Sudokuaholics Anonymous 11

''How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.''

- Anne Frank

Got Robert to the eye doctor today. They're very pleased with his progress. He's doing better than they thought he would. He doesn't have to go back there until March 12th.

Midge, my Aunt used to have a cockatoo with that disease when I was a kid in the 50's and she had knitted items for him. And I remember her feeding him by hand.
I'm glad you got Robert to the Doctor in the snow and ice, Heidi. You are fearless, and incredibly helpful to your friends. Very admirable.

I have had a nice few days with visits from my 2 eldest granddaughters.
Hayley came to stay for a few days before she starts her 3rd year at Uni, studying to become a teacher. At the end of next year she will be qualified. She now has a job tutoring school age children. Very proud of her.
And on Wednesday, Maddy, who is an educator in a child care centre and on leave for 2 weeks, came over to spend the day with Hayley and I. We did arty stuff all day except for when we went out for a bite to eat.
Maddy had a broken heart, her boyfriend dumped her on the Friday before Valentines Day and just before their second anniversary. Nice timing! We kept her laughing all day.
I love those 2 girls, they make me happy.

My pullets are going all out laying eggs. I collected 21 eggs today!

Maddy is better off without a loser boyfriend who dumps her before Valentines Day. That's a really tacky thing to do. She should be happy that she escaped before she had made a legal commitment. And Hayley has really become a wonderful woman! I'm so glad they got away from her mother's selfish, evil influence.

19 eggs today.

It actually got above freezing today... barely. It's supposed to get into the low 40's tomorrow. The ice should start melting.

What a great TOPP, Heidi!

Hi, Everyone! I hope all are having a great morning/afternoon/evening/night (whatever the case may be).

Midge, have you been able to capture the cockatoo so you can start caring for it?

Heidi, you are such a good friend to others! Wonderful news for Robert that he (and his eyes) are making good progress!

CynB, your day with Maddy and Hayley sounds wonderful. It's wonderful to see them growing up and doing well and making their way in the world! You are so lucky to have your grandies nearby so you can enjoy each other's company! I agree with Heidi's assessment of Maddy's ex-boyfriend. What a cad to break up just before Valentine's Day. My guess is that Hayley, Maddy, and you had a wonderful and meaningful day that will stay in their memories for years! You are all so fortunate!

Heidi, your pullets are certainly earning their keep! How wonderful to have fresh eggs to enjoy and share! Enjoy your days of warmer temperatures. You certainly deserve them!

We're due to get above freezing in a few days. But first, there are predictions for about 2 to 6 inches of snow tomorrow.

Thinking of everyone and sending positive thoughts, healing energy, prayers, {{{{{HUGS}}}}}, and ! Stay safe, everyone!

It's 48˚F / 8.9˚C outside!!! Heat wave!!!

The ice is getting rotten and melting!

Oh, no! I've done it again. Must have fallen asleep just as I was going to copy my typed comments. Thinking of everyone & sending lots of ! Sorry, I can't stay awake long enough to re-type. Take care, Everyone!

Morning all!
Quiet on here in the last few days.
I have no real news but was wondering who has had their Covid vaccine - or who doesn't plan to have it at all. We only just started on Sunday here in Australia. Doing essential workers, elderly and vulnerable people first. Then people over 70, I'm in that category so I'll line up. I see that many of our US Sudoku friends have finally been able to get the jab but it's been a constant battle to get in line, especially in Florida but maybe things are sorting out.
I suspect this delay is like the great toilet paper stampede, the queue-jumpers have been pushing in. They're all done now and now regular polite people can get a chance.

I have to admit to being weird, if you hadn't already worked this out.
Colin leaves for work at 4.30am, I try to stay in bed but that's when I start hearing noises and my imagination gets away from me. Our house is locked up like Fort Knox so I don't know why this happens. We have security cctv and I can see the live feed from the 4 cameras on my TV. So I get up then, come to my computer, as I am doing now - it is 5.30 am here. I watch the cameras as I sit at my laptop until daylight makes the image coloured and I can clearly see everything. I then go back to bed for another hour or two. Bye for now, they've just gone to colour, getting later every day as we head toward winter.

I hope to get my Covid vaccines as soon as I can. But Mother Nature amd helping friends out always seems to take priority.
I just got back from taking Robert to a doctor's appointment. All went well. I also dropped off 4 dozen eggs at Debbie's house for her use and for her family and neighbors.

