The Sound Of Silence

 Yesterday morning it was different here, no one "singing" at 6am and a calmness within the pack. Still before breakfast Orin figured he'd go to talk to a crated Siska and she told him to "Piss Off."  Orin and Zeus ate their breakfast for the first time in days. Yesterday evening, well bedtime, Orin came flying in going towards Siska, but then realised there was a carrot in his crate and chose the carrot over Siska.

Today it's quite here, both entire males have eaten  and are relaxed and calm, so I guess both bitches have gone over now, but I won't be putting Siska out with Orin for a few more days.

Beti was on day 19 on Sunday when the "accident" happened. I have booked her in at the vets for the injections next week, on Thursday and Friday. A friend suggested an alternate, which was to wait till 28 days and scan, if she was not pregnant then no injections would be necessary, yeah that sounds good, but if she was pregnant and having seen "Beti's babies" I would then find it hard to terminate the pregnancy, so plan one it is. 

Siska has gone off really quickly considering she did not ovulate till about Friday, thank god I went on Sunday as I think 48 hrs later would have just been too later. I keep doubting myself but "Gemini" says I went on the right day. I have found "Gemini" a great tool to have on my laptop, yes it's fun to play, but in this case it's knowledge is the key. 

Not Quite A Disaster

Imagine it, well actually I think it's best you don't, I was sitting on the loo in the services just North of Builth when my phone rang ... "Steve calling"  ... so I answered. 

"Rhian there has been a disaster, Zeus got out onto the mountain, I used Beti to get him back in, but she slipped her lead, they went running round and round the field and now they've mated and I'm stood in the field with them because they've tied."

"What the feck Steve?" Now if it wasn't for his stressed tone and the time of year I'd think it was an April's fool. "It wasn't my fault," he screeched, he then said "Got to go, got to go."  I went back to the van and told Ian, then I took a breath and as we talked I calmed down and gradually managed to get it into perspective. Well no one was hurt, no one missing, this can be sorted, Beti will just have to have a "morning after" injection! I called Steve again 10 mins later, he was seething and upset, so no I couldn't be cross. Accidents happen, it's how you deal with it that proves who you are, this potential pregnancy simply can not happen, it would be against everything that I ethically believe in. Zeus is not health tested, Beti has a UAP and to top it all he's her father's brother!  

There are lots of things going around in my head .. how the feck did knob dog get out again? Why on earth did Steve get an "in season" Beti to use to try and bring him in, when there was the option of Sammi or better still Meerah? I guess, a spur of the moment decision made in panic that lead to unfortunate consequences! 

Initially yesterday I was angry and upset, but I guess after a while I could see the humour in it, well I guess you have to. Beti, the little tart, had been trying to get to Zeus all week, well she was a happy bunny now then. Zeus has never been used at stud, but within minutes they'd managed to mate and tie, when we'd spent almost two hours getting it all done and dusted and my god I've spent longer than that with many a stud here too! 

Lastly, in 33 years, there have been three accidental mating here. Blade and Lia,(not health tested)  Mikey and Asha (siblings) and now these two, and no, not one of them have been on my watch ... LOL. 

Success

 After a stunning drive through the Brecon Beacons to Merthyr Tydfil we arrived at Reno's home. He doesn't live in a large breeding kennel with lots of grounds, he is a pet who lives in a terrace cottage with his owner. We drove a short distance to a small yard that belonged to the owner's friend to do the mating.  

Initially, Siska was not amused and told him about it, but to be fair to her, she was not given the opportunity to find some grass for a wee, stretch her legs and introduce herself. After being allowed that time, she was much more compliant! 

It did take a bit of time to get the mating, and we all had one break, but we eventually got there and had a 20 min tie. 

I can only hope my maths are correct now and that Siska will take from the single mating. If she had continued on the same course then she would have probably ovulated on Friday and been in the mid 40ies by yesterday afternoon. Between 32 and 64 is the optimal potential for fertilisation. If she did slow down, then I have the comfort of knowledge that sperm can live for up to a week ... theoretically it would have been impossible for her to have passed the fertile time as the ova need at least 48 hrs to ripen, and she hadn't ovulated on Thursday morning. Let's cross everything now for a pregnancy and a healthy happy "N" litter! 

Test 4

 

I'd seen from Orin that Siska's season was progressing, also as she'd started to flirt I'd had to separate them yesterday afternoon. The result of the 9am test today was 10.3nmol/L.

"7 - 12nmol/L (Approximate Range): This range typically indicates that the LH surge has happened or is happening now. The LH surge is the trigger for ovulation, and ovulation usually occurs 2 days after the LH surge."  So allowing 48 hrs for the eggs to ripen, Sunday looks like a good day. 

The eggs are not fertilizable until about 2 days after ovulation. The optimal fertility window is generally 3 to 5 days after the LH surge. So 3 days after today is the most reasonable single-mating choice. The eggs are likely just starting to ripen or are nearly ripe. Fresh sperm is very robust and can live 4-6 days, so it will be in the tract well before the eggs mature and should still be viable when they are at peak maturity. 

