Farmer Kitty

2010-05-03T11:37:00.002-05:00

We lost the BIL with cancer on February 19th. He is now at peace.

The BIL with kidney cancer has been through a rough time but, is now doing better again.

As for our family, we are all doing well. Spring crops are planted-the earliest we have ever been done. DH had last week off and the weather was nice-usually means a dry year. I started work on my greenhouse and DH and Kute Kitten helped yesterday. I need to get more boards though as I have doubled the size I was originally going to build it. We've been fishing a couple times this year but, haven't brought anything home. Either the fish weren't biting or they were to small to keep.

2010-02-09T12:48:00.002-06:00

I know it's been awhile since I last posted.

My BIL with the lung cancer is still here. The doctors had given him 1 month. The month was up Christmas day. His feet and legs have now changed color though. He is more than ready to go and has been for a few months.

Winter here has been crazy. First it's really cold. Then it warms up and it snows. Then it warms up more and decides to rain. We are all healthy and have avoided being really sick this winter. Only the small stomach bugs.

2009-12-13T08:55:00.002-06:00

I know it's been awhile since I posted here. I've been busy making quilts for Christmas presents and one baby quilt. I'm down to one queen size quilt, which is in progress. I've made a queen, baby, lap with throw pillows, and a full sized one.

The forum is getting a lot of visitors and hopefully one day they will join. Some of them have spent quit a bit of time checking things out. :)

2009-10-30T11:38:00.002-05:00

The sick bugs out there, in the public, right now are terrible! So far we have the nasty cold and Peanut spent a couple days with a fever but, that has been it. I'm praying that it stays that way. With us wore down from this cold I opted to change Jess/Kute Kitten's migraine and lymes check appt. Hopefully, things will calm down before we have to go into the clinic for that or anything else! At least we will have had a chance to recover some.

2009-10-16T15:57:00.003-05:00

Tiffany and I met at the doorway into the manger, this morning. I was heading into the barn and she was barreling out. She collided with my knee and knocked me over. Then proceeded in true puppy fashion to run circles around me and jump over me. DH came to my rescue. My knee didn't hurt this morning but, it hurts, snaps, crackles, and pops now!

I got to the barn this afternoon to find Whatsit (heifer) out. By the time I hobbled to the shed Tiffany had rounded her up and headed her back to the gate I had opened. Good puppy. :) Whatsit had been in the barn and broke a water pipe. The east manger was flooded. :( I managed to get that cleaned up. I'll keep plucking away at things and get done what I can. DH will have to help when he gets home with some stuff though, I'm sure.

Not good news.

2009-10-13T07:57:00.004-05:00

BIL with Lung Cancer and Emphysema was in the hospital. Turns out he had radiation sickness/poisoning and pneumonia. He is home but, will need to be on full time oxygen for the rest of his life and antibiotics for who knows how long. He will never get better. A bad infection, such as pneumonia, can kill him.

Bad news

2009-10-04T08:50:00.002-05:00

First, Hi Becky! I can now be found here. Come check us out. :)

BIL with the Kidney cancer has had a rough week. His dog got sick and they ended up loosing her Thursday night. We went and buried her for them Sat. morning.

Then on Friday he had doctor appts. The x-ray showed that the cancer has had significant growth. He will go for a scan in two weeks and there is a new drug made just for Renal Cell (Kidney)cancer out. I guess it has just been okayed by the FDA. He has been so lucky with catching the leading edge but, only time will tell whether or not this drug will work for him. The last one didn't do a whole lot.

BIL with Lung cancer is getting worse. He is having trouble getting around as he runs out of breath in real short order. I so wish they were closer so we could help. They have 3 steers ready to go and his wife is going to have to load them herself. It's a four hour drive one way there and right now it's extremely fustrating!

Doctors!

2009-09-30T11:07:00.000-05:00

Doc appt was a waste of time. She was 25 minutes late. Then told us that they maybe regular migraines with the history of me having them and for Jess/Kute Kitten to keep a journal of them and food, weather, sleep patterns, etc. Before she said they were caused by the Lyme's. I get more and more irritated with the doctor(s) every time we go in.

Jess/Kute Kitten Migraines again!

2009-09-29T20:02:00.002-05:00

Jess/Kute Kitten is having migraines again. They had gone away with the treatment of the Lyme's but returned on Sat. night. The doctor wasn't to concerned with just one migraine but, then she had another Monday afternoon at school and I had to go get her from school. The doctor has decided to see her tomorrow morning. She will discuss what's going on with us and then decide whether to do the blood work tomorrow or what to do. They were sure the migraines were part of the Lyme's. With her last test she was clinically treated but, still had the antibodies. Even after telling us before that if she had the antibodies they would put her back on antibiotics, the decided not to. I wasn't happy with things then but, decided to wait for the next test and see how that went. The sad part is to wish it's not the Lyme's back means we are dealing with something else. Maybe even just plain old migraines, which she could have for life. What a mess!

2009-09-22T04:35:00.000-05:00

Bob, I clean them, cut them up, and freeze them for use during the winter.

