Friday - Day 137

Woke up with the alarm and had a good night's sleep, which it turned out I needed.

Bex and I took a 2.5 hour drive to see a car that had great potential.  But after driving it, feeling something wrong in the handling, and then confirming that by seeing the inspection report with a torn bushing, I had to walk away.  So we drove back.  But had a good day overall.

The car quest continues.

I did see a one with good potential.  Sent a message and hope to hear back that I can take a look this weekend.

It's been a long day and I'm tired and looking forward to some sleep.

We are well.  I hope you are too.

Thursday - Day 136

Another good night, woke up with the alarm.

Work this morning was good.

The insurance guy spent less than 3 minutes here to take a photo.  Apparently it is because some people claimed buildings burned in the last fires that didn't exist, so they do a routine inventory.

The search for a car continues.  

I had a video appointment with my doctor this afternoon.  No matter what we have to talk about, I always enjoy talking with her.  She's a kind, funny, real, and helpful person.  I taught her a few things about herbs and a new vitamin supplement, and she taught me a few things about COVID and testing.  It's a good partnership.

A quiet evening and potentially a big day tomorrow.

We are well.  I hope you are too.

Wednesday - Day 135

I overslept this morning.  Slept okay though.

Juggled work and searching for a car all day.

Even though we're mostly talking about vehicles, it is a nice bonus to be able to speak with my folks more often.

But I am tired and feeling bummed out about how hard this is.

Otherwise, we are well.  I hope you are too.

Tuesday - Day 134

I overslept, despite Oliver walking rings around my bed and over my head, meowing.

I fed him what I discovered is the last of his food.  I ordered cat food online and will pick up when we go to get the car today.

The website for this blog has changed its format so it looks a little weird to me today.  I'm not sure it's better but it's not horribly worse.

Monday - Day 133

A good night's sleep last night.

I had a lot of work on the phone this morning.  Not my favorite thing.  But I did get a lot accomplished.

My car is probably not repairable so the quest is on to find a replacement.  I pick it up tomorrow to drive it a bit and see if we can figure out what's wrong.  The diagnostic is not coming up properly.  Stupid computerized cars.

It was a quiet evening and I lost track of time.

We are well.  I hope you are too.

Sunday - Day 132

I went to bed real late last night but was able to make up most of it by sleeping in a little.

I forgot to mention we received a card from our vet yesterday with what appears to be a hand-drawn rendering of Lily, complete with her purple collar.  It is quite special.  Bex and I went back and forth on whether it was made for us and then I said, "Who else puts collars on goats?"

I did some work around the house today, a little bit of transcription.  Still looking forward to time in the kitchen.

We are well.  I hope you are too.

Saturday - Day 131

I slept a little later but not too bad for the critters.  The best sleep I've had all week.

The garden is coming along well.  I'm watching the seeds I planted and am trying to be patient.  Most will take 2-3 weeks to germinate.

I transcribed then relaxed for a while.  Bex left her wallet in my car at the auto shop so I went with her to pick it up and to pick up groceries from Jess.  Also picked some pears from the tree in Jess' backyard.

I finished my transcription and spent some time with Bex.  It's been a long day.

We are well.  I hope you are too.

Finally Friday - Day 130

The cat woke me again before the alarm by circling me on the bed, including walking above my head, until I got up to fill his food dish.

There were new visitors on the DrivewayCam last night.

Work this morning.  I called the mechanic to make arrangements to drop off the Equinox.  Hoping that the damage is not too bad.

Got it to the mechanic and he plugged it into the reader.  Told me there are three codes, none of which are the one that I found yesterday with the cylinder misfire.  And the car wasn't giving me the same trouble on the drive down, either, so it seems intermittent.  So frustrating.  I'm hopeful the mechanic can figure it out and that it doesn't cost too much.

No word on the car today but hopefully good news tomorrow.

We are well.  I hope you are too.

Thursday - Day 129

The cat is worse than the alarm clock.  He walks around me and above my head a half hour before the alarm goes off.  He wants his food dish filled.

Work and Bex and I took a drive to run errands, including bringing Lily's ashes home.

