...

I just received a call from my brother, he had taken my dad to the VA in Iowa City yesterday because he had been having trouble breathing at night (this is not a new complaint - previously they had put him on "water pills" and more recently increased the dose).

They said his heart was a bit enlarged, but sent him home. Apparently they did take some x-rays but didn't review them before sending him home. Today he was called back to the hospital in the snow storm. They gave him a MRI and verified he has a blood clot in his lung.

They have not decided on how to proceed. He is on blood thinners and a number of other meds, which complicate any immediate invasive action.

I just wanted to let you all know & ask you to keep him in your thoughts.

Joyceb

Baby Photos

This morning we treated Promise to a slice of apple and brought out her babies for pets and pics.
They are so teeny and sweet! 2 Black 1 Sable (maybe seal). The Sable is much more talkative than the other two - lots of little squeaks and grunts when I pick him/her up. At this point Gillian is very eager to name them, but it'll be weeks before we can tell boys from girls. I hate calling them "it."

Happy Birthday!

Promise, our little tort Jersey Wooly doe, gave birth to a nice little litter of 3 kits this morning. Mother and babies are all looking great. I had been a little worried because her first litter was so difficult, but she came through this delivery like a pro.

Charles & Gillian (and I) are very excited and ready to hold the babies. I think that we'll let Promise settle into motherhood undisturbed for this first day. She deserves the rest.

Little Fisherman

Charles and Cole took an ice fishing trip on Saturday.
They had a terrific time. Charles caught 3 bass and many bluegill. Cole was so proud of how focused Charles was on the fishing.

Sunday they both spent the day on a goose hunt, but were not as successful. Now there's a little break before the spring turkey season. Cole is looking forward to taking Charles along for that, too!

A Brief Flashback

New Years 2008!

Here's Cole out in our road on that terribly old & windy Tuesday morning. Without seeing it even I wouldn't have believed it.

Pheasant

You can see why Cole & I were so excited about this bird! Cole went out last night to pick him up from the taxidermist. We had a hard time finding just the right spot for him because he's so big. He's hanging between the Southern windows in our dining room. It makes me feel like I'm walking into a museum when I see him up on the wall.

Photographs really do no justice to the amazing colors and iridescence of the feathers. Beautiful bird.

Sorry

This poor blog is as neglected as our garden come September! I really have let it go. But I promise to try harder to post here more often.

I've been kinda avoiding blogger since I put aside painting during our increasingly busy "school" days. It takes me a long time to "do" a painting - from the sketching to the application of color to the varnishing - weeks. Plus it's a rather solitary activity & I haven't had the opportunity to spend even relatively small chunks of time alone with my thoughts. So I've felt like a little less than myself - being not able to create much for myself.

But recently I came across some information about antique and vintage cloth dolls. SO Gillian and I rummaged around in my cloth stash and she selected the fabric she wanted for the doll and the embroidery floss colors for the hair and eyes. It took a couple of afternoons and I had the doll all together. The hair is not the best, but it was my first try, and her first outfit is still in the making. But Gillian is pleased and has dubbed her doll "Jupiter."

Last Saturday we bundled Charles up and Cole donned his hunting gear and they headed out just after 4Am for Charles' first goose hunt. Since he's only 8, he has not yet had his required hunter's ed course. So he didn't have a gun, but he still had a great time. Cole said he was very excited at all the flocks of geese & surprised at how loud they were.

Charles said his favorite part was the "doofus goose." Apparently there was a solo bird flying back and forth between their blind and another fellow's about a quarter mile over. The bird seemed to be looking down at them & flying rather slowly, but none of the shots from either blind hit him, and he repeatedly passed from one to the other. He was high enough to be out of range, perhaps he knew it.... But Charles is pretty sure he had a smaller than average "Bird Brain." The Doofus Goose eventually flew slowly off, leaving the boys both frustrated and amused. Charles is very eager to get out and hunt with his daddy again as soon as possible.

Tuesday the kids and I accompanied a group of local homeschoolers on a visit to the Putnam Museum for a Leonardo Da Vinci exhibit. A number of the displayed inventions were made especially for the children to handle. We later joined a few families who stayed to wander through the rest of the museum and see the permanent exhibits. It was a wonderful day.

Cole is spending the weekend taking advantage of the final deer season. We really want to get one more to restock the freezer. It's hard to describe exactly how much his overall health has improved since we've started eating primarily game. He had been having a lot of pain in the joints of his feet and his stomach was always painful. Now he rarely complains of either!

He's repeatedly said he doesn't want to go back to the pork and beef from the store. He thinks it is the lower fat content of the venison, goose, pheasant, rabbit, fresh eggs, etc... I think it's that and a bit more... I can't help wondering about all the medications that are given to livestock to keep them healthy - not so with wild game, nor our rabbits & chickens. But that's my little paranoid thing.

So. I think that's good enough for today.