Daffodils and Dirt Roads

Graduation!

2016-06-12T00:07:00.001-04:00

I graduated! After 2 years of hard work, I graduated! All that stands between me and my license is the Vet Tech National Exam, which I will be taking in November.

Thunder Storms!

2016-02-24T21:18:00.000-05:00

I have, for the past three years, documented the first thunder of the season, and it was today! February 24th, 2016. The last two years it has been April 8th, 2014 and 2015, but it's been a very strange winter for New York. It's been exceptionally warm. We've had very few inches of snow and mostly warm weather. It is 54 degrees and pouring with thunder and lightning. I love every second of it! I would rather it rain and pour and carry on that ever snow.

School is going well, but of course I am busy!

Enjoy the crazy weather!

Apartment Homesteader - 5 Things I Did

2016-01-18T09:51:00.002-05:00

1. I tried to cook steak!

Yeah, tried. I mean I didn't catch it on fire or have it explode or anything, but it certainly wasn't great.

2. A no driving challenge!

Whaaaat? I shouldn't really count it, because it didn't last long. I spent Wednesday not driving (I walked to work instead!), and Thursday I walked to my am job, but drove to my pm job. I drove in the pm because the four boxes of donation items were finally loaded into my car and I wanted them GONE. So after work I took them up to the thrift shop, which is outside of walking distance. (The four boxes were also large and HEAVY, so I couldn't have carried them all if I tried.) It seemed like a better use of my time than to walk to work, walk home, then drive the items up. If it wasn't so snowy and slippery out, I would have ridden my bike to work instead.

I know this all probably sounds pretty insignificant, but I have never not had a car of my own (since I was 16 anyway). The tiny place I live in is characterized by several small towns separated by miles of desolate road. It hasn't been until I moved into the actual town last year that walking/biking has even been a remote possibility. It's awesome!

Why did I choose the depths of winter to start this? Well, I have crap tires and have to wait a little longer to get the snows put on. My apartment's driveway is... special... and it's hard to get in and out without sliding everywhere. And the last, best reason is I wanted to prove to myself that I could. There's nothing quite like walking home, alone, in the snow, at 10 o'clock at night!

3. Donated four more boxes of stuff to the local thrift store.

How in the world did I ever own so. much. stuff! You would have thought I had an eight bedroom house or something. If feels so wonderful to get it out. Next up? Finishing the closet clean out and then the trunk of my car and then I am done and I will have gone through and tossed/donated/gotten rid of all the superfluous items in my life! How freeing is that statement? I was brutal to my book collection.

4. Fixed my pants instead of buying new ones.

I tried to buy a new pair of pants, but talked myself out of it because I have five pair of pants already and the only reason I was even thinking of buying a new pair was because my other two black pants have holes. Ugh. I don't know why I didn't just sit down and fix it the night it happened. It takes 10 minutes but I must have put it off for months. Now I can wear them without people seeing my undies!

5. Used almost bad bananas to make my favorite banana & chocolate chip muffins!

I HATE banana bread/muffins with a passion. But chocolate makes them tolerable. :) I like bananas, but they have to be a bit green still.

Apartment Homesteader - 5 Things I Did

2016-01-10T00:41:00.002-05:00

I thought I'd document 5 little (or big) things that I did in the past week to bring myself closer to self-sufficiency and my homestead dream. I plan on making it a weekly event. Some weeks may be the same, but most weeks I don't think they will be! Besides being a potential resource for others, this will help me stay on track (personal accountability, yo), and encourage me to think of new ways toward self reliance.

1. I composted/recycled (almost) everything!

Composting // I don't have a compost heap at the apartment and since I'm only here for a year, I didn't want to start one when it won't be cared for after I leave. So currently I am saving food scraps in a gallon sized bag in the freezer. When it gets full I take it to mom's house and throw it in the compost. I try not to make them in the first place though 'cause a gallon bag doesn't hold a lot and I have to take it when it's full, since I'd rather have stuff in the freezer that I'll eat instead of egg shells and orange peels. Upside: freezing the future compost makes for no funky smells! I'm thinking of starting a small worm composter in my apartment - a friend has them in hers, but I'm not too sure if I want them. She has a lot of fruit fly problems but she also freely admits to over-feeding them... I'm still mulling.
Recycling // I had to upgrade to a bigger container for the recycling 'cause the small one gets too ful too fast, but the new container was also one I don't need and was going to otherwise get rid of, so two birds with one stone! I try to recycle everything I can. The things I end up throwing away are mostly foam meat packages (working on it!), and anything else I can't recycle.

