Purple Dragon

So, there's me vacuuming this afternoon and I thought to myself "I've not seen Rachel for a few minutes - wonder where she is?"

So, I have a look downstairs - no Rachel. Upstairs - still no Rachel. Went outside and asked the other two, they hadn't seen her.

This is the point my heart rate increases, and I start to panic a wee bit.

Hunted downstairs again, upstairs, cupboards, under tables, behind chairs. Nothing. Went outside, calling calling, no reply. My neighbour happened to be walking past and she could hear the panic in my voice so she joined the hunt. She went down the garden to the gulley to see if she had fallen in, no Rachel. In the garage ... no Rachel.

By this time, I'm pretty much hysterical. I'm crying, my son is crying, my neighbour is trying not to cry.

I dial 999.

"My little girl is gone!"
"Do you need an ambulance, madam?"
"NO! My little GIRL is GONE!! She's not in the HOUSE"

At which point Rachel pops up from under hers covers on her bed where she's been hiding and goes "Peepo!"

Well, I just fell on my knees beside her bed and gathered her up.

"Oh, she's here, she's here, she was hiding from me"
"So, do you need me to contact the police, now, madam?"
"Erm, no, thanks, it's okay now"

I cried and cried. I'm still shaking and that was back an hour ago.

I swear, that kid will turn me grey before she's 3.

I am absolutely exhausted.
I just can't seem to find my get up and go.
The iron pills I am taking are not making all that much difference to how tired I feel.
I've got the shakes.
I keep dozing, particularly if I feel, warm so thank goodness the weather is shite.
Not quite so good when I'm in the car though.
And speaking of being in the car - I keep forgetting how to drive.
I drove down to school this morning, and couldn't remember which way to turn the key to switch the engine off.
I had to look at the bloody diagram.
Then later on, I was reversing, and I couldn't remember where the reversing mirror was in back.
I keep forgetting the stupidest things.
My legs ache something awful.
My physio doesn't seem to be making all that much difference to my hips and backache.
And now my knees have started aching too.
I'm falling apart.
My hair is still falling out too, and it is SO dry.

Ah, bugger. Perhaps I should just crawl back under my rock.

“Each person tagged gives 7 random facts about themselves. Those tagged need to write in their blogs the 7 facts, as well as the rules of the game. You need to tag seven others and list their names on your blog. You have to leave those you plan on tagging a note in their comments so they know that they have been tagged and to read your blog.”

1. I spend too much time on my PC when I should be doing housework

2. I have a thing about duck and gargoyle garden ornaments, but I don't have any real ducks (or gargoyles, unless you count the mirror first thing in the morning)

3. I obsess about having things (camera, loom, spindle) but when I get them I always leave them sitting unused.

4. I'm allergic to Veet (found that out this morning )

5. I was born on a plank over a bath

6. I am useless at sports

7. I need to lose 8 lbs.

So - who to tag?

ParlesVousAnglais? ; Drumboil; Hobsy_Lubs_Munky ; Jenray; KarenF; Nonny; lunar_Tick

Got my post mortem results on the hen that was destroyed

Apparently she had egg peritonitus which sounds bloody painful if you ask me. She had a soft shelled egg (probably) which got stuck in her egg duct, then burst and went off, causing peritonitus.

The PM also noted that she was lacking in calcium (which probably caused the soft shelled egg) but the vet couldn't understand why. They are fed layers pellets, laced with oyster shell, and they have oyster shell neat to help themselves to.

The other hens are laying nice hard shells that look absolutely fine, so perhaps it was her age or something, or perhaps not enough VitD because you need VitD to absorb calcium.

The two eggs that started pipping this morning have hatched, the chicks dried and are now in the brooder.

These eggs were from the clutch that was abandoned by the broody hen earlier this week. I was thinking of getting rid of the eggs last night, and figured I would wait till the weekend, and I am really glad I did.

Alice started pipping around 7am this morning, and she was born around 8.30 It was all very exciting for us - the first egg we have hatched from the incubator. She is a fluffy little yellowy-brown chick who runs towards my voice

Bumble didn't manage quite so well. She also started pipping around 7am, but all she had managed by 2pm was one leg out and waving around aimlessly. She just didn't seem to be able to manage to break out. I know it isn't recommended but I gave her a wee hand and she was born around 2.30 She is also quite sweet - a black chick with yellow tips to her wings and yellow toes on black legs. I don't know if she will make it, as I have heard bad things about people helping them out of the shell, but we will see. Also, she doesn't seem to have all the feathers on her back - she seems very bristly.

