This and That Thursdays: Indoora World | Cottagecore Series on YouTube

If you are a fan of all things cozy and cottagecore, I encourage you to check out the YouTube vlog Indoora World | Cottagecore Series.  The creator of this vlog is a gentle soul with an amazing gift for storytelling.  Her current series, called "The Dandelion Pact", is set in the recent past and follows the lives of two young women who are brought together and inspired by the writings of their grandmothers who were lifelong friends.  Above you can watch the most recent episode of this series, but I think it is best to follow the story from the beginning.

The series follows the current seasons, starting in the summer, continuing into the autumn, and is now set in the winter with spring to follow soon.  Each episode is the epitome of slow and peaceful living, with many crafts and recipes shown in the most lovely cottagecore settings.  We also get to have snippets of both the grandmothers' diaries and the young ladies' letters to each other read to us in the most gentle and soothing of voices.

I look forward to every new episode just to find out more about the lives of both the young women and their grandmothers, and cannot wait to find out what happens to the younger ones as their friendship progresses.  Watch one of these videos and you too may find yourself becoming totally immersed in Indoora World, enchanted by the peaceful loveliness of each episode.  Below is the trailer for the very first episode of the series, and don't be surprised if this alone is enough draw you in to Indoora World!

On the Homefront: Remembering Nick (2000-2022)

Nick in his pasture in Georgia.

This post has been a long time in coming, but it has taken me a while to process the fact that my horse Nick passed away so suddenly.  I first met Nick when he was seven years old.  He was being boarded at a barn near where a friend I used to ride with lived.  His owner had not been able to ride him in over a year because she had been in a car accident, and he was the only horse at the barn.  He was a big, beautiful Tennessee Walking Horse, over 16 hands tall but very laid back and easy to handle.  Nick was a color known as rusty or sooty black, not a true black, because his color faded to almost bay in the summer sun (as you can tell from the two photos at the top and bottom of the post).  He had apparently been bred as a show horse, and was left as a stallion until he was five, but because of his easy-going personality he probably was not showy enough for competition.  This was a good thing, as the TWH show circuit is notorious for the cruel practices used to encourage a flashy gait, so he was able to avoid such treatment.  I liked him because he had a long, easy stride and just enough spirit to make him a fun ride, although his long stride did make him a bit clumsy on some of the more rugged trails we occasionally took.  We lived very close to a state park with some of the best riding trails in the state, and we were able to go for some good fun rides on a regular basis.

Of all the horses I have owned, I was able to ride Nick the most, and even bought and learned to pull a horse trailer short distances to get to the local parks with horse trails.  Nick was very easy to trailer, and was good with the vet and the farrier.  He was always easy to handle and got along well with most other horses, although because he had been left as a stallion for so long he could be unpredictable with other geldings (he always loved mares, though!).  Gaited horse are popular in Georgia, but I had never owned a gaited horse before and was not the best rider on them.  However, Nick and I managed well enough.  The one thing I always regretted was not taking a few lessons with someone who specialized in gaited horses - I think Nick and I could have done even better together if I had done so.

I was still caring for my old horse Bugs when I first got Nick, so I had to board him rather than have him on our property because I did not want him to bully Bugs, who was a rather submissive horse.  When Bugs passed away I was able to bring him to our place in Georgia, where he kept my little donkey Daisy company until she passed away.  I moved Nick out to New Mexico with me when we bought our house here, and I did intend to ride him here but the pandemic intervened and then I started to have joint issues so we never got to trail ride here.  I also wanted to get him a companion, either a donkey or another horse, but again the pandemic interfered with those plans, so once again he ended up being an only horse.  There were other horses in the neighborhood that he could hear and sometimes see and he did not seem to mind being alone, but I do wish I could have gotten him a companion.  He seemed to be doing fine here, but I sometimes wonder if he had some digestive issues all along, because he did have some problems adjusting to the hay available here in New Mexico, which was very different from the hay grown in the southeast.  Otherwise he was perfectly healthy, - he had only ever colicked once before the whole time I owned him, and that was only because he was slightly dehydrated.  Even the vet was surprised when Nick developed such a serious colic, and despite everything we tried, including surgery, we could not save my poor boy.

I was lucky to have Nick for fifteen years, and I hope he had a good life with me.  I doubt that I will ever have another riding horse, as my joints have reached the point where I can no longer ride comfortably, but I will always have fond memories of the times I got to trail ride with my wonderful Nick.  Even now I still can't quite believe he is gone, and I miss my sweet boy every day.

Nick in his barn in New Mexico.

Foodie Fridays: Pumpkin Lasagna

I finally have a new recipe to share, and it is incredibly delicious!  Before my dog Ruby got sick with pancreatitis, I always put canned pumpkin in her food at every meal.  Pancreatitis causes a marked loss of appetite, so I stopped adding the pumpkin in her food to make it more tempting for her.  As a result, I had eight cans of pumpkin purée just languishing in the pantry!  I have been looking for recipes that call for canned pumpkin but are not for baked goods.  I have already made pumpkin soup, but the recipe I found for Pumpkin Lasagna is so much tastier than mere soup.  The only change I made was to add some turkey sausage crumbles which I happened to have left over.  This is totally optional, but I think it really enhances the flavor as the sausage seasonings complement the pumpkin sauce so well.  If you too have an excess of canned pumpkin in your pantry (or even if you don't), you should give this recipe a try!