2. I made homemade houseplant fertilizer.

I sprinkled a tiny amount of very, very dry and crushed eggshells in my houseplant dirt and mixed it in. Then I took a small amount of milk water (half milk, half water) and watered each plant. Several websites recommended both.

3. Investing in a new camera lens.

Okay, you may be wondering how this could possibly count in the lineup, but it does I swear! It's about self-sufficiency so for me, part of that is being my own boss. The better I become with my photography, the closer I am to this goal. I'm not sure if I will ever be able to completely live off of the photos I take, but I can only improve and try. I picked out a lens, but I don't have the spare moula right now to purchase it comfortably. (Rent was due ya'll!) I will be actively saving for this specifically in the month of January and should be able to purchase it by the end of the month. Woo-woo!

4. I repainted & sealed the old instead of buying new.

So when I moved in, I chucked the old disgusting shower caddy that was here. I bought a new caddy and dish-drying rack and brought them home. Fast-forward four months and my brand new items are already starting to rust! What the hell? I was mad and definitely not ready to throw away perfectly good things. (The last caddy was fine too, but I couldn't get over that A: it was rusty as heck, and B: that someone else's soap used to be where mine was now. Blech!) So I popped on down to the hardware store and bought some Rustoleum Hammered Pewter and some Rustoleum Clear Acrylic Sealant. I sprayed three-ish coats of the hammered pewter and let it dry for two days, then sprayed a heavy two coats of acrylic sealant and left it to dry for a day. So far both are doing awesome, I don't have to be annoyed by rust everyday, and I didn't have to buy replacements! I spent seven-ish dollars on this project.

5. I went on an organizing/donating spree and cleaned out a lot of stuff.

Right now less stuff means more room for things that are important. (I have SO MUCH canning stuff you guys and it lives under my bed right now... not an ideal place.) It also means that I don't have to haul it all out and around when I move again. I hate stuff that I don't use. I mean, I had a set of piping bags and tips that I haven't used in three years. But what if I wanted to used them!? Obviously I had to save them right? Wrong. So wrong. I gave them to my sister. Awesome.

In a week I have donated five boxes to the local thrift store. I have three more that I have to get to the car, and more to go through. I listed five books on ebay in an attempt to sell them, but it's only a trial run. It seems like little reward for a lot of work, but we'll see.

I think I made some awesome progress this week!

Soul Deep

2016-01-01T11:30:00.000-05:00

This woman is me:

"Modern society has achieved an almost total divorce from the production of one's own food. An abiding affinity for sentient beings which you fully intend to murder, dissect, and ingest, seems horrifying to present-day sensibilities, which have divided the domestic animal world into cherished pets and plastic-wrapped boneless chicken breasts. But this horror is a luxury, based on the assumption that as long as we put enough distance between ourselves and how our food comes to us, any suffering inflicted can safely be ignored. And, it presupposes that eating someone is the worst thing that one can do to them. The first is obviously not true, the second is surprisingly ambiguous." - From the author of the Working Dog Diary, Chapter 9.

"I couldn't imagine a more fulfilling life than living in an Airstream with my dog, spending every day doing nothing but hanging out with ruminants.

Apparently this dream isn't shared by very many people in the United States. When I spoke of it, even to people who worked sheep with dogs, the response was usually that nothing imaginable could be more boring, squalid, and lonely. By and large the only people who will work as professional rangeland sheepherders these days are monolingual Peruvians, whom I suppose have few job options. I don’t understand this. For me, modern life, filled with cars and pavement and electronic entertainments and food shipped from across the globe and frappechinos and nuclear waste and space stations doesn't do anything for me. Quite the opposite. I can think of a few pieces of the industrialized world I have a certain fondness for, such as indoor plumbing and western medicine, but the vast majority of it I wish had never come to pass, and would love to never have to participate in. I had always, since forever, wanted to make my escape, somehow, somewhere. I had never been successful." - From the author of the Working Dog Diary, Chapter 18.

"Family farming is dying for the same reason that people don't write with pens made from the feathers of crows: there's a much easier way to get the same result. Easier, because someone else does it for you, far, far away, with enormous machines. I said the same result, but of course, it is not the same. It fills the same need, but driving your petroleum car to buy a petroleum bag of disposable petroleum ballpoints filled with petroleum ink is not the same as walking out to your hayfield, shooting a crow out of the sky, plucking his primary feathers, and shaping the tips with your pocket knife. In fact they could hardly be more different, in their effects upon the world, their effects upon the writer, and the line they make upon the page.

