Tuesday, December 2, 2014

We Give Thanks For Rain

Beginning The Renewal of Green Again

We're so grateful today to have had a whole day of rain.



It wasn't a deluge like it was reported and we are thankful for the saving of the hillside homes. Mudslides cover homes not protected because of wildfires. A huge storm would've been devastating.

Our little town is having it's own worry with the rain. We were in the news recently because of the Hazmat Incident. It hasn't been cleaned-up yet. We ask ourselves will it leak into our great valley river and irrigation ponds?

Thankfully we are having the sweetest rain. It isn't sprinkles and it's just raining enough to hear on our roof. The ground is receiving the moisture and there's no mud. Our land was so dry!

We had a lot of time to prepare for the rain.




My grandsons came and cleaned pens and water tubs. My husband made a great composting pile and everything that needed cover was put in our barn or tarped.

I suppose I'm just happy that this rain parted and went around us. This gave us an inch and we may another by tomorrow. It's not the 5 inches and heavy winds like it was predicted for here.

The mountains are receiving lots of rain. Some towns are getting more than forecasted. We have just enough. Heavenly Father hears our prayers.

Our plants were dying and including weeds and our very old Oak Trees. The little growth under our feet was gone and when they died it left dust and rock-hard clay. There are no flowers, no foliage, no beautiful grass, and nothing green.

We're starting over! This is my rain blog tonight. It's pretty much "absolutely nothing" to the rest of our nation. But it is soooo important to us. We are grateful beyond words and because we've had to be patient and know prayers are answered. This was right; we had to ask and appreciate what The Lord provides. We're very blessed this evening.


Look toward the sky for Eagle feathers. There the clouds that drift and we see the feathers with no beginning or end. (Cirrus clouds) 

We look at those clouds with hope and say to ourselves, it'll probably rain in approximately 4 days.   It did.
-- Cumash Belief

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

OOPS! Blogger Changed While I Was MIA

It is time for me to get back to regular; maybe regular blogging. One thing that keeps me from blogging is if I'm sick, or going through a tough-time. It's fun to blog when life is a breeze or when it's just downright fun.

There's so many bloggers out there that write about the pain and suffering they're enduring. It maybe really therapeutic for them or comforting and helping others going through the same challenges. The trials we face can run from emotional problems, grief, sadness, help others in need, to overcoming an illness or coping with a chronic illness. I know lots of bloggers write about their faith and ways to strengthen themselves or trying to build faith as they seek strength in their life. I've probably written about that a little or a lot. I have.

That's not me exactly. I confess that when something happens my blogging hands quit. I guess I don't want to face or see the my life's burdens in print. I suppose, if I get-on with it things will be back to crazy normal. I really don't even want my children or grandchildren to know that I have anything negative going-on in my life. No one is immune from trials and at the moment I can't even jump over a very low hurtle. Now that I think about it, I quit jumping around when I had my first pregnancy. Dang. I loved to jump.

I have this genetic heart defect and right now it's getting in the way of all I need to have done to take my Hashimoto's Thyroid out of my fat neck. It's another  "hereditary condition." My thyroid has grown a lot this year and is starting to block my trachea. Everyday my voice goes-out or I become very hoarse.(horse, hahahaha) and that's not too bad, but I really like to breathe.

There's other stuff like my broken knees. I need find some reinforcement to help me walk better after surgery. No more prednisone for me and trying to get a referral to have injections of that "rooster-comb" cushion that gave me so much relief a few years ago. I haven't liked my age of 63 one-single-bit. I need to jump-in and get all these health stuff done and have faith and be strong. I need to act like I did when I was a whole bunch younger and face-it. And saying to myself, "Let's do it!"



There are lots of  tests that are required for surgery and the self-given shots are not for sissy's. I think everyone has to jump through a lot of hoops to get any surgery accomplished. I've been practicing for these things my whole life. I said first, "Oh no, on the shots!"  I've got to keep telling myself,  "If I can have given a thousand shots 'sub-q' or 'intramuscularly' what was I doing all these years?" I was practicing for these days. I've been giving shots since I was only 10 years old.

Don't Stop Reading Here!

I had to have this "episode" to make all the doctors jump into action and I quit the denials on my Blue Shield. Now finally there's action. I can see I'm going to get my health in order. Finally. My episode happened and I had a crazy tachycardia/atrial fib session that I couldn't get in-control with medication and I had to go to the hospital in the middle of the night. This just happened.

My heartbeats were like a hummingbirds. It was going so fast my firefighter husband couldn't get a count on my plus. It exhausted me after about 10 minutes of "crazy-heart-racing" It was like the emergency before almost 200/minute. Now even though my heart is racing everything else at the hospital was in super-slow-motion. It went from getting-in, testing me in one room, testing my heart, x-rays, all of it was so slow and I'm on SPEED.



