Friday, April 22, 2011

Today was weird. And not in a good way.

My sister found out today that she has to have a suspicious lump removed on Monday. It may be the cancer coming back. I'm choosing to believe it's not.

My son and I butted heads all day. It wasn't entirely his fault. He was feeling stubborn and I was feeling distracted and intolerant.

Tonka wasn't able to do his daily exercise. I walked him but as we got into the trotting it was clear he couldn't do that today so we stopped and I groomed him instead. Today I think it was clearly a muscle issue, not a gut issue. His hind end muscles were tighter than I've felt them before, although not rock hard.

Scout was pretty good today even though he started out by wagging his head and moving into my space. He's never done that before. I think he was pissed off about his bit. But all I did was ask him to wear it while he did groundwork. He settled into his job pretty quickly.

I love his nice crisp dorsal stripe on his butt.
I spent some quality quiet time with Bella and Soxy today. They're both shedding like crazy and loving being scratched in all the right places.

I also got to play with Grace a little bit. I need to quit doing that, but it just happens. I don't want to step on John's toes. On a whim I hooked a lead rope to her halter, meaning to take it right off again. She backed up slightly, creating drag on my sleeve and a little noise, so I dropped the rope. I didn't want her getting spooked. After that she bobbed her head a lot, picked the rope up in her teeth, got it wrapped around a front leg and pawed at it. No over reacting or freaking out of any kind. Just curiosity. Then I walked up and unclipped it and went on my merry way.

Mama Cat took advantage of my presence to flaunt herself in front of the dogs.
(Look how our mud is drying up!)

Huckleberry - ready for action.
(He has freaky muppet eyes sometimes)
(and he's not deformed, he's just sitting funny.)

A lap standoff.

And a fun, cold, windy, giggling game of badminton with the kids. Liam wants to grow his hair out. He's already part way there.
I didn't get a picture of Katia because she was moving too fast.

Our grass is getting pretty long in places but we're waiting on a part for the mower. It will look so civilized after we mow. I always love that first mowing. Then it gets pretty tedious after that.

4 comments:

arlene said...

I hope your sister is okay. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for her. I've got hundreds of lumps all over because of the sarcoidosis, so I just ignore all of them.

Poor Tonka with his health issues....he's so handsome and well loved. He's lucky to have you.

What kind of a dog is Huckleberry? Our oldest dog has died and Bobby is getting old, so I'm thinking of which breed to get next. I hear Golden Retrievers are very intelligent, but I really like Huckleberrys looks. His eyes are magical.

Linda said...

I hate to hear that about your sister, but I like your attitude--staying positive.

I bet I know what you're going to be doing today! Yoohoo!!!! The sun is out!!! I'm having my coffee and then heading outside.

Andrea -Mustang Saga said...

Arlene, He's an Australian Shepherd. I LOVE his eyes. He's the best dog ever. I highly recommend the breed, but not to city people. And you have to have the time to set boundaries when they're pups. They learn so fast though. I feel like Huckleberry taught himself.

Not to put down Goldens, because I love them, we used to have one, but they have nothing on an Aussie in the brains department. They are probably more demonstrative of their affection though. Huck isn't very cuddly most of the time, but he's totally devoted in his own way.

Linda, I so badly want to spend the whole day with the horses! It's beautiful out! But I'm not sure how much time I'll have. Lots of family stuff planned.

arlene said...

Thanks for the info. I love Huckleberry's coloring. I shall investigate them further. I've always wanted an Irish Wolfhound but I am concerned that they don't live very long.