Norman

I am sorry to say that Norman began to decline rather rapidly, and we had to have the vet put him to sleep. It was so difficult - he was the sweetest rabbit and I really miss his happy frisky presence in the barn. I buried him and his "girlfriend" (his stuffed apple) under the forsythia which are about to bloom.

Maybe next year I will think about finding another Holland Lop, but for now I have removed my rabbit link from my farm site.

Norman and his Ladeez

Norman is Sick

My sweet Holland Lop, Norman, has come down with "wry neck", a disturbing condition that causes him to be off balance with his head tilted to the side.

On Tuesday night when I was putting the shed barn (I have to get used to this change) animals to bed I noticed that Norm looked crooked. He seemed happy enough, begging for his nighttime treat, but clearly there was something wrong. I picked him up and noticed the eye facing downward was quite gooky and crusty - more so than the usual occasional crust. 'Scary. So I kissed him, put everyone to bed with fresh water and hay and grain, and immediately Googled what I thought was a bunny stroke. What a surprise to see images of sweet buns all crooked and twisted, and to read about the various potential causes! Read more about this condition here: PetEducation.com

The next morning, Bun seemed no better and maybe worse. That's when I decided to call the vet. Well, my small animal vet told me they don't take rabbits, but gave me a number to call. 'Long story short, I ended up at All Creatures in Amherst, and they were wonderful. They flushed his sinuses and explained that we would be treating Norman for the two most common causes.

Norm is now temporarily residing in my half bath off my mudroom where I can easily administer his meds and monitor him more frequently. He gets eye drops twice a day, and three different oral meds once a day - an antibiotic, some kind of anti-inflammatory, and something to treat the potential of the cause being Encephalitozoon cuniculi, a protozoan (single-celled) parasite.

He is still a happy bun, just a more crooked bun! He is eating, drinking, pooping, snuggling with his girlfriend (stuffed animal), and still loves to be held and kissed. I am optimistic that he will fully recover, even if his tilted head never fully resumes its normal position.

Clover is his favorite :)

Norm is unafraid of babies Vincent and Sal!

He loves his basket!

Baby Norman

Holy Cow, it's March 17th!

Where oh where does the time go??

We are settled into our new house, and the goats are settled into their new barn. Wilbur joined our herd, and he is doing very very well. (Wilbur is a handsome blue-eyed Nigerian Dwarf wether that came to us from a family that could no longer keep him. It is so evident that he has lived with children and has been surrounded by love: he is the most social goat in my herd! We love him already!)

Here are a few photos of this and that:

under that snow lies mud

beautiful goat barn

sunny sun room (Willow & Bumble love it there)

goaties on their table

frosty man cave door

snowy shadows, viewed from the sunroom window

another wintry sunroom view

Kid Reservation

Lake Orchard Farm will hopefully be adding a new goat member this spring. I have officially "reserved" a potential kid from Digging Deeper Farm in Milford, Ohio. 'So exciting!!

I currently have 3 wethers (Salvador, Jasper and Vincent) and and one doe (Elly never freshened so was given to me as a pet) and I would like to ultimately breed a doe or two a year with 4H kids in mind. I am looking out of WNY for breeding stock as I am hoping to bring some "fresh blood" into the area.  Along with good confirmation and great disposition, I am also looking for lots of color, possibly blue eyes, and possibly polled (I hate the dehorning process). I found Digging Deeper Farm on the NDGA site, and instantly like what I both saw and read. After contacting the owner I feel even better, as her feelings toward her animals sounds exactly like mine.

So now the waiting begins. Of course if I take Lynora with me for pick-up then  I will come home with two does :)

~ This is a shot from the breeding page -- Amber and Ozzy are both so beautiful ~

Happy New Year!

We met our goal of moving into 1776 before Thanksgiving, and we couldn't be more thrilled with the house. Of course there are odds and ends that are still in progress - like the fact that we still do not have internet!!! (My Verizon rant I will save for another time, but trust me when I say that they are the devil) but we are living comfortably and our animals are living in their new barn (I will save my Parco rant for another time, too. The barn is beautiful but the "2 1/2 week" construction time was closer to 3 months, and it still isn't 100% complete). Jim and I look around and marvel at the fact that we live here.