Everything we do now is broken into pieces. Land is either for building houses and businesses on, or for recreation. Wilderness is prized and fought for. But farming is a strangely dreamy concept to most. What do farmers do? We hardly know. For real farming, living from your land, as opposed to corporate agribusiness farming, is foreign to us. Our activities are divided in the same way: that which we do to make money, and that which we spend money on to soothe the abradedness resulting from our money-making activities. Exactly why and how we have created this way of life is a very, very long discussion, but I would like to make one point: although it appears that we are offered an infinity of choices, one option is not made available, and that is to refuse to participate." - From the author of the Working Dog Diary, Chapter 23.

She says the things that stir in my soul more eloquently than I ever could. The new year always makes people, me included, more acutely aware of our failings in the previous year. I got away from the things that mean the most to me, namely self-sufficiency. But I did have great success in several areas, like school, dog training, and money management.

I feel like it's all relative. We can't be perfect, but we still try, and that's okay. :)

Until next time,

Mini Apartment Tour

2015-12-26T22:13:00.000-05:00

The week of classes beginning for the fall semester, I moved into my own apartment. It has been awhile since I've had a place of my own. I have college students for neighbors, but I live on the second floor and it is mostly peaceful. I have Sawyer and Nova (my cat!) here with me as well as my betta fish named Amos. Honestly I couldn't be happier. A move to town was just what I needed. Even though I can't really plant a garden or carry on with some of my homesteading hobbies, I can carry on with most! I still compost, but I save everything in a bag in the freezer and bring it with me when I go to mom's. I don't have to use my car as much because I can walk nearly everywhere.

Sawyer and I have taken to late night walking and usually travel an hour or more along the well-lit sidewalks. My hometown is very small and I know most everyone here (perks of working at the grocers). My very best college friends only live one house down from mine, so we take turns having movie night and dinner. I love it! I'm getting to practice (and show off) my cooking skills.

I love my little apartment, so enjoy the highlights!

Entryway. Front door of the house is my private entrance. There's just enough room for Sawyer's gear, shoes, coat, my bike, and some random boxes down there.

He wants you to play! Sometimes he drops the ball down the stairs so I will be forced to go and retrieve it.

The bathroom! I was hand-washing all my laundry for awhile - note the washboard from Lehman's!

My bedroom! It's nice and big. This is a two bedroom apartment, but when I didn't find a roommate, I took the bigger of the two. The second is serving as a tiny guest room right now.

My desk is also in my bedroom now! It was in the living room before, but now that I was gifted a tv and stand, it had to move!

Tiny kitchen. I'm not done decorating it yet, but the contact-paper backsplash is a huge improvement! I'm sorry I didn't get the whole thing. Today was not the kitchen's best looking day.

Dining/kitchen/living room combo. I don't have a lot of chairs and I intend to paint the table legs and that chair white at some point.

Living room!

My favorite living room shot! I put up the lights for Christmas, but they're staying up for good now! They are so charming in the room.

Until next time,

10 Things & Merry Christmas!

2015-12-25T23:43:00.001-05:00

I'm a big fan of Christmas. It's the only time of year that I get to see all my siblings. At once. In the same place. We cook and clean together; laugh and give each other gifts. These last two Christmases I have volunteered at the school kennels while Gramma volunteers to go into work so others can have time with their families.

I thought that Christmas should be about giving thanks for all I have (including this nugget).

I'm grateful for:

1. My loving family. We may not always get along, but we love each other without reservation.

2. A warm apartment that is my oasis, my retreat, my home. I love it here.

3. That I have the knowledge and am working on the cooking skills that my mother taught me. I can make a mean chicken and gravy!

4. I have only one semester left before graduation!! I am thrilled. One semester and an exam away from being a licensed veterinary technician!

5. I can afford some organic food, and I am ever so grateful. I have had the opportunity to really see how others eat and it has made me all the more thankful that my mother raised us on from-scratch food.

6. I did well on my grades! Nothing less than a B, and I struggled mightily this semester.

7. Old friends and new who have helped shape me into who I am today. I am certainly not perfect, and I never have claimed to be, but progress is progress nonetheless.

8. Living in town is wonderful. I never thought I'd enjoy it, but it's such a big change and I love it! It's nice to be able to go for a walk (safely) with Sawyer at 9:30pm. I like it because it gets me out of the house and it lets me clear my head. I also enjoy walking every where. I know it's not permanent, but I'm loving it until it's no longer for me.

