We need some kind of update I think after that break in transmission due the breakdown in communication with Molly the sow which sent me into a bit of a spin. So here goes. 
My hand hurts and is still a bit swollen but is getting better fast. I was down for a few days but my energy has returned and once I have finished this course of bloody antibiotics bombarding my system I will feel better. I am hitting probiotics hard but this low grade nausea drags a girl down. Molly is still a bit stand offish but not aggressive. So I think our relationship will repair post-attack.
John has sown oats and barley ( basically whatever I had laying about ) in the Rathouse paddock, the Middle Field and Pats Paddock. Of course the chickens are thrilled to bits! 
The Quack House ( thank you to ‘someone’ who suggested that name ) is still in transition. I will line the floor in a tarp – ducks are very messy in a wet way so being able to drag the whole mess out and dump it once a week is very appealing. Plus I have a tarp already and stall mats are expensive. John will put windows in the doors so they get the sunrise sun. They need light to trigger laying.
This ( below) is a rather interesting shot or an awful one I am not sure. You can see the babies sleeping in the red light. For the first time yesterday evening all the piglets were out drinking vigorously at the same time. It seems to me they have been slow to really start up.
As usual yesterday being day three I raised the piglets hot light slightly and gave iron to the sleepy ones. This was a painful job with my left hand being so awkward and trying not to upset Mama Molly further.
Hopefully now being day four? they should start drinking for longer and put on some weight. The wind is not blowing anymore either so their outside door is open again. Light and air are so important to little beings. There are still eight.
Aunty Del and Tia are doing well. Both udders slowly growing – we are on the last of the hay but they have been grazing the West Bank which I closed in the middle of last summer. Today John will begin to electric fence off the growing fields, creating a corridor so they can safely get to the Dairy Mistress field where the second field of standing hay awaits without grazing the other fields along the way.
The pasture is growing at last but most of it will not be ready to graze for at least 6 weeks. This time of year is a tough time for feed. This week if it looks warm I will also top sow some sorghum into some of the grazing fields to try and get some good feed started.
Farm food of any sort is hard to come by at this time of year.
The ducks are laying eleven eggs a day now and the chickens almost three dozen so my weekly paycheck begins. I have also begun to sell the big hogs.
I hope to finish the asparagus mulching today – that job was interrupted by my incident with Molly. I will just work slowly down there – the asparagus might start popping up soon. The asparagus is an important spring revenue.
I will take the big truck this morning and go off to buy more feed. My hand and back are holding me back a bit but I can still drive.
The new chicks are doing very well. In the next few days they will move from the brooder to the bigger enclosure. They are lovely fat wee chickens.
I think that is all?
It is misty outside this morning which is nice for my guests. Misty mornings are my next favorite after sunny ones.
I hope you have a lovely day.
Celi
The Kitchen's Garden 
41 responses to “BACK TO BUSINESS”
Good news – I’m glad you are feeling better!
As a child I remember the local farmer’s wife putting a honey poultice on an badly infected wound, clearing it up within days. This was raw honey from her own hive, and I know that there’s now medical-grade manuka honey available for the same purpose. Perhaps if your infection persists it might be worth investigating? It’s good to give the wound air, and to use the hand gently, but if you do too much you will slow its healing progress. Your back needs care too. There’s a lot to do, yes, but only one Celi.
At least you were healthy to start with, that will help for wound and post-antiobiotic recovery. As well as airing the wound getting good vitamin D into your skin and in moderation via your eye is beneficial. If your can find some form of the homeopathic remedy Arnica to take orally rather than topically it will help with healing the deep tissue bruising… the G.O. has taken plain Arnica and a trauma blend after his shoulder surgery and mended very quickly. Good morning from a beautiful sunny Sunday morning here in our little valley ♡
Sorry to hear about the attack! I can only imagine how disturbing that would have been. Have you ever given the piglets fresh soil to root in when they are kept inside? We have done that with good success as a way of giving the piglets some iron and stimulation. Make sure that it is soil that hasn’t been exposed to pigs or other animals in recent years to prevent potential transmission of disease. Just dump a small bucket of soil on the floor of the pen and watch them play in it. When doing this we never had to needle the piglets with iron.
Yes. I do that and isn’t it great- I had only one this time who was really slow- he was not going in to drink so I gave him a shot iron / all the rest were right into their soil ( from the vege garden) I have to replenish daily – also I add sweet iron to the soil For an extra boost.
Don’t mind the wound being swollen at this stage but being ‘mucky’ does not thrill! Hate antibiotics and having had to use them a number of times am allergic to most and no longer sensitive to others. At least you are not that !! Bow I DO believe in what Kate is suggesting: ask your doc and get one of your kids to send over some top-grade Manuka honey stat !! It has pulled people off the death bed !! And glad you are using probiotics . . . thanks for bringing us up-to-date with the farmy . . . and bestest . . .
I do hope you heal quickly, such a pain in the back side to have to favor a body part! Maybe a little ginger tea ( or better yet a ginger cookie!) would help with the nausea. My step daughter swore by the tea when she was undergoing chemo though the police officer who stopped her for speeding did raise an eyebrow when he saw the baggie of it in her purse!
I soaked a very infected swollen hand (thanks to an injured and scared cat) in warm water with 10% hydrogen peroxide 2 or 3 times a day for at least 5 days. It was very soothing after that first dunking. It worked very well band I had the antibiotics also.
Try some candied ginger for the nausea. Take care, c. x
oh my…may your hand heal quickly
Good to have an update, still worried about you though…