Clean Up
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“What do you mean I have to put away all my toys because company is coming?”
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Twas the day before Thanksgiving, and all through the house… Yeah, we’re cleanin.’ And cooking!
Cyndie read somewhere that you should give your dog a new toy every few days, or at least, rotate them out of service for a while as new ones are introduced. I know how this works. We raised kids. Delilah would just as likely play with a stick or a leaf and be fascinated for an hour. She would just as happily devour the cardboard backing a new chew toy had been mounted to, instead of the toy itself. Ice cubes are a current fascination. But it seems everyday I discover a new colorful device in our house that pet scientists of the world have devised to keep our dog intellectually challenged.
I’d like to meet the marketing genius who wrote that article Cyndie read, …and congratulate him.
“Don’t forget to clean up after the horses in the paddocks!”
Yes, dear. I should just let Delilah eat it all. With a dog’s sense of smell a gazillion times better than humans, you’d think manure would smell something awful to them. So, why the need to taste it at every encounter? The horses, deer, raccoons… She doesn’t discriminate.
I sure hope it won’t be too sunny tomorrow. I don’t think we’ll get around to washing windows before guests arrive.
If you are traveling today, be careful out there! We hope everyone in the States reading along will have a chance this holiday-extended-weekend to gather with others, sit down to a meal together, and bask in the valuable energy of being thankful. If you notice your hosts missed a spot when they were cleaning for guests, be sure to cut them some slack. Especially if they have been trying to live with a great big puppy and two frustrated house cats for the last two months.
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Disappearing Days
Can days actually disappear? Vanish without a trace? Somehow or other we have arrived at Monday, November 25th. Where was I when time flew by?
Efforts are under way to prepare our home to host guests for multiple gatherings over the coming Thanksgiving weekend. You know those things that lie around unnecessarily for months, that suddenly become noticeable as being out of place when preparing for special events? Suddenly, piles of stuff are beginning to form at the top of the stairs, waiting to be carried away and stashed in some less conspicuous location.
I don’t understand where it all came from, how it all accumulates, or where we have space to store it in the future.
Maybe those days don’t actually vanish without a trace, and this stuff is what gets left behind by the disappearing days.
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The local deer population has been reduced by a few already. Yesterday morning, we were surprised by a knock on the door, and our neighbor stepped in to describe the scene that had just transpired with his grandson down by the pond on their property. He was confirming we were okay with them tracking a deer they had shot, which then turned and ran into our woods.
In reality, it crossed our property entirely and made it into the neighbor’s woods on the other side of us. The guys dragged it down the trails to the edge of our woods where they could drive up with a trailer to haul it away to be registered with the DNR. I had Delilah out for a walk when they showed up in their truck and of course, she took great interest in this, and thus was a challenge to hold as we visited with the hunters for a moment before they drove away.
I think she is frustrated with the extended time indoors and on the leash this weekend. I spoiled her with a lot of time running loose last week.
Now that I think of it, last night, when our CSA farm neighbor stopped by with this month’s delivery, which included a fresh turkey, Delilah had that same look in her eyes as she put her paws on the counter to sniff the bird as she did with the deer in the trailer. She is a carnivore, there is no doubt about that.
One night I decided to treat her to some left over chicken chow mien on top of her usual food. She eats everything she finds on the ground, from sticks to antlers, mummified carcasses, and even manure, but when I checked her bowl after the chow mien, I found she had deftly set aside a piece of celery and a mushroom that didn’t interest her.
She certainly knows what she doesn’t like.
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Necessary Medicine
It is very rewarding to see our dog, Delilah, loving the snow with such gusto. She buries her face in it! Sadly, we are making her sick with the medication to treat her Lyme infection, as the antibiotic is upsetting her tummy. There is a life lesson in that, isn’t there? If we are too timid about enduring some necessary hardships, we shortchange ourselves from ultimate results we seek.
The relatively brief period of gastric distress is worth dealing with to rid her of the infection that is causing her to be intermittently lame. She’s a trooper and is handling it well. For some reason, she seems to prefer to throw up indoors. I was trying to get ready to take her out before bed last night in the extreme cold, and thus struggling to get boots on, hat, jacket, gloves, plus my head lamp, while she started gagging. Half way through getting my stuff on, I’m running into the kitchen to get a paper towel.
Nothing of substance was coming up, but she kept trying. I’d hastily get a boot on, and then turn to wipe up after her, now rushing even more to get the rest of my stuff on so I could take her out. I left the last spots to be wiped up later, and we headed out the door. Outside, she seemed completely fine. After a very short time out in the cold night air, after she both peed and pooped, I invited her back in. At the door, she started to choke again. I quickly reversed direction and offered her a chance to stay out a bit longer.
She walked around the yard, nosed the snow, but seemed otherwise just fine. Back to the door, and a bit of a gag. Maybe being in the house makes her sick to her stomach?
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Single Digits
We received a bit of snow on Thursday night, and this morning temperatures are in the single digits. My usual ease with facing the extreme cold of winter has waned as I age, but I was pleased to find that adjustment came quickly for me, as I began clearing the driveway up by the house. In no time, I was removing my jacket and finding an easy balance of comfort in the cold, while involved in activity.
