Whew... what a whirlwind...
Okay, here it is Monday night of MLK Day. Already 16 days into the new year and I am busier than a one armed coat hanger and haven't had a day off yet. Although I did get about 20 minutes of saddle time in on Saturday. Badly needed time. :)
Sharpy's visit to the vet on Saturday was mostly uneventful, unless one considers the nearly 300 cc of serum extracted from the pocket where the tumor had been.
Vet kindly wrote prescription and I found a place that sells the 1,000 ct for around $60. Yes, I'm an optimist. :)
The baggie has filled up with serum again, but it's not as bad as it was. It will probably need draining tomorrow as too many sticks will make it less sterile.
Sunday and Monday were rather uneventful for the most part - just filled with the usual... writing my fingers sore. As of tonight, I have sent of all chapters, minus introduction and summary. All 300 or so pages. I am hoping that the prof will be kind and accept most of what has been written (if for no other reason than the fact that it is such a long opus and we're both tired of messing with it... lol).
To make the day a little more stressful, the younger mare (she's a 26 yo pony at 13.3hh) was acting VERY odd tonight. Slept on the ground (not the most unusual for her), but strangely, this chow hound of a pony did not come in to be fed. Although, once in her stall, she ate as if nothing had happened. But then, when turned back out, she just stood there, almost dazed and confused. Normally she will go over where the baby eats to see if he left perhaps a stray crumb for her to inhale. Not tonight. When I checked just a few minutes ago she was up, alert but not eating. (Skye, yes, we had air and apples, so I don't think it's truly a colic, but I gave about 1/4 g of bute anyways, just in case it's a general soreness malaise). I don't think she's ready to checkout, but of course at that age, anything can happen.
Did I mention, gotta go back to work tomorrow morning again? Just hoping she's doing well. In contrast, the sweet old girl is doing great. She is eating her pellets like, ummm... a horse lol.
Weatherwise it's been strange. WU kept insisting that temps would be in the -1C to +3C overnight the last few nights. Ehhh, yea.. let's see -5C on Saturday morning, -4C yesterday and -2C this morning. Hmmm... glad I covered my veggies. The lettuce is doing great (and did I mention, tastes awesome?). Spinach is going good too finally. Now I'm waiting on the ol' radishes and some of the brassica to get ready.
Supposed to rain tomorrow, Tuesday and Wednesday. Day to night time differences in the range of about 20C. Wednesday night? About 0C (32F). By next weekend, almost summerly temps with 27C for the day (that's almost 80F!).
What a messed up winter. But I'm happy it's relatively warm and sunny.
Eggie count has hit 1,400 with today clocking in a 12 after yesterday's 11. Not too bad given that we "only" get about 10 1/2 hours of light :)
Have a great week everyone. Keep fingers crossed for Sharpy, the pony mare and my writing endeavor.
(Skye / trauma: if you haven't checked them out, chicksaddlery.com has some good sales items right now)
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These darn gas prices. News came out last night of them getting higher and came to work to find out it is $4.99 a gallon. Driving a big truck doesn't help. We can't seem to cut back enough and this will send the cost of hay way over the limit.
Okay off my rocker.
At least I drive a car that gets about 36 mpg - otherwise I couldn't come to work every day (that's a 60+ miles round trip).
Bear, she's fine this morning. Someone suggested she might just feeling the weather (the flip flop mess sure isn't making it easy...).
She did give me a small blast of gas in the stall before I took her out into the pasture (ate fine and with regular gusto before that, just odd she didn't want to come in nor did she holler in her usual manner). And when I checked on her before going inside again, she dropped a decent pile of 'apples' - nicely moist, so I don't think it was colic, but maybe some gas or joint aches? She IS around 26 after all. Just wondering if she is feeling old and kind of just willing herself to end things... she's always been a very strong alpha mare, so it's kinda weird.
Arbie: enjoy the great time (while it lasts). You know the old saying of "nothing better follows..." Sometimes the devil you know is better than the one you don't.