9. For life: birds signing, sunrises and sunsets, flickering candles, Christmas carols, and a cuddly Sawyer.

10. For our Lord and Savior whose birth we remember and celebrate today. O Holy Night indeed!

Merry Christmas!

Sawyer Tried to Howl...

2015-12-18T13:13:00.001-05:00

...and it might just be the cutest thing you see today!

The fire siren went off one night and I happened to have my camera handy. Enjoy my little nugget trying his hardest. One thing I learned that night: he is definitely not part husky! :)

Until next time,

On Saying Yes To Everything

2015-08-29T13:34:00.000-04:00

It was 1am when I thought about writing this post. I was outside in my pj's hanging laundry on the retractable line underneath the roof of the deck. It was bright outside due to the nearly full moon. I haven't done laundry in weeks because of time constraints. I used my last clean underwear yesterday (and had to borrow a pair of socks from my mother), so when I got home from work at 10pm, I ran the washer.

I'm one of those weird people that will only wash socks in pairs. If a sock or two in the hamper doesn't have a match, it doesn't get washed. This is faulty logic though because I also keep a box of singleton socks. I bet the matches are in there.

School starts again on Monday. I'm not ready. I don't want to lose the summer vacation that I didn't really get to have. I have been so, so, so busy this summer that it has caused me to really take a step back and re-think what I say yes to. This summer I said yes to everything. I felt like I have to. Like it's my obligation to say yes.

I said yes to working at the animal hospital when it would have been more intelligent to say no after my internship ended. I said yes to working at the college, taking care of the animals on the weekends when it meant 12 hour work days. But it wasn't just about work. I said yes to more material goods that I certainly didn't need and now regret (more stuff = more management time spent with stuff) taking. Especially books. I hate to throw away things I might need, but if I won't read it, don't particularly want to read it, haven't read it in years, why am I keeping it? I just schlep it around with me. Ugh.

"Just because something has made you happy in the past, doesn't mean you have to keep it forever."

"Consumerism is the personification of greed and people don't realize that one can die for greed just as one can die for nationalism. It drives a person to work too hard, to desire money and to consume. One is conditioned to think that without consumer goods, one is nobody. 'I buy therefore I am' is the slogan of the modern age. We must understand consumerism as a new demonic religion and find a spiritual alternative."

Did I further my personal goals? Some. The internship was a requirement of college, but it allowed me to progress through my classes. The goals I hold more important such as healthy clean eating, creating less waste, sustainability, self reliance, more time spent doing things I love like training the dog and making time for friends. Those goals I didn't do very well with. I did spend some time with new friends, cementing our friendships. I did train the dog a little bit (and we spent some time together having fun). I didn't garden, didn't work on any of my other goals. There was no time.

Ugh. No one should live a life so full of doing things that they miss out on life. I suppose I am fortunate to recognize this problem in myself and work to fix it. I realize I am fortunate to complain about these things. Having too many jobs is not something most people can say. Having too many things is a uniquely privileged idea.

Nonetheless, I am paring down. I'm participating in a community yard sale. I am not buying anything I don't need. (Also know as: spending money on only useful things that I see a need for in my life.) I am using up, wearing out, and making due. But it's hard. I am a chronic over-spender. I buy and buy and buy until I run out of money.

As always, I'm a work in progress.

Last Day

2015-08-11T09:54:00.001-04:00

My last day at the animal hospital was yesterday.

I can't say I'm terribly sorry, even though I had a few minutes of overly-emotional attacks on the drive home. Working at this particular place was hard. It was difficult and frustrating. I was treated unprofessionally by the staff, and cringed at the way we treated and talked about some of our clients.

While I'm glad to be done with it, and know I never have to return, I will miss animal medicine on the scale I experienced there. School pales in comparison. I learned more than I dreamed I would.

This year of school I finished, along with my internship has taught me that I am intelligent. I'm sorry if it sounds conceded, that's not my intent. I used to feel so dumb. I used to feel like everyone around me knew everything and here I was struggling as hard as I could, and still not understanding. College taught me otherwise. I have begun to understand that it is simply not true, and it's the best and most important lesson I have learned thus far.

