Does every one remember their Christmas pageants growing up? I attended a Christmas concert at a friend’s church last night that was so beautiful. There was this square tree on stage that was really tall and awkward. Little did I know, the choir actually stood around the tree all the way up to the top where an angel arose. I don’t think that’s a good explanation of what it looked like but it sure was beautiful. Attending this concert caused me to remember some of my pageants that I was a part of throughout the years. I hate to disclose some of this embarrassing information, although we all need a good laugh every now and then. To be honest, I wish I had pictures but I think my parents didn’t bring a camera for a reason.
This one isn’t embarrassing but I do remember one pageant in grade school where we got up and sang your tradition school songs. Ahhh the turtle necks and leggings! Usually my mom let me wear one of her necklaces to add some extra flare to my outfit. Even a Santa hat if I was lucky!
I also recall a few and then wish I didn’t remember some. For example the year I had to dress as a sheep and my friend and I were forced to stay in our own area because we would get our wool all over everyone. Yep, spray glue and tones of cotton, some black tights and ta-da! That year happens to be my mom’s favorite pageant. To this day, I fully regret raising my hand and volunteering to be a sheep in the nativity scene.
I like to sing but I would never try out for American Idol or even volunteer for a solo. Oh wait, I was in a trio for a Church concert once. Thus brings my second embarrassing moment in Christmas pageants. I have two friends who are very good at singing so I guess I was paired with them because they could drown me out? The song of choice? Little Drummer Boy! I am rolling my eyes right now in shame of what I put that poor audience though. To think that they wanted to harmonize during the song only makes the situation worse. Why did I do that? Every time I hear that song, chills go up my spine. I think that program was memorable for a lot of people because of my singing abilities. Or lack thereof!
Those are only a few examples but they are forever engraved in my brain and I look forward to attending my kids Christmas programs. Don’t fret, I’ll be bringing my video camera and I’m going to be “that mom.”
I found this video and I love it! I hope you enjoy it as well!
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Friday, December 17, 2010
Tradition!
I’d like to think that as we have all grown up, there are specific activities that happen every year in our families that can be described as TRADITIONS! I thought I’d share some of my family’s traditions that happen during Christmas.
1. We used to get to open one present on Christmas Eve, then we noticed the gifts decreased and we didn’t want to miss out on all the fun Christmas morning.
2. Our tree has always been hand cut by my father. It’s what he does, mostly he goes alone to find “the perfect tree” but sometimes one of us will join him. It’s a steep climb up the hill behind our house but yet it’s so fun to spend time with my dad.
3. The perfect tree in our family may not be most people’s first choice, but it’s what we always get. It’s a Charlie Brown tree. This allows us to actually hang our ornaments and not just place them on the tree.
3a. Now that I live in Idaho, I’ve never seen so many fake trees! Who does that? (sorry N)
4. The Christmas bells. Rumor has it Santa dropped them one year when he was on the roof. I think I remember hearing the bells. These bells are the ones that all the reindeer would wear so we are lucky to have them at our house. I love walking through the door hearing the bells jingle.
5. Being a family. I’d have to say it’s easy to get caught up in the presents during Christmas time but my parents have instilled in our minds how important family is. We sit down at the table and exchange kind words about each other. I love this part…it reminds me that what I have materially isn’t nearly as important as those who love me.
6. Christmas movie! Every Christmas my mom picks a movie that the family is going to watch at the theater. Yes, I admit I hated the fact The Lord of the Rings trilogy thought a good release date was always during the Holiday season. Three hour movies with a man who never ran out of arrows, the obese man sitting next to me chewing mentholated chew, my dad clapping as someone slid down the trunk of an elephant, my sister grabbing my hand in embarrassment, oh help me Lord if mom wants to see Tron for Christmas.
7. Throughout the Holiday season, people are sending Christmas cards left and right. My parents always keep the cards unopened until Christmas morning. As we sit around eating breakfast, we all hand the pile around and grab a card, read it, then repeat until all of the cards have been opened.