Well, after a long day with lots of frustration and mega ticked-off-ness, my camera has finally manifested (after it was sent FedEx Smartpost - more like FedEx DUMB(dump?)post... ). FedEx claims it was delivered on the 13th. Well so much for triskaisdecaphobia. Didn't manifest on Friday, nor Sat, but finally showed up today (even though both FedEx and USPS CLAIMED that the item was delivered on Friday 13th at 5:42 a.m. Oh yea, to a business. Sure, you believe that? Can I sell ya a bridge to nowhere in Alaska?).
Why even bother asking for a street address to deliver to where someone could sign for when tracking is not accurate anyways? Sheesh.
Yea, I'm not happy with the way this went down. Not one bit....
Capt. Schettino and the Italian cruise ship: apparently he suffered from the same problem so many Italian guys do... trying to show off how great they are. That's why he got too close. Now 11 people are dead, 29 still missing and the largest boat under Italian flag is about to cause the biggest environmental disaster in the largest marine sanctuary in Europe. I think they need to re-introduce Keel Hauling. Oh yea, use the next largest schaluppe...
Dark, cool and damp weather here in the South. Not good for temperaments, arthritis or depression. I went out to run errands today for the first time since last Wednesday and it was aggravation from beginning to end. Must be the weather--at least we can blame it on that.
Rotty, I sent that new photo of Katie Feral Cat to your aim.com address. She is such a beauty and is 100% different than a year ago this time when she showed up.
As for the cruise ship accident- that captain's life is essentially over, as it should be. Not only did he try to impress with a dangerous maneuver but I also heard that he abandoned ship towards the beginning of the mess and tried to hail a taxi to get away. I can't imagine what would make a man that stupid, careless and irresponsible. My husband suggested that maybe he was drinking but I have read nor heard anything of that sort--yet.
Update on the mare: she's still a bit mopey, but gut sounds good, feet not hot, so I'm just thinking maybe the cold / super warm (she is a minimally curly with a Shetland double layer sweater for a coat) / cold may be giving her some aches. Could also be that now back w/ the "baby," she's been more chased and thus sore. I'll observe and see how things go. So far, just a bit mopey and "off." Just nothing to put a real finger on.
As for weather, it's definitely weird. Was gray part of the day (threatened rain, now it's gone away again, but chilly tomorrow night, though not quite near freezing... I think the weather frogs are drinking a bit too much whiskey lately... or heavy duty Eierlikör. Look that one up ;) ).
We've been a little on the weird-weather side ourselves. I was in shorts and a tee all day today. Good grief. But the front's coming through now, and the wind is up, so I guess we'll be back to what they call seasonal tomorrow.
Have a good week - hope all goes well.
Hope pup & mare don't give you much more than twitch in future. Yeah, I know those "no/little sleep nights of worry", much less the pesky final drafts you are dealing with, that I didn't challenge. My reward is in daughter, pets, of all sorts, good career, great friends & family. Somehow, I think same for you. The rest is but a blip. One, I so hope you ride over. Whether on trail, or over jump you love!
I've seen the same sort of thing several times the last 10 or so years. It can go either way. Didn't end well with my old mare.. Best of luck to yours.
I've been working hard this week at work (first few weeks of a semester are always stressful) and then dealing with a nasty sinus infection and brewing wanna-turn-into-a-head-cold-or-flu. Trusty rum cow fixed it, so far. Knock on wood.
And the majority of the week I tried to catch up with myself and some of the things that didn't get done last weekend due to the marathon writing.
Well, as of earlier today the first rough draft of both intro and summary are finished. Yea!
Miss Sharpy is doing well, happy go lucky as always. I tried to aspirate some more serum today, but she wasn't going to have any of that sticky-me-thingie. Wiggle butt gave me one slobbery kiss after another. :-D
So, I have to wait for a friend to come over and hold her, which is okay. It's not like it is so bad, it couldn't wait.