Anyway - photos to follow.

Posted: Mon May 21, 2007 3:58 pm Post subject: Just plain weird

I have 4 nestboxes separated by a half length partition.

My hens that are appearing broody seem to be swapping eggs. This morning, the tufty brown hen had eggs under her in No1 nestbox. Then she got up and went outside and there were no eggs there. Later on, I went outside and the black broody was in the No1 nestbox with eggs under her. I've just been back out and the tufty brown hen is back, with no eggs under her (in No1) and the black hen has eggs in the previously empty nestbox. This is going on with boxes 3 and 4 as well.

What the heck are they up to? Shiftwork? Are they actually co-operating on bringing these eggs to chick, or are they stealing each other's eggs?

Went out this evening to put the birds away, and the brown hen has hatched her first two babies. One is a fluffy yellow and the other a fluffy black. They are totally gorgeous. She is still clocking away though, and has more eggs under there - I can't wait to see the rest.

Pix will follow when Mother Hen lets me near the chicks

Some toady little shite has nicked my debit card details.

Fortunately Himself was checking the bank online and thought - "Hmm, what's she bought now?" and phoned me to check. I'm like "Wha?" and when we checked up it turned out to be a gamer site.

Bastards.

We've reported it to the bank, and they have cancelled my card. Hopefully, it will be cancelled mid-important-part-of-the-game and s/he will be destroyed, never to rear his/her ugly thieving mush in the gaming world again.

Lucky we checked. There were three withdrawals yesterday and another three pending today.

Himself reckons it was a random generator that got my details because my card was still in my purse.

I hope they can catch whoever it was. I feel ... angry. Violated. Nervous. Insecure.

Bastards.

Three more of my hens have gone broody. Tis the season, I guess.

Now the decision is whether to put them in the broody coop with the other hen that is clocking or leave them in the big coop with the others that aren't. I'm worried about the rooster getting his beak on the babies, you see.

I think they will need to be moved. There better not be any more that go on the boil, because I've only got 4 nestboxes in the broody.

The hen that got up off her eggs was walking funny, so Zombiecazz and I had a look at her yesterday to see what might be the problem.

She had a breastbone like a razor and a belly like a Zeppelin.

Managed to get her an appointment at the vet this morning, and th e hen has been destroyed. She is being sent for autopsy, because this is the 2nd one that has happened to, and we need to make sure it isn't anything I am doing to make them this ill. Two tumours out of ten hens in one year is a HUGE percentage

The white hen that was pulling feathers - the vet reckons she is stressed by having the geese arrive and that she will start to chill about it. An interesting comment, because the geese tolerate the other hens fine, but absolutely freak at the white ones. Weird.

Well last night I was up between about midnight and 3am with Rachel. She has this cold that Ger brought home with him, that I now have. It is a real nasty bugger - had Ger in bed at 6pm every night last week.

Well, last night Rachel sounded a bit wheezy when I put her to bed, so I gave her a wee spoonful of cough medicine. At midnight I was awoken by this awful noise, and it was her. She couldn't catch her breath properly because she had a horrible croup in her chest. She was barking like a dog and wheezing between barks. I brought her down and gave her to Ger to hold and got her some more meds. When I put the light on to spoon it in, her face was covered in these horrible yellowy-green globs of phlegm that she had coughed up. Yeuch. Better out than in, I guess.

So on top of having The Cold myself, I have missed half a nights sleep. I feel like death warmed over. I've cancelled today's physio because I ache so much in the hips and knees that she wouldn't be able to work on me anyway.

I have an appt at the Dr this morning for Laura for her fingernail and her tonsils. The nshe is off to nursery at 1pm. I have a pal coming round at 4pm. Hope I don't give her this cold. I'm looking forward to that! Looking forward to her coming that is. Then i have the Playgroup AGM tonight at 8pm. I can't miss that, although I could really do without it!

More bad news as well. Another friend has been diagnosed with a brain tumour. She also has a cyst on her ovary the size of an orange and a 'stone' in her appendix. Don't know what the Drs are going to do just now.

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Update : Laura's throat is fine. Apparently, that is how her tonsils should look at her age. Phew! Unfortunately, the bad news is that her finger has an infection. Penicillin here we come.

Rachel decided to paint my white kitchen units in red and purple paint. Fortunately it was finger paints, so it was water soluble and came off no bother, but MAN did I get a shock when I saw it. I was in such a rush to get it off that I didn't take a pic but I wish I had now.