Sure, it feels cold if you just step out and stand still in the frigid air. What a great excuse to do something productive, or at least, entertaining!
After I finished the driveway, I walked with Delilah down to the labyrinth to make tracks along the pathway in hopes of establishing the route in snow so it will remain obvious throughout the winter. It was a delightful experience to be the first one to trek through the snow, enjoying the rare opportunity to see where I have been, in contrast to the portion that lay ahead.
Delilah has a bit too much energy to be limited to staying on the path, so she wasn’t much help with tromping down the trail. Plus, the arrival of snow has ramped up her energy immensely, as she gleefully celebrates the white stuff that has turned her outdoor world into a whole new playground experience.
Unfortunately, today dawns with new restrictions for our animals, as the deer hunting season has begun, and the woods all around us will be filled with the sounds of gunshots. The unbridled romping will be severely constrained for the next two weeks.
Cyndie reported that this morning, the two elder horses of our herd were stoically standing posts facing in opposite directions and were barely willing to suspend their surveillance to partake in the morning feed. They sense that the predator/prey operation is underway.
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Tricky Care
I took this photo of Delilah a while back, to show off her forehead painted silver by some concoction Cyndie sprayed to seal a wound. We noticed recently how nicely that spot finally healed up. What we once feared would be an obvious scar on her head, has now disappeared. She had hurt herself by running into barbed wire when she was over zealously exploring off-leash.
Earlier this week, the same day I had taken Delilah into the vet to be seen for her lameness, she got up to greet Cyndie coming home from work in the evening, and the problem had moved to one of her front legs. That didn’t take long. It was one of the signs the vet said we should watch for that would indicate the Lyme infection was active, and would warrant a second, different antibiotic regimen.
In the manner of behavior that dogs can be so good at demonstrating, whenever the lameness subsides, she quickly returns to activity as if she is in the peak of health. Now, that’s something that should be studied. I wish I could do that when I was sick!
It makes it tricky when caring for her. She seems like she could run and run, but should I let her? For both of our sakes, I’m taking a break from chucking balls for her to find. Seems I’ve developed a bit of tendonitis in the elbows from a variety of the activities I have been engaged in around here. She and I can convalesce together.
We can play, “Find the Ball with Your Nose” indoors, for a while. Good timing for that. Temperatures are headed for the deep freeze this weekend.
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Experiential Learning
I am curious whether or not the horses are aware that they are training me to care for them. Prior to their arrival here, I had very little exposure to horses, and absolutely no experience in managing the care of a herd.
Parts of the process already feel comfortable for me. I am able to step inside the paddock without hesitation, to feed them or clean up after them, while they are unconstrained and not wearing harnesses. It seems to me as though they accept the leadership role I am in, but my knowledge of all things horse-related is so limited, I have to believe they sense my lack of experience.
I’m finding that their shenanigans to chase each other off the feed, when we provide one pan for each of them, frustrates me for some reason. I guess I want them to behave the way I think they should, instead of the manner which they choose. I’m sure we’ll all figure it out eventually. In the mean time, it is part of what leaves me feeling mostly clueless about the deeper levels of understanding horses, which is, understandably, a reflection of my lack of experience. I don’t get to jump from knowing nothing, all the way to in-depth knowledge, without going through the process of actually gaining it through experience.
Another thing that urks me is that Hunter makes a habit of putting a hoof into the feed pan to tip it and dump the feed all over the ground. That stuff ain’t cheap! He/they are pretty good at cleaning up most of it, but it messes with my sense of order.
Yesterday, I figured they were telling me they were ready for the afternoon feeding when I walked by on the way to get the mail. Legacy led the group in a trot across the big field to follow my progress. I sensed they wanted something. I stayed on my task, and walked back toward the house without stopping at the barn, and so they took to racing around, kicking and cavorting, to let me know… something. This is where I am short on experience to confidently interpret their behavior. I guessed they were frustrated, but their galloping looked a bit too fun-spirited to me.
Since it was close to the time we would normally give them the afternoon feed, I turned around as soon as I dropped the mail in the house, and returned to the barn. When they saw me, the herd came right up under the overhang where we set out their feed pans, all of them breathing heavy from their bout of running around. I went through the usual routine, at my pace (to let them know I am in charge), distributing their dinner for them to battle over and spill to the ground.
Another day’s “lesson” in the books for my ongoing process of learning by doing. I’m not always sure about what I learn each day, but I’m having a lot of fun gaining experience in caring for horses.
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Found It!
Cyndie found the mouse that the cats killed. They put it in the toilet. We are very impressed that they knew the mouse was something that needed to be disposed of.
Meanwhile, the horses have proved me wrong. I believe that I wrote about how often I find them lying down to rest in the afternoons, and that one of them always remains standing to keep watch. Yesterday, I looked up from my task to find that all four of them were on the ground at the same time. I guess they feel safe here. As I watched them, I noticed there was no traffic on our road and no activity underway in any of the fields or at the neighboring farms. It was wonderfully calm and quiet, even with the wind kicking up some fairly robust gusts every so often. I think their behavior is a reflection of the environment where they now find themselves living.
