Hen23's Journal~Goodbye

[freemotion]

That is hilarious! Don't you just want to smack eye-rollers?

DH and I talked recently about going to OSV. I've never been, as you know. Is there a better time of year to go to see cool stuff?

 

[Henrietta23]

A little later in the spring is when I really like to go. The apple trees will be in bloom and the gardeners will be out answering questions. They seem to really get excited when they've got someone who knows the basics but wants to know even more about planting for storage etc. In a couple of weeks it will be a lot of fun, when the lambs are old enough to be running around in the fields. They'll have the oxen out plowing the fields, etc. I get their online newsletter and will keep an eye on it for anything special. It would be fun to meet up if we can! Gleno, too and anyone else local!

 

[Henrietta23]

Busy but fun day. Had a birthday party to go to at the stable where DS has been riding. The owner's daughter just turned 6. Lots of kids, riding the pony, and general mayhem. The highlight was the arrival of the birthday girl's gift, a miniature donkey! He is so cute and sweet. He was raised with kids, dogs and horses so he was very calm from the start. We let the kids visit him from a distance in small groups only. He met Marvin the pony with whom he will share an enclosure. They got along just fine. Two of the horses could look out their barn windows and see him and they were very curious. Of course now DS wants one. (I think they're cute but that is one expensive pet!) If I ever needed a companion animal for one of the goats I'd consider it.
DH and I actually snuck out for dinner together and left DS with my parents. Now we're home and DS is tucked in. Tomorrow's horse show has been cancelled because of impending rain. I'm not too disappointed. It will be good to get more work done in the house. I also got 5 lbs of almond flour in the mail to try out a few new recipes including a carrot cake for Easter dinner dessert. My parents are coming here and it will just be the 5 of us. My brother is busy doing something else, we're not quite sure what. His girlfriend was going to come without him but then decided to take her elderly uncle out for dinner instead. We don't have a lot of room so it's okay by me.
Back to school on Monday. 40 days to go. Hard to believe but April vacation was late this year. Makes the end of the year come quickly even with as many snow days as we had!
It wasn't a particularly eventful week off but that's okay. The "puppy" is neutered, the house is relatively clean, the goat and chicken halves of the barn are both clean, we have 12 bales of good hay. We had some fun as a family. I slept in at least 2 mornings. The sun didn't shine much. But my seedlings are growing, the front gardens are raked out. The days are getting longer and we'll get more done after school in the evenings. There will be a vegetable garden this year. THERE WILL BE!!!

 

[Farmfresh]

Sounds like you got a lot done to me!

 

[Denim Deb]

Hen, b4 you think about getting a donkey, make sure you can put up w/the noise! While they're not really that noisy, when they are, it's extremely loud! RU has a couple of donkeys, and while they're cute, I could never own one. W/my Meniere's, the noise goes right thru my head, and I can't stand it!

 

[Henrietta23]

Hen, b4 you think about getting a donkey, make sure you can put up w/the noise! While they're not really that noisy, when they are, it's extremely loud! RU has a couple of donkeys, and while they're cute, I could never own one. W/my Meniere's, the noise goes right thru my head, and I can't stand it!

Good point. I doubt the neighbors would put up with it. This little guy was on his best behavior and didn't peep the whole time yesterday. I'm sure he will and that will be a good reminder. I can't justify getting one anyway. We have enough pets! But man, is he cute!!

 

[Henrietta23]

Sounds like you got a lot done to me!

THanks, I think overall we did. It's just never enough!

 

[Henrietta23]

Taking the dog to the vet again, the young one. His incision is okay but he is still very swollen where the parts were removed. I called to be sure this is normal and they want to see him to make sure. Ugh.

 

[Farmfresh]

May I ask why you held off neutering him? Were you considering breeding him?

I got my Sage neutered at 4 months. My D1 always recommends doing it when they are young, because they tend to have less problems and less swelling.

Females she usually likes to wait a bit longer, since it is a more invasive surgery.

 

[Henrietta23]

We signed a contract with the breeder not to neuter until he was at least 18 months because she believes the male dogs head doesn't develop fully until then. Since her kennel name is associated with him and his looks we honored that. Then it just became a matter of timing. Our vet agreed that his head would have a more correct AKC male Golden look if we let him mature. We've always had rescue dogs in the past so they've either come to us neutered or been neutered right away. Luckily Indy is a pretty mellow guy and it hasn't been a problem. Just a somewhat more complicated surgery.
He is home sporting the "Cone Of Shame" or Elizabethan collar. Not happy but he's apparently been doing some licking when we weren't around and the vet was worried that he might be developing a bit of an infection. The swelling is not abnormal but it was good to get it looked at to be sure rather than waiting for it to be an emergency on the holiday tomorrow!