Hero, Part Two

A feature write-up about Jeff's grandpa appeared in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel today. It is here.

We've created a memorial website for Bill, which can be found here.

I also found a couple of photos of Bill in his younger days, which I really like. Thought you might like them, too.

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Photo caption reads: "William & Edward 12 and 15 yrs old taken spring 1929."

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Bill "bustin' a bronc" (you know I don't go for that method but that's what they did back then!)

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A newspaper photo showing Bill having a make-believe cup of tea with granddaughter Becky. She was born with Down syndrome and Bill did much volunteer work for Milwaukee charities that helped brain injured children.

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Bill and his wife, "Sutty" (Etelka) at Jeff's college graduation performance. The Chef's degree is actually in music, did you know that? He was a classical composer before he became a Pharm Boy (joke there...)

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Chef Jeff's been away in California but is returning tonight. I hear he shipped some wine home which is a good thing, as I think I'm going to be needing some in the next few days: Delilah goat had a blood clot in her femoral (leg) artery and now the leg must be amputated.

At first the vet thought it was from a tetanus-type (clostridial) infection, but then it didn't present in a manner that made him confident about it (the goats are all vaccinated for tetanus but this would have been an odd type of clostridia (?) that usually only affects cows.) He saw no sign of an injury - and Frieda The Just earned her name by being very careful about being the only horned goat in the herd, so she can't be blamed. So Doc Stan the farm vet thinks it was just a freak thing. He says things like this sometimes just happen in a barnyard, and we shouldn't second-guess ourselves about it being something we did, or didn't, do.

Delilah is doing as well as can be expected. There is no feeling in the leg now so she is not in pain, just uncomfortable. She is eating well and brother Sammy and mama Tulip are looking out for her, standing on either side of her when the goats get hay or a treat of grain. She's very good for her shots, but thus far, I have given myself one penicillin puncture and have swallowed some as well - I'm looking forward to Jeff returning to veterinary duty tonight.

We've discussed the potential amputation with several vets, and the vet that has seen to Delilah's needs since she was born is able to perform the surgery. He's actually really a small animal vet, and we always took the goat kids to his practice for disbudding under sedation. He gives us the impression that recovery will go smoothly with sufficient pain meds. Lila's attitude is good right now, so we're thinking this is the appropriate path to take.

So unfortunately I won't be able to attend Bill's funeral. I'll be here giving more penicillin injections and toting hay bales (split into flakes first, of course) and exercising the dogs who can't seem to be outdoors enough in the spring weather. But when Chef Jeff returns from paying his respects, I plan on us toasting Bill with something from Sonoma... and maybe having some time to actually relax and visit with Jeff for more than the five minutes a day we've had to speak to each other in the last few weeks... months... year?

Oh wait, baby chicks arrive in two weeks... and my cold frame just blew over - still haven't gotten my seedlings into the garden bed. No time for sitting still on the farm...