LYME-THE LAST OF AN ERA-WILLOW-SHEEP SHEARING

HAPPY SPRING

  The pussy willow tree is in full bloom  We had some snow showers yesterday an rain today.  Looking forward to planting some peas soon.

lYME

I am now on my medication to treat babesia microti.  It seems my whole day now is spent taking medications.  In 3 months I should be free of all this and get back to a normal life.  I am so grateful for Northampton integrated Medicine without them I would have not found out about the disease or be treated.  It seems that this disease is spreading all over Massachusetts.  I will be spraying pyrthium on my clothes to make sure I don’t get bit again.

It’s a bright yellow in color and chalk  would taste so much better but its here and it should make all those little creatures in my red blood cells die so its worth it.

 

THE LAST OF AN ERA

My friend Debbie called to tell me my Cousin Bill Bisbee passed away.  I last saw him a few years ago.  The Bisbee’s were an old Chesterfield Massachusetts family settling there in the 1700’s.  My Dad spent most summers helping  his cousins bring in the hay. His winter holidays from the Holyoke schools were spent sliding down the many hills in Chesterfield. 

I still love going to Chesterfield, my Grandfather and many family members are buried there and I love  picking blueberries every summer at my cousin’s blueberry fields..  The memories of those wonderful days in Chesterfield are cherished by me, I was such a lucky child.   

SHEEP

The sheep have done well over the winter and they were sheared by Aaron last Thursday.  He is an expert shearer and they were done in less than an hour.  Glad that its done before the warm weather hits

 

WILLOW BASKETS

I plan to make some small willow baskets similar to the one I bought in Ireland for shows this year.  I have a small supply of willow I bought some years ago to get me started and cut what I grew some years ago to add to that when its dry.  I think next years willow crop will be better.

I made this soaking tub with a gutter.  It will work out well.

Many thanks for reading my blog an I hope you have a lovely day.

 

I AM BACK-LYME-THINGS GOING ON AT THE FARM

GREETINGS

I am so glad to be back in the land of the living.  Sometime in January I started feeling like the Lyme had returned.  I got an appointment in February and had loads of blood test and was taken off all medications and awaited the results.  Meanwhile I came down with this awful chest thing that put me in bed for 3 weeks.  While in bed I found out the results of the tests.  I no longer have the lyme but have a  disease from the tick bite.  It is called babesia microti. It’s a parasite that infects the red  blood cells.. 

I am so lucky that a friend, Vickie told me about Northampton Integrated Medicine  or I would be just walking around with the symptoms.    The blood tests done to diagnose this were not known  to a local lab and my regular doctor told me that  it would be  a short-term of antibiotics.   I will be on a 4  month course of a malaria drug and antibiotics with lots of probiotic.  It takes 3 months for all your blood cells to renew themselves  

I have learned so much since my diagnosis  .  This is spread by the white footed mouse.. It can lay dormant for weeks or years, cause flu lie symptoms, fatigue and others.  More and more people are getting this and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health is tracking the people who do get it.  At this time in my small drug store I am the second person taking this unusual medication.

HOLD NOSE AND SWOLLOW!!!!!!!!!!

If anyone out there has had this please send me a note.  I am sharing this with you because the medical field doesn’t have a lot of knowledge about lyme and are not putting the funding into it.  It’s a dangerous disease which can ruin your life and even kill.

One of the sad things for me about this disease is that I won’t be able to hang clothes out.  I have watched and helped all the women in my family, from my Great=Grandmother to my Mom hang  clothes on the line.  There is nothing better than slipping into a bed with the smell of freshness in the sheets.. I have concluded this is how I had gotten bitten in the fall and found ticks on my inside cats.  I hope that I can figure out a way to be able to continue but at this point I will be drying the clothes inside.

THE REST OF MY LIFE

I am still living in the glow of the trip to Ireland and was so grateful to have been feeling so well during that wonderful trip.

I love  my kitchen, it’s a joy to work in and looking forward to the summertime when I will do lots of canning.

The sheep and chickens have survived the terrible, bone chilling cold of this winter and it looks like another nore-easter is coming on Wednesday.

Nellie came in during the 20 below days.  She just couldn’t function in that weather and would have frozen to death.   She has enjoyed being inside with lots of snacks and outings and will go out when the weather gets warm with the smaller and gentler hens.  

I am doing a wonderful Maple Sugar Festival in Whitingham Vermont, March 17 and 18.  Come visit me it will be such a fun event.  I can smell the sap boiling now.

Many thank for reading my blog , hope you have a wonderful day.   Carole.

 

Assorted dark-colored wool strips waiting to be dried, ironed and put into a labeled box

CRAFTS OF COLRAIN-TICKS-MISSING COSMO- SURPRISES-SHEEP SHENANIGANS -LOCAL RUG HOOKERS

 

 

 

GREETINGS

Winter winds were blowing off the mountain a few days ago and bits of snow-covered some of the branches.  I think the cold weather is here to stay.  I still have the coop to finish winterizing.  It will get done this week. 

CRAFTS OF COLRAIN

The tour started yesterday and the crowds came .    What a delightful day seeing old customers and friends and meeting new ones.  Today is the last day, stop by and visit, see  how the kitchen is coming and Eddie (the rooster) will give you a greeting too.

