Category: fear

If you need me I’ll be in the dispensary…

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Over a two-day period I watched my two new baby goslings become a bit less exuberant, less talkative, eat less and drink more.  By mid morning on the second day they were sleeping by their water bowl and dipping their heads over the edge to drink.

So I sat there being concerned, watching and listening, as any good goose mother would, and that’s when I heard it!

“snick”  breathe in, “snick”  breathe out.

Not wanting to believe what I was hearing I ran to the kitchen and turned off the dishwasher.  The house was now silent.  I tiptoed back to the babies sat down and really listened.

“snick”  breathe in, “snick”  breathe out…

and with the horror that any mother might feel the first time her baby gets sick, I ran to look up goose disease and treatment.  I read for an hour and could not make sense of it.  Too many diseases, too many similar symptoms and most requiring different medications and procedure.  So I called the vet.

The only avian vet in North Alabama who will treat farm birds is 47 miles away, and it would take me an hour to get there.  I called and they made me an appointment for 4:00 PM.

The Dr. examined them, did labs, and came back with the verdict:  Streptococcus (bacterial infection) and a severe yeast infection.  The yeast was from airborne moisture in their food causing it to spoil (the new bag is now being stored in the house to keep it dry).  We are uncertain as to exactly where they came into contact with the Strep.  So until they are well and their immune system is stronger they are strictly INSIDE.

So, now my day is filled with twice as many “Diaper changes”

And resultant laundry which must be hung outside to dry because my @#!%& dryer broke this week (more on that later)…

So, I am dispensing two meds to the babies via an oral syringe, two times per day, one of which must be crushed and mixed with 5 ml of water.  Putting an oral syringe down a goose’s throat is an adventure.  Doing this, essentially, eight times a day is torture.  For all of us!  

 My guest bathroom has now been turned into…

a dispensary for the next 10 days.

Cost for the vet?

$270.00

I do it all for these little fellas…

And I hope they,

and I,

survive the ordeal.

~*~

Thank you all in advance for your prayers and well wishes for their recovery.  It means a lot to me.

Dogs and Cats and TICKS… oh my

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The appearance of a tick on your favored pet can give you the heebies for certain.  However, finding one attached to yourself can send you over the edge!  I have on several occasions found ticks crawling on me,  and now can sense almost immediately when I feel one on my skin.  EW!  And so it is, from time to time, that I have found them attached to me.  Shudder… and they seem to prefer that soft tissue around my belt line, or the hairline of my head.

This year the authorities have been predicting a high tick season, due to the unusually warm winter and early spring.   I think they are correct, because so far this spring I have found and removed two ticks from our bed, three ticks from myself, and HORRORS, one that was attached to me yesterday.

The cats and dogs of course are flea and tick free due to monthly applications of a preventive medication.  However, this does not mean that they are not carriers of the little beasties.  I got one from the cat when I picked her up to put her outside earlier this week.  Fortunately, I saw it on my shirt and dispensed with it immediately!

So what can you do when you have been latched onto by a tick?  Well, read on, but warning… if you are squeamish then stop here.

But seriously? 

You need to know this!

How to safely remove a tick

There are many ways to remove a tick, but only one recommended and sure way to safely remove a tick.

What you will need:

  1. Alcohol wipes
  2. Tweezers with  long, smooth, pointed tips
  3. Fortitude and a steady hand

Procedure:

  1. Find the little sucker
  2. Clean the area with alcohol
  3. Grasp the little beast’s head down close to the skin… while trying not scream
  4. Now, gently but firmly pull straight out until the head and mouth parts pull free from your skin
  5. Clean the area with a fresh alcohol wipe and try not to pass out
  6. Keep an eye on the area of the bite to make sure it does not develop a redness or target shaped rash.  If so, get to the Doctor for treatment right away. 

