Author Archive
Monday, January 14th, 2008
Bhumi’s operation part 3
About a week into the healing process of Bhumi’s operation to remove a cancerous tumor behind her eye, I called the vet since I did not like how Bhumi’s eye was healing and it smelled bad. Dr. Moore called me back within 20 minutes and told me to give her penicillin twice a day for five days. At first he said to give 20 cc but then he said give her 30 cc since she is a big girl. It was a total circus giving her the shots. I am a total wuss when it comes to needles and blood. So, Caitanya Bhagavat volunteered to give her the shot while I tied her up and stayed at her head. It worked really well. After Bhumi got her shot we would then give her apples. She loves apples. This way she knows there will be pain but also something sweet and nice at the end.
One really sweet and interesting thing is that every morning Jaya goes and checks on Bhumi. The other cows stop and see her but no one is as consistent as Jaya. Jaya is the one who has also had the same operation as Bhumi, just on the opposite eye.
Bhumi responded very well to the penicillin. During this whole recovery period we also have been giving her homeopathy. So that also really helped her heal. After just a day and a half the smell left her. I was so thrilled about that. Smell is always a sure sign something is wrong, so for that to leave her was a good sign we were heading in the right direction.
After the 5 days I gave the vet another call. Dr. Moore said that he would come out Saturday to see how Bhumi was doing. It may be time to take out the stitches and see how the healing was progressing.
Saturday was a very nice day. Bhumi managed to take her halter off so she and I had a battle of wills to put it back on. She would not let me put it back on. When Dr. Moore showed up she was very happy to see him. I had a rope hanging around her neck so I tried her to the post with that. We wanted to see if she would let Dr. Moore remove the stitches without the halter on but Bhumi kept moving her head. It was a lot easier putting her halter on since she was already tied up. This way it was a lot easier for Dr. Moore to remove the stitches. Bhumi was still giving him a hard time by shaking her head but she just couldn’t move as much.
Dr. Moore said it looked like it was healed 75% but it was best for her case to remove the stitches. He sprayed some yellow stuff on her eye, I don’t remember the medical name of it. Also he ordered a special salve that will help the healing process. I am supposed to pick it up tomorrow and put a little on her eye.
We had an audience the whole time Dr. Moore was treating Bhumi. On one side you had Asha, Shyama and Dwadasi watching and on the other side you had Krishna, Balaram, Kalki, Bhima, Visaka and Jaya. They were all lending their support to Bhumi. In about a week or two I will take down the fence inside the geriatric barn and let Bhumi in with Gita, Asha, Shyama and Dwadasi so that she can start to learn to move around the other cows. Right now she moves really well by herself. Bhumi is getting close to the point were she wants to be in with the other cows.
Submitted by Lakshmi Devi
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Friday, January 11th, 2008
Gourangi fall 2007
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Thursday, December 27th, 2007
Bhumi Part 2
Bhumi’s excursion yesterday went very smoothly. A lot more smoothly then I was even praying for. It was very easy to sneak Bhumi out of the herd before they noticed. When Valerie arrived I had Bhumi tied up at the end of the lane by the barn happy eating a bale of second cutting hay. Valerie is the very nice lady who hauled us and Jaya to Columbus, Ohio for his surgery. This time Valerie brought her youngest son, who is a very nice boy.
All we had to do was hook up the trailer to her one ton pick-up truck and then load Bhumi. Luckly, I remembered how to do the hook up correctly. At first Bhumi did not want to get into the trailer, but she did want to finish that bale of second cutting. So, she finally got in and we were off to see the vet out in St. Clairsville at Mr. Young’s farm. Once we started driving she settled down and watched the countryside go by. It only took us about an hour to reach St. Clairsville which is a lot better then 3 ½ to 4 hours to Columbus where we had to take Jaya for his operation.
