Just Another Day

Second Post of the Day

Speaking of Lisa, she called me mid morning yesterday and asked if Rosie could come over while she took Nash to the vet.  Having Rosie over always means lots of activity and play time for the other dogs, but especially for Tammo.

He's jerking on the poor little toy mouse so hard that his ears are flying!

One of Rosie's strategies is to simply lie down and hang on to the toy. Like Mama was, she's built like a Mack truck and solid. It's muscle, not fat, and that little girl is STRONG.

Usually the other dog wears out after working against that dead weight for a while and gives up. Smart girl!

Speaking of dogs, my arm still looks pretty gruesome scary shocking icky. It has gotten infected so we are watching it.

At one point I drew a line around the infection boundaries but since the infection never crossed the line, I knew it was not getting worse. I washed off the line and at the moment have no plans to see my doctor. 

Despite having Rosie over, I finished the camel/elephant block print shirt. I'm really pleased with how it turned out.

The sleeves look overly long because its a 3XL and the shoulders are much wider than the hanger and thus the shoulders hang down. That makes the sleeves look like they were made for Bigfoot.

Those printing errors that looked so glaring are small and spread out across the fabric making them hard to see. I will still let interested buyers know, though.

Today's plan? An early morning walk with Craig, Tammo, and Pepper, and then heading back into the sewing room again. I got started on a 2XL trade shirt yesterday and I'd like to finish it today if I can.

Ian has a football game this evening, but the heat is so oppressive, I'm most likely going to stay home and indoors. (I wonder if they might cancel the game due to the heat?) I'm also getting ready for a visit from Sarah - she flies in tomorrow to spend Labor Day weekend with us. Can't wait!

Stay 'tooned!

It's Fall, Ya'll!

It's Fall, ya'll!

Or, as Lisa likes to say with glee, "We're in the "er" months!"

Indeed we are - and just like Lis, it's my favorite time of year. I'm ready to switch over my outdoor summer wreath and doormat, get a few mums, and maybe even a pumpkin or five.

Bring on the cooler weather, the falling leaves, and flocks of migrating birds.

Yeah, that's going to be a while - we're under a heat advisory (again) with indexes in the 100s and high humidity. Even at 5:00 this morning when I took Pepper out, it was warm and muggy and missing the usual refreshing early morning coolness.

I started off Fall with a birthday celebration with local family. With help from their mama, Ian, Mila, and Lukie went through their childhood artwork and made me a collage.

It is really cool and Pepper is in there as well as five horses that are scattered about. What a great idea and way to keep and display childhood artwork!

(That was actually Sunday, August 30 but I'm counting it in the "er" months. You know, "Auguster", right?)

Then I got a little injury that looks far worse than it really is. I'd had an early morning physical therapy session and afterward decided to drop by and visit someone who lived close by the physical therapy facility.

Their pup was very excited to see me, jumped up, lost its balance, and grabbed my arm as it slid down and backward to the ground.

The owner felt terrible but honestly, the dog was not trying to harm me; it was greeting me and simply lost its balance. In its defense, I bruise and bleed very easily, and the injury isn't as bad as it looks.

I've had some fabric problems in the sewing room, too. Block printing is a hand done process, and part of its charm are the little errors that you can find occasionally.

Well... I have a piece that has more than a few little errors. And it was whoever was responsible for adding the black dye who made them.

Aside from the initial black outlining, there is no black color on this part of the fabric.

Here's how it should look.

Another spot, this time a camel, that the printer missed.

And how it should look.

Another missed elephant.

and how it should look.

I'd already gotten a lot of work done on the trade shirt before I discovered those mistakes.

The good thing is that the errors are hard to find and that errors are a normal and accepted part of using block printed fabrics. 

I will go ahead and finish the shirt, but I will also put a note on its tag about some of the missing color and let the buyer decide if they like it or if they want to look at a different block print shirt. (One person I've already told about the errors said, "Whoa! That is so cool!" Go figure.) 

Of course, the very next block print I opened had an issue on the selvage edge. 

That's an easy work around, but still smarting from the elephant/camel block print, I did a careful inspection of the piece.

A pulled thread, a noticeable issue on the wrong side of the fabric.

But on the right side, it's not very visible and is another easy work around for me.

So, hot weather, an overly exuberant pupper, and issues with block prints...

How are your "er" months starting off?

Stay 'tooned!

Nothing Jaw Dropping

 Ever tried to take a photo of the underside of a horse's jaw?

Note to self: put a halter on that girl!

Teacher Daughter Lisa had run out to the barn during her lunch break and found a spot under Abby's chin that she described as, "Rough fur, almost like a scrape. Nothing huge, just wanted you to be aware."

I went out and after wrassling with Abby a bit (My phone is not a treat, Abby!) I got some photos so I could see better.

Lisa was right - she does have a rough spot under her chin, one that looks as though it might have been a cut.

Tim and I are both keeping an eye on it and applying Neosporin every day. If things don't improve, then I will call the vet.

In the meantime, it is not bothering her and she continues to eat well.

I'm not worried, but I am being vigilant.

Trouble in Trouble

Trouble was bred by Tim and foaled on the property.

