injuries – The Hermits' Rest

I Have My Halloween Costume All Picked Out

TW: cuts and bruises

I usually go as a witch (requires no costume), but this year I can be an accident victim.

I got stuck between Dusty and the gate when Apache charged in to eat Dusty’s leftovers. Usually Dusty flees safely but he was too close to me and I was knocked into a metal gate. At least my glasses protected my eye.

I did bleed a lot, but hoped it would stop. Alas, it did not, so off to the ER for rich people we went. I just wasn’t up for hours and hours at the germy hospital. I was the only patient and was in and out in an hour. I got seven stitches, so I guess my family was right to encourage me to get the cut looked at. The good news is my glasses (non-broken) cover most of the bruising and stitches.

The doctor said my skin looked amazing for my age. Aw shucks. Thanks, Olay products.

Here’s a nice bee fly to take your mind off blood and bruising.

I’m now dreading the numbing shots wearing off, but I’ll be fine and I’ll be more careful when letting Dusty out from now on. Usually I’m quite careful but I was tired from a long day of work and Master Naturalist stuff. That’s when accidents happen.

I’m not particularly looking forward to a long weekend of explaining my face, but I’m cleared to attend the Master Naturalist annual meeting, so I’m going!

More later. All is well, and I’ve done all the right bruising protocols, etc. And I’m on the lookout for signs of further issues.

A Little Scare, a Lot of Care

Today was a test of my ability to be calm in a (perceived) crisis. I’m still here, though covered in white hair.

Most of today was fun and productive—a highlight was visiting a house a friend is renovating accompanied by two women who had lived in it in the 1950s and 1960s. The house is all modern now, and it was fun watching them figure out what happened to old features.

Later, after a bunch of retired person work that made me fall asleep, I headed out for a grooming and riding session, since the weather was cool and cloudy.

And hooray, we finally have Texas paintbrush! I was worried.

First, I realized poor Dusty’s hair issue is rain rot. All that hair, sigh. I felt so bad for him, but he will get better. Poor boy.

While I worked with Dusty, Apache ate tied to a post where he could get some grass when he was done. Normally that’s fine, even though it was sort of close to the welding station. However, I hadn’t banked on the arrival of Apache’s nemesis, the riding mower, which had made him jumpy last week when I was trying to ride.

I guess he won’t want me to learn lawn mowing sounds. I’ll stick with phoebes.

My son had been mowing at his house and drove the mower back here, which I should have figured would happen when I saw his truck. Anyway, the mower’s appearance startled Apache as I was grooming him, and since I’d given him some extra rope for grass eating, he got his foot hung up in it.

The ensuing thrashing got both me and him some cuts and bruises, though once I got him still, I could easily get him untangled. Training him to lift his feet was a smart idea.

I was annoyed that my knot that was supposed to give way easily did not. In fact, it took my son quite a while to untie the lead rope. But he did it!

After moving Apache, I assessed the damage and did first aid. One scrape and one cut needed bandaging, and everything else got nice aloe spray.

While I was working on him, Mabel and Drew stayed right with him, checking on him and helping calm him down. Their caring was very sweet to see. Apache seemed to appreciate it, too, as well as my soothing and grooming.

I finally finished and decided riding would not be a good idea, so I walked him towards the pens, but he headed straight out to the exercise area, like he was ready to do groundwork. So, we did it and he was just fine! There was nice cantering and trotting and jumping, so I guess he felt okay. It’s a good thing he already had some pain medication in him.

The worst scrape, the only one that bled.

I’m proud that I didn’t panic and just took care of things. I’m also glad neither of us was hurt more than we were. The other horses being so attentive warmed my heart. I even had a hard time getting Apache into the pens, because Drew and Mabel wanted to check on him.

So far, retirement is not boring.

No Longer Healthy as a Horse

I’ve been very healthy most of my life, other than being incapable of pushing babies out and having a messed up gall bladder removed. I don’t become ill very often, either. Now that my slightly low thyroid and lady hormones have been adjusted, I’m one healthy elder.

And I’m a great photographer! It’s a katydid at sunset

But today I found out I have a condition! Here’s the story.

Yesterday the guy adjusting my back said I should get it x-rayed to be sure I hadn’t cracked a bone in there. That made sense— it was probably just bruised, but who would want to mess with it if you weren’t sure?

