throats
(I know my featured image never has anything to do with anything but I am sure you are used to it by now – never throw away a burnt pot – they come in handy)
A throat – when stretched up to call out: is sublime, sexy, stream lined. When tucked into a scarf with a bark and a snuffle the throat just hurts. Mine hurts. For the first time in years and years I have a sore throat. Though it does make for a sexy voice! But one tries not to cough. I have a deep loathing of illness so I am absolutely sure that it will be All Gone by tomorrow or there will be trouble. 
But just this once, yesterday, I lay on the couch for 10 minutes(with Camera House my steadfast friend) and watched the kittens and their dog. I lock Marmalade outside often now, she is trying to wean the kittens but they are persistent. And when she is out. Nanny Boo takes over.
Anyway.. pictures from the couch 
Every part of this dog has a kitten cuddled in. Such sleepy babies.
Of course I am much better this morning. More than 24 hours being under the weather is unacceptable.
On a subject far away from kittens-
I miss Queenie, (my big Hereford cow) I know you do too, Kim mentioned this the other day. Queenie rejected two rounds of AI so she is away with a young bull. And it seemed that they were breeding last month. She has another 10 days with the bull. If there is no sign of him trying to breed her again (which means she did not come into heat again – a good result) I will bring her home. And we will call the lady vet to blood test her. So fingers crossed.
If she is not pregnant she will be sold to a farmer who has a large herd of Herefords, in with other cows and bulls she should naturally breed. But I cannot keep her here if she will not breed in my bull-less micro climate. This is a small farm not a petting zoo. Sheila, my big fat pig, is our ONLY large animal pet. I do not have the funds or the land to carry multiple pets. A farm is for growing food.
My objective is to feed the families from this small piece of land – and feed my own household too solely from the farm. Plus the Multiple Fellowship families who want chicken and beef and pork. We cannot carry a large cow who does not breed. It is hard isn’t it? But right in a way. What many people forget when they talk about organic meat is that the failing animals are not treated with antibiotics and medications – they are culled. Queenie will get a pass, she will be sold on, she is still young. But let’s hope she breeds for us.
Hopefully we will see her home in a week. And then we will see what Elsie says about that!
Have a truthful day.
Your friend on the farm.
celi
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It’s amazing how good a mum Marmalade is, after her own sad experience as a kitten. I hope Queenie is pregnant, but you are right about not running a petting zoo. I hope your throat feels better tomorrow 😉
I think that is a profound statement that people pushing for organics overlook: that failing animals can’t be treated, but instead are culled. I don’t find it profound as an argument against organics, it’s just a truth we prefer to overlook. Thanks for making me think and keeping me grounded in reality.
I hope you cow breeds for you. 🙂
I hope you are truly better today. Also that Queenie is gravid. Your farmy furry friends are so gorgeous that we forget that the prime object of keeping them is food. Look after yourself, as well as the animals!
Love,
ViV x
Lets hope both Queenie and Elsie are carrying little heifers. Look after yourself 🙂 Laura
with kittys or puppys, i used to feed them good before i turned them back in with mama.
made the weaning process much easier on mama and babies.
everytime i look at those kittys i remember how worried we all were about marmalade at that age
Sometimes the realities of the farmy are harsh, (especially in the face of the big, furry, lovable faces) but the truth sometimes is. I’m hoping for the best for Queenie. May she come home preggers and fluffy and healthy. There’s something going round here too. Chloe and mom both down with nasty, little, sniffy colds. Oh well, tis the season. Hopefully you have loads of vitamin C, or vitamin C rich foods around you.
Gosh, not only fingers crossed that Queenie is preggers but legs , toes and eyes….Its a hard life (I will never be able to be a farmer)
I hope you are feeling better. Evie is home on the couch today with a sore throat and barking cough. It is that time of year I guess.
Those snuggling boo kittens are so cute. Boo is special, an old soul.
Fingers and toes crossed that Queenie is pregnant. Marmalade has been such a good mum but it is nice that they have Nanny Boo as well. They really are adorable little ones, aren’t they? I can’t stop looking at them. Hope your throat is less scratchy and sore today!
I am glad you took a little couch-time. Lovely, warm pictures. I hope you have a good recipe for a hot-toddy, too!
I ditto glad that you took couch time. You work way too hard. Here’s to good health, animal and human.
Go Queenie go!!! You can do it! Take care of yourself Miss C. And if you can’t, perhaps Boo can look after you.
