Aliska - we shouldn't have much risk of overmedicating. Most of the medicinals are more gentle and safer than pharmaceutical type medicines. And the only ones that go into goatland are the ones I'll use myself. Most of the medicinals have distinct flavors and textures and are the kind of things goats taste and nibble, but don't chow down on - so that also keeps intake at very moderate levels. They tend to just eat them when they need them. We also only put the safest types of plants in goatland and dogland. Things that can be medicinal but are very strong meds (like foxglove)are only grown in the flower garden in the section closest to the road - a place where seed can't wash back up into the goatland hills. I won't self medicate myself with that and there's no way I'll let it free range on the land. I do want the pretty flowers in my garden though. :) On Buster's garden tours it was very interesting to see his reaction to plants that he had not encountered before. Most of them got a little nibble. He liked the malva and hollyhocks which are stomach soothing and anti-inflammatory. He also like marshmallow which is similar. He loved the mugwort which is used for rheumatism. He had no interest in the St Johnswort. He had a nibble on the valerian one day and liked it, but it wasn't particular favorite for garden munching. He nibbled on the hyssop a bit but didn't care for it. He was keen on the peppermint for a few days, but after that ignored it. We did go down the path with the foxglove one day. I had been watching his garden nibbling for several days and knew by then that even in the middle of winter he was being very selective in his munching. So we went down that path and I was ready to pull him away from the big, lush foxglove leaves if he went for them. He gave them one sniff, made a face and wanted nothing to do with them. Those garden tour days convinced me that as long as we have a food rich environment in goatland we don't really have to worry about them mis-medicating. Now if a plant is mild, gentle and a favorite they might prevent it from ever getting established, but that's a different problem. When Buster joined us in the house in December he was really on edge the first night. The next several nights he and I both had a cup of herbal tea (homegrown valerian and skullcap - valerian to promote sleep and skullcap for sleep and muscle pain relief) at bedtime. It really helped both of us sleep through the first few days of our new routine. Buster already had the understanding that humans sometimes provide medicines that make ill goats feel better, and after our first tea party it was clear that he knew that the drink was something soothing and relaxing. We've also used herbs for a goat that had either pink eye or a corneal scratch. Of course that happened after the vet's was closed for the day so we did a quick check of the herbal medicine book. It recommended chamomile tea as an eye rinse so we brewed some and bathed her eye. Goats hate getting wet so she wasn't sure about the wet washcloth on the first application. But within seconds she was gently leaning into it and obviously feeling relief. It cured the problem up quickly - as good as ever had with veterinary pharmaceutical eyedrops. We gave her several more eyewashes over the next two days and she would come to us for treatment when she saw the washcloth. That's the same goat that comes to the fence and asks us for mentholated cough drops when she has a stuffy nose. (She wasn't keen on the very first one, but once she figured out what it did for her nose she knew to come to us for medicine if she couldn't breath through her nose.) Bit by bit we are learning first hand what to expect from various medicinal herbs as we establish parent colonies. Getting a second opinion on the treatments from the goats has been very helpful. The most promising herbs gradually get planted beyond the herb garden - first into my flower garden/seed farm and then out into goatland & dogland. It was so cool to have garden time with Buster to see what he thought of the various types of plants. He was very particular about what he'd eat outright, what he'd nibble a bit and what he'd avoid - even down to which particular parts of the plants he'd eat. He obviously had some sort of plant knowledge that he could apply to the flower garden - quite amazing when you consider that because of the mild winter there were over 65 plant species with actively growing greenery at the time. There must have been 50 species where our garden walks were his first ever encounters with them, but he knew how to assess them and make judgments about them. His illnesses have been an awful lot of work for us but it really was cool having those garden walks with him. I guess I'll need to bring one of the others out for a stroll sometime and listen to what they have to tell me about the plants and herbs. I bet cough drop fan Sandy would like to see what's out in the front garden. :) Lynda

It depends on the VA hospital. The one in Boise ID seems to be great. My brother in law was in it before he passed away with Huntington's Disease. We did go and see him several time and he (and the hospital) were always very clean, room excellent, personal just great This was several years ago. Friend taken to VA hospital in AZ near Cottonwood, treated so bad, discharged to crappy nursing home in Kingman AZ, lasted only few weeks. Not sure why. Another BIL was in VA hospital in Tuscon and he got good service, but he would not cooperate with either Dr/s or staff etc. Got out and really caused the family problems. Because of staffing cuts, money cuts, many of the VA hospitals are just not as good as they use to be. It is like dealing with a HMO , you take charge, you make the decisions and stand tough.DO NOT let them decide what Dr. There is always someone above and they will do anything to just medicate the person to """make""" the problem and people go away. Yes I have seen this done in some VA hospitals. Who ever goes with FIL, take a notebook, write everything down, names, titles, times, attitude, etc. If necessary record conversations. Has he had a complete medical work? If not, make sure he does. Just keep pushing. Sorry to be so adamant, but if we do not stand up for the veterans who will.

