We still haven't had significant rain. The entire month of April was sunny. I wonder when the farmers will be able to harvest hay, when it is growing so very slowly! Every morning I wake up, look out at the sky and say, "Another sunny day in Germany." A little of Tennessee's rain would have been nice.
Here are some apple buds, not yet open. We have buds on our grapevine finally, and buds on the lilacs. On that walk to Cologne, I noticed lilacs in full bloom!
Baasha looks great and his eye is fine too. I noticed a tear coming out twice this week - so there is some irritation but we are watching it very closely. The other day it looked irritated so I washed it out with saline, which he hates, but really helps. I also put that mask on him anytime flies are out. The flies are not bad yet, but I don't want any bugs near his eyes. I hate that mask but funnily, he loves it. When I get the mask out, he drops his head, almost putting it on himself. (This was a misty morning and when the wind blows, that white flowering tree in the neighbor's yard "snows" down petals. It's like a fairyland when that happens, I love it!)
His arthritis has been bothering him though so I'm giving him time off. He's getting loading doses of MSM and glucosamine and I may add Devil's Claw if I don't see improvement. In this pic he is both asking for a carrot and turning away from the camera (he hates the camera!). Our walnut trees are still naked.
I love watching him in the lush grass, and I watch to see if he swishes his tail at all. So far no bug issues. I have not seen a tick this year yet, but we're gonna get Frontline for the cats soon. Equispot really keeps the bugs away from Baasha.
Here's my little "lawn" down by the ponds. You can see I've opened up that grazing strip because with no rain, the grass on the strips is not growing enough, so I'll wait til they catch up a bit. Baasha is not really making a dent in the pasture anyway, so hopefully our hayman won't object (and I pick up the poop).Mercer and Lander will have their first vet exam Thursday, so I'm feeding them in their crates to get them used to going in them. So far so good. Although Mercer is still very skittish and hides most of the day, I am starting to realize it is Lander that affects her behavior. He's unhappy with being locked in a house, and he torments her. Last night I locked Lander upstairs and Mercer came down and was much friendlier and more relaxed. I expect things to get better in a couple months when we finally let Lander out. We are going to be conservative and wait a long time.
For now we entertain him with baling twine (the very best cat toy so far!) and any bug that gets in is his. They enjoy my homegrown (catnip) too: )
Here is Baasha, offering his "hand" for a carrot. This is his bad eye, and you can see a little shadow underneath where it was damp.
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6 comments:
Lytha, have you seen any correlation between using the Equispot and problems with Baasha'a eye? I've always heard that that is pretty powerful stuff, that "migrates" all over them (that's why it works), and I wonder if it could add to the irritation?
It looks like a lovely spring! Altho it has been greening up here in central WA, it's also been horrendously windy. Oh well.
Wonderful pictures of your sunny days ....the wind blew here and it is chilly enough to turn the heat back on. My allergies from the wind are killing me. Hope you have a great week.
Evensong, I'd used Equispot for years before moving to Germany with no side effects. I brought my supply from America to use here - cuz I'm not sure they even have it here. His eye problems began immediately (in Autumn) upon arrival in Germany. It must be something here, and that is something that every vet we've had has agreed upon. "Something here". HM! (But you are right to suspect - it is a very strong medication and my vet in America was cautious about it, saying many animals are allergic to permethrins used in concentration). I've heard here that some people won't use Advantage/Frontline on their dogs/cats cuz it is such a strong systemic medicine. I say, watch for a reaction, and when it's all good, use it. Few things are worse than Lyme disease (what they call "Borreliose" here). I've pet horses with ticks hanging off their muzzles, poor things! In Seattle we had no ticks, but here they attack all of us.
Frau, Has it rained up north? Cuz I'm tired of endless sunny days. It makes me think that summer will be awful. But we do have our heat on, cuz although it's sunny, it's not warm. Today I noticed the pollen/fuzzballs floating thru the air, and I thought, "OH boy, those people with allergies..."
We've had plenty of rain here in the Swamplands.
The offer of a box of mud shipped directly to your house in Germany still stands!
Lytha we had a very dry Apil and then as you know - WHAM - apocolyptic levels of rain for us. The crazy part after all that rain this weekend? We don't have mud.
I remember those agonising thoughts in the Balkans when it didn't rain and the grass didn't grow, and we knew that hay prices would increase 5x and the animals of the poorer people would starve. Here in the West we are fortunate with trucks to move hay here and there.
One day I shall tell in full the tale of the 24 hour round trips with draught horses bringing hay from far away, when the drivers slept on top of the loaded carts as they moved and still the horses walked. How we fed the horses in motion by running the carts close together so each pair could feed straight from the loaded cart in front. Then we moved the front cart to the back so those horses could feed too. We left at mid-day and returned at mid-day. Then a 24-hour rest and we set off again. It was that or the horses starved. Strong men and strong horses. For me that puts our lives into perspective.
I must say that I am very grateful that we can give our beasts easy lives with all that they need. For I have seen another way and, when you visit in August, I may tell you tales that make your hair stand on end.
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