Dr. Moore was waiting for us at the turn off to the farm and he led the way to the barn. By this point, Bhumi wanted out and she came out very easily. Now the tricky part was getting her into the stockade. The opening for the chute was very narrow and at a weird angle so Dr. Moore opened up the side of the chute for her. I walked in first and Bhumi followed me right in. At the end I had to walk out, angle her head and horns, and not let her body out. Dr. Moore then closed the hydraulics of the chute so that only part of her neck with her head and horns were though and the rest of her body was in the chute. This would make it harder for her to move and easier to operate on her eye. The first thing the Vet did was to give her a general pain killer. He then took off her halter and lead rope and put his on Bhumi, and then he tied that to the side of the stockade so it will be somewhat easier to keep her head steady. She felt the general anesthesia very fast; you could tell she was going into la la land. He then shaved around her eye. The cancer she had was very fast growing and had grown a lot since he saw her 2 ½ weeks before. It was growing on her eyelid, in the eyelid, in the corner of her eye and behind the eye.
Bhumi was sedated nicely so Dr. Moore started doing the shots in a circle around her eye and all of us were feeling woozy. I was standing on one side of her out of the vet’s path and Valerie was standing on the other side of her. We were both talking to her and trying to keep her calm and steady. Chaitanya Bhagavat was standing by the control panel for the hydraulics. He job was to throw the switch and release the hydraulics in case she went down on her knees. If she went down with the hydraulics closed, she could badly injure herself. We were really lucky she did not go down and the operation only took 45 minutes from beginning to end.
After he was finished sewing up her eye, Dr. Moore told me I could untie her and take his halter off. I put ours back on and we walked her out of the stockade and back to the trailer for the ride home. Bhumi was moving very slowly as if she had a hangover. It was easier to load her into the trailer this time. She immediately had a couple of mouthfuls of hay. I settled up with the vet, it cost a little more then the original quote due to the advancement of the cancer. He had to take more of the eye area out then planned. Then we headed home.
Bhumi was moving around most of the way home. You could feel it in the truck when she was moving. Valerie and I would look at each other and say there she goes again. Once we got home she was fighting to get out of the trailer. I had to calm her down somewhat so that I could untie her. No way was I just going to unhook her halter and let her out in that mood after her having surgery. Once that was done she literally jumped out of the trailer and started walking really fast up the lane and past the big barn. All of the cows were really excited and happy to see her. They started mooing and walking parallel to us. We put her in half of the geriatric barn that was reserved for her. This way, she is separate but still with the herd. We did not want any of the cows to accidentally bump her eye area.
Bhumi immediately went to the gate that looks out into the silo pad area and into the big barn. She was not happy at all and very upset. Then a really sweet thing happened. Jaya came over and touched her nose. It was like they were communicating and she immediately calmed and settled down. They stayed like that for about 5 minutes. Now what really makes this sweet is that they normally have nothing to do with one another. They don’t hang out with each other at all, she has a higher standing in the herd then he does. Throughout the day either Jaya would be standing right next to her at the gate or other cows would be standing next to her or touch noses with her. It really touch’s your heart to see how much they care and are concerned about one another’s well being and state of mind and health.
Today Bhumi is doing well, eating hay, drinking water, and resting. I tried to give her pain killers but so far she does not want any. I will try again later today when I check on her again.
Submitted by Lakshmi Devi
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Tuesday, December 25th, 2007
Bhumi part 1
Bhumi, Christmas Day 2007Since the vet came up to see Radharani, I have been trying to coordinate getting the operation done for Bhumi. I finally got it worked out with the vet and Valerie, the lady who hauled us for Jaya’s surgery. The operation is set for December 26, 2007. For the last week I have been trying to anticipate any possible problems and their solutions that may arise. Also, I have to make sure I have everything ready when Valerie gets here tomorrow morning to pick us up. Dr. Moore has arranged that we are going to use another farm’s barn and stockade in St. Clairsville, Ohio which is about 45 minutes to an hour away. He decided on that place because he felt that the stockade is going to be big enough for Bhumi and her horns. She is very proud of her horns and does not like for them to be messed with or touched.
