In May, the deer hunter and I officially moved in together. Of course it took me until almost July to clean out my house and rent it, but by May we were staying only at the farm. The cats were the first to make the move, Bella, Tater, and Yaz could not have been more happy. They gained a freedom they didn't know before and loved every minute of it. Tater is quite the hunter, which is not surprising; we lost Bella in July, we think to a coyote, very sad; and Yaz moved back to NY in July, but before his big move, Yaz also did he fair share of the hunting.
The farm, as I like to call it, is not really a farm. I mean we own 4 acres of land and our house is an old farm house, but most would not call it a farm. I guess I would say it's our farm. Our neighbors are cows in a pasture, and the closest humans are about 1/2 mile away. Rural is the name of the game.
To add to our farm life, we own 7 chickens, 2 ducks, and 2 guinea hens. The chickens we have had for about a year now, growing them since they were just baby chicks. Now, they are beautiful hens, who lay beautiful eggs for us. They are named after the princesses of England- Catherine, Grace, and Margaret- Marilyn Monroe, Lady Gaga, Madonna, and Betty White. A variety of names. The eggs are a great benefit, a farm fresh egg cannot be beat, ever.
The ducks were a gift from the deer hunter's parents. They dropped them off on our back porch one day, so they are named Bill and Leona in honor of her parents. The Leona has recently started laying eggs, and has found a nesting spot. We are trying our best to prevent her from setting on them, we don't want more ducks.
Our life on the farm is amazing and something that I look forward to going home to each night. The weekends are full of collecting wood, tending to the chickens, garden, and anything else we feel like doing. It's a life one can only imagine, one that I can't get enough of.
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
A Year Ago...or so
Today on my way home from work, I was thinking about how it was the last day of January and how fast it went by. My thoughts drifted to what was happening last year at this time. I was interviewing for my current position, trying to figure how the deer hunter and I could live together if I didn't get the new job, and my grandmother.
A year ago, my grandma was given the ultimate death sentence. She had been battling colon cancer for more than a year. Lots of treatments, tests, everything you can do to fight the big C. She went for her appointment, the appointment in which her doctor gave up on her, and her fight. The appointment ended in the doctor recommending her to hospice. The end was near, as far as he was concerned. The tumors were growing and growing in new places, the radiation wasn't working, and just making grandma more sick. So, he put an end to it. The hospice nurse would come as often as grandma wanted, to help make things more comfortable for her. It meant that we would lose her soon.
The last time our family had to interact with hospice was for my aunt. My grandma's only daughter. Ellen's fight was not long, not the second time around. We lost her 20 years ago, and this was on all of our minds as we processed this information about grandma. The nurse came, visited with grandma and set up a schedule.
If you don't know my grandma, she is a fighter, strong, and amazing. It was hard to believe she wouldn't make it to Christmas or her 85th birthday. I was angry and sad, not ready to lose her. How could any doctor recommend hospice for her? It couldn't be possible. The nurse visited grandma once a week for three months.
In that time, the nurse could not believe she was needed. Grandma was dancing twice a week, shopping on Friday nights, and making all her own meals. She was grocery shopping, going to her weekly hair appointment, and driving herself. The nurse did not understand why any doctor would recommend hospice for my grandma. The nurse called the doctor and told him that she was not needed. He had my grandmother come in and see him.
After that appointment, he cancelled the hospice. He told grandma she would need to come in and see him once a month for check ins. It's been a year....my grandma made it to Christmas, and her 85th birthday. She is still here. Still dancing twice a week, shopping, and doing those things that make her happy. So, on my way home today, I thought about grandma and how very lucky we are that she is beating that death sentence.
UPDATE 2/7: It's ironic that I wrote this post and then received a call from my dad a few days later. Grandma had pneumonia back in October, which put her in the hospital for almost a month. Her recovery has been slow, but she has been doing pretty good. This week, she thought that the pneumonia was back, so she saw her general practitioner, who sent her to the oncologist. Her kidneys are shutting down and her lungs are pushing on them. He called hospice and put her back on. For now we are taking day to day. She is still home and "fine" just moving a little more slowly then she is used to. If you pray- she could use it. If you don't, send her positive, good, full of life vibes.
A year ago, my grandma was given the ultimate death sentence. She had been battling colon cancer for more than a year. Lots of treatments, tests, everything you can do to fight the big C. She went for her appointment, the appointment in which her doctor gave up on her, and her fight. The appointment ended in the doctor recommending her to hospice. The end was near, as far as he was concerned. The tumors were growing and growing in new places, the radiation wasn't working, and just making grandma more sick. So, he put an end to it. The hospice nurse would come as often as grandma wanted, to help make things more comfortable for her. It meant that we would lose her soon.
The last time our family had to interact with hospice was for my aunt. My grandma's only daughter. Ellen's fight was not long, not the second time around. We lost her 20 years ago, and this was on all of our minds as we processed this information about grandma. The nurse came, visited with grandma and set up a schedule.
If you don't know my grandma, she is a fighter, strong, and amazing. It was hard to believe she wouldn't make it to Christmas or her 85th birthday. I was angry and sad, not ready to lose her. How could any doctor recommend hospice for her? It couldn't be possible. The nurse visited grandma once a week for three months.
In that time, the nurse could not believe she was needed. Grandma was dancing twice a week, shopping on Friday nights, and making all her own meals. She was grocery shopping, going to her weekly hair appointment, and driving herself. The nurse did not understand why any doctor would recommend hospice for my grandma. The nurse called the doctor and told him that she was not needed. He had my grandmother come in and see him.
After that appointment, he cancelled the hospice. He told grandma she would need to come in and see him once a month for check ins. It's been a year....my grandma made it to Christmas, and her 85th birthday. She is still here. Still dancing twice a week, shopping, and doing those things that make her happy. So, on my way home today, I thought about grandma and how very lucky we are that she is beating that death sentence.
UPDATE 2/7: It's ironic that I wrote this post and then received a call from my dad a few days later. Grandma had pneumonia back in October, which put her in the hospital for almost a month. Her recovery has been slow, but she has been doing pretty good. This week, she thought that the pneumonia was back, so she saw her general practitioner, who sent her to the oncologist. Her kidneys are shutting down and her lungs are pushing on them. He called hospice and put her back on. For now we are taking day to day. She is still home and "fine" just moving a little more slowly then she is used to. If you pray- she could use it. If you don't, send her positive, good, full of life vibes.
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