CSI: Skunk Sprays My Dog

Date of the crime: Tuesday, February 19th, 2013

Weather Conditions: 20 mph winds. Blowing snow.  Windchill at about 10 degrees

Time of the crime:  6:20 am

 

 

Location of the crime scene: 5 foot radius around the chicken coop.

Events leading to crime:  I entered the chicken coop to feed the worthless laying chickens and within seconds I smelled pungent, fresh smell of a skunk.  The smell hit my nose like a fist to my face and I ran out of the coop as I did not know if that foul smelling, disgusting, good for nothing, son of a b*t#h was in the coop. As I was heading for the house to get a flashlight to see where that good for nothing omnivorous rodent was I saw Alvin my black cat heading to the house.  I grabbed him as Alvin tends to get himself into unnecessary trouble. By the time I got to the front porch, the smell was even worse............

 

 

.........and pacing on the front porch was a smelly, foaming at the mouth Dixie.

Direct Victim of the Skunk Spray:  Dixie, Cardigan Welsh Corgis

My exact thoughts at that moment:  "You have got to be Fing kidding me?"

 

She was a mess.  Foaming at the mouth. Panic in her eyes. Trying to rub the smell from her face.

I left her on the front porch. Grabbed a bucket.  Made a mixture of Dawn soap, baking soda, and hydrogen peroxide, and some water.  Ripped of my clothes and put on an old t-shirt and shorts. Put on some old boots...not my good muck boots of course, and grabbed a pair of latex gloves.....and outside I went. 

So, there I was, at 6:30 am in the blowing snow, freezing my a*s off, scrubbing my skunk sprayed dog.  She got hit square in the face so I didn't fully bath her as I didn't want to transfer any skunk oils to the rest of her body.  I washed and rinsed her 4 times.  Dried her off and put her in the screened-in-porch and went inside to take a second shower. 

Going to school was not an option at this point. First, I wanted to make sure Dixie was okay and secondly, I just wasn't sure I "smelled right" and I know how compassionate 9th graders are, of course, I would probably smell better than some of them but thats another blog post.  My principal found humor in my situation when I called her.....go figure, but she did thank me for not coming in to school;)

 

 

So, where was the skunk?  How did Dixie find it? 

I think she intercepted it somewhere by the chicken coop. 

 Nasty little cuss. 

Again, why did Noah let skunks on the boat?

The skunk better have moved on.

He is messing around on the wrong farm.

I got the house in the divorce & I don't share.

I got friends in low places.

I have friends that are a bit left of center too.

I. AM. NOT. PLAYING HIDE-N-SEEK WITH A SKUNK. PERIOD.

 

 

PS.....Dixie is doing fine. Muzzle & ears still smell a bit and she is not getting any kisses from me tonight.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mi Alma.....My Soul

If you look deep within,

 

 

you can find the truth.

 

The depth of your inner feelings

that often one does not even realize are there

because life is complicated and takes you away from what really matters.

 

 

It is not until one looks into the eyes of another and sees

the rare truth of ones existence,

an existence that has just started to unravel.

 

 

It is a soul that has been denied for too long.

It is "Mi Alma".

It is Spanish for "My Soul".

 

Senora Mi Alma

............the alpaca that has found my soul.

 

 

Greenhouse Dreams & Blue Merle Girls

 

Seriously, how long has this winter been dragging on?  I think its like been 8 months already......

And these past two weeks it has been either Lake Effect Snow or clipper snows here in Northeast Ohio.  Last Friday the Lake Effect Snow was so bad I had to call in sick to school because I was afraid to drive to work......well actually, I couldn't believe that the "special school district" I work for didn't cancel school like all the other 100 plus flippin schools in the area did so I excerised my common sense and said "I am sick of this s*#t" and called off. Surprisingly, my students used common sense too as only 20 of 110 went to school that day.....I was so proud of them;)

What last Friday did confirm was that I. AM. DONE. WITH. WINTER!