When I started the car to drive down to the mailbox later, it has an intermittent rough idle at lower speeds than it has been.  Used to be it would do that at 40-45 mph.  I was going to call a mechanic today but it's late and will have to do it tomorrow.

I planted some seeds for herbs.  I need to figure out how and where to plant the flowers for pollinators.

I searched for new crochet patterns and experimented with a couple while I wait for my yarn order.

We are well.  I hope you are too.

Wednesday - Day 128

I slept okay last night.  Not so great but not as bad as the previous two nights.

The mornings have been nice and cool this week with afternoons in the 80s.  I'm looking forward to another mild day.  It would sure be nice if this just continued.

I went to the local feed store to pick up some hay.  They still have seedlings in pots that look like they are starting to die.  I'm not sure what they are going to do with them.  I haven't asked yet.

It was a pretty quiet afternoon, just trying to stay focused on work.  Oliver stayed out past his curfew so Bex and I needed to call for him about 10pm.  It took a long while for him to show up, and then he came crawling out from under the deck.  I have a feeling he was napping.

I worked a little on creating a pattern for a project I want to make.  It was time consuming and a little frustrating but I think I figured it out.  Often simpler is better.  Especially in crochet.

Looking forward to the weekend and hoping the rest of the week is easy.

We are well.  I hope you are too.

Tuesday - Day 127

Another rough night but I got up with the alarm.

Work was busy this morning.  AT&T notified me their tech was on the way.  A day before my appointment, which was cool.

It took them a while to figure it out.  One short in a line, and another was broken, so they repaired, then replaced a line and box.  Subscribing to the line protection helps.  No charge.

The only issue was yellowjackets got a little riled up.  In the midst of addressing that, I discovered Loretta has been infested with at least one nest in her boot again.  I didn't check this spring.  Now I'll need to carefully open all the doors and check/spray.

The afternoon was uneventful and I got some work done.  I worked on the new crochet project again this evening and lost track of time again.  It is quite enjoyable and nice to tune out.  I discovered by accident that when I have the stitch counter open, it blocks most notifications. 

We are doing well at the ranch.  I hope you are too.

Monday - Day 126

I slept like crap last night!  My sleep tracker told me I'd gotten 3 hours of sleep when I was awakened 2.5 hours after my alarm by my coworker calling me.

Thankfully I felt okay once I got my feet on the floor.

After some work stuff I had to focus on the stupid WiFi issues again.  But I finally figured it all out and the rep was good.  They have all been good on the phone, it's just getting TO them.

Work today and not enough play.  I had a hard time getting my head around it.

I did enjoy a brief visit with Tamily when they came by so we could exchange pie for hops flowers and catch up a little bit in person.  They were able to gather more blackberries too.  There are tons.

While I was in the garden this afternoon I captured this shot of the bougainvillea that I rescued from St. Dorothy's last year.  It is blooming beautifully.  The fuchsias I rescued are not blooming but are getting plenty of healthy green leaves finally.  Here's a photo of the bougainvillea in bloom.

I put the cameras out a little earlier tonight.  Then I went down to put the garbage cans out on the street.  And saw the rear bumper cam from my car on the driveway on my way back up!!!  I'm really glad that it didn't roll off into nowhere like my favorite coffee cup did years ago when I forgot it on top of the truck.  Luckily it's a sturdy little thing built for the outdoors and everything is intact.  I'll check the video tomorrow morning to see if I can catch the ride.

It was a quiet night crocheting and I lost track of time. 

Bex is feeling better today, so we are all well.  I hope you are too.

Sunday - Day 125

Slept okay again last night.

I transcribed in the morning after a late start.  Not a lot of energy again today.  I stared at my face in the mirror when I got up and wondered what the fuck life is about anymore.  It's not even really about the pandemic at this point.  It's feeling stuck in projects in my home and like I don't have the time or energy to do what I want to.  I know I'll get past the feeling.

