I am woman; hear me roar.

Yes, tonight I did something that never in a million years I would have considered doing previously. (Grammar police, easy ... I am somewhat unslept.)

Because life is about trying new things, right?

Doing things that terrify you, but in doing them you are made stronger. And you become just a little more competent that you started out.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, tonight I did an internal exam on a ewe.

Our second ewe may be having problems, and I had to check to see if her cervix was open or closed. (For the record, it was closed. Good news for sleeping tonight; not so great news for our Geography Fair tomorrow :) ... I have a significant case of competing time demands. And did I mention the the opening of "Cross Purposes" is also tomorrow? Heh, heh, heh.)

Which brings me to another observation. I like large animal vets. Small animal vets are like doctors; "Sorry, you need to bring Fido in". Generally to the tune of $168.00. But our doctor's appointments are covered and generally, the vet is not. Large animal vets? They talk you through things. They don't come out unless it's urgent. They would rather be home eating supper than standing in your cold, muddy field slathered in soapy iodine. They assume you have the ability to learn new things, and that you will know when you need help. It is refreshing.

A small request though ... we may have a lamb obstructing the birth of another lamb. We will now not know this until tomorrow. Our lamb outcome may not be so successful this time. And we need to be prepared for this. Those of you who pray, please pray that despite a full and uncertain day tomorrow, that our focus would be on the important things and that I would be able to do One Thing at a Time without worrying about everything else. Thank you.

And for those of you on high speed (I presume it's necessary, but I'm not positive) and a desire to see very graphic photos of the birth of Prince Souvlaki and Princess No Name Yet, please click on the link below. This will take you to a Photobucket account I've set up. We had front row seats, so things are quite ... uh, detailed.

Latifah's Labour and Delivery

Great Highway Signs!

If you click on the image, you will be taken to the animated version of this sign.

These were up and running when we lived in NJ ... all the way down the major highway into Philly these huge signs kept us focused on the important Thing :). No offense intended to those of you who don't subscribe to the Creator thing.

My favourite? "Loved the Wedding; invite me to the marriage." How true! As one who doesn't think it's humanly possibly to stay married without the Lord in the middle of it, I heartily endorse this.

Bed head :)

Latifah, looking less than glamorous ... but back to her healthy, gluttonous, silly self :). Apparently we caught her starting to go down with "something"; pregnancy toxemia, perhaps? But she has completely rallied and is as goofy as ever.

Being a novice shepherd is quite emotionally exhausting -- we're quite paranoid now :). No sign of babies yet. And believe me, we're checking constantly!

Tears streaming down my face ...

Kevin is playing the piano tonight ... going through one of my old music compilation binders. He started playing "Here I Am, Lord", written by Bob Nickling, then of the Guelph Vineyard Church. Powerful, amazing song about Bob's life ... the running away from God, then his choice to stay, to follow, to honour God.

The thing is, Bob died last year. Cancer. He was not old.

Hearing this song again caught me ... in that thin margin between busyness, unawareness and sleep ... a "moment" more colourful than the ones surrounding it.

Here are the lyrics ... I wish you could hear the music as well.

Here I Am Lord
R. Nickling, Dec. 1991

Before I breathed, You knew me O Lord
Your hand touching my life
And deep inside, I knew it O Lord
But for so long I denied ... but for so long I denied ...

Chorus:
Here I am Lord, take my life (take my life)
A total surrender is what I must give
GIve up this life, that I might live
Here I am Lord, take my hand (take my hand)
I'll follow your lead to the end of the world
I'll follow you Lord, wherever You go
'Cause since I found You, where else could I go?

And even as I wandered, O Lord
You just kept calling my name
And even when I stumbled, O Lord
Your love for me didn't change ... Your love for me didn't change.

Now I'm tired of running, O Lord
I've reached the end of me
Now it's me that's calling, O Lord
Come set this prisoner free (set him free) ... come set this prisoner free.


I remember so clearly our group doing this song, at our church and at others. We connected over it. I recall Bob saying sheepishly once, when someone asked how he had taught us to sing together so well, his response: "Well, it's like this. I play the intro, and tell them to sing. And they do! And it comes out like that!" He was a humble guy.

And he is free now, Lord. Free from illness, free from worldly cares that tried to gag him and tear him down. And he no longer has to run.

Thank you.

Busy week ahead ...

... preparation for Geography Fair (both our presentation and also the myriad of details I have to assemble to run the program), extra practices for "Cross Purposes", the play Kevin is directing at church (and both Alison and Claire are part of us well), because it's on a week today and the Sunday as well. Plus our ewes are closer and closer to lambing, and one is driving us crazy because, although she's not off her feed, she's refusing her barley. This morning we were outside syringing very dilute molasses down her throat in hopes of stimulating her appetite. So this will involve extra phone calls and trips in to town due to our novice status in the shepherd department.

