IT’S ALL MEANWHILE, again on the farm this week. I’m engaged on a enjoyable subject for subsequent time that requires extra analysis than I’ve vitality for (see under). However hopefully enjoyable on the farm (and past) will likely be sufficient to amuse you and distract you from, nicely, you already know, stuff.
Listed below are some pictures from the most effective canine photographer ever, Steve Dahlgren of Canine Grin Pictures. He’s the one who took my creator shot; you may 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 pictures of me and Skip. Watch our faces for the development of how a lot enjoyable we every have been having:
(Did you notice my hair in poor Skip’s eye? I, in fact, didn’t till I regarded on the pictures. 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 per week. It began GREAT! I bought to spend the weekend in Nashville with one in all my nieces, the beautiful and proficient Wendy Piatt, who sings below the title of Sweetlove. I took her out for a pedi–I feel this photograph just about reveals how I really feel about her.
Wendy works half time on the well-known Bluebird Cafe. If you already know Nashville and singer/track writers, you already know 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 take a look at us with the “it’s time to go to be mattress, proper?” look). Reality be informed, even with my cane I bought The Wobbles (scientific time period for Drained + CFS + POTS + COPD + Previous), and when you have been there, I’m the one who virtually fell into the massive trash bin on the way in which out, wishing I had an indication on my again that stated “I’m NOT drunk!). But it surely was magical!
Listed below are Jeff, Phil, and Alan warming up:
Ah, however magic by no means lasts. The journey house by means of O’Hare was, uh, not nice. Airport insanely crowded, house 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 virtually 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 enamel rattling so onerous you may hear them. Wednesday night time Maggie bought a UTI and needed to go outdoors 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 bought us in on the following morning and we bought her on antibiotics instantly. They kicked in quick, the following night time she made it from 11 to 4, so I bought some actual sleep. Saturday we left the home for a number of hours, and got here again to search 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 large portions of canine vomit everywhere in 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 lately bought understanding that it was not toxic, however may trigger digestive discomfort if canine or cats eat it. No drawback, Maggie doesn’t eat vegetation, 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 massive this plant was once by the scale of the container.
This was not nibbling. She ate third of a big plant. There should 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 isn’t a systemic poison, however causes irritation and burning within the mouth and digestive tract. I referred to as an area veterinary ER, and spoke to somebody who clearly knew nothing in regards to the plant and gave me the standard “withhold meals, progressively 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 house. (Please speak amongst yourselves about what an fool I’m. I’ve bought that coated, 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 speak 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 instances to a special ER clinic’s vet assistant (who was knowledgeable, skilled and actually useful) about whether or not I ought to carry her in. On condition that there was little to be finished 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 virtually an hour on maintain with the ASPCA’s poison management hotline, a name that then dropped–“Name Failed.”)
Maggie lastly drifted off, we bought a little bit (stressed) sleep, and Maggie awakened 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 tremendous, 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 set to work 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 bought her to show away, however she got here again later with an invisible signal saying Goats Are Good, and moderately 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 taking a look at me with a transparent query: “I don’t see ’em. You?”
Seems they have been behind the sector, hidden within the shadow of the woods. Skip and I had fun working, and when he was finished, 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 atone 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 common home plant as a result of it wants so little mild), that you simply and your family members are wholesome sufficient to search out pleasure and pleasure within the little issues, and that all of us keep away from falling into trash cans in our future.
