Five simple things

Hello.

Happy early holiday to you. Hope you have a wonderful holiday weekend planned for yourself and your loved ones. We are gearing up to make our annual cookies and overplay our Christmas vinyl and movies. There's nothing better than the 1947 version of  Miracle on 34th Street. We still have our fingers crossed for a little snow to fall, but nothing as of yet. Bummer. Maybe we will get a few flakes soon. As for this week we didn't really do much at all, but we did have a few things that are worth mentioning. And the talk around these parts lately is the Amtrak derailment. Having rail fans in our house we can't be anything other than sad. Ironically, we took an overnight trip to Seattle the weekend before and came back on the same route where the train came onto the road. The tracks were new, but the train was in its first trip-its inaugural trip for a new route from Portland, Oregon, to Seattle, Washington that would take 10 minutes off the old route. Positive Train Control (PTC) needs to be in place for all trains, no matter what. This Amtrak train did not have it and speed has been determined to be a factor. The cost of PTC is worth human lives and this derailment should be proof of that. It should be a must before any train is allowed to run, especially trains carrying passengers. I never understand why the safety of lives is ever gambled with. Hopefully, this derailment and loss of life will prove that PTC is a must on all trains. On a positive note, train travel is one of the safest means of getting from point A to point B and we see an Amtrak train through here every day. Not to mention the AERC tracks traveled many times daily that run behind the home we currently live in. Let's just hope that these three that lost their lives this close to the holidays didn't die in vain and PTC will become mandatory in the months to come.

So here are five simple things that made this week nice.

1. Winter Solstice.

We brought in Winter Solstice by making some ice lanterns. We are going to set them out in the next few days. As for right now, in the freezer they sit.

2. These two.

A not so rare moment. Oddly enough, Hardy seemed to be okay with it "this time."

3. This tree.

For the past 14 years we've taken a picture next to this tree each year it's decorated and this year is no exception.

4. Frosty morning.

We had quite a few chilly mornings lately and the morning of Winter Solstice it was 21 degrees out. Burr!

5. This reminder.

Just a little reminder, especially this time of year.

A few more things:

• Dinner plans?

• For the love of a duck.

• 40 pictures over 40 years..

• One thing we all want; More time.

• Plants are Magic

Final thought: The holidays can sometimes be a lonely time for a lot of people. No matter how many people you are gathered with remember those that aren't surrounded by love and be thankful you have what you have. Reach out to those that could use a warm cup of coffee on a cold night, or those that just need a little extra to get by, but are too humble to ask. The holidays are also a great time to mend fences. Ego and pride sometimes are the only things standing in the way of making things right with someone. Perhaps it's someone you have shunned in the past, or harsh words made fences? Be the humble one to make them feel important this holiday season. An "I'm sorry" goes a long way and the holidays are the perfect time to make that happen. Remember, you are never too important to be kind to someone else.

Have a great weekend and a wonderful holiday.

The loss of Rosey the Duck

Our hearts took another emotional blow with the loss of one of our ducklings. Rosey the Duck was a little bit of a late bloomer, but she was growing and developing with leaps and bounds and we had such high hopes for her. Her life was cut short by one flaw with her development, it wasn't ready. Her sweet personality and her loving nature weren't enough to slow the progress of nature. Her body wasn't developed enough to start laying eggs, but nature took its course and in the end it too its toll on her little body.


Rosey (L) and Happy (R) 

She had laid three eggs in the last three days before her passing. It isn't normal for this time of year, and her age-four months, but from what we learned, it can happen. Unfortunately for Rosey, her little body wasn't ready for this milestone. She has always been a little behind with development and was never where Happy was with foraging, or water play, so her laying eggs before Happy sort of surprised us. She ended up pushing too many eggs out in too short of time and caused her uterus to prolapse. It isn't a common issue, but it isn't unheard of either. Most of the time the prolapse is either pushed back in and the bird is kept separated in a dark, quiet area to slow egg production until she can heal completely. Well, with Rosey she kept trying to push and with her being abnormal to begin with and not fully developed, she cause small tears inside of her uterus, which lead to a hernia.

We immediately contacted Chintimini Wildlife Center in Corvallis, Oregon, and they told us to bring her in right away. Being that Rosey and Happy are mixed with wild mallard normal veterinarians won't look at them because they are considered a wild animal. Unfortunately, as we crossed the Willamette River Bridge into Corvallis, Rosey passed away. We were not expecting her to die, so we are all completely devastated. The veterinarian at Chintimini Wildlife Center said that Rosey's prolapse couldn't have be helped because her little body wasn't completely ready to produce eggs and her pushing so much caused too much trauma internally. I love that she produced three eggs before she passed and gave us such a fun three months. I hate that she was abnormal when she was born and not fully developed before her little body started the egg production. She always acted differently than Happy, but we loved her just the same. We take comfort in knowing that we gave her the greatest three months of her short life. She was such a neat and beautiful duck. Her breed is considered a Magpie with Mallard traces. We will miss her terribly. For now, we will love on her sister, Happy, and hope her egg-laying is successful.

Rosey's namesake came from a dog that The Mr. and I just adored. It was my parent's dog and she lived to be 17-Her name was Rosebud. She was timid and seemed to just go with the flow. She got startled easily and always sensed the bad in some people. She was a neat, little dog, and I always thought highly of her. She loved to be loved and knew the ones that loved her until her passing. I figured carrying on her name would be a great tribute for us to remember her by. Rosey lived the same way, timid, shy, easily started, and loved to be loved. It pains us to know that she didn't get to live that long with the namesake, but it gives us some comfort knowing she did get to live a fun four months with a lot of love from us, and develop her own little personality.

Rosey the Duck's first egg.

She was such a sweet little duckling from the start. Happy the Duck is so independent, but with Rosey we got to take care of something that really did need us. She was slow to progress and slow to learn, but she was such a delight. We had such hopes for her and we feel like her life was cut short by genetics. It's a confusing world we live in sometimes and with the loss of Baz this past September, another loss was too soon for our loving family. All we can do is be glad that we spent some time, even as short as it was, with a pretty cool little creature that made us laugh and smile every day, and enjoyed our family as much as we enjoyed her. 

"Rosey" the Duck- August 1, 2017-December 14, 2017

"It takes nothing away from a human to be kind to an animal."
―Joaquin Phoenix

"All animals deserve love, even a duck."
―S.B.W.


-If you are considering getting ducks, consider getting a Magpie/Mallard hybrid. Their personality and temperament are perfect for anyone. They work well with other animals and also get along with kids quite easily. They are vocal and love to talk.

-Please consider donating to the Chintimini Wildlife Center in Rosey the Duck's name. The wildlife center does great things for our local wildlife and it's all based on donations. Donating to the center in Rosey the Duck's name would mean a great deal to our family. Thank you!
-Donate here.