Autumn in the Rockies

Pumpkin Flowers

Fresh Eggs

Barbie laid her first egg on July 12th. We woke up to her melodious BAGAK! that morning. I thought some animal was trying to get in the coop so I sent John and Addy running outside while I pulled some pants on. No predators. We headed back inside and I got to thinking later about what I had read about singing chickens. Turns out the ladies will sing a little ditty when they lay so I headed out to the coop and checked in the nest box and there it was. A perfect, little white egg. Barbie was so proud she posed for a picture with it!

Fried started laying a few days later and we have been getting around 9 eggs a week for the last couple of months. They eggs are great. I have made a lot of fabulous hard boiled eggs with them and they are fun to give away to friends, family, and neighbors. Our neighbors to the south got the first half dozen since they have been so nice about our girls and they showed interest in trying farm fresh eggs.

 

You can see the difference between our fresh eggs and the store bought eggs by the color of the yolks. Our yolks are a lot brighter. I couldn't say I notice a huge difference in taste but I know our fresh eggs are healthier.

Tucker

My poor old man dog is starting to show his age. Tucker developed a rash and a small mass on his stomach about a month ago so I took him to the vet for the first time in a long time. The dermatology vet was not sure what the mass was so Tucker and I met with a general practice vet. Turns out the mass is the least of his problems at the moment (since it is not cancerous). Tucker has  a couple teeth that need to be pulled, he is arthritic, he may have a slipped disc in his back and he has Chronic Kidney Disease.

Fortunately we caught the kidney disease early and we can manage it with food and eventually meds. The vet has been a.m.a.z.i.n.g. through this process. Tucker was diagnosed on 08/29/14 and the vet called me everyday through the holiday weekend to check on Tucker and see how he was reacting to the new food and pain medication. That was way above and beyond anything I expected. I really appreciated it because at that point we did not know how advanced the kidney disease was. Tucker has been poked and prodded and shaved and prodded again and he has handled it in stride. I had to leave him with the vet on Tuesday so they could do an ultrasound. The vet ended up finishing her afternoon rounds with Tucker in tow. He is so spoiled!

If you have never seen a doped up dog it is both sad and comical. The meds made Tucker seem drunk. He could not walk in a straight line and he struggled to keep his back end up and operational. After a few days of that we decided to discontinue the pain meds. He seems to be doing fine,he is even enjoying his new prescription doggy food.