The Doctor came in again and I know this routine. She told me my heart doesn't have any clots in the upper chambers and we can't let you go home until your heart rate is at 100/minute or less. It had steadied about 115 and did a 'swing-dance' and then 114. It just went back and forth with the blipping in-between. I knew what was coming. I knew it. All this time is going by and it's going so slow. My Steve's beside me, busy keeping awake playing solitaire. I understand, he wasn't the one that's getting zapped with paddles and I tried and stay awake for him. It was almost 6:oo am.

The nurse took my blood pressure again and I was so tired I didn't even look. My IV was in my hand? Oh yeah, never had it there before and it felt weird to move it. The nurse placed my hand across my chest. (important fact) I knew that the nurses and the doctor were monitoring me and I could hear them talking about the techs coming to work and arranging for my "procedure" to put my heart back in normal rhythm. I forgot, what is normal? j/k



So I'm singing to myself an old Peter, Paul, and Mary song--the only one I could think of at the time so I could try and sleep. I was over trying to stay awake. So it was, "____, the magic dragon lived by the sea and frolicked in the autumn-mist in a land called Onaleeee. A little thought darted through my head, "Where's this place and what's the stupid dragon's name?" And then it happened! A loud, crazy buzzing was coming from my heart and my right forearm is completely stiff. I jumped thinking I'm getting the paddles without anyone being there except Steve in the chair next to my bed.

BREATHE! Oh yes, I could breathe. I felt suddenly so wonderful! I said softly to Steve, "I feel really good" "Steve, HEY! I feel really, really good!" Here I am trying over and over to get his attention and still in the "slo-mo-mode." He couldn't hear me like I wasn't talking at all. He wasn't asleep! OMGsh! I stopped and I realized I am DEAD! I'm DEAD!

Steve can't hear me and I feel wonderful. Well, that stinks. I thought if I swatted-him my hand would go right through him. Naw, he looked-up at me and said, "What?" "What are you doing?" "Not dead, I'm not dead!" I practically yelled it at him, The nurses and doctor had come in and Steve and I looked at the monitor behind us and my heart had converted to 55. Wow! I know my husband is deaf!


Humor from Natural Horsemanship --Rick Gore
Humor From The Website: Think Like A Horse --Rick Gore

The doctor asked how I felt and they saw my heart change suddenly. I know you can change it by blowing super-hard through a syringe, pushing-down like your delivering a baby, coughing, sneezing, and there maybe other things but those have never worked for me. The nurse lifted the covers and there it was.... the blood pressure cuff was over my heart and had gone-off on it's own and it startled me so much that I about fell-off the bed. Now I know why there's baby-rails on adults patient's beds.

The 30 second scenario now has taken paragraphs to write. I tried to explain to the doctor and nurses and they were smiling and then I ruined it by saying, "Puff!" "It's Puff!" Oh no...I turned crazy on everyone. I could see on their faces I was saying something really weird out-loud that was meant just for me. The little bit of Tourette in me, I guess,



 It was time to get dressed and outta' there. Steve told the nurse that the next time he's going to pretend to run into a tree; skidding and just missing it so he didn't have to haul me up to the hospital and pay so much money to get me discharged.

I waited for the FJ to come to the curb and I climbed-in and before we left Steve asked, "What was that you said in there?" He was asking me if I had a screw loose somewhere. I said I remembered the first word of the song I was singing ... just before my heart went back to normal. I explained, "It was "Puff" you know, that mighty dragon?" He said, "Well, THAT was weird!" Me, "So this whole thing was weird! I THOUGHT I WAS DEAD!" So I end this delightful journey into my sick history.

My dear husband was trapped! I slammed-it-into one and or Mach 1 and let him have it. He was deaf and I'm tired of his inability to hear, he is deaf, and it's his fault I thought I was dead. Blah, Blah, Blah, all the way home and I slept for two days.        




Thank you Steve for being there and helping me. I love you!   
                      

Saturday, October 11, 2014

Always Too Late Making My Blog Posts


 
I had the best birthday ever! Considering I am now 64. I started my website when I was 47. It took a lot to get me to move over to blogging. My webpages were before Facebook and Instagram. It was even before Website Editors. I wrote all my Hyper Text Markup Language by myself. 

And my first page was a poem, then a page about "The Meaning of Flowers." I learned so much. I had a webpage on my home, our weddings, how to grow gardens and I connected them all. My favorite was my genealogy and every page had "midi" music. I think I had about 25+ subjects and each with one or three pages long.