Before tomorrow morning I need to finish getting the inside of our cow trailer ready for Bhumi and divide up the inside of the geriatric barn so she can have one half of it. Right now Gita is in there with Asha, Shyama, and Dwadasi. Once the surgery is done we do not want Bhuni’s eye area to get accidentally knocked by any of the other cows. So Bhumi will be getting the smaller side of the geriatric barn all to her self for a couple of months. We are lucky it is winter time as there are no flies.
I am praying I will remember how to hitch up the trailer. In the past, I have helped Dad do it. This excursion is going to be hard since Dad is working in the mall this Christmas season out in California. But it has to be done and it has to be done now. The cancer growth is really growing fast in poor Bhumi’s eye so I am just going to have to suck it up and deal with it. I get sick at the sight of blood and for half of Jaya’s surgery I had my head between my knees. I am not going to have the luxury of being able to do that this time. Most likely I will have to be the one to keep Bhumi’s head under control so I am going to be right up there in the middle of the whole surgery. So everyone out there in cyber-world, please pray for Bhumi and I that we both come out of this in good condition.
Submitted by Lakshmi Devi
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Sunday, December 16th, 2007
Radharani has passed on
Radharani with her head on pillow. Gita, Shyama and Asha watching over her. Thursday evening.
One thing that really touched me in her passing was how Gita interacted with her. When ever Gita would sit down he would sit down right in front of her in her line of sight. He was a calming influence on her. He was like a meditating sage/old man giving comfort to an old friend during their illness. Asha and Shyama were also very good to Radharani. They would sit next to her or very close by. When I went to check her for the last time I knew that she had passed just by how Gita was acting. He had this look on his face saying “Radharani is no longer with us; she has gone on to a higher place”. She was not moving at all, usually when I would go to check on her I would be talking to her so her ears and eyes would move to hear and see me. I went over to her just to make sure that she had passed. I petted and stroked her like I usually do and there was no response at all. She was not as warm as she usually was. I knew for sure she was no longer with us. So I went over to Gita who was sitting right in front of her and petted him and thanked him for taking such good care of her. After I went out and closed the gates I called Mom and told her that Radharani had passed and if she could please let her adopter know of her passing.
Radharani was with the group that walked up from Gosh’s and decided to come live with us instead of returning to the big barn.
Submitted by Lakshmi Devi
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Tuesday, December 11th, 2007
Radharani is passing
Gita, Shyama and Asha are holding a vigil for her right now and every night Gita sleeps right next to her. I have done everything I could to minimize her pain and make her as comfortable as possible.
Here is the correspondences Mom and I have been having with Radharani’s adopter, Vaninatha dasa.
December 5th:
Dear Vaninatha,
Hare Krishna!
I believe Lalshmi wrote you a note that Radharani’s lump on her leg had gotten larger and her shoulder and leg seemed somewhat swollen. She was also having difficulty keeping up with the herd. At that point, we put her in the geriatric barn so she could easily get her food and water. We called the vet, but he only today answered our call and will come tomorrow afternoon. Since she was put in the geriatric barn, the swelling went down and she was getting around well, but just yesterday Lakshmi found her on her side unable to get up. She was lying on the side which has the leg with the lump. We thought that she could not use the leg well enough to push up. We managed to get her to sit up and she was doing fine. Then this morning Lakshmi again found Radharani down on her side unable to get up. She was shivering (it has been very cold here in the 20s and 30s). Lakshmi managed with help of two other devotees to get Radharani up and they covered her with blankets. Later in the day she was found down again. She was then braced by putting hay bales by her side to support her. A few hours ago, Lakshmi found Radharani with her head down and weak. She was still sitting up because she was braced by the hay bales.
We feel there must be something else going on in her body besides the lump on her leg which the vet had previously said was most likely a calcium deposit.. Lakshmi is feeling it is a possibility that she may leave her body in the night as she seemed very weak. We gave her Jamuna water and we have Prabhupada chanting on continuous play in the geriatric barn. Gita, Shyama, and Asha are in the barn with her.
