Penny Higgins - Storyteller • Artist • Scientist
Combining Science and Joyful Creativity
Last Wednesday started with some difficulty.
Cried about missing Charlie this morning. Can tell that Toby is lonely. Time to adopt another cat.
— Penny ⓐ Higgins (@paleololigo) March 30, 2016
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I decided to boldly look to see if there was any cat out there that needed me. I immediately found this:
The problem with having a puppy in the house is this:
We had a big snow storm yesterday. Lots of heavy, wet snow. Heart attack snow, it’s called, because if you have heart problems, trying to shovel this stuff might just trigger one.
And I felt it. I still feel it. I hurt. I ache. The little knob on the back of my skull behind my ear is throbbing. How is that even possible?
But despite all this, I took the time and energy to do this one thing:
I started seeing warnings on Sunday about this storm that was supposed to develop Monday night and get awful on Tuesday. We knew something was coming, but the forecasts seemed to be whipping between doom-and-gloom and a whole lot of meh. I wasn’t sure if I should take the coming storm seriously until what had been a winter weather advisory became a winter storm warning.
It was coming on a Tuesday. I could work from home. Yeah, I’ll just plan to work from home. Comet won’t mind.
The snow didn’t really start until I was already abed, leading me to think I would awake to nothing of consequence. This is what we got:
There comes a time in a puppy’s life when the vet suddenly becomes very ‘unfun.’ Our little Comet had that visit on Friday. Friday was not a great day for him, but Saturday he began to perk up. Then he began to plot his revenge.
He wasn’t sure how revenge was going to work out, so he enjoyed the pampering in the meantime.
Today at our home in western New York state, the temperature peaked at 44 F (that’s about 7 C). At this time last year we were under a foot of snow. Today, nothing but sun!
Raising chickens means dealing with keeping the chickens healthy. Once common problem that chicks face is called “Pasty Butt.” I don’t know if this is a legit term, or if this is just something my husband made up, but it is a real problem. Pasty butt is when the chick’s poop clings to its feathers around the vent, ultimately blocking the vent, which can kill the bird.
We noticed that some of our chicks had pasty butt, so chick washing was called for this morning.
It turns out that though chicks aren’t terribly fond of being washed, they do seem to enjoy blow-drying.
It’s hard to believe how quickly Comet has grown. He’s only about four and a half months old, but he’s already getting close to full grown. He’s certainly proportioned more like an adult dog than like a puppy any more.
The other day I was looking at him and it occurred to me: He actually looks a lot like a coyote. And he’s about the right size too. If a person wasn’t paying attention, they could easily mistake this pup for what is viewed as a dangerous pest.
This wouldn’t trouble me too much, except that we live rurally, in an area that has lots of coyotes. And everyone has a gun.Continue reading “Comet’s New Clothes”
Three weeks ago, we took some of our eggs and put them in the incubator. Today, our farm family grew a bit.
Penny Higgins - Storyteller • Artist • Scientist