We are pretty happy with the place, too.
Now, the serenity is not without interruption. This time of year, there are an awful lot of gunshots spoiling the natural sound scape. Hunting seasons for a variety of animals start in September and run into December. The biggest hunt around here is definitely the deer season. It opens this coming weekend, so right now many hunters are preparing their guns, test-firing them and calibrating the sights.
We saw the horses startle at the sound of some of the closer shots later in the day yesterday. I’m hoping that the presence of our horses and Delilah will have rerouted the deer traffic away from our land, so the hunters will have no incentive to post themselves close by. I certainly haven’t seen as many deer around here this year as there were last year during the same time period.
I’ve posted images here on the blog of Delilah with her blaze-orange vest on, I wonder if we should get the horses some blaze-orange blankets. We definitely don’t want to have them wear antler hats for the next two weeks. I’ve heard stories that cause me to be uneasy during deer hunting season. Luckily, there are no strangers hunting in our vicinity. It is all private property, and the hunting is done by family groups that are familiar with the area.
I’m just happy our cats have finally decided to participate in some hunting this year. It’s the season!
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Pet News
The weather is holding, and making my earlier post inaccurate, as forecasts now indicate we still have some 50-degree temperatures available to us up here during November. Luckily, we were spared any of the thunderstorms and tornadoes that other parts of the midwest experienced.
I barely had time in the afternoon yesterday to finish off the bracing wires on the corner posts and then start the process of setting posts up the hill for the fence line along the northern border of our property. The sun sets so dang early now that just as I start to make progress, it’s time to gather up the tools and call it a day.
The morning was consumed by a trip to the vet with Delilah. On Saturday evening, after a wonderfully normal day, she laid down early, slid off the back of her bed and didn’t move for the entire time we were upstairs watching a rented movie. It seemed so uncharacteristic for her. After the movie, Cyndie had to work hard to coax Delilah to move, and at that point, it became obvious there was a problem. Delilah couldn’t get up.
Without any warning, she had suddenly gone lame. A quick search pointed to Lyme disease as a likely culprit, which wasn’t a surprise. When we had her in for surgery, shortly after we first brought her home, they ran a blood test and told us it appeared Delilah was already infected with Lyme. Even though we weren’t seeing any symptoms, the course of treatment indicated was for 30-days of antibiotics. We followed through on that, and during that time, and since, we witnessed no symptoms, so we were feeling hopeful.
Not any more.
First, Cyndie, now our dog… I sure hope the horses don’t get it. Or the cats, for that matter. Even though they are indoor animals, we saw them catch a mouse the other night (Finally! It’s the first time we witnessed them get one), and mice are reservoirs for the infection. By the way, we saw them catch the mouse (they actually appeared to be working together), but we didn’t see what they did with it. I thought sure I would be stepping on it when I walked to the bathroom in the morning darkness. Nope. I lucked out.
But we still haven’t found any left over evidence anywhere. They really are more efficient than a baited trap. I have to dump those. I’ve gotten 3 in 3-days in a trap in the garage. Last year, I just tossed the mouse-cicles into the woods. This year, I am wary of Delilah finding them if I do that.
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Some Prose
maybe it’s just one of those days when I haven’t gotten around to taking any photos to add to the Image Folder for potential inclusion to be used on the blog, and the ones that I do have are all out of date now, having been posted before, sometime closer in relation to when they were actually taken, and the poetry is all posted from what has already been written and the blustery gray day brought little in the way of stories worth telling, except maybe one in which Cyndie learned to drive the new four-wheeler we bought, navigating our trails, pulling the trailer to haul down a couple wood posts and some wire to make further progress on the fence project I started during the week, which proceeds rather slowly when I’m out all alone, trying to hold things myself while also reaching around to hammer, though it’s just barely any easier with Cyndie here to help, since she and I tend to do things in ways quite the opposite, like fast versus slow and up instead of down or over when I choose under, but that also means one of us is usually right when the other one is wrong so it comes in handy at the same time, too, even though it seems like a problem it is more often the solution depending on how you choose to frame the way it looks from where you stand, and from here right now all I know is that lip which I bit trying to chew on my food swelled up just enough that I bit it again and I’m stuck in that loop where I keep biting it again since it is right at the precarious spot that got bit in the first place before it was swollen, so how in the world do I avoid it now that it gets in the way every time my teeth meet which I find that they do much more often than simply the times when I’m eating, yet it makes sucking on ice, which I do with some frequency, a whole new experience since it soothes and it numbs as it reduces the swelling bringing temporary relief just long enough to forget about the problem altogether which –you see it coming, I bet that you do– starts it all over because I bite it again having gotten past the worries that had me trying to protect that poor spot when it hurt, making the dining experience a rather sad affair, which seems totally unfair, since last night’s dinner tasted so good, and at times I was stuck with just sucking to get flavor, enticing as it was, and that made it seem rather odd to refer to such exquisite cuisine in a way that I found myself saying of my dinner, though I enjoyed so much, it certainly did suck.
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