Thursday, February 3, 2011

Preoccupation and a Brief Update on Farm Life

Good evening, everyone.  It's getting late here on the farm again.  Once again, I know what's on the schedule for tomorrow so I'm getting a head start with this post.  By 9:00 a.m. Ruthie and I will be headed back to Doc's office with Coffee and Killer for their annual exams and to pick-up Sinatra. 

Sinatra did fine today with his sedation for his ultrasound and his tooth extraction.  He thanks everyone for their kind thoughts.  He wishes mostly I hadn't left him there to spend the night.  He says if it was truly too much running back and forth across the universe for me today and tomorrow that I could have at least sent a Town Car for him.  Oh, Sinatra, you should still have some really good drugs in your system, go to sleep fella.  We'll all be there before you know it in the morning.

Why does Ruthie have to go along on our appointment in the morning?  Well, because Coffee gets somewhat anxious in moving vehicles.  Coffee gets so anxious, she has accidents and tries to sit in my lap while I drive.  Coffee is 60 lbs of large mid-size dog.  It really doesn't work for her to have an accident and then try to sit in my lap while I drive on the interstate.  Last year, I finally found a way to keep her calm.  She has her favorite farm hand go along and hold her in his/her lap for the long drive...equipped with a pee pad and everyone strapped in with seat belts.  Last year Cory went.  He's off at seminary now, so this year Ruthie is going.  Ruthie loves Coffee and Killer almost as much as I do.  In fact, if they are ever missing, her dorm room is the first place I'm looking!

Because of Coffee's accidents, we take my truck to the vet's office.  It's a work truck, which means it has vinyl seats and rubber flooring.  This means there's no leather or carpet for Coffee's accidents to befoul should this personal security blanket idea not work.  If there's an accident, I can simply hose the truck out.  But, you have to picture this entourage on the go.  I'm driving, Ruthie will be on the passenger side with Coffee strapped in her lap with a seat belt, and Killer will be harnessed in the middle seat belt.  If this isn't a cute enough mental picture, we have to bring Sinatra back with us. 

Yes, Sinatra is in a kitty caddy but where to put him?  I'm not putting him in the truck bed and then drive 70 mph for 30-45 minutes.  The caddy won't fit behind the seat.  There's no more room on the seat.  Where to put Sinatra?  Fortunately, Ruthie is only 4'11", so the plan is for Sinatra's caddy to go under her feet on the floor board.  It's not traveling First Class and I'm sure I'll hear about it from His Highness Mr. Sinatra, but hey, would you rather stay another night buddy?  Probably not.

Another cold rain is coming tomorrow.  The sleet today made me pretty edgy because the Farmer's Almanac is calling for one more snow, Bart tells me.  Bart had a farm once upon a time, but that's his story, not mine.  He's never given up his Farmer's Almanac, though. 

I'll have a full crew here tomorrow but there's plenty to do inside with the cold rain outside.  We'll be breaking in new member of the herd, Phil.  I hired him last Friday.  If he's as good in person as he is on paper, I may have another Dod.  Woohoo!  That would be great.  But, alas, I'm getting jaded.  So, I'll believe it when I see it. 

Despite the cold rain, I may have some hard core students in tomorrow for barn lessons.  Those are kids after my own heart.  Those kind of kids remind me of myself at that age...anything to be in the barn, cold, wet, wind, it doesn't matter.  They'll clean up, they'll groom, anything to be around the horses.  Those are my favorite students, hands down.

Now, I'm going back to CNN.  I'm getting pretty concerned with the unrest in Egypt.  I was ok until they started beating up reputable journalists and now there are no more news cameras on the square where the protesters are.  I've known people my entire life who've come and gone from Egypt and loved that country.  One of them is a client of mine who I swear could be an Egyptologist his knowledge of the history of that country is so amazing.  In fact, I have a picture he took there less than a year ago in my study at my house in town.  It's a very peaceful scene, which they certainly aren't seeing now. 

My mother's godparents traveled to Egypt and Israel frequently throughout the 70s and 80s.  They loved it.  So, I have their pictures in my mind and their stories, as well as my client's. There's actually a bust of King Tut's funeral mask in my curio cabinet.  It was from a project I did on Egypt as an 11 year old.  I interviewed my mother's godparents for that project, too.  Thanks to my mother, that ceramic piece turned out beautifully. You'd never know a kid did it and I'm still proud to have it displayed.  Many thanks, Mom!  Many thanks to those special people for those stories of Egypt, too.  See, I'm so lucky to have such wonderful people in my life.

I agree with the experts that not only is this a crucial time for Egypt, but the domino effect on that region could have worldwide implications.  So, I'm pretty preoccupied with it this evening.  See, I think about all sorts of things here on the farm.  It's not all horses running through my head.

Good night all.  Let's hope for peace in the Middle East in a different and more immediate way tonight.  Thank you for reading.  I'll try to be funny tomorrow.  For now, sleep tight and peaceful dreams.

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