The snow and ice have melted. I was able to drive my truck back to the barns and unload the rest of the feed, finally.

Tomorrow Dawn gets spayed. It will be nice not having to worry that the little girl will come in season and find true love. She's already figured out that there are a couple of Kelpie stud dogs on the farm behind me.

So far today I collected 22 eggs, and found the remains of one broken one. The pullets sure went into full production fast.

I did it again and lost my post. Good Night, Everyone! Take care!

60˚F / 15.5˚C!!! Amazing change!

Glad to hear that the weather has improved greatly and the ice has gone, Heidi! So much easier for you to continue with your busy life.
Do you remember me talking about our dog Jewel. She's a mini Poodle and has always been an active and (far too) exuberant dog. But she is almost 13 years old now and is very deaf and, we think, going blind. When it's just her and I here at home, she sleeps all day but gets excited when Col gets home and waits for him to have a play and throw the ball for her etc. That's honestly her exercise for the day. She's just not interested in moving out of her warm bed otherwise. Once she is fed she settles down and sleeps all night. But let a family member/s arrive and then she's back to being excited and happy. Funny old girl she is. I found a cushion the other day with a picture of a poodle on it that looked just like her.
I just had to buy it.

I'm glad you bought the cushion. Everybody needs a remnder of a beloved pet. I hadn't realized that Jewel was now 13. I know you got her as an adult, but I assumed that she was a very young adult. But time HAS passed. Dogs can get along really well if they're deaf and blind because their sense of smell is so acute. It tells them so much about who, where and what they're doing. They can even sense some emotions through scent.

The golfer Tiger Woods was in a serious car accident this morning. Both his legs have multiple compound fractures. He's still undergoing surgery. I haven't heard about any other injuries, but I bet they're worried about his back. He was recovering from recent back surgery. Nobody was in the car with him, fortunately. They had to use the jaws of life and an axe to get him out of the car, it was so smashed.

Hi, Everyone! Just so I don't mess up by falling asleep at the computer AGAIN, I'm going to post this immediately.

Heidi, sixty degrees is fantastic! I think we made it up to about 45 degrees here. It didn't eliminate a lot of snow, but the piles of snow are a little less tall.

CynB, I'm surprised that Jewel is 13 already. It's great that she still enjoys activity when family is around!

Tiger Woods' injuries sound pretty scary. The accident must have been awful. I hope he will have a successful recovery.

Thinking of Everyone and sending lots of , {{{{{HUGS}}}}}, healing energy, positive thoughts, and prayers for All! Take care and stay healthy!

Having gone through one compound fracture, and multiple hairline fractures in one leg, the thought of having multiple compound fractures in both legs horrifies me. This will be a long, hard recovery. If he attends The Masters, it will be in a wheelchair, most likely.

Now that the snow and ice melted... quickly... we have world class mud in high traffic areas. I tried to gently sort out my 2 June born calves today to wean them. The mud was up to the top of my boots and I kept getting stuck. I was able to sort out the steer by myself, but the heifer wouldn't cooperate, and I was in no position to argue. The steer is now in with the 2 yearling heifers and the ancient cow who still hasn't been put down. But she's so quiet that she should settle the steer down quickly. I'll try again tomorrow with the heifer, and again every day until I get her. There's no rush. I don't want to stress her with all the deep mud. Accidents can happen when animals are forced to do things. The pen they're going into is a LOT dryer.

It's 68˚C / 20˚C right now. Hard to believe that 4 days ago we had single digit temperatures!

Does anyone remember what photo resizer we always used to enable posting images here on Sudoku?
The name has slipped my aging mind and I can't find it by searching. It was so simple and easy to use. The ones I've just tried all want me to sign in or are not very clear in their instructions.

http://www.shrinkpictures.com

This is the one that i have always used here.

Another 22 eggs today. One was a double yolked egg.

Thanks Heidi, but I remembered when I was in the kitchen loading the dishwasher.
Isn't it amazing how the human mind works. As soon as I stopped trying to remember it, there it was.
Shrinkpictures is what I have always used too. I have now saved it to favourites in Google.
And I have just posted a photo of the Jewel cushion. I love it so much. It looks just like her.

Heidi, you're having some amazing weather! Those temperatures are certainly atypical. Unfortunately, the mud created by the quick thaw is certainly no fun! We had temperatures in the mid-30's again today, so just above freezing. I think the temperatures hovered right at freezing overnight, so a slow thaw continued into today.

