Wednesday, December 8, 2010

On Treed Cats, Pregnant Ewes, and Vog...and 6th grade band concerts.

As you can see, it has been an eventful day.  It took some finesse and precision for timing, but it all got accomplished....

First, it was a very voggy day.  The wind is blowing all that Volcanic gas from Kilauea over our side of the island, which means the air smells like sulfer and my nose runs.  It also means a red moon and the most gorgeous sunrises....I guess you take the good with the bad.

After work, I had to criss cross town to pick up kids and get them various places.  I was already crunched for time when I got home to discover a stray cat stuck up in a clump of guaiwi.  My very naughty dogs had it stuck up there for almost 24 hours apparently.  I heard them barking all night last night, and when I went out to feed at 5 am, they were circling the clump of trees.  I couldn't see anything up there, though, and when I checked our cat, she was in the house and fine, so I left for work.

Even though I had to get my 12 year old to his activity and hele on myself to the 6th grade band concert (my ears wincing in anticipation), I did try to problem solve briefly with my teenagers.  In the end, they had a ladder, a crate, a jacket to throw over the cat, and a bowl of food, so I left the 16 year old 20 feet up the tree with his sister holding the bottom of the ladder.

The twelve  year old was very late for his activity, but I made it on time for the band concert.

At the same time, my pregnant ewe's udder has gotten very large, and since the previous owner had told me she was a few weeks away from lambing about 2 months ago, I am all on tenterhooks.  I feel almost as anxious as when I was 9 days late with my own pregnancy - let's get it over with, already!

The band concert was better than I had thought it would be, but mercifully short, and I didn't need to figure out how to pick up kids from two locations 10 miles apart at the same time.  The concert ended as if it were perfectly timed for me to get across town to retrieve the 12 year old.

I came home to no lambs, but also no cat in the tree - but the cat food bowl is up 20 feet in the tree, so apparently it had a snack before leaving.  I am relieved, although it would have been nice to have another barn cat.  

Now if only the tradewinds would come back and get rid of the nasty vog.

7 comments:

Faith said...

Sulfuric Sunrise, that would be a great name for an album. Not sure which type of music, though.

You pulled this day off quite well, despite all wrenches thrown in. YAY! I imagine some young adults will be climbing up after the cat bowl, otherwise they'll be doing a lot of climbing for feeding time.

More normal day for you today?

~Faith

Ohiofarmgirl said...

hey! Just keep feeding that stray - she'll come around. Barn cats are great and the more the merrier!

Here's something to remind you why you don't live in Ohio:
http://adventuresinthegoodland.blogspot.com/2010/12/extreme-cold-weather-livestock-care.html
:-)

NancyDe said...

Sadly, OFG, my naughty dogs (who leave cats that I have identified as mine alone) killed this one before he made it to the barn. I am seriously considering finding another home for the 10 year old cat and chicken-killing ringleader.....Thanks for the link....I always think about how it would be if it were cold and snowy instead of cool and muddy and remind myself muddy is easier than horse's hooves filled with ice packs.

Faith, only a small bit nuts today - last VB game of the season, but we should be home by 6:30 - which is far better than 9:30.

Chai Chai said...

Would love to see some pictures of the pregnant ewes udder to get an idea for this spring when I hope my ewes give birth.

NancyDe said...

Chai Chai, I will take pics tomorrow or Saturday if she hasn't delivered, yet. I leave before it gets full light, and get home when the sun is already behind the mountain, and the lighting isn't good in the barn. It was bagged up for awhile, and then yesterday filled up more, but today it is the same.

Denise Covey said...

Hi Nancy, I came over from Grandpa's blog and am so excited to read about Hawaii! I learned a new word 'voggy'. Love it. It must be a great life overall. Looking forward to reading more of your exploits!

NancyDe said...

Hi, L'Aussie, thanks for wandering by - hope you come back to visit :).