Saturday, August 20, 2011

Neighbors House Addition



Here is our neighbor and his addition work to his house. He is turning his back patio into 2 rooms. He is creating a sitting room with a wood stove and a mud room all by himself. He works fast and it is always fun to see his progress. We are impressed how well it is being built and the speed of it all. It is great having skilled neighbors around us out here in the Ozarks.

Draft Dreaming

Eventually we want to have a draft horse on our farm. We have Fox Trotters and they are great. But there is nothing like riding a giant horse around. So we are looking at ads, listings, asking friends about a draft horse. We want a Percheron but a Clydesdale or any draft with feathered feet and broke to ride is what we want. There are a lot of Haflingers and draft mixes in Missouri, but they are too short around 15 hands. We want at least 17 hands and lots of fur on the feet. We saw some at auction but they were in bad shape. We would have to get them back up to weight and lots of vet work. And they were not broke to ride. So we are looking and taking our time. We have a friend who has several geldings from WI at auction and moved them here. They are such gentle giants. She rides her giants in the cooler months. One day we might get to ride our own draft in the snow, too.

Knit Windows



These are blocks a friend made after one lesson from me. I have to give her credit for the difficult medium of cotton knit. But she was able to make soft sturdy blocks into the cathedral windows pattern. She is making it for a gift to a loved on. She loves the idea of not having to quilt the blocks. Just join the finished blocks and you are done. The quilt is soft and machine washable to boot.

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Good 'Nuff



When the winds blew down this neighbors tree last weekend it opened his fence. And his pasture cows could escape the loose barbwire. What to do? Why just pull a few strands of new barbwire across the tree and you are good to go. No need to bother with the tree. It is called "good 'nuff ".

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Duck Walk





Today our sick duck quacked us awake and ate her food. She got some lap time and walk around time in the den. We realized she is strong and ready to rejoin the flock. Alan took her outside where she was greeted with quacks, questions and food eating. Her gang missed her and they had a lot to talk about. Tonight she will get her 2nd injection from me before bed role call. We have learned that Indian Runner ducks are very noisy to have in the house. They quack all the time. I am glad she is now outside.

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Lap Duck


I came inside the house after feeding our farm animals to find our sick ducks indoor cage was empty. Knowing she is not a Houdini duck I suspected husband fowl play. And I was right! He had taken the duck upstairs into his office. There they both were at the computer happy as could be. Seems our sick duck enjoys the warm lap and the bright sunshine in his office. Our sick duck is breathing better today. I gave her a shot for the 1st time today and we both survived it.
Now I hope she lets us sleep later than the sunrise. She is an early riser and lets us know she is awake with very loud quacking.

Monday, August 15, 2011

Duck Doctoring


Our black Indian Runner duck was not breathing well and was not with the flock this morning. So I called one of our vets to see if she could be looked at. Our duck spent the day in a wooden crate and got taken to our vet 30 minutes from home. Our vet weighed her and listened to her chest. Our duck has fluid in her lungs. So for the next few days I give her a shot of steroid/antibiotic in the chest muscle. She is now housed in a caged horse water tank in our basement. She is bedded down with shavings, full water tank and all the duck food she can eat. She is eating and that is a great sign. She has to remain isolated from the flock until she can recover. I am so glad I do not have to tube feed her. We hope she pulls through and can return to her flock soon.