Back Home Again

After spending two and a half weeks away visiting family and being waited on hand and foot, mostly due to my back going way out and my leg after that, I am happy to be back home again at the House of Cluck-Cluck.
The trip was uneventful but I still managed to be anxious about flying alone even though there was no turbulence. I felt so relieved to be back on the ground, giving over my responsibilities for carrying my bags to John and I was so exhausted I almost wished he would just pick me up too and carry me to the car. But upon arriving home after a quick buying spree to refill our larder, I could see that some rooms were way too much for him to keep tidy while others were remarkably neat and clean. He must have dearly missed his cleaning fairy who does all of it to keep up with the endless chores for our animals both in the house and outside. Not to mention the dust and dirt from living near a shingled road and these very same animals that bring all kinds of treasures inside that they find outside. So, with a most unfamiliar burst of energy that appeared out of nowhere (that I lacked for the whole time on my trip), I began to do what needed to be done and I almost finished everything that evening. Women can do that. Finding this much determined focus, I managed to address all the worst jobs that he avoided and I did it all calmly, which is quite unusual for me. But I saw clearly what I had to do and without my daughter to pick up the slack as she had for weeks on end, I was chosen for these chores.
I can tell you one thing for sure and that is my pussycats were very happy to see me as I give them the food they want when they want it. When I’m here they all are quite invested in the belief that this is a 24-hour, all-night restaurant, every time that I walk into or through the kitchen. And that becomes just another stressor for my mate, which might explain why the kitchen looked like a bomb went off in it. Aside from that Shaq needed two tiny pills for his thyroid condition and a syringe of pain meds every day. That was the hardest thing for John and he began to use an enormous pill wand to avoid having to touch Shaq’s mouth (and have his hand bitten off). Happily, I got the pills down him in seconds and waited for him to swallow each one. No problem in the least doing this task, for me at least. I could probably do it in my sleep. Not bragging either. Trial and error over years of pill giving helps.
So, there was an aura of peace back in our little cottage that night when I finally went to sleep. Not that my enormous suitcase filled with all the too many clothes I took (that I never wore), was actually emptied that night, but I felt a sense of gratitude to be back home.
The rest of the luggage and bits and pieces were easy to attend to the next morning, when I woke up and felt superhuman energy again. Will wonders ever cease? Or is that never cease? I actually don’t know or care one hoot. I am glad to be home but still grateful for the great visit I had. Again, I will post some more photos of the last day that includes a quickly taken shot or two of the two bobby calves that were saved by a farmer friend but meant to get a bullet each. But now they are taking up residence in a small shed and adjoining private paddock, where a milk feeder is set up. They look pretty comfy there in their new digs and when they get a bit bigger will join the growing herd. Yeehaw!
There was a stunning day to drive to the airport in that showed off the snow-capped mountains in the distance and by the time we got to the airport Elijah felt better after the long ride with some hot chocolate and some sort of breakfast in his tummy. He gobbled it up so fast I didn’t even see what it was.
Back home I was greeted by one of my favorite roosters and one of my cats who eats the most who is getting too big to pick up easily.
Such is my life in the last 3 weeks of winter. Stay tuned for news about the wee lambs. There are three so far. And spring is just around the corner even though our season here is almost a month behind what I just left. They have daffodils and other blossoms already in bloom. Lucky.