I'm feeling a little scattered, needless to say. But the weather is spectacular ... we spent some time outside today doing pond studies, grazing the chickens, dealing with aformentioned sheep, and planning where to plant 50 silver maple trees that will be arriving early in May :). We've ordered the trees through Quinte conservation for 75 cents each; they are not a great hardwood tree but instead considered a "pioneer" -- great for planting in cleared, unprotected areas; tough and quick growing. We won't be able to plant other species until we can provide sheltered areas for them. Other species I'm considering for future years are Burr Oak, Jack Pine and birch. We already have cedar, ash and a couple of poplars (why, I don't know???), plus two cherry trees. A previous owner planted a small orchard of apple trees, however he was somewhat misguided. He planted them in the driest end of the property, surrounded by cedar trees which act as hosts for a major apple pest. We will not spray, so we're letting them die a natural death.

I hope everyone is enjoying the sun and warmth :).

Amazing day at College Royal! And other notes from the weekend ...

Some of the things that our children did on Saturday:

* extracted the DNA from bananas using common household reagents. You could see the thin threadlike strands of DNA with the naked eye.

* did a Crime Scene Investigation, learning about dusting for fingerprints, DNA analysis of hair to assess gender, blood typing, and chemical determination of mystery powders. They were able to actually use automatic pipettes and carry out chemical reactions, identify chromosome bands on gel plates, etc. (The chef did it!)

*played in touch tanks, befriending beasties such as horseshoe crabs, starfish and sea urchins. Iain was very much looking forward to this club display, but was very put out when many of the specimens were, uh, expired. Iain vastly prefers live fish to dead fish.

* got a PRIVATE tour by one of my old Nutrition profs, Dr. Jim Atkinson (who looks not much older today than he did 23 years ago!). We bumped into him in the Animal Science building, and when he discovered how much Iain loved fish, he took us through the aquaculture research areas in the An. Sci. building. We saw fish brooders and various tanks. Unfortunately there were no current research projects, but it was still very interesting.

* laughed hysterically when aforementioned Dr. Atkinson informed me I was the OLDEST past student he had seen on Saturday (previous to myself, he had met up with an OAC '93 student; yep, CPS '87 here!)

*Took part in an honest-to-goodness human anatomy lab. Iain was moderately fascinated, and Alison dove right in. The two of them were the subject of many photographs taken by the head anatomy lecturer at the University, who has promised to e-mail me some of the photographs. If I decide to include anything in the blog, I will date them 2004. I did have a "moment" when they showed us a healthy liver, and a liver from a very large woman. Healthy liver, 7 pounds. Unhealthy liver, 27 pounds (ouch). When the liver was biopsied, they discovered that there was essentially NO functioning liver tissue; just fat. This was a sobering moment for me.

*Played with assorted animals including a ball python and a boa constrictor, centipedes, and a vicious attack (Quaker) parrot. Oh yes, we already have one of these at home, so I guess no biggie.

*Watched some of the student square dance competitions.

*Rode on a hovercraft.

*Watched mom manage to finagle a tour of a South Residence private room from a helpful 2nd year student. The children had heard of these odd octagonal rooms, and desperately hoped to see one. They did (and it didn't turn them off residence forever!)

...and many other fun activities. Alison already wanted to attend U. of G. some day ... this only cemented her desire. She is fascinated by SURGERY, of all things ... anatomy ... how the body works. Currently she wants to be a vet technician or a vet. Iain now wants to go to Guelph ... wildlife biology, marine and freshwater biology, etc. Claire has fallen in love with the university campus and is completely ticked that it doesn't come with an attached teacher's college.

We also spent awesome time with Mom and Dad in Burlington, and had a wonderful visit with Scott and Andrea Bothwell and family in Guelph, who allowed us to bunk out overnight in her folks' basement apartment. And HUGE props to Kev, who cared for and worried about our animals for the whole time we were away. He ended up having to resurrect Claire's hamster AGAIN (see my Jan. 10, 2007 blog entry), plus the sheep provided him with some scares. However all is well :).

I will add photos to this entry at some point, but for now it is just long and wordy, with my apologies ;).

Off to my folks' place this weekend, and at least one day of College Royal!

College Royal at the University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario

I've been promising the kids for 3 years that we would do this; each year something happens that makes us unable to attend. It was close this year, with sheep due, but lambs are not imminent so we've decided to make the trek.

