Good News!

I am overjoyed to announce that Hannibal's diagnosis is just a slight case of arthritis!!! He was sedated and X-Rayed yesterday, and there was no cancer! My friend Frances said she only saw a touch of arthritis...perhaps not even enough to cause his limping. It may be a torn ligament, or pulled muscle, but nothing life-threatening. Just some arthritis medicine, some R&R and he's good to go. Thank God!

Also, I must clear Frances' name--she is not the Grim Reaper of Veterinary Medicine as I may have alluded to in my past post. Her initial thought of bone cancer was just that, a thought, and she reminded me yesterday that it was ME, that made her tell me what she was thinking. Now, having said that, she did in fact tell me it could just be arthritis after I told her how infrequent his limping was. She was adamant about me clearing her name. Ha! But this is also the same veterinarian that instructed Shannon, when we found an injured baby bird last year, to "stomp on its head." I'll let you make your own minds up about Frances. :)

To add to a day of stressful waiting and then good news, I had my 30 week appointment with my wonderful OBGYN, Dr. Scruggs! I was there from 4-7 PM. A long 3 hours of waiting, but she was on call and apparently lots of babies were being born at Bristol Regional Medical Center yesterday! Raegan is doing great, moving like crazy, and her heart rate was 146 bpm. When the nurse put the Doppler on my tummy, Raegan scooted away so quickly, the nurse laughed...she saw my belly ripple with movement, as Raegan pressed a hand or foot (?) all the way across my belly, letting us know she was in there and awake! The nurse said it looked like something from the movie Alien. I am going to take that as a good thing, as she's alive and active in there. I got the Rhogam shot, as I'm O-, and we need to protect Raegan from the Rh factor. Some of my friends said the shot was soooo painful, so I was expecting the worse. It felt like a little bee sting in my hip. I guess I was expecting the pain I can only imagine after witnessing the administration of 2 Bicillin (a cold, glue-like Penicillin derivative) shots in both hips for my Syphilis patients over a course of 3 weeks, and seeing grown men cry/pass out/vomit. It wasn't nearly that bad. :)

Dr. Scruggs said she would like for me to gain more weight, as I've only gained 5 lbs so far. She told me to enjoy the next 10 weeks, and eat whatever I wanted. That sounds like fun, but I don't crave all the fatty, good yummy foods that would typically put weight on me. I eat a relatively healthy diet. I crave salads and fruits, LOTS of water, and also ice cream. I do cheat a bit, and have noticed my sweet tooth with this pregnancy is a lot more pronounced then when I was pregnant with Pyper. Maybe Raegan will be sweeter? I don't think it's possible. Well, maybe a little. ;) I say that now because Pyper is going through a demonic stage known as the terrible two's right now. Biting, hitting, temper tantrums, etc are typical behavior for our daughter. Not to mention this growly, low "NOOOOO...." she hisses out when provoked. Kinda reminds me a bit of the Exorcist and pea green soup.

We are leaving in 2 weeks to visit Shannon's twin brother in Nashville, and we are looking forward to spending time with the whole family. Dr. Scruggs suggested I take a copy of my medical chart with me, just in case. You know you're getting the finish line when your Dr. says that! Woo-Hoo!!!

28 weeks preggo...I'm a bit bigger than this now! And I have 10 more weeks!!!

Praying for Hannibal

Hannibal, our beloved Rottie, has been limping on his front right leg for several weeks now. Sometimes it's just a slight limp, and other times, he hobbles around, barely putting any weight on it. I was thinking he had just run too hard, for too long. After all, he is 10. However, he still acts like a puppy. My sister-in-law, who is a veterinarian, mentioned it a few weeks ago, and I acknowledged it, still thinking maybe he had been over doing it. It's summer time, with creeks to swim, balls to chase and a toddler to follow around. He's known to overdo it a bit! But this past weekend, it got progressively worse. I mentioned it to my friend, Frances, who is also a vet, and she said he needed to come into the clinic for X-rays. The sooner the better. She seemed quite grim while discussing him, and I pushed her to tell me what she was thinking. She said it could be bone cancer, as older, larger breed dogs are prone to getting it, and it progresses very quickly. I, of course, don't like this news and all day cry over the thought of losing my sweet Boonie. Yesterday morning, he was really limping, favoring it to the point of almost not putting any pressure on it. We then all took a much needed 3 hour nap, and when he woke up, he wasn't limping at all. When I told this to our other friend, Kay, also a vet, she said it sounded more like arthritis. Whew! Some hope! Needless to say, we've made an appointment at the clinic where Frances and Kay both work on Thursday where Shannon will drop him off for the day. He will be sedated and X-rayed, and we will know more from that point. Please pray it's only something as minor as arthritis!!! We (especially Pyper) adore this dog!

