IT’S ALL MEANWHILE, again on the farm this week. I’m engaged on a enjoyable matter for subsequent time that requires extra analysis than I’ve vitality for (see beneath). However hopefully enjoyable on the farm (and past) can be sufficient to amuse you and distract you from, effectively, you recognize, stuff.
Listed below are some photographs from one of the best canine photographer ever, Steve Dahlgren of Canine Grin Pictures. He’s the one who took my writer shot; you’ll be able to inform it’s the identical session as a result of my hair is washed, I’ve on a little bit make up, to not point out a clear shirt. (Simply ask Jim how uncommon that each one is.)
I requested Steve to get some photographs of me and Skip. Watch our faces for the development of how a lot enjoyable we every had been having:
(Did you notice my hair in poor Skip’s eye? I, after all, didn’t till I appeared on the photographs. Lordy what our canine put up with.)
However right here’s my favourite of all of them, simply me and my sheepdog, and him and his human:
It’s been every week. It began GREAT! I acquired to spend the weekend in Nashville with one among my nieces, the attractive and gifted Wendy Piatt, who sings below the identify of Sweetlove. I took her out for a pedi–I feel this picture just about exhibits how I really feel about her.
Wendy works half time on the well-known Bluebird Cafe. If you recognize Nashville and singer/track writers, you recognize what a deal with it was for me to get a seat the night time that Jeff Trott (well-known for writing a lot of Sheryl Crows hits) and Phil Barton (“A Lady Like You”) together with Alan Argyle who was additionally so so good.
The Bluebird is a music venue well-known for giving some fairly good musicians their begin, like, oh, I don’t know, Kathy Mattea, Taylor Swift, and Garth Books. It felt loopy particular to be there Saturday night time, because of Wendy getting me a seat. Fortunate fortunate me. I even made it to the tip at 10:45 (about 2 hours after Maggie and Skip have a look at us with the “it’s time to go to be mattress, proper?” look). Reality be instructed, even with my cane I acquired The Wobbles (scientific time period for Drained + CFS + POTS + COPD + Previous), and in case you had been there, I’m the one who nearly fell into the big trash bin on the best way out, wishing I had an indication on my again that mentioned “I’m NOT drunk!). However it was magical!
Listed below are Jeff, Phil, and Alan warming up:
Ah, however magic by no means lasts. The journey dwelling by way of O’Hare was, uh, not nice. Airport insanely crowded, dwelling 4 hours later than anticipated as a result of after we settled on the airplane, able to take off, the hated announcement got here. Waited an hour, deplaned, walked nearly a mile to subsequent airplane, yadda yadda.
And so, Maggie and I made a decision to get sick. Tuesday I used to be below 2 blankets, my tooth rattling so onerous you might hear them. Wednesday night time Maggie acquired a UTI and needed to go exterior to pee each 20 minutes. I managed to get her to stretch it out one other 5 or 10, however spent the night time on the sofa on excessive alert, up off the sofa each half-hour. Fortunately our vet clinic acquired us in on the subsequent morning and we acquired her on antibiotics instantly. They kicked in quick, the subsequent night time she made it from 11 to 4, so I acquired some actual sleep. Saturday we left the home for just a few hours, and got here again to seek out what I want I’d had the presence of thoughts to {photograph}. No, wait, you’re welcome. I’m glad to have spared you the huge portions of canine vomit all around the rug we simply had professionally cleaned. (That she’d peed on pooped on 3 days earlier than, see UTI above.)
Maggie ate a large quantity of ZiZi plant leaves and stems, a plant I had not too long ago bought realizing that it was not toxic, however would possibly trigger digestive discomfort if canine or cats eat it. No drawback, Maggie doesn’t eat crops, though, now that I replicate on it, she has on uncommon event nibbled on a plant when she has an acid abdomen.
You’ll be able to inform how large this plant was once by the scale of the container.
This was not nibbling. She ate an excellent third of a giant plant. There will need to have been 2-3 cups of leaves and stems on the rug. I contact Dr. Google first, who knowledgeable me that it incorporates calcium oxalates, that it’s not a systemic poison, however causes irritation and burning within the mouth and digestive tract. I known as a neighborhood veterinary ER, and spoke to somebody who clearly knew nothing in regards to the plant and gave me the same old “withhold meals, steadily introduce white rice and hen….”. I’m somebody whose freezer has containers labeled “cooked rice for canine,” “skinless cooked hen for canine,” and “cooked rice and hen broth for canine,” (with no fats/no salt), however not the sense to keep away from bringing this plant into my dwelling. (Please discuss amongst yourselves about what an fool I’m. I’ve acquired that lined, particularly whereas mendacity on the sofa, stroking Maggie’s head, whereas she lay on the sofa in ache.) However I did really feel the necessity to discuss to somebody in vet drugs who knew what I used to be speaking about, particularly since Maggie refused meals and water all afternoon.
Maggie’s discomfort morphed into actual ache all through the afternoon and night. I talked a number of occasions to a totally different ER clinic’s vet assistant (who was knowledgeable, skilled and actually useful) about whether or not I ought to carry her in. Provided that there was little to be completed however ache management, he agreed it was a good suggestion to provide her the Gabapentin I already had {that a} vet had prescribed for her for one thing else. (This after nearly an hour on maintain with the ASPCA’s poison management hotline, a name that then dropped–“Name Failed.”)
Maggie lastly drifted off, we acquired a little bit (stressed) sleep, and Maggie awoke Sunday morning a little bit hungry, a little bit wobbly, however so so significantly better. Now it was time for a tiny little bit of rice, some water, then tiny meals all through the day. This morning (Monday), I’ve talked to our vet about my considerations about her kidneys (recovering from UTI, no water, Stage 2 kidney illness). We go in Friday to have her checked out. She says she’s wonderful, and will we please exit and play some extra? And about that hen . . .
Skip, who has padded between me and Maggie along with his “are you alright?” look on his face for days, lastly started working sheep at buddy Donna’s yesterday. He first needed to confront a goat, well-known for going after canine. He stared her down on the fence and acquired her to show away, however she got here again later with an invisible signal saying Goats Are Sensible, and slightly than confront him nostril to nostril, stood on the fence to loom over him.
Skip, Donna, Wisp, and I couldn’t discover her sheep at first. Right here’s Skip me with a transparent query: “I don’t see ’em. You?”
Seems they had been behind the sector, hidden within the shadow of the woods. Skip and I had fun working, and when he was completed, he ran to the water tank within the barn to chill off. The place he encountered but different complicated “not sheep” creatures, the chickens. Please think about a speech bubble over his head and inform me what he’s considering.
It’s time for me to compensate for different issues now that Maggie and I are each on the highway to restoration. Right here’s hoping that your loved one pet by no means eats a ZiZi plant (tremendous in style home plant as a result of it wants so little mild), that you just and your family members are wholesome sufficient to seek out pleasure and pleasure within the little issues, and that all of us keep away from falling into trash cans in our future.