We wanted you to know this latest development as we know you are a loving and concerned adopter. We will let you know how her health progresses.
Your servant,
Chayadevi
December 8, 2007 :
Dear Vaninatha Prabhu,
Hare Krishna!
The vet came and said Radharani had a stroke. He feels that at her age this may be just too much for her. A year ago the vet analyzed that she was anywhere from 23-25 years old in cow years. That would be 115+ in human years. Either she will have another stroke or she will get better and get up. He gave us some medicine to give her, but although we are giving it to her it does not seem like she is getter stronger. Gita has been watching over her along with Shyama and Asha. They are all sitting around her and a tape of Prabhupada singing is playing.
We will keep you updated.
Your servant,
Chayadevi
From: Richard M. Boyden \(Vaninatha dasa brahmachary\)
To: Lakshmi devi Dove
Cc: boydgood@hotmail.net
Sent: 12/8/2007 5:50:34 PM
Subject: Radharani…………
Dear Lakshmi, All glories to Srila Prabhupada. Please accept my respects. It sounds like Radharani, the cow, is getting old and will have a hard time making it through the winter. That is not a problem. She has given her life for helping Krishna’s devotees spread the word about Srila Prabhupada’s mission, so she knows fully well that she is on the way to Goloka Vrindavana. She is happy and we should all be happy also. The most we can do at this point is to keep her comfortable and content. That is what CFC does, apparently. Even if they feel there is no hope, they keep trying something so the cow feels loved and comfortable. I think that is important–that the cows always feel content.
My best wishes to all.
Yours sincerely,
Vaninatha dasa (Richard Boyden)
December 10:
At this point she is very weak and we don’t really know how she manages to breath. She is completely lying down with her head on a pillow and for the last few days she is not eating or drinking. Srila Prabhupada is continuously singing on the CD which we can hear from our houses which are on both sides of the barn.
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Monday, November 26th, 2007
Number 16
Offering obeisances before lunch. Number 10Every morning Rudra goes with me to the barn to help with the cows. He likes to hunt for mice, or any other animal that dares to come into the cows’ home without an invitation. Also he likes to make a nest in the hay and take a nap. Sometimes though he gets bored and goes back to parents’ house to nap on the sunny yard. Yesterday he hung out with me the whole time playing in the hay and dozing.
After Rudra and I finish taking care of the cows’ yesterday morning, we started walking back to parents’ house. When we got as far as the hay barn Rudra all of a sudden took off running towards the old woodpile and the black walnut trees. As I rounded the corner I saw him with a good size groundhog in his mouth which he was shaking very hard. He then ran to the house with the groundhog in his mouth. It was still alive. Sometimes the groundhogs die from fright by the time he gets home. That may have been the case, because by the time I got to the house it was dead and there was no blood.
Now we have this funny little thing we do after Rudra has gotten a pest (groundhogs will destroy your entire garden). He really loves it when we do it. We stand there and clap our hands and tell him he is such a good boy. He really likes it when everyone does it. You are supposed to do it at least three times on the day of the catch. If you don’t do it he makes sure to bring the dead groundhog to your attention when you come out of the house.
The next stage can go a couple of ways. Number one is that he immediately starts to eat the groundhog. Two is he lets it sit there for a couple of days and then he eats stewed ground hog. This is not bad in the winter time when it is cold since it does not smell much, but it is terrible in the summertime. The third way is interesting; he buries it, and lets it ferment for a week or two. Then he digs it up and has pickled groundhog. Rudra eats almost the whole groundhog every single time. That is unless we have to get rid of it because it smells so bad before he eats it.
He is a good dog, he eats everything he catches. No waste.