Jess ordered groceries and I got everything together to head down to pick them up and to pick some pears from her trees.  But my car wouldn't start.  Dead battery.  There are no vehicles powerful enough to jump it here so I called for roadside assistance to come jump start it.  But I'm having trouble receiving text messages from USAA and have no idea why. 

This afternoon shaped up to be very frustrating and I was pushing back tears again.

Two hours and 15 minutes for the jump start to get here.  I need to figure out how to get one of those thingamajigs he pulled out of the back of the van.  My car started right up. 

I made Sonoma chicken salad for a light dinner and it was good.  Summertime food I don't get often.

Bex ate something that disagreed with her and is not feeling so hot.  No fever.  Other than that, we are well.  I hope you are too.

Saturday - Day 124

I love waking when I want to on the weekend.  It wasn't too much later than I normally set my alarm for, but it's easier.

The garden is coming along well.  These are Sriracha peppers.  My Habaneros aren't doing so well this year.

Bex got up on time so we could easily make it down to the store to fix the WiFi issue.  We preordered Starbucks to pick up on the way.  It seems that the WiFi is fixed.  We shall see. 

We stopped at Westside Farmstand before coming home and picked up more flowers, and some corn, jalapenos, peaches, and honey.

My box from Mountain Rose Herbs finally arrived today!  I have packets of seeds, some hops to make tea, and a nice strainer that is a little bigger than the one I've been using.  I've used it today already.

I need to get my elderberry flower/lemon elixir finished now that the steeping part is done. 

Something knocked over the camera in the back yard.  I had it propped on a tripod on top of an overturned half wine barrel, and one of the legs had fallen into one of the holes drilled in the bottom (it was a planter).  Whatever it was did a stealth knock-over, so the camera didn't catch anything but treetops.  The stealthcam doesn't capture anything overnight, all I see is myself when I go to the chicken coop in the morning.  I'll need to doublecheck settings in case I'm missing anything.   I did get a visit from my squirrel friend again this morning.  I slowed the video down a little because he moves out of the frame really quickly.

I made peach salsa using the peaches and jalapenos from the farmstand.  It is delicious!  I also enjoyed some of the hops tea with lemon.  I tried sweetening it a little with stevia, but I still don't like the taste of stevia.  I'll try a little honey next time if I think it needs it.

Hoping for some down time tomorrow to make product.  It's been tough to find the space/time when we are cooking food to eat more.

We are well.  I hope you are too.

Friday - Day 123

I woke up with the alarm and felt okay.  Still kinda low energy and hard to focus.

Wifi reared its ugly head immediately.  I have wasted too much time on this issue this week.

I slogged as best I could through work. 

While on hold with wifi provider, I finished a video I've been working on for a while.

Then, after the call getting dropped Bex and I decided to drive down to the store and get a live person to figure this out.

There was one person and one employee in the store when we arrived.  We waited at a good distance patiently.  A half hour.  Anther couple came in behind us an waited at the other end of the store.  My issue was taking a half hour and the rep hit a snag.  Rather than have us wait longer, he suggested we return in the morning.

Damn.

On the way home, Bex and I picked up Mexican food to go and decided that we wanted margaritas as well.  They were delicious.

Smartest way to deliver to go cocktails I've seen yet.

We are tired and frustrated, a teensy bit tipsy, but are well.  I hope you are well too.

Thursday - Day 122

I turned off the alarm and slept LONG this morning.  Way too long.

I did some work, took a break, cut up the Tuscan melon Bex was able to find for me, and started some meloncello.  I ate some of course, and there's another melon dedicated just to munching.

I transplanted the last tomatillo plant this morning and put a cage around one of the tomato plants that's getting big fast.

This guy showed up on the camera from this morning.

I feel kind of fuzzy today so it's a good thing most of work was slow.

We were able to resolve the wifi issue but damn, that was a pain in the butt.

These guys/gals showed up this evening.

The mild weather the last couple of days has been a relief.  Yesterday my new thermometers for the house showed us indoors at no more than 84 in the hottest room.  Today is was a couple degrees lower, very comfortable.  The nights get chilly fast on these days but that's okay.

We are well.  I hope you are too.

Wednesday - Day 121 - Love My Kids Edition

I slept well again.

