Friends and neighbors

For reasons beyond my ken, I was able to email photos from my iPhone to my gmail account – for a day. Now all methods of transferring photos have locked up again. Ah, the vagaries of technology. Maybe Mu$k sneezed – or fathered yet another child (ick).

Moving on to the title. Friends. A long-time horse buddy and I met up for our once-every-year-or-two catch-up lunch date recently, and boy, was there a lot to catch up on. She had just purchased a second horse after her partner for the last 12 years was diagnosed with cancer. Said partner is still doing well, but the handwriting is on the wall. I told her she inspires both jealousy and hope – not only is she a member of the Century Club (the one thing on my bucket list), she welcomed an exciting new dressage horse the month before she turns 80!!!

trying out her new Lusitano partner in AZ

new guy on the left, "Century Ride" partner on the right

My own two horses are still happily grazing the neighbors' property. For awhile Stella was ducking under the single-strand electric fence gate to go where she wished on the upper half of their property (until they put up a more substantial gate). Then the neighbors set up an unused utility sink as a watering trough during a hot spell (I bring them back to the barn midday to get a good drink). Stella showed her appreciation for their thoughtfulness by pawing in it, splashing most of the water out and then grabbing the stopper and pulling the plug (they removed the sink).

Stella on the lam – and in the landscaping

before the shenanigans

only 14 years until we can do our Century Ride!

If you count sheep in the photo below (don't fall asleep 😉), you might realize there is one ewe missing. Bette wasn't up to snuff for two or three weeks. We tried antibiotics but they didn't help, so Rick drew blood. The results indicated liver failure, and she died during the night shortly thereafter. We have no idea what caused the problem; no one else shows any symptoms. One of those sad sheepy mysteries....

and then there were seven

In dogs news, Poppy and I tried a new agility venue. There is a training and trial facility just ten minutes from home that recently hosted a trial put on by an Aussie club but open to all breeds. There were so many lovely Aussies and they really made me miss dear Jackson; maybe someday I'll have another. But for now Poppy is my pet and partner, appreciated for her size and slick coat and loved for her personality and intelligence.

one of the few other non-Aussie competitors

We ended on a good note!

spotty dog!

In homefront news, Chuckie's still relaxing, the young swallows (I think only two survived fledging) are still hanging out, the garden is still growing, and the sun is still setting every night, sometimes spectacularly.

That's it for now from . . .

Fall at full speed

Me? I've been hobbling to keep up. 😞 At six months post bilateral TKRs, it seems I should be doing better than I have been. Part of this is my fault; I stopped consistently doing my PT exercises, relying instead on what I call "functional fitness" – the many activities of my daily life – to progress. I finally acknowledged that I was losing ground in some critical areas and have resumed daily PT. But the other part is continuing sciatica, possibly combined with sacroiliac joint pain. Yesterday evening after another uncomfortable day at the office covering for Rick's secretary (it's happening more frequently than we like), I decided to take two Aleve. Ahhhhh; noticeable relief. Since I've met my out-of-pocket expenses for the year, I need to see if a physical therapist or chiropractor can help with the sciatica/SI; I don't want to rely on NSAIDs. But with fall progressing at full speed, it's hard to find time to schedule additional things.

Here are some of the happenings since my last blogpost.

Poppy and I had a successful agility match; good weather and three qualifying scores from four classes. The next 'local' match is  on November 2, but I have entered a different competition on that day – the National Indoor Mountain Trail Greenies show with Stella! The National Indoor Mountain Trail Championships are the following weekend and it would be fun to enter both, but it's two hours away and Rick may have to haul us down with his new vet truck; I'll be fortunate (and excited!) to make it to one.

