hog wild

HOG WILD
no this is not a wps moment
for those of you who are not a razorback fan
that stands for woo pig sooie
better known by those fans as
calling the hogs

slightly different from how the farmers
back in the day called their hogs

now we have lived in the country n for 15 years
we have mostly been peaceful living here
well some guy did miss the curve once
hit our mail box sending it several feet on down the
road with pieces everywhere
flipping his trailor with small bulls in there
luckily not flipping his truck
sending that poor calf limping on a broken leg
across the road
i dont think he the calf made it through the day
he was not taken back home lets just say

then the ole guy driving
as the paramedic was checking him
said
are you on any meds
yes i take aricept (thats donepezil like i take)
uh oh is all i was thinking
then
two weeks ago we had those raptor attacks
those i guess are mexican white eagles
apparently we are barely on the northern border
of their range
couldnt they just stay a little bit south of us please
climate change strikes us again

now
about a few weeks ago as i was driving up the road
from us
was this dead thing on the road
too big for a dog
definitely not a deer
definitely not a coyote
coyotes they be to smart it seems to be hit by cars
nope not a calf not a sheep not a goat
well as i run all the possibilities through my head
you know
remembering from my childhood days in arkansas
i think its a damn hog

tamu.edu

now we live about a quarter of a mile from the san gabriel river
which starts a few miles above where we live
it flows in a snake like form into a large man made lake
then it  spills over the damn well not recently or ever i guess
over the spillway maybe
combining with the south branch of that river
on down to another lake miles away
thats about 40 miles from where we live

i read about hogs wild ones that started at that lake several
years ago
of course destroying things as they spread
like fences gardens orchards vineyards etc
i thought when i saw that hog and read that article
all they have to do is go up that river to where it starts
all those pecan trees acorns pastures gardens etc along
the way


smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/a-plague-of-pigs-in-texas

i thought
its just a matter of time

well
this weekend
our very country neighbor with a very texas name
called us
yall guess what i saw today
a big ole 400 lb hog in the pasture next to yours

so i thought
will my fence around the house at least keep them out
will my horse panel garden fence keep them out
do i need to fence in my rainwater tanks
can my guard dog be a hog dog
like
my neighbor across the road where i grew up had

he use to take my younger brother and me with some
of those hog dogs
to go into the bottoms to go hog hunting
all i could remember was being told
be sure and climb the nearest tree if they come after you
they got those big ole tusks that can kill a man

i guess i may have to purchase a hog gun
maybe donating the hog to charity to feed the needy
like
that neighbors son does now in arkansas
yell
maybe add that to my volunteer list huh

the organicgreen doctor

alzheimers news-caregiving to the forefront

ALZHEIMERS NEWS-CAREGIVING TO THE FOREFRONT

yesterday as i sat with a large group of mostly caregivers
i thought to myself
caregiving needs to be pushed to the forefront in this
alzheimers battle

as i looked at each of the caregivers talk about their situation
i realized
their loved one has the disease
and
for the most part are getting some of the best care you can get
for this disease at the stages they are at

however
those caregivers representing one person at the meeting
really represent several sometimes double digits folks
who dont get the care they need as a caregiver
either because its not available
or
because they dont know how to reach out and find it

we as an alzheimers community need to make whats
out there
get that information to folks who need help

really taking care of an alzheimers patient from the medical
point is almost cookbook in its approach
there arent a lot of options available
most of these patients cant be made better
they will only worsen and eventually die from their disease

but
the caregiving lives can be made better and helped
its seems though each ones situation and social situation
is different
the approach for each may have to be handled differently
no prescription drug can fix their issues

as i realized also sitting there thinking of my mom and my brother
things linger emotionally and psychological up in your head
even years after they are gone

in this area central texas
there are a lot of resources for people
there are a lot of caregiving groups readily available to folks

reach out to the area agency on aging in your location
reach out to the local alzheimers organization
here in central texas its the new named alzheimers texas
they know whats available around here
reach out to some of the memory centers
most will have caregiving groups respite programs

