Celebrating 100

The first celebration this week was that Jacob Alexander turned 100 DAYS old.

Look at that adorable smile and try not to return it.

What a joyful little guy!

The next day, on March 15, would have been my father's 100th birthday. The Ides of March is a day in history, so it never slips by quietly anyway. Its hard to imagine that my father, Wasyl Nahorniak, was born before so much world history, and as a Ukrainian born child, lived in the midst of much of it. The stories he told could make a great movie.

Here is a bit of history from his hometown.
Sniatyn 1918 - 1939
I keep trying to see his face in those photos.

Dad died in 1991, leaving me an appreciation of history, geography and current events. When I look back, its easy to know why. Thanks Tato!

Xylitol - Warning To Dog Owners

When I see a story as the one I am passing on today, I fact check with Snopes.  Usually I find the facts are only partially true. Today Snopes, presented even more information that if you haven't seen it before, you may want to review. 
http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/xylitol.asp

Many folks use sugarless gum and cookies, and other xylitol products every day, and its time to read the label if you own a canine.

This story was published today in the Granby-East Granby Patch:

"My friend Lisa was in the midst of enjoying Valentine's Day Thursday when she noticed something was wrong with her dog. In a split second, when no one was looking, he had raided a nearby purse ...

Spent part of valentines day at the doggie ER last night...little guy got into some chocolate and sugarless gum...xylitol in the gum is super dangerous to dogs and can cause liver damage...we are waiting and praying that we caught him early enough.....watch your purses ....."

For the whole story read here:

http://granby-eastgranby.patch.com/articles/hide-those-valentines-day-treats-the-pooches-are-on-the-prowl-b3ec7102?ncid=newsltuspatc00000001

The short and long of it is that a couple sticks of gum can kill a small dog and make severely ill a larger dog in as little as 15 minutes.

As my vet is more than 15 minutes away and the prospect of inducing vomiting is not high on my list of skills or things I want to do, I'll be looking at sugarless products more closely now. How about you?

Is Arctic Cold Warmer Than Frigid?

No news to anyone watching the telly or reading the news - our part of the country is days into an "Arctic Freeze". Well tonight's forecast has a blue thermometer and the word "frigid" next to it. Are we to surmise that means its getting worse? Or have they run out of ways to express the cold we are suffering through.

I will tell you that the goats have had mostly indoor recess, with a short outdoor stint where they spend most of their time standing together in the shed, watching my kitchen door.  I can hear them cursing my name! When the sun is out I want them to get a little fresh air and solar heat, even if that is tough to feel when the wind kicks back up.  Yesterday I even went into the shed with them to show it really wasn't that bad out there. I was met with blank stares.

Little Brianna followed and waited for something exciting to happen like heat blowers to start up. Kids! They are so eager and gullible.

I had my camera in my pocket. That's where it was when I tromped back into the house. Taking off my gloves for anything is quick and painful. My rubber boots feel like rocks on my feet as I walk over the frozen ground.

Normally this would be kidding season here, and I am sure it is on other farms. I'm betting the electric bills are going to be high to keep everyone warm for those that survive being born during this freeze. As it is, I have cracked skin. Imagine kidding and maybe milking to get the slow starters going.

God bless the farmers working out there this month!

Christmas Tree Recycling - Rite of Winter at On the Pond Farm

After a warm start and not much snow, winter arrived the day after Christmas with a pretty messy snow storm. Late that morning, we actually got on the road to visit the new grand baby, and didn't even make it beyond the township limits before we realized our mistake. So we turned around, only to see snow plows going the other way, and for a few minutes the snow even stopped pounding down.

Do we keep going?

No. What's the rush.

There wasn't one, aside from getting back to our favorite new boy.

The next day was a better experience.

So when we got back home, Christmas trees were starting to pile up, and phone calls and emails were coming in asking if we needed trees again. I love our friends and neighbors for this. Not only does this keep the goats happy, it also cuts down on feed costs. I'm sure even the citiest city folk have heard about the price of corn and grains. Wasn't it just last week that I read about huge round bales of hay being stolen. Crazy!

Until the last couple of days of warmer temperatures, we had a field of snow and ice. Of course, now we have boot sucking mud. Where is the middle ground? I think we can hope for that three days in May if we're lucky!

Happy New Year 2013!

Its been an eventful 2012 for my small family. Earlier in the year, we learned that we needed to sell the farm in order to make a job move, and we have been in that process for a while now. The farm has been for sale, as have my animals, and my lovely goat herd has been getting smaller and smaller with my last four breeding gals left.

Then just four weeks ago, our first grandchild Jake was born, and we have been lucky to be able to spend a lot of his first month with him. With our future move, we will be so much closer, and will be able to see this little one grow.

Since we learned of our move, I appreciate every day spent on the farm with all my senses. We have been so lucky to have been owners of such a special property for soon to be ten years. I wish we could move it with us.

So I look forward to 2013, not for the move from the farm - that will be sad -  but that it takes us closer to our daughter and her growing family. That will give us much joy.

I wish you all a joyful New Year too!

Jacob Alexander

It was an extra long wait and apparently our new grandson used his time well, growing into a 9 pound 3 ounce, 21 inch big baby, and finally arriving at 11:02 PM, December 4th.. We do not have big babies in our family, and this big guy surprised even the professionals. They couldn't figure out where Kristin had tucked this child. A 7 1/2 lb baby was the call just that morning.

Jacob gave the hospital staff a few scares, and we all have to be thankful for the staff AND technology that brings these babies safely into our welcoming arms. I had made the drive just in time to be there as everyone went into surgery, but before I could even get to the labor area, my joy and anticipation was tempered with a hard slap of reality. As the labor room door opened, the first thing I saw was a crying woman. She was around my age, and the tears were not tears of joy. She was on the phone, but I didn't even need to hear the words. The baby had been delivered still born. I cannot imagine the pain.

We are so lucky and grateful to have Jacob Alexander - named from his parents' middle names - coming home.

Impatient

Or maybe excited.
We are in the waiting game for our first grandchild.
Due date - last week!
I thought I'd resolved the photo issue.
Apparently not.
So it will be the written word only till I figure it out. 
Sorry to disappoint (if I am!).