CynB, the cushion is gorgeous! How fortunate to find it since it looks so much like Jewel!

Heidi, you're so fortunate to be getting so many eggs! They must taste wonderful!

Thinking of Everyone today and sending positive thoughts, , healing energy, prayers, and {{{{{HUGS}}}}} for all of you! Take care and stay healthy!

Re: Picture ReSize -
If you are on a windows machine, the paint app will do the job, without having to go online...

I got that heifer sorted out into the weaning pen. She was born back in the woods and was not imprinted on people at birth like I like to do. So, she's wild! Nuts, even. There's no way I'll be keeping her even though I need heifers to increase my herd.
Speaking of heifers, one of Mike's cows had a nice heifer calf an hour or so ago. She's got a nice disposition. I've been petting her to get her used to people.

Hello, Everyone! It's later than I thought,, and I need to get some sleep.

Heidi, I'm glad you were able to sort out the heifer who was born back in the woods, and get some bonding time with Mike's new heifer calf.

Thinking of Everyone and sending {{{{{HUGS}}}}}, healing energy, prayers, positive thoughts, and . Stay safe and healthy!

Mike agrees with me that the heifer of mine is (at least partially) nuts because she didn't imprint on people as a young calf. I always try to handle every calf as soon as they're born, but this cow got sneaky and hid her calf. I'm putting out feed for that group (2 weanlings, 2 yearlings and the old cripple) twice a day to try and settle her down, and teach her to come up when she sees me, and teach her that I'm her friend. She finally came up to the feeder this morning, but waited until I walked far away first.
Dawn is doing well after her surgery. She's back to her usual level of activity again.

Rainy day today. Temps in the mid-40's. We're supposed to get rain for days and days to add to the mud.
I hust got word that my 2 Cuckoo Marans pullets will be shipped in 2 weeks. They're the breed that lays the chocolate colored eggs. They'll only be a month old when they arrive, so they won't start laying until August. That'll give me a total of 30 hens.

Too much excitement this morning. The crazy heifer escaped from the weaning pen and was stampeding around the horse and alpaca pasture. I had to figure out how she got out... nothing obvious, but I shored up a weak spot.... then Dawn helped me get her back in. Dawn, surprisingly, has some herding instinct! She got behind the heifer and drove her through the gate I wanted her to go through, then back into the weaning pen. I also found a Starling flying around inside the house. He took some catching. Finally got him and let him back outside. He was in full breeding colors and looked magnificent!

I just unloaded 470 lbs of feed for the alpacas and horses..... collected more eggs.... then tagged a newborn heifer calf. Mama is the cow that survived the dog attack 2 years ago. She's also the mother of my late young bull, Laird. This is a really pretty black calf. Her sire is Mike's black Gelbveh bull, so she's a cross known as a Balancer. It's an extremely popular cross between either a Red or Black Angus and a red or black Gelbveh.

Heidi, wow, Dawn is turning out to not only being a great companion but also a good help to you.
I love hearing your stories about your farm and animals.
It's so different to life in the city, well we're not so much in the city but we only have 975 sq metres of land. Just enough for a small dog!
Years ago in the eighties we bought a small property about 10 acres and built a house on it. We rented it until such time as we could move out there - 100kms west of Brisbane.
But, we had trouble with tenants, 3 or 4 lots before we realisied it was futile. It seems that people who rent in places like that, do so to cultivate weed, sell drugs and pay no attention to looking after the house they were living in or paying rent. We stopped renting, cleaned it up - had to repaint every room and replace the carpet. Sold it at a loss in the 90's. Big lesson learned.
Also it went under in the big flood of 2011 - so phew!

Hi, Everyone!I'm falling asleep, so no long post from me tonight. Sending many warm thoughts, healing energy, {{{{{HUGS}}}}}, , and prayers! Good Night!

It's been pouring rain all day. We have flash flood warnings. I'm glad I talked Mike into us moving the fence in the front pasture (we have it divided up and give the cows 2 acres at a time) yesterday. They now have some fresh grazing on non-muddy pasture. We have 6 newborn calves that can stay out of the mud now, too. In the past, I've lost more calves to mud than to any other cause. Mike has 2 bull calves and 2 heifer calves and I have 2 heifer calves so far.

BOPP

There's a break in the rain finally. The mud outside is horrendous. From what I can gather from the extended forecast, no more snow storms coming, but a LOT of rain. Yuck.