Submitted by Lakshmi Devi
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Friday, November 23rd, 2007
Putting the garden to bed. Part 2
It was a little nerve racking due to the weather. We had almost a week of cold and rainy days. The weather forecast was then calling for warm temperatures but with rain showers. What we needed was the weather to be warm and dry in order to be able to dig up the potatoes. Luckily the weather did cooperate and provide us with some really nice days for digging. The weather started to change the afternoon we finished digging up the potatoes. That evening we had a rain storm and the next day the temperature had dropped 20 degrees.
All we have to do now to finish putting the garden to bed is to put cow dung on a few more areas of the garden. We also need to take care of the asparagus patch.
Submitted by Lakshmi Devi
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Monday, November 19th, 2007
It is that time of Year
It is that time of year again to put the old cows or ones with special needs into the geriatric barn and not let them out till spring time. So far I only have Gita and Radharani inside the geriatric barn. Radharani is the oldest cow in our herd at 23 years of age. She developed a growth on her right front leg earlier in the year. Dr. Moore our vet came and looked at it. He said as long as it is not causing her pain, or stopping her movement, he did not want to do anything to it because of her age.
I had noticed a couple of days ago that Radharani was not staying with the herd on pasture nor was she coming into the barn with them everyday. So Rudra (the dog) and I went to check on her several times a day making sure she was getting water and enough to eat. She is a real friendly lady and she also likes picking pockets for treats. She will eat anything; you really have to watch her. We were not too worried but then it started to get cold not only at night but also during the day. So Mom and I decided that if she did not come into the barn before 4 pm then we were going to put her in the geriatric barn.
So 4 pm rolls around and Radharani has not moved from the general area she was in that morning. Mom and I suited up in our cold weather gear. Mom went for the grain and I went and put gates up at the geriatric barn so that once we put her in she could not get out. Now Radharani is not only a real friendly lady she is also a real stubborn one. When she does not want to do something she does not do it no mater what you do. That is why Mom went for the grain. The trick is to have a grain bowl or bucket and that is how you get them to move without hopefully too much drama or frustration on our part. What you have to do is let them have a taste and then keep the grain right in front of them until you get them where you want them to go. Radharani was on top of the hill behind the barn, so that was going to be a little tricky and the cows were starting to come around the corner. So we had to get her though the gate at the bottom of the hill before the rest of the cows got that far.
It was close but we did it. Radharani was happy to go into the barn, in past years she was not happy in the beginning. Right after we put her into the geriatric barn Mom noticed that Gita was coming up the ramp slowly. Gita is one of the ones that Mom and I had talked about putting into the geriatric barn due to his arthritis. So we went and got another bucket of grain. Gita is always very happy to see a grain bucket and so it went very smoothly putting him in with Radharani. They have been in the geriatric barn two days together and they are very happy. We may put one or two others in with them but I am not sure yet who gets that privilege. It will depend on how the weather progresses and the cows’ health. Right now I am waiting to hear back from the vet on when he can come see Radharani to check out the lump on her leg. We will check also on what homeopathy treatment we can put her on.
Submitted by Lakshmi Devi
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Tuesday, November 13th, 2007
Putting the garden to bed. Part 1
When you do the last picking before the frost, you take every single tomato that is on the plant and any that may of fallen off since the last picking. We were lucky enough to get 5 buckets of tomatoes. One and half buckets were ripe and the rest were green. Mom has a really good trick to get them to ripen. What you do is get out a table put it in a room that is cool but well ventilated. You then put a vinyl tablecloth on it and then pour out the tomatoes. Also make sure that there are none piled on top of each other. Now the key is to have patience. Check them every couple of days, throw out the rotting ones and offer the ripe ones to Krishna and enjoy.
Now if you want fried green tomatoes you don’t have to do any waiting. My whole family loves fried green tomatoes and this is the only time of year we allow ourselves the luxury of them. The trick is to use a coating that does not overpower the delicate favor of the tomato. The mix I use is just cornmeal and a little salt. You put this mix in a container with a tight fitting lid. When you are ready to fry I put the tomatoes in with the cornmeal and salt and shake till they are well covered. Put them into a frying pan and just a little bit of your favorite oil (do not deep fry) and cook till golden brown on both sides. Repeat as needed. Offer to Krishna and Srila Prabhupada, then enjoy.
