horse progress

Couple months ago, Gemini got into a kicking match with Stjarni, and came out the worse for it. Left hind ankle, pretty much healed at this point, but still stocked up. Couple weeks ago, she stumbled and strained a ligament in the right fore, and she's still a bit gimpy on that side, especially if asked to trot, or even if she's just been standing around for a while. My horse, she is a delicate flower.

OTOH, she's a lot easier to catch now. I used to have to make a lightning grab for her halter, then get dragged 10 feet as she backed up. Now I walk around with her until I can put a hand on her flank; sometimes she stops right away, sometimes I walk with a hand on her flank for a minute or so, but she stops sooner or later, and is utterly indifferent to my taking her halter. This is progress. This is huge progress.

Took her out to graze this afternoon, with an agenda. I grazed her all the way down the side path, and off the property, and across the street to the forest access trail, and into the woods to the top of the hill. Took probably an hour, but no drama. The last time I tried this, she wouldn't leave the property, and then she wouldn't cross the road, and she certainly wouldn't climb the curb onto the access trail, and the whole thing took just as long, but very stressful and dramatic. This is also huge progress.

On the one hand, I can't believe I have my own horse, and still haven't ridden on the trails at all this summer. On the other hand, I'm really pleased with the progress I'm making in rehabilitating this horse. If this turn-around continues, and she turns into a trail horse I'd like her to be in the next month (a long shot, I admit), then I'd love love love to take her on the MSPCA Beach Ride.

On the other other hand (while I'm pimping the MSPCA), I'm appalled at the number of horses that aren't so lucky. "The number of horses surrendered [this year] will surpass last year's total by early September, with 13 horses scheduled to be surrendered in the next few weeks." Jesus. I mean, surrender is preferable to death by neglect, but...Jesus.

chickens, and the stench of death

Shortly after we got back from vacation, one of our hens started disappearing. Didn't turn up for bed check, usually (but not always) showed up sometime in the middle of the day to let us know she was okay, then disappeared again. Okay, she's got a nest somewhere and has gone broody. We have a rooster who's been courting her assiduously, so we'll wait until she either gives up, or comes back with chicks in tow.

Friday afternoon found her taking a tremendous dust-bath in the yard. Decided maybe we'd follow her, see where her nest was. But every so often there's this...smell. Like something's died. The stench of death, as it were. It's hard to tell, but it's stronger by the chicken coop. Could something have crawled underneath and died? Because it smells like death.

Hands and knees. Flashlight, rake. Started pulling out the leaves and... egg shells. And eggs. Six whole eggs, no seven, no wait, a couple from one of the other hens. "Whole" has to be put in quotes, because at least one is majorly cracked, and only the membrane is holding the inside in. One exploded while I was pulling it out, and another exploded while I was burying them.

"Exploded" is perhaps too dramatic a word. "Popped" or even "burst" is more accurate with regards the sound and the effect, but consider that eggs should never ever do this - rot and ferment and build up gasses to the point that the shell, which was intended to prevent stuff getting in, is now preventing stuff getting out (and not good stuff neither).

They say rotten eggs smell like sulfur. It's possible that the rooster was actually doing his job, and last week's heat killed the embryos, and that's why it smelled like death, or it's possible that exploding eggs just smell that way. I don't plan to do a controlled study, in any case.

Chicken status: 3 hens, 1 rooster, in the coop, no one camping out elsewhere.

post-worldcon 2: montréal miscellaneous

Posty McPosty says these should have come after at least the Biodome pics, but those (still) aren't ready yet, so there you are.



( Yep, that's a strong lead-off. Wonder what else is behind the cut? )