 

 

I want to play in the new greenhouse!! I didn't spend $*@#* (can't say how much because my Dad might be reading and I always lie about how much money I spend on things cuz it kinda freaks him out) on the greenhouse to look at it in the snow.......I am dreaming about playing in the dirt and growing lots of new seeds this year. 

 

 

This is one of the books I purchased for "winter" reading.  Great book with LOTS of good ideas and great pictures too!  The seed catalogs have been popping up in the mailbox.....such a good gift to get on a snowy winter day!

 

This weekend I moved the alpacas from the stall in the big barn to their temporary housing up by the greenhouse.  I am putting in a new pasture/fencing area but need to playing the ground game and I need to move 2 of the lean-to's.......I had them built on skids so they can be moved around if necessay.  The alpacas have been quite content in their new temporary living quarters.  Its been an interesting experience getting to know and understand them though I don't think they have been overly thrilled with getting to know me!

 

 

So, Dixie and Meesha have become like best sisters and are constantly running and playing outside in the snow.  It has been wonderful to see how Dixie accepted Meesha and I think she is truly happy to have a buddy to play with as the beagles are becoming old farts!

 

 

Yep, my blue merle girls are pretty special and for some insane reason, they love this snow!!!!!

 

 

How I Became an Alpaca Owner

Its started out very innocent like.  It was a simple question one of my students asked when they were researching information for their project on Latin America in the computer lab..

"Ms. Z., do you have llamas?" asked Riley.

"No, I do not, " I replied.

"Llamas are called the beast of burden in Latin America," Riley continued. "You should get one to help you out on the farm Ms. Z."

I smiled and rolled my eyes like 9th graders do and said, "I don't need any more animals Riley." 

"Hey, I saw alpacas once," Sarah chimed in. "How about alpacas Ms. Z?"

"Nope, no desire to own alpacas," I stated.

"What's an alpaca?" Hector asked.  "Show me one Ms. Z."

Of course, I pulled up a picture on Google of an alpaca to show Hector ............

 

 

This is NOT the picture I showed Hector 2 weeks ago.

This is a picture of Senor Nieves who was named by my Hispanic students because they told me I needed to name my new alpaca a Spanish name because they come from Latin America.

Nieves means snow in Spanish.  Senor Nieves is a 8 month old white Suri alpaca.  He was purchased as a fiber male by me because I don't know why. Because within 2 weeks after the initial conversation with my students, I got a bug up my butt and started looking at alpacas.  

 

Of course, I live 4 minutes from the largest alpaca farm in the United States, Magical Farms.   They have appromixately 1500 alpacas and it just so happened they had a few fiber males available, go figure.  I inquired about 2 of them and then a week later a very nice lady called me and told me she had them pulled up into the main barn if I would like to look at them..........and it just so happened that I was off on MLK day and I could make the long 4 minute ride over to see them.  And it just so happened she went to school where I am teaching and it just so happened she was so nice and answered my thousand questions and it just so happened I feel in love with 2 alpacas I said I would never ever own.

 

 

The medium brown/spotted one is a Huacaya alpaca.  He just turned one year old on the 16th and is so incrediblely soft!  I love his markings!  His name is to be determined as my students wanted a good picture of him to work on his Spanish name. 

 

They delivered the boys on Saturday afternoon and let me tell you there was lots of inquisitive animals on the farm.............

 

 

............if the animals could talk, I am sure there are lots of interesting comments going on!   I am going to keep the alpacas in a large stall for this week so I can get to know them and they can get to know me.  Senor Nieves is a tad skidish and defintitely needs some handling.  The Huacaya is going to be much easier and is already letting me put my hands on him.

 

How did I become an Alpaca owner?

I have no clue.

Stupid class assignment on Latin America.

Me and my ideas.

I. AM. ONLY. GOING. TO. HAVE. 2. ALPACAS.

 

 

 

 

What is a Mesha?

If animals on my farm talk, this is what the current conversation might be today......

 

 

"So Rutland, have you seen that ridiculous looking thing running around the farm lately?" Danby, the big white Romney wether asked.