TICKS

Yikes, Sammy and I both had ticks embedded in us a few days ago.   It’s so funny that the other cats don’t get any on them.   I have decided not to hang my clothes out as I think this is where they are coming from.  And next spring I will find some spray for the side yard. 

MISSING COSMO

The vet felt that the cancer had spread throughout his body.  For the first time in well over 20 years I only have three cats.  Shorty who is 19 (and the last of the Maryland cats) ,  Willie who was abandoned in  a house in my neighborhood and he is 10, and Sammy who is 4 and still is active like a kitten.  Shorty will have nothing to do with his shenanigans but Willie gets caught up in the chasing and playing.

  Cosmo lived upstairs and wanted no part of the other cats.  I think this was because of the loss of his eye which happened right before he came to live here.  It took him some time to adjust he loved sleeping on a blanket that was my Dad’s.  I hold a special place in my heart for him. 

  Another cat or two will come my way when the time is right, they always do.  They never replace ones that have gone on before them but serve as a memory of them.

YESTERDAY’S SURPRISES

Life does hold surprises.  Yesterday Cindy and her friend Nicole came  as they always do and brought a package for me from my Son in Law Rick.  A beautiful  hundred year old map of Ireland,  Beautifully framed.  Its perfect and  its up in a perfect spot . 

 

Ricky stopped by and helped me too.  He is in college and working so time is precious and I loved him stopping by.  The day ended with a lovely meal with my son and his family.

SHEEP SHENANIGANS

Charlie went up to feed the sheep yesterday and found them all together.  Somehow, Sally, Carol K, and Lucy got into Maude’s area.  It looks like things may work out after all this time so we will take  it day by day.  It sure does make it easier.

RUG HOOKERS IN MY AREA

A wonderful Lady new to Greenfield but not new to Rug Hooking wants to get together with other hookers.  It would be wonderful to have a group in Franklin County.  Please e-mail me wspines@aol.com and we will try to get something going.

Many thanks for reading my blog on this chilly, November day.  Hope you can stop and visit today.   Carole

TORRENTIAL RAINS-THE KITCHEN-TICK BITE-CRAFTS OF COLRAIN

 

MR. PEEPERS AMD PHOEBE

 

GREETINGS

Getting ready for winter, shows and The trip has kept me busy   The weather has remained reasonably warm so getting things cleaned up in the yard has been possible  Not to say that I am done but I am not wearing mittens and

 

TORRENTIAL RAINS AND WIND

There are still people who don’t believe in climate change, to me its astonishing .  I never remember having rains like we have had this year  It comes down in bucket fulls  I am so grateful that the grading of my land in back of the barn has worked, although several times this summer I have had to remove dirt  Last week alone we have had two storms with winds and torrential rains  Trees have fallen and electric has gone out, rivers rising to their banks and in a few days it’s all normal again      We have done it to ourselves and now have to accept what is happening   I do hope that we can figure out a way to not use fossil fuels

THE TICK BITE

The weather has been perfect for tick breeding and there are tiny ones all over the place   On a Friday night several weeks ago  my arm ached and when I went to look at it I found a tick deeply embedded with swelling and redness around it.  My son tried to take it out but it was in deep so a trip to the ER was necessary   I have been holding onto a RX of antibiotics and hoping to start them after my trip  Taking antibiotics for  long period of time is a balancing act.  Probiotic’s have to be taken either two hours before the antibiotics or two hours after  Who wants to be thinking of that while on vacation.  Well I will be doing just that and glad that I found the tick and hope that I started the med’s in time to avoid symptoms.  I really wish that Lyme’s disease would be addressed seriously  One doctor at the clinic I go to told me antibiotics was a waste of time obviously he has not had lyme’s disease or he wouldn’t say such a thing.    Anything you can take to alleviate  the symptoms is worth it

CHICKEN CATCHING

Last week Charlie and I spend an hour trying to round-up 5 Bantams and on regular size hen   What a calamity  The ground was muddy and very slippery from torrential rains from a few days ago.  The chickens decided that they want to remain in the caravan.  Finally we got them all and they are safe inside the barn.  There area is temporary but safe.  They look like a bunch a sad sacks for a while but now have gotten  adjusted.

THE KITCHEN

The plumbers came last week and within three hours I had a water connection and new forgiving pipes from the cellar.  The new to me door is on and the drywall is up.  It is snug and warm in there for the first time in 19 years!   The counter top is here  and the faucets will be bought this week and the stove comes on Thursday.   It certainly is an experience putting in a new kitchen, not for the faint hearted, but now I can see an end and its coming out quite nice.  Family and friends have gotten me through.  Soon the plants will be back in the windows and everything will be easily accessible and in working order.  

CRAFTS OF COLRAIN

Come visit me for the Crafts of Colrain next Saturday and Sunday.  You will be greeted by a sign explaining the kitchen and the porch will be loaded with boxes of kitchen things and cabinets etc.  But this is real life on the farm and the dining room and living room will be inviting and cozy.  Hope to see you here.

COSMO TESTING THE NEW CAT TOYS

Many thanks for reading my blog on this rainy day.   Carole

LAST ROSES OF SUMMER