Musings From The Farm Comfortable living in your own skin

Dealing with a sick pet is the WORST isn’t it? Our dog Chia has been having some issues lately. She likes to play fetch, like is a bit of an understatement, she is obsessed with it. But we noticed the other day that she cried when she tried to pick up a tennis ball. On further inspection, we could see nothing wrong, except it hurt her to open her mouth beyond a tiny bit. Of course it was a Friday night when we noticed it. We thought she maybe strained a muscle and waited until Monday morning to see if she needed to go to the vet.

Monday morning came and it was clear she was not getting better. A trip to the vet revealed that she had inflammation in the muscles that open her jaw. She was prescribed an anti-inflammatory and we thought that was that. She was feeling better after two days and started fetching apples.

Oh I did mention that she is obsessed with fetch right?

This time of year the old apple trees that are on the edge of the woods are dropping apples. Chia learned years ago that apples are a lot like a ball and make for a sweet game of fetch. When everyone gets tired of throwing it for her, it is a tasty treat. She will eat the whole thing, I’m sure she thinks if it is good enough for the horses it is good enough for her too.

So after a few days of recovery she was back to fetching apples. The problem is that brought back the inflammation worse than before, and of course this time it was a Friday night before a holiday weekend. As we waited for Tuesday to bring her back to the vet her conditioned worsened. It started affecting her eye, it was dripping and the third eyelid was red and swollen. She wasn’t her usual happy self; she had a pained look on her sweet face. We became more concerned; was this part of the same problem or was this something else and more serious? We all go through this when dealing with a sick pet, don’t we?  We didn’t think it warranted going to an emergency vet, so we waited, hoping we were doing the right thing. Each day we watched our dog get a little worse looking, in the back of our minds we worried she might not make it but neither Dean nor I voiced this to each other. By Monday morning both eyes were affected and we weren’t sure she could see.

More waiting until the vet opened for office hours that afternoon.

Finally I brought her to the vet, more waiting for our turn to see the vet.

Finally it was our turn and the vet thoroughly examines Chia once again. Then I got scolded a little for letting her chew on apples. She increased her meds and said no more chewing on apples or anything hard. So our dog is home again. With proper rest (that will be the hard part) and treatment she will be fine soon. Hopefully we will have many more years together with our furry happy friend.

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I’m just a country girl, as you have probably guessed. I grew up on a tiny family farm in what passes for the country in New Jersey. I suppose if I grew up in the city I would feel differently about it. On my recent trip to the NYC, although I was excited to take in all the sites, I can’t imagine living in or having an extended visit to a big city. I have to admit this country girl feels a little lost and claustrophobic when I see the skyscrapers towering over me instead of tall trees and blue skies. I feel a kind of sad when I see so many people, with their eyes set on their destination (or their phones) and not seeing people or what goes on around them.

You can always tell the visitors like me, they are the ones looking all around and especially looking up and taking in the vast skyline. In the late afternoon after I was finished with business I was out and about and looked for parks(surprise that this country girl wanted some green!). I needed something more familiar to my senses; a break from the loud noises and hard lines of the architecture around me. I do appreciate all the beautiful buildings to see but I need the renewal that my spirit gets from trees and grass and living things. The old abandoned looking buildings look so depressing. Not at all like the country houses in disrepair that usually keep or even gain some of the country charm that makes you want to buy them and give them the TLC they need to bring that back to life.

I think I would get awfully depressed if I couldn’t see the sunrise everyday and wake up with the sound of birds singing. I get renewal every morning when I see the sunrise in the morning. I am a bit of a sunrise junkie and go through withdrawal if I go too long with out it. I’m told there are so many advantages to living in the city.  I know there are lots of people who love and thrive living in the city. I just know I’m not one of them. I’m more comfortable out in the country.

What about you?

For those of you that do not get a chance to see the country, we do a monthly letter that has lots of pictures and talks about our life on the farm.  Check it out, you will truly enjoy it.

We  all love our little pony Caddy, but we often have to laugh and call him “Pig Pen”!  You remember the character from the Peanuts Comics, yeah like that. Caddy insists on this strange morning routine. Every morning, I go out to do the barn chores. They include cleaning the manure from the stalls and the paddock area. This time of year, after I groom Fasci and Caddy I apply a homemade potion that helps to keep the flies, mosquitos and blackflies from biting. I use a small rag to get the inside and outside of their ears and face and then spray down the rest of their body with a fine mist. They are both very appreciative and usually wait for me to apply their fly stuff before they head out and brave their tiny biting foes. But as soon as I finish Caddy, he has to apply his own accessory; dirt!  Unfortunately his paddock area right outside his stall is dirt( I did seed this years ago but as soon as I took the barrier down the grass was gone and it’s been dirt ever since). So Caddy just has to walk outside his stall and lay down and roll in the dirt. Sometimes he rolls over and other times he gets up and repeats the process to make sure he gets both sides. When he gets up, he shakes, like a dog and a cloud of dirt rises from him, just like in the comic strip. Now you should not think he only does this in the summer, he does this year round. But this time of year when he has been sprayed with bug stuff the dirt really sticks to him.

We still love him, we just call him our little “Pig Pen”.

I know that poison ivy isn’t funny, but I did have a tiny little chuckle when my son showed up with his buddy covered in a poison ivy rash. To me it was a little funny because, he doesn’t get poison ivy; at least not for the first 25 years of his life! My dad was the same way; he could pull it out and never get a bump until he was about 60.  I had been telling my son for years to stop pulling it out barehanded. Just because you are not sensitive to it today doesn’t mean you won’t start tomorrow.

Well he had been doing a favor for his Aunt and Uncle up in their woods over the weekend and now he and his friend had it all over their legs and arms. The other amusing part was that he wanted to use essential oils to treat it. When he was younger he thought all this natural stuff was just superstition or placebo effect. Now our son who is very analytical and needs the research to back up any claims that are made was asking for me for advice on which essential oils he should use on his poison ivy rash!

He had worked for us for quite a few years and he now had all the facts he needed to be a believer in the power of essential oils.

He thought maybe Tea tree oil and I agreed because it has antiseptic and drying properties. He asked me what else he could add, maybe lavender for it’s anti-inflammatory properties and for it’s ability to ease pain and calm nerves.  I was pleasantly surprised that using alternative medicine was his first choice and he came to me for advice (I must have done something right).

So we dug up a spray bottle and he mixed up his potion and took some soaps and left. Oh and a few days later he called to tell me it worked! Nice thing about our Alabu product line is you can have some comforting soaps and lotions for itchy days in your home…even if it isn’t poison ivy!