Sept. 15-21, 2019 Anniversary, Park x 2, Brenda: Buff Orpington: Fly Strike

Sept. 15-21, 2019 

Wedding Anniversary, Park (twice this week), Canning, Brenda: Buff Orpington: Fly Strike

Hello Friends!

Happy Anniversary to us!  21 years already!!!  Dh is in the middle of a very busy time at work so he didn't get the opportunity to take any time off, but he did get home early enough for us to go out to eat at a new place in town and go on that bridge walk at Grand River Riverfront Park.  It was great having another Date Night with Dh!!!  

Chicken Trouble:

I had such a horrible surprise on Monday morning when I went in the chicken coop I immediately saw Brenda, my Buff Orpington, with blood beneath her on the roost.  When I picked her up and looked at her bottom I saw maggots swarming around.  I am generally a strong person, but, man, that just about kills me.  I brought her inside the house and washed and washed her to get off all those nasty bugs.  



Then I left her alone for about thirty minutes while I got my breakfast.  When I came back out to check on her I saw that there were maggots above her tail; some had rushed out of the wound and hid from me!  



So I took her and washed her, from head to toe, repeatedly with dish soap in a full sink of warm soapy water.  I spent almost an hour washing her over and over again until I was positive I got every.single.bug.  

Fly-Strike:

After hours of research online I found out that flies can just attack any animal; especially if that animal has any diarrhea stuck on their body.  Brenda must have had some poop on her bottom and a fly must have laid eggs in that poop.  Then the eggs hatched and maggots attacked her skin.  Luckily, I caught it quickly and they had only damaged the top layer of skin.  The online reading said I was supposed to wash and clean her wound 3-4 times each day.   The hard part is after the baths I had to blow-dry her dry and that took forever!!!! 



 Chickens feathers are so dense!  Brenda was so unwell she never resisted but was such a champ. I spent so much time helping Brenda this week, hours each day, and am so glad she seems like she is going to recover.  The first few days I was really worried she might have some kind of infection internally that might be unrelated to her fly strike and I was so concerned she would die.  So far she is improving more and more each day, she has really come far this week.

Family Meeting/Fun Time:

On Sunday we had a family meeting to sort out how things are going with our 17-year-old daughter.  She suggested that she and I find more time to do 'fun' things together to get our relationship back on a more positive note.  Lately, when I see her I am reminding her to do her chores and complaining that she has to be reminded too.  So, this week Dd and I went on a hike together at the new bridge park (Grand River Riverfront Park) on Monday.  We are going to try and find time each week to fit in something fun.

Swiss Chard and Greens from garden

Bible Study Fellowship:

Last week was a bit hard.  There were not any helpers showing new people where to go or what to do.  I was a little disappointed at how hard it was being new as if being new and not knowing anyone wasn't hard enough!!!  But, I enjoyed having a new Bible study to work on each morning.  I am enjoying our research study on the book of Acts.  I really dug in deep with my Bible Study this week.  After our class and lecture, I went to a little seminar afterward on Bible Navigation.  I couldn't believe there were only two other women that attended it!  We have around two hundred women that attend our group and they kept selling the seminar as offering lots of chocolate!  And they did have lots of chocolate! Yum!  It was nice being in a small group and getting to meet some nice ladies.

Garden/Canning:

Another great garden week!  I've been enjoying having kale and swiss chard smoothies each day.  I'm still picking green beans and canning them.  Everything is growing really well, but I've had to water a few times this week.  



Dh dug up ALL the potatoes... now I have to can all those!  Oh boy!  I've had to water a few times this week.  I can tell the bean bushes are getting thinner, so the end is in sight.

Herbs:

I've begun digging up some of our herbs and have planted them in new potting soil.  After I get the roots happy in the new dirt I will bring them inside.  I plan on watering them heavily for the next two weeks to help encourage root growth.  So far, I've potted some Basil, Thyme, Parsley, and two different Rosemary plants.  Last year I didn't get the Basil in before the first frost and regretted it all winter.



Painting the Deck:
Can you believe I am still painting the fence and decking?!!!  I spent time two days this week on painting and I've pretty much got 95% of it done. 



 There are a few places I couldn't get to because I didn't want to damage incoming poppy, iris, or other flowers that I can safely bend now so I can reach the wood behind the plants. 



 You would be surprised how much wood didn't get painted because a hydrangea was in the way!! 

We had high temperatures this week and I wanted to take advantage of that heat so my paint would cure best.  



Power Outage:
Can you believe we lost our power again this week?!  Two weeks in a row!  We had to drive into town to refill all our red jugs with gasoline as we had used all our gas up.  What you might not realize is that running your house on gas is way more expensive than propane or electricity.  It cost almost $100 to refill all our cans/jugs.  Luckily, we were only without electricity for around 18 hours this time.

Flooring:

Dh finished the last doorway to our bedroom.  We have been talking and figuring out what our next steps are going to be.  Our plans are to finish the hallway after we buy a stair tread kit.  We had to figure out how we were going to handle the stairs going downstairs before we could figure out the hallway.  After we get the hallway flooring down then we can start on the stairwell landings - they are going to be covered with our hardwood oak flooring too.  But, we will have to buy special kits to redo the stairs. 

Dd's Academic Progress This Week:

Grace Co-op Classes:  

Dd is back to having full-time lessons each day. 

Science: Anatomy/Physiology

Art: Painting Studio

History: The American Civil War

Writing/English: Analytical Writing for Essays and Research Paper

Math Tutor:

Algebra 2

Physical Exercise:

Physical Therapy: two visits at office

Daily exercises: 2-4 x per day.

Next Week:

I signed up for another Bible study through the church I've been going to and it begins next week.  I wouldn't sign up for two different bible study groups except it is also on the book of Acts.  I am hoping that the two separate studies will help me to get a more thorough understanding of this book and get deeper than I might if it were just one study.

Hoping Brenda continues to improve, although I might still have to keep her separated from the other chickens due to the wound on her bottom.  I know she desperately wants to be back with her family.

I am hoping we can also get back to doing the flooring.  I'm really tired of all the tools and equipment all over our main floor!!!!  I'd love to have a semi-tidy home again; not that I'm ever 'tidy' but I do try!!

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