farmer and will share it sometime this weekend. One thing we have found to be true is that we are NEVER going to be done. Farming is endless. There will never come a day when we will sit back and observe our accomplishments and say "well, we're done". We can merely face the tasks of the day and every day brings new challenges. I heard a line in a movie once that summed it up pretty succinctly. It is from the movie "I dreamed of Africa" which revolves around a woman who moves to a farm in Africa and faces extreme hardships while working very hard to improve the lives of the people around her. She tells her son at one point, "We think we run this place but we don't. It runs us." I guess that can be said about life in general. We think we're in control but it is only an illusion.

Allowing the farm to run our lives has been quite an adjustment. It has taught us much about surrender, about patience, and about life. I pray there are many more years to come and, even when the hard times come, we will look around us and feel God's blessings.

Join Me

I have begun a new blog about the new journey I am on in my life. My plans are to continue blogging here about farm things and, of course, my dogs...but most of my attention has been focused at the new blog lately.

I am searching for followers and would like to invite my current followers here to join me. If you know anybody else that might benefit (or at least get a kick out of my endeavors) please invite them as well.

Thank you all for being so sweet and kind. See you on the freedom journey.

resourcefulness

About 15 years ago, I bought my very first down-comforter. It is the same one I've had and loved all these years. I remember it being quite an investment at the time, paying almost $100 dollars for it.

Over the years, it has become tattered. Kitty cat claws, toddlers, puppies, and Rodney's bristly gorilla hair have all taken their toll on the poor thing. It's funny how attached one can get to a blanket, even as an adult.

I have patched holes and tears in it but lately it became obvious that I was going to have to retire it. Every night when Rodney and I would get into bed, we had a small down snow storm. It was actually a little bit amusing to me but it did become impractical having down leaking all over the place.

A few weeks ago, Rodney and I purchased a new comforter. It was a bitter-sweet occasion. But my old one was still full of down...it still was so soft, what can I do with this? I don't want to just pitch it in the dump, surely I can think of something.

It came to me today. I can make a doggy bed for Emma!! I have been thinking of purchasing a dog bed for my precious new baby but I kind-of already blew my doggy budget on vet bills and her snazzy new i.d. tag.

Anyway, I began brainstorming on how to put the comforter to use as a dog bed.

This is what I came up with.

I folded it, and refolded it until I came up with the right size and thickness. Emma was in love with it already. It is so comfortable.

Then I tacked it together at several of the open folds to keep it from being too wadded up. By the way, this comforter is about 1000 thread count and putting a needle through it was one of the hardest things I've done in a while.

I purchased a twin flat sheet for $3 at Wal-mart to make a cover for it. I simply did a quick measurement to find the dimensions the cover would need to be, cut it out and stitched it up.

Incidentally, when you have a raging case of A.D.D., things like this happen frequently. I've learned to live with it. You should too.

My mom has always told me that I'm not messy, I'm just creative. Creative or not...my seams are a big old mess, but it got the job done.

Once I got through the sewing marathon, It came time for me to stuff the comforter into the cover.

I left one edge open and stitched velcro on it so that the comforter could be removed and the cover easily washed.

Even when I was trying to stuff the thing...little-miss-thing refused to budge from it. It was her nap time. I was so excited that she loved it so much that she didn't want to move. After a bit of struggling and maneuvering, I had it.

And, voila!

I did a little looking online for down-dog-beds and one this size would cost about $200. I spent $3 on a sheet and reduced, reused and recycled. I feel so stinkin green. And, just look at how content my darling beautiful puppy is! Little projects like this are so rewarding.

The big kicker is, I put the bed in her kennel (which up till now she has wanted nothing to do with) and she is now sleeping soundly in it. I may even attempt to have her spend the night there tonight. Sleeping with her is completely sweet but I've been reading my "How to Raise the Perfect Dog" book and I think I may have to actually begin respecting her place as a dog and stop trying to make her my baby. I love Cesar Milan and, as hard as it may be, I am going to have to try to incorporate some of his principals.

Wish me luck!