Stalled at the side of the road for a bit

So much for speeding along in the fast lane. Last Thursday I hit a wall in PT and was an emotional and sometimes physical mess for days. I am now told this is 'normal' to the process of healing and recovery; some advance warning would have been nice but I am doing my best to be a believer. But sailing through the first three weeks post-surgery made stalling out particularly hard. (Never fear; I'm back on the road again now.)

A shout-out to someone who was a 'saddle sister' (think 'soul sister' in all things horse) years ago (before marriage!). We have had minimal contact since other than occasional FB 'likes' and messages since then, but she reached out on Saturday having seen the post of my post-surgical legs. She had one knee replaced last June and the second on April 15, and offered an ear and a shoulder. Yesterday she called (then my phone battery died 😩). It helped SO much; more on that coming up.

But first, another shout-out to my husband. While he may not know from experience what I am going through, an acquaintance of his has and prepared him for my ups and downs so he is supportive. And he has been stepping up in so many ways to do things around the place with no help from me (obviously) or the other adult in the house (not surprisingly), more so than I can remember in recent history. Besides doing the lion's share of the animal chores, he has prepped the garden and planted some starts and tended and expanded our new strawberry patch, tilled and seeded (and now is watering) the middle pasture, mowed the upper pasture to try and control the cheatgrass, kept the lawn mowed, weed-whacked the messy margins, and restrung the electric line atop our fences so the horses could be turned out. Very soon he'll be hauling hay, too, and is trying to coordinate getting the shop floor poured next Monday.

our garden on 4/29, probably a record!

before fixing the electric fence but after tilling the middle pasture

he had to cut back the lilacs, and brought them in 😍

Back to my saddle sister. Talking to her prompted me to call my PT to see if I could reclaim my canceled Monday appointment (affirmative). Then I drove myself there, had a very good, informative session, and proceeded on to the office (which is now that of both my husband and my part-time boss) to say hi. Ended up doing the paperwork for a much-needed deposit for the clinic and relieving my boss to know that I was ready to resume my duties. Then I did some grocery shopping, during which my DH called and asked if I'd like to go to dinner. Quite the banner day! All of it was restorative, like the welcome arrival of AAA, and for now I am back on the road – figuratively and literally.

Back to the 'farm,' though. Since my first excursion to the barn, I've been walking down daily to check on my 'pregnant teenager' Bernice. She continues to widen, making me worry that the wee thing is carrying twins (which is certainly preferable to a big single). I'm watching for the telltale hollowing at the top of the flanks and tailhead, indicating lambs dropping into position for imminent delivery. I've also groomed Stella, ridding her of a lot of dead winter hair. She stood nicely and enjoyed the attention, quietly knickering to me repeatedly after I left her stall. I need to do the same for Lance. Stella is getting downright portly; I am anxious to be able to get back on and put her to work!

Much of spring has passed while I've been otherwise occupied, and now it feels like summer, with local hay being cut and baled already. Our rainy season ended early (before my surgery) and it is now dry, dry, dry. Apparently after an uneventfully normal fall and winter while the rest of the country experienced often devastatingly abnormal weather, it is our turn. C'est la vie.

That's it for now from . . .