Until next time,

A Whole Lotta Breaking

2015-07-21T21:05:00.000-04:00

This summer has been the opposite of relaxing. I have somehow stumbled into five jobs. Yes. Five. I don't know how it happened, but now I grace the grocery store, the college, the local office for the aging, and the animal hospital with my occasional presence. (So, I said five and then listed four jobs. Can I count or what? The fifth job is various pet-sitting adventures.) They pay me for my appearances and a bit of work though, so it's okay. This has also been the summer of everything breaking. Into 10,000 pieces. And it feels like it costs that much too. My tooth needed a root canal. The same day as I had that checked out, the muffler went on my ol' Betsy (who is neither old, nor named Betsy). I drove to my mechanic in tears, mom in tow. He was jovial. He asked me what was wrong. With tears in my eyes I told him it sounded like I was piloting a dragon. He laughed and told me not to cry over cars and slid under the car. He came back out and wiped his hands on his jeans. He told me that the muffler came loose. We left it there to be fixed.

I seriously need to make that man and his crew some cupcakes. Mostly because about two weeks ago I was late to the animal hospital (set my alarm for pm, because I'm brilliant like that) and so when I roared in the parking lot I parked nose in and then thought I'd like to be backed in instead. I pressed the brake and pulled the shifter. It didn't budge. I pressed the brake harder because it has been known to grumble about coming out of park especially on an decline (I was parked nose down). It didn't work. I sighed, turned off the car and marched into the hospital, determined not to cry. I did anyway. I didn't even get two feet into the building when my poker face cracked. My coworker asked me what was wrong. I told him. He patted my back and went out to the parking lot with me, but he couldn't get it either.

What ensued was a long day of research about not shifting (a common problem in my car's make & model) and how to fix it, along with a call to my aforementioned mechanic, and to my grandmother for the number of triple A. One of the receptionists called her landlord who came with his truck and chains and tried to get enough pressure off the front of the car that the shift lock would let us shift. No dice.

My mechanic ended up driving about forty miles out of his way, taking time away from his family to help me. I can't tell you how much it means to me he was willing to do that. He ended up staying about an hour rigging the shift so I could actually shift the thing and get it to his shop. I'm just so damn grateful.

I hate to say it, but so far those three things (root canal, car breaking x2) have been the most traumatic parts of summer. It could be so much worse, so I'm not complaining. The weather has been beautiful with stunning days and rainy evenings, I've been able to keep on top of the laundry, and there's a good chance I get to have an apartment this upcoming semester... with Sawyer and Nova.

And so, despite everything, life is good friends.

Until next time,

Bike Ride

2015-05-14T23:26:00.001-04:00

Finals are done!

I've slowly introduced Sawyer to biking. He's loving it for the most part! I haven't found a dog bike attachment I can actually get along with, so I just loop his leash over the handle bars. NOT THAT I RECOMMEND THAT. It could be very dangerous! (But totally do it anyway.)

We go on a ride almost every night! It's been awesome because it tires him out so he just crashes and I can do homework or studying. I've forgotten how much I miss riding.

Finals are over, but I have a busy summer ahead! Onward and upward!

Until next time,

Things 'Round Here

2015-04-22T23:35:00.002-04:00

Spring is here with cold and snow, though last weekend was beautiful.

So beautiful that I brought Sawyer and Fidget (mom's min pin) to the fenced area at the school for play and training sessions. A friend and her dog joined us. She even brought cooked chicken for me for Sawyer! I didn't think of that!

Sawyer has escaped a lot lately. Last week it happened twice. I have to thank God that he doesn't go toward the (very busy) road, but up to the woods and he neighbor's yard. The neighbor has a 3 or so foot tall ravine in which a small creek flows. Sawyer especially loves jumping it. Then drinking from it (lepto vaccine very important here!), then laying in it.

Directly after running away and being caught again.
Nova is well. She enjoys making the bed and special kitty time in which I kick the dog out and play with her or love on her without her being startled or chased by any dog.

Playing.
Daffodils are just blooming now, but I've been buying the ones that the grocery store has been getting in. Daffodils are my favorite flowers. :)

This woman. She's my Gramma and she is just the best. She is sweet and kind and caring and will give you the shirt off your back to make you happy. Her brother passed away last Wednesday. She is away right now. My uncle (her son) drove from Virginia to New York to get her and bring her back down to attend the funeral in North Carolina. I miss her.

Lastly, I got a betta fish. I named him Amos. Gramma got one, then another and I remembered how much I missed having them. So I drove out to Petco and got the one I'd had my eye on for four weeks. He was still there!

Until next time,

Thunder Storms

2015-04-08T23:26:00.000-04:00

The first thunderstorms of spring rolled through this evening. I wouldn't have felt the need to make a post about it, except I looked up when the first thunderstorms came through last spring. Can you believe it was this exact date? April 8th, 2014!

Strange huh?

