NaBloPoMo - Day 11 - Sheep in the Mist

Some people may not know that we have sheep. Seven of them... which is 1 more than what we started out with... It was a kind of experiment.

My husband thought that we needed to make something of a hobby farm on our 25 acre property. We started off with goats, but after the first set was killed by a bear, and the second set ate his blueberry bushes one too many times, and then the youngest one died and broke my heart, we gave the two blueberry eaters we had left to a friend who had lots of bushes she really wanted eaten.

We then tried a cow.... and her calf... They were ok. Big beasts that I wanted to call Ham and Burger because, well, yeah, that was the point in raising them. I didn't want to get too involved knowing their time with us was going to be kinda short, but they didn't work out either because they got to like being around the house and wouldn't really go any where else to graze... plus, we had to start thinking about getting a bull, or bull stuff, or haul them to be with a bull... so they went to auction.

Then we got sheep.  Six of them. One ram and five ewes. Six turned into 14 as we had several sets of twins and a number of singles. Spring was amazing around the farm with all the little ones running around. Four ram lambs and four ewe lambs...

We knew the males were going to be sold, and one by one they were. Then came the ewe lambs. I picked my favorites and we sold a ewe lamb and an older ewe. Then our oldest sheep died. So now we have 7... trust me I've done the math a bunch of times...

Two of them are actually "on hold" for sale at the moment. So we'll be down to 5 but our ram Billy has been busy, so this spring will bring a whole bunch of new lambs... and the cycle of life will continue here on the farm...

The picture is from one of our trail cams as the sheep make their way around the property... ignore the date, I had to reset a bunch of the cameras and didn't reset the dates.

NaBloPoMo - Day 10 - Writer's Block

So I was going to be writing this month for the #WriterInMotion challenge.

The picture above was given for inspiration.

A first draft was due 11/08, but I didn't get a story done in that time...

In fact, I got about 4 paragraphs done and then I had nothing...

I had a number of thoughts about this picture...

I heard some interesting ideas during one group discussion that I participated in.

I thought I could totally write something original...

but the words aren't coming.

I thought maybe this post I would share my few paragraphs with you and see what you think...

Maybe I'll be inspired to keep writing and share that during the next round due in about a week...

Here goes... don't be afraid to be brutal... I've been a surgery intern... I can take it... 

WIM:

Mariana ran as fast as she could through the darkened alleyway.  She stopped just before the cross street and leaned up against the wall catching her breath before daring to continue. Looking down at the flare she held in her hand she got a rush of confidence and took a deep breath before slowly glancing out to the street.

To her right, cars burned in the distance and the crowd seemed to have moved on. Looking to the left she saw an empty street made darker by several broken street lamps. Straight ahead, the unlit alley looked like a cave as it passed between several more of the downtown buildings. Mariana knew that to get to the fort she should go to the right, but she was trying to avoid the Civil Guards who were sweeping through the city herding everyone to the eastern end of town. She had a decision to make.

She crouched and eased onto the sidewalk and was about to take a step out onto the street to get a better view when to her left she heard a shout, “Hey you! Get over here!” She turned to see a couple of Civil Guards in their signature tan and red-trimmed uniforms holding automatic rifles heading toward her. Her decision was made for her. She quickly pulled the hood of her black shawl over her head and ran straight ahead into the darkness.

The expected gun shots never happened. Mariana dared initially to run right down the middle of the near pitch black alleyway hoping to avoid hitting or tripping over anything. God, it seemed to go on forever. She stopped when she finally started to be able to differentiate larger shapes in the gloom. She tucked behind a garbage bin trying to calm her breathing and listened for any sounds.

The night was strangely quiet given the activity happening now south and east of her. The flare gave her some comfort; almost like a totem that would carry her to safety. She wished she could light it to help guide her through the streets, but she needed it for later. For now, she had to continue on her mission.

Before moving again, she listened long and hard: no footsteps, no voices, no more gunshots. Mariana felt safe enough to leave her resting spot and continued on down the alleyway, now staying more along the walls and in the shadows of the increasing light from the next cross street. Once again she slowed down as she got closer to the end of the alley way and then slinked along the wall on her right before stopping to rest just before the intersection.

NaBloPoMo - Day 9 - The 7th Monthiversary

It's still sitting in the freezer...

I can't bring myself to open it.

It's the last jar of salsa my mother made.

I love Momma's salsa.

And this time she made it at my house,

and I watched her make it.

Maybe I can make it myself...

Maybe one day I'll try.

Momma would make salsa while I was in med school,

and then I would carry the jars back to Wisconsin with me...

of course, this was before 9/11...