8. Polish eggs! I don’t know if really that’s the technical name but it’s what my dad calls them. They are eggs with potatoes and peppers. If we are lucky or my dad or mom has extra energy, they will make homemade cinnamon rolls! Yummy! It’s a feast that causes you to going into a food coma shortly after dishes are done. I’m sad to say this year I’d better keep an eye on how much I eat.
9. One present, one at a time. That’s right dad plays Santa's helper and hands us each one present then we all watch that person open it. The only thing we open without everyone watching is our stockings.
10. In the recent years, it makes me laugh that my dad is the one who wakes us up out of excitement. It’s not really a tradition but I feel like it’s payback for all the years we woke him up early.
11. Having to go to bed early on Christmas Eve because our house is one of the first ones that Santa brings gifts to, so we must not be awake or he won’t come.
In conclusion, I must reiterate the importance of my family. I am truly blessed to have grown up in that house. My parents have done a fine job raising all four of us kids. We still have our ups and downs but I wouldn’t trade anyone in for a new family member. The traditions they have handed down to us will in turn be handed down to our kids. How exciting!
1. We used to get to open one present on Christmas Eve, then we noticed the gifts decreased and we didn’t want to miss out on all the fun Christmas morning.
2. Our tree has always been hand cut by my father. It’s what he does, mostly he goes alone to find “the perfect tree” but sometimes one of us will join him. It’s a steep climb up the hill behind our house but yet it’s so fun to spend time with my dad.
3. The perfect tree in our family may not be most people’s first choice, but it’s what we always get. It’s a Charlie Brown tree. This allows us to actually hang our ornaments and not just place them on the tree.
3a. Now that I live in Idaho, I’ve never seen so many fake trees! Who does that? (sorry N)
4. The Christmas bells. Rumor has it Santa dropped them one year when he was on the roof. I think I remember hearing the bells. These bells are the ones that all the reindeer would wear so we are lucky to have them at our house. I love walking through the door hearing the bells jingle.
5. Being a family. I’d have to say it’s easy to get caught up in the presents during Christmas time but my parents have instilled in our minds how important family is. We sit down at the table and exchange kind words about each other. I love this part…it reminds me that what I have materially isn’t nearly as important as those who love me.
6. Christmas movie! Every Christmas my mom picks a movie that the family is going to watch at the theater. Yes, I admit I hated the fact The Lord of the Rings trilogy thought a good release date was always during the Holiday season. Three hour movies with a man who never ran out of arrows, the obese man sitting next to me chewing mentholated chew, my dad clapping as someone slid down the trunk of an elephant, my sister grabbing my hand in embarrassment, oh help me Lord if mom wants to see Tron for Christmas.
7. Throughout the Holiday season, people are sending Christmas cards left and right. My parents always keep the cards unopened until Christmas morning. As we sit around eating breakfast, we all hand the pile around and grab a card, read it, then repeat until all of the cards have been opened.
8. Polish eggs! I don’t know if really that’s the technical name but it’s what my dad calls them. They are eggs with potatoes and peppers. If we are lucky or my dad or mom has extra energy, they will make homemade cinnamon rolls! Yummy! It’s a feast that causes you to going into a food coma shortly after dishes are done. I’m sad to say this year I’d better keep an eye on how much I eat.
9. One present, one at a time. That’s right dad plays Santa's helper and hands us each one present then we all watch that person open it. The only thing we open without everyone watching is our stockings.
10. In the recent years, it makes me laugh that my dad is the one who wakes us up out of excitement. It’s not really a tradition but I feel like it’s payback for all the years we woke him up early.
11. Having to go to bed early on Christmas Eve because our house is one of the first ones that Santa brings gifts to, so we must not be awake or he won’t come.
In conclusion, I must reiterate the importance of my family. I am truly blessed to have grown up in that house. My parents have done a fine job raising all four of us kids. We still have our ups and downs but I wouldn’t trade anyone in for a new family member. The traditions they have handed down to us will in turn be handed down to our kids. How exciting!