If you go through the list of ADHD diagnostic criteria ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adhd has it) A__ has ALL of them to the point of "disruptive and inappropriate for developmental level" He really has made HUGE progress in the last year or so, but his ADHD causes health, home and social problems for him. "Health" because he often is too wound up to sleep and is exhausted the next day, he can't identify hungry/full or other body signals because he can't pay attention to his body, he may or may not remember to wash/wipe/groom himself properly (or possibly HOW to do it properly), and he often gets injured from things that are truly terrible ideas but he's too impulsive to identify it. "Home" because he is often in trouble with his caregivers for things like picking on the pets, wrecking things by climbing on them, not listening, or bad attitude. "Social" because he has problems at school with his classwork and his behavior, in situations like birthday parties, when he grabs things or runs around at stores, that other kids don't like him because he is "too weird", those sorts of things. I know that being active and not having good judgment are part of being a kid... But he goes WELL beyond that. I have a nephew the same age as A__, and I do science outreach with kids, often with the 8-10yo set, and often see the "norm" for boys that age. A__ definitely does not behave like his peers do. When he takes his Ritalin, he is a little surly and hard to engage, but he can follow a simple instruction, remember to wash his hands after using the bathroom, he says please and thank you, he can sit in a chair, recall where he left his pencil, play a game of cards. Without his pills, these everyday things are a STRUGGLE for him. We've been doing little things on days where he doesn't take a pill (BM prefers that he doesn't on weekends or in summer if there isn't a specific reason for him to, and I'm on the fence about how I feel about that - I see ups and downs to both sides - but it's not my decision, so I can respect her preference) like making a QUICK trip to the store for less than five minutes. That way, he can gradually learn how to manage when he has not taken a pill. He also goes through the morning routine before he takes his pill when he is with us, so he can learn to go through day-to-day living without. When we introduce a game/chore/activity/route for the first time, we make sure it's WITH a pill, so he can listen and remember. After that, with guidance, he can often do it without a pill. If we try to introduce something new without a pill, he's so wound up about that this chore/game/route is new that he can't pay attention well enough to actually do it. (I think this is quite ironic) A__ going to school without his pills is simply out of the question at this point. When we were talking about that Ritalin is to help him learn to manage his feelings and everyday life, he asked if he would be off it when he was ten. I said I thought it would be longer, maybe in high school, or maybe after he is all done all his school, that it's hard to tell now. I'll be telling BM how I answered that one, so that she's prepped for if something comes out of left field on that. He switched prescriptions last winter, to a slower release dose, and it's a great improvement. He still gets the benefits of being able to listen and think and so on, but he doesn't have the huge emotional ups and down that he did on his old dose. It might be good to try a Ritalin alternative, that might not have the side effects (loss of appetite, surliness, etc) but that's not up to me. I can suggest to FDH, and he can suggest to BM, but I have to work with what I've got here. What I have here: a little boy with a big heart, who wants desperately to be "good", but has a lot of trouble with it on his own. I love A__ very much, and I want him to be able to cope with everyday life... And that's why I appreciate advice from all of you - because I don't have all the answers, but you ladies are able to help me.

I would start with soil first leaves should be shredded and left to leach and decompose for 4-6 months for the best results then you can use as a top dressing or mulch you can also till it in for the organic matter ( the worms love it) . I start out with a 10x10x10 leaf pile ( shredded) and it shrinks to 1/2 that by spring by then it's ready for any garden use but no matter what you should shred them before using them in the garden. Back to the raised beds not sure how big they are and what kind of budget you have. I would start with some peat moss mixed with some top soil add some dried manure I would look for local stables you might get it just for hauling it off make sure it's older stuff . I take my grandson and we go to a friends cow pasture and fill about 10 5gal buckets with dried patties after we do that several times I run them through my chipper then I mix that into my beds works great. You can also buy composted manure mix the peat moss , top soil and manure add a few shredded leaves if you like and it should work great. If you have a lawn and a bagger for your mower try using the clippings as mulch around your plants its all I use it's like adding manure as you grow it doesn't burn or hurt your plants as some would profess I've done it for 40 yrs put it on thick 6-12 inches it decomposes fast.