I hope so darling, we will know fairly soon I think.. c
Such contented resignation on Boo’s face!
Christine
Those kittens are so cute and Nanny Boo makes me smile on an otherwise dreary morning. Celi, there is a book in Germany about a girl that farms that takes care of animals and an ill stranger, it’s a great story with a lot of twists and turns. I try to find the title and see if it was translated into English. I hope you feel better soon.
Oh yes please~.. c
Goodness, prayers that Queenie and her young bull have gotten the job taken care of!!
Kittens, oh how I will miss their sweet photos when they have gone on to their forever homes!
I am smiling about Queenie… I know I would prefer a young bull to two shots from the AI person! Boo is a marvel and the photos are so cute. Please take extra care of yourself celi, it will soon be time to pack a bag and head down under, you would not want to miss it!
I know.. just over a month to go! Hope the weather holds!.. c
I hope you’re feeling better today. I’m afraid we brought you the throat illness. I’m home sick with it today. Hopefully it’s a one day thing (although I’m secretly thankful for an excuse to rest on the couch today). The kids both seem ok so far thank goodness. Fingers crossed for Queenie.
Ah well. I am definitely feeling better today, I can swalow now anyway.. Hope the children stay healthy, i hate it when kids get sick.. c
Hope you feel better soon, tho it is nice to have a really good excuse to take it easy.. c
I’m sure I’ll be better tomorrow. Last night was the worst of it as I think I’ve already turned a corner. Glad you are better today too.
Nanny Boo is a gentle spirit. Those kitten photos are priceless. This situation with Queenie is one of the reasons I wouldn’t do well with livestock. I’m just too soft. I don’t do well with some of the consequences of animal rehabilitation either… but it’s more doable for me. I hope Queenie is able to conceive… but the backup plan sounds good, and perhaps in a more natural setting she’ll have luck. Having gone through infertility myself, I realize how the whole process is indeed a miracle! I hope you are feeling better. I know the pull of being out there tending to your tasks weighs heavily when you have to take a day or two off to take care of self. Here in the south the flu and colds are just beginning to make their attack. I keep bone broth simmering, and freeze a lot to have on hand this time of year. There’s nothing more soothing and comforting than a cup of homemade bone broth to heal what ails ye!
So glad you’re feeling better today! I loved seeing the shot of Marmalade nursing her kittens…seeing them all together and how big they are now. Of course Boo is such a darling. That last shot of him and the kitten made me say “Awwww” out loud! Good luck with Queenie and I hope she comes home bred and ready to do her part on the farmy.
There’s nothing worse than a sore throat. No cure. No remedy. The only thing I do is swab my throat with Vicks and wrap it with my husbands teeshirt…and pray to die.
Having such charming animals up close and personal is very tough when you’re trying to farm. And seriously difficult decisions are thrust on you. I hope Queenie is pregnant for your sake especially and hers, as she will have a wonderful nurse at her side. Not so in a herd.
And Boo. Dear, dear Boo. What a Love!
Boo the nanny is so precious he makes my heart melt. I hope all goes well with Queenie. You know when your feeling low if you could just crawl in with Boos wee charges I am sure he would nurture you back to health. I am glad you are feeling better today.
Farming in such a way that every animal contributes in some way towards the common goal of sustenance for humans is much harder than it looks. We have watched you make these hard decisions. It is always for the good of the farm, however difficult it is. I appreciate your truth. I so hope that Queenie is pregnant. Bill had a good time looking at today’s pictures of the kitties, Marmalade and Boo. He said Boo was an awesome dog and he is. I’m glad you feel better. Don’t push yourself too much today. No relapses please!
Yes, I don’t think people really understand what it means to raise animals….it sounds all fine and good on the label, but we know, those of us who do farm. We know it means you culled those who were a weak link of some sort.
Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com/?s=The+Adventures+of+Fuzzy+and+Boomer&submit=Search
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com
Having enjoyed this website for quite awhile now and feeling a kinship to everyone in the Fellowship through all of Ms Cecilia’s posting, I want to let everyone know that the Drs office just called and I begin my 6 weeks of radiation treatment tomorrow. Am excited to begin the last steps of this journey and thank each and everyone of you for your prayers, positive thoughts, mantras, whatever it is that you send my way that keeps me going. Truly we are put on this earth to uplift and encourage each other and I’m thankful for the Fellowship that allows us to do just that.
