Eva’s Friends

[Callender Girl]

Sorry I haven't posted anything since my return from England. I haven't been feeling at all well -- probably a combination of jet lag, a bug I picked up during the trip and this almost-unbearable heat wave I came home to.

I can't quite get back into my routine, and my brain is foggier than usual. My top priority is keeping all the critters hydrated and as comfortable as possible.

Hoping to feel like myself again soon.

Hope your new babies are doing well!

 

[lightm]

Do the rivers/canals act as streets?

They were, and people used boats/canoes as transportation tools, like in Venice, but not anymore. Lots of canals were filled to build roads.

@Evadig Thanks for sharing your 10 day trip. It is very interesting. I can also feel the exhaustion. Many times I feel the purpose of a trip is to go back home. Sorry about your ear problem. It sounds awful.

@Callender Girl Please rest well. I know all about jetlag...

Small news about my chicken Poopy: she has been suffering from water belly and I finally drained her a couple days ago. I poked an 18 gauge needle into her right side below vent. No syringe. It kept draining fluid even after I pulled the needle out. She was leaking for about 8 hours!!! Luckily she has felt so much better and has been doing great.

 

[Evadig]

I've had to restart this darn post over three times because an ad keeps taking over my screen!

Now that I've finished the Rome trip, should I tell about my New York City experience, or get back to chickens?

I've been cleaning the basement, trying to minimize things. I've finally thrown away most of my college homework, a model F-4U Corsair I made back in high school, dumb stories I wrote ten years ago, and an old candy bar from my childhood.

On the bright side, I found a box full of pictures belonging to my paternal grandparents. I have discovered a couple new distant relatives, one of whom was killed in WWII. Another relative was in the WAVES. Unfortunately, they didn't label any of the pictures and all the older family members are dead now. Maybe I'll find the time to do some research one of these days.

I started making a dress, but other things have kept me busy. Hopefully I'll finish it this week.

The chick that hatched is doing well. It's already feathering out, and not even a week old! The two Ameracaunas had to go back to my friend; they were picking on the baby. I got two ducklings instead, and now they seem to be the best of friends. Best of all, I have ducks again!

Sorry I haven't posted anything since my return from England. I haven't been feeling at all well -- probably a combination of jet lag, a bug I picked up during the trip and this almost-unbearable heat wave I came home to.

I can't quite get back into my routine, and my brain is foggier than usual. My top priority is keeping all the critters hydrated and as comfortable as possible.

I prayed for you at Mass today. I understand the jet lag and not feeling well. Hope you feel better soon!

Small news about my chicken Poopy: she has been suffering from water belly and I finally drained her a couple days ago. I poked an 18 gauge needle into her right side below vent. No syringe. It kept draining fluid even after I pulled the needle out. She was leaking for about 8 hours!!! Luckily she has felt so much better and has been doing great.

Glad Poopy is doing better! Is there a story behind her name?

Photo Dump:

One of the ducklings

Annie

Eva loves new babies!

A drawing I did of Pope Leo XIV

Bad Finnegan on the roof - he's not supposed to be up there!

Lydwinne

A frog

Lucy on the roof - how did she get up there??

Faith and Hope - Charity went broody, but I kicked her off the nest. She was sitting on fake eggs anyway!

The Muddy Run living up to its name again

Eva babysitting chick

Lonely little chick (before I got the ducklings)

Rose with raindrops

Modeling with my F-4U Corsair before trashing it

Patient doggies

Did you say TREAT?

 

[Evadig]

The last few days have been...not busy, but full. Monday I spent most of the day working on a dress. In the late evening, I saw that one of the ducklings wasn't standing up. (S)he died in my hands around midnight. I went out and sat on the front steps for a couple hours.

Next morning I buried Jamie next to Helen and Josie. Then, since I now had only one duckling, I went to the store and bought two more. The chick wasn't too happy with its new siblings. They are twice its size. I continued working on my dress.

Today I woke up and promptly had to clean dog poop out of my carpet. Oh, Annie... Eva never did this. Well, then the room smelled like cleaner, so I opened the window. The hot air came pouring in. It was going to be another sizzling day.

With high temp of at least 100F, I was content to stay inside and finish that dress. And finally it was done - almost. I have to hem the zipper flap and tack in the shoulder pads. Then I went to the store, only to find that most things on the list were not available. I came home, started dinner, and went for a run. This time I did 1.60 miles in 10 minutes. A year ago I could have never imagined running that far, especially in 85F!

Of the ducklings, I think I have two girls and a boy, judging from how vocal they are. So I've named them (tentatively) Susie and Sally, and the boy is Sylvester. The chick is assumed to be a girl until proven otherwise, and is called Marta.


The dress

Sky tonight

Eva and Annie enjoying the creek after a long hot walk

A bit of humor during that sad night:

I had everyone up in my room. I was holding the dying duckling, while the other one and the chick played on the dogs' cooling mat. Annie was lying next to me. So was Eva, but she was more interested in the chick. Anyway, so the remaining duck got bored and it would run up to Annie, pull her whiskers, and run away again as fast as possible. Then it'd do it again a few minutes later. Annie's expressions were priceless! Here they're just being friends.

Oh, and Constance? She came running down from the high places and lies in wait for a luckless bird to get too close. Then, swat! (She's declawed, arthritic, and can't hurt a fly). You can see her behind Annie.

Annie in mid-jump

Lucy

Proud mamma (though I doubt she knows about her kid) Lydwinne

Eva saying hi to her friends at the petstore

An old statue of the Infant Jesus of Prague my mom inherited from my grandma a long, long time ago

Annie and Eva

Betsy Lee

 

[Callender Girl]

It's taken me a while to get the fogginess out of my brain -- partially from jet lag and partially from the incredible heat -- to the point where I THINK I can make sense when I write.

First off, thanks for your prayers at Mass. Although I am glad I made the trip to England, I have no desire to ever go through another airport or on another airplane. Maybe I would have felt okay had I not come straight from pleasant weather into the heat wave I faced here at home. Also, I spent one day in England so nauseated that I literally fell over on a bench (I'll write about that someday. It's kind of almost funny, though not at the time).

Second, I'm sorry about Jamie. It's hard to lose a tiny life that's barely begun.

Annie's and Constance's interactions with the babies is adorable. Many years ago, I had a Keeshond who liked to play with my gerbil. Holly seemed to believe that Comet was just a very tiny puppy. When he would roll across the floor in a little transparent plastic ball, she trailed along behind him, like she was making sure he was okay. Holly also liked to put her snout into his cage and never made any attempt to harm him.

Loved the photo of Eva, checking out her pet store buddies! And, nice work on the dress.

You do such a nice job of detailing your travels, I feel a bit guilty about not sharing much of mine. It was a great trip, overall. Two of the highlights were visiting Westminster Abbey (the double tomb of Queens Elizabeth and Mary, as well as the Poet's Corner!) and touring Charles Dowding's Homeacres property. I'm a big fan of his, and we got to spend three hours checking out his gardens. I'd met him last summer at Murray Fest, and he graciously signed one of his books with the inscription, "Barbara, lovely to meet you again!" I was thrilled!

Right now, Rachel the sheep is not thrilled. She's wondering why she's not getting her breakfast!! I'm off to do chores.