BYC Café

[N F C]

I got all but one tarp up. I just got too cold.
I went to install the heat mats in the nest box only to find that Draco feels the same way about today's weather and is back in one of the partitions for the night.
Right now I'm laying on the floor holding my feet in front of the stove to thaw them out.

Are you part of that upcoming winter weather I heard about from someone in PA? They were talking about possible snow.

 

[DobieLover]

Are you part of that upcoming winter weather I heard about from someone in PA? They were talking about possible snow.

Yeppers.
The forecast has us below freezing for about 48 hours at the end of the week. I must run extension cords to the heated waterers. I haven't gotten my run wiring done.

 

[sourland]

I've been having a problem trying to figure out just what it is I want to say - "congratulations" doesn't really cover it. It's a tough job; riding herd on such a cosmopolitan collection of characters has driven some people to distraction and/or exhaustion. On this forum and others, I have read posts from mods who wound up declaring that they simply couldn't find the time and energy any more, and they had to quit; to me, it's a bit like congratulating someone for volunteering to run with the bulls. It is certainly a mark of the esteem with which you are regarded, so in that respect, I guess congratulations are in order. But my true sentiments are more along the lines of gratitude, for a willingness to try to police this crazy place!

Thank you, @N F C and @007Sean; may the roads be smooth, your strides long, and the bulls' horns short.

Perhaps "comisserations' is the word you were searching for ?

 

[pennyJo1960]

Well went better than I thought she is kick we talked for 2 hours the both of having a great time they are not clinic that wants opiod traffic but yes the right people they will help I will be one of them she will be glad to she said we had a heck of good chat

 

[DobieLover]

Well went better than I thought she is kick we talked for 2 hours the both of having a great time they are not clinic that wants opiod traffic but yes the right people they will help I will be one of them she will be glad to she said we had a heck of good chat

That's a great Dr. visit, Penny!

 

[room onthebroom]

Sooo, I've got domestic problems.
I haven't written much about my living circumstances here apart from that that directly relates to me. The couple I work for have mental health problems. They bought this place with inherited money and decided like many I read about on these forums, to retreat to the country and have a go at being small holders. The whole smallholding thing was and still is a complete fantasy. There is and has been no method and no attempt to rationalize costs, or keep the land productive. The reality of living the good life just wasn't a match for their skill or commitment level and the place went to rack and ruin. This was over a decade ago.
A further problem is one of them is family.
They have two children and while the children were teenagers and living at the house it was in general a very active place and one could, if one was not observant believe the adults had as many friends as the offspring.
When the children left home to go to uni the house died in effect and what the adults discovered is they didn't really have any friends; at least not the sort one could call and just say come up for a while, or make a visit to.
Both the adults are extremely social conscious people and given a choice between deep digging the vegetable garden, or going into the village and chatting to people they know over a coffee, the coffee date wins hands down.
The main house is a morgue. Six bedrooms empty. A kitchen so big that you could fit the entire square meterage of my house in it and still get to the sink.
One of them likes to travel. In theory, a lot of the travel is for work. That leaves one person in a massive house halfway up a mountain. This person got lonely and started drinking. I'm not talking about getting legless, I'm talking about the slow but steady road into alcoholism of the more socially acceptable type. Up here no one gets to see them weave off to bed every night having drunk a bottle and half of wine. I know that's not a lot by some peoples standards for one person, but it's the regularity that defines alcoholism unless one is taking about binge drinkers.
This is okay, it's their lives. The problem is when the smallholding fantasy was in full swing they got other animals; quite a few other animals in fact.
It was a disaster for the animals. Stuff went on with animals here that would just make you turn your head and walk away.
Over the past few weeks I've gone to open up the animals here and I've found latches undone and doors open. I've forgotten to shut a coop, or enclosure twice in 9 years.
I know that the one with the drink problem on top of the mental health issues is coming out late in the evening and opening these doors. I've sat by the duck house hidden by the hay rack and watched them. They open the coop or enclosure, stick their head in, say a few words and walk away.
Childish though it may seem it is not possible to directly confront this person about their behaviour. You either get total denial, or a rage fit. I now have to wait for the lights to go out in the main house and go and do a check round.