Hannibal and Pyper. Pyper was about 4 months old in this pic...

A common occurance around our house!

Playing dress up with Hannibal. He's such a good sport.

Pyper decided to have a tutu party and once again, Hannibal participated!

The Dixie Chick's Treats

I'm much like my father in that I research my hobbies ad nauseam. I have read on several websites, blogs, and articles how much chickens LOVE watermelon. So, after we ate ours, I gave the girls the left overs. It's truly composting at its best. Here, Blanche, the ever-adventurous one, inspects and starts her gluttony.

Goldie, seeing that Blanche is obviously enjoying her tasty treat, books it over to the watermelon...

Soon, all the ladies are enjoying their tasty treat.

This is what was left. Carnage. The meat of the watermelon remaining was
only left because the girls had scratched their shavings all over it and decided that made it less tasty.

I then decided to give them some plain yogurt with pumpkin seeds sprinkled on top, and a bowl of Shannon's ill-fated pinto beans. **Side Note: I asked Shannon to make a crock pot of pinto beans, having had soaked the beans over night. I laid the recipe out for him to follow (very easy), and went on to work. He later told me he didn't read the recipe, and just threw the beans in the crock pot with the soaking water and cooked them. I refused to eat them. That's just nasty. So, I decided to feed them to the girls. :) **

Needless to say, the beans were a big hit with the girls.

Here, you see Ida Mae giving Blanche the hairy eyeball, basically telling her to back off.

Blanche finds some pumpkin seeds I put on the floor for them....

The girls enjoying their feast.

Myrtle, one of the shyer girls, decides she wants in on the action and takes flight to get while the gettin' is good.

Blanche, after her meal, perches on the highest spot in the coop so far and watches her kingdom.

Here's looking at you! Blanche is my favorite. Can you tell? Who knew chickens had such personalities?

Meal Worm Farming

We recycled an empty Rubbermaid tote to house our meal worms. Pyper, mom and I put 9 quarts of chick feed in first...

Then added some dehydrated milk...

Some wheat germ, oatmeal and Pyper...she loved feeling the textures on her feet and hands. It was cute until she started dumping the "food" onto the floor.

I added some celery and newspaper so they can eat and sleep.

Here's a close up of my new little farm. I ordered 1000 meal worms. You may be wondering, "Why on earth would Aimee BUY meal worms and put them in a plastic tub???" Well, the Dixie Chicks LOVE meal worms, and they can get a bit expensive buying them by the dozen. So, I did some research, and discovered I could buy them in bulk, for a fraction of the cost. I researched how to "breed" them, and maintain them. I'm hoping they will multiply to the point I can supplement the hen's diet this winter when they can't/won't go out to forage.

They come as meal worms, and then they will turn into little black beetles. The beetles don't fly or bite, but they DO lay eggs. And lots of them! Then, the eggs hatch and turn into larvae. The larvae then turn into meal worms.

I will periodically take a few hundred and put them in a cool place (like the fridge, but don't tell Shannon!) and that will stop their growth and reproduction. This will enable me to stagger the life cycle, so I don't have all beetles, all larvae and all meal worms at one time. Once again, my degree in Biology is really coming in handy! I really enjoy projects like this. I'm sure the Dixie Chicks will, too!

A visit to Blue Canoe Farm

On Saturday, we took Pyper to visit my friend, Sheri Bansemer's, Alpaca farm. One of her girls, Skittles, just had a cria, Gunnel, pictured above. I apologize about the over exposure, I wasn't thinking and had the flash on!

Micah, Sheri's very helpful son, picked up little Gunnel (weighing 25 lbs!) and would walk around the yard with him! Pyper and Gunnel weigh the same. Amazing!

Pyper inspecting Micah's hold to ensure accurate and safe handling.