I was asked by dozens of people to set pages online for them. I was busy selling Automobile Emblems on EBay. I was the "Emblem Queen" after aquiring the largest known collection of emblems, hub nuts, and scripts in the world. I still have too much left over. It was so fun! I was a seller and even made my own page to sell my goodies.

It was interesting on EBay! You could actually SEE the bidding going-up as you watched the computer monitor. No sniping back then.

I made so many web pages for my friend's start-up companies and even for a pest company my husband was working at part time. If I couldn't find a picture I needed, I hand drew it (basically) on my art program. I even made the company's logo. Work.

I always got this same let-down. "Looks like we can manage." "We are looking for something a little more fun, business-like, or less wordy"  I was often told that I could have a commission of anything that the company or my friends' sold. 

I put my heart into every page I created and my husband's company outright stole my page. Something to do with him working for them. Okay, I learned a lot and I did a great job.

The others would change their page a bit here and there. So the website (they said) wasn't really my project anymore.

 I wasn't through because I felt it was my new hobby. I taught HTML for fun. Ugh! There was no change with everyone and I was still doing all the work. All anyone really wanted was a website and not learning how to put one up on the Internet.

Lately, I've missed so many events. I really need to go back and fill-in my blank weeks of blogging zero. 

I know this whole blog post sounds like bragging. Now, I'm just learning to blog on my phone. I hated trying to learn "Flash Scripts" barely managed "Cascading Style Scripts." I still feel new(bie) I've always disliked that term. 



My brick-wall at blogging is that I'm needing new glasses and huge adjustments to my eyes. I hate typing; it makes me look like I'm crying with tears included. I have a handkerchief and Tylenol at my side.



I suppose I should've gotten glasses for my birthday. I adore my bright red Kitchen Aid with attachments! And goodies that never expected. 



My silver Young Woman's with a ruby? I did earn it, but never expected to have one. I'm so blessed. 

What do I need to remember about my birthday? Don't try and carry more than you need. Make more trips back and retrieve your presents because falling-out of a 4-wheel Toyota FJ can take all the fun out of playthings. Yes I did. I fell out on the driveway and knocked myself out.



Pause. I hold my silver, charm-necklace between my pointer-finger and thumb; thinking. It's not the charm, it's what I learned, what I did, and happiness I felt when I chose to do right. The right things were easy and hard. I think the really hard ones like studying the Scriptures every single day throughout this year started-out hard, but became easy like I missed my day without study, I couldn't NOT do it. I really missed the feelings of having that extra strength in my day. I really love learning the Gospel and love the Primary and my challenges I have there and I also love the Young Women's Programs; I still follow.

Maybe a sideways look toward the mixer... and I have the same feeling. It's not the cookies I make for me. Oh No! It's the little ones with me and watching my grandchildren and children after baking! I love to cook for them and WITH them as much as seeing them eating Gingerbread men, cookies, and Divinity. 

The homemade bread is for Steve and Primary treats are a joy. We'll both be eating healthier with the slicer/dicer attachments. It's about doing, giving, and learning and making memories to blog.

Yep, I want to say, "I remember that."  HTML wasn't for money, it was to get to this place of a journal about family. I would have never jumped right into blogging without some HTML knowledge. I'm feeling really blessed and it's not going away.


Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Happy? Yah, I Am!

Oh, not the song but it is my ringtone on my phone. I know so many young adults are tired of it. I don't watch any TV or listen to music radio so I haven't heard it as many times as others.


I'm happy because I'm still alive and here to appreciate my family, my dear home, and I'm able to still move around. I'd love to move a bit faster, not have three surgeries ahead of me. Yeah, I'm in need of some fixin'. That's actually okay because I will be fixed and I've been through it before and I'm sure I can handle it all. I'm not lucky, I'm blessed.

The crazy never stops here! Lots of changes are going on and I'm so excited that my grand daughter Hannah bought Kiely's dairy goats and is going to show them with her steer at the Fair in just two months. She has so much work ahead of her.


My neighbor/older grand children are showing their pigs and it seems natural to have the pigs back here again on the ranch. They aren't as cute as the pictures on the Internet. They really have the beady eyes and really long snout. But they sure are pink and like the mud. That little muddy-place is going to get better with the in-ground pipe placed under the "lickit" automatic waterer. Pigs are so smart they figure they'll just let the water fall-out of their mouth to make puddles.

Sports are over for all the grandchildren, but not really. Our Eirely is still doing Jujitsu and Tanner is loving his rowing team again this year and thankfully he hasn't broken his arm again. Beach people ride bikes everywhere. Visitors that have cars are sometimes reckless when they get in a place they don't know and made a u-turn and hit Tanner just when the rowing season had begun. Ventura will be hosting a five mile rowing event Saturday, out in the open water. The Ventura Pier I think, is five miles round-trip.