I need to download what pictures I took yesterday of Sharpy. Hope some turned out (with the camera finally being back, this was the first test. I still think it's not working right, but we'll see - the lines are good, but it keeps flashing even in bright daylight).
Mare: doing well. I found that she has one foot with bad thrush (right front). Since she is pretty front loading, it may be the reason she was not wanting to walk much early on. Seems to be back to her normal self as yesterday morning her and the "baby" (all 17.2 hh of him) had a bit of a spat at the gate when I came to feeding time. She was showing off her backfeet... that's her usual attitude, so I think we dodged the bullet. Been spraying all four feet w/ relatively strong bleach for three days, then cut it back to about 1/4 of that initial strength as to not kill any new tissue. So far, so good. Hopefully we dodged the bullet for now...
Gotten a chance to get on the goof ball of TB late this afternon and we had a nice training ride although the temps were incredibly warm for January. Was out there riding in a t-shirt (after doing morning feeding in a t-shirt!) and the poor kid was soaking wet.. Doesn't LOOK like he has much of a winter coat, but apparently it's much warmer than he looks. He was so wet, I contemplated rinsing him with the water hose, but decided that the air was still a tad too chilly, even at 23C (since there was a light breeze going).
The garden is providing some nice lettuce (a mix of romaine, frisee and black simpson). Tender leaves of different greens. Delicious! Waiting on the radishes to start moving a bit more, although they are pretty much showing the red stems already. And the garlic cloves I planted last week are about 2 to 4 inches green on top. Yea... can't wait to get this school stuff done so I can dig in the dirt and get the ol' garden going strong. Yippee... spring is in the air (and it's getting fully dark around 7 p.m. again, so it's very obvious that we're going toward longer days again. Yea!).
Hope everyone is doing well, too.
Dix, how's the pain? Hope it's gone now. Any new leads on some PT work? (I won't talk about politics, don't worry).
Skye: sorry about your mare. I don't know the details, but if you feel better if you share, please don't hesitate. Either here or shoot me a private message. Sometimes things aren't meant to be.
The bluish gums make me think that the client's mare had gotten into something mildly toxic. I'm sure you don't have crotolaria around nor pokeweed. Some horses seem to care for those toxic plants. Thinking alsike (sp?) clover poisoning, or even mild maple toxicity. I don't know for sure what y'all down in the central part of the state have, but here in North Florida, pokeweed, crotolaria and clover are the most common "nasties." Could any of those have happened to the mare?
Ylee: thanks for checking up on me :)
Code: yea, FL weather is back. Better than 2010 with temps staying below freezing for 14 days straight (new record).
Shores: hope the weather is area appropriate for you (sorry, can't remember where you're at).
Lastly, keep these families in your thoughts: http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2012/01/twenty-t wo_show_horses_die_in.html . If I didn't know better, I'd say arson, but ... I can't even begin to imagine the pain that those people affected must be feeling. But I know I hugged my horses extra tightly already.
on a brighter note.... Rachel Alexandra Delivers Colt by Curlin (Curlin happens to share the same grandsires w/ my boy: Mr. Prospector and Deputy Minister).
Took my stallion out for a ride today. Took the time to tack up for a change. Went for hours. He was really good. The mares were calling. I think every one in the 'hood was in season. It was hot enough I had to rinse him after.
Do you think you've turned the corner on all(well, most, at least) your projects? For your sake, I hope so! You commented on Joe's blog about his insane schedule, but I think you have him beat!
Hugs for Sharpy!
She looks reasonably healthy to me, despite her health challenges. She doesn't have that barely able to move, absolutely miserable look of the very sick. Has the vet's prognosis changed since the surgery?
Ylee, nah, at least I get SLEEP at night. Around 6 hours and longer on the weekend. Not something Joe can claim every night. So yes, he has me beat. It's the night wake ups though that would make me more than grouchy. The work itself (if it wasn't for the cold killing me) wouldn't be the tough part.
