Changes in residents

This last couple of weeks (a month, really) has been quite stressful.

My Dad and Wilma came up on the 7th of August, on their way to Seattle to embark on an Alaskan cruise. I was to watch Dad's dog, Snickers. Snickers is an 11 yr. old. Cairn Terrier, and is very blond, mentally and physically. She's a fun little dog, but kind of weird - she's not very affectionate, runs away if you reach towards her, and chases cats. Poor Art got so tired of her following him around with her nose in his butt, that he vacated the premises except for eating.

Because I was having house guests, it seemed like a perfect time to clean the house. It took me a LONG time... I finished up the morning that they arrived. To say that housework is not my favorite thing is a gross understatement!

In the midst of all this, my birds developed some really vile excrement. I tried a couple of different antibiotics, which didn't work. I called the vet, and $143 later, I had some that I had to inject every day for 4 days. Given that I was leaving on the 4th day for Nevada for my nephew's wedding, It was one more thing that I didn't need. What really sucked is that it didn't work.

I drove down to Reno, and spent the night at Mim's. It's always fun to see what she's doing fiber-wise, and see all her sheep and goats and dogs and... Well, you get the picture! We had a great time, and I came home with some rabbit cages for a future project.

When I picked Dad and Wilma up from the airport (heading to my sister's), they had brought back a foreigner - a cold from Alaska. I have no intrinsic immunity to anything from that far away, and being tired, I caught it. Dang...

We had a wonderful time at the wedding - helping get ready, attending the ceremony (outside, great weather), and then the reception. Back at my sister's, we all crashed. Over the course of running errands before the wedding, my sister mentioned that her daughter (my niece) was going to buy their "extra" car (they have 4 vehicles for 2 people...), but needed to sell hers first. Her car was an escort, and they wanted a fair price for it. I had to sell my Subaru because my work had really fallen off, and to stay here and pay rent, the car was the most liquid asset (I was very bummed). What this meant was that I was driving my truck everywhere, and it's tired. I drove it to Nevada - made for cozy passenger hauling, I can tell you, since it's also a stick shift! I mentioned the car to my dad, and bless him, he said he'd buy it, pay for some of the deferred maintenance on it, and it was done. I arranged for a tow dolly and brought it home.

I have a thing about red cars - my ex and I had two over the years, and he rolled both of them with me in the car. This car is Cranberry. It. is. not. red. It's name is "The Craisin." It looks like a little cranberry jelly bean! It will get 40+ mpg, and I'm very grateful to have my dad bless me with it.

When I got home, the birds were still plopping, and the smoke was horrible, and I stayed in bed for a day or so. Dad and Wilma came back through on Wednesday to pick up Snickers - she was very happy to see them. Art had decided that he missed me enough to ignore the dog, so he was back sleeping with me at night - in a full size bed with a 52 lb. dog and a 15 lb. cat, it's quite cozy (read crowded...).

I finally got down to business building Tang's pen - she had to come home today, and I finished it this morning after she took up residence (hooking up the fence charger...). She was so funny - there are three geldings next door, and she was talking to them as I drove up the driveway. They all have the same sire, so they look like three peas in a pod lined up along the fence looking at the blond bombshell that moved in next door.  She found lots of things to her liking:

 

At least there's food

And lovely bushes to scratch on

Oh, yeah. Right there... (scratching her udder)

And there's space

I think this'll be ok!

She kept herself busy, all the while keeping a wary eye on the turkeys and peafowl. They were staring at her - imagine that. She spent most of the day munching on the dry grass, and seeming surprised when I fed her tonight, not that she'd ever turn down food...

It's good to have her home. I'm already figuring out how I can ride her here, and have a make-do arena. My neighbors have invited me on a future trail ride, which will be a hoot. They work for a local ranch, moving cows, and really know the area.

In addition, today was a dye day, but you'll have to check out Fiber Voodoo for that!