Oh Brownie, this was scary for all of us.

Yesterday the Prospector called me from the back door. I could tell in his voice that something was wrong.
He said that Brownie was bleeding and would I bring all the pads and elastic wrap in the closet as fast as possible. I grabbed some supplies and ran out to the garage for my boots and caught up with my husband who was already in the goat run holding a towel against Brownies head.
When I got out to the run, there was Brownie without his left horn and bleeding profusely. I'm not going to show you any photos of this horrible mess. I didn't take any. It was awful. Blood was everywhere. I will show you some after we got him bandaged.
Somehow, the scur ( The distorted horn, regrown after the disbudding operation of a goat, sheep or cow..) had been torn from his head. The prospector found it in the goat house later. Blood was everywhere.
We don't know what happen. Freckles head had blood on it too so they may have been playing their favorite game of "butting" together and maybe the game got too serious. Maybe he got caught somewhere and panicked. We don't know. These scurs are not strong like regular horns. They are natures attempt to grow a new horn when a goat's horns have been removed. We have had so much trouble with Brown's horns and you know from my other "Brownie" posts that there have been many issues with these horns growing in the wrong direction and causing all kinds of problems.
But, this was the worst. I'm don't get faint at the sight of blood but when you see one of your farm animals with blood pumping out of a hole in it's head it's really scary.... and Brownie was acting strange. He was not panicky but you could tell that he was in pain and afraid. I sure wished I had a sedative I could have given him but, bless his heart, he let us clean him off.  Finally, after covering the wound with a blue powder that stops bleeding, we were able to wrap his head  with bandages. He didn't like having this done and wanted to move around too much. We needed a milking stall or something we could confine him in but we don't have one. The first try was a disaster. He kept trying to walk away and when a 150 lb. goat want to walk away, he just does it. The bandages fell off. After a second attempt to get the bandages on with the powder packed into the wound, we were successful. Within a very short time the bleeding stopped. That blue powder really works. It's just called Blood Stop Powder and that's what it does. It's a good thing to have on hand all the time.

 Here he is after we got him isolated from the other goats so they wouldn't bother him for a while...

Poor Brownie....

I'm sure at this point in this goat's life he is not as proud of his horns and wishes that he didn't have any.
 We watched him all day long and I even checked him last night and early this morning.
He has had his tetanus shot this year so that should be good. We will watch for infection and hopefully it will heal without incident.
This morning all four of the goats were outside in the pasture eating grass and enjoying the sunshine.

Freckles and Bart are being so careful with Brownie and acting so concerned. They followed him everywhere.  Murph' was quietly eating grass in another area. Interesting. Murphy is always so concerned about Brownie but not this morning. He kind of ignored the rest of them.

This morning Brownie seems OK. He is active and responsive.
I went on the Internet yesterday after we got the bandages on and you would not believe the varied information that is out there for an incident like this. Everything from putting Cayenne Pepper on the open wound to calling the vet immediately. The general consensus is that this is not serious as long as you get the bleeding stopped. The animal can bleed to death if you don't.
What a day it was. I do agree with someone who wrote that animals horns should be left alone. Few animals have problems with horns if they have the ones they were born with. Maybe we need to change another "man made" and antiquated idea. I would love to know what other farm blogs think about this. Please let me know if you have had this experience.
This is the horn.

 It's an amazing thing isn't it. Almost beautiful. But it was trying to be something it wasn't and that always becomes a fruitless effort. I will keep it to remind me of one of the scariest days in our life on this farm.
We're so glad he's OK. I'm so glad it's the day after yesterday and the sun is shining for Brownie. You know how he likes the sun.

She Who Seeks Snow

My oldest son has been here for the weekend. The time together is wonderful but never long enough.  He came up Friday night and left this morning. It was a good visit.

Yesterday, at breakfast,, we were talking about SNOW and how we hadn't had any this year except for a light dusting that melted quickly. "M", our son, said "Why don't we take a drive up into the mountains and find some?" The Prospector and I agreed that this was a great idea.
We packed some warm clothing, took the four wheel drive Toyota and headed out. We drove up highway 88 through Pine Grove and Pioneer. Right around Buckhorn we started seeing snow under the trees.
By the time we got up to Mace Meadows we were really getting into the heavy white stuff. It was beautiful...