I am considered taking her for another test on Monday, just to make sure she has progressed normally, if there is any doubt, then maybe I could drive down to Merthyr on Monday evening for a second mating. That's a decision for another day, and bearing in mind that Siska who had keenly stood to be mated 2 and 3 days after ovulation refused the third mating with Lucca, which was 4 days after ovulation. She also got stroppy with Vesco the day after a test of 50 nmol/L. (at that time she ovulated on day 12 with a reading of 23 on day 13. We visited Vesco on day 14, 15 and 16 - but had no successful mating)

Please wish us luck. 

Changes

There are some changes afoot here today. Though I let Orin and Siska out together first thing, when I took them out again after their breakfast had settled there was some definite flirting going on. This morning is the first time that Siska has tried to get Orin's attention, but he is still far more interested in Beti! Still I didn't feel safe putting them in the pen together, with her flirting and standing, and him already wound up because of Beti's crescendo I don't think he would take much convincing!!

Beti has been quite desperate to get herself a man, even trying to climb onto the coal bunker to get to Orin who was temporally in the small pen. She has also been trying to get to Zeus, and even resorted to Ross this morning, he replied, "No, you're alright I've got my kong!" 

Siska has a blood test tomorrow at 9 am ... wish me luck for a busy weekend ahead! 

Everyone Still Together

Orin and Siska - Yes, still together!

If she is now progressing normally, and I've worked it out correctly, then by tomorrow evening she'll be between 8 and 9 nmol/L, so I've put the test forward to Thursday morning with the hope it will put her somewhere around 12 - 15.nmol/L. If that is the case then she'll be set to ovulate on Friday and Sunday would be ideal for mating ... but of course it does seem that Siska is writing her own rules!

Sammi, Zeus and Meerah

I so wish I had someone with me in the field on days like today, someone to point the phone at Sammi and video her playing with Meerah. WOW, the old lady can't half shift. I can't do it myself as I'm hanging on to knob head!!!!

Beti and Ross

My pair of lovable loonies always make me smile. 💗

Soft Cell - Say Hello, Wave Goodbye (Live At The 02 Arena, London / 2018)

Today I say goodbye to Dave for the last time. 

I want to post this memory from the 02 Arena, 3 Oct 2018. It was the first time we’d performed in nearly 17 years and it was meant to be the last... as it turned out it wasn’t to be and I'm glad it wasn't because we still had some more to do, we just didn't realise it at the time. 

I picked this memory because I think it was probably our most emotional and arguably our greatest moment. In an Arena show where there are bells and whistles, smoke and mirrors, lights, visuals, singers and added players, I felt the last moment should come down to just me and Dave, how we started, a singer and a synth player that set a blueprint for other British bands that came after. Such a nice and simple combination. Like a cabaret duo on a sea front promenade pub or bar singing current hits and standards with a bontempi organ and an over reverbed mic.

 I went and stood next to Dave so the cameras could get the money shot and the focus would just be on the pair of us. The Arena lit up with phones, over 20,000 people singing along, it was a magic moment and what it’d all been about in the first place.

Goodbye Dave and thank you, Soft Cell was yours, I was just the singer 🎤 🎹 ❤️

Marc Almond 

Back On The Mountain

With everyone back in, fed and watered, I was back in bed by 7.25am. A lovely cuppa and some Facebook snooping time before snuggling back under the duvet till Steve woke up. My God, somehow it was 9am - shit, where did that time go? Within minutes the phone rang, Katrina .. OMG, don't tell her I'm in bed, what will she think!!! 😏

Anyway, she had been thinking since I messaged her yesterday, and just had to let me know today; when she mated Anna to Zique a year or so ago she tested her on a Tuesday and the result was 1.1nmol/L, she re-tested on the Friday and it was up to 11.8nmol/L and by Sunday, the day of mating it was 45.9nmol/L. Oh bloody hell, now she did go up quickly, I wonder if I should change my Wednesday test to Tuesday? Once she gets going Siska usually doubles every 36 hrs or so meaning that by Wednesday AM she should be around 6.6nmol/L, I think I'll leave it till Wednesday unless Orin tells me otherwise.

Beti is behaving like the slapper of the house, she's desperate to get to Orin or Zeus, either will do but of course Ross now is of no interest for anything other than to play in puddles and chase the kong. I need to get him a new aqua kong, the black one sinks and was almost lost again today. 

I love the photo of Beti in the rays of the sun, just a lucky moment in time and a photo to treasure. I know some people think I'm nuts with all the photos I take, but it's the photos I didn't take that I regret, never the ones I took! Anyway, I don't have to explain myself to anyone, I can take as many photos as I like and post them all on my Facebook page. 

I walked everyone on the mountain today, it was great to see the guys excited to be back there. I guess the break has done us all good as we'd all got a little bored with the same old, though my main reason for staying away was the cattle. Just glad they were not there today. 

Everyone On Home Ground Today

Blanik Liszka - Test 3

 I love this photo of Siska - isn't she just stunning in her full coat, and I see more of her mother in her these days. 

Anyway, the results for test 3 left me speechless, 1.1 nmol'L. Come on Siska these tests are costing me a fortune, this is day 17, and she had ovulated by day 17 last time. Ok the benefit now is that I can get to our two appointments this week, I'm not going to retest till Wednesday, and just hope that by then she's over 7nmol/L and we can at least pinpoint when she'll be ready for mating! Whilst I am putting my faith in the science and not the tradition of mating around day 14, Orin is also confirming that Siska is of little interest at the moment - Beti on the other hand? Well yeah she's stunning to him!