As I was rushing out the door to soccer I noticed the syringe full of cattle wormer on the kitchen counter next to my leftover breakfast, so I snapped a quick photo to warn you what will happen to your idea of what's normal if you farm long enough.
A couple years ago, I had sold a calf who got shipping fever, so I bought some injectable antibiotics, and carried the full syringes with long needles in the cup holder of my van for the next two weeks.
I'm pretty sure if a city cop had pulled me over, I'd have had some 'splainin' to do.
Over the years, we've helped many goats and other momma mammals deliver their sons and daughters. Mostly, birth goes well. But after our first situation involving reaching inside for a dead baby, J-lube became a commonly stocked item.
When the maids came to clean, I suddenly realized that having multiple tubes of K-Y jelly stashed in the pantry, kitchen drawers, first aid kits, and shelves is probably suspicious to those uninitiated into the goat midwifery club.
Our duck was setting on her eggs one year when an uncharacteristically wicked blacksnake started eating many unhatched ducklings each day. After his second snack in as many days, my nine year old daughter marched into the house, went to my room, and strode back through with a .22 rifle slung over her shoulder, clip in hand. I asked her where she thought she was going fully armed, and she replied, "I'm going to teach that blacksnake a lesson!"
When I told my vet that evening how I had of course stopped my 4th grader from shooting the snake, he looked at me quizzically and questioned why I thought she wasn't capable of shooting the snake.
Well, gee, I'm from the city where we don't entertain the idea of responsible young marksmen actually doing something useful with their target practicing!
Now, just a few short years later, I've become inured to armed youngsters taking care of many unpleasant tasks around the place.
If you need a powerful drug injected in a hurry, just ask. I may have it right here in my purse...
