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 . . .

Moulting

My working title for this second post of the week was “More Autumn Appreciation,” but yesterday a stereotypical Pacific NW front blew in and we're still getting buffeted by wind, rain, and blowing tree debris. The trees that have yet to turn (like the Japanese maples at the front of our house) might still bless us with fall color, but a lot of others are 'moulting' – like half my hens right now. 😉 I took the photos above this morning.

But before those dreary views dawned, I had taken many others here and around town to share with you:

sunrise and valley fog from our deck

color on my deck

color along our driveway

color in the vineyards stretching off to the east along our lane

color planted in front of a vineyard

early camellias in town

starlings in the sky on my way home (I'm watching for murmurations!)

from the parking lot at work

deep valley fog one morning (no tree 'islands')

"Make zzzzz's while the sun shines"

a small harvest before the rain came; the volunteer kale is SO good

Happy November(!) from . . .

Under cover

We (Rick with either Brian's or my help) have spent the last week working when we can on roofing the shop. With more rain arriving today, we were motivated to keep at it last night until all but the ridge cap was on just before midnight. I hope my knees are up to agility tonight; Rick's and Brian's are sore as well.

Under this morning's cloudy skies, ridge gap showing

When the sheep were out on pasture Sunday I noticed that Bauble's coat had a broken leg strap (she is a surprisingly big girl for being out of Blaise, my smallest ewe). Fortunately, it stayed in place instead of entangling her; as soon as I brought them in for the night I caught her and changed it out for a bigger coat.  As I looked over everyone lined up at the feeders, I noticed how clean Blossom's and Bernice's fleeces looked. That was the kick in the pants I needed to get the last two lambs coated. Wrestling matches, both; they need to spend time haltered and tied or shearing them next spring is going to be a nightmare. Of course I parted fleeces to admire what Bauble, Blossom, and Bernice are growing and all of them are looking fabulous, especially the lambs. (You'll have to take my word for it, as it was too dark to take photos.) I always have more requests for gray fleeces than I can fill, so I should have some thrilled customers next spring with an all-time high of four.

Pretty Blossom (who I'm tempted to register as 'Bobby Sox'

Sanson's daughters keeping teasing him and Bench

Bitsy

Then yesterday I noticed that orphaned Bitsy was either laying down – or limping on her left front. 😞 The ewes aren't nice to her and she hasn't figured out how to slip out of the pasture with the other lambs, but when out on pasture she has enough room to avoid the mean girls. Not so in the fold, so last night I let her stay in the aisleway of the Sheep Sheraton so she could eat and sleep in close proximity, but without harrassment. She didn't limp as much this morning, so separate night quarters are the way  forward.

I'm finally back to work on my sweater. Before I started knitting again yesterday, I put the hem of Ariya on my longest circular needle so I could try it on; YAY, it FITS! Now I can knit on with anticipation. 😁

I have another batch of beautiful fall scenes to share, but will save them for a separate post as this one is already photo-heavy.

So that's it for now from . . .

Project progress

We had a very small version of a barn-raising here yesterday. On Friday the trusses for the new shop were delivered, and on Monday the boards and metal for the roof were delivered. Rick and Brian took Tuesday off (along with a friend of Brian's), Rick rented a big fork lift, and the three of them worked until well after dark. Rick hoped to get the metal roof on, but that proved to be overambitious. The revised goal is to work in the evenings to get the 2x4s and metal on before the weekend. Our weather is definitely trending wetter as this month progresses, but this week has been lovely – such a blessing.

My much smaller, much less important sweater project is also progressing. On Sunday I used up the last of the four skeins that were washed and ready. Today I finished plying the last of the fiber. Now to skein, wash and measure the last three turtles, then get back to knitting. But first I need to put Ariya's hem on my longest circular and try it on, both to see how much longer the body needs to be and to make sure the rest of it fits. The possibility of it not fitting is rather terrifying!

Today is Rick's birthday, but we're postponing his celebration dinner until after church on Sabbath so his mom and step-dad can join us. But I did make granola and his second-favorite cake yesterday so he had some goodies to enjoy before then.

That's it for now from . . .