This morning's rounds in the garden and around the property while doing chores had me snapping a few photos.

The tomatoes are finally starting to come in.

And I love seeing the new flag I put up yesterday.

The kids and I had a bit of an adventure this evening.

My wifi was giving me tons of trouble today.  In the midst of the aggravation, I turned wifi off on my phone this afternoon so I would use cell data instead.  It was much faster today.

I finished work, did dishes, did chores, cleaned the bathroom, and then sat down, pooped, to check Facebook.  I saw that Mandi had tried to video call me using Messenger, which was strange, so I called to see what's up.  I dialed her number and my phone told me that I couldn't make calls unless I turned on wifi or turned off airplane mode.  I shrugged and was mildly irritated that I'd accidentally turned on airplane mode, then reached Mandi.  The first thing she asks is if I'm home and okay.  It turns out Bex had been trying to reach me.  She called Jess, who also couldn't reach me.  Jess called Mandi to see if she'd talked to me in the last couple hours.  By the time I was on the phone with Mandi, Jess was at the roundabout in Healdsburg on her way to check on me.  Mandi texted her sisters to let them know I was okay and it was just airplane mode.  Jess decided to come to the house anyway because she was almost here, and it was a nice bonus to be able to sit outside together with her and Cory and chat for a bit.

I never, ever let my phone die.  If it starts to get low, the kids can verify that I freak out and need to make sure that I am getting it charged.  I bring a charger with me everywhere I go.  So if my phone is going to voice mail for an hour, something is not right.  With my trip to the ER last week because I thought I might be having symptoms of stroke (I wasn't), I know they were more scared than usual.
I feel awful that they were so scared.  I also feel so grateful that Jess and Cory came out to make sure everything is okay.  I am truly grateful to be so loved and cared for.  I love these kids.

And I will be careful about airplane mode and will get the landline fixed.  I've put it off because getting AT&T out is a pain in the butt but I need that back-up phone.

We are well!  I hope you are too.

Tuesday - Day 120

I was awakened a half hour early but with good news.  I had been in a deep sleep so felt groggy for a while.  Lots of body aches this morning.

Work was busy but my mind wasn't on it.  I felt low and slow.

One benefit of having mint start to take over as ground cover in the back yard is that the house smells good when I come in after having walked in it, or the cat comes in having walked in it.  It doesn't suck.

It's been a slow day but we are well.  I hope you are too.

Monday - Day 119

Sleep is still better, though it was tough getting to sleep last night as the house was so damn hot.  I've ordered thermometers to put in the house so I can see just how damn hot it gets inside!

It was a work day.  Not too hot.  Tamily came by with a brush for the goats to rub against.  They liked it!  (The goats)  They also brought some tomatillo plants and tomato cages and fresh picked blueberries.  It was great to see them.  They were going to pick some blackberries on their way back down the driveway.  I later saw that they were able to pick quite a few.  It was a good start.

The goats really enjoy their new scratching post.

Music:  Rub a Dub by Matt Harris

It was a sad day but overall an okay one.  A hard anniversary for 30 years.

We are well.  I hope you are too.

Sunday - Day 118

I'm on a roll with sleeping well.  Let's hope that doesn't jinx it.

But after days and days of breathing fine, I was stressed about being able to get a full breath again today.  I am behind on a transcription deadline so maybe it is stress/anxiety.  Or maybe it's because I forgot to take my vitamins two days in a row.

I caught a skunk on the night camera that I placed on the bumper of my car.  Now I know it's actually working!

It was a hot day and we forgot to make dashboard cookies.  I had a ton of work to do today and need a break.  Not much of one this weekend.

We are pooped but the house is cooling.

We are well.  I hope you are too.

Saturday - Day 117

I slept really well last night and wanted to sleep more, but Oliver kept walking around my head and meowing, so I needed to get up to feed him.

Bella needs more flea meds and we can't get them without a new check-up, so we headed down to Windsor for her curbside appointment.  They didn't check her out at curbside, but picked her up and brought her in.  It took a while and the vet wants to do some work on her teeth, but it's hugely expensive.  I will treat her at home and save up.