So today I thought I’d go to the doctor to get it looked at, but they don’t have x-rays there. So I went to a nice standalone ER place as soon as I got my important work stuff done. It took longer than I’d hoped, especially since I’d forgotten to eat anything.

Once the doctor found out I’d been thrown off a horse he went into covering all the bases mode and decided to get a CAT scan of my head and back. So, now I know what one of those is like. It’s not bad. Sort of fun, probably expensive.

The bubbles in the draining water are like my money draining away.

I was getting worried I wouldn’t make it home in time for my lessons with Tarrin, but eventually the nice doctor came back and told me that my head and back were okay, which I thought would be the case.

That lifted some dark clouds off my head.

But there was more. I have a splenic artery aneurysm. I guess they really look at you when they scan! It turns out these things are usually found when looking for something else. Mine is 1cm and they get concerned when they are 3cm.

I’m supposed to not fall off things, get kicked in the spleen, or get in a car accident. I told Drew and I think he’s holding off on the naughtiness. Just kidding. I’ll be in touch with my primary care doctor on Monday to see what to do.

My guess is they will want to check again in a year. Or they will yank out my poor spleen. I’d like to keep my organs.

Of course I’m still riding. Carefully. Both horses did well today at our place for lessons. It had rained a lot again last night, but we managed a lot with mostly walking. I’m so glad Drew is treating me normally again. That took a while!

No picture of me riding, so here is Tarrin schooling my handsome guys.

Hope you enjoy these sunset photos. There were colors I truly wish I could paint in tonight’s!

Sore and Tired, but Fine!

As it is with car accidents, it takes a while to figure out all the places you hurt when you experience a “sudden dismount.” For example, when I’d just found myself on the ground, my shoulder and head hurt the most. But my rear end and arms are now bruised up, not the shoulder. My headache is mild, but all my core muscles are yelling at me. That’s probably from trying to stay up.

But let me tell you! Aleve (naproxen) is a miracle drug! I took two around 9 am and I felt ok until around 8 pm. They aren’t kidding with that 12-hour claim. Tomorrow I’ll just take one. I could tell I was sore all day, but I could walk, drive, bend over, and pick up 50-pound bags of horse feed. My bicep did complain at the latter, but the horses had to eat and their bins were empty.

I admit I did spend a little time today just watching these guys. (Hackberry Emperor)

Speaking of horses eating things, I was disappointed that Apache stopped taking his Prascend embedded in Sara’s fancy cookies. But she turned me on to something better, which I think Tarrin mentioned, too: sweet senior feed.

I guess it’s horse crack, chocolate brownie, or something. It’s pretty much the exact opposite of what Apache should eat. But he didn’t even notice his pill inside a handful of this stuff. Let’s hope it works, because I have 50 pounds of it and I’m certainly not giving it to the other horses.

I’m glad I’m back to enjoying the horses a bit more. They all seem content. It helps that it didn’t rain for two days so the pens aren’t solid mud. Of course, rain is coming tomorrow.

We will eat anything, including coconut.

I had a nice dinner with my son and his partner tonight. They were pretty chipper for people who had just returned from a challenging family trip. They figured out how to make the best of it, which ain’t easy. Those two are really thriving right now, and that makes me quite pleased.

Like this American Snout, they have good perspective (look at its little curled proboscis!)

I guess we are all looking at the positive side of our challenges right now. I hope it’s contagious!

Innate Direction

What gives you direction in life?

After the hiccups this week, I’m ready for a shift in direction, but I don’t really need one. Little challenges help keep me focused on the big picture, not the tiny dots that make up the totality.

It’s like the temperature blanket, which I need to look at like this every so often, to see the winter flowing into spring. Mostly I look at individual squares.

Today’s challenge was getting stung by a scorpion, even though I’d checked my boots before putting them inn(from now on they don’t stay outside, even if they got all muddy in the stuck-in-the-water challenge earlier in the week). And hey, the intense pain makes me forget the hurt of my big-ass hoof-shaped bruise from Tuesday’s challenge! And I feel the itching from the chigger bites I got in the woods yesterday celebrating May.

It rained a lot, and we kept seeing crawfish crossing the driveway. I almost stepped on the one trying to disguise itself as a leaf. I avoided a crawfish pinch!