I know that summer will end soon; it always does. I think it's because so much is crammed into a couple months. The grandchildren get out of school later than before and then school starts right after Fair, so it's really almost a month that's been swiped-out from under them.

I can remember wanting school to start and looking forward to the Fall, East Wind (I can't believe I wrote that) and also I looked forward to the Fair. It was in October and we were released to go to the Fair if we had projects. The 4-H horse show was a week before the regular fair and I was given a release and it just continued on for the regular Fair. We were there the day before Fair opened, but after the last Sunday, we were dead tired and went back to school.

Fair was hard but we weren't given a bunch homework to do at Fair and we had no making-up days because the teacher knew we had done tons of reports, memorizing, thank you cards, gifts to give, and generally having a few really stressful days at the Fair. I think and I'm just assuming all the participants were a lot like I was, too busy to go out to ride the rides. I did always walk around the buildings and look at the Ag. Building, Youth Building (I always had a project entered there, too) and the Commercial and Arts Buildings. No one seemed to go the carnival part. Fair in October was wonderful because it truly represented harvest time. It was Fall.

I looked forward to standing in line and receiving my check from the buyer that Sunday before we left for home. I could buy a few school clothes. And yep, I lost about 5-10 pounds every year at The Ventura County Fair. I know that sounds incredible with the fattening food, they had, even back then. We brought our own because that's very last thing I wanted was to be sick in the show-ring.

I'm going to believe that happy is the way all of my family feels when the shows are over and the stalls are cleaned-out. I know there will be tears. The pigs are so lovable at the end of the year, believe it or not and there's no way a kid can't go off without being sad leaving their steer, sheep, or goat behind. The happy part is always the burden-lifted of caring for the animal as best as you're able. It's a huge job.

I'm just taking pictures and yakking about the judges ... as grandma's do and hoping those big aluminum seats aren't as hard to sit-on as they were last year. I'm taking a pillow and that'll make me happy.

Monday, September 1, 2014

Happy Labor Day!


Credit to Cutest Blog on The Block


I was just thinking... and every time I mention that to my dear husband he always gives me this skeptical eye, somewhat like it's going to either cost him more money or a whole lot of time for him to accomplish.

 I wrote the above teeny paragraph and my Sciatica nerve hurt, so I opted to go to my laptop and sit on on "Sciatica Pillow." I was working on the "big computer" at my husband's old desk, but the chair hurt my back. I arranged the "special pillow" and two pillows behind me on my back and moved this wonderful (?) TV tray with my laptop.

The disaster begins. I spilled my soda-pop and obviously something I shouldn't be drinking (also known as: Die Diet Cherry Dr. Pepper.) Oh, I forgot the "t" in diet. Subliminal message. Yes, I know we all die. The disaster continues. The soda-pop was full but I grabbed it in time. Whew! Not all of it made it's way to my computer. It soaked a perfectly composed letter and of course, I didn't write it and flooded two floppy disks. I cleaned the spilled, red liquid off of the tray and set my soda-pop on a book that was on the arm of the sofa. The book made a perfectly good flat surface and all was just right until the TV tray was moved slightly and the "under part" holding the tray fell down. 

Thankfully, the laptop fell on my lap but my elbow hit the book that began a red waterfall and landslide that soaked everything but my computer. Everything was covered with Diet Dr. Pepper. including my phone, the leather sofa, my awesome thermal robe (that's weird at 2:00 in the afternoon) and my beautiful fur goat-hide. Oh my gosh! That sounds so lazy and weird. It's hit 100 degrees this afternoon. No East Wind. It's humid and I'm not used to this kind of weather.

The robe explanation: I'm resting my back so it gets better. My other robes are too hot I'm not planning to go out in public, I'm going to lie down on my bed and over a big block of ice in a few minutes.

The goat fur that was soaked was a gift from my oldest dear daughter as a joke. It's old and she's not old...but literally a real animal lover. I suspect she's a VEGAN. I adore most goats and from the looks of this wonderful hide, it was from a goat I would've loved.  Turbo the buck, is in my "Off Wellman Way" heading. Turbo is a little darker but about the same brown and white color.

Now, where was I? Steve's just home from working (on Labor Day!) He made me a great lunch and there's nothing more comforting than a grilled cheese sandwich with real American Cheese and sliced dill pickles. No more soda-pop.

I'll go out with Steve this evening during the sunset and while he feeds I'll milk our sweet. once-a-day milker-goat. I thought about drying her up. She needs to be sold, so if anyone in Southern California needs a milk goat I've got a wonderful and generous milker. However. She's is only about 5 years old. You can email me at susankaylazenby@gmail.com.