Tim is an entomologist (someone who studies insects) and since Trouble was born the summer Indiana was expecting the hatching of a brood of 17 year cicadas, Tim named him "Cicada Trouble."

Trouble more than lives up to his name and you have to keep an eye on him. He is not mean, but he is very, very curious and always checking things out.

A lead rope left hanging on a post? Trouble will find it and chew it.

Using a hose to fill a trough? Don't turn your back or walk away to do other things.

Trouble will pull that hose out and play with it, squirting everyone (including himself) with water. And you will have to get the hose away from him and hang around a little longer to fill the trough.

Once when Tim was traveling and I was watching the horses, I discovered some rebar that had surfaced right in front of the trough where the horses stood when watering.

Craig got his pickaxe and came with me to the barn to dig it out of the ground. Guess who showed up to investigate?

Afraid that he might get hurt while Craig was swinging that axe, I had to get a longe whip and snap it around a few times before Trouble moved away. But as soon as I stopped snapping, back he came.

He also paws the gates. So, when you discover this,

 you figure there was a good chance that Trouble was responsible.

He may have pawed one gate too many - for the past couple of days his off front leg has been bothering him. He will hold it up while grazing and has a small limp at times.

Tim hasn't called the vet yet, but he did move the herd into a smaller pasture and closer to the new barn so he could more easily check on Trouble's well being. And when I last spoke with Tim, he felt that Trouble was improving. 

I'm heading out to the barn early this morning and am hoping that that improvement has continued.

OUCH!!

Spend any time around horses, and you are bound to have an injury or two.

Tim's whimsical carving of an injured cowboy may be tongue in cheek, but there is truth behind it. (Witness his accident with Sultanna earlier this fall that required surgery for a shattered clavicle and six broken ribs.)

I had a minor injury out at the barn Friday before the weekend snowstorm blew through. I'd hurried out to visit Abby and had gone through the paddock gate. The gate was at my back as I closed it; I was scanning the pastures for the herd, and wasn't paying much attention to where things were in relation to my body.

I stumbled and fell backwards while raising my arm to latch it and was closer to the gate post than I had thought, whacking my arm hard against the edge of the latch.  Chills ran through my entire body and and my fingers and lower arm went numb. I stood frozen in place for a few moments, eyes watering, and waited for my fingers to come back to life and the pain to subside.

(Meanwhile, Abby and her buddies were watching me impatiently from the northeast pasture, wondering if they should amble on up or if I was ever going to move.)

Three days later I've still got a large bruise on the underside of my upper arm and tenderness from just below my shoulder to my elbow. (It was a really hard whack.)

Crazy injury, right? Just goes to show that there are a multitude of ways to get hurt when you have horses. And a horse wasn't even involved!

Neck Scrape

Rarely does Abby have an injury - I have never even had to make a vet call for her in all the years I've had her. (Tim does all her shots and deworming.) I check her over every time I am with her, but aside from occasional small scrapes or rubs, she has never had any major injuries.

So, when I spotted a swelling on her neck Sunday afternoon, I did a double take and made a closer inspection.

It was the swelling that actually caught my eye. While not extensive,  I could still see the puffy spot on her windpipe when she was in silhouette.

 It looked worse than it actually is - but she's fine. I think she must've stuck her head through the rails of the paddock fence and scraped herself.

It's a surface wound with some hair loss, but it's not bleeding or weeping. I will continue to check it every afternoon after school until it heals and otherwise not worry about it.

It's a Girl!

No, Abbs did not give birth. Nor did Diablo or Dolly (who we hope really is in foal!)

This evening, Daddy Long Legs, the grey gelding that is kept with the boarding horses at the blue barn, was separated from his pasture mates and alone in the small paddock. Wondering why he was there, Lisa and I went over to visit with him.

OUCH!! Here's why:

That's a lot of stitches across his nose!!

I have a text out to Tim, hoping to discover what caused such a bad cut on poor Daddy Long Legs' nose. It's an unusual spot for an injury on a horse, and since Tim is really good about maintaining a safe environment for his horses, I don't think it would be scrap metal or anything lying about the pasture.

As we were leaving, I took one last look at Daddy Long Legs. He stood looking forlornly over the fence at his friends in the other pasture, swished his tail at a fly and...

He is a SHE!!!

How could I have missed that for a year and a half??  Well, I generally don't look at a horse's private parts, so in my defense, I guess I never checked the gender and just assumed he was a gelding!

Lisa and I sat a few moments in stunned disbelief and then started laughing. Of course, Daddy Long Legs will no longer work as a name (I don't know the horse's real name and made that up because "he" has a very short back and outlandishly long, long legs) so we decided "she" was like a supermodel with those legs.

And, as a nod to the 60s icon and supermodel, we settled on the name "Twiggy" for her.

(I still cannot believe that neither Lisa nor I ever checked her gender!)

Ouch! My Nose!

As soon as I arrived at the barn tonight, the heads popped up and everyone made a beeline from the old barn up to the trough, hoping for a handout. Abby, of course, got the most treats.

As I was parceling them out among all those stretched out noses, I noticed poor Dolly had had an accident.

It's not a bad injury; nevertheless I took this picture and texted Tim so he could check her. She probably banged her nose against a fence post or something.

It certainly didn't keep her from begging for more sugar cubes!