Eva’s Friends

[lightm]

For my part, the sheriff's office I applied to back in January finally did give me a conditional job offer! It's the first I've ever gotten from anywhere. It's exciting, but I'm less than thrilled about the location.

Congratulations! Maybe you can get relocated some point in the future?

 

[Callender Girl]

I understand not remembering what happened if you don't write it down fairly soon. I try to write in my journal every day before the memories or facts escape from my head.

Anything more on the job offer? Location is important, but maybe you could transfer elsewhere after you get some experience, as @lightm suggested? One of my friends just took a job in Illinois with a company that has locations throughout the Midwest. He's hoping to transfer to Iowa after a year.

Eva's expression in the photo says it all, doesn't it? Annie looks quite comfy in the bed, and isn't it nice that she's trying to help you with that wooden block? My Speckled Sussex, Bronwyn, likes to help me every chance she gets. She is especially talented at scratching and digging into piles of stuff I have just scooped, scattering poop and litter all over the coop floor again. And, she'll gladly help in others' coops, too, not just her own.

How's you weather? It's been a steam bath here for days. Even if when it's only in the high 70s, the humidity has been above 90 percent so the air is thick, sticky and unpleasant. My riding mower is out of commission, so I've been trying to mow with the much-smaller walk-behind mower. But I have to wait until the grass is dry enough, which is, of course, the hottest part of the day.

Luckily, the mower is battery operated, and by the time the batteries are worn down, so am I. It's taken me two days to do the large part of the north lawn, and I think there's still 3 days to go. By the time I finish, I will need to start all over again!

 

[Evadig]

I really think I will need to go back to bi-weekly posts, even if they're just short. I cannot remember what happened yesterday, let alone last week!

Sally is not feeling well; I don't know what the matter is with her. She won't drink her electrolyte water, nor regular water for that matter. She was lying down all day by herself. Her wings keep falling down; they don't stay folded like normal wings. She doesn't have a limp or anything. Maybe I should post in the Emergency thread, but they weren't able to help last time.

Ms. Rose and Betsy Lee got over their colds with no help from me.

I finally got ahold of my recruiter; he says he thinks the waivers will be approved in another month, but I need to take a test to prove I don't have asthma. And that process can take time, so I wish he'd told me about it earlier.

I think I'm going to decline the dispatch job. While it would be nice to move out now, I feel my duty is here, at least until winter. There's so many loose ends around here, with the house still in the finishing stages of reconstruction. It should be done by then, especially if I'm here to help. And if I stay, I can go to the community college and get my EMT certification, which will help me in the military if I end up becoming a medic as planned. I guess I'm writing all this to help convince myself I'm doing the right thing. It's hard - I hate telling people no. Do you have any advice for how to decline a job offer?

Congratulations! Maybe you can get relocated some point in the future?

Thank you! A similar job actually just opened up in a nearby city, so that's always a possibility!

I understand not remembering what happened if you don't write it down fairly soon. I try to write in my journal every day before the memories or facts escape from my head.

I write in a diary every night, but somehow the facts that end up there don't help much in writing these posts!

How's you weather? It's been a steam bath here for days. Even if when it's only in the high 70s, the humidity has been above 90 percent so the air is thick, sticky and unpleasant.

Highs of 90F (but feels like 100+) with 70% humidity. It's awful. Worst part is, unlike Louisiana where it's consistently hot, here you have a week of hot weather and then two days of nice temperature, like 70ish. It just makes the heat that much hotter when it returns.

I wouldn't have imagined it was so humid in Iowa!

My riding mower is out of commission, so I've been trying to mow with the much-smaller walk-behind mower. But I have to wait until the grass is dry enough, which is, of course, the hottest part of the day.

How much acreage do you have? We have one (that needs to be mowed) so we just have the power mower. I can't imagine mowing anything more than one acre with that thing!

Just seconds after, she bit my finger - hard.

Annie

Finnegan

Lucy and Betsy Lee in background

Finnegan again

Brianna

The shades of Betsy Lee

Flock of birds

The flag proudly waving over the duck coop

The Stinkers

Bee on flower

 

[Callender Girl]

Your critters have so much personality in their photos!

My advice on how to turn down a job offer -- and believe me, when I was at the newspaper I had a LOT of people turn down offers to work in the middle of Iowa -- is to express gratitude and be as honest as possible.

That MIGHT be something like telling them you appreciate the offer and can see some real opportunity and benefits to accepting the position. However, after serious consideration, the timing isn't right due to some family obligations (you don't need to offer details about reconstruction, etc.). Be as appreciative as possible; you never know when folks you've said "no" to might turn up in hiring positions in other places, and you want to stay on their good side.