Bella enjoyed the trip and we stopped at a couple of places on the way home so Bex could run in and grab some items quickly.  Then we went to Westside Farmstand before heading up our driveway to pick up some lemon cucumbers and a bouquet of bright flowers.  I highly recommend the drive out - it's pretty and the stand is a family affair with fresh produce and eggs available as well.

A quiet evening except for the coyotes who are very vocal the last two nights

We are well.  I hope you are too.

Friday - Day 116

Another good night's sleep.

Now that the baby birds are gone, I took a photo of the nest with a measuring tape to show how very small it is.

The interior of that nest is only two inches in diameter at its widest point!  My estimate is just over one inch in the other direction.

It got really hot again this afternoon and I took it as easy as possible.

Pasta salad with a lemon vinaigrette dressing and grilled chicken for dinner was really good.  I planned to cook all of the chicken in the air fryer but there was only room for two pieces, so I grilled the third on the Foreman grill.  All turned out good though the air fryer chicken was surprisingly good - golden without effort on the outside.

I'm looking forward to the weekend!

We are well.  I hope you are too.

Thursday - Day 115

Sleep continues to get better and better.

Work continues to be busy.

The birds continue to grow - this morning they were about ready to fall out of the nest!  So big!

When I checked again at 5:30 p.m., they were gone.  What a fun ride. 

It was light dinner tonight because it was so hot again today.

We are well.  I hope you are too.

Wednesday - Day 114

I slept better again last night!

Work was busy again today.  The baby birds are growing and every day I expect to see that they have flown away.

Bex and I worked in the bathroom installing a new shower head and corner shelving unit.  I'm soooo pleased with the high pressure shower stream!  Finally!  And the organization in the tub is so much better now.  It was really hot while we were working and both worked up a good sweat just in time to be able to open the windows for a nice cool breeze.

I was pretty pooped after dinner and went to bed earlier than usual.

We are well.  I hope you are too.

Tuesday - Day 113

I slept really well last night despite the heat and woke up with the alarm.

I had the follow-up doctor appointment this morning and it was determined that I do not have a pinched nerve in my neck, but likely carpal tunnel.  It's strange that it's in my left hand when I am right-handed, but lately I have been doing a lot of mouse work with my right hand and using my left to hit keyboard commands.  I'll get some information on how to treat it, will get a wrist brace, and start my anti-inflammatory herbal regimen again.

The baby birds seem to be getting used to my prying eyes (camera) and just look at me now like, "What now?  We're napping."  I'm fairly certain that half of them didn't make it.  The two I can see stuff that small nest to the point they're almost toppling out and I don't think four could have made it.  I gave up quite a while ago hoping they were all taking turns in the birdpile.

My hen, Blue, has become broody.  She's been in the preferred nesting box all day every day and I've only retrieved an egg every other day because she's not laying every day and isn't letting Barney in.  For some reason the other hens won't lay in the other box, even though it's bedded identically. 

It was another hot afternoon and Bex cooked dinner tonight.  We were both pretty tired earlier than usual.

We are well.  I hope you are too.

Monday - Day 112

I couldn't sleep last night.  I finally got up at 2:00 am for an hour then tried again.  I had work today so an alarm, and animals never take a vacation day, so the alarm was brutal.  I was groggy as hell.

I took care of the animals and checked on the baby birds.  I can only see two at a time now and they're getting really big.  I'm not sure what that means about the other two - are they hiding or ... something else? 

Once I got the first sip of coffee in me, I was off and running and totally focused until about 12:30 p.m., when my left arm and hand started to go numb again.  I'm beginning to figure out what is causing it.  I have a video appointment with the doctor tomorrow on this issue and will see what I can learn and do.

So I told my boss I was taking a break and going to the feed store.  Switch it up and start moving.  I called J on the way to see if he wanted to meet up so I could give him some mail and his belated birthday gifts.  Because the car is acting up at between 45 and 50 mph, I hesitated to go onto the freeway to my usual feed store in Santa Rosa.  When I thought it through, I recognized that the extra cost of getting hay 6 miles away at a small store was offset by almost exactly the cost of my gas to the Santa Rosa store.  So I headed to the small store and loaded up the hay.  I tried to find a shady spot to meet up with J but it was pretty close to noon and it was difficult to find. 