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Book Reviews
I know I didn’t follow up on my goal for reading 5 books this summer, but I’m improving by reading more this winter. I’ve decided after every book I read, I’ll post something about the book. The last time I did a book report was ages ago and most of the time, I feel others do a better job describing the book so in most cases, I’ll just copy and paste. (shhh)
Hattie Big Sky Kirby Larson
For most of her life, sixteen-year-old Hattie Brooks has been shuttled from one distant relative to another. Tired of being Hattie Here-and-There, she summons the courage to leave Iowa and move all by herself to Vida, Montana, to prove up on her late uncle's homestead claim.
Under the big sky, Hattie braves hard weather, hard times, a cantankerous cow, and her own hopeless hand at the cookstove on her quest to discover the true meaning of home.
My sister lent me this book for my summer list telling me that I’d like it and it was an easy read. She was right! I started it one evening and almost finished it the same night. It’s geared towards young adults but an easy book now and then doesn’t hurt any of us. I like how it is based in Montana because that’s home to me. I liked to think if I could travel through time, I’d like to live during the “old west” era so I could understand all the hardships people experienced as they were just trying to survive.
Rating: 9/10
Land That Moves, Land That Stands Still Kent Nelson
Set on an alfalfa ranch east of the Black Hills of South Dakota, this novel about three uncommon women explores the nuances of place, character, grief, and renewal. Mattie Remmel has lost her husband in a farm accident, and in her grief discovers a secret about him he had not meant to reveal. Deciding to keep the ranch running, she enlists the help of her daughter, Shelley, an insecure college student, and hires a drifter ranch hand, Dawn, who is optimistic and direct and equally betrayed in love. A fourteen-year-old runaway Native American boy joins the three women, and together they forge an unlikely family, facing whatever life throws them, from the trials of independent hard work to the threats of neighbors to the arrival of a former lover bent on revenge.
I’m still unsure of how I feel about this book. It was okay, but not fantastic. Personally I felt like it was pieced together roughly and not always had meaning to the chapters. As I neared the end of the book I kept thinking, this can’t be over because they haven’t answered all the questions. It wasn’t a mystery so to my surprise it just seemed to end. I was distracted by what was to come and disappointed on what wasn’t discussed.
Rating: 5/10
Hattie Big Sky Kirby Larson
For most of her life, sixteen-year-old Hattie Brooks has been shuttled from one distant relative to another. Tired of being Hattie Here-and-There, she summons the courage to leave Iowa and move all by herself to Vida, Montana, to prove up on her late uncle's homestead claim.
Under the big sky, Hattie braves hard weather, hard times, a cantankerous cow, and her own hopeless hand at the cookstove on her quest to discover the true meaning of home.
My sister lent me this book for my summer list telling me that I’d like it and it was an easy read. She was right! I started it one evening and almost finished it the same night. It’s geared towards young adults but an easy book now and then doesn’t hurt any of us. I like how it is based in Montana because that’s home to me. I liked to think if I could travel through time, I’d like to live during the “old west” era so I could understand all the hardships people experienced as they were just trying to survive.
Rating: 9/10
Land That Moves, Land That Stands Still Kent Nelson
Set on an alfalfa ranch east of the Black Hills of South Dakota, this novel about three uncommon women explores the nuances of place, character, grief, and renewal. Mattie Remmel has lost her husband in a farm accident, and in her grief discovers a secret about him he had not meant to reveal. Deciding to keep the ranch running, she enlists the help of her daughter, Shelley, an insecure college student, and hires a drifter ranch hand, Dawn, who is optimistic and direct and equally betrayed in love. A fourteen-year-old runaway Native American boy joins the three women, and together they forge an unlikely family, facing whatever life throws them, from the trials of independent hard work to the threats of neighbors to the arrival of a former lover bent on revenge.
I’m still unsure of how I feel about this book. It was okay, but not fantastic. Personally I felt like it was pieced together roughly and not always had meaning to the chapters. As I neared the end of the book I kept thinking, this can’t be over because they haven’t answered all the questions. It wasn’t a mystery so to my surprise it just seemed to end. I was distracted by what was to come and disappointed on what wasn’t discussed.