Lots of crazy has been going on around here, with school and my computer crashing, etc. I promise I will be back soon with photos galore and a proper post! Hope everyone is well.

Until next time,

The Little Piglet that Could

2015-03-10T19:54:00.000-04:00

The momma pigs are restless. There are three of them, one has had her babies. There were quite a few in the beginning, but five have since passed away. I don't understand how momma pigs end up laying on their babies, one would think the little ones would scramble out of the way, or mom might be more cautious, but it does happen.

There's a little runt – gender unconfirmed, but a little boy is my personal suspicion – and he is just so darn cute, and rather sweet. He was competing with his numerous siblings for a place at momma's table, but he just couldn't cut it. After all his siblings had eaten and retired to the corner under the heat lamp, he made his tottering way up front, where the automatic waterer is. He began lapping up the liquid on the floor. I'm afraid it wasn't all water.

We tried to discourage him as much as possible, but he was thirsty! He was also shivering. Bear in mind that it is still winter and even though the barn is heated, a tiny little pig gets the chills quickly. We encouraged him to go back to his siblings under the heat lamp, but every time we stuck our hands in the pen, momma pig would see it and come running over furiously, all full of protective instinct, grunting and groaning and carrying on.

However, we are future techs, and do not easily give up. There's a tiny whole in the pen's wall, just big enough for a runt piglet. One of my classmates drew up her courage and reached through, encouraging him to come closer. He did wander toward her, lapping the liquid on the floor as he went. She reached around him and gently pulled him toward her. He was silent. We were all holding our breaths. She lifted him, and got his back legs through the hole. As she lifted him further, to pull him through, he squealed.

I have never seen an animal turn quicker than his momma. I have also never been as frightened of an animal as that. These momma's are huge! I would honestly guess in the 600-700lb range. They've been at our farm for several years. She came screaming over. My classmate let go of that baby and he went running to mom. I can't blame her, I would have too.

However, that had the desired effect. Little baby runt went back to his siblings and cuddled down in the middle and began to dream little piggy dreams.

Until next time,

Photo A Day / Week 9 / 2015

2015-03-08T10:34:00.000-04:00

Hello friends,

I hope you've had a good week!

I'm linking up with Natasha's Photo-A-Day, so go check out what everyone else got up to this week! There have been some truly beautiful photos, and I love seeing the simple beauty in other's every day lives.

One // I showed this photo in the last post, but I love it so much I decided to share it again!

Two // Studying Clinical Physiology and filling out my take home test.

Three // Some beautiful moss on a pine tree branch.
A little bit of green in all this snow does a heart good.

Four // A little hopeful garlic on the kitchen windowsill.

Five // I was playing with my new Lightscoop. It works beautifully.
This was taken after the sun went down with flash!

Six // I love this firey-topped tree in the neighbor's yard.
I would have gotten a better photo if the snow wasn't up to my knees.

Seven // I love this sweet boy and am thankful every day to have him in my life.
This was a hard week for me. This week was the first time that the thought I can't do this crossed my mind in regards to school. I am having a difficult time with a skill I must demonstrate successfully in two weeks.

But I won't give up. Whatever trouble I am having now can't last forever.

Until next time,

New Addition!

2015-03-03T09:19:00.000-05:00

Hello friends,

Well, I won't beat around the bush too much...

Isn't it wonderful!?

It's a Nikon D3200, and I am totally in love. It went on sale on Amazon, and I had enough saved up just for it. It was even on special and came with a 32GB memory card, and a case too.

This is the first photo I took.

This is one of the first pictures I took; and even though it's slightly blurry, I love it.

Guys, I never knew how amazing DSLRs are! I always thought it was my lack of skill behind the camera, but I know now that no matter how wonderful my little Canon Powershot is, it just doesn't have the same level of control.

I tried landscapes...

...and some action shots!

I attempted the macro setting...

...and portrait too!
I love, love, love this camera already, and I have so much to learn!

Unfortunately, I didn't take a picture a day last week, so I won't link up with Natasha. BUT I will next time around! In the mean time, go check out what she and everyone who linked up did this past week!

Until next time,

Photo A Day / Week 7 / 2015

2015-02-22T22:19:00.000-05:00

Hello Friends!

Seems we've come to the end of another week. My, how the time does fly! It was a good week. We're on a quick break starting tomorrow, and let me tell you, I felt it near the end of this past week. My motivation for homework went way down! Normally I don't mind it too much and I stay on top of it, but golly I didn't want anything to do with it. Don't worry though, I'll be staying plenty busy with two take-home tests, and three papers to work on!

