War stories, offspring updates

I am finding that knee surgery is a little like pregnancy. At least, it would seem so with Mama. As she has gone through the two MRIs very recently, and as she considers her options for relieving the constant worsening pain in both knees, it turns out that there are three women at our church that have gone through similar experiences to what Mama is now dealing with. There are several more that have had a daughter, a mother or a close friend who has had to make the same decisions as Mama will soon be required to make. Mama has listened attentively to every side of the argument -every good report as well as every horrifying report. I myself know someone personally who lost his wife when she died on the operating table during knee replacement surgery.

It is not a 100% guarantee of success either. Whether Mama chooses the scope and repair or the full knee replacement there will be risks to consider. Costs to consider.  So, over the next several weeks we will listen to more stories, build a reserve of information and talk to at least one doctor, possibly two. Then Mama will decide – unless the doctor makes the decision for her. I have heard about some pretty amazing results from stem cell therapy, but don’t know how to pursue it. Or if we should. We’ll see what the doctor says before we make any commitments. The bottom line is that something needs to be done soon. Some type of surgery is a must - and a major weight loss program.

We still have three pups left and the calls have slowed way down. Mama enlisted the help of a friend – the mother of one of the kids at the school – to repost the puppies to see if we could generate some response. Well, last night she did get a call, but not about the pups. A man called to see if we would be willing to breed Kobe to his full-blooded Akita. He would take the pick of the litter as payment for the service of his sire. I am not sure how that got put into the mix, but it was an interesting turn of events. As he and Mama talked he said something that reinforced with me that he actually knows what he is talking about. He said, “I love the Akita breed, but boy do I hate the shedding.” Amen to that.

Two of the kid goats are going to be great pets. They love attention. They love to be petted and handled. One of the two is our little girl, Aspen. The other is one of the little bucklings, Patrick. It is a lot of fun to spend a few minutes with them each day. Both of the two are very high in the Myotonic index – or whatever it is called. Yesterday, as I entered the lot to feed them, I must have caused a loud enough noise that Patrick stiffened and fell over. He had to lay there bleating for a few minutes before he could get up and run to his mommy. No matter how often I witness that, it is still amusing. That trait certainly makes them easier to catch when needed. Still no bites on selling the little bucklings. I will re-advertise them on Monday.

Meanwhile, two of the Dwarf Nubian goats are looking like they will deliver in the next couple weeks. Sugar Baby and Mrs. Stubbs are “uddering up.” That is the only way to know if a goat is going to have kids. Their udder starts to swell as it slowly fills with milk in preparation for the delivery. Mama and I are expecting at least twins from each nanny. Time will tell. These will be babies from one of the bucks that Millie bore to us last year, Samson. He has since gone on to our Chinese friends for processing. Mama does not like to talk about that.

We are getting rain today. We certainly need it.