It’s all pretty funny at this point, and it reminds me that my direction is shaped by my innate desire to learn how things work. Mostly I want to observe life around me and determine patterns. Today I carefully noted all the different vireos and warblers that have appeared in the last few days. There was even a rose-breasted grosbeak, not common here. I’m curious as to how long they’ll visit during migration.

Yes, this is my best warbler photo. No idea which one it is.

Where I hope I’m headed is to even more internal peace and calm. Watching the seasons repeat yearly with variations but an overall consistency grounds me more and more. I think I’ll need that in the coming months.

I’m driven to try to understand people, as well. Like many of us, some of the things groups of people are saying and doing confuse me, but I’m doing better at seeing how much of it stems from humans needing to belong. Tribalism is not pretty when one feels threatened. I like it much better when it’s about football teams.

Did someone say threat? I better get hopping!

I’m wandering, so blame the Benadryl I took. But I want to recommend a television show we’ve been watching that has been very good for my soul. It’s A Brief History of the Future, which is streaming on PBS. The show looks into where humanity is headed in positive as well as negative ways. I’ve learned a lot about ideas that can heal the planet and make life better for all people. It celebrates differences and commonalities. Worth watching!

Like floods, it all passes. The green in the pond is the usual shore, and the shiny area in back is water pouring in.

I hope you’re enjoying the direction in which you’re headed. I love the daily surprises, both fun and painful. My hope is that they balance out so there’s never a dull moment unless we want one.

Early Beltane Greetings

What is your favorite holiday? Why is it your favorite?

I’m not very big on holidays, but I enjoy observing the changing seasons. May 1 is Beltane in the tradition I follow. It’s the big fertility celebration where all the flowers are blooming and you dance around the maypole, a thing I’ve done many times.

This cheerful day flower welcomes the changing seasons.

I like a holiday that’s all for fun, isn’t commercialized, and provides a chance to be as wild as you want to be. I’ll probably pick a May basket full of flowers and make a nice bouquet tomorrow.

That will be after my doctor appointment, where I have to get tests done to be allowed to continue my thyroid medication, followed by the equine dentist, another yearly traditional event at the ranch. I hope I can worm the horses while they’re sedated. That should end the parade of horse health expenses for a while.

Today was a first for me in a couple of ways. First, Drew kicked me for daring to try to groom his right side. He really doesn’t want me grooming him, so I guess I’ve been a bad horse owner and traumatized him.

I feel pretty awful about that and confused about what to do. On the one hand I’m supposed to be firm and set boundaries and on the other I’m not supposed to react. I’ll keep trying. My thigh sure hurts. Interesting that he doesn’t mind me cleaning 3/4 of his hooves, and is happy to be haltered and walk with me.

Second, I gave a living being a shot of medicine. Yes, this was after getting kicked. Drew was fine about that. He gets a shot a month from now on for arthritis pain. I’m proud I remembered how to do it. Maybe Tarrin will think I still have some potential as a horse person.

Speaking of pain and meds, Apache is feeling lots better. I’m pleased that he’s walking and trotting well without the boots on. He volunteered to canter but I had him stop. It wasn’t going well and he was hopping. Still, good news that he tried. He seemed energetic.

Also good is that he is now taking his medication like a champ, thanks to the magical cookies Sara made for Aragorn. Aragorn didn’t like them, but Apache seems to look forward to them. I guess I’ll have to get the recipe!

No new Apache pictures, so enjoy this very large mushroom.

Kathleen says this is my week for challenges, after getting stuck in the mud yesterday and kicked today. I’m trying to adopt her attitude of laughing the challenges off and staying positive.

At Least SOMEONE Got Body Work Today

Whew, I’m sore today! And of course I did all the things I needed to do, which did not help with my bruises and aches. But no, I didn’t get worked on, nor did I remember to fire up the hot tub tonight.

But I’ll live. The fall yesterday was minor, it’s just combined with a couple of Apache bruises, so I’ve had enough. Yes, this sweet spotted fellow had squished my hand in a gate and smooshed my leg into a different gate. And today he conked my jaw with his bony ole head because I’d had the nerve to tie him to the Evil Trailer. It’s good he’s been FINE when I’m riding!

And hey, I enjoyed the first full moon of the year.

So, who got body work? My horses, of course. This has been so good for Drew and Apache, by the way. I credit a lot of Apache’s new capabilities with the work Jackie does.