Linking up with Natasha once again, so go check out what everyone else posted!

One // These paws are wonderful. And kissable.

Two // Umbrella tree. I'm not trying to kill it, but it gets forgotten a lot, poor thing.
Luckily it's very hardy!

Three // Someone kindly brought Apples to Apples this past game Wednesday.

Four // My mud flap fell off.
It's been freezing or below for twenty some-odd days now. I can't get this stuff off.

Five // One of the shelter dogs we are hosting this semester, Maisy.

Six // Another one of our shelter pups, Nicole. I spent my weekend caring for them with another student; we're on break this week!

Seven // My brother Ben's car in the back yard. It's been a little snowy!

Until next time,

Mouse CPR

2015-02-16T19:25:00.001-05:00

I am in school to be a vet tech, and the other day I was reminded about why I chose this field.

I was in lab with my box of mice. We each receive four and they are either males or females. I chose males. We are encouraged to check on them each day and bring them treats or toys or something to enrich their existence. It also serves as a reward for them. They get handled and then they get treats and fun things to play with. When we first got them, they were wild little rascals, but now merely four weeks later they are much sweeter and used to being handled. We do scary things to them. Scary for us and a little scary for them. We had to put them under anesthesia last week and let me tell you my hands have never shaken more. I was so nervous. He was napping happily while I collected blood and (he) never felt a thing.

To recover them we roll them gently in bubble wrap (with their little noses sticking out) and set them on a warming pad. Sounds weird, but animals under anesthesia can't regulate their body heat and it's up to us to keep them warm. Once they are aware and are capable of righting themselves when you turn them on their side, they can go back to their cage mates. I was nervous about my little guy climbing out of the warming container so I put him in my lab coat pocket for awhile until he tried to climb out of it – then I knew he was ready to go back.

Let me tell you I was terrified while that animal was under anesthesia. This limp little guy you are responsible for: he can't move himself out of danger, he can't keep himself warm, and he can't blink and wet his eyes. You have to do all that for him. It was something else.

Our colony is sick. They have a debilitating disease that can cause hereditary bone issues. There have been losses associated with that disease. It also causes breathing trouble. My smallest mouse, the second week, went into a respiratory fit and I was sure I'd lost him. Panicked, I called over my teacher who took the mouse from me.

My teacher is a very tall man with blunt, wide fingers. He handled that tiny, tiny mouse with such care and he talked to me in such a soothing voice. He asked me what I'd done, gently. I told him the truth: I'd given the mouse an injection of sub-q fluids and nothing more. I was just restraining him when he went limp. My teacher, holding that limp mouse in the palm of his hands, gave the tiniest chest compressions I'll ever see.

Right there is where I realized I was in the right field.
I strive to be as compassionate and gentle as that man was every day.
Just when I'd given up hope, the little guy sat right up, a little wobbly, but just fine. He still is fine, healthy and thriving!

Photo used under the creative commons license on Flickr.

Until next time,

Photo A Day / Week 6 / 2015

2015-02-15T21:45:00.000-05:00

One // The maple tree is making new leaves.

Two // My new necklace.

Three // We've started playing Jenga between classes on Wednesdays.

Four // This is one of my mice, Slingshot.
He lives at school because he's just assigned to me for the class.

Five // Nova in the morning light.

Six // Kismet (a Milking Shorthorn). She's very sick.
She is receiving painkillers and powerful antibiotics via a jugular catheter.

Seven // Doodling instead of homework.
White boards are awesome for sketching ideas without wasting precious sketch paper!

I like dragons, what can I say? :)

Linking up with Natasha once again!

Until next time,

Photo A Day / Week 5 / 2015

2015-02-08T22:10:00.000-05:00

Linking up with Natasha once again!

It snowed this week. Real snow, and lots of it. It was wonderful. It was what winter is supposed to be: going to bed with little to no snow and waking up to a white winter wonderland.

One // The storm begins.

Two // Snow comparison. Left: Feb 1st. Right: Feb 2nd.

Three // Sawyer's nose.

Four // My hair. With an adorable decorative feather comb.

Five // The raspberry bushes produced well into the fall,
and they weren't done when winter came 'round.

Six // Practicing my knots for large animal lab.

Seven // Gratuitous meat head/Sawyer shot.

It was a busy week! Some really exciting opportunities came my way. The instructor for my large animal lab let me bottle feed the orphan goat, I got to give a cat subcutaneous (under the skin) fluids, and a distemper shot to a client's dog. Routine for some, but I haven't done any of that before and it was very exciting.