Rating: 5/10
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Trudging through the winter, list
As we all know, I failed at meeting my goals this summer and to be honest I could come up with a lot of excuses but they are beside the point. An excuse really doesn’t solve a problem. Unfortunately I just had a lack of motivation mixed in with some personal struggles that equaled out to me not finishing the list. It was suggested that I start another list for the winter months. The thought of taking time to make more goals that I’ll eventually break doesn’t really make me jump to my feet. Although, it’ll give me something to think about when calving starts and I will no longer see Shayne for more than an hour a day. This will be a short list but difficult, here it is:
1. Love Shayne even if we only see each other in passing
2. Read as many books as possible
3. Less TV
4. Meet my goal weight by February 1st
5. In regards to #4, eat healthy and keep exercising
6. Go skiing 4 times
7. Go ice skating
8. Try to live on rice and beans (aka tighten my pocketbook)
Eight items, that sounds good to me! Oh, I’d better add one more to the list.
9. Blog more
Today, I start my new adventure of completing this list! Ready…..set….SNOW!!!!!!
1. Love Shayne even if we only see each other in passing
2. Read as many books as possible
3. Less TV
4. Meet my goal weight by February 1st
5. In regards to #4, eat healthy and keep exercising
6. Go skiing 4 times
7. Go ice skating
8. Try to live on rice and beans (aka tighten my pocketbook)
Eight items, that sounds good to me! Oh, I’d better add one more to the list.
9. Blog more
Today, I start my new adventure of completing this list! Ready…..set….SNOW!!!!!!
Friday, December 10, 2010
Adventures in animal-sitting!
We all know someone who had adopted their animals to be a part of their families. Heck, I’m one of those people. I consider my cats to be my children with the added benefit that I only have to give them attention limited hours a day. Please don’t confuse the previous sentence with me not liking children because that is not correct. I like children I just don’t have any at this time.
Many of you don’t know that I have a second job that involves added responsibility and physical labor. What is this job? Animal-sitting. Just breath, I know you didn’t think this could be considered a job, but let me tell you…it is! In my early experiences watching beloved pets, I didn’t think it was a complicated task taking care of a 4-legged friend. Get up, let outside, feed, walk, sleep, let outside, feed, play…etc. Is it obvious that I was watching dogs? I thought so. After my friends P&N moved, my animal-sitting basically disappeared even though at that time, it wasn’t a job because I love their dog.
Many people ask how I got into this line of work and it’s really simple. I told one couple I’d watch their dogs and horses for a weekend, the all of a sudden word got out. When word got out, I think Satan followed. Why? Keep reading…
Event #1:
Animal: guinea pig
Name: Moosy
Owner: my bosses 7 year-old-daughter
Situation: weekend long family vacation
Level of difficulty: 1
It was just a typical Friday at work. Moosy came to visit me at the office so I keep an eye on her over the weekend while the family was out of town. Moosy doesn’t require a lot of attention just check the water and food. I fed her some carrots every now that then because I liked how excited she got. There wasn’t any need for me to come back during the weekend to check on Moosy because I didn’t have to let her out to pee or take her for a walk. Plus, El Jefe said not to worry about it. Monday morning I came into the office and sat at my desk, started my day, the suddenly remember Moosy was in the other room. I ran in to check on her and to my horror, she was lifeless. I said her name many times hoping it was just a game. Oh no! I killed her! I triple checked to make sure she was really dead then hung my head and headed towards the phone. I broke the news to my boss’s wife and I started crying. I felt so bad and guilty that it was my fault that she died. If only I had check on her on Saturday, maybe I would have noticed something was wrong. Alas I was stuck with the guilt as I thought of the sadness that was going to come over the little girl. I took the time to give poor Moosy a proper burial in the back yard making sure there was a little grave stone marking where she was. To this day, I still feel bad that Moosy died on my watch.
Guinea pig dead (check)
Event #2
Animal: chickens
Name: none
Owner: My boss
Situation: family vacation
Difficulty level: 1
How hard is it to feed some chickens? Not hard at all. In fact, the most difficult part of this task was flipping the kid-sized swimming pool over and refilling it with water. I just needed to check on the chickens twice a day and because the office is less than a mile away from their house, it was no big deal to head over there before and after work. I thought everything went fine, I saw the rooster, ducks and chickens every day, collected the eggs and scooped some feed for them. After I had finished this job, I was informed by my friend who happened to be their nanny that TWO chickens had died on my watch. What the heck? I counted and I prayed that nothing would go wrong after the first experience. Obviously things didn’t turn out the way I wanted them to.