We passed Cooks Station...

And on up into the Eldorado National Forest.

We finally got to the turn off for Lower Bear Reservoir but realized that the road down into the campground was not being maintained. The signs said it all...

And this...

So we went back out to the highway and continued on to Silver Lake. If you didn't know there was a lake there you would never have guessed. It looked like a huge meadow filled with snow.

There were some people out there with snowshoes walking across the lake. 

It was so lovely. I wish we could have been out there too.

We finally climbed up and drove through the Carson Spur which is an avalanche area of the pass that makes me hold my breath every time. It's almost easier in the winter because you can't see the distance down into the wilderness canyon with snow on the sides of the road. Last week, on the news, they showed this section of the road and Caltrans had opened a very small one lane section of the highway for traffic to get through. Only one way traffic was allowed at a time. We were more fortunate. It was cleared for two lane traffic and because it was around noon, there was no ice. I still don't like this stretch of highway. It makes me nervous and I tell everyone not to talk or the vibrations might start an avalanche. Yes, I'm a big baby about this but if you saw this place you would understand. IT'S REALLY SCARY!! I don't even understand why someone put a ROAD way up here. It's crazy.

Finally we reached our destination.

KIRKWOOD RESORT. This is where we all learned to ski about 30 years ago.  The boys were about 11 and 16 years old then. It was raining so hard we almost decided not to go. We got up at 4:00 a.m. and joined a caravan of friends from the neighborhood. It was raining so hard that morning and we knew that it would be snowing heavily up in the mountains, but we went anyway.
Our next door neighbor had promised he would make skiers out of all of us. He did.
It was the most amazing thing I have ever done. Going up on a ski lift in a snow storm was like nothing else in this rather normal life of mine. There was no other reason that anyone would have been out there in that kind of weather than to ski. It was an experience I have never had since. I can remember thinking, as I rode up on the ski lift, that this was one of those moments that would never be forgotten and I can still feel the snow blowing across my face and the power of mother nature. It was a life changing experience until I had to get off the ski lift gracefully. I didn't. I fell. But my neighbor and the Prospector were waiting for me and picked me up and so the lessons on the "bunny slope" began.
We went up there to ski once or twice after that. We took the boys to other ski resorts, but usually they skied and we watched. I was getting very tired all the time and didn't feel like doing anything that required as much energy as this. It was a year later that I found out, at 39 years of age, that I had cancer.
I don't talk about it much. It was a life changing year in my life but the experience of learning to ski in a snowstorm at Kirkwood will forever be captured in my memory. It made me fight harder and survive a year of what I called "living dangerously". It was a year of being braver than I had ever been before. Skiing made me understand that I could learn how to survive.... even in a "snowstorm".
I don't have a great desire to ski now. I would probably kill myself just getting to the ski lift or putting on all the equipment.It's a sport for folks a lot younger than me. But in my heart, when I watched the skiers coming down the slopes yesterday, I wanted to be up there. I wanted that feeling again... The cold, the skill required, and the excitement that you feel. It's a wonderful place to be and I will always remember the joy of accomplishment when I finally came down an intermediate slope all by myself. It gave me courage that I took into the difficult years ahead.

***************
So, moving on....

We parked, and walked around the amazing outdoor venue. It was much different that years ago. Bigger, with a lot more stores and restaurants. More noise, more advertising.... Lots of people sitting, with or without someone, looking at their i phones and not at the beautiful scenery.
We found the bathrooms, bought some hot chocolate, took pictures and watched people. Most everyone was having a great time.

Wearing funny hats...

Of course I would notice a KNITTED hat like this! Isn't it amazing?

There were lots of signs telling you what to do and where to go. There were signs about the history of this place and about the pioneers that came through here on their way to the dream that was called California.
It made me kind of proud that I'm a native daughter.
There was a little boy that reminded me of my youngest son, when he was little.

This little man was making a huge snowball on top of a hill. He told us to "Watch out." and then he pushed it over the snowbank and it crashed on the walk below. I'm glad he said something because it was a BIG snowball.

