On the Lighter side: My Mayberry Moments vol.1

My Clients know (most of them) that I live in the country.  So far out as a matter of fact that there is not a grocery store with in 10 miles of my house and no one delivers any kind of food to our door.

Because of this remote location I have experiences that my coworkers laugh at and sometimes find a little difficult to believe.  For instance there are a four donkeys living next door.  There should be 5 but Jasper was locked up for Love Crimes.

You see, out were I live everyone has at least 10 acres.  The fellow that owns the land to my North does not live there. There is no house.  In order to keep his taxes low he adopted a pair of donkeys (one Gray and one red) and moved them onto the property so that he could use an agricultural tax rate.  My older daughter named them Dumb (male) and Jaq (female, short for Jaqueline).

Anyway, one morning I am driving up my rather long driveway on my way to work when I am cut off and have to lock'em up throwing gravel and cussing up a storm because a brown male donkey is running across my drive...and dragging an impressive length of rope behind him.  Once a quick check reassured me that nothing had spilled in my car and I had not hit anything, I laughed.  I mean, how often does this happen in Collin County, Tx do ya figure?  I waited for him to get his rope out of my way and left watching him get all nosey with the pair already in residence to my North.

Later that Day I spoke to my husband and he said that a nice lady had come around and gathered up  the escape artist donkey (I was calling him Houdini) and taken him home.  She introduced herself and the donkey (his given name is Jasper) and apologized over and over for any trouble.  She also mumbled that if he ran away again, he could just stay gone.

About a week later Jasper was back, only this time he was in the fence with the pair next door.  I called my husband and let him know since I was going off to work on a Saturday and he was home, that Jasper's lady friend might be around.

My hubby told me later that he waited and no lady came but he did see a couple of Mexican fellas driving real slow and carrying a lot of rope so he asked them if they were looking for a donkey.  They nodded and smiled and Hubby directed them to the property next door at which point Jasper saw his would-be bounty hunters and CLIMBED THE BARBED WIRE to get away.  (Didn't know they could climb...)

Hubby caught a hold of a hunk of the rope dragging behind Jasper and tried to slow him down never thinking about getting dragged down the street.  My daughter later chuckled as she told me about her dad running (being dragged) behind that donkey and the Mexican fellas trying to stop Jasper, and all of them failing until one of them got the end of Jasper's rope tied to the cargo loop on the truck.  That stopped him and he followed the truck home unbowed.  As they were leaving, one of the fellas told my hubby that Jasper'd been running away a lot and they were getting real tired of chasing him and if he ran away again, we could have him.  Apparently that's how they got him from the nice lady who was his previous owner.

Well, He did and they left him. 

One day my neighbor comes over to mow his pasture and is staring confused at three donkeys and one of them pregnant!  Hubby went out to talk to him and got him all caught up on the events of the last month.  The neighbor allowed that he'd been gone a while and as Jasper (nicknamed Smart by my eldest) was now apparently a Daddy-to-be, he could stay.

a few weeks later, a bouncing baby donkey (named Baby) was born.  Really cute!

The next Spring Jaq was preggers again, but before Blanca (the new little white donkey) could be born, Jasper disappeared.

It was some time before I discovered that he'd grown tired of being semi-domesticated and climbed the fence again, this time heading further up the road to a ranch owned by another neighbor and, um...Knocked up his mare!  This landed Jasper in Collin County Animal Control holding in McKinney.  Locked up for Love Crimes!

I have no idea where he is now, Baby is almost two and Blanca is one.  Jaq and Dumb seem to be a couple again and no one is climbing any fences that I know of.  Yup they appear for all the world to be one big happy family.

I do wonder though...Did Jasper's new owner get him fixed, do ya think? Did they even think they'd have to? Do people actually rescue donkey's?  Assuming that they don't keep donkey's with the dogs, where do they keep escaped livestock?  Do they keep escaped livestock?

Oh! well!  Not my Circus, Not my Monkeys...

Inflammation gets a Bad Wrap!

You hear it all the time now.  "Inflammation is bad, it causes diseases like diabetes and cancer".  We must fight Inflammation...

I was talking to Dr. Laura the other day and we discussed the fact that in general, the public has gotten a wrong idea of what inflammation is and what it can do.

You see inflammation is the process your body uses to heal damage.  Yes HEAL!  The inflammation itself is NOT (usually) the problem.  Whatever is causing the inflammation is the real problem.  

It goes like this:

• damage occurs in the tissues, caused by physical trauma, pathogens (germs), or toxins (poisons),
• When cells are damages they release chemical signals into surrounding tissues letting the body know that they are damaged,
• This causes the inflammatory response
• blood vessels become hyper-permeable letting immune cells, clotting agents and lymph into the area,
• Immune cells flood the area to fight infection,
• Clotting agents stop bleeding,
• Lymph flow takes away broken pieces of cells and foreign matter (dirt, toxins, germs, etc)
• The body begins to rebuild cells in the area and make scar tissue

 This is all good if you are burned, cut, or have a germ.

Then there is systemic inflammation.  We have seen a rise in the last two decades in food allergies and sensitivities.  This and the high carb, high Stress lifestyle of your average American has led to lots of inflammation throughout the body.

This means that we are doing damage to tissues (cells) all over our bodies!  It is not the inflammation that is the issue as much as what we are doing to cause the inflammation.  The damage we are causing...everyday....all over our bodies....OMG!  The link below goes to the University of Iowa website and defines the inflammatory response a little more in depth.

http://www.siumed.edu/~dking2/intro/inflam.htm

 According to Time Magazine these are the signs of chronic inflammation:
http://scdlifestyle.com/2012/10/chronic-inflammation-signs-symptoms-and-testing/

• Ongoing, irritating pain in the body (like the joints or muscles)
• Allergies or asthma (especially when they keep getting worse)
• High blood pressure or blood sugar problems
• Ulcers and Irritable Bowel Syndrome (constipation or diarrhea)
• Constant fatigue or lethargy
• Skin problems or red, bloodshot eyes

So I ask you...Do you get headaches?
Do your muscles and/or joints hurt?
Are your eyes red?  How's your digestion?
Are your allergies getting worse?
Hmmm....How's your inflammation..

If you suspect that inflammation may be a problem.  Please see your healthcare professional!  She/He will probably work with you to change your diet and exercise.

                               Tomatican

Recipe By     :  Moosewood

Serving Size  : 6     Preparation Time :0:00

  Amount  Measure       Ingredient -- Preparation Method

--------  ------------  --------------------------------

  2               cans  lima beans -- drained

  28            ounces  tomatoes, canned

  1             medium  onion

  3             ounces  spinach leaves -- chopped

  2             medium  avocado -- cubed

  1         tablespoon  Grape seed oil

Saute onions with oil

add all but avacados and simmer on low

garnish with avacado cubes

Description:

  "Moosewood"

Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 362 Calories; 13g Fat (31.0% calories from fat); 16g Protein; 50g Carbohydrate; 15g Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 222mg Sodium.  Exchanges: 2 1/2 Grain(Starch); 1/2 Lean Meat; 1 1/2 Vegetable; 1/2 Fruit; 2 Fat.