I thought that you might like to hear updates on some of the animals.

Tonka had five weeks off to recover from a muscle pull in his shoulder. I wasn’t in a rush. I’d rather use rest than drugs. He’s 100% sound now. My instructor has given me a good rule of thumb – for every week off due to injury, expect to take two weeks of riding work to get back to where you were. So, we have over two months to get back into shape. Lucky for both of us, this is the prime season for trail riding. No bugs. Cool temps. Good footing. We’re heading out tomorrow for a long walk in the woods.

(Here’s Tonka waiting for supper. As you can see, he hasn’t lost any of his gleam or vigor.)

 

Lily has adjusted to life with a painful and mostly useless rear leg joint. She’s still my shadow, but there’s a lot more lying down on the job. Much time is spent under my desk, where she gives herself permission to nap – not only is the leg injuring tiring, but she’s an old dog who needs to rest – so I’m glad to see her there (and hear her nose whistles.)

 

Lily also goes out on the porch, where she remains vigilant from her comfy bed.

 

So far, her other three legs are keeping her steady. I try to limit her activity so that they stay that way, but, well, she’s Lily.

The second day after the treatment with ivermectin, the bot fly larvae were vanquished and Caper’s nose was on the mend. He says that it’s all better and that soapy wet washcloths are no longer necessary. If you have a goat that likes to be cleaned up and fussed over, let me know about it. Mine don’t!

 

Twiggy took a one week break from laying. I thought she might molt, but she hasn’t. She’s back to leaving her large white eggs in the nesting box, however, now it’s every other day, not daily. Still, she appears fine and none of the Gems bother her. I still don’t know why the other flock turned on her.

 

Pearl, who molted early and dramatically, has grown in tight feathers (see along her back and base of her wing), which contrast with the fluffy older feathers that have yet to drop. I’ll continue to see the molt in members of the flock, at various stages, through November.

 

Lastly in this update is Jasper. She’s molted, but she’ll never look good. As a chick she encouraged the other hens to pick at and eat her tail feathers. Why is a mystery. This is why it’s so important to know your birds. To a visitor, she looks awful, but it’s normal for her. Jasper will never win a beauty contest, but she doesn’t care, and I won’t either.

Today is Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. Last night we celebrated by having a dinner with friends. I baked challah (the recipe is in

)

 

and there was juice squeezed from grapes from my vines.

 

The Jewish New Year arrives when the seasons change. It does feel as if the year is over. The ferns in the front woodland are fading.

 

There is a hint of yellow in the trees.

 

A few bright maple leaves float to the ground.

 

Although most flowers have died off, goldenrod sustains nectar-needing insects. (Look closely, there are two.)

 

As much as I don’t want summer to fade away, September and October are so gloriously beautiful that I don’t see this season as a dying back, rather it’s a thoughtful pause and time for rejuvenation.

Scooter is not so philosophical. He sprawls out in the hot sun, in denial of the winter to come.

Do not, when going into keeping farm animals in your backyard, underestimate the yuck factor. The many rah-rah boosters of sustainability and those who espouse the glories of raising your own food and composting waste downplay how untidy things really are. Chicken poop stinks. Goats, even small ones, pee… everywhere. Chickens have lice crawling on their skin. Animals shed and hair flies. Puddles in an animal pen are often nasty stews of muck.

Sometimes, you find things even yuckier than the usual day-today messiness.

There’s no break from the care. While I was in Italy, I left the critters under Steve’s capable hands. When I came home he said that Caper had cut his nose and that I should have a look.

 

I washed it with warm soapy water and dabbed it with

and determined that it wasn’t just a wound. I consulted a friend who is far more experienced with goats than I, and my suspicions were confirmed. Bot fly larvae, specific to goats and sheep, had burrowed under Caper’s skin. Yuck.

I consulted with my veterinarian who said that he didn’t appear to need a shot of penicillin, but that I should worm the goats with ivermectin. This anthelmintic comes in a paste form, in a syringe that you squirt into the goat’s mouth. Sorry, I have no photos, as I was squeezing and Steve was straddling Caper, (trying) to hold him still.

