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Friday, September 30, 2016

Firsts and Fits

After months of silence, Bunny has found his voice.  At exactly 7:46 AM Eastern, he crowed.  And then you couldn't shut him up.  This has rattled Pecito no end.  I do believe he thought he was the one and only.

Juno and I have worked our way into an odd, although rather comforting, routine.  It's like dealing with a baby but no diapers.  I leave the gate open to the barn during the night so that she will have company - Apria is her boon companion.  Then it's her morning molasses drench, followed by some physical therapy, then special hay, then fill her water container.  I've been giving both Apria and Juno grain in the morning - when I finally got my hands on Apria, she felt rather thin under her woolies.  This has chafed Norman, who lives and breathes for grain.  Tough nuggets.  After duck chores, and before I get ready for work, I toddle back to the barn and open the gate so everyone can socialize.  At night - rinse, wash, repeat.  I am not holding out much hope that she will get up on her pins and walk again.  It's been a week and, although I do my best in the little time I have to keep her limbs flexible, she shows no signs of leg strength.  Although I am firmly entrenched in denial at the moment, I know this can't go on indefinitely.

My boy, Scrappy, suddenly decided that he did not care for a raw diet.  Just like that.  First time EVER that he wouldn't eat his breakfast.  This, of course, sent me into a tailspin, as I thought the end was near.  I tried tempting him with a variety of foods before, out of desperation, I gave him some of The Pepperoni's high-end, no-grain canned food.  Bingo!  So, now I have a freezer full of homemade and premade raw dog food and the one and only dog that really needed it won't eat it.  Le sigh.  Instead, he is inhaling two cans of primo dog food a day, at a cost of CHA-CHING.  I've said it before, and I know I will say it ad nauseum - we are nothing, if not flexible.  So The Pepperoni and Lovey are now on a raw diet, while the Little Prince is fed beef and spinach.  Au jus.  If it was at all possible, I would like to come back as one of my own dogs.

After giving us a hopeful weather forecast for three-plus days of rain and showers, the sun is out and shining.  Looking forward to the weekend, I have decided to put some elasticity into my to-do list.  This approach, of course, runs the risk of creating a pretty saggy* list.  I have convinced myself that everything I do needs doing.  Clear as mud?  I do have a couple of must-dos, but everything else is pure serendipity.

*Speaking of saggy elastic, did I ever tell you about the time I walked right out of my underwear, crossing the main drag in Cleveland?  I didn't?  It was a clear-cut case of letting one's BGPs reach a dangerous point of sagginess.  Luckily, I was young and flippant and kept on going without a backwards glance... And if I HAVE told you, humor me.  I'm old and forget things.

15 comments:

Susan said...

I'm sure you are still capable of handling a pants in the street situation with aplomb. Only wish I had been there-I would have been helpless with laughter.

Susan said...

Susan - I tend to be a little over-frugal with my underwear. I have not, necessarily, learned my lesson but I rarely wear skirts so they can't fall far... :)

Michelle said...

Even with all the worry and drama, your post makes me miss all my animals even more desperately. Leaving them behind is the worst part of traveling....

Vera said...

It is no use naming our animals as I would never remember them!

Debra She Who Seeks said...

Ha ha, love that panties story!

Fiona said...

That first crow....ahh the memories...ahhh our "Periscope" the hawk injured chick who is a house chicken. He scared us to death the other day with a horrible horrible noise. He was smug when we checked him out. He is sure he sounds just like Shoeless Joe. NOT.

Your love of your animals is a delight. They are worth all the extras. As to your BGP fail...I will chuckle about that for quite some time. God Bless you and your animals!

Mama Pea said...

Not to make you worry about your dear Juno anymore than you already are, but we once had a goat go down in much the same way as your Juno has. We hand fed her (apples were her very favorite) for many days, her appetite was good and she didn't seem to be suffering except for the fact that she couldn't stand. She managed to poop and pee with seemingly no trouble, all from her prone position. One morning she was soundly asleep when we went to her. So soundly asleep we knew it was over. We knew the local wildlife expert with the DNR and asked him to come out and do an autopsy because we wanted to know what had happened. He said everything looked very normal except her lungs were "hard." I tell you this in the hopes that you won't feel Juno is suffering. Our Misty didn't seem to be either. She just went peacefully.

Anonymous said...

I was 12 or 13 years old, walking home from school, and the elastic on my undies gave out. This was in the days when girls weren't allowed to wear pants to school, only dresses or skirts. At that age, I would have died before simply stepping out of them and going commando the rest of the way home. So I juggled a huge pile of books and notebooks, maybe a purse (I don't remember), and holding up my panties for the remainder of the walk home. Worst.walk.ever.

Unknown said...

Hahaha! Reminded me of a walk to work through a busy city when my 'hold ups' well, didn't. Thankfully it was a short distance to the office whereupon cellotape was deployed for the rest of the day. Ooooh my thighs.

Susan said...

Vera, I tend to name them in groups - The Goldies, The Dotties. It's so much easier...

Susan said...

Debra - At least they were rather nice-but-saggy panties. If I was going to leave them in my wake, I didn't have to also suffer from the humility of Hanes in my 20s.

Susan said...

Fiona - Isn't the first crow the most awful sound? I was surprised that Bunny sounded fairly fully formed - he must have been practicing in his head.

Susan said...

Mama Pea - I'm not expecting any miracles. Not totally, anyway.

Susan said...

Carol - OMG, that doesn't even sound physically possible! It's amazing how much physical prowess we had in our early years!!! :)

Susan said...

Beverley - LOL!