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Friday, November 9th, 2007
Memories of Govardhan Puja past
Touring the Barn. Photo by Chayadevi Nov,1985
Ready for Puja and treats. Photo by Lakshmi devi Nov, 1985
Touring the other barns. Photo by Chayadevi Nov, 1985.
Getting back on the Ox-cart to return to the temple. Photo by Chayadevi Nov, 1985.On the morning of Govardhan Puja we would decorate the cows and the barn. One of the really fun parts of decorating the cows was putting all different color handprints all over their coats. The paint was not harmful to the cows if they licked it or somehow ate some. Also we would spray-paint their hoofs and horns gold. After we did that we would have to run back to the asram to get cleaned up for the festival.
After puja in the main barn, we usually would move onto the other barns to give darshan to the rest of the herd. Then it was back to the temple for any plays or special events before the feast.
Submitted by Lakshmi
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Tuesday, November 6th, 2007
Taking the high road
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Tuesday, November 6th, 2007
Balaram Mediating/Sleeping
Balaram mediating on lunch or is he falling asleep? No Comments » - Posted in Contributors by Balabhadra das
Tuesday, November 6th, 2007
Krishna Fall 2007
Krishna enjoying fall in the lower pasture.
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Friday, November 2nd, 2007
Cutting Edge Cow Care
Doctor Harthorn first felt Nanda’s back for crucial spots to insert acupuncture needles.
The needles were then connected to a current.
Nanda got impatient and Balabhadra had to hold him.
A chiropractic tool was used on Nanda’s spine
Nanda was very relaxed after the treatment.
One of our oxen Nanda, who is 13 year old , has had nerve problems in his back legs for almost his whole life due to an accident at the temple’s big barn. We rescued him from there and have been nursing him ever since. We were told by 3 previous vets over a 10 year span that there was nothing that could be done for him.
We found Dr. Harthorn who does acupuncture treatments on horses and he agreed to come and treat Nanda. He had never treated a cow or ox before and was a little unsure if he wanted to start treating one now. My Dad (Balabhadra das) explained to him that Nanda was not any ox but a member of our family and we were trying to make his life easier in his golden years.
On the day of the appointment we were going though the halters and seeing if we had one that could fit Nanda. Normally none of our cows or oxen wear a halter, but when the vet visits then they have to. So we were looking and we took out the largest one we have, it is for say a Clydesdale horse. When I went to put it on him it was 3 inches short. So I just put a lead rope around his neck. Nanda is a huge boy, when I stand at his shoulder there is still a foot to go before you get to the top of him.
This is the first time we have tried this treatment for spinal and nerve problems for one of our cows. Immediately after the treatment, we could see Nanda was standing differently, not so stretched and more like a normal cow. Since the treatment, we have only seen him freeze up once. But in that situation he was facing down a very steep hill. Once we (Rudra and I) got him turned around, he just walked off as fine as can be. We have not seen him freeze up since that time.
After the acupuncture treatment Dr. Harthorn gave Nanda shots of Vitamin B 12 and Hypericum. This was injected into the same spots the needles were taken out of. We had told Dr. Harthorn that we have been giving Nanda the homeopathic medicines Ruta and Hypericum. These medicines have helped but they did not made the crucial difference needed for Nanda.
We will have to just wait and see how Nanda does, maybe he will need more treatments, maybe he will improve enough with one treatment. Dr. Harthorn said he was not sure how much he could do for him since he has had this condition for a long time.
We have also been giving him Chinese herbs which were prescribed by the Doctor. It has been about two weeks now and he is really acting better. We are thinking about having Dr. Harthorn come out again and do another session on Nanda.
Dr. Harthorn practices a school of medicine called Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine (TVM) that includes a combination of acupuncture and Chinese herbs. You can read more about this cutting edge treatment at http://www.tcvm.com/.
Submitted by Lakshmi Devi