We’re having some drama on the farm this week. First, Cody came in Wednesday morning with a left front leg looking elephantine, so we had the vet out. Skin infection! Never seen this in all these years with horses. He got a very well-done leg wrap, antibiotics, anti-inflammatory, and thankfully Thursday morning the leg was about 65% better when we removed the wrap. By today when the vet came for acupuncture on Keil Bay and the Mystic kit-meow, Cody was about 90% better. So, we’ll keep rolling with his meds and I’m grateful this has resolved so quickly for him.
Good drama with the Big Handsome Bay: he is off all NSAIDs, had a great chiro adjustment last week, a great hoof trim yesterday, a great acupuncture today, and is now doing his big swinging panther walk again for the first time since last October. I am so happy I contacted a saddle fitter today to come and adjust his saddle JUST IN CASE there may be good days ahead to do some walking together in the arena. I also scheduled a saddle trial for a new dressage saddle for Cody. He can use the work, I can too, and we need a well-fitting saddle just for us.
Bee drama: my husband heroically moved the bait hive box with bees inside from the tree to its new location last night. This morning, in an unrelated event, Hegemone 1 swarmed and my son captured it on video. I would share it but there were some choice words being said as he watched this huge huge huge number of bees swirling through the air from the hive to the top of an adjacent tree where they still were last time I checked. It was quite a sight.
They’re way too high up to consider capturing, so this is my gift to the feral bee world. I hope they find a good place to live. They have super genetics!
This creates a brood break for the remaining Hegemone 1 colony which should effectively lower any varroa mite counts, and I’m now officially on the Tom Seeley method of beekeeping, which is one deep brood box plus one medium super for honey plus letting these swarms happen as the bees see fit.
And for the grand finale of November Hill drama, a pair of black snakes right below our honeybee watering stations, mating. So long, copperheads that may want to move in! We have a slither of black snakes coming soon!
Great news about Keil Bay! Good too that the meds worked so well for Cody. Seems like you’ll be back in the saddle soon!
ReplyDeleteI’d love to see the video, I’m not squeamish about choice words. Must have been an awesome sight. About those snakes...no thanks to snakes of any kind. Just terrified of them.
Thanks so much. It makes me really happy to think about saddles being ready and me sitting in them. :)))
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