That's frustrating. The animals are lucky to have you.

 

[drumstick diva]

I know what it's like penny. My urologist and I had a long pleasant talk(not about health) when I last saw him. I mentioned BYC and he told me where he lives and said all his neighbors had chickens and they gave him eggs. He gave them veggies from his garden.

I thought he might enjoy BYC but, he said he has nothing to do with computers, or web sites etc. He just wants to be left alone.He doesn't have an email address or anything.
Not only that he deliberately moved to a rather run down area where he(and family) could just fade away from everything else. It sounds tempting.

 

[Meg-in-MT]

Sooo, I've got domestic problems.
I haven't written much about my living circumstances here apart from that that directly relates to me. The couple I work for have mental health problems. They bought this place with inherited money and decided like many I read about on these forums, to retreat to the country and have a go at being small holders. The whole smallholding thing was and still is a complete fantasy. There is and has been no method and no attempt to rationalize costs, or keep the land productive. The reality of living the good life just wasn't a match for their skill or commitment level and the place went to rack and ruin. This was over a decade ago.
A further problem is one of them is family.
They have two children and while the children were teenagers and living at the house it was in general a very active place and one could, if one was not observant believe the adults had as many friends as the offspring.
When the children left home to go to uni the house died in effect and what the adults discovered is they didn't really have any friends; at least not the sort one could call and just say come up for a while, or make a visit to.
Both the adults are extremely social conscious people and given a choice between deep digging the vegetable garden, or going into the village and chatting to people they know over a coffee, the coffee date wins hands down.
The main house is a morgue. Six bedrooms empty. A kitchen so big that you could fit the entire square meterage of my house in it and still get to the sink.
One of them likes to travel. In theory, a lot of the travel is for work. That leaves one person in a massive house halfway up a mountain. This person got lonely and started drinking. I'm not talking about getting legless, I'm talking about the slow but steady road into alcoholism of the more socially acceptable type. Up here no one gets to see them weave off to bed every night having drunk a bottle and half of wine. I know that's not a lot by some peoples standards for one person, but it's the regularity that defines alcoholism unless one is taking about binge drinkers.
This is okay, it's their lives. The problem is when the smallholding fantasy was in full swing they got other animals; quite a few other animals in fact.
It was a disaster for the animals. Stuff went on with animals here that would just make you turn your head and walk away.
Over the past few weeks I've gone to open up the animals here and I've found latches undone and doors open. I've forgotten to shut a coop, or enclosure twice in 9 years.
I know that the one with the drink problem on top of the mental health issues is coming out late in the evening and opening these doors. I've sat by the duck house hidden by the hay rack and watched them. They open the coop or enclosure, stick their head in, say a few words and walk away.
Childish though it may seem it is not possible to directly confront this person about their behaviour. You either get total denial, or a rage fit. I now have to wait for the lights to go out in the main house and go and do a check round.

I'm sorry to hear of your family troubles, Shad. Alcoholism, or addiction of any sort, is an incredibly rough road. For everyone involved. People say that they can't be helped unless they want help, but it isn't that simple. It cannot be helped unless one is ready for a change. Until they realize the effects, if they ever do (and they do to an extent), they will keep plugging along trying to deny that there's a problem. Sometimes it takes some one and sometimes it takes some thing, but there has to be a wake up call. I wish you all the best in the meantime.

 

[pennyJo1960]

She lives here in the same town not far from us we talked about getting to together here for dinner in the new Mexican restaurant

 

[ShrekDawg]

I'm sorry to hear of your family troubles, Shad. Alcoholism, or addiction of any sort, is an incredibly rough road. For everyone involved. People say that they can't be helped unless they want help, but it isn't that simple. It cannot be helped unless one is ready for a change. Until they realize the effects, if they ever do (and they do to an extent), they will keep plugging along trying to deny that there's a problem. Sometimes it takes some one and sometimes it takes some thing, but there has to be a wake up call. I wish you all the best in the meantime.

Well said Meg.