I hope it's OK to post this here:

Cave Creek, AZ is a horse town and the residents here are being tested. The news of our 2,000+ acre fire two weeks ago didn’t make it beyond the local the news, but 40 horses were evacuate and 60 families. The mandatory evac order lasted 3 days. It is reported (unconfirmed by me) that the fire started because of a spark from a weed whacker. No horses, other pets, lives or structures were lost. Due to circumstances with my animals I did not evacuate.

Around noon on Saturday, May 30th another fire broke out because someone was welding pipe (this is what the cop told me when he came to the house to see if I was going to evacuate for this fire). Saturday was an extreme weather alert day and high wind advisory ---perfect day to weld!!!!

This fire is far more dangerous than the one two weeks ago. My phone battery was dead cuz the power was off from Saturday about 1 pm till 10:30 Sun night. Power poles burned and live wires were on the ground till APS could arrive. Two horses were electrocuted by the live wires before they could be rescued. But the sheriff’s department and a group of horse owners are doing a great job --- that is not a snark comment. I live at the end of town (where the fire was heading) and several trucks and horse trailers stopped to ask if I wanted the horses evacuated. One horse was evacuated, the others stayed here on property with me. Their arthritic issues prevent them from stepping up into a trailer. So I brought out the hoses and was prepared to keep them safe in the arena.


Sat. night I sat on my back porch watching one of the houses on the next street over burn down. I have heard that 14 houses have burned (unconfirmed, it may be more.) In the afternoon, when I saw a plume of black smoke billowing up the road towards my home and animals the shit got real. Then suddenly, like on a conveyor belt, for ten minutes the slurry planes and helicopters carrying water buckets turned and flew incredibly low over my barn to drop their loads on the plume of black smoke heading my way. If they had not gotten this portion under control there was no hope of controlling any part of the fire. Kudos again to the fire crews.
The fire and smoke was pretty much out by Sun night so I was surprised when I saw a huge plume of fresh black smoke in the direction of the town when I took my one dog for a walk this AM (Monday). My phone’s battery had recharged and calls from friends started coming in on my walk – the feed store in town was on fire – arson. This feed store is a building that’s older than the town so it was of historical importance. It is unconfirmed but the news I am hearing is that the dark web was telling people to come to Cave Creek to loot and arson and I heard about an hour ago that they caught two people who started the fire and that they’re connected to Antifa (not confirmed by me.)

Cave Creek residents have a FB page. I think it’s Cave Creek Infamous Blog in case you want to follow. I don’t go on FB.


There are not enough words to express the gratitude to be given the fire and air emergency crews and APS for their work.
Just wanting to let you know what’s going on. I’m off to fix some spaghetti cuz you can eat it hot or cold. I expect there will be more power shortages before this is over and our future holds more extreme heat days. I have set the AC for 74 degrees cuz I want the house to be cooled down in the event of another power shortage. The house has been over 85 degrees without the AC power to cool it. The evac order started Saturday and I hear will remain in effect for another 72 hours from today. People’s businesses are destroyed. One business owner could not pay the insurance due to the lack of business due to COVID and his inventory burned to the ground.

The priority in Cave Creek is our horses and other animals. Cave Creek may be a politically red town but we don’t hunker to anyone or anything threatening our animals.

Send good vibes and keep us in your thoughts.

Life goes in circles. The last time I owned any cat was more than 20 years ago. In fact, I owned

4 at the same time. Well, a few months ago a stray cat birthed her 6 kittens in my barn. I was able to trap all of them and transferred them to a great cat rescue. Three of the kittens have been adopted but grown cats are not what people are looking for so I told the cat rescue lady that I'd take the momma cat after the kittens were weaned and she was fixed, which I paid for. That has occurred so as of today I am again a cat owner. A tabby. However, the momma was really attached to one specific kitten so when I went to pick up the momma she asked if I'd take the baby to help with their transition, promising that she'd take the baby back if it didn't work out. So I am the owner of a cat and a kitten. The momma is in hiding in the upstairs room, and the baby is hiding under the dresser in the same room. I hope they can find their food and litter box on their own. Momma was a good barn mouser but those days are over. She'll be an inside cat. I go into the room every hour for a few minutes and just sit quietly.