Valentine is our doe's nickname. Gitana goat's delivery of this doeling was really hard because the baby was so huge. My daughter was so upset that Kiely didn't breed Gitana again. This birthing was too hard on Kiely's favorite goat. This job of the delivering Viper was the most traumatizing for all of us and we all remember it as the worse and we've delivered hundred's of goats. Gitana recovered after this delivery and she seems fine, and she's an aged-doe. Weird to talk about this on Labor Day(?)

My daughter was still upset when she filled-out her paperwork on her new little kid. Kiely named Gitana's offspring, Viper. By the time she was just a few months old we were calling her Valentine. This goat is such a sweetheart.

 This year my grand daughter entered the does in the Fair and won. Her awards were 1st in showmanship with Valentine (Viper) and won "Best of all Other Breeds," "Best of Three" and also "Best Herd" and took the "Dam and Daughter." Her Doe kids won champion and reserve.


My grand daughter's showmanship win led her to be in the Round Robin and she won "Master Showmanship" she takes after her four aunts that had goats and market animals and a couple of them won Round Robin. 

My grand daughter's steer was amazing and I know she'll do this all over again next summer.

The Belt Buckle and Pretty Ribbons!
I hesitated when Kiely went off to college to breed this sweet white doe. Would I be able to go through what her dam, Gitana doe had experienced? I finally took her up to be bred and she had two bucks the first time and lovely pair of does this time. The goat is really easy in all ways. The goat kids this year did really well in their classes at the fair and so much thanks goes to Melody Mountain Ranch for breeding our Valentine doe to one of their very best bucks.

I need to explain the first paragraph of what I was thinking. That big question to my husband. I didn't forget. First, I have to say it's one of those glorious California days of Fall. A beautiful way to end summer and a great Labor Day! We can sure tell it's Autumn time. 

I was thinking that I was going to ask my husband Steve for an additional air conditioner. The weather pattern has sure changed here and it's too hot. Our house just sucks-in the heat! I thought if it's going to become cooler soon... it's going to be Fall and cooler. There will be a change of season and hey, we could get a good deal on an air conditioner. That crazy thought whizzed though my head and out the other-side like an arrow ... as I walked-out on our (oven) porch to fetch our water bill, my jaw dropped. 

There was a slight water leak for a couple days last month and the total bill was $1300.00. Wow! That's crazy! Our lawns are dead, garden is dead, and our trees are dying. Granted, we share our water with a neighbor and everything is dry there, too. I'm not asking for another cooler or air conditioner, I'm just going to pray for rain!

***I'm going to have to do a few more posts on Fair. We had pigs there, too with my two other dear grand children. They made a lot of money and their cousin showed at Fair, way up in Wyoming. I smile because I couldn't imagine this was continuing-on with my children's children. I guess the work and stressful times years ago was worth it.

Tuesday, August 26, 2014

So Done!

I think I may start this out laughing so hard that "Mel" could hear me.

This isn't a rant or complaint at all. It's more like should I post with this new teeny tablet and that it is so hard type? I'll talk in it because talking is an option. I'm talking in this microphone (that I can't see) instead of trying to write. I didn't plan to speak in this thing, but I really am unable to even type it. Thank you. Hahaha! It wrote thank you and my laughter!  I said "thank you" to the machine. I'm an idiot. "Space Odyssey Hal!" hahaha! I can't actually type, the keys are too little and I don't need to thank a machine!

Oh my gosh, I'm sure I can't post this to my blog. One of the things this little keyboard does continually... is mess-up with the vowels and it's putting another little icon over some letterĂź ----  It did it. It put a "bunch of mess" on my blog and I have to come in a go over it all. I will say for sure, there's just some things a person can't say about a product that's in use and there's complaining going on about it. Who's in control here? Not me for sure.

Random Placement for the "Goat Farmer
MeMe." Not quite me but I love it anyway.

Lower left (don't look)

(Frowning---that picture's ... hahaha) I have squirted goat milk from the teat to my mouth. It was silly, for fun and on a dare. My children once or maybe more dared me and my grandchildren did too. It is cleaner right outta' the teat for sure. And we don't have Pygmies right now, but I love them. We have had pigs, now eaten.


I'm on my IPhone now. No telling what this post will all look like. ***I had to remove all the HTML from my Android Quest. I knew it and it's crazy. I think know Google's getting into spyware territory.

All I wanted to write was I have a bad back and it's getting better (STOP! I don't care what's trending right now! Twitter ticker-tape flying across my screen.) I have Sciatica and that a part of farming I don't like. I suppose I should accept the fact that I'm older and my back parts don't heal as quickly as they used to when I was young. Not a whine or complaint because I like being a grandmother and I need to act like one.