caregiving folks
dont try to do it alone

one of the caregivers there takes care of his dementia mom at home
he uses the service of a local hospice program
that helps him
even providing some respite relief every 2 months
yes
medicare is actually paying for a lot of services now
then
as i sat there i realized how helpful that would have been
for my mother and my brother as they worsened down the
awful alzheimers slide

this gentleman you could see the fatigue the depression ooze from
him
but he seemed refreshed by the interaction at the meeting
realizing this meeting helped him
realizing that more is available to help him
that others care

i think this meeting was good for me to attend
i was there to answer medical questions
but
i realized as i had flashbacks
that i learned a lot from listening to the caregivers

yes they laughed some
laughter is the best medicine you know
and
cried some
as they told their stories

so
i think like early treatment and diagnosing of alzheimers is very
very important
so
is the early preparation and treatment of the caregivers
they need to be pushed more to the forefront

there are two seminars that are mostly focusing on caregiving
coming up in this area

i would say
if you see caregiving in your near future
if you are soon to start caregiving or in the early stages
get yourself prepared now
these seminars are good ones
if you are in the throngs of caregiving overwhelmed
get some respite and go to one of these seminars

the first is the one i am presenting first
my talk is on research
it wont help you much if you are a caregiver
but the presenters after me are caregiving talks



the second
is the annual alzheimers symposium in temple
i spoke at the first one four years ago
this years symposium is all on caregiving
from the start to the end
so
if you see caregiving in your future or just starting or doing it now
you should find this symposium
extremely helpful
i highly recommed it
i may attend
although any caregiving ive done is over with
i probably will be the caregived one

here is the link to descriptions of both conferences
www.txalz.org/education/conferences/

the organicgreen doctor

country n news-raptors aint gonna win

COUNTRY N NEWS-RAPTORS AINT GONNA WIN

thats what i said yesterday
as i looked in the mirror at my face
the right cheekbone is swollen slightly
there are two superficial cuts down my right face
all scabbed
plus all the bruising i have elsewhere on my body
from falling

i looked closely into my eyes
like i did that raptors eyes last saturday
thats when i said to myself
they arent gonna win

there was determination in my eyes
i could see it

now we have lived here at the country n for almost
15 years
i would say to anyone that those are the best 15 years of
living somewhere out of all the years we have been together
40+

its stuff like that raptor attack that makes you think
if i lived in town i wouldnt have to deal with this stuff
when the water pump dies i cant just call the city to fix it
out into the weather i go

then
in the mornings when i sit at my seat looking out at the sun rise
i think
this is the best place to be living

in the early morning
we can sit on our porch or in our hot tub
along with the beautiful sun rise
listen to the orchestra of birds
the what seems like hundreds of turkeys down by the river
if you are a turkey hunter
like my older brothers brother in law was when he visited
you would be mesmerized by the sound
hear other peoples roosters crowing in the distance
hear the horses talking to each other
hear the donkeys heehawing
even hear the coyotes in the distance

it makes you feel content
isolated but you really arent
everything is within 20 minutes away

no
as i tell my wife she
there are two reasons i leave this place
i die
i get demented so i dont know where i am

no
those raptors aint gonna win

now we pen our chickens up in a chicken pen
that is 40 ft x 10 ft
chicken wire encloses the whole area like a cube
even underground
the coop itself is 4 ft x 10 ft x 6ft and is enclosed inside the pen
varmints even raptors cant get in

the chickens can live in this space forever
without ever getting out

but
they have a job to do
eat bugs
make our compost
be pasture decorations

our chicken run is 90 ft shaped like an upside staple
the left side is 10 ft wide the rest of the sides are 3 ft wide
thats where we let them run when we are at home

when we are around we aso let them roam in the pastures

i must say
its picturesque to see your chickens roaming your property
scratching eating things like weed seeds ticks fleas bugs
grasshoppers
doing their job

thats what a free range chickens life should be like

we have never had hawks or these eagles go after our chickens
in our pastures
they have been around here for several years those raptors
why they went after the chickens in the chicken area now
im not sure
maybe they were running out of prey elsewhere

so
i plan to cover the chicken run with bird netting
to keep the raptors from landing in there
or attacking like a dive bomber from the air

yes
our plan is
to
win this battle

the organicgreen doctor