April Showers and April Flowers

Since it is pouring out, I am going to pretend it is a gorgeous sunny day and that I am outside tending to my flowers....these blooms are beautiful and I love looking at them.

Sycamore Sickness

Spring is beautiful. The flowers are incredible, furry babies are being born, and the promise of summer is just around the corner, but Spring has its downfall. Allergies. They have begun to wreak havoc on my poor Jessie and they are beginning to bother me.


The disappointing and recurring symptoms for her are swollen areas above her eyes, sometimes an eye is half closed, sometimes clear watery tears drizzle down from an eye (no, the flies aren't around yet to drink out of the corners of her eyes but will soon gather, I am sure), and now her left lymph node is swollen. I don't believe the lymph node was problematic last year. I have put her back on a daily ounce of the anti-histamine called Tri-Hist. Last year it worked well for her. I pray the same goes for this year.


When Jess is turned out in the cemetery paddock, the symptoms worsen. When she is turned out in the small paddock close to the barn, she doesn't seem to react as badly. So, what is out there in that big bad paddock? I think I know. Had the tree cutting crew not been at the farm a couple of years ago maintaining the power line land, then I would not have been told this little jewel of information. One of the guys said that the Sycamore trees present some of the worse reactions for them. I was stunned. I remember jogging down the lane near the pond and I would sometimes have to stop and cough. It was like I couldn't breath and the cough was a dry cough. I would go inside and drink water. I hadn't heard of this before, and yes, there is the most gorgeous tree at the entrance of the cemetery paddock. There are also a few here and there in the woods, but none near the barn nor the house. So there it is...that may be one of the causes.

Some might say watch that lymph node and I will, but last summer, my right lymph node that is tucked under my chin at the side of my neck suddenly swelled July 28th, I believe...Pop! There it was, 1.3 millimeter long! Scared to death, I immediately got in to see my internist and at my insistence, he ordered a needle biopsy. Too many cancer victims in this state and I wasn't going to take any chances. Not much resulted from the prodding. Nothing truly definitive. They were unable to get to the 'core' so the cells they wanted were unobtainable since it was so close to the carotid artery. By late fall, the node shrank and I could no longer 'feel' it when I moved my neck. I went to an ENT specialist who said sometimes salivary glands drop or it could very well be allergies though most allergists will not agree. He was right. I believe it was allergies for me.

Back to Jessie...she is a picky eater so mixing strange medicines in her feed will cause her to go off her grain. I forgot and that is what she did! So, I remembered to put the loose granules in a plastic syringe, add a healthy dollop of molasses, plug it up, turn it over and drizzle a tablespoon or so of hot water in the small pointed opening, and shake, shake, shake! My finger must be positioned on top so it doesn't come out! I have to keep shaking until I insert the syringe in the side of her mouth to avoid thickening and separating. She likes the molasses so she doesn't offer much resistance. I found a good way to relieve her swollen eye, too. Run the hottest water possible on a small clean terry cloth towel, quickly wring it out, and gently cup her entire eye with the moist hot towel for maybe 30 seconds. I do not press; there is no need too. I do that a few times in a row, wait a couple of hours and repeat. The eye is fine within hours.

It is raining. The horses are in the cemetery paddock which is the only paddock that has decent grass. I want to see if Tri-hist is giving her relief. I wonder if the rain helps diminish the pollen? She was turned out there all last summer. If she has problems today, then we need to immediately work on building another paddock in the big field. We should probably do that any way!

I checked on her several times and she wasn't as swollen as two days ago. She was perky on her way back to the barn. She showed interest in her all natural 'Mrs. Pastures' cookie that sits in her feed bowl awaiting for her return. She nibbled on some hay and seemed happy to be in her bed. I pray she will be able to endure the pollen season. I pray all will be well on the farm.

Happy Easter!

I tried so hard to photograph this beautiful mama bunny for Easter but she evaded me all but three days ago when I surprised her in the cemetery. I did find her old nest. Her babies are now out in the real world unless she has moved them, which is very possible. This is what a bunny nest looks like...you will find her fur mixed with dried grass. The bunnies around here dig no holes for their nests. Instead they separate the tall grass making a circular area and the babies are snuggled close topped with that dried grass and fur mixture. Mama bunny stays hidden all day and feeds late at night and early in the morning but never in the daylight. I pray the mothers have wised up this year so I do not have to rescue babies. Trying to save tiny bunnies is a very traumatic ordeal for me as I love my furry creatures that live on the farm. Since I have no mama bunny photos, I thought this cute little thing would be fun to look at...it lives in Vermont at Shelbourne Farms and hops around free visiting the chickens, lambs and baby cows.

Surprises on Saturday!

What a lazy day! It is absolutely beautiful on the farm so I went for a quiet walk. I found several 'items' of interest including the ever elusive Great Blue Heron. He/she is so very shy and I had no clue he was feeding. I was intending to visit with my lawn ornaments and relieve them of their sheets since it had warmed considerably when I heard a rustling noise at the edge of the pond. A quick thought told me it was probably a squirrel and then instantaneously this huge thing flew off without a squawk. He is very striking!

The ponies rolled to scratch their backs then decided to run a lap around the paddock showing off for Mama. The good husband told me that when he was mowing (this was long after I had been there) two stray dogs with green collars were in the first little field. He called them over. They were gorgeous labs, one black and one brown. He checked their collars for ID's and there were none. Stupid owners! Then the black one decided to bark at the horses so the good husband shooed them off and down the lane they went. They were wet from crossing the creek but chose to go the sensible way and hopefully avoid what happened to Black Jack. I pray they find their home. I checked the lost and found section in the paper but they were not listed.

Walking around the paddock I spied something yellow almost over the hill scattered amongst old sticks and brush. Look at these 'daffodils'! I know they have another name, and I must look them up. The frilled edges are very pretty! What a terrible spot, so when they are done blooming, I will find them a more suitable home.

The cemetery is peaceful. I enjoy the quiet atmosphere knowing that these folks loved and cared for the farm just as we do. I am waiting to mow as there is a surprise in there. If I am lucky I will be able to show you tomorrow.

In the back of the barn this stunning blue patch of ground cover caught my eye. Most would consider them weeds; I thought they were beautiful.

While cleaning stalls, some misinformed chickadees have decided that the rafters or somewhere nearby would make a good nesting spot. Not! They had just entered so I am positive no nest was built as my barn doors are closed at night and they were not there this morning. So, if you have read this blog much at all, you will know what is happening this very minute. The poor birds are being stalked and chased by Cricket. They refuse to leave for some odd reason. There are tw0 14-foot wide openings at each end so they can fly to freedom if they choose to do so. I pray there are no feathers lying about upon my return because that would be no surprise at all!