It’s not good to worm goats on a regular basis. Pasture management and keeping them healthy help to keep the parasite loads down. However, I do send fecal samples to the vet yearly to ensure that parasites haven’t gotten out of hand. Only once did we need to worm. So, it’s been a few years, and since Caper needed the ivermectin dose, I did Pip, too.

Caper’s nose is still swollen, but there’s no discharge and he isn’t rubbing it raw.

 

It is icky, but that’s the norm with animal keeping. There’s always something.

 

 

 

I’ll be spending a moment in silence this 9/11. I hope that you will, too.

The trip to Verona, Italy, started out with a nighttime flight across the Atlantic. Flying east, the light of dawn hit the airplane wing as we flew over Ireland.

 

I traveled to Verona with Karen Pryor for the TAGteach International World Summit. This conference was all about how to use the science of behavior and positive reinforcement in applications as diverse as earthquake safety training, to teaching modern dance, to improving the skills of call center employees. It was a week of intense conversations,  a hah! moments, making connections, and deep thought. But, because it was in Verona, Italy, there were plenty of distractions. Around every corner was something to see, which started for me at the door of the hotel, which was this ancient behemoth.

 

This was the Hotel Scalzi. The staff were superbly helpful, and the cappuccino in the morning (in a walled garden) was exactly what one should have to start the day in Verona.

 

The hotel also happened to be next to the best gelato store in Verona – Romana Gelato. I made it my mission to try every flavor. There were days when I had two cones (pre-lunch and after dinner.) But, I didn’t succeed in my quest because they frequently introduce new recipes!

 

The conference was right in the center of old Verona. Walking to the venue, I passed facades that were beautifully textured. These buildings, most centuries old, are still inhabited and used in normal, daily life.

 

There were, of course, fountains in plazas.

 

And there were bits of Roman walls that one could touch and walk through.

 

I’m not one that likes to tour cathedrals, but the San Lorenzo, a small church dating back to the 12th century was one of the most beautiful and peaceful spaces I’ve ever entered.

 

There was a castle with a bridge over the river.

 

Verona has a Roman amphitheater, which in September hosts opera. We had tickets for Aida, but they were the inexpensive seats, well up in the stands. You have to buy a cushion to make the 2,000 year old benches more comfortable.

 

There were 200 actors on stage and a complete orchestra. We stayed through Act II. The opera goes on until early morning hours.

 

Karen and I did go shoe shopping!

 

We had dinners with colleagues, and some on our own. Conversation centered on work and the conference. I was surprised that not all of the food was good, but a few meals were excellent. This was one.

 

At the conference, I was introduced to Michaela, who lives two-hours away in Parma. She invited Karen and I to get out of the city to meet her horses. It was supposed to be a not-so-difficult train ride. The first train was very nice. Karen and I settled into the journey.

 

But twenty minutes later we switched trains and boarded this. It was noisy, smelly and hot. There are always unexpected challenges when traveling!

 

Driving through the countryside and meeting Michaela’s horses (and spending hours discussing horse training theory) was worth it.

Her mare likes scratches. I found the sweet spot, as you can see in these two photos.

 

We were in Parma, so of course we had to stop at a cheese shop.

 

I didn’t go to Verona to sightsee. I went for the knowledge and inspiration that only these sorts of gatherings at conferences can provide. One night I had dinner with Dr. Susan Friedman and Karen Pryor, two indomitable women who have both changed the world in positive ways (and continue to do so.) The conversation ranged from how to train bumble bees to handling angry parrots to statistics. Susan and I talked at length about working with horses. What I garnered from these conversations, and from the seminars, is still percolating. I’ll be blogging about it in the months to come.

How lucky I was to have my head filled with thoughts in a place that looks like this!

While I’m in Verona, Italy (!) I’ll be sharing some of my most popular posts. The one that has had by far the most views is the FAQ, What To Feed Your Chickens.

Since January of this year it has been viewed 157,000 times. I take my responsibility for providing the most sensible, accurate and current information available seriously. I’ve recently rewritten this piece, so take a look if you haven’t read it for awhile.