With all the fear and hate in the world under trump I swore to myself I wasn't going to let any animal be killed if I was able to rescue it and provide it a good home.

Being a stray - not feral - she'll need time to acclimate cuz right now her favorite thing to do is hiss and swat. But she better hurry cuz I've also got 2 dogs. Husband does not yet know about the kitten!

Don't know how to post pics but just wanted to share my good news.

Bentonite clay for COVID-19??

I've used this in the past to "detox" my horses but had no idea it had a suggested use for fighting COVID-19. Before going on line to order more I updated my research. According to research, including NIH studies, Bentonite clay is a treatment for diahrrea induced by the coronavirus and the respiratory infections caused by the coronavirus. I'm not going to post a lot of info -- merely putting this out there as an alternative and something to have on hand if anyone experiences these symptoms with the coronavirus. My cost was $25 for a pound and humans use is 1 tsp/day. My caveat is to make sure you purchase calcium bentonite clay food grade. There are sodium BC products on the market but sodium BC is mostly for industrial use.

BC is also known as montmorillonite clay, which is a finely ground clay, kaolin clay, which is a finer ground clay.

Lastly, while the site info is from 2016 (I think) the FDA says not to purchase the brands "Best Bentonite Clay" from Guthrie, OK or "Bentonite Me Baby" by Alikay Naturals, although I went on their site and it is no longer listed.

When I've used BC in the past I alternated between French Green Clay and BC.

Do your own research and make sure, if you're on other meds, that you follow the guidelines: 2 hours before or after RX or 1 hour before meal.

Here is one of the many links I went to in my research: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378113598002417?via%3Dihub

Maybe others have tried this or something similar

but I decided to try to jazz up the taste of the Quorn meatless roast. I thawed it and then made four slices lengthwise in the roast, spread the slices apart, added Brie cheese and dried cranberries, tied it together, covered with foil, and baked according to directions. It’s good but I don’t think that Brie adds enough flavor variety. Without going super-spicy does anyone have any suggestions for a cheese?

Thanks.

Just checked my DU mail. I got two hearts --- thank you two and all!

This is not really a discussion, but as a Pets group I couldn't find any other place on

DU to post this news. I have no links.

Last night, on the local news, it was reported that 14 wild horses had been shot in Heber, AZ. Intentionally. Some were foals.

It is hard to concentrate on forgiving people when they show they are monsters.

There are no clues.

Are you sure you're getting enough iodine?

The addition of iodine in table salt began in the US in the early 1920s to help decrease the occurrence of goiters, or swelling of the thyroid gland. Knowing the importance of iodine in the diet, for more than 30 years I have added 2 oz. of iodized table salt daily to the wet feed of each horse on my property. I have purchased this iodized table salt in 25# bags at the local bulk food grocery store that caters to the commercial and restaurant businesses. During the past year or so, however, the store has carried only evaporated salt. Not knowing what evaporated salt was I did some research and learned that evaporated salt does not contain iodine (unless it is specifically added and labeled as such.)

Iodine is a mineral/electrolyte needed by humans and animals. Restaurants and manufacturers of commercially-prepared foods (generally) use only evaporated salt in their baking/manufacturing process. So, if your required daily amount of iodine is not in the restaurant food you eat, is not in the salt of commercially-prepared food you consume, and you do not salt your food with the required daily amount of iodized salt or eat iodine-rich foods, what is the source of your iodine? Just because your consuming sodium does not mean you are consuming iodine.

To prevent thyroid disease and help maintain a normal electrolyte balance read the label to be sure you’re getting iodine, or consume foods that naturally contain iodine. If your doctor tells you to lower your salt intake because of high blood pressure ask him or her how to go about supplementing with iodine so you don’t end up with thyroid disease.