Katy! thank you so much for telling everyone. We will walk through this with you. Keep us updated if you feel like it, otherwise we will keep you tucked into the Fellowship gumboots for as long as you need… c
Glad to hear you are better. We are in the process of debating whether or not to keep 168 (I call him ‘Boy’) as a bull and breed him with the yearling heifers. I am all for it as he will be a small bull. Mr Grumpy is stalling because he’s too stingy to spend money on fencing for a bull paddock. Maybe I will talk about this over at Thymewarp. I’ve started working on my ‘Daughter’ letter again too – it got shelved when all the surgical stuff happened to me. Take care of yourself, denial only works up to a point. 🙂
The sore throat thing seems to be traveling the globe, and must be nasty as I seldom succumb to bugs. I resorted to antibiotics – 2 lots – and cough mixture because I was so sick, accompanied by Echinacea and Andographis (Ayurvedic herb for cold combat) plus household natural remedies and a few days off work…
Whether we think about it much or not, everything we all do has consequences, sometime benign but mostly for better or worse. It’s good of you express yourself so honest and openly because you are so much closer to the front line of your everyday choices than most.
Ella – Since you obviously are agreeable to holistic integrated medicine, have you tried the Chinese herb Astragalus: builds up your immunity even better than your two. I took it for five years after my breast cancer op and would you believe my oncologist ‘unofficially’ agreed!!! Now I take it 2-3 winter months against colds and it sure seems to work! Read up on it 🙂 !
Thank you 🙂 I prefer holistic and went that way in this instance until it became apparent I was going downhill fast, over Pharma. I have heard of astralgus and will investigate further.
So glad you are feeling better. Watching the dear little kits as they have grown has been such a heartwarming joy. And to see Nanny Boo hover about and love on all them, along with their Mum is so dear. Four of them appear greyish in the recent pics.
You often refer to the Fellowship. What is the Fellowship? Not having been with your blog for very long I don’t know what this means.
Always enjoy opening your posts.
You are part of the fellowship. The Fellowship of the Farmy. The readers and commenters have called themselves the Fellowship df the Farmy. I am not even sure who started it!!
That last photo absolutely melts my heart………
Lots of fingers crossed for you today! Feel better.
Brandy in tea tonight! That will fix it 🙂 ! Hope for the best !!!!! You have posted some unreal kitten photos in the past few weeks but that first one is something else 😀 !! How can Marmalade just lie there eyes closed when six not-so-little ones are so eagerly searching for sustenance? Only three getting there at the time methinks . .
I am drinking tea right now and will hold my cup out for a dram. I am calling” Eha Mama said I could have brandy in my tea! Anytime I want. And it has to be served to me or it will not work”! wink. thank you eha mama
A pleasure Miss C . . . and it better work!!!!! By the bye, in the long term, that astragalus’ I mentioned to Ella above is good stuff: been used in China for some 3000 years . . . very safe, no side effects – kind’of expensive tho’ in this country . . .
My aunt once told me to eat grapes for a sore throat and it really does work, they slide right down! I would be a terrible farmer, I can see it now – ‘ach, she was a good old cow, she can stay on’ and I’d have a place full of useless old cows and who knows what else!
So sorry to hear you’ve been struggling with a nasty throat. My little colds always start with a nasty nose. As soon as I feel it, like I did today, I start super-dosing with Vit C tablets. You may laugh if you wish, but it sure works for me. 1,000mg tablets, 2 with breakfast, 2 with lunch, 2 with supper and 2 at bed. if you start to notice yellow urine, you can back off a bit, but you’d be surprised how much your body will actually use for healing itself. As a maintenance dose I take 1 tablet every day through the rest of the year. Vit C is water soluble, so it won’t build up in your body and cause problems – Vit A is fat soluble (as are others) so it’s not something I take as it can have some not so nice effects. The last month has been very stress-filled for me so my defences are down – that’s usually when the colds hit, so I’m hitting back!
Hope that helps
Chris S. in Canada
Considering how much time you spen outdoors, in all sorts of foul weather, it’s remarkable how rare you’re not well, Celi. You’ve already received a number of good-sounding remedies, preventions, and advice, so, there’s no need for me to add anything other than to hope you’re already feeling better. 🙂
Here I am back after some time away in the wilds. Kittens to watch while you take time out – who needs TV? Hope you are feeling better now. Summer came to NZ for a little while but ran away again today. I’ll have a good talk to it tomorrow & say it’s got to turn on something splendid for you in January.