And another boy who reminded me of "M" when he was young. Lot's of memories here it seems.
 Memories of a beautiful place....

Where the mountain peaks never change...

and the slopes still call folks to come and be at one with them.... to learn something about yourself and what you're made of.

Memories of going where I had never gone before.

We left Kirkwood and headed back down into the foothills before the coming rain and snow that was predicted by night fall. The clouds looked ominous. We drove through the Carson Spur again.

and as we descended, the snow reduced in volume as the elevation signs went from 8000 ft to 7000 ft.... down to 6000 ft. and then 5000 ft., where the sun was trying to come through the clouds..

and a small pine tree said "Come back again."

We drove back to Jackson, picked up the mail on the highway and drove down our lovely river road. I made big beef burritos for dinner..... and brownies with ice cream for dessert.

********************
"M" left this morning. We will miss him. He lives in Oakland and is a very busy man, with a job that keeps him working hard.  I'm so glad that he came up here this weekend. He left relaxed and rested... and with some brownies.
I'm always happy when my family comes to visit. My children come with their own set of  memories and everything that they remember is not always the same as mine, but life goes forward and that's as it should be. They are building their own memories.... their own lives.
We are proud parents. We were not perfect but we did our best and we have two sons that have become wonderful human beings..... who (like their mother) love computers, poetry, a good book, good food chocolate and SNOW.
Life is sure good sometimes....

Turkey Trot

The real California Turkey (Meleagris Californica) went extinct about 10,000 years ago.
So what's this...

and, oh my gosh, THIS...

They are everywhere. Herds of them. They come through morning and night. They mess up the parking area with their 'you know what'.
They are in California and they are called  Turkey, so how is it that they are extinct?? Listen to this:
"All the evidence we have on hand about California Turkey is that it was strictly limited to the greater Los Angeles Basin. The fossils are all within that small area, extending north only to Santa Barbara and south (maybe -- fossil i.d. tentative) to Orange County. "
Yes, we're talking La Brea Tar Pit extinct.
They don't look INSTINCT to me and what are they all doing in my driveway?

OH!.... the Prospector says it's mating season. Look at this dude!. I've never seen such a blatant display of out of control sexuality in my life. I'm almost embarrassed for him.
Look...., here's one who thought he was hiding in the middle of a group of hens.

The Tom (that's a boy turkey) was acting all casual and nonchalant like he's just one of the girls.
Then, all of a sudden, he started to transform.

He was getting bigger. He puffed up. But the real transformation started on his head. His eyes got red and he got this fierce look on his face, then his wattle turned red too. By now the hens were suspecting that there was something strange going on and they started moving away.

He fluffed up more and started looking really scary. See that skin under his neck? It will get longer and redder.

Did you see this? He went from a mild mannered bird to "SUPER BIRD" in about 3 or 4 minutes. It was just amazing and this was only the beginning.

Slowly his tail started going up....

and the feathers spread out in a beautiful fan  across his back. Then he started strutting and dancing around the hens. It was a sight to behold.

Still, the hens kept foraging and seemed like they could care less. The Tom did this for quite a while and I was getting cold. It was early morning and I had run out there in my PJ's to take these pictures. I was freezing and my coffee was sitting on the kitchen table getting cold .... in my warm house.

He finally gave up. It was like he had been holding his breath and then let it out. I felt sorry for him. He was deflated. He looked around at all the ladies and I know he was wondering what was wrong with them.... or him. I guess it's an age old story.....

He gave it one more try, but I could tell that his heart wasn't in it. So, keeping his tale feathers spread and trying to save what little dignity he had left, he walked up into the trees with his head held high.

Sorry Dude.....

Turkey season in California starts on the last Saturday in March and lasts for 37 days. Bow season is a little longer. I swear to you, on that day these Toms will disappear. It's like they know. Turkey are smarter than you think..... the hens don't have to worry. You can only take one bearded turkey per day.
This is not an endangered species. They are doing well here. In fact, at Three Dog Farm, they seem to have found a safe haven.
I do hope they all move on soon.

A Memory of Conversation

"Mama, can I pick the wildflowers?

