It's been a while again. I've had a hard week. First my back went out, then I got the flu or something, and now I have a torn muscle in my leg and I am supposed to stay off of it. That's a tall order. I didn't see my brush goats for days, and I think they were worried that I had abandoned them. I hobbled out to see them on Tuesday, and we added another piece of fence so they would have something to work on until I'm better, but it looks like they will need more already.
We've been having some rain, which has been nice. The clouds have been pretty impressive.
On the way home from checking the goats the other day, I had to stop in the middle of the road to get this next one. It looks like a waterspout. It's just a really intense and apparently very localized rain storm.
The change in the weather has brought the slugs out from wherever they hide during the dry months. When I went up to feed the goats yesterday morning, I saw this beauty. I have never seen one this big!
Banana slugs are Oregon's state mollusk. I'm not sure they ever attained official status, but we love them nonetheless. Who wouldn't love this face?
This morning Farmer Dan called to tell me that the goats were all behind the barn, which meant that they had escaped their enclosure and gotten through a locked gate. I was skeptical, but concerned, so I went out to check on them earlier than usual. They were all exactly where they were supposed to be, so I'm not sure what he was talking about, unless the goats have learned some new skills they aren't telling me about. While I was doing my walk around their area, I got a nice shot of the farm house reflected in the slightly scummy slough.
After my anxieties about rogue goats were alleviated, I stopped by my friend Wanda's house to pick up some arnica to help with the torn muscle in my leg. While sitting on her deck, I happened to look up and this view caught my imagination. I'm not sure exactly why, but it did.
After running the necessary errands in town, I was on my way home when I looked in my rear view mirror and noticed that I had a hitchhiker on my back window. I kept my eye on him all the way home, and he was still there when I arrived, even though I go close to fifty on the back roads. He might have been a little traumatized by the time I pulled into my driveway, but he was still alive, so I'm hopeful he will pull through. Unless he's a terrible garden parasite that I just unwittingly unleashed onto the neighborhood, in which case I am very sorry.
I've only seen this kind of grasshopper once before, also this summer. If anybody knows what it is, I would love to know. They are very cool. They look more like plants than insects.
That's all I have tonight. I'm going to go put my leg up and try to look on the bright side.
That would have been a downburst, part of a dissipating thunderstorm.
Your grasshopper appears to be a katydid. I remember seeing them occasionally on our side of the hill, but not every year.
I hope your muscle heals quickly. Lemongrass is strangely good on muscle issues, so you might try rubbing a little of that in - carefully, mind!
As soon as you said katydid, my brain went "Duh!" Of course! I will have to try lemongrass. That's a good idea.
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We all have those moments - especially when we're hurting!
Thank you for giving me an out! Haha! My brain is not running at full capacity these days.
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Fast recovery for your leg!
Thank you! It will be hard to stay off of it!
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🤔I noticed you disappeared again.
@goat-girlz
I hope you have a fast recovery. Please, please try and rest..!! Take the best care of yourself.. and try and stay off that leg. I know easier said than done with all you have going.
Wow..!!! 😮
I have never seen a Banana slug and truly have never seen a slug that hugh ever. That's amazing.
Thank you! I am trying to rest, but it's a matter of degrees.
We have tons of banana slugs here but this one is the king, I think!
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Chin up GG, adversity makes us stronger. It's a bugger of a thing when it visits though. World famous galen-burgers and a fire-pit tonight at mine...Come over, we'll shoot the breeze, talk some shit.
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Oh, I so wish I could come hang out with you guys tonight! That would be epic! One of these days I will take you up on it.
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You better...Goat-friends are awesome! ✅
Edit: That slug, there's people here in Australia that would probably eat that - Not me of course, but some.
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Seriously? Gross! I have seen ducks eat slugs and it's one of the nastier spectacles I've seen. I can't imagine eating one.
Not my thing either.
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Oh! That’s why you were out of action on Steemit! I do hope your leg will heal very fast, arnica is very good for you!
I think your neighbour might have the first encounter of the Alien Goats tribe! They can fly through the air but because of bad eye-sight, they will be prone to crash into drones and chimneys!
It’s full moon yesterday! That’s why your were feeling a bit low. The sunshine will give you more energy to carry on looking after the goats!
Drink lots of herbal tea, some lemon juice with honey is good for your cold too.
Keep well and cheerful!
If goats can fly that does explain a lot of escapes! There have been many times that I've found them where they're not supposed to be and it can be a brain twisting exercise trying to figure out how they got there. Flying makes way more sense.
