View from the Loo - Feb

It's been crazy cold and the 8-10 inches of snow we got last Tuesday, the 17th,  combined with the 1-1/2 inches of snow yesterday has made for some unhappy critters. 

The hogs have been staying in their run-in, snuggled down in the straw. 

The goats are roaming but like hanging out under the carport. You can tell their favorite paths; there are trails of goat pellets hither and yon. 

Frozen pipe under master bath lead to master bathroom's pipe bursting at some point today. The water pressure sucked all over the house but it wasn't until I heard water running UNDER the bathtub that I went outside. Sure enough, the huge puddle under that corner of the house was a dead giveaway. I turned off all the water switches I could find under the house and opened all the taps on the first floor. 

The plumber will be here first thing tomorrow morning. The kids don't have school again (they were off all last week) tomorrow, so no one has to be all that clean until Tuesday anyway. 

To top that off, the slow leak in my tire went to outright flat as of yesterday. It was snowing all day yesterday so I changed it today with my husband's help. I'm so grateful that my dad sent me a several ton floor jack years and years ago. It has come in handy here on the farm. I use it all the time on the lawn tractors. 

Tomorrow is going to be expensive. Fix plumbing - in more than one place. The valves to turn the water off to the master bathroom are so close together that neither can fully close! If that wasn't so wrong, the rest of the house could have water. And then four new truck tires. 

Gulp

Sad, sad day

It is not a good day today. 

I started almost two years ago with two Nigerian Dwarf goats, Mr. Freckles and Franny. 

Today, we had to put Mr. Freckles down. What a stupid euphemism. We, not we really, because my husband is a super awesome man who drove home and did the deed while I took two kids to the dentist. 

One kid has three cavities with the possibility of two more. I had half flat tire when I got to the dentist's office but didn't realize it. Another patient in the waiting room pointed it out to me. Run across the street to the gas station and as soon as I got the tire up to pressure, I could hear the leak. One can of Fix A Flat later, I'm back on the road. 

Ideally, I'd get new tires; I've had the truck since Aug 2012. That'll have to wait til next pay period. 

So back to Mr. Freckles. The vet was out last week. He had urinary calculi (stones) in his urethra. The vet was able to get some out, along with a lot of puss. Gave two shots, antibiotic and pain reliever. Freckles was okay for a day or two, but this morning he was making sad, painful sounds and lying down. The vet said he could be okay or there could be a lot more stones. I couldn't let him stay in pain, but he's a farm animal, not a pet. The next option was expensive surgery. 

Rest in peace, Mr.Freckles. Maybe one of the three does you knocked up will give us a Freckles the Second. 

Busy weekend!

Finished building the walls of the greenhouse on Saturday. 

Laid them all out in preparation for the next step. For that, we needed extra hands. The two youngest helped us Sunday morning to get the four sides attached. 

That's me looking proud. 

All the cross bracing is up, rafters installed, and vents built and installed in the roof section. 

Just have to install the panels and get the door installed.