Corn is off!

2009-09-21T12:36:00.003-05:00

We have the field corn all chopped off! There is a huge pile out in the heifer pasture that will feed them for a long time come winter. More details here.

The crop season is slowly winding down but, there is plenty to do to get ready for winter. We are going to have to look at a second pen for the small heifers this year too.

The sweet corn is all done. 42 pts in the freezer. I hope to get the potatoes dug this afternoon. There is still some squash, tomatoes, and green peppers out there too.

Thursday, September 10, 2009

2009-09-10T13:21:00.003-05:00

Tiffany is doing better today. Still lazy but, eating small portions several times today. Drinking well. She is also perkier and helped do chores this morning. I forgot to say she came home yesterday!

We are chopping the oats for the second time today and I'm trying to get the greenbeans cut so that I can, can them.

Stay at the Vets!

2009-09-07T13:14:00.003-05:00

Poor Tiffany didn't feel good yesterday and was worse this morning. We called the vet and she met us at the office (closed for Labor Day). Tiffany was running a 106.4 temp and wouldn't eat. She was also coughing and had a raspiness to her breathing. The vet did blood work. White blood cells are down. She thought Parvo but, that came back negative. YEAH! She still wanted to keep her to run IV fluids and IV antibiotics. When her temp comes back down and she's eating then she can come home. The vet figured a day or two. Poor baby. I'm sure she is confused as to what is going on.

Not impressed with the vet. Wait until we have herd health and I talk to her boss. I got a call earlier and despite being told, a couple of times, that she doesn't have pneumonia, she does. They have switched her antibiotics and gave her a bronchial treatment. Her temp is down to 104.5 and she's drinking. When they took her out for a potty trip she wanted to wander around some and she was sitting up in the kennel instead of laying down. I sure hope she can come home tomorrow. She will have antibiotics to take for awhile but, I can handle that.

Fair Results!

2009-09-04T06:45:00.004-05:00

Jess/Kute Kitten and I exhibited things at the Central Wisconsin State Fair.

She beat me on the Strawberry Jam. She got a 4th.

I entered a baby quilt I made this past spring. I took a first!

More results can be found here.

September 2, 2009 New Puppy

2009-09-02T13:00:00.003-05:00

Yesterday was Peanut's first day of 4K. She was excited to go and went on the bus no problem. Jess/Kute Kitten said that Peanut got scared when they got to school and she had to practically drag her off the bus but, that she was fine after that. Peanut says she liked school and made a new friend. She already knew a big chunk of the kids in her class. She wants to go back on Thursday so, I would say things went real well!

Also, yesterday, while DH was at work and both girls at school, I went up to Loyal and got a 5 month old female St. Bernard. DH new about it but, the girls didn't. I managed to keep her a secret until DH got home from work so he could be in a the surprise too. They have named her Tiffany.

Today, Jess/Kute Kitten and I have our canned goods being judged at the fair. I stayed home to process chickens (and slice open my finger to stitch it myself).

2009-08-28T20:22:00.000-05:00

Hi, Terrilacy!

2009-08-26T16:05:00.001-05:00

I've had two different doctors tell me Kute Kitten's Lymes followup test was postive. I just talked with her doctor, who is the infectious disease doctor, and he says they were reading it wrong and it's negative. But, he had been the one that one of the other doctors had conferred with. His office had called to setup another blood draw and an appointment. I'm not sure who or what to believe anymore!

He's not gettting another test right now. He couldn't give me a reason to do it now. Dropped the subject entirely when I asked why.I guess he didn't like me participating in my daughter's care. TOUGH!

The doctor who ordered the tests called during milking. She said that clinically the Lymes is treated. It's the antibodies that are still high. Hmmm, we were told that if that happened she still had Lymes and it needed to be treated. No one wants to treat her. This doctor wants the blood work redone in a month (not sure if that's a month from now or a month from the other test) to recheck things. That I can handle. At least she could say why.

I've coincidered going to another clinic and having a second opinion. Still have to talk to DH but, maybe wait until this other blood work is done and back.

She said she knows it's hard and that I want to be the parent and not the doctor but, that's not something I can do. Heck, if I had the degree to be the doctor I would tell them all to go to H*LL! I'm getting confusing info from them, how can we make a decision when they do that?

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

2009-08-25T20:07:00.002-05:00

No call from the doctor today. I will have to check in with them tomorrow.

I only got 3 chickens processed today. It's just not a good day with my RLS.

Monday, August 24, 2009

2009-08-24T07:15:00.011-05:00

We went to the Baraboo Steam Engine Show yesterday. Peanut thought it was a great way to spend her birthday! Steam Engines are her favorite of all the old tractors. Next weekend is the Edger Steam Engine show and we plan on going to that one too. It's not as big as Baraboo but, it's still big--we have been going for many years.

There are more pictures here.

