global warming... or a very bitchy mother nature?

summer is here. and it's a real booger. this heat is relentless. i don't know why i bother checking the forecast. it is always in the 90s with a high heat index and heat warnings week after week forever and ever. sometimes mother nature might get a wild hair to drop down to the 80s. but it's a high 80s. and she counters that with extreme humidity.

luckily, we finally have had some rain. however, the rain arrived in spontaneous thunderstorms followed by immediately sunny skies. never enough steady rain to fill our ponds (which dried up again since last post). fortunately, our pigs have made a wallow deep enough in their pond to collect water when it rains. the duck/geese/goat/sheep pond is now mud only. so an old bath-tub is a make-shift swimming pool for water fowl. and water troughs and dishes are set out for hoofed creatures. animals don't seem to mind. it just adds a lot more work on us humans.

it has been enough rain to perk up the fields and the garden. cucumbers and tomatoes galore! the bigger the better! lots of pickles and salsa from here on out.

back to the heat... how hot has it been? it's been so hot, our computer fan burnt up. until we have time to repair, i am using a back-up laptop which does not have a slot for my camera card. so you will have to settle for words only.

if there were photos... they would be of our male goats and male sheep. the boys are back in town (front lawn). yes, it is time for the sexes to be separated. our flock is big enough now to make this possible. and the lawn is full of beautiful green grass and wild flowers. the boys are thrilled. the GLOPs are happy to be reunited with their hoofed friends. and i love looking out the kitchen door in the morning while i make coffee to see tito and marton peeking in asking, "what's for breakfast?"

somewhere in storage there is a box containing an adaptor for my camera that i believe can be plugged into my computer for instant download. if so, photos will be forthcoming. to be continued....

in the meantime. pray for steady rain, cloudy skies, and cooler temps. and while you are at it, pray for peace, and love, and unicorns, a clean gulf coast, and magical garden gnomes that will do all your weeding whilst you sleep. a girl can dream.

spring fever.

wow! it was 84 degrees yesterday. and 4 days before that it was below freezing and i had to bring baby goat marton inside for the evening. spring weather is crazy!

marton is doing well. we had a scare with him 2 days ago when he had a touch of frothy bloat and constipation. two things that are incredibly serious in baby goats. i caught it in time. and was able to administer enemas which eventually revived his peristaltic action and alleviated the gas from his rumen. i am so relieved. i was not about to lose our newest little guy. it was pretty much the nastiest thing i've ever had to do. and i'm sure he was as confused as i, but it worked. and he is thriving now in this warm spring weather.

i had my 6 week follow-up with my plastic surgeon regarding my implant replacement. it went great. i've healed up nicely. and have been allowed to start doing yoga and farming again!

tried my hand at a little garden work today since the sun was shining. but got very winded after only 1/2 an hour. which was discouraging. but it's hard to get upset when it is an absolutely gorgeous day outside. i did get a chance to peek at the soil in last year's garden. it is a beautiful rich dark color. can't wait to till it and start planting our seedlings. the tower grove farmer's market is coming up in just 5 short weeks! opening day is may 8th. look for more info on our provenance farm blog.

seedlings a growin'

as for my breathing issues, i was able to get an appointment with a great pulmonary specialist next week. he comes highly recommended. and am hoping we can get to the bottom of what is happening with my lungs. wish me luck.

and now, some gratuitous doggy photos (taken during last weekend's thunder storms). all dogs took full advantage!

the GLOPs

little bit (in MY chair) because...

the beagles claimed little bit's chair

and choppy in jason's chair

results in.... survey says... more tests.

first off, let me share the good news. echo and bloodwork are fabulous. always knew i had a good heart. :-)

CT doesn't show any new activity. but the spots are still there. so i'm being referred to a pulmonary specialist. i'm sure lots of fun tests and adventures lie around that corner.

meanwhile, i'm still having trouble breathing. and having chest pain. and still on limited activity orders from my surgery last month. which is making me stir crazy and frustrated and i'm sure driving my husband nuts. BUT, i've only more week until surgical follow-up and then i should be able to go back to my cherished yoga and farming. i'm really hoping that the introduction of aerobic exercise will help my breathing. right now, i can hardly get through singing a song without getting winded. which is el sucko!

but spring is here at last. little marton has moved outside. tonight will be his first night to sleep in the barn (instead of in our house). hope he does ok. he seems quite healthy and strong but he's not out of the woods yet. so wish him luck!

and now for that embarrassing tito video i promised....



sorry about the shaky camera and the lens cap. i was being attacked by a hungry and shameless seven month old pygora goat!

baby goats are great distractions...

rewind back to january when i went to oncologist for follow-up, had chest CT, then PET scan and found out i had a ruptured left implant and new spots on my right lung. then, being told that i had to wait until end of april for another PET scan to see if spots had grown. jump to february when i had implant replacement surgery where all went well. new implant in place and looks fabulous. then finally, skip to march where i started getting really sick, low-grade fever, shortness of breath, chest pain, racing heart. some i'm sure are stress. some are from a cold i picked up along the way. but some of these symptoms, honestly, just plain scare me. so i saw my oncologist last week. she ordered another chest CT, an EKG, and some blood work. blood work came back perfect. but the CT & EKG results weren't in before this weekend started. remember, i HATE waiting. especially for potentially devastating or hopefully B9 results.

so what is a poor girl in stitches, recovering from surgery, who is freaking out and hyperventilating frequently supposed to do to pass the time? how bout be entertained by some ridiculously cute baby goats.

the weather this week has been warm enough for little marton to start spending his days outside with the flock. tito, the other loner and former bottle-baby, has been showing marton around. introducing him to all his friends, especially the chickens and ducks. the transition was going rather smoothly until..... tito got wind of marton's milk bottle. uh oh! who would think that a 7 month old goat who has been weaned for at least 4 months would still want a ninny bottle? and who would think said goat would actually try and steal a poor 3 week old little newborn goat's milk from said little newborn. well, actually... i did. i pretty much knew this would happen. and it was so freaking cute i had to take a picture. there is also a video i will post as soon as i have downloaded it off my camera and reformatted for the web. so look out for that in near future.

yes, baby goats are a wonderful distraction.

tito greeting marton

marton meeting armel jr.

marton and the gang

tito stealing marton's ninny bottle (now that's just sad)

del ray and marton.

an odd couple for sure. del ray really is not found of marton to say the least. del ray is a jealous guy. marton is a stubborn brat. he is fearless, relentless and also stinks. but when it comes to sleeping in luxury... compromise wins.