New Item On The Worry List

Seasons pass by so quickly, don't they?  

I thought before Summer packs her bags,

 I might take a little time to share with you what colors we have left - 

before they are gone!


We have such a proliferation of fungi, thanks to the recent rainfall.


Oh, how I love my morning glories. 

 And yes, they have spread all over everything by this time, but still, they are so lovely and so varied in their colors!

The garden tunnel is thick and lush with these glorious morning bloomers.


 What a magical place, shady and cool, this would be to sit and read a book, or work on some needle work (if only it weren't for our insect friends who make it a point to pester!)

Summer's colors are definitely fading...

Long before the foliage starts to turn, these colorful berries appear - purple beauty berries...

and these on a vine that grows on the garden fence.  I love how the berries appear in so many colors.

One of this week's chores is to harvest the leaves from this garden box.  It is my tea garden and has so many fragrant leaves that are perfect for herbal teas.  There are several types of mint (chocolate being one of them), and also lemon verbena.  There's nothing better than a warm cup of home-grown herbal tea before bedtime on a cold Winter's evening.

In yet another box is several varieties of sage.  I am going to dry these leaves and make smudge sticks with them.  This is an ancient Indigenous Peoples' tradition, to roll and wrap sage into small bundles that could be burned as incense to help cleanse a space of negative energy.  (Now all I need to do is find a space with negative energy!)

From time to time I mention my worry list.  Aside from the maternal worries about whether Pete would adjust to barn life...

which he has...

splendidly,


I have had very few worries.  The equines have all been healthy... no abscesses, no sarcoids, no lumps or bumps of a worrisome nature - quite different from the past year, where it seemed as if it were always something.  (I am knocking on wood as I write this, lest I jinx myself!)  

We have, however, added Chester to the worry list.  He is all by himself on the list, but, he is there, nonetheless.  

When we arrived home last week we noticed that Chester had a limp on one of his back paws.  We examined it to find nothing amiss, so we put him on anti-inflammatory medication in case he had over done it a bit.  After a few days, his limp worsened to the point that we now have a three-legged dog.  He runs on three and will not put the fourth down.

We are concerned that it may be his ACL.  Being only 4 years old, and an active dog, we have no choice but to have this fixed via surgery.  Tomorrow, he is scheduled to see a vet for a diagnostic work-up and referral to a surgeon for an ACL reconstruction.

This is going to be some adventure with a crazy dog like Chester.  It will be 8 weeks of severely limiting his activity... a confinement of sorts.  We may all be a little crazy by the end of it all!

Yesterday we began the process of introducing him to his post-op collar.  Chester is not at all food motivated, so everything has to be a game that includes lots and lots of hugs and kisses and praise.  He's a very smart boy, so I am sure he will catch on quickly!

Got apples??

Comments

jaz@octoberfarm said…
does chester want a recovery friend? willie, who is 3, seems to have done the same thing on the same leg. this happened almost 2 months ago. at first we and the vet thought it was a return of lyme so we put him on antibiotics which did nothing. the vet examined him again but could not find any signs of a torn acl. he referred us to a specialist who could not even schedule us because he was so busy. we finally got an appointment but it's not until oct. 4th.. he has actually been showing a bit of improvement the last few days so we are now wondering if maybe it's just a partial tear. we have 3 weeks to see if it get even better before we face the surgery decision. i am not looking forward to surgery if it has to happen. this would be our 4th chow chow acl surgery. ugh!
Marcia LaRue said…
Thanks for sharing your beautiful flower pictures ... love seeing them!
Little Pete is such a photogenic kitty!
So sorry about Chester ... hopefully surgery will take care of it for him! You may have to keep him a little sedated during the healing process!
Lynne said…
Oh my the color . . .
And I loved the multi colored berry photo . . .
(that was a mouthful)
Unusual all the different colors together!
Long recovery ahead for Chester . . .
Hope he does ok, seems like there is always
something to keep us in that “fret” mode!
Keep us posted!
Anonymous said…
Hoping Chester has a successful operation!
Terry said…
My best to Chester. Our Mickey dog had acl surgery at age 14. He made a glorious recovery with the help of physical therapy. The first days after surgery were the toughest but so worth it in the end. He had to be crated and wow, we all hated that. Chester will be fine. I can’t stress enough how valuable the physical therapy sessions were.
daisy g said…
Praying all goes well with sweet Chester.