Skye: I'm so sorry about your mare. I remember when WNV started in FL and how horses, dogs and even people succumbed to it. So far, things are okay. Started putting diluted bleach on the old lady's feet too. Seems she's gotten a bit of trush starting too. Geez, we got rain today, about another 3/4 inch. Either too much rain or not enough. Pastures are big mud holes :(
trauma: good to "see" ya back. Yes, weather around here is ... ummmm... a bit crazy? For crying out loud, it's JANUARY and I'm out feeding in shorts and t-shirt at 730 pm b/c the temp hasn't dropped below 20C yet. But what I find REALLY strange is all the FOG we're having around here? Same for you? Feels like October. Not that I'm complaining, but I worry about the plants starting to "go" and then be hit by a nasty frost spell.
On a sadder note, before putting up one last, happier one... keep some friends of mine in California in your thoughts tonight. The family lost the second dog to cancer one day after their third dog was diagnosed w/ cancer. The one that crossed the RB today was owned by their DIL who succumbed to lung cancer several years ago (never smoked in her whole life). I feel so sorry for them as this is just devastating. They even tried chemo with the first case. Didn't help, their 8 1/2 yo show pup still lost his fight in under a year.
Things are a bit crazy still around here, but I am hoping to get everything on a roll soon. Heard (amazingly) from major prof that the opus was in revision and that comments would be forthcoming soon... we'll see what "soon" means, but at least, something is going FORward, not BACKwards. Bad enough that Mars is retrograding. Don't need things on good ol' Terra do the same lol.
Sorry to see all the trouble that poor family in California is going through. Do you think there's something in the environment causing all this?
Any word from crazy prof? Me, I can do patience well, but I don't like it, lol!
Take care!
I too am glad to see Sharpy looking happy. Poor thing- I hope she stays that way for a long time to come. We had to put our last greyhound down last Friday. She was almost 14 y/o and suffering from cancer in her spine causing her to fall and stagger and just in general be in misery. I have had to do this deed way too many times over the years and it sure doesn't get any easier. I ALWAYS stay with them, cradle their head in my lap and make sure the last thing they hear on this earth is me telling them I love them. She passed easily, as if she were ready. We're still crying...and looking for her on her bed in the dining room.
I'm just 6 weeks into my surgical recovery and I'm almost back to normal. Still have a bit of discomfort and very slight bleeding but it is so much better than it was. I even had the ambition today to start painting the half bath. Putting a light green moss color over navy blue. Surely will need a couple of coats. I used to be able to work for 8 hours straight but now (at 66 y/o) I work for about 2 hours and then have to quit for the day. Getting old isn't for sissies.
I'm off to read Joe's blog which I haven't seen in over a week. I'm sure much has happened.
After having major surgery, you can't expect to be at 100%, even after six weeks! It takes awhile before you're back to full speed! I think working for two hours is pretty good!
dix: I'm so sorry about losing your last Grey. Lighting a candle for her tonight. I know she's been greeted at the RB by many of my kids. Hope you regain your stamina soon again. I know you want to do stuff and this is not working well for you. Hang in there, as Ylee said, it takes time...
In other news:
Miss Sharpy has started being allowed to be out again (off leash that is). She's tolerating the preds well, still (or even more?) a happy love and hug sponge :) lump / filled pocket has gone down from grapefruit to orange to tangering size. So far it looks like it's shrinking further. Soon she'll be allowed to go out and romp and play with the bigger pups again. I know she'll be happy...
"Younger" (27 yo) Mare doing well, seems back to normal. I think she may have had discomfort from thrush . It's kinda like horsey athletes' foot. Definitely nasty stuff that eats away part of the soft tissue inside the hoof - the arrowhead shaped piece which can happen when there's lots of wet soil like we've been having this winter again. She also stands in areas that are very wet by her own volition, so that might have contributed to her feet not drying up.
Still waiting to get revisions back from professor. Send needling vibes to that person to get done so I can make the revisions and defend the opus by early March ...
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