Guinea pig dead (check)
Chickens dead (check)
Event #3: (Are you scared to leave me with your animals yet?)
Animal: sheep
Name: totally forgot let’s call her “prize possession”
Owner: McBrides
Situation: Week after Christmas vacation
Level of difficulty: 2
By now I can say that feeding large animals is second nature. I’ve helped Shayne multiple times feed cows at the farm along with feeding horses throughout college. Not a big deal, cut the twine, throw the flakes, and walk away. How hard does that sound? Not that hard, the down side of this is I always manage to get hay down my shirt. I may have twenty plus layers on, but that stinking hay finds its way down my shirt. Anyways, this “farm” has some cats, chickens, roosters, and sheep. In fact this is the place where I got Charlie so I know they have good animals. My task was to feed twice a day. They had 12 ewes that were all impregnated but not due for another month. We had walked through the small flock before they left and I was told all their names and how this one produces twins and this one produces triplets. I was more excited that they all had names then how many babies they had. When we came across “prize possession” I learned that she always had triplets that were very strong and made good lamb chops down the road. Off they went and I started my duties. I had the pleasure of hauling the hay out by sled making me sweat and Lord knows I need the exercise. About mid-week I went to go feed one night and was standing around the sheep counting heads when everyone was accounted for, I fed them and went home. Little did I know that the wrath of Satan had come to visit the McBride sheep that. I showed up the following morning and saw the ewe laying on the ground with her rigamortis legs sticking out. Rushing into the gate I hoped she was playing a joke on me, that it was just taking a nap in a strange position. The little knowledge I retained from college during my sheep course, I knew that the ewe was not “sleeping” in the correct position to be alive. CRAP! Tongue sticking out, snot frozen to her nose I knew it was time to break the news to the family. I called and basically started crying feeling really bad about the situation. The dreaded question was asked, what ewe was it? Prize possession. The poor girl had gone into premature labor and though she showed no signs the previous night, it still happened and things didn’t go well. In this situation things were three times as bad, why? Because she had twins inside her! I fed the rest of the animals then tended to the one who is now in animal heaven. I rolled her onto the slead and lugged her away and put her by the barn where she was supposed to be picked up. Well for the duration of the week, I had to walk by her thinking “sheep killer!”
Guinea pig dead (check)
Chickens dead (check)
Ewe + 2 lambs dead (check)
Event #4 (really are you scared yet?)
Animal: roosters
Owner: McBrides
Situation: 24 hour getaway
Level of difficulty: 1
Yep folks, I’m back to the sheep farm. At this point, they don’t have all of the ewes back because they are having relations with the ram in hopes of producing some super cute lambs to join the world in January or February. How hard is this? Feed Saturday morning and night and Sunday morning. It had been a rough 10 days because of another adventure in animal watching so I was tired but glad to be feeding in a location that was safe and I knew the lay of the land. Saturday morning, I was in a hurry to get my hair done so I ran over, fed the cats, fed the sheep, looked at the chickens, and left. In my process of leaving I got stuck! Damn Clark! Made it to my appointment and had a good afternoon. I had no problems feeding Saturday night and everyone was still alive. Sunday morning I went and fed, this time getting the roosters fresh water and food because they don’t usually have to be checked on every day. After nearly being attacked by the rouge rooster (twice), I noticed the two roosters that looked as if they were nesting, weren’t really nesting, they were dead. I think these words came out of my mouth “You’ve got to be kidding me!?!” At this point, I knew my animal watching days at the McBrides were limited. I finished taking care of the hens was charged by the crazy rooster again then decided to give them a call. This time I was convinced it was one of the 20+ cats around their farm that killed them. Much to my relief it was not a big deal that they lost the two birds. It was blamed on the cold but they were disappointed that it wasn’t the mean rooster that died. She asked that next time I decide to kill something, make sure it’s that one. I don’t think there will be a next time.