After I got home from the agility match, Bryan's new owners arrived to pick him up. Since Bryan's sale came from a post on the FB Shetland Sheep group, I just posted there about three more available sheep; reducing my flock would be beneficial for many reasons. I neglected to get "good bye" photos of Bryan, but did take pictures of his dam Bernice's lovely fleece that day:

she still has some color along her spine

midside

In the food harvest and preservation arena, one of our neighbors offered me some of their last-of-season tomatoes; together with the few from our garden I was able to put up seven pints and seven quarts. That (and the discomfort of standing for any length of time) put off applesauce a bit longer. I'm  still working on that; there's room for two more cannersful of quarts on my pantry shelves. When my mom's youngest cousin and his wife spent a day with us in the midst of their Wisconsin to West Coast RV trip, I made Butternut Lasagne from the first of our garden's winter squash harvest and zucchini muffins from some of our last summer squash. I still have some basil, eggplant, peppers, carrots, and beets to pick; the latter two will go into one last salad with some of our Braeburn apples. It has been a good season for homegrown fruit and veggies; going back to purchased produce will be an adjustment. The hens have slowed down; a five-egg day now is noteworthy. But we're still getting plenty for us with some extra to sell.

The never-ending shop project finally has overhead doors, and the wood storage is 3/4 full; woot! No, the guys haven't moved stuff from the garage yet so Rick can park in there; they are going to use lumber milled from one of the dead firs in our lower pasture to make a storage loft first. Still, more visible progress.

We'll be using some of that firewood soon, I think. The weather has definitely changed with the seasons; rainy periods have greened up the landscape and fall colors are appearing – more in town than here so far. We're using the heat pump to take the chill off in the house, and the cloudscapes are often spectacular.

No clouds obscured the recent full moon, which almost looked larger than Mt. Hood on the horizon!

Birthday/holiday season is upon us, ready or not. I need to start making plans for Rick's birthday which is next week, as my MIL will want to be included.

That's it for now from . . .

Poppy in her prime...

...and then there is everything else. 

 

Last Sunday Poppy and I competed in another agility trial. The timing was perfect; because of the time change (and being scheduled to run at the end of the first, very large class), there was no early morning alarm or leaving in the dark. Instead, "fingers of God" (a much more beautiful term than crepuscular rays) beamed as we left our lane and headed down the hill:

Poppy was a rock star. After the first class in which she took a jump out of order which disqualified us in that particular class (CPE Agility features 'Standard' runs, plus classes that are categorized as 'Handler,' 'Strategy,' and 'Fun'), she was foot-perfect in her next three classes with three first place qualifying runs – and she nailed the weaves in all four classes (weaves are our shakiest skill). At almost five years old, she is beautiful, fit, mature, and responsive. After two years of agility trials and watching a LOT of other dogs and handlers run, I believe she is truly the best dog for me – and I try to be the best person for her.

While she is in her prime, I am not. My left (acute) knee has been getting worse again, so I upped my Aleve to twice a day and took my knee brace along to the trial, wearing it for my last two classes (without as much benefit as I hoped for).

Phooey on this; I will not go quietly to a rocking chair even if I do turn 63 next week! This week has been a flurry of seeking help. I was able to get a next-day appointment with my PCP, Rick ultrasounded both my knees (he thinks my left meniscus is messed up), I got a standing x-ray of both my knees (mild arthritis in my left, moderate in my right), and I contacted a clinic in Portland. Rick told me about the clinic, where he attended a seminar for both physicians and veterinarians, when I bemoaned to him that I needed a human medicine equivalent to him, trained as he is in equine locomotor pathology, advanced imaging techniques and non-surgical treatment options such as shockwave therapy, PRP, and stem cell therapy. Unfortunately such treatments, though offered by that clinic, are not covered by insurance, but we'll cross that bridge if I come to it. Rick sent them my ultrasound images; I'm waiting to hear back from them.

For whatever reason, Rick hasn't had much veterinary work lately. That's worrisome, but does give him time to work on the shop. He got the ridgecap on (just in time for the rainy week ahead) and has been putting metal on the sides.

Is he getting this done just in time for something else? This afternoon Rick learned that he loses his clinic lease in February. Oh joy; a total upheaval of his business on TOP of dealing with physical, family, and other issues....

To keep from drowning in a sea of stress, I make a conscious effort to focus on the beauty of nature and the God who created it. If my photos soothe you, too, all the better. No need to emphasize all the ‘awful’ in this world!

That's it for now from . . .