How is Sally doing? I had a wee bit of panic yesterday when one of my geese was limping and wouldn't put weight on her foot. I snagged an appointment today at the avian clinic that's almost 100 miles away but has The Best Doctors. However, by midday, Golly was walking normally. In fact, she was well enough to help Gussie chase the ducks across the yard.

When I put her and Gussie to bed, I was able to grab Golly and take a good look at her foot -- no obvious injuries, no bumble. I cancelled the appointment and hope she's walking well today.

With all the rain we've had, I started wondering if Golly just stepped on something and the mud made it stick to her foot until she was able to "fix" the problem herself. In any case, while I adore the vets at the avian place, it's always at LEAST $200 when they examine a bird because they're "specialists."

Two weeks ago, one of my cats was vomiting. Local vet bill was more than $400 because the new vet ran blood work. Wednesday, one of the dogs was overdue for booster shots and annual tests; there's another $200. I can't afford to take care of everybody at this rate. Good thing I at least raise fruits and veggies so I can afford to eat! I picked tomatoes, cherry tomatoes and my first peaches of the season yesterday.

Some good news: I was able to get the riding mower working, and I'm a bit embarrassed that it was something so minor. On a friend's advice, I was looking at the pulleys and the belt and realized there was just a lot of dried, cut plant material clogging up the movement. I was able to dig it out by hand and with a screwdriver and mowed until the mower overheated and quit -- which happens All The Time. I have 3 1/2 acres but that because includes the sheep and goat pastures, the area behind the barn where no one ever goes and that part of the yard where the poultry have killed off everything green!

The extreme heat here has finally passed and the humidity has lessened. Iowa summers are always humid, boosted by what's known as "corn sweat." The many acres of corn give off enough moisture through evapotranspiration to actually make the air muggier. Seems weird, but it's true.

If all goes as planned, my sister and I will make our annual trip to northern Minnesota next week. I am still waiting for the new pet sitter to come out and learn how to care for all the critters. I can't go if they aren't in good hands.

Hope everything goes well for you with the asthma test and waivers.

 

[lightm]

My advice on how to turn down a job offer -- and believe me, when I was at the newspaper I had a LOT of people turn down offers to work in the middle of Iowa -- is to express gratitude and be as honest as possible.

That MIGHT be something like telling them you appreciate the offer and can see some real opportunity and benefits to accepting the position. However, after serious consideration, the timing isn't right due to some family obligations (you don't need to offer details about reconstruction, etc.). Be as appreciative as possible; you never know when folks you've said "no" to might turn up in hiring positions in other places, and you want to stay on their good side.

That is such good advice!

 

[Evadig]

We're back to bi-weekly updates, then, since my memory appears to be so poor. I couldn't really forget the last few days, though.

The electrolytes didn't help Sally - she couldn't swallow them. I used a syringe to get some water down her, but it was only for my peace of mind. She was far past needing water... I buried her beside Stan that afternoon.

Sylvester and Susie seemed to know she was gone. Before, they'd call loudly if someone was missing; now, they didn't even quack, just carried on with duck life. Marta didn't seem to notice, either.

They're really smart, all three. All the way across the yard is the old duck pond I dug for Henry and the rest, and I take them down there in the afternoons when I'll be outside awhile. They spend most of the time hiding among the milkweeds. When they're finished, they bring themselves right back up to their coop. No one else has learned where "home" is so quickly!

It's finally cooled down - it was actually chilly this morning. It will be (nearly) highs of 80F all this week. I plan to finish cleaning up the yard (started that process on Friday), tear down unused structures, and build a cat tower for Finnegan and Brianna.

And I need to clean my room. There is no storage in this house, especially upstairs. My bedroom doesn't even have a closet. There is a clothes rack and I keep whatever doesn't need to be hung up in an old vintage suitcase. Everything else is scattered on the kitchen table I use as my desk and a card table that is functioning as a cabinet. Now as I look at it, there really isn't that much, if I just get a box...

My advice on how to turn down a job offer -- and believe me, when I was at the newspaper I had a LOT of people turn down offers to work in the middle of Iowa -- is to express gratitude and be as honest as possible.

That MIGHT be something like telling them you appreciate the offer and can see some real opportunity and benefits to accepting the position. However, after serious consideration, the timing isn't right due to some family obligations (you don't need to offer details about reconstruction, etc.). Be as appreciative as possible; you never know when folks you've said "no" to might turn up in hiring positions in other places, and you want to stay on their good side.

