The things we can't control, no matter how hard we try.

 

I woke up hearing Captain Jack crowing, a little indignantly.  That means that I slept in.  I was very surprised to see a raging blizzard going on when I looked out the window! No wonder the house seemed dark and I misjudged the time.  This was NOT forecast!

 

The next thing I discovered was that our little banty 'Cat' had died overnight.  Poor little one...She was having such a hard time breathing last night, I tapped her and removed 26cc of fluid from her coelomic cavity.  She'd had about 20cc removed the night before when I brought her to my vet friend.  We didn't have a firm diagnosis, but were thinking liver disease or infection as one of the options. 

 

 

 

I didn't know her well, except in the last few weeks since I'd been taking care of her in the house.  She had always been too skittish and preferred avian company.  She would have been two years old this spring. She was such a pretty little one...: (  I'm glad I could at least give her some comfort on her last day. Struggling to breath has got to be one of the most terrifying things, for any creature.

 

We euthanized her sister when she was around 5 months old, and the pathology results confirmed that she had Marek's disease.  Marek's is extremely contagious, and that's why the experts recommend that young birds don't come in contact with older members of the flock until they are over 5 months of age.  Marek's primarily kills the younger birds, and if they are exposed to older birds who maybe be carriers (but didn't succumb to the disease when they were exposed) then the young birds are the ones at risk. 

 

So I'm considering bringing her to the path lab at the University tomorrow.  Travelling today is definitely not advisable.  I think the plow must have been by early this morning, but I haven't heard it since. 

 

I'll likely have to blow the driveway--there's about five inches of snow out there.  Looks like it's finally stopped, and the sun is actually coming out.  Can't really find any cheer in it though. 



Blizzards always make photos look underexposed...it really is that grey!



 

What I really need to attend to is the duck run.  The snow is heavy and pulled the tarp down--they're run is a mess.  As usual with any sort of north wind the snow has been driven right into the barn and half filled the sheep enclosure.  Little Henry had made himself a nest beside a pallet at the north wall--but he was still covered in snow.  Also snow was driven under the big sliding door, and some fantastic snow piles over a foot high are all over the place, and on some of the hay.  I say fantastic because they are such interesting shapes-like photos I've seen of islands in Thailand.  

 

Speaking of islands, G is on Vancouver Island today.  He's been in Vancouver all week, then flew to Nanaimo this morning.  Lucky guy.  He's in Parksville for a day or so. I think he'll be home on Saturday.  I bet he'll be shocked at the snow we have! Just as soon as I make one trail the drifts move in and cover everything again.  Chores don't get finished too speedily these days!