I looked down Ger's throat the other day and thought he had no tonsils. However, he does. Well, that means that Laura has had swollen tonsils for as long as I can remember! I don't have any, so I didn't know what they were supposed to look like, but apparently they aren't supposed to look like hers I've got an appt at the Dr tomorrow for her. I will get him to look at her finger as well. The nail is starting to lift and I'm really worried that it will rip off.

One of the 'broody' hens abandoned her eggs yesterday. I candled them, and none were viable so I didn't bother putting them in the incubator. I was quite upset. Upset enough that I dreamed of hatching eggs last night.

I've caught that horrible cold that is going around. I've got masses to do, but I feel like a complete heap and can't motivate myself to do much. My knees ache something awful, as do my hands and throat and I feel totally spaced and exhausted tired. I got just go back to my bed.

Mum goes online tomorrow. We bought her a laptop (thanks Ally!) for her birthday / xmas present and she has arranged with BT to get Home Highway. I can't wait. She will get to see all the pix, have email, see the kids on webcam (that is my next investment for her so we can see her too). She did that Silver Surfers thing, and thoroughly enjoyed it. She can program videos as well - more than I can do!

Well, I'm in the middle of washing the living room suite, so I best get on. Groan.

My god where does the time go??

What have we done this week?

We got a new car, which was exciting. Well - not new from the showroom (who can afford nowadays?) but new to us. It is excellent. Toyota Lucida Estima. It is an 8-seater people carrier, diesel, automatic. Import from Tokyo so the underneath is clean as a whistle because they don't need to salt their roads. Before we got it, it got a complete service, the underneath sealed (ready for the crappy UK roads), a years MOT and a years road tax. We also got roof racks provided. Here's a wee piccy.

Did I say we got a climbing frame off FreeCycle for the kids? Well, this is it.

The kids love it, and we can't get them off it!

Took the mutt for a walk yesterday in the woods at Delgaty. Ha! We only got lost. We walked for what seemed like miles but was probably only 3 or 4, but we were out for nearly two hours. Poor Rachel couldn't manage, so she ended up on my shoulders, with Laura on Gers. Poor Anthony had to walk.

The chooks are still broody. I've moved them into a different coop so they can get some peace and also stop stealing eggs from the other hens. I also invested in an incubator in case they hatch some early lays and then abandon the remaining half cooked eggs when they have chicks. I hope we get some. I'm really looking forward to it.

I was trying to talk Himself into getting another pup yesterday. There was some collie pups for sale locally, and I really wanted one, but alas! it was not to be

Well, the best laid plans and all that. We had such a huge list of jobs to do today, but the windy is so strong that most of it has had to be postponed.

I did manage to get the hens wormed which wasn't appreciated. The cockerel was such a baby he battered his head against the chicken wire and managed to make his comb bleed. I had a look and couldn't see any damage, so I guess / hope it is just a graze. Silly chicken.

I have also discovered that another hen has gone broody. She has been stealing eggs as well, and has 10 under her. The other one has 11. Unfortunately I don't know which have been under longer so I think I'm going to have to find an incubator fairly sharpish because I don't want half a clutch of dead chicks. She will go into the broody coop with the other one shortly today as well. I hope no more get in the mood because I've only got three nesting boxes in there.

Himself is away with the Boy to pick up a climbing frame we got off FreeCycle. I'm quite excited about it - I hope it is in okay condition. They will be very disappointed if it isn't.

The next big job is de-miting the coop. I hate doing it. Oh, and treating the hens for scaly leg. Never ends, eh?

We are dithering just now. We want to put more stuff in the garden (yeah, yeah, I know - how sick are you of my garden?) but we can't decide what to do.

What are our options?

Trees. Except this is the wrong time of year to plant trees - we would have to wait till November really.

Alpaca except their teeth are like portable razorblades, they spit and they are about £3500 a pair

Shetland ponies except they aren't much use apart from eating the grass, they get hmm, what's it called? something wrong with their bellies if their grazing is too rich, you have farrier bills, major vet bills etc etc

Donkeys but we know fuck all about them, even though we really really like them.

I'm currently considering more garden furniture, along the summerhouse / pergola theme.

We are also considering moving the driveway to the bottom of the garden,s sweeping it up thru the middle of the garden and putting in a roundabout with a fountain / sculpture in the middle. At least I don't have to feed any of that