I shouldn't have tried to jerk that big, metal, heavy outside couch outta' of the mud last May. I'm grateful this isn't something else yuckier and maybe by keeping down a few days my back will heal a bit. Staying flat so the inflammation goes down is boring. I wanted to go and do stuff, like go to Church.


Here's my picture in bed and the only reason I'm smiling is because I was trying to take a "selfie" kind of picture and it hurt my back even more. I've never had much success at that anyway. So my Steve took my phone and stood over and me and the flashes of the camera were going and I was trying to make him stop it and I started laughing. Yeah, it hurt to laugh. No make-up-in bed selfie--lovely!

                  `````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
                      ^ line across the page is me leaning on the keyboard. It fits, I guess.

I want to do more and I really can't. I still milk the goat with my back-out. I love it too much. And I adore my Physical Therapy swimming as ever and it's the best. I need a pool. That's not a wish. A little one would do and it would help my husband's "retirement injuries" received from falling-off the mountain...he could definitely use it. He was fighting a bush fire, my Captain Steve needs that even more than I do. I know they don't make them to fit my fireman. He's too tall. There no way we could dig a swimming-hole. It's not only illegal, our rocks are big as VWs, and I don't think either one of us could dig a hole to plant a twig.

Yep, my toenail polish has never matched my fingers and I don't care
Android Adventure Completed!
(shhhh...it can't spell, either so that's two of us!)



Sunday, August 17, 2014

Jus' Sittin' Here. Yes, We Had More Puppies


I was just looking at the screen and was thinking it's been a long time since I've written anything at all. Well, I write just a little on my Facebook Page, "365 day of Reading The Book of Mormon." I write the scriptures that are assigned for the day, the date, and the day we're working on; then go to lds.org and copy and paste that day's reading.


I hardly write anything anymore. More than half of my family have migrated to Instagram only, so if I'm not taking pictures and I've really stopped. I think my family's tired of sheep, cats, goats, horses, pigs, chickens, dogs (especially dogs) I'm just commenting on my family's pictures and trying to write a little message. I received a message recently asking me if I had more puppy pictures than my grandchildren and I had to confess that it was true. Well, I'm not selling my grandchildren. Duhr...

This post has really come about because I am forced (by me only) to write it. We did have more puppies. Most of the persons that have called me about puppies know I keep a puppy book and always keep track of buyers that I need to call if a requested puppy is born. For instance, we had a request for a runt, without a tail, red, and female. That's just about the most rare puppy ever, for us.

Little Pig Peg?
We had just one amazingly runt-red female a long time ago. We were blessed by "Little" and she eventually turned blue, but our runt-red girl was so ugly no one wanted her.

Little


This is Tilby
Sleepy Tilby Going-up To Solvang To Her New Family




Little looked like a pig but became the very most beloved dog we've ever had. even saved my daughter's life. I know I posted that event somewhere on my blog. Little was meant to be here for us and again we had one ... I knew this runt-red we just had named, Tilby had to go to the family that wanted her.

All our reds are gone. I haven't even told anyone that we have a big blue boy left and he's beautiful. He's shy (because I just can't keep loving him constantly) but the other red boy can't go until September 1st and Bunyip keeping him company. Bunyip was born on June 27th 20014 at 3:00 pm. The day we went to the Beach House for vacation. Darby had all her puppies under my kitchen window in the ivy. Steve came home to feed and she ran-out and got him and was so excited to show him. Steve knew what her excitement was all about even though this was pretty-much a complete surprise. Darby in her last hurrah, had 5 red puppies and 1 blue. They were so small! We didn't fatten Darby-up for puppies. Darby had just her usually normal body. Maybe this helped her have the pups on her own. I'm putting a photo in just to show how small they were.

Super Healthy!
This makes me sad thinking I need to let Bunyip go, but we have Darby forever and our two dogs, Duelly and PeeWee. My Kiely and her family moved to Wyoming after she graduated from USU and it is just too crazy-cold for Darby up there in polar frost of "Santa Claus Land." Honest, I don't understand how my grown children arrive at such places, but they do. Who would have thought my daughter, Marnie would be my next-door neighbor? I LOVE it, but it's funny! I have 6 children in the most unlikely places.

Bunyip
                                                                      He's Sold
I'll be putting-up all the puppies and more of Bunyip on my Queensland Heeler Page My address is susankaylazenby@gmail.com if you're interested in this cutie-pie. Oh, I'm pathetic! I feel like the "Cat Girl," that LOVES cats and she cries on You Tube. I know I shouldn't be upset ... this is the very last time we have puppies and this is our very last puppy.

Thursday, May 15, 2014

A Little Sheepie

Life Is Amazing

We've been so busy having kid doe kids (yay!) and little lambs everywhere.