Thank you so much! This is very helpful.

With all the rain we've had, I started wondering if Golly just stepped on something and the mud made it stick to her foot until she was able to "fix" the problem herself. In any case, while I adore the vets at the avian place, it's always at LEAST $200 when they examine a bird because they're "specialists."

Two weeks ago, one of my cats was vomiting. Local vet bill was more than $400 because the new vet ran blood work. Wednesday, one of the dogs was overdue for booster shots and annual tests; there's another $200. I can't afford to take care of everybody at this rate. Good thing I at least raise fruits and veggies so I can afford to eat! I picked tomatoes, cherry tomatoes and my first peaches of the season yesterday.

Hopefully Golly is still doing well and the cat is okay!
You can raise peaches in Iowa?! I was shocked when I read they can be raised in New Jersey - I always thought they only grew in Georgia .

Some good news: I was able to get the riding mower working, and I'm a bit embarrassed that it was something so minor. On a friend's advice, I was looking at the pulleys and the belt and realized there was just a lot of dried, cut plant material clogging up the movement. I was able to dig it out by hand and with a screwdriver and mowed until the mower overheated and quit -- which happens All The Time. I have 3 1/2 acres but that because includes the sheep and goat pastures, the area behind the barn where no one ever goes and that part of the yard where the poultry have killed off everything green!

Glad the mower wasn't truly broken. We hadn't mowed for a couple weeks because of all the heat and rain, so when we did get to it on Friday, the mower kept bogging down in the tall grass. It was very frustrating.

The extreme heat here has finally passed and the humidity has lessened. Iowa summers are always humid, boosted by what's known as "corn sweat." The many acres of corn give off enough moisture through evapotranspiration to actually make the air muggier. Seems weird, but it's true.

I learned something new today!

If all goes as planned, my sister and I will make our annual trip to northern Minnesota next week. I am still waiting for the new pet sitter to come out and learn how to care for all the critters. I can't go if they aren't in good hands.

I hope the sitter works out so you can go; northern Minnesota must be pretty, and probably much cooler!

Couple pictures from long, long ago:

Sophie

Our very first two chickens - Janice (Light Brahma) and Susie (Gold-Laced Wyandotte)

Sally

Annie

Annie and Eva

Marta as close as she'll ever get to going swimming

Hope

Faith

 

[Evadig]

I thought I'd post a rough draft of the letter here, since I've never done this before...

Good morning Ms. X,

Thank you for recommending me for the position of dispatch trainee with the sheriff's office. It has been a pleasure working with you.

After serious consideration, however, I would like to withdraw my application. Due to unforeseen circumstances, I do not feel that I will be able to satisfactorily perform the duties of the position at this time.

Thank you again for working with me, and I wish you the best.

Respectfully,
Me

 

[Callender Girl]

You have accomplished the goals of being appreciative and polite while keeping the door open for the future. Good job! And a much nicer rejection that I received from a great many job applicants.

The only thing I question is "working with you," since you weren't technically working yet. Maybe something more like "talking with you" and later, "Thank you again for considering me"?

If I were writing this letter, I would change "do not" to "don't" just because it feels less stilted -- but not a big deal.

Don't let my nitpicking bother you too much because you did a good job with your letter. Sometimes, I revert to being an editor -- maybe I feel that I HAVE to find something to mention or I'm not doing my job!

I may not have time today to write a separate post, but I want to let you know that I am so sorry about your Sally. I'm sure you weren't yet over losing Stanislaw. I know you did your best for both of them.

 

[Evadig]

Well, I turned down the dispatch job, and the investigator was very nice about it. She said that if I'm still interested later to give her a call.

Now if only those waivers would get approved...I'm almost about to switch to another branch!

Yesterday I spent doing computer work. So many passwords were not up to date.

Today I found Miss Prudence in the corner of the run. She had major flystrike, her insides were coming out, and her ascites was worse than before. There was a terrible smell coming from her. My dad put her down with his shotgun. I buried her next to the others...

There's seven in the cemetery now. Seven hens in the Muddy Run, six in the Yellow Turnip. Two ducklings and a chick in the Beach House.

Death is hard. Then again they're not suffering anymore. But the nerves. If only they just died, and didn't flop around. How can one call a funeral a "celebration of life?" It's not. You're mourning the person, not celebrating them. If you're religious, you're commending them to God. I think it's because they've passed beyond your reach, you'll never see them again face to face until you're all in heaven. At least I have stopped crying now.

Put up a catwalk (no pun intended)

Pretty sunset

Cats

Miss Prudence