"Yes dear. But remember to only pick the flower and not the root, so the plant can grow again next Spring."
" OK Mama? Do they have  names?"

"Yes they do....

 This one, with the pretty leaf is called a Common Henbit. It's from the mint family."
"Flowers have families?"
"Oh yes, dear. The other little pink flower is called a Shooting Star. It's from the Primrose family."Do you see why they call it a shooting star?"
"Uh huh. It looks like a shooting star that we saw that night when we stayed outside after dark and sat on the lawn watching the sky. Remember?"
"Yes, I remember."
"I will bring you a whole bunch of flowers tomorrow Mama."
"That would be very nice. Just remember. No roots and no Poppies. They are protected."
"What's protected mean?"
"You are protected, sweetie. It means that someone is taking care of you so that you are safe from harm."
"You mean like someone pulling me away without my root?"
"Something like that."
"Do the flowers have a mother?"
"Yes. Her name is Mother Nature. She makes the wildflowers."
"That's nice. I hope I meet her someday because she makes lots of beautiful flowers,"
"Yes, she does dear...

...let's go in the house and find a little pitcher to put them in."
"OK. Can I choose the pitcher I like best?"
"You sure can."
"I love these flowers, Mama. It's nice that they have a mom too."
"Yes, it is. It really is."

One Day Last Week

Brownie's right horn was growing into the side of his face again. This time the Prospector and Farmlady took things into their own hands.

 "Oh Brownie!", cried Murphy, "Why are you on the other side of the fence?"
Bart looked a little disgusted. " Good grief Murph' Don't be so dramatic. He's probably going to the doctor place again. He always gets the fun trips."

Murphy was distraught, " I just know something bad is going to happen."

"What do you mean.. something bad?" Brownie said, as he walked over to the gate.Then he turned around
and ...

The Prospector was staring at him. Brownie stared back at the Prospector.

Then he looked at Farmlady and she said quietly, "It's going to be OK Brownie. It will be over in no time."
"What's going to be OK? What is going to be over in no time?",  Brownie shouted.  Farmlady knew that an explanation would be more than this goat should hear. This goat did not need to know what was going to happen ahead of time.

Annabel had a funny look on her face that said..."I'm sure glad it's not me." Everyone was a little tense.

When the neighbor arrived, Brownie knew something was happening and that it likely involved him. The neighbor Mr. "D" rarely came over, with his gloves on, unless there was wood to be chopped, heavy lifting to be done or.... when the Prospector had to keep something , or someone, under control.
Brownie started pacing. He saw the table ....

Then all the humans walked into the small fenced area. Brownie backed against the outer gate.....
With Farmlady and Mr "D" holding Brownie's head, the Prospector used the fine wire saw to cut the horn away from Brownie's face. Half way through Brownie gave out a loud cry. ( OK everyone..all together.. "Oh no!") Farmlady talked softly to Brownie and wished she spoke Murphy's other language (Gaelic) to soothe  Brownie's nervousness.  The rest of the sawing was completed and the horn fell to the ground. There was no blood, no need for antiseptic powder or bandages. The deed was done. They let go of Brownie and he darted over to the fence. He touched noses with Murphy and then seemed to settle down,
They thanked Mr. "D" and sent him home with cookies and eggs. He is such a good neighbor. He's always there to help. Farmlady could not have held Brownie steady or long enough. Her expertise involved talking to Brownie and keeping him calm. She did hold the goat's head as well as she could, but Mr."D" was the strength that keep Brownie in place.
No photos were taken of this embarrassing (as far as Brown' was concerned) procedure.These goats don't like to be "man" handled. Brownie is the worst. He didn't talk to anyone for the rest of the week. Of course the sun wasn't out a lot either so it's hard to tell what he was really upset about.
Farmlady was really proud of Brownie. She gave him some carrots later in the day but he let them fall on the ground and walked into the goat house. It was traumatic for him but he can be such a drama king....

That night Farmlady and the Prospector talked about the job well done and how it saved them a lot of money and another long trip to the vet down in the valley.... borrowing a horse trailer, loading Brownie into it and driving so far. Yep! It was one more learning experience for them all. What a day!!

The Offending Horn


And now.... the Oscars have started.... I must go.