I think he liked the gifts I found for him.  Of course, guitarcentric.  :)  But he totally shocked and surprised and amazed me with what he found for my early birthday gift.  Because who knows what next month is going to look like?

Introducing ... Beyoncé.

And yes, I know that's a rooster.  There's nothing anywhere sayin' I can't name a rooster Beyoncé.  Just ask The Bloggess, whom I got the inspiration and hankering for a metal rooster from.  You can find the hilarious story here.

I think I found the perfect spot for Beyoncé, near the front door where I can see him every day.  He will probably spook the goats the first couple of times they walk by.

It got pretty hot this afternoon but it was still fun to get Beyoncé settled into his new home.  I hung out with Bex for a while while the house cooled down.

We are well.  I hope you are too.

Sunday - Day 111

I slept better last night.  Woke just a little after my alarm is typically set.

I did some transcription today and then took a short nap this afternoon. 

When I went outside this late today, I saw one of the baby birds had its head up peeking at me over the edge of the nest.  I took a step over there to fix the lattice that blew down in the wind and it ducked.  The video below shows two of them ducking a little as I get closer.  They are so cute!

I took it easy this evening.  It got pretty hot today and both Bex and I got mild headaches. 

We are well.  I hope you are too.

Saturday - Day 110 is 4th of July

I slept in and slept well except for waking with leg cramps.  My whole body hurt when I got up after yesterday's walking and exertion.

The water pressure was a little low this morning.  I have a feeling that when we turned the water on, some of the debris shook loose while the repair was made might have clogged the faucets a little.  I hate dealing with plumbing.  Everything seemed to be working out better by evening.

It was a very hot day and I worked at what I could but I was pretty tired today.   I took some time to relax in the hammock for a while and that helped.

I'm hoping for more energy tomorrow so I can do some things that have been on my list for a while.  I cannot believe the long weekend is almost over.

We are well.  I hope you are too.

Friday - Day 109

I woke up really early today without an alarm.  It was still dark out at 5:00 am, but I felt okay.  Oliver doesn't like it when I get up this early because he wants to go outside.  I make him wait until it's light enough that the foxes won't be roaming around.

The water came back on this morning after the main line was repaired.  But then I heard the leak in the back of the house.  So I quickly flushed and cleaned toilets, refilled water bottles, gave the garden a little water and a promise, filled the goat's water, and called the landlady while I walked up to manually turn of the water to our house.  She called her repair guy and I called a plumber I know to see who could come out first.  Her guy arrived at about 3pm and after he crawled under the house (not fun but thankfully no snakes!) we discovered that the leak was actually under the deck.  And conveniently under a trap door over an area that clearly had been half-assed repaired many times.  He was able to take a large section out and replace it with the proper pipe.  He didn't finish until about 8pm, and I was out and about all day, walking up and down the driveway to turn on and off the water.  I doubled my normal step count for the day.  I was beat by the time everything was done and that shower Felt So Good.

My landlady and I got to visit a little bit this afternoon and she brought down an extra wading pool she has so we can cool off on hot days.  She admired my face mask and I noticed hers was a paper one, so I offered her one.  She loves it - so much easier for her to use than the paper mask.

I was dozing watching a show with Bex after dinner.  It has been a long day.

We are well.  I hope you are too.

Thursday - Day 108 - WTF

I woke up way early after a fitful night of stressful thoughts and worries.

I sat down to work and clear my head.  Then noticed my left arm and hand felt a little numb.  I went through all the steps to check for stroke and everything seemed fine except for that annoyance.  It was harder to type with that hand too. 

I called for advice and was told to come to Emergency.  Ugh.