Guinea pig dead (check)
Chickens dead (check)
Ewe + 2 lambs dead (check)
Roosters dead (check)
Knock on wood, in all my other house-sitting situations, no other animal has gone to meet their maker, but I promise you this, I have enough fear that something will happen that I’m probably the best animal watcher ever! Rain, hail, snow drifts the size of Texas, or sleet, I’m there to take care of the animal and treat it like royalty. I’m determined not to let this happen again. I know that death is a part of everything but why does it seem to happen when I’m around and not the owners? Here’s the situation that better not happen because if this happens, I quit! I’ll never watch animals again. I never want to deal with a dead horse. I will cry!
When you say your prayers at night, add a small one in for me and all the animals I come in contact with that are not my own. I don’t want to have the “animal killer” reputation. Idaho Falls is a small town!
Many of you don’t know that I have a second job that involves added responsibility and physical labor. What is this job? Animal-sitting. Just breath, I know you didn’t think this could be considered a job, but let me tell you…it is! In my early experiences watching beloved pets, I didn’t think it was a complicated task taking care of a 4-legged friend. Get up, let outside, feed, walk, sleep, let outside, feed, play…etc. Is it obvious that I was watching dogs? I thought so. After my friends P&N moved, my animal-sitting basically disappeared even though at that time, it wasn’t a job because I love their dog.
Many people ask how I got into this line of work and it’s really simple. I told one couple I’d watch their dogs and horses for a weekend, the all of a sudden word got out. When word got out, I think Satan followed. Why? Keep reading…
Event #1:
Animal: guinea pig
Name: Moosy
Owner: my bosses 7 year-old-daughter
Situation: weekend long family vacation
Level of difficulty: 1
It was just a typical Friday at work. Moosy came to visit me at the office so I keep an eye on her over the weekend while the family was out of town. Moosy doesn’t require a lot of attention just check the water and food. I fed her some carrots every now that then because I liked how excited she got. There wasn’t any need for me to come back during the weekend to check on Moosy because I didn’t have to let her out to pee or take her for a walk. Plus, El Jefe said not to worry about it. Monday morning I came into the office and sat at my desk, started my day, the suddenly remember Moosy was in the other room. I ran in to check on her and to my horror, she was lifeless. I said her name many times hoping it was just a game. Oh no! I killed her! I triple checked to make sure she was really dead then hung my head and headed towards the phone. I broke the news to my boss’s wife and I started crying. I felt so bad and guilty that it was my fault that she died. If only I had check on her on Saturday, maybe I would have noticed something was wrong. Alas I was stuck with the guilt as I thought of the sadness that was going to come over the little girl. I took the time to give poor Moosy a proper burial in the back yard making sure there was a little grave stone marking where she was. To this day, I still feel bad that Moosy died on my watch.
Guinea pig dead (check)
Event #2
Animal: chickens
Name: none
Owner: My boss
Situation: family vacation
Difficulty level: 1
How hard is it to feed some chickens? Not hard at all. In fact, the most difficult part of this task was flipping the kid-sized swimming pool over and refilling it with water. I just needed to check on the chickens twice a day and because the office is less than a mile away from their house, it was no big deal to head over there before and after work. I thought everything went fine, I saw the rooster, ducks and chickens every day, collected the eggs and scooped some feed for them. After I had finished this job, I was informed by my friend who happened to be their nanny that TWO chickens had died on my watch. What the heck? I counted and I prayed that nothing would go wrong after the first experience. Obviously things didn’t turn out the way I wanted them to.
Guinea pig dead (check)
Chickens dead (check)
Event #3: (Are you scared to leave me with your animals yet?)