Pumpkin Lasagna

1 T. olive oil
1/2 lb. sliced fresh mushrooms
1 small onion, chopped
1 1/2 C. Jimmy Dean Turkey Sausage Crumbles (optional)
1 can (15 oz.) pumpkin purée
1/2 cup half 'n half
1 tsp. dried sage
1/4 tsp. salt
9 no-cook lasagna noodles
1 C. reduced-fat ricotta cheese
1 C. shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
3/4 C. shredded Parmesan cheese

Heat the olive oil in a small skillet over medium heat.  Sauté the mushrooms and onion until tender.  Add the sausage and heat through; set aside.  In a small bowl, combine the pumpkin, cream, sage, and salt.

Spread 1/2 C. pumpkin sauce in a greased 11x7-inch baking dish.  Top with 3 noodles.  Spread 1/2 C. pumpkin sauce to edges of noodles.  Top with half of mushroom mixture, 1/2 cup ricotta, 1/2 cup mozzarella, and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese.  Repeat layers.  Top with remaining noodles and sauce.  Cover with foil.

Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes.  Uncover and top with remaining Parmesan cheese.  Bake 10-15 minutes longer or until cheese is melted. Let stand for 10 minutes before cutting.  Serves 6.

Note: Cover unbaked lasagna to freeze. To use, partially thaw in refrigerator overnight. Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Preheat oven to 375°. Bake as directed, increasing time as necessary to heat through and for a thermometer inserted in center to read 165°.

On the Homefront: Nick (2000-2022)

Sad news on the homefront today - my wonderful horse Nick passed away very early yesterday morning.  He began colicking on Tuesday and I had the vet out, but Nick was still not well by the next morning so he was taken to the vet hospital.  They treated him and monitored him closely, but he took a turn for the worse late Wednesday night.  He was rushed into emergency surgery but he did not survive.  I will post a better memorial to Nick in a few days, but I am still a bit stunned by his sudden passing as he had been doing quite well with no obvious signs of poor health.  I will miss my beloved boy so much.

Terrifying Tuesdays: Sunless Solstice: Strange Christmas Tales for the Longest Nights

It has been quite a while since I have done a Terrifying Tuesday post, but I am one of those people who loves that old tradition of telling ghost stories around a roaring fire during the winter holiday season, and the book I am currently reading is perfect for evoking a supernatural chill on a long December evening.  Sunless Solstice: Strange Christmas Tales for the Longest Nights is an anthology edited by Lucy Evans and Tanya Kirk for the British Library Tales of the Weird series.  This collection features twelve stories set during the shortest days of the year, written by authors both well-known and obscure and originally published from 1893 to 1974.  Some are gentle tales while others are sinister, but each one sets just the right tone for a satisfying ghost story during this cold and dark time of the year.  If you too love a good ghost story I highly recommend checking out this book as well as others in the series - I think you will find them quite enjoyable in a spooky sort of way!

Current Events: Weird and Wonderful Wildlife

Image from Intrepid Travel

Today is World Wildlife Conservation Day, and a good day to bring attention to some interesting wildlife discoveries in the news recently.  Let's start with the weird, shall we?  Scientists have found that wolves in Yellowstone National Park who are infected with Toxmoplasma gondii, a parasite commonly found in cats which causes toxoplasmosis, tends to make them engage in riskier behavior.  They are 11 times more likely to leave the safety of their pack and strike off on their own, and 46 time more likely to become a pack leader!  Apparently the parasite enters the wolf host's brain and causes the behavior changes.  Since cats are the only hosts in which these parasites can complete their life cycle (all other species are essentially dead-end hosts where the parasites can survive but cannot reproduce) it is thought that this riskier behavior by their hosts may make them more likely to cross paths with feline species which can then possibly ingest the adult parasite, allowing them to complete their life cycle.  It is known that rodents infected with T. gondii seem to lose their fear of cats, making them easy prey for cats.  Even humans with toxoplasmosis can show behavioral changes (not to mention the fact that toxoplasmosis can on rare occasions lead to serious injury or even death).

Image from BBC

Also reported in the news recently is the wonderful rediscovery of a bird thought to be extinct for 140 years!  The Black-naped Pheasant-pigeon (Otidiphaps insularis), previously documented by scientists only once in 1882, was recently photographed by another team of scientists on the rugged island of Fergusson in Papua New Guinea.  This large, ground-dwelling pigeon lives in the rugged and almost inaccessible forests on the island which could be its last stronghold.  It is hoped that this new information will help in the preservation of the species, which is still considered to be extremely rare and endangered.  Take a look at the video recorded by the research team below:

 

These two stories are proof that we still have a lot to learn about the wildlife with whom we share this planet.  The information we gain from studying these species is invaluable for understanding the planet on which we all live as well as how environmental variables may affect us.  We would do well to protect our fellow species, as in doing so we may just be protecting ourselves.