After 9/11, I would freeze the jars and super wrap them

to make sure they didn't break in my suitcase.

My best friend Jennifer from medical school would always get a jar...

Momma made one just for her.

I know I've mentioned in the past how in Hispanic

culture there's a saying that your emotion while cooking flavored your food.

We always joked about how if a salsa was particularly spicy the cook

must have been angry when they made it...

Jennifer would always jokingly tell me to piss my mom off

before she made the salsa...

Jennifer likes her salsa extra spicy.

Momma would pour my salsa into jars and then add a little more heat

to Jennifer's... she knew she loved her salsa too.

I don't know when I will open this last jar...

but, I do know that when I do it will be very special.

It'll be the last time I taste something she made

in her own special way...

I miss my Momma...

NaBloPoMo - Day 8 - Sunday Mornings

It's been a while since I've posted about my dogs...

Dixie and Dillon.

We've been going for the "Dog Walk" 

on Sunday mornings after breakfast...

The dogs look forward to it and are excited to jump

into the car and get going...

And going and going...

They love to run and they love playing in the water...

I can't get a lot pictures of them swimming because 

there's too much sand on my hands,

but they both love to do it...

Beach days lead to wet sloppy happy dogs...

NaBloPoMo - Day 7 - Ink on the Water... Color

So a couple of posts ago, I shared some of my drawings from #inktober on Instagram.

Today I thought I would share some of my watercolor and ink submissions...

Hubby thought that my drawings were "boring" because they weren't

as colorful as some of the others that people were posting...

So, I brought out my watercolors and gave them some color...

enjoy!

I've alway loved cheetahs... in fact, one of my bucket list items is to pet a cheetah...

Still waiting to pet that cheetah...

I also have a fascination with carousel horses...

I've done a couple of different sketches and studies about these two,

I like how this turned out...

I like this one too... 

I know it's a little cartoony, but I always loved this story.

You say, "catch"

I say, "fish"

This was my final drawing for this year's #inktober

It's based off of a photo I took when I was in college.

Hope you liked these... 

It's actually inspired me to draw more...

Maybe I'll continue to share them here...

NaBloPoMo - Day 6 - Yeah, That's Not How That Works

I was looking back at some of my old postings, and it seems I've never written about my work on a television show... I met a fellow ED doc a couple of years ago who was the medical consultant on a TV show called "The Night Shift." I got to work with him for a week, learning what it takes to put a TV show together and get the medicine right...

I worked with the supporting actors and went through the scene showing them how to hold surgical instruments, put on sterile gloves, checked the make-up for realism, etc... I met one of the cinematographers who showed me the awesome cameras they use to film the scenes. I talked to stuntmen and got to see things get blown up. It was an incredible week.

I don't know how judgmental you are when you watch television, but you need those medical consultants or else you end up with scenes like this...

Now, if you have any medical training, you would recognize this as a BVM (bag valve mask) which is used by paramedics and us to deliver oxygen. That tube it's connected to...? That's an ETT (endotracheal tube) or breathing tube which is usually used when someone has to be put on a ventilator because they can't breathe on their own.

In this scene from "The Blacklist" a couple of presumed surgeons are sticking the breathing tube into the side of the patient's chest and using the BVM as the reservoir for the blood they are draining out of it... yeah, that's totally not how that works. They really could have used a medical consultant because any doctor knows that that's not the equipment you use when you need to drain blood from someone's chest.  Heck, anybody who's been in a trauma, had a collapsed lung or open heart surgery knows that's not the equipment you use...

And that's why this scene is currently making the rounds on my medical doctor sites on Twitter and Facebook... so we can laugh at them... and make me miss being back on set... showing them how to do things the right way... 

NaBloPoMo - Day 5 - Mad Drawing Skills

Last month I participated in #inktober which was on Instagram.

I have posted some of my artwork on this blog from time to time,

and I mentioned that art has been cathartic in helping me get over

the death of my mother.

A lot of this month was a little bit of both...

There was a list of prompts, so every day you tried to draw something

based on the daily word...

I'm sharing a few of the 31 drawings

which are my favorites...

This was my drawing for treasure:

What's cooler than finding a pearl in an oyster...?

I think of turtles as wise... ancient.

This is immediately what came to mind when I read the prompt.

Frail - like a tiny almost weightless hummingbird...

Sling... I had a little fun with this one...

it's going to be a fun ride...!

Finally, given that it was close to Dia de los Muertos,

I had to honor my mother by making a virtual ofrenda instead of

a true altar in my home...

Her favorite foods are there: pan dulce, pears, a glass of wine...

We honor the dead and their memory, and I truly

hope she is enjoying that glass of wine across that marigold-covered bridge...