I hope all the mothers out there are staying safe and well, and are getting a little extra of whatever increases smiles today. I made chocolate chip cookies last night. My daughter’s huge smile was the gift I needed.
A few things have happened since I was here Wednesday. On the plus side, we got more gifts!
On the more challenging side, we had a few issues with two of our Farmyard family members. All is fine now, but here’s what happened:
Let’s start with Gypsy. Last week she got bit by something. Her face swelled and she was in some pain. Meds helped, and the swelling seemed to be the residual reminder of the issue. However, she developed an abscess. Yesterday, it was drained, lanced, and taken care of. Thanks to Dr. Cannedy and Katy, all is good now.
Aaron, with the help of Steve, removed everything from the goat/donkey yard. This allowed them to more easily search the yard for signs of pests. They found, dug out, and safely treated a fire ant mound. Thanks Aaron and Steve!
Dusty, one of our miniature Hereford cattle, had a bout yesterday with what could have been bloat. The Team got him up and moving and administered pain meds. Some walking, and burping, and he was soon eating and pooping again.
Aaron has used operant conditioning to train Dusty (and Dallas) to get their halter on, as well as walk calmly to the chute and scale (sometimes they are not so calm since they are excited to see Aaron).
In the photos to follow, Dusty was still happy to see and work with Aaron even after all of the poking and his increased discomfort he experienced earlier in the day
This morning, Dusty (and Gypsy) were doing great. Let’s hope it stays that way.
Look for posts later in the week with more updates. We’ve got a lot of work at the red wolf and black bear habitats this week: pool cleaning, yard mowing, scooping and more. We’ll be sure to document and share the news.
In the meantime, you know the drill: besides taking care of ourselves, and others, find something that makes you smile, or brings you joy and laughter. For me, besides my chocolate chip cookies & smiling daughter, and talking with my mother who is still safe and healthy in New York, I seem to always find smiles in watching the skunk eat.
However, that’s not my biggest smile today. While heading to the Parking Deck to do my weekly driving of the vans (need to make sure they still drive in case of emergency) I came across some folks in the parking lot. They were happily wandering for a Mother’s Day stroll. We talked together, although far apart. We shared a quick and amusing chat.
It was so nice for me to see people (members) still finding joy at the Museum of Life and Science.