On the Homefront: Be Careful if You Give Your Dog Fish Oil Supplements

Ruby seems comfortable now - her belly was shaved for an ultrasound.

Once again I have been MIA on by blog, but again it was for a good reason.  My old dog Ruby had a health issue relapse, and I have been working hard to get her back to good health.  Fortunately she does seem to be recovering, and I thought this would be a good time to let everyone know what has been happening and how I think we have finally figured out why she was getting sick.

In early October Ruby had a bout of severe pancreatitis, which required several days on IV fluids at the vet hospital.  She also developed a secondary abdominal infection which prolonged her stay and meant she had to be on two different types of antibiotics.  She has had slightly elevated liver values for a few years and is on a prescription low-fat diet, but the pancreatitis sent those values soaring and it took a while to get them to start coming down.

I brought her home and for a few weeks she seemed to be doing well, but in early November she had a relapse.  Of course this happened on a Sunday when her regular vet office is closed, so I had to rush her to an emergency vet 45 minutes away.  She spent the night there and they were afraid her gall bladder might rupture but fortunately she made it through the night and I transferred her to her regular vet.  There they did an ultrasound and decided that her gall bladder was not in danger of rupturing, but several of her blood values (liver, pancreas, and gall bladder) were even higher than the first time.  Once again she spent several days on IV fluids (the only treatment for pancreatitis is supportive care which cannot be given at home).  She finally came home the week before Thanksgiving, and she has been slowly but surely improving ever since.  In fact, she is pretty much back to normal now, although her blood values need to be checked again in a few days to see if they have come down more.

So why did she have the initial attack of pancreatitis, and why did it recur?  The vets could find no significant problems - they even did a liver biopsy to rule out cancer and the result was negative.  As I mentioned above, Ruby's liver values have been slightly elevated for a few years.  We found her as a stray and I am not sure but I think she may have been hit by a car before we found her - not a direct hit but a glancing blow.  She had a cracked molar on the right side which had to be removed, and has developed significant arthritis in her right elbow as she has aged.  The liver is on the right side of the body and any trauma to the liver is known to affect its function, which may be why her liver does not function completely normally.

With no obvious cause for the pancreatitis, I started to double check everything that Ruby ingests in a normal day - all foods, treats, medications, and supplements - and I began to suspect her fish oil supplement.  This was the most recent addition to her diet (she has only been on it for a few months), and was recommended by the vet as the omega-3 fatty acids are thought to be beneficial in reducing her arthritis pain as well as for her liver issues.  What they did not tell me, however, was that too much fish oil is actually harmful and can cause pancreatitis in dogs with compromised liver function.  A few days after I started her back on her fish oil supplement after the first bout of pancreatitis she had her second attack - nothing else new had been added to her diet in over a week, so that in itself was suspect.

The more I read about fish oil supplements for dogs the more I became convinced that the dosage recommended for a dog her size was actually too much for her, especially since her prescription food also contains fish oil.  I walk my younger dog with a neighbor and her dogs, and when I mentioned my suspicions about Ruby's fish oil supplement to her, she told me that she had tried to give fish oil supplements to her two older dogs, both of whom had normal liver function, and both of them subsequently developed high blood liver values which went back to normal when she took them off of the supplement.

Needless to say, I will no longer be giving Ruby any more fish oil!  I mentioned my suspicions to her vet and they were non-commital as they had never encountered such a problem before, but Ruby is doing so well right now minus the fish oil in her daily diet that I am convinced this was the main culprit.  Usually when I start Ruby on a new medication or supplement I research it carefully and try to start her out on a half dose rather than the full dose, but for some reason I did not do this with the fish oil - how I wish I had!

My recommendation to anyone who is thinking of putting their dog on a fish oil supplement is to be sure that your dog really needs it.  Also, remember that some pet foods have added fish oil, so you may want to lower the dosage you use.  If you want to try it, make sure your dog's liver function is normal, and try starting with a half dose (I believe that most dosage recommendations for supplements are on the high side - after all, the makers of these products would like you to use as much as possible).

If you see no improvement in your dog's health and/or if their liver values start to increase, take them off of this supplement.  My neighbor tried switching to an omega-3 supplement that was not fish oil-based for her dogs, and they are doing fine on that.  I am certainly no expert, so do your research before making a decision for your own dog - you know your pup better than anyone, so when it comes to supplements in particular you are in the best position to make any decisions.

Hopefully with careful attention to her diet Ruby will have no more problems with pancreatitis - it is a very painful condition and can lead to complications, so I will be doing my best to make sure it does not happen again.  I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and I hope that December will be a better month for Ruby so that I can get some more posts done before the end of the year!