Dream
Vision
Plan
Action
Reality

It all happened!! And it is just like we dreamed and envisioned it, only possibly better. Mom moved in the Saturday after Thanksgiving, and is loving life. Her dog Tops made the adjustment well, despite his age and lack of vision. My pups are happy as clams (we have officially fallen head over heels for our new girl Willow) and my goaties have finally settled. The brutal cold caused by the now famous "Polar Vortex" made for some challenges, but all is well, thanks to blankets and heaters.

Apollo the kitty had a bit of a time adjusting, and disappeared a few days after arrival when he was spooked by the installation of the back door on the barn. The temps plunged below zero, and I was sick with worry. We knew there were a couple of potential scenarios: coyote snack (there have been lots of tracks around 1776), a "helpful" neighbor snatched him, he froze in the ungodly cold, OR he headed back home to his goat shed. Jim suggested that he made the long and dangerous trek back "home", so I set out to see. Being the "expert" tracker that I am, I noticed a neat little indent in the goats' hay in the old shed which looked like a nest, while the rest of the hay was all scattered from where they had been walking. I put out food, and I put a few strands of hay in front of the kitty door to see if it was being used. The next morning on my way to work I saw some food had been eaten and the door was used ----- I was so excited. I searched and called but no kitty, BUT I put Mom and Chandler on it, and they caught him! He was so happy to see his family, and so purrrry and sweet. He has been residing in our basement at 1776, but he is a true outside kitty, and we plan to re-introduce him to his new digs this weekend when the weather is more mild.

There are folks who think having a cat live outside is cruel, but that is not necessarily the case with proper care and the right cat. Apollo was from a feral family of cats in a Buffalo warehouse that my husband once owned, and we tried to make him love life inside our house, but to no avail. He loves his goats and is bonded with them, and he is a master hunter. He is housed in a barn with his own beds and unlimited dry food and wet food each morning. He is fully vaccinated and neutered, and he is parasite free. He has the best kitty life, and he serves a vital role of rodent control officer. The basement is not for him.

~ photo by Chandler ~

Loose Ends Abound

Some photos from the last 3 days ... we are still moving in Saturday, believe it or not! Stressful, exciting, exhausting, amazing, unbelievable. Did I mention exhausting?

~ brackets are in place - still need stone and columns ~

~ adding the brackets ~

~ red bar stools from Pottery Barn arrived! ~

~ railings are in and so purdy ~

~ Larry and his dad, finishing up ~

~ pendant lights ~

~ where or where is our mason to finish the stone?? ~

~ pieces coming together amidst the chaos ~

~ barn as seen from dining room windows ~

~ another barn shot ~

~ our excellent electricians ~

~ view from the kitchen ~

~ minus stone and columns but still so handsome! ~

~ barn as seen from driveway ~

~ cupola came today! ~

~ toilets are in ~

Week of Loose Ends

It is almost impossible to believe, but we will be moving in this weekend!! This week will be nuts, with lots of "little" things getting wrapped up:

• Switch plates and ceiling fans
• New hunk o' granite to replace the poorly seamed bar top
• Toilets and sinks
• Carpets
• Appliances
• Cleaning service
• Invisible fence
• Stone
• Goat Fence
• Barn
• Trim
• Garage door opener

Somethings that will need to be touched up after we move in:

• Stair rails
• A bit of paint
• Anything else that doesn't get finished!

Sadly our current house has not yet sold so most of our furniture will remain there until we have a buyer. This weekend will be a "soft" move. BUT we will have our new table, hutch and bar stools - no couches or comfy chairs. I think Adirondack chairs around the fireplace will be fun for a while, at least :) We are getting our new bed delivered this week so we will sleep in comfort, and the bathrooms will be totally stocked as well as our closet. Most importantly the bar cupboard will be moved over as well as out kitchen supplies ---- we should have all we need to live happily. 

It seems unreal, this whole moving thing. The house is painfully beautiful, and it seems impossible that it is ours. Jim is my hero.

~ from this summer, when moving in seemed years away ~