Brother and Sister To Mo-Hawk


 Our kid does were all disbudded at the right time and my grand daughter doing it with-out much effort at all. Sheesh! I pretty much freak-out at that chore. I'll do castration or banding anytime over burning horn-buds. The smell sure took care of me wanting BBQ hot dogs for the whole rest of the year. Gags me to think about it. My grand daughter went home and they had BBQ. I've never let my daughters do that one procedure with the horns; I worried about burns if the iron slipped. It has slipped once with me the first time I wore welding gloves. I burned my gloves real good. I get new gloves every year and I covered my eyes as my FFAer did the first one and got a good copper ring perfectly.

Now the sheep are usually a huge surprise.  We wake-up in the morning and there's lambs everywhere. Our Finnsheep have litters. Our older, big, white ewe had five last year and I took a couple and fed them goat milk. Her udder was as large as our goat's but the two little ones were really getting pushed-away and I always have plenty of milk, even after feeding the does.
The goats, I can know for sure when they'll kid. We all know the date the doe was covered and it's a matter of checking the ligaments on both sides of the does spine, close to where the tail begins. It obviously becomes softer and softer.

I know so many people think goats and sheep pretty much fall in the same category of like antelope. There's a huge difference between antelope and goats and sheep. And there's even a wider gap between sheep and goats. Especially, our La Mancha and Finnsheep. I've heard so many times that human babies are born with the full-moon. I'm not sure if its a "wives tale" but I do know all of our animals give birth at a barometer change. The area where we live the barometer changes drastically and I really get frustrated because bingo the goats are ready or there's tiny lambs on the ground.

Here's the point to all descriptions and explanations. A couple of our ewes that were raised on the bottle either don't protect their young ones at first or they panic having lambs. They are so secretive about their labor and a bit as shy as our horses. One seems to get dropped-out in the open or tromped, even if they're in a stall.

My little grand daughters went out to check on our sheep. Our really old ewe seemed to not take this year, but she was wide. I tell my Steve that Adam misnamed the sheep and pigs. Our sheep would eat until they died! They eat like pigs so maybe she was just fat. I saw the date she was covered. Oops! She didn't take the first time,but I didn't watch for her any more; she recycled.  She must have had a very late heat this year.

The girls were out and saw the new lambs. The East Wind just started blowing that morning. They ran to tell their mother. Okay, while enjoying the pastoral scene they saw a little lambs black head nodding in the dirt. My daughter ran into the pen to pick it up and it was hardly visible. It was hurt.
It seemed that it would be impossible to rescue such a tiny lamb in it's shape. It's cord has been severed to close to it's body. She pulled it out a-ways and the she could really tell the cord was off and she pulled what was showing and bleeding and tied it off.  It had been bleeding a lot. I arrived home and she straight-away handed him to me. I did say him. Why are saves males?

It's become automatic to me. Cord tied and blood stopped. I put him in a warm bath and scrubbed his wool gently of the caked dirt and blood with soap. The colostrum from the goats was ready but he was to weak to suck. I used a syringe to feed him and started with just drops. Hours passed and he wanted more by lifting his head and moving his lips. By midnight he was sucking on the syringe, moving his forelegs, and really wagging his tail. His eyes changed dramatically from grey-glazed to big and shiny black. The girls had named him Mo-hawk because his white top or his poll area wool stood-up all fluffy. He loved his face stroked and he was asleep at 1 am.

Morning at 6:00... I hurried in to see him and he heard me coming. His tail was really going. I had become his mamma. The girls were there at almost 7 am and one told me she asked in her prayers that he would live through the night. They asked to see all of him and I picked him up and held his legs so he could touch his bed. Mo-hawk was too weak.

The girls ran off to school and I tried to help him stand. He had movement in all his legs and there wasn't an out-of-place bone inside him anywhere. I saw him urinate for the first time and thought how great it was that he was getting hydrated. The urine was mixed with blood. Oh, heck no!

My Steve was taking me to Santa Barbara, so of course I took him in his little nest. He seemed completely content. It was only two hours and he started to change. His eyes changed first. I ignored it, he seemed so sleepy, his tail stopped wagging; for sure this little lamb was lulled by the car ride.
We stopped and Steve got out and I reached to hold him on my lap. He tried to find me; his head moving all around. It stopped, his pounding heart stopped. I thought I felt a few tiny thumps and he was not there. Gone.

My dear friend said, "Even when they are sick and scrawny and you KNOW they aren't gonna make it, you still give them every chance and it still hurts when they succumb to the overwhelming odds against them. I know you heart hurts every time."