Iain is looking forward to the wildlife biology and marine displays, Claire is looking forward to the square dance competition, music competitions, pet shows and just the general bustle and excitement of being at university, and Alison is looking forward most to the veterinarian displays, "Rumen with a View", livestock shows, and anything hands on. I'm looking forward to watching them expand their horizons :).

A year ago January we did a quick U. of G. Tour; met an old chemistry prof of mine (who is now moonlighting as an Anglican priest!!), played in empty lecture halls, and lost Alison to the university bookstore, animal science department of course ("You mean, you get to read THIS? And you actually get credit for it????"). This brief time whetted the kids' appetite for a real visit! We can hardly wait.

I'm hoping our batteries will last and we'll have some fun pix to post next week! Next week, huge push on Geography Fair preparations and building lamb pens outside, since the lambs' early due date coincide rather well with our Homeschool Geography Fair.

You're never too old, or too young, to learn! (Shepherds-in-training)

I have two posts-in-progress; I've been flying, however and unable to complete them. But let me tell you what Alison and I have learned today:

1. We've learned how to worm and vaccinate sheep.

2. We've learned how to "crutch" a sheep (which is removing fleece in certain areas so the newborn lambs will have no problem finding mom's teats)

3. We've learned about impending delivery signs: udder size, wax plugs, circling and pawing behaviour.

4. We've learned that I have have to pick up "just in case"; soapy iodine solution, glycol, lamb kick-start, a ceramic heater and regular iodine. And that in a perfect world, I will only require the iodine.

5. We've learned how to give sub-cutaneous and intramuscular injections.

6. We've learned how to put ear tags in lambs by practising on a cardboard ear /blush/.

7. We've learned that if a newborn lamb doesn't get warm and eat within four hours, it will die. Period.

8. We've learned how to hang and towel a lamb, clear its airway, administer lamb-starter through a syringe or a feeding tube (and hopefully I've learned how to get the feeding tube into lamby's stomach as opposed to its lungs!).

9. We've learned how to deliver a lamb showing any possible presentation of body parts (one leg back, breech, etc.) We've learned how to gently and blindly tease out said body parts, and we've learned how to push lamby back IN in order to help it out.

10. We've learned how to construct a "hot box" to revive a lamb suffering from hypothermia.

11. We've learned all about the evils of chlamydia in sheep (causes spontaneous abortion and which we vaccinated for today among other things) and of uterine prolapse. We've learned that prolapse retainers, although looking like medievel instruments of torture, are actually quite useful in the event of a prolapse.

12. We've learned how to use elastrators (yup, just what they sound like!) to dock the babies' tails, and that there is only one best spot to put them to ensure success and the least pain.

13. We've learned that a hair dryer is just as useful in the barn as the washroom; in fact, perhaps more useful (living lamb vs. bad hair day).

14. We've learned that lamb temp can be estimated by a finger in the mouth, or determined by a thermometer somewhere else :D.

15. We've learned that despite having to learn EVERYTHING above, the chances of having to do most of it are slim-to-none, and that most likely we will get up in the morning one day, early in April, to a mom and twin lambs. But that as a shepherd you must be prepared for the worst at all times, because if things go bad there is not time to dawdle, nor often even time to call a vet.

All this resulted from about 2 hours with my friend and shepherd-mentor Linda. I'm so thankful for her willingness to invest in our education.

We will continue to keep you posted about our mini-lambing adventure :) !

Ontario Region 3 4H Training Conference today

and I was able to go! I had a truly great time. Although as a city-bred child I was not able to do 4H, I've always been fascinated with the organization. I still remember a book I read when I was young about a girl who was involved with 4H. Then, while attending University of Guelph, I really admired the rural kids who grew up in 4H and Junior Farmers. They arrived at university with self-confidence, speaking ability, and maturity way beyond my peers.

Fast forward to my own children, and my increasing involvement with 4H. Having worked as a parent volunteer the last three years (informally) I was invited to attend the training workshop today. What a blast! Depending on what our year next year looks like, I've been planning my first club :).

Icing on the cake? A visit to Chapters after the end of the conference with one of my best buds, and my arrival home to a spotlessly clean home (courtesy of Kev and the kids -- Claire is an AMAZING cleaner in particular!), dinner on the table (courtesty of Kev) and a lovely homemade jelly roll (Alison's specialty). Yum!

Kevin and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

With apologies to Alexander :), and in reference to yesterday.

Having already been held up overnight due to weather in Cambridge (and the storm that hit most of southern Ontario) he and Iain arose at 4:30, packed the car and set out for home, hoping that he could still make it to his course in Kingston. They made it as far as the end of his sister's (very short) street, only to find a downed tree and electrical wires. Back to unload again.