Sheri also has 7 hens on her farm...something we are naturally intrigued by! Pyper gave Micah's pet hen a kiss for good measure.

Micah showing Pyper how sweet his lady is.

This is Val, a black alpaca. I thought she looked so cute with her minerals on her top lip! She is due to deliver her cria literally any minute!

Pyper wanted to pet Val so badly, but with the impending birth, Val was a bit moody, and I'm sure uncomfortable. Sheri said she's prone to spit when agitated, so we left good enough alone.

Again, Micah, the helpful farm hand, showed his cria off to Pyper. Pyper just wanted to squeeze him and kiss him!

Pyper loved feeling Gunnel's fiber. He was soooo soft. Hard to believe he's only 3 days old!

Pyper, when excited, always goes for the eyes. Human, or otherwise. Who knows! Gunnel was so sweet and patient with her.

If you are near Marion, Va you must go by and visit Blue Canoe Farm! Sheri and Micah are so knowledgeable, and helpful. They certainly have an "open barn" policy, and the kids will love it. I know Pyper did. My mom and I did too!

The Awkward Stage...

The Dixie Chicks are now 3 weeks old, and have left the cute a fuzzy stage behind. They are now sporting the "dinosaur" look as I call it. Their feathers are really coming in, you can certainly tell in the picture above the Black Barred Rocks and Rhode Island Reds are just that. Black and red. They have huge feet compared to their bodies, and they like to stretch their necks and peer at you with a quizzical eye...

The black one here is Blanche. She's my favorite (for now). She is the one that is the most demonstrative and the one that is always the first to try a new treat. The two in the back are Ida Mae and Goldie.


Here are the girls eating their plain yogurt. I originally recycled a cup of strawberry Greek yogurt Pyper didn't finish, and they LOVED it, but with it having artificial sweeteners, I figured it may not be good for my ladies. So, I decided to go with plain yogurt for them. I also figured if I wasn't going to give artificial sweeteners to my chicks, I shouldn't/wouldn't feed it to my human chick either. Sorry, Pyper, you're going to get plain yogurt with fresh fruit in it from now on...





This RIR that is facing the camera is Myrle. She is a hoot. She's always on Blanche's heels and is her right wing gal.





You may be wondering where I'm coming up with these names. A while back, I started naming my animals after family members whose names were quite....antiquated. That's PC, right? Knowing I'd never name one of my children Mable, or Elmer, or Nelly, I've decided to honor my relatives by naming my much loved pets after them. The Dixie Chicks will all be named after my Grannie Iney's sisters and then other female relatives.





My Appendix mare, Iney, is named after my Grannie Iney, and her signature color was purple. So, my horse Iney's signature color is purple as well.

Last week we bought 4 goldfish for our water troughs. These two are the only 2 that have survived. Gold Member and Goldie. Willie and Willamina died. Gold Member and Goldie are thriving, and we realized it's because the horses were using their watering trough the last few weeks, so we were adding water, thus Oxygen, to the tank. The others up top didn't have any additional water, or shade, so they essentially cooked. Lesson's learned. We will add water to the troughs whether or not we are using them.

This is Smelly Nelly. She was named after one of my Grannie's sisters, Nelly. I added the Smelly part because she used to have a problem with gas...that's all I'll say about that.

This is Hammish, or Shannon's cat. He named him. He wanted to name our future son (if we ever have one, Hammish). I was horrified by this name, and decided when we adopted this kitty HE could be named Hammish instead. Whew! Dodged that bullet. Anyways, Hammish is our garden kitty. He lays in the garden for hours waiting, and watching for any movement. He normally takes care of any pests that venture out there. Here on the back deck, he likes to perch, because he have a perfect view of the garden below.

A Trip Down Memory Lane

We took Pyper for her first Carl's experience on Monday in Fredericksburg. For those of you that are not locals, Carl's is a landmark. I have been going to Carl's since I was about Pyper's age. It's the best soft serve icecream on the planet. When I moved to Fredericksburg, my parents asked how far I was from Carl's. Luckily, I was only 5 minutes away!

I always get the strawberry cone, so I got one for Pyper to try. She loved it.

My mom switches her order up from time to time either getting a chocolate cone or having a sundae. My grannie used to get the maple nut chocolate ice cream sundae.

This place has a lot of memories for us.

3 generations sitting in front of Carl's enjoying their ice cream!