FUSTRATION! That is what I'm feeling with the doctors! They called three times today on Kute Kitten. While the Lymes test was positive the doctor I spoke with said the infectious disease doctor doesn't think anything of it. Hmmmm, he will be calling me back. He knows me. He will call or I will hound. He is the girls regular doctor. I'm not comfortable leaving Lymes untreated and we were told that at this point if the test was positive she has Lymes. That it's not just antibodies still coming down from fighting it.

Saturday, August 22, 2009

2009-08-22T14:17:00.001-05:00

Peanut's birthday party went well. She got shy at gift opening time and took forever but, finally made it through. Lots of frog things--hmmm, I can't imagine why. :D

I'm here too.

Friday, August 21, 2009

2009-08-21T18:23:00.001-05:00

Kute Kitten's test results are back. The Lyme's test is positive. The doctor that ordered the tests is out of the office and the doctor that read them said that the Lyme's stays in the system for awhile after treatment. I told her MA (the one that called) that that is why we had to wait this long to rerun the test and that at this point a positive test means she has Lyme's according to what the other doctor had said. The on call doctor is going to talk with infectious disease doctor this weekend and get back to us on Monday. I said, the peds infectious doctor is her regular doctor--I'm hoping he takes it over from here.

The auto-immune test was still high but, significantly lower than before. That means it is more than likely the Lyme's setting that one off.

Thursday, August 20,2009

2009-08-20T12:51:00.003-05:00

We learned last night that BIL will go home Saturday after dialysis. YEAH! :)

We are getting ready for Peanut's birthday this weekend. She's getting so big!

I found out by chance tonight that my second cousin's wife died 8 days ago.

Monday, August 17, 2009

2009-08-17T14:52:00.002-05:00

Hello to Ann and the rest of the BYH staff.

Saturday, August 16,2009

2009-08-16T06:07:00.005-05:00

Moved some round bales yesterday but, had a hose and line break on the loader so, we didn't get as many moved as we should have. The field should have been done and just needing to work on the ones we bought.

Today they are hoping to finish the ramp for BIL. The weathermen are calling for rain and the radar is showing rain to the west. BIL may have to go home. They will find out on Monday. On Friday, the insurance said he didn't need to be there anymore but, orders for his stump changed Friday so they have to wait until Monday to see what the insurance says. If the insurance says to go home he will have 48 hours and that's it.

Kute Kitten has her Lyme's and the auto-immune tests rerun on Wednesday. We should know the results on Thursday or Friday.

Ramp is fininshed for BIL! I will try to post some pics tomorrow. The round bales are moved off the field and home. Now it's on to the round bales we are buying but, not anymore tonight-it's dark.

My new project is coming along nicely!

Friday, August 14, 2009

2009-08-14T10:51:00.002-05:00

It stormed overnight. We got 3/4 inches of rain and while the rain had stopped before I had to get up for chores, I still had the lightening to light the way for chores this morning! It's suppose to get hot and humid today.

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

2009-08-12T13:15:00.002-05:00

My new adventure is up and running.

Raked the hay today that was down for all the rain over the weekend. It raked real crappy because it had been beaten down by the rain and the third cut is coming through it. Funny, second cut on the rest of the fields is to short to even run the haybine over but, now with the rain third cut on this field is coming good.

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

2009-08-11T06:54:00.006-05:00

Do you guys like the comments under the posts, like it's setup? Or would you rather they open in a different window? Which makes navigating easier?

Last night Grass was kicking after I got the unit off her. This morning she started in while the unit was on her. We are not sure why she's kicking.
I guess today I should pay some bills and then I have two maybe three more hens to process. DH was looking at the Cornish cross chicks last night and I will probably start on them next week.

As I go through the day and want to add more, I will do that in this post in a different color.
Anyone who wants to ask me questions on their animals, feel free to do so. You can ask here or email me. I'm not sure if you can post pics in comments but, if not, you can email them to me and I will post them for you and then others can comment too.

LL asked on BYC,
Hey Kitty,
Is the nast roo gone now? is there peace in your coops? How did everyone do, mixing together?
Nasty roo is gone and there was peace. Now with the mix there is some minor issues but, that I expected. The new ones are hanging out together and the others will pick on them once in a while. I put the three worst offenders in the separation pen for now. One of them is due to be processed too. I'm sure in a few days all will have settled down.

Did anyone see that Eunice Kennedy Shriver died? She was the founder of the special olympics and has done much for the handicapped. We have lost a great soul.

I maybe should be admitted for thinking about this but, what do you think of this?

Monday, August 10, 2009

2009-08-10T19:18:00.004-05:00

I canned down 5 pts of chicken and 4 pts of chicken broth today. While that was in the canners, I made lasagna for supper tonight-anyone hungry? :)

I also mixed in the new rooster and some of the new pullets with the hens this afternoon.

Our farm

2009-08-10T12:39:00.000-05:00

This is a picture of our farm that I took from the ground.

I have a friend with a plane and she took this picture of our farm and surrounding area.

We have roughly 90 head of cattle with roughly 30 cows milking. The barn holds 34 cows and it varies as to dry off/freshening times.