The cold/flu thing is over now but the leg is still causing a lot of trouble. I'm hoping the arnica does the trick soon.
Hahaha! Flying goats! Indeed you have hybrid goats with hidden DNA that can shift gravity for them!
Have you tried putting your leg in a pale of warm water?! Or you could put warm cloth over your injured leg, this will help with the swelling and loosen the tensed muscles!
Good luck and get well soon!
Ah, so that is why you haven't been posting. I hope you are feeling better now.
The clouds looked so low one can touch it.
Rest up and get well soon. 😊
I think I might have been able to touch the clouds if I had gotten up on the roof! I'm feeling much better, except for the leg.
Very good. Just take it easy for a few more days. Some injuries take a bit longer, and it is better to sit it out, than rush into things and make it worse.
Oh my, that looks like a man eating slug to me! I had no idea there were varieties that got that big. Watch your fingers now, don't want to lose one... :)
I'm sorry you are having a rough time. That torn muscles stuff is horrendous, I know. Best wishes for a speedy recovery, and that the grasshopper has a quick one too. Unless that means eating everything in your vegetable garden, in which case I agree with you, and will also retract my wish.
We have many, many slugs around here with all the rain, but I have never seen one that big. The banana slugs seem to stay out of the garden, so I just leave them alone. The nasty garden slugs get tossed to the ducks for immediate disposal.
Ah, banana slugs. I read a tale about them, involving disgusted chickens and delighted ducks.
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Absolutely true tale, I have no doubt! Ducks are great for slug control, but I have to keep them out of the garden or they trample everything. Those big feet...
A wonderful spot so full of nature stunning 💯🐒
Thank you! It is beautiful here!
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Hope you feel better soon. That's some big slug!
Thank you! If that slug gets any bigger, it will steal my car!
Hope you're gonna get better. Don't forget that rest is important. I see you have a lot to do around and it looks fun to do it!
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Thank you! Getting a little rest has been nice, but there is so much to do that I hope I'm back on my feet quickly!
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Thank you!
You need to rest more!! I hope you recover soon. Also I have never seen such a huge slug before! :|
I'm sure trying to rest, as much as that's possible! Maybe I can send you my slug and it can eat those invasive plants in your back yard!
Send me 20!!!!!
Oh @goat-girlz this is terrible news. Although it has many many downsides I'm sure that in other ways this injury will give you some valuable insights into your life. An opportunity to reflect on the good the bad and the ugly.
Don't forget to lean into the people you know and maybe even some you don't know so well. Your community might be there to help you in more ways than you know if given a chance.
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It has given me some insight in the sense that I feel my own frailty and I have a greater respect for the importance of having my body in working order. It's especially crucial since I have animals depending on me!
I have had a lot of help and support from my friends, including feeding the goats while I was down. Farming is not a solitary activity! Thank you for your kind words.
That doesn't sound like fun, having a back give out and torn muscle.
I've never seen a slug that big before. Wow! That thing is enormous! It looks hot dog size. That's a wonderful mental image: a slug in a hot dog bun. Ewwwww...
Are you sure those goats haven't learned how to fly?
I am so wishing I had thought of the hot dog bun in time for the photo shoot! That would have been hilarious! I will have to keep a bun in the freezer in case my mammoth slug shows up again.
I am not sure that the goats haven't learned to fly. They are wily even on their slowest days!
Ouch! I had to read back to see what was ailing your leg...
Rest well and speedy recovery to you....
That slug!! That's a slug? I thought it was a catfish! Lol...
Lovely shots of the clouds, farmhouse and sky... :)
Thank you! It's been slow going, especially since I can't rest it as much as I should.
That was a monster slug. It's so wet here that slugs are everywhere, but this one was huge even by Oregon standards! It does kind of look like a catfish. I will think of that every time I see one now! Ha ha.
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Now that I look at it again, it kinda looks like one of the pre-historic fish morphing to Man models... You're brave! I wouldn't have put my hand so near it - it might have great reflexes and bite my hand off or something... or poison my hand with some ultra toxic slime... or zap me with some radioactive green ooze.... :D See.... highly imaginative species, me....!
Well, heck! Now I have to think twice before I try to pet a banana slug! I think you're right, though. It does look like a prehistoric creature that could bite the head off of somebody. Your imagination is impressive but it might make me paranoid!
I missed these somehow. They're really great!
Thank you!!!
You're very welcome!