"Oh, you must mean that pathetic looking thing in the red coat," replied Rutland,

 

 

"Oh my! This white stuff is pretty awesome!" exclaimed little Mesha.

 

 

"Those big mean things are saying mean things about me!" cried Mesha.

 

 

"What the crap is a "Mesha"? inquired Danby

 

 

"A "Mesha" is me you big white bully and it means "sheep" in Hindu but I don't know what that is but Mom says it also means "salvation" in Hebrew but I don't know what that it is either!"

 

 

"Oh, we got a smart one on our hooves now.....and they say sheep aren't smart," remarked Maya, "and this is coming from one who is wearing a sweater in the winter!  Hello?!?!? Who wears a stupid sweater with a snowman on it when you got wool......oh, my bag you just got that cheap fur!"

 

 

"Sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me!  And anyways, everyone says I am cute & one day I am going to chase your wool butts all over this farm!"

 

 

 

 

 

A Rescue Puppy for Christmas!!

Where shall I start?  Shall I blame it on the Hallmark Channel & all those stupid sappy Christmas movies that I have been watching that makes me wonder if I will ever experience that magical, small town Christmas or even meet the real Santa Claus one day?  Whatever it is, my heart has been feeling empty, probably that 45th birthday that I just had, but whatever it is, I have been wanting to find some real Christmas spirit, something to make me feel like I made a difference to someone or something during the holiday season.

It all began last Sunday I happened to be on the internet looking at Petfinder for no good reason and there she was..........

 

 

..........a litter of 7 rescue puppies, Corgi/Aussie mix puppies, the father was a purebred blue merel Australian Shepard & mom was a Pembroke Welsh Corgi.  She was the spittin' image of my Dixie when she was a puppy.  I fell in love instantly and my fingers just started typing away.  They had just been posted that day by a rescue organization in Toledo, Ohio.  Both of my references were checked by Tuesday & by Wednesday I was having anxiety issues wanting to know if I was approved for adoption.  I had wrote I was interested in the smallest puppy in the litter, a blue merle female but when I finally was able to talk to one of the rescue coordinators on Thursday, she said they only had 2 males left in the litter and I had been approved for adoption.  My heart sank but I still wanted to bring a puppy home for the holidays.  So on Friday, my Dad and I drove up to pick out one of the males.

 

And, there she was, attempting to beat up her 2 bigger brothers and just barking her little head off.  The one my heart was set on.  Her original adoption fell through.  I could take her home if I still wanted her.  My heart filled  with joy!!  A little Christmas miracle had taken place!  And the 2 boys left would probably be adopted by the end of the weekend as the rescue had gotten flooded with applications for this rescue litter.

 

So what was her rescue story?  She was rescued from an Amish puppy mill about 40 minutes from my house.  As much as I enjoy going to Amish Country, I know that lurking around in that beautiful countryside, are notorious puppy mills. Her striking blue merle color is an eye catcher for puppy mill breeders.   The rescue organization coordinator said they are constantly battling with Amish puppy mills.  My sister at mybrownnewfies.com just did an informative post about buying from petstores & puppy mills.   

 

 

But this little girl not only has a home for the holidays but a home forever!  She is making new friends....Dixie is still giving her the once over ........

 

.......Alvin the cat is giving her cat greetings. 

 

There are a lot of friends to make here, sheep to meet, goats to tease, chickens to chase but thats okay, she is at her forever home and a little Christmas magic came into both of our lives. 

 

But now the hard part, we have to decide on a name.............

 

A Spooky Greenhouse.....kinda

 

Occasionally, I come up with "ideas".

 

 

Sometimes I seek the advice of my companions and sometimes my companions, like Dixie, think I am a tad left of center.  Dixie prefers to just sit back and watch my ideas unfold.

 

 

So, I have way too many Halloween decorations and I decided since the greenhouse wasn't getting much action right now, I should bring some life to it.  Its a "Spooky" little place now.......I know, too many ideas...........sigh.