Animal: sheep
Name: totally forgot let’s call her “prize possession”
Owner: McBrides
Situation: Week after Christmas vacation
Level of difficulty: 2
By now I can say that feeding large animals is second nature. I’ve helped Shayne multiple times feed cows at the farm along with feeding horses throughout college. Not a big deal, cut the twine, throw the flakes, and walk away. How hard does that sound? Not that hard, the down side of this is I always manage to get hay down my shirt. I may have twenty plus layers on, but that stinking hay finds its way down my shirt. Anyways, this “farm” has some cats, chickens, roosters, and sheep. In fact this is the place where I got Charlie so I know they have good animals. My task was to feed twice a day. They had 12 ewes that were all impregnated but not due for another month. We had walked through the small flock before they left and I was told all their names and how this one produces twins and this one produces triplets. I was more excited that they all had names then how many babies they had. When we came across “prize possession” I learned that she always had triplets that were very strong and made good lamb chops down the road. Off they went and I started my duties. I had the pleasure of hauling the hay out by sled making me sweat and Lord knows I need the exercise. About mid-week I went to go feed one night and was standing around the sheep counting heads when everyone was accounted for, I fed them and went home. Little did I know that the wrath of Satan had come to visit the McBride sheep that. I showed up the following morning and saw the ewe laying on the ground with her rigamortis legs sticking out. Rushing into the gate I hoped she was playing a joke on me, that it was just taking a nap in a strange position. The little knowledge I retained from college during my sheep course, I knew that the ewe was not “sleeping” in the correct position to be alive. CRAP! Tongue sticking out, snot frozen to her nose I knew it was time to break the news to the family. I called and basically started crying feeling really bad about the situation. The dreaded question was asked, what ewe was it? Prize possession. The poor girl had gone into premature labor and though she showed no signs the previous night, it still happened and things didn’t go well. In this situation things were three times as bad, why? Because she had twins inside her! I fed the rest of the animals then tended to the one who is now in animal heaven. I rolled her onto the slead and lugged her away and put her by the barn where she was supposed to be picked up. Well for the duration of the week, I had to walk by her thinking “sheep killer!”
Guinea pig dead (check)
Chickens dead (check)
Ewe + 2 lambs dead (check)
Event #4 (really are you scared yet?)
Animal: roosters
Owner: McBrides
Situation: 24 hour getaway
Level of difficulty: 1
Yep folks, I’m back to the sheep farm. At this point, they don’t have all of the ewes back because they are having relations with the ram in hopes of producing some super cute lambs to join the world in January or February. How hard is this? Feed Saturday morning and night and Sunday morning. It had been a rough 10 days because of another adventure in animal watching so I was tired but glad to be feeding in a location that was safe and I knew the lay of the land. Saturday morning, I was in a hurry to get my hair done so I ran over, fed the cats, fed the sheep, looked at the chickens, and left. In my process of leaving I got stuck! Damn Clark! Made it to my appointment and had a good afternoon. I had no problems feeding Saturday night and everyone was still alive. Sunday morning I went and fed, this time getting the roosters fresh water and food because they don’t usually have to be checked on every day. After nearly being attacked by the rouge rooster (twice), I noticed the two roosters that looked as if they were nesting, weren’t really nesting, they were dead. I think these words came out of my mouth “You’ve got to be kidding me!?!” At this point, I knew my animal watching days at the McBrides were limited. I finished taking care of the hens was charged by the crazy rooster again then decided to give them a call. This time I was convinced it was one of the 20+ cats around their farm that killed them. Much to my relief it was not a big deal that they lost the two birds. It was blamed on the cold but they were disappointed that it wasn’t the mean rooster that died. She asked that next time I decide to kill something, make sure it’s that one. I don’t think there will be a next time.
Guinea pig dead (check)
Chickens dead (check)
Ewe + 2 lambs dead (check)
Roosters dead (check)
Knock on wood, in all my other house-sitting situations, no other animal has gone to meet their maker, but I promise you this, I have enough fear that something will happen that I’m probably the best animal watcher ever! Rain, hail, snow drifts the size of Texas, or sleet, I’m there to take care of the animal and treat it like royalty. I’m determined not to let this happen again. I know that death is a part of everything but why does it seem to happen when I’m around and not the owners? Here’s the situation that better not happen because if this happens, I quit! I’ll never watch animals again. I never want to deal with a dead horse. I will cry!
When you say your prayers at night, add a small one in for me and all the animals I come in contact with that are not my own. I don’t want to have the “animal killer” reputation. Idaho Falls is a small town!
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