Do you know that here in the Piedmont of NC, I have not met any natives who like morning glories? They consider it a pest! Personally, I think it is beautiful.
Patty said…
What beautiful pics from the farm! I do miss my flowers in the winter.
Sorry to hear about Chester. We had a dog that also had surgery for her ACL. She did great and Chester will too!
Pete has such an expressive face. I could just stare forever into his eyes. I'm so happy he found you!
Unknown said…
Our boy Teddy tore his ACL, the much much older vet in the practice said., Heres what I know from years and years... Surgery and PT and he would start walking again in about 3 months. Or do nothing, he would be a three legged dog for 3 months and then would start putting weight on it and walking on it again. 3 months to the day he began putting weight on it and became a 4 legged dog again! He did have a third category which our dog didn't fit in... He said he would suggest surgery if the dog was a competition sport dog .. ours was not. Chester may fit that category as he is so busy chasing animals. Praying for a speedy recovery, confinement is going to be tough on everyone! Lisa G in TN
Jeannie said…
Thank you for the beautiful pictures of your flowers and plants. I'm sorry to hear about Chester. We, too, have been through this ailment but since our Charlie is much older, we decided to opt for medication over surgery. I still wonder every day if we made the right decision. By the way, I noticed the pretty grey/cream/white/tan colors of Chester's fur today. So in style at the moment! They seem to match the colors on Pete's pretty little face, too! Have a great day!
Anonymous said…
My daughter's dog, Stephen King, also tore his ACL earlier this summer. He had his surgery back in June and he is just now starting to use all four of his legs? Along the way we also discovered that he had a thyroid deficiency because the vet noticed that his hair wasn't growing back in from the shaved area for his ACL. Happy to report that is better now too and Stephen is back to chasing rabbits and other critters here on the farm. I hope Chester's surgery is a success too.
Those glorious colors! I do miss the beauty of them during winter. The berries are so pretty. Are they poisonous or no?
I'll be keeping you and Chester in my thoughts as you go through this process.
This N That said…
Beautiful colors..good pics!! Sorry about Chester..Hope all goes well..Gonna be a long haul!That looks like a very cumbersome collar !Pete is a cutie..Love his color....Stay cool..Hugs
Terry said…
I’m adding to my previous comment. Obviously treatment options depend on the severity of the injury. In Mickey’s case, he had a complete rupture. The only humane options were surgery or euthanasia. We’re so glad we did the surgery. It wasn’t cheap and it wasn’t easy. But wow, our little ranch dog had a full recovery.
Jackie said…
Thank you for sharing the beautiful fall colors starting to paint the farm. Pete is truly a handsome fella. Those eyes are full of wonder.
Oh poor Chester. Our HEMI had the same surgery when he was alive. Would not change that decision up for anything. LOTS of work on our part to help him the first month or so. Once he got the go ahead for more activity, it was a part of our routine. He LOVED it when I massaged his leg and hips. I purchased a harness called the Help Em Up. Best money I spent. He was a 100lb choc. Lab. Lifting him up to go out was so much easier for me. And walking around outside for exercise. This mama admits to sleeping on a new dog bed right beside his on the floor for the first 2 weeks. If I didn’t, he would keep getting up to find me when he wasn’t supposed to. You have Velcro kitty, I had Velcro Labrador. �� it’s a process to get them back on their feet again and back to normal activity, but it is worth every second spent caring for them. BIG HUGS to you and Hubs for ALL of your love you share with your “family”��
THE BEARDED ONE said…
SO VERY SORRY ABOUT CHESTER...BUT..OTHER THAN THAT...GREAT UPLIFTING AND ENCOURAGING POST AND COMMENTS BY YOU...THE VARIOUS COLORS OF FLOWER AND BERRIES IS SO AMAZING...I LOOK FORWARD TO AND ENJOY THESE EVERY DAY...THANK YOU DEAR LADY !!! HELLO TO MY HYBBS !!! KEEP SMILING AND LOOKING UP !!!!


EDGAR C. BEARD
Anonymous said…
Bev, I just love your daily posts! So sorry to hear about our friend Chester, though. Our 14 year-old lab Lexie had the surgery for a complete ACL rupture 9 years ago. Recovery was a challenge but she has done very well. We have not regretted it one bit. We used the Topdoghealth home therapy plan (found online) faithfully. I really think that made all the difference in recovery. Thank you for taking such incredible care of all your family & pets!
Anonymous said…
My little Yorkie mix is six weeks post-op from knee surgery. I found that the "chill pill" meds were invaluable. He was just much more relaxed about everything. He still ate and went outside on a leash and barked but he stayed in his little corral in the living room without a fuss. I hope Chester will come through this easily and you and Hubs don't lose too much sleep.
Rose