Until next time,

A Plea (and Recipe) For REAL Waffles

2015-02-06T08:00:00.000-05:00

What is that in your cart? Is it what I think it is? FROZEN waffles? Are you crazy? I'm very tempted to lower my eyebrows at you and scowl. (And then slap them out of your hand. And then gather them all up and throw them away forever... but I may be slightly overreacting at that point.)

BUT instead I will give you my family's treasured waffle recipe. We used to have these once every two or so weeks for breakfast. I quite love waffles in general, since I'm not a big pancake fan and I loathe french toast. (I know, I'm an awful person. You can't say anything about that that I don't already hear from my family on french toast days.)

Luscious.

Delicious.

Viva la waffle!

Definite member of the waffles over pancakes movement.

Okay, I'm done now. Please enjoy the waffles!

Real (Awesome) Waffles

- 2 eggs
- 3/4 cup milk
- 2 Tablespoons baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoon sugar

Get that waffle iron preheating. (Link is to the newer model of the waffle maker we have.)

In medium bowl beat eggs until thick. Mix in milk and oil. Add dry ingredients, beat until batter is smooth.

Grease waffle iron. We use saved bacon fat.

Pour approximately 1 cups onto the preheated 4 section waffle iron. Close and back until done, about 5 minutes. (The light on our goes off when they're done.) Makes 2 4-section waffles.

Double or triple this recipe and keep the leftovers in the fridge. They fit perfectly in the toaster for easy warm up! Homemade Strawberry Sauce is amazing over these with some fresh whipped cream. I will link to it when I get that recipe up.

Enjoy!

Photo used under the creative commons license on Flickr. Photo taken by Brendan C.

Until next time,

Ewe Saving

2015-02-03T08:00:00.000-05:00

I am seriously in love with going to school!

Sure, it costs, but really, how many people get to go to school and play with pretty much any animal they want? Vet tech program for the win!

I'm taking a large animal care course this semester and part of the course is a three hour lab once a week in which we go to the school's barn and learn. This week we did cow restraints: haltering, nose leads, casting, tail jacking, and tail twisting. Our girls are pretty well behaved and stand for most of what we do, but they didn't much like casting. We have one who is expected to calve any day and I can't wait to meet the new little one!

After lab ended this past week, the farm manager dismissed us for the day. I hung around and talked to one of the instructors who is also a friend. The farm manager came over and asked her to help him with a sheep with a prolapsed uterus. He had something called a Ewe Saver in his hands and gave it to her along with some thin rope and went to get the rest of the supplies.

My teacher looked at me and said, "Would you like to come see us replace a prolapsed uterus?" You can bet I practically danced a yes!

So we drove over to the sheep shed and isolated the poor ewe. We got her haltered and tied to part of the hay manger. Then the farm manager met us and handed us a bag of sterile saline. We washed her uterus off and then he carefully and gently worked it back in. (He had the gloves, not us.) It took maybe ten minutes because she struggled and grunted and groaned and protested. I'm sure it hurt, but as with most things animal medicine related, it was for the best.

He inserted the ewe saver and tied it with the ropes and bam she was all better. She also got a nice big dose of antibiotic to stave off infection.

Poor sheep, but she'll be okay. I thought the whole thing was awesome! My first real experience with farm animal medicine, and it was wonderful.

Until next time,

Photo A Day / Week 4 / 2015

2015-02-01T15:15:00.001-05:00

Hello all!

Here's another round of Photo A Day. Linking up with Natasha again! I missed Thursday this week. Thursday was exceptionally busy. Enjoy!

Jan. 26th // My beautiful mountains, all around.

Jan. 27th // Studying parasites. This one is Taenia saginata.

Jan. 28th // Miss Nova Mae.

Jan. 29th // No photos today. :(

Jan. 30th // A second Nova picture! She was being exceptionally photogenic this week.

Jan. 31st // It snowed! Real snow this time!

Today I'm grateful for snow! I feel like a little kid when it snows, especially more than a few inches. It's supposed to snow tonight into Monday morning and I'm pretty excited. (Sincerely hoping for safe driving to school though. It was scary on Friday morning.)

Until next time,

A Day for Play

2015-01-29T08:00:00.000-05:00

It was snowing lightly on Monday when I returned from school. I took the dogs outside to potty and hooked Sawyer onto the fifty foot leash to run around a bit.

He loves his squeaky tennis ball on a rope!

Today I am grateful for adorable bunny prints in the snow. It's fun to track them with the dog, even if he doesn't know what we're doing.

Until next time,