Blog: Reflections from Rural Route 2

 

Wednesday, June 13, 2007, 05:35

Summer All of a Sudden. . .

It's hard to believe that on Friday evening when we were baling hay over at my brother's place it was cool enough that I was wearing a sweatshirt. That's unheard of -- to be wearing a sweatshirt while loading hay. The humidity was low and the dewpoint was low and the air was cool.

It's not that way now. Tuesday it was 90 degrees and quite sticky outside. I had to cover a Make-A-Wish event for the newspaper for a little girl in a town near here late in the afternoon. She is five years old with an inoperable brain tumor. Her wish was to have a swingset/playground set in her backyard. The brain tumor is affecting her optic nerve, and she is legally blind. But you would never know it to see her running around playing. She has had the tumor since she was 18 months old. She is now on radiation therapy to try to keep the tumor from growing.

The children who were at the party did not seem to notice that it was 90 degrees, humid and very hot in the late afternoon sunshine. They played and ran around and laughed and when the time came, they ate cake and ice cream. It did not take long for the ice cream to turn liquid. The kids didn't mind that, either, though.

By the time I got home, I was pretty sure I was never going to feel cool again. It didn't help driving home in a hot pickup truck with no air conditioning. Windows open and vents open didn't make much difference.

I couldn't help thinking about the contrast between Friday and Saturday and how hot and humid it feels now just a few days later. That's Wisconsin, though. Winter one day. Summer the next!

Unfortunately, with the hot dry wind and hot temperatures, the little bit of rain we have gotten is all dried out from the surface. I was noticing Tuesday evening that my volunteer tomatoes were looking a little stressed. Their leaves were kind of rolled up. I decided I'd better give everything in the garden some water if I wanted it to survive the next few days. The weather forecast says it will be hot and dry all week.

I am certainly very glad that we finished with my brother's haying *last* weekend.

Isabelle -- My little mare's leg is still swollen after her encounter with the fence on Saturday. The swelling is going down some, though. And she is not lame on that leg. Thank goodness. The ankle feels a little warm to the touch. Could have been much worse, though. Randy has rebuilt the fence in the corner, changed the gate around, and put in a section of wooden fence. Essentially he has removed the place where Isabelle caught her leg.

Kitty Patients -- Winifred is finished with the antibiotic for her tooth. She is eating more and is not looking quite as thin and sick as she did before. I've noticed, though, that there are now tiny crumbs of dry kitty food left in the food dishes. I think Winifred is not able to chew as well. I suppose her mouth operates differently with the one canine tooth gone. Cats use their canines to tear meat, not to chew. But I would imagine it makes a difference without the tooth. At least she's eating a little bit.

Guinevere still has five days to go on the antibiotic for her sinus infection. Her face is still swollen around her nose although it might not be *quite* as swollen. She is feeling better, too -- except when she sees me coming with the medicine.

My little black kitty Snowflake is improving as well. Within 12 hours of starting the new antibiotic, she was becoming more mischievous. I knew she had turned the corner when she started attacking my feet while I was doing my exercises for my back.

I hope the medicine does its job for all of my patients. It's a little depressing when my kitty companions *run* whenever they see me coming. Well, at least they are able to run away when they see me coming. It's better than having them be so sick they don't care. . .

LeAnn R. Ralph

  • Christmas in Dairyland,
  • Give Me a Home Where the Dairy Cows Roam,
  • Cream of the Crop
  • Preserve Your Family History -- A Step by Step Guide for Interviewing Family Members and Writing Oral Histories
  • Where the Green Grass Grows

     

    Monday, June 11, 2007, 17:28

    Thoughts and Prayers

    Rural Route 2 subscriber Ellen wrote on June 11:

    My brother is a kidney patient and has been on dialisis three times a week for the last nine months. We can't keep his potassium level down so he isn't doing very well. It was up again last night so he had to be taken to the emergency room for an extra dialisis treatment. He is better this morning. He needs lots of love and prayers. sent his way. Thank you, Ellen


    « 1 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 »

    XML Feed

    | Admin login