Steve climbed back in the car and I'm so sad. He never knew his sheep mom or his brother or sister. The blood in the urine told me he was tromped and it was amazing he lived almost 24 hours. I feel so blessed to have had a chance to show him lots of love and there, for a short time, the little lamb unexpectedly loved me.


Saturday, April 26, 2014

Just So Ya know, I Haven’t Died Yet



Yep, I've been sick. It's complicated and while we were saying goodbye to all our last litter of puppies, I was having tons of tests and biopsies. So today, here I am sitting-up trying to ignore what's ahead and write in my blog. I'm not exactly having an easy time because of coughing fits. Oh, yeah! I have pneumonia.  It's not fun and almost ruined my time watching my baby and her husband graduate from college. Utah State University, to be more specific.  I'm so glad I was able to go and then celebrate.

I'm not sure how I got pneumonia, but it has something to do with another problem and that will involve a lot of steps and take awhile to fix-me-up.

What's my future? What's anyone's? Right now I just keep on doing the chores, eating heathy and getting well, and most importantly I'm looking forward to our beach house reunion (can't wait!) I will be with my husband and all my children.

 If my doubts creep in about my health, I will think on the words of Oliver Wendell Homes.

The ending is "...and a pattern will come all right, like the embroidery." 

My sampler with be covered with roses! I'm not worried.

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Exercise..I'm Stove-up

This my therapy pool. Why I ever even tried the "Y" is because I've been desperate to swim again and my doctor said this city facility only,1 1/2 miles from my house, was for referred therapy patients only. 

       I Really Want To Go Here, Really!

I started the process so I could be referred. I went through all the hoops to be a client and that included a lot of money to dietians,and x-rays, nerve studies, bone doctors, and all that. 

When it all came to my doctor sending a referral in...(my last hurtle) he told that even though I had the right insurance, my GROUP was not a part of our town's particular pool. Workman's Comp. was the only way in.


My Steve goes regularly to this therapy pool for his injuries from his fall off of a mountain in Balcom Canyon last year about this time. He was on a fire strike team and the unstable clay sent him down and off a high bluff.

Steve asked the pool coordinator and for a cheaper amount than the YMCA; I was able to exercise. And I did...a lot!


It's a great place and I had a therapist the whole time. "Breathe!" "You have to breathe!" When it hurts... I have this bad habit of holding my breath. I feel better breathing-wise, but I think Im going to need ice tonight. I'm not complaining. I'm really, really elated I can have a super nice and clean pool and a wonderful therapist. I love it!

  But... I'm really tired and it feels good.


Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Our Dogs Have Doppelgängers


I know it means a person's clone or resemblance. And I had fun finding my double and Steve's double a couple years ago on the Internet. 

People all over would mistake Steve for Huell Howser. My Steve was on TV a lot thoughout Ventura County and some of L.A. with his long-running safety video during the months of September and October. (still will be showning) The videos were also shown on each city's public information channel and easy to get my Steve mixed-up with the "other guy" TV is where they knew him. He fit in Public Broadcasting,

My daughter, Kiely and I were on our way to her new college in Utah. It was the Spring semester and she was jumping-in to a College and town where she had hardly visited, but knew she wanted to go there.
We laughed about their mascot the Badger. Kiely was the mascot for her high school and did it really... as a gift for her grandfather, a former teacher at Santa Paula High School. My father-in-law loved the cast members of Disneyland. The characters!


I joked about the Badger mascot suit and I told her if Badger was the name, there must be Badgers around Utah. I heard this HUGE lecture about how she's never even seen a real Cardinal in her life and we really don't have any live ones here at all. I started thinking about all the crazy names that high schools and colleges have for their mascot.


Before I had completed that thought, I saw one by the road near Salina, Utah. Nah, it'd be hibernating. It wasn't a few miles more by the Palasaide Lake, there was obviously another Badger, this time it had been hit by a car. They don't hibernate? What?

I promptly gave her the same mean Badger story that my dad told me. I told her our Badgers in Santa Paula are brown and up close both have faces a bit like a skunk, black and white or gray, white and brown like this one. I thought if we could we'd stop or slow-down and look at it see if it was a Badger. We saw it! Actually, it looked like a opossum coloring, and did have darker stripes on its face and a bushy tail. 

Right then I knew what that Badger reminded me of ...and why it looked so familiar.

             Our dogs look like Badgers! 

I had to tell Kiely all over again to not touch them or try and feed any wild animals. Ha! Like I have any control over her. Her years at GBEEC took my daughter to a new "tree-hugging" era. Kiely turned into Snow White, even (shiver) catching bats that got in the Lodge and releasing them to the tree tops.

I'm going to miss her Utah Valley and The Big Badger and get myself ready for "The Cowboys" in Wyoming. I am quite familiar with those critters.