THINGS NOT RECOMMENDED IN THE REMOVAL OF A TICK:

  1. Just wait it out.   The little sucker will get full and fall off all by itself.  This will guarantee the transmission of the spirochetes that give you Lime Disease if the tick is a carrier.  Do you feel lucky?
  2. Burn its little backside with the head of a hot match.  This is GROSS, and ineffective!
  3. Apply Vaseline.  This is not gross, but is equally ineffective.
  4. Grab the body, squeezing tightly, and pull.  This will cause the contents of the little creep to enter your bite site for certain.  GAACK!
  5. Grab the little sucker and give it a good twist and pull motion.  Do you really want to leave that head and mouth parts behind?  I don’t think so.

Yesterday, I found an infant, or nymph, sized tick along that belt line I told you about.

It was the size of the one on the right.

I used the preferred method, but unfortunately the little sucker has left me with a parting gift…  So this afternoon at 4:15PM I have an appointment with the Doc to have his little head removed.

GAACK!

Last night I told Bob that I will be ordering guinea hens.  Strangely, this time he didn’t argue with me.  🙂

Yup!  That aught-about do it!

~*~

So what is it that can make your hair stand on end?

~*~

Related articles

One year ago today

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So, I had planned something entirely different for today’s post, but somehow it paled in significance…

On this date one year ago I was hiding in fear in my pantry waiting to be transported to Heaven or deposited into the Land of Oz, depending upon whether or not I was hit by one of the 27 tornadoes that came through our state. We were so blessed to have been spared.  So many were not.

Almost 300 people were killed, and many lost their homes.  One town, Hackleburg, was simply wiped off the map.  So many stories, of terror and loss, and yet… Here we are.

We now have a shelter that some would rather we had “put out back.”   But we are landscaping the little bump in front of our bedroom window, and some day, sooner than my neighbor realizes, that little bump will just disappear into the rest of our plantings and that will be a nice view then.

We have already shared our little Hobbit hole with the neighbors and their children this past month, and although once again nothing serious happened to our little enclave, we were nonetheless grateful to feel safe down under the ground.

I have lived for many years in fear of what if.

  • what if the house burned down
  • what if someone broke in and took all the good stuff (It has happened to us twice in California, BTW)
  • What if we had “The Big ONE,” and the house just fell apart and we didn’t have earthquake insurance to cover it. (California again!)
  • What if we lost all our lovely antiques, passed down through Bob’s family and/or collected by us over the years, what then?  They could never be replaced!
  • What if we went into the Hobbit Hole and came out and our little enclave was wiped out?  Gone!  All our things blown away in the wind and the Munchkins in Oz lay claim to them?

What if it did happen just that way?  (Pick one)   Well, then I would have to say,

“So what?”

The people here in the Bible Belt have so much faith, resolve, and determination.  No matter how bad it was, they picked themselves up, dusted off, and then went next door to see if someone needed their help.  Now, some are still in need, but the job is getting done, homes are being rebuilt, and lives are going on.

Does having faith guarantee that you will never face loss, strife or death?  Of course not!  What it does do is give you the strength to go on, and this is big…

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

He makes me to lie down in green pastures:

He leads me beside the still waters.

He restores my soul:

He leads me in the paths of righteousness

for his name’s sake

Yes, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil: For [you God] are with me;

Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

You prepared a table before me in the presence of my enemies (even the bad weather!)

You anoint my head with oil;

My cup runs over.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life,

and I will dwell in the House of the Lord forever.

~*~

~ The 23rd Psalm, as paraphrased by me, from God’s Holy Word ~

What a powerful promise!  So now I realize that if it all burned up, or blew away, or was taken from us, then oh well.   We’d certainly start anew…

and much more simply the next time.

~*~

What do you fear?

~*~

NOTE:  I followed the link to Hackleburg’s Google Map and they have actually updated the photos from space to reflect that the center of town is GONE.  Officially, it is 75 percent gone.  An eerie thought.   My posts from last year can be found here: