WHEN IT RAINS IT POURS

Judy and I went outside this morning and Baylee stood almost motionless in the front yard, head down, no interest in us at all, and when I held out the "pig ear" I usually give her when I'm leaving, she just turned her head.

Over the past week, she had two days where she laid around the house barely moving. One day, she lay in her bed for almost 14 hours before wanting to go outside. All this was strangely unusual for her, so we kept and eye on her. She drank and ate normally until last evening. We noticed today that she did not eat last night's food.

Judy and l left to drop my truck off to be washed, but the man didn't show, so we hurried back home. Judy had arrived first and was standing in the garage crying. "I can't find her anywhere and she won't come!"

I walked around the house and called and saw her move in the leaves in the woods above the house. She slowly made her way down the hill, her rear quarters shaking as she frequently stopped to rest.

I opened the back door of the truck and she immediately went up and tried, but could not make it without my help. I left Judy crying and headed for our local vet's office.

At the office, Baylee just lay in the floor, ignoring all the other dogs in the lobby. She shook all over as she tried to rest, and her breathing was quick. There seemed to be a mass sticking out from one side, and since she hadn't eaten, I knew she wasn't just full.

The vet, a lady that has seen her several times of the past 8 or 9 years, rubbed and kneaded the internal organs she could feel, while Baylee stood motionless, head down, and tongue out.

The veterinarian suggested a blood analysis, x-rays, and a sedated stay in the hospital. I allowed them to do the blood test, and after about 30 minutes the results came back. Her pancreas was highly inflamed and causing her liver to stress as well. The only way to tell if it was some bad she had eaten was to keep her off food and water for two days, then a series of abdominal x-rays, and possibly exploratory surgery! More than likely she said, Baylee has a tumor or tumors causing her distress. The cost to wait and see...probably close to $2k!

Since she had been sickly for several days, I knew it wasn't something she had eaten. She had had plenty of time to pass and get over something like that. In my mind, as the vet suggested, she had a tumor on her pancreas and/or her liver.

I watched at her shake as she tried to rest on the floor, knowing she was hurting, and at the emptiness in her eyes. I couldn't allow her to hurt for 2 or 3 more days. I told the doctor I could not afford what she was suggesting and I didn't want her to hurt anymore. God, if anyone understands pain these days, it's me!

I also elected not to be with her...I held Lacy when they gave her "the shot" and it has haunted me ever since. I walked by the check out window, told them to send me the bill, and got into my truck. I sobbed all the way home and every time Judy and I look at each other we begin again.

Yes, she was just a dog, but the best damn dog ever. I'll always miss her. Every time a storm comes up, I'll wonder if she's afraid. When it gets cold outside, I'll wonder if she's warm enough. Too many memories to be forgotten.

Daddy Dog loves you!

A GOOD DAY FOR LEFTOVERS!

Judy, Katie, and I went to our “hide-out” today and walked off a little Thanksgiving.

It wasn’t the best of days for a hike, since it drizzled on us, but we enjoyed it just the same.

I pushed the ISO setting on my Nikon S7c to get more light, and got some fair shots of the Pepper Box bathed in a cold rain.

The rocks crossing Clifty Creek were slippery and we took the time to plan our steps and offered each other a hand at times.

Judy and I tried to recount the days we have spent in this isolated area, and how much it meant to us, but outside appreciating the beauty of the place Katie can’t really understand.

When I come upon the clearing where we used to camp, I see guys sitting around a fire, chucking in another log, laughing, and pulling the “pop top” off a can of beer! She can only see the brown and yellow of the leaves, the green of the hemlocks, and hear the sound of water dripping on rocks from the bluff above. Both mental and real images are beautiful in their own way, so I guess we really do share a mutual love and appreciation of the “Pepper Box!”

The drizzle began just moments before we had planned to turn around and head back. We kept to the path that travels along under hemlocks, so we didn’t really get that wet. The hemlock canopy kept us pretty dry until we made the road. From there to the truck, about a hundred yards, the rain came down a little heavier and we were somewhat chilled. The truck’s heater felt pretty good on the way home and dried us out.

At home, we attacked the refrigerator and loaded up paper plates full of sweet potatoes, dressing, slices of ham and turkey, and broccoli and rice casserole! Man, I believe it tasted better than it did Thursday!

Comfy and warm with full bellies, Judy and Katie settled in under a comforter on the couch, and watched a movie on TV. Baylee and I went to the computer room to work on the many photos I shot over the last few days. Soon, everyone but me, was snoring away…Baylee the loudest I think!

I sure hope there are some desserts left for later on!

TIPTOEING THROUGH THE BACKYARD

Spring is here people…best one we’ve had for at least 3 years. This year there will be nuts galore on the oak, hickory, and beech trees! The pickings for the squirrels have been sparse the last 2 or 3 years, because heavy rains came every time just as the trees tried to release their prized pollen. No baby trees were made and the squirrels and chipmunks had to dip into their reserves or range further from home. Incidentally, there haven’t been too many new baby squirrels around either.

However, I suspect that this year the acorns, hickory, and beech nuts will be piling up in the driveway and bouncing off my metal roof! I suspect too that there will be many new baby squirrels and chipmunks chasing each other in the yard. Good thing Baylee is getting a little old to chase them far, or she would bring back their little pelts for me to pick up and toss in the garbage!

If you look closely to the left of the top merged photo, you can just make out Judy pulling weeds out of her yellow cannas bed, while I keep watch! Well, someone had to keep Baylee occupied, otherwise she would be lying right in front of Judy and mashing down all the young green shoots! You can see in her eyes that she could care less about flowers!

The azaleas, both in front and out back, have been there since the mid-seventies, pretty much as long as the old tire swing! Judy will not let me trim back the flower laden bushes and shape them up. So, they grow pretty much wild, as does the rest of the yard.

Jeff commented once that we must work our butts off in the yard, but the truth is, we do very little besides pick up dead limbs, cut up the trees that occasionally get blown down, and mow. We don’t really weed or mulch, we just mow very close and sit on the deck and admire God’s good works. After all, they were growing pretty well before man came along to corral and bunch them up into tight little color groups!

I don’t fertilize or aerate, like Corey, I just keep it mowed and mulch back in the fall leaves. I don’t know if it’s true or not, but I remember reading something about how trees use up the soil in a yard and actually lower its level over time if you didn’t add back in what was used up! Makes good sense, and I figure that’s all the fertilizing it needs. It also makes for less raking!

Oh, I do trim off low hanging limbs, especially the ones that slap my hat off, waking me up, from time to time, while I mow, or those that poke me in the chins or ribs! I hate it when that happens! I also keep my grape vine pruned back, but I have yet to have a crop survive the birds…and I don’t really care. It’s not like I’m going to make wine or anything! I get a couple off each year, as I make my mowing rounds, and that’s about it.

The other merged shots either look toward the back of the house, or toward the lake, which has not filled up yet, but we can see the water getting closer every day. Once a spring the water covers the backyard up to the azalea line, and the carp come in and roll in their love tumbles in the grass! Its TVA land up to that mark anyway, but I mow everything down to the shore anyway. I keep hoping someone will give me one of those Florida air-boats and I can come screaming in off the lake and up into the yard! What a hoot that would be!

Well, thanks for walking around with me and enjoying spring. I’d love to share it with you any time – free of charge…’course you could bring some beer!

REMEMBER YOUR FIRST CAR?

Katie Bug was visiting Thursday evening when the phone rang. It was Tracy, her mother, so I handed the phone to Katie. Suddenly she screamed and made the gesture I captured at right! The scream pierced both mine and Judy’s ears, but we guessed what the exciting news must be…yep, her parents had just made a good deal on a 2003 Isuzu Axiom on her behalf!

As it turned out, it was very late when all the paperwork was finished, so Katie had to wait a whole day to show us her car. She was so excited she could hardly sit still all day at school, but finally the moment came and she was free to go. She will have a “driver’s permit” until her 16^th birthday in July, so her mother let her drive straight over to show the car off to us this afternoon.

While they were on their way, the weather service issued a Tornado Warning for our area, with one actually touching down about 20 miles west of us and was supposedly headed our way. I was glued to the Doppler on the Internet and watching the local weather trying to figure out which way the storm was expected to travel. The weather service kept breaking in on the cable box telling us of the impending danger, but the real barometer of coming storms lay in the hall by the back door! Baylee is terrified of thunder! When she scratches to get in, we know that we too will soon be hearing the thunder.

As soon as Katie arrived I told her that “golf ball size hail was on the way!” She told me to put her car in the basement. I said okay, but “help me take it apart first!” Of course I was half teasing her, but I was a little concerned at how the weather was shaping up around us.

Katie and Tracy arrived just before the rain started and had time to ride us around the neighborhood pointing out all the Axiom’s features. She said there will be “no open drinks or ketchup in this baby”! I was so happy for her and kept trying to explain that it was “just a thing” and that “people are much more important.” I also added how blessed she was, especially since I did not have my own car until after Vietnam…’course she didn’t hear any of it.

Tracy and Katie stayed until the storm passed to the northwest of us, as they are prone to do, and then left. I’m sure her mother got the grand tour and that they traveled the long way home. You remember how it was when you got your first car don’t you – everybody just had to see it!

She is a very blessed young woman with many people who love her dearly.

LET’S PLAY LEAF FROG

Four of us (my Dragon and Ron’s Dragon) took a nice short hike at Frozen Head State Park yesterday. Ron and I got several nice shots with beautiful fall colors in them. The last two are Ron's (click on them to enlarge)…aren’t they great with all those rich colors reflecting in water!

The first one was taken after Neena thought she saw a frog along the path. Since it was in the 40’s she couldn’t understand what this frog was doing out. On closer inspection she realized it was really a leaf that resembled a big green frog!

The panorama was taken on the road leading past the Brushy Mountain Correctional Facility to Frozen Head. This is such a beautiful area and just about 10 miles from my house. They call this area “God’s Country” around here, but it’s really just Morgan County near Wartburg, Tennessee.

Why is it they always call places where sunlight is piped in and moonshine out “God’s Country?” It must have something to do with the isolation and the surrounding nature. It is pretty, but I’m satisfied to live 10 miles down the road.

We have been totally surprised at the fall colors this year. We are still over a foot behind in annual rainfall, and I expected the color to either be burnt off by the drought or by arson by now! There is always some idiot lurking around with a “jones” for wildfire when the forests get this dry. Well, it ain’t over yet!

We, well, I am glad the cool weather has finally arrived. After the hike and the feast at the local Mexican restaurant yesterday, I took the couch throw out on the back porch and took a nap. It was cold, but only my nose was exposed. Soon, both Baylee and I were snoring away!

Of course Judy was toasty on the couch with Dr. Phil lecturing in the background.

Ah, retirement…still highly under-rated!

More shots a Mushy's Flickr!