At 8:30 they tried a second time; the tree and wires were removed. Cambridge roads were nasty but the 401 was in fair shape so they had a decent drive through Toronto. Then "odd" things started happening with the Honda; the spedometer quit working ... the odometer ... eventually even the tape player. You mechanics are nodding your heads knowingly, but trust me, there are no mechanics in this household! They pulled in to a service station at Port Hope for a washroom break, and the Honda wouldn't start again. Kev called me, already frustrated since he'd been up since 4:30, called CAA, then went back out and managed to start the car. They piled in, cancelled CAA, and made it to Coburg before the obviously overwrought car started shuddering and gave signs that it was done! Kev managed to exit off the 401 and came to a complete stop in Cobourg, JUST over the rise of a hill, with no working four-ways. They spent a harrowing XXXXXXXX minutes waiting for CAA, being sworn at by other drivers furious with the lack of four-ways and fearing for their lives. CAA arived, diagnosed a sick alternator, and informed Kev that he and Iain would be entering the County by tow truck as the car was towed to Picton. At least they were within the 200 km tow limit!

When asked whether he's had fun riding in a tow truck, Iain simply stated "No." (Remembering, of course that he had been up since 4:30 a.m.!)

I popped into the van to meet them at Stormy's to finally bring them home. Coming over the crest of a hill on my way into Picton, a small problem that had started with the van suddenly magnified ... I lost a cylinder, the van started shuddering and shaking and the only way I could keep the engine running was to slip it into neutral and step on the accelerator. I managed to limp to Stormy's (how great was it that I was heading to a garage anyway???) and eke into the driveway.

So there we were, at the garage, with two "troubled" vehicles. At this point all Kev wanted to do was get home. The car was already booked for Monday (heh, heh) and they fixed the van for us right there and then. Neither the Stenhouses nor the Girls' home were really in a position to fix a car at this point, BUT ...

While all this was going on, the girls at home were dealing with a power-outage that started at 7:30 a.m. and did not get resolved until about 1:30 (after being told the power would be out until 11:30 that night!). I spent all morning on the phone with Hydro, neighbours, electricians, Kevin, and various others. First thing in the morning I thought I should fill the bathtub "just in case", then completely forgot about this until the power went off. Because of course, in the country, once your water lines are empty, you can't flush your toilets without dumping water in :).

Anyway, the day ended eventually. Kev and Iain made it home. Kev "There's-nothing-I-like-better-than-a-nice-bowl-of- soup" Stenhouse had homemade tomato-beef soup, Iain slept for 12 solid hours and all is well. The van is purring, and with a new part it will hopefully last longer than the 15 months it survived with the rebuilt part we put in last time. And, after giving up any hope of making the course, Kev discovered that the teacher is planning to re-teach the course on another weekend due to the high incidence of storm-induced absenteeism.

This one is high up there on Kevin's list of "days-never-to-be-repeated" (likely second only to his move home from NJ!).

Peace, and a better day to you :)!

Karen

Photographs of Iain's aquarium

Iain is an amateur aquarist. He has worked very hard at building this tank up. He received the 20-gallon tank for Christmas 2005 to replace an old small purple kid's tank that had originally belonged to Alison. When he needs fish food, or wants to buy a new fish, he works VERY hard around the house (we don't start allowance until age 10, so he's still at the "extra chores for extra money" stage). He's a hard working boy and stacked a cord of wood by himself this winter!

The first photograph is an overview of the tank. The black and silver striped fish are black neon tetras; in front of the castle is a female cherry barb, and to the right are guppies and Iain's male Dwarf Gourami.

The second photograph is a close-up of the male Dwarf Gourami (the female was elusive during our photography session; she is plain silver in colour). The two deep red fish are the male cherry barbs, and there is a flash of blurry male guppy above the gourami.

For those who would like more detail, you can double-click on the photos to expand them.

This just made me laugh!

(If you double-click on the image, it will come up into a new window and be somewhat easier to read.)

This cartoon is rather appropriate, since we are expecting snow yet again. Kevin and Iain headed out yesterday to Kev's uncle's funeral; I'm hoping that the snow called for today doesn't materialize before they arrive home. Right now, in beautiful Prince Edward County, it's a glorious, sunny day, so it's hard to imagine. The lake-effect snow squalls do blow in quickly though, and we've had plenty this winter (a positive change, in my opinion) ... hmmm, something like if one lived in a snow globe! We even have our own little earth tremors; barely noticeable, they occur daily around 2:00 p.m. when the local cement plant blasts another section of the quarry!