10/4/2022 Happy fall everyone. I can’t believe it snuck right on in here. One day it was 96 degrees and the next day it was 75.
Halloween has never been a favorite holiday of mine. That’s not to say I didn’t decorate and do all the things when the boys were young, I did. I’m just not a fan. Living where we do, we don’t need to decorate or buy candy, which I would eat.
Anyhow, Happy Halloween!
We still have not closed up the pool, the dogs are swimming daily, sometimes several times a day.
We finally figured out what Highway’s medical issue is, he has chronic rhinitis. Great. He’ll be on meds for the rest of his life and we will continue to pull strands of snot from his left nostril on a daily basis. It’s so damn much fun. We still don’t have an answer for Gringo, he continues to limp, not using his right front paw. We took him to our vet, they did X-rays of his paw, leg and shoulder and saw nothing. Bill then drove him to the vet (that charged us over $3800 for ONE visit for Highway) in Louisville. Gringo saw an orthopedic specialist there. He too took X-rays and saw nothing. Bill said he twisted Gringo’s arm, leg and paw every which way and he didn’t yip at all. However, if we, or one of the other dogs bump his paw he cries. It’s driving me crazy. This has been going on for months. The next thing is to do an MRI, but we need to be sure it’s his paw. An MRI of his paw is $3500.00, add a leg, $500, add a shoulder, $500, add a spine, $500. It’s totally insane.
UPDATE: I called our vet today and she called the ortho specialist we saw the 23rd. They’ve decided to try some different meds for Gringo, if they do nothing, we’re looking at an MRI. I just want him feeling good again, it kills me to see him hurting.
We have had some amazing weather, 45-degree nights and sunny and 70+ days. It’s wonderful stay outside type of weather but summer is gone. Last year was gorgeous in October then Nov. and the rest of the year was total $hit. I’m curious to see what kind of winter we have this year. One thing is for sure, I will not be locking myself out of a cabin in the middle of nowhere on a 10-degree night while my husband is in the hospital.
Bill has been working for a good month on the fence. We decided we needed a privacy fence, on our 30 acres. Actually, it’s more of a deer (coyote, skunk, raccoon, fox and groundhog) fence. We have so many deer and they are coming right up to the front yard by the house. We know this because the front yard is stone (artificial turf goes down this coming spring) and there is deer poop all over. The fence will cut down on Highway totally losing his mind because there is a deer in the field. It’s an odd thing to do, it will change the view but it will also give us a “peace of mind” place when we don’t want the dogs running.
The area on the outside of the fence we wanted to plant grass. It was loaded with rocks so Todd, the landscaper, brought Bill his equipment to smooth the ground and plant grass seed. First Bill, with Jerry’s help, used our tractor to scrape the stones off the ground. Then we had 2 loads of topsoil brought in. Bill spread that, seeded it and since there is no rain in the forecast, he is watering it. We hope we’ll end up with grass and no dirt.
Todd has a machine that edges and lays concrete all at once. We plan to do that next spring along the driveway. I still need to decide about flowers.
A friend of ours from PA came to visit. Jerry trailered his motorcycle down so he and Bill could ride. The first day he was here the weather wasn’t great but it got progressively better. They picked a beautiful day and rode to Tompkinsville and then on to Celina TN. We are less than 30 min. from Tn. The roads here are in great condition with very little traffic, great for riding bikes.
I really enjoy the morning walks with the dogs. They live for those walks too, lots of critter poop to inspect and eat. Poor Gringo has not joined us for a few months. When I get back from the first walk, I always take Gringo and Barrio down the backfield just to get Gringo moving. The walks up on the hill are beautiful just as the sun is rising up in the sky. The shadows are so cool, it makes the woods almost magical. Bill keeps it mowed which makes it park-like. We enjoy taking our company on walks with us.
It’s really hard to believe all of this land is ours. We had almost the same acreage in Washington and this seems much much bigger. More than likely it’s because the land in WA was a flat straight strip of land, perfect for a runway, which is why we bought it.
My friend and I went to Tennesee shopping again. We started at Goodwill, hit an antique store, had Thai for lunch and then went to Sam’s club.
I noticed the basil is still growing, I plan to harvest more tomorrow. I also dried a lot of rosemary. I look forward to a better garden next season, we got a late start this year.
On our walk tonight Bill noticed a pile of feathers. We don’t know what kind of bird it was or what got it. All that was left were feathers. Survival of the fittest. Just call me Marlon Perkins, Wild Kingdom.
Mermaid on a Raft 