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OMG Yes!
You should see some of the "someday" piles we have laying around out here!!! Of course, being the neatness freaks that DH and I both are, they're pretty much nice tidy piles for the most part. Or at least they would be if they weren't constantly getting crapped up with pine needles!
I swear these dang pines drop their needles all year round! And as soon as they get done with the pine needles, then here comes the pine CONES!
Would anyone like a nice big box of pine cones for crafting purposes? Just pay the shipping and I'll send ya as big of a box as ya want!
They're nice big pine cones, with lots of color and very clean! Come on! Ya know you want a box!!!
Anyhow, we have finally managed to put a bit of a dent in my favorite pile. It's a whole bunch of panels from Chevron gas stations. You've probably seen them and didn't even realize what they're made of. The next time you pull into an older Chevron station, look at the big lighted banner thingies over each pump island. It's covered in the station logo with a kind of vinyl tape. That's so when it's lit up from within the box, you can see that sucker at night from miles away.
Anyway, if you remove that vinyl tape stuff, guess what you have left? Give up? I'll tell ya! Clear Poly-carbon panels, just like the kind used in greenhouses!! Actually, this stuff is a bit heavier than what I've seen in most little home greenhouse/garden shed structures like you can purchase at Home Depot and such. We have more than enough right now to do what I want to do yet for the chickens covered runs and the like. I'm not sure how much will be left over after that. There's a million and one uses for that stuff at our place!
But, if I run out of this pile, I know exactly where to get more. Our neighbor next door [Peter] works for a company who is currently upgrading all of the Chevron stations in the Spokane/Eastern Washington and North Idaho area. The owner of the business is a bit of a pack rat who refuses to pay the high fees for disposal at the landfill, so most of these panels have ended up at his place. Lucky us! We get it FOR FREE!!! As much as we want!
I'm more than happy to put the sweat equity into stripping off all of that vinyl tape to clean them up and get at those beautiful clear panels!
With a good heat gun, it takes me about two hours to completely strip both sides of a panel roughly 3 foot wide by 12 feet long. If the panel is being really good and cooperative, I can strip both sides in an hour. But they aren't usually that cooperative.
But still, it's well worth it! Just go out and price that stuff! One word: EXPENSIVE!!!
That's just one of the "Someday" piles. Tons more of that kind of stuff out here. Denny always makes the joke of what a great auction is going to happen at our place when he passes on. [most of the piles we have came from auction at ridiculously cheap prices!
] I told him not to worry about it. He can't die until we've exhausted all of the piles, and by that time, I'll have new piles for him to work with!
OH! Almost forgot. I managed to get out of the house today and pick up pretty much everything I need to do Evie's bumblefoot!!
Cetawin, you might be getting a call from me in a day or two sweetie. I may need you to hold my hand through the removal process! Unless of course, I can get Robin from next door to come over and give me a hand with her.
And I really hope she can. Her daughter Megan completed her internship and passed all of her exams to be a full fledged veterinarian about a year ago!
If they're both willing, I'd like to have Robin come over to help me hold Evie through the whole process and at the same time, have Megan on the phone to help talk me through it all. I just need someone to sort of hold my hand. I've never done
anything like this and I'm so afraid of hurting poor Evie!
Which brings me to a question that is nagging at the back of my mind. Of those of you who have performed this procedure on your own birds, [Nella, you pop into my mind first as you've just done this!] what, if anything, did you use to sedate your bird? I'm at a total loss here. Just the mere thought of digging into her foot with nothing to dull the pain or anxiety for her makes me shudder!
What about afterward. Is there anything I can give her to help ease the pain? I thought about giving her half of a baby aspirin, but then thought better of it, due to the blood thinning properties of aspirin. Can a chicken metabolize Ibuprofen?
I have NO idea what would be safe to give her, either before or after the surgery, to help her be more comfortable. I just don't want to cause her any pain!!!!!!
She's such a sweetheart and has always trusted me. I don't want to betray that trust. Aw crumble cups! Maybe I'm just over thinking this whole thing?!
