Winding up October

October is nearly behind us. There are still a few flowers hanging on, such as the honeysuckle on my archway and the calendulas. No terribly heavy freezes have occurred yet, so it’s not yet time to worm my horses. I had my infusion this week, which normally causes me no discomfort, however, I went in not feeling my best and came out the same. The next morning however, I woke up feeling rough, then soon after found myself  with a full-on migraine and felt as though I was freezing half to death. Twenty-four hours in THAT crucible, then followed another day of just a normal headache. Which makes these days much more appreciated and more fabulous altogether, as I know how bad it COULD be! God bless those poor souls who live with migraines on a regular basis. I could not.

I feel pretty much as close to a normal person now as I ever will, so I’m back to making bucket lists and plans. A few days ago, I had to bring the cows up into the corral as the boss was putting some cull cows out in the pasture until they ship them. I grabbed up Mister and we cruised on down to the bottom of the field. He wanted to rush and was feeling a little snorty so I was hoping we didn’t have to head anyone off or he might get to bucking. The little handful of cows were fresh and froggy so it was best not to hurry. Things went pretty smoothly, only one cow was acting badly and we were able to get around it and head it back the right direction and in through the gate. It was a good little jaunt for my old horse.Today I captured Wimpy and turned him and Mister out to the milk pasture with Emma and Sushi and moved the sheep and Maremmas into the small pasture where Mister had been living.

The dogs are not happy about it, but with a recent parvo outbreak on the ranch as well as the amount of traffic and trappers here at the moment, I feel safer with them being locked in, rather than doing their regular patrolling. I will still have to let them out a couple of nights a week, to keep everything at bay but on those particular nights, I am a bit tied up in knots until they are back home again.

It is a very quiet time for me right now, with no garden to tend and no leppies to feed, for which I am grateful. The new ranch family is taking over charge of the leppie calves which were just getting to be too big a responsibility for me in my condition. The grandkids may still have a bottle calf to feed as I plan to take Em’s next baby and put it on a bottle right away, to avoid the problems I had with Sushi.

I wish Sushi was bred, but will have to wait until spring to borrow another bull from the boss. It’s just too late in the year and we can’t afford to hay feed anything. Better to wait another  year and pray Em’s milk will be ok.

Randyman requested Chicken Divan for dinner. It’s great not having to boil and peel a chicken, as I canned quite a few of the meaties, mostly legs, from which a lot tends to be wasted. The breasts I wrap and freeze for more delectable meals and the legs I can to use for casseroles so all I have to do is grab a jar of already cooked and shredded wholesome homegrown chicken and some broccoli out of the freezer, and make a sauce and some rice. It will go together quickly and I love quick and easy meals whenever possible. Next week will be his birthday so I’ll be making a cake. I’m thinking Boston Cream Pie, but a lot can happen between now and then.

Last night Mister and Wimpy showed up begging for handouts. Sushi soon materialized with the same greedy expectations, but EmmaLouMoo was no where to be found. It is a bit unusual for her not to be around Sushi  and I could not find her when I walked way out to the Milk Pasture and called for her. I saddled up Mister again and after a short and quick little prayer, that he would behave himself and I would find her quickly and in good health, we headed down the alley and into the big back pasture. This one is huge with lots of hiding places in the willows, across the large rock creek, or any of the several secluded spots on the other side. Wimpy stayed behind in the corral, munching hay, which irritated Mister no end. I also had a bosal on him, which isn’t the best choice as he has a large calcium deposit on his lower jaw from a previous injury that interferes with the action of a bosal or strap from a curb bit, so I usually have to employ a snaffle on him, but I’d left it at the house. After a couple of small disagreements between Mister and myself, we went along our way, and quickly found Emma in the lower alleyway, looking fit and content. As it all turned out, it probably took me longer to saddle Mister, than to ride him. Much as I would have loved to ride longer, I had dinner to make still and it was pretty clear that I’d had a positive answer to our little prayer. You just can’t argue with that.