When It Rains...

First the deluge of November, which flooded the barn, followed by the first deep freeze, which burst the pipes in the barn, followed by the first little windstorm, which put the power out for two days, followed by the big windstorm, which put the power out for 5+ days, while the temperatures went back below freezing again and threatened to reburst the pipes.

Now we are expecting another little windstorm, which likely will put the power back out for a while - there are big trees hanging by a thread everywhere.

And now Scouty is getting worse, so keep your fingers crossed. She is on Day 3 of the spider bite, which has turned her udder hot and swollen. The farmer thinks this will be the worst day, because the bite mark has turned purple and is starting to drift apart. so we will see what the vet says.

If you get bit by a spider and can't get to the doctor right away, put a paste of meat tenderizer on it, or a paste of activated charcoal if you don't have tenderizer. Take some milk thistle extract to help your liver push the poisons out. The farmer's friend who knows everything says Day 3 is always the worst day for a bad spider bite.

Anyway, now would be a good time to count our blessings.

1. We are on Herron Road, which turned out to be about the hardest hit road on the peninsula. We have our power back, and our next door neighbor has power back, but everybody west of us (there are two miles of Herron Road west of us) is still out because there is so much repair to do. Big trees just about everywhere. And that includes everyone on Herron Island - they get their power from the end of Herron Road, where the ferry dock is.

2. We have a generator now.

3. The farmer thinks Scouty was bitten by a black widow. That sounds bad, but it is much better than a brown recluse.

4. I am still winning in the Goat-of-the-Year poll.