Random Friday

1.  Thanks for all the well-wishes on my foot.  I had an MRI late Thursday and will hopefully know the results later today.  I'm not very good with open ended situations (friends and family are nodding their heads vigorously), I need a plan.  I can understand a plan.  I can follow a plan.  So, hopefully I will soon have a diagnosis and a plan.

2.  The weather has cooled down to a reasonable level.  Thank goodness.  I am not a fan of the heat.  I know pleasant will soon be replaced with sweltering, but I'm enjoying the reprive while it lasts.

3.  My yellow summer squash are starting to come in.  The other night I picked some of them, the size of fat fingers, and sautéed them and their attached blossoms for dinner.  Brett ate them.  And he didn't poke at them or make faces or anything.

4.  We had a bit of a scare with Kersey yesterday.  When Brett went down stairs to let her out in the morning, she couldn't walk, was shaking, whining and yelping.  As long as I stayed next to her, sitting and stroking her face and belly, she didn't shake.  But, when I stood up she started shaking again and reached her paw out, resting it on my leg.  She did eventually manage to get to the barn where she ate her breakfast (she is a lab and nothing comes between them and food).  Then she laid down in the sun (it was very cool, in the upper 40s) and started trembling again.  Brett took her to the vet where they examined her (more ear splitting yelping) left hind leg, took x-rays and drew blood.  She's been extremely arthritic in that leg for a few years and they believe a bone spur broke lose and got into the joint.  We are starting her on pain meds for the arthritis and the bone spur should re-attach itself somewhere - so she won't need surgery.

Wednesdays With Tex

It's been a good week with Tex.

Last week and over the weekend, all I did with Tex was put on and take off his fly mask.  Saturday we spent most of the day at a friend's memorial service.  Sunday, I planned to take Tex out and groom him but my foot hurt like hell so I ended up spending the whole day on the couch with my coloring book.

Tex was very mellow about his fly mask and me approaching Saturday and Sunday.  I went from taking five or six cookies out to the pasture, to taking just three.  And, really, all I needed was two.  One for hello and one for "good boy" when the mask was off.  On Sunday evening, I removed Flash's fly mask first and then carried it by sticking my arm through the ear hole and letting it dangle.  Initially, I was going to slide my arm out and lay it on the ground before approaching Tex but he was so mellow that I just left it hanging there.  When I reached up to slide the fly mask over Tex's ears, Flash's mask swung close to Tex's face.  He didn't care.  I couldn't believe it -- and neither could Brett who was watching from the gate.

I think because Brett was tired of me being crabby on Sunday (pain will do that), he has been doing everything this week -- including dealing with Tex's fly mask.  He told me that Monday night he was going to leave it for me, but Tex had other ideas.  Brett went over to Flash and removed his fly mask, then hung it on the muck cart handle.  Flash left and went to the hay feeder.  When Brett turned around, Tex was standing in Flash's place waiting for his turn.  Brett removed the fly mask with no trouble, brushed Tex's face with his hand, and gave him a cookie.

When Brett moved to the girls' pasture and was busy picking up manure, I went to the barn and grabbed a couple cookies. Tex left his hay and walked over to me.  I gave him the cookies and just hung out with him for awhile, stroking his gorgeous burnished cinnamon neck and removing tangles from his mane with my fingers.  He watched me walk away to the pasture gate, and then turned and went back to the hay feeder.

I love riding Lucy, but there is something about Tex that pulls at my heart strings.