Bex dropped me at the door and parked to wait.  Everyone was really good about distance and I was being checked in pretty quickly.  After interview and assessment and checking everything out, the ER doc thought it might be a pinched nerve as I have some cervical issues.  My last x-rays were 13 years ago so they took neck x-rays.  They were able to rule out stroke.  There isn't much change from the last x-rays but there is a little more compression which could pinch a nerve.  They gave me steroids but I won't take them.  I have a follow-up appointment Tuesday to see what can be done.  In the meantime, I will do stretching and exercise and use natural anti-inflammatory treatment to see if that helps.  I just recently had a rebounder delivered that I'm going to set up outside to try to get some exercise that is easy on the joints.

I was back at home 3 1/2 hours after I noticed the symptom.  Pretty amazing for an emergency visit.

I stripped down and dropped my clothes in the laundry room before scrubbing down and putting on clean clothes.  I miss having a shower and hope the water issue will be resolved today.

The goats are still yelling at us when we step outside.  They want to know where Lily is.  Luna is the most vocal, and she was the one who "told on" Lily when she got out.

But they are better behaved too.  Still curious and try to get away with things but the rivalry between Salsa and Lily doesn't cause injuries. 

It looks like we'll have running water tomorrow.  I hope.

I got tired early.  It's been a long day.

We are well.  I hope you are too.

Wednesday - Day 107

My alarm didn't go off but I woke up at the right time. 

It was a busy work morning.

We still do not have water and now I am worried about a possible leak under the house.

I talked to Mom and Dad this morning.  I love being able to talk with them.

Right after I hung up the phone, I heard a loud noise outside and went out to investigate.  A helicopter was flying low right at the house and then turned around right over the house before heading off again.  I didn't recognize it - black with orange insignia/writing.

I had meant to call the vet this morning because Lily started dropping weight rapidly.  Time got away from me until I heard the other goats calling and knew Lily had escaped.   I offered her food and she wouldn't eat it. I sat down on the chair next to the milk stand and called the vet. Lily laid her head on my shoulder and let me stroke her neck and head. Those of you who know Lily know how amazing that is.

After speaking with the vet's office, I was going to let Lily roam until we had to go, but she seemed uncomfortable and I remembered that she typically gets out right away when I put her back in.  So I actually finally set up two cameras to find out how she escaped from the pen.  And then she didn't.  So she keeps her secret.

Dr. Klein was good enough to create room for us in her busy schedule today, and after Bex and I helped Lily into the back of the Equinox, we headed down to Windsor. I was so surprised and grateful to discover Samantha there to help us through. Sam is the daughter of an old friend I met in junior high school, who also happened to live next door to me in Novato when Jess was little.  From Dr. Klein's exam in the parking lot, it appears it was cancer that sped up Lily's demise.

The other goats started calling out as soon as I got home, and every time I stepped outside, they all stared at me like they were waiting for me to bring Lily back to them. It took a while for the herd to adjust to the loss of Imbri. This is a big hole in the herd and in my heart.

It's been a long day.

We are well.  I hope you are too.

Tuesday - Day 106

I woke up an hour before the alarm.  My sleep wasn't so good last night.

The breathing issue started again while I was struggling with the new camera.  The camera is not working properly.  I think it may be slow wifi but I had a hard time figuring out how to change the setting.  I shut the camera down and deleted the app until I feel more up to dealing with it.

Then soon after I noticed low water pressure and was going to text landlady.  I picked up my phone to do so and she texted me to ask if we're out of water.  That's not good.  So I filled what containers I could (not enough) and she checked the tank.  I started to cry.  I really need a break.

Landlady brought bottled water and said she'd found the source of the leak.  She hoped it would be fixed tomorrow but it's looking more like Thursday.  Being without running water during COVID?  SUCKS.  And there's nowhere we can go to do laundry or take showers, so we are roughing it.

I called a debris company to see about hauling away some big items and it was hugely expensive.  So I put a different plan in place.

The young cows are back, just babies really. 

Bex stopped this evening to say hello.  And got some unexpected attention!

The baby birds are getting bigger.  One was peeking over the edge of the nest tonight.

It's been a very long and stressful day and I'm looking forward to some sleep.

We are still well.  I hope you are too.