But wait, before that happened, I had to tidy up the area around the pond.

I don’t see anything that needs tidying.

Mabel was wrong, though, there were two barrels that had blown into the front pond in the recent storms. There was concern that in another storm one would get caught in the culvert and cause the dam to overflow. That would be bad. So I went to move them.

I forgot to take off my good shoes, but getting the first one out with just a little slipping and sliding in the mud. But the second one was challenging.

What are you doing down there? Do you need any help?

Yes, all the horses and Fiona watched me struggle in what turned out to be borderline quicksand to get the last barrel. My feet kept going down and down. It made a cool sucking sound when I got them out. At one point I lost a shoe. It was messy.

Barrel covered in mud. Horses still not helping.

I tossed those barrels in the utility vehicle and took my shoes over to get washed. I pushed on and then groomed and rode Drew. I sure noticed my hurt elbows doing that! But he needs his daily workout. Apache was filthy so he got groomed as well. He only did a few jumps, though. My arms were too tired.

Finally Jackie arrived and I could relax. Well, I’m not sure how relaxing it was, but I sure enjoyed watching her work. And Drew was just the sweetest boy. He truly enjoys his massages and let us know with gently rubbing our faces and so many relaxed sounds.

The wind made my hair and eyelashes look good, too.

He’s doing a lot better, by the way, and continuing with the chiropractic and therapeutic massage will keep his body able to do what we ask it to. Now, as for Apache…

…he didn’t want to be worked on by the Evil Trailer, so after he got my attention with the above-mentioned blow to the jaw we moved over to the pens. He was so calm even with all the poking and prodding. And that was important, because right next to him was Mabel. Watching.

Mabel watched what Jackie did intently. She pointed out that when Mabel wasn’t watching Apache (and nuzzling him), she watched me. I sat in the lawn chair, and she did not take her eyes off me. How interesting. While she doesn’t let you touch her much, she cares.

Jackie thinks that watching Apache might make Mabel more open to body work next time. I thought more about Mabel’s recent progress, and realized that she is now often the first or second horse to approach me. And she seems glad to see me. Plus, she and Apache now are actual friends. They eat and nap together and groom each other. Apache will NOT tolerate that from the other two. This is all such gratifying progress.

I learned so much watching the horses today that it was worth the sore back and elbows. There’s always something you can learn by just watching.

These guys are such good buddies that when they aren’t play-fighting, they can eat touching each other’s muzzles. Apache would have none of that!

Thanks for your concern yesterday. As usual, a sad blog got lots of hits. Have a good weekend!

Headache Time

I probably have more to say, but I have a sore head. There was an accidental collision between me and the head of Dusty. I think.

I’d fed the horses and was attaching the two gates that won’t stay open to each other, like every day. Suddenly I’m waking up on the ground. My guess is two horses were in the pen and one kicked the other, who then ran into my head. Apache. I blame him.

So, I’m resting, with a headache. I did make a nice spaghetti dinner, because, hooray, Kathleen came home! She “just” has pneumonia and can’t go out in the sun for a few weeks due to medication. At least she’s home!

Back tomorrow. Head has a lump! I guess Kathleen and I both need to wrap ourselves in bubble wrap.

Pain, Worth It

I seem to be dealing with the hurt of my lost friendships by replacing it with physical pain to distract myself. I’m pretty sure I have a stress fracture in my foot, because it didn’t bruise much, but hurts unless I wear supportive shoes. And falling in the hole definitely sprained my second toe on the other foot. What I didn’t realize at the time was that I also twisted all my back muscles. I’ve been walking around all hunched over like a person my age. Ha ha.

To help me stop slipping and sliding while I’m trotting beside Drew, I got the fine Justin boots above. They qualify as Western boots, but have a rubber sole that will give me traction in sand and arenas. Plus, turquoise and black! Drew’s theme colors!

I’m just pushing through the pain and doing fun stuff anyway. Anita and I went to the local nursery today and I got some bright and happy plants. I hope that cheered her up a bit.

Photos of the plants are to come, when it’s light. I was too busy all day to take photos. There was lots of work, Zooms with friends, and fun chores like hauling horse poop. I think I should have dumped this load sooner.

But, everything is clean, including the trailer. I even towed it all the way to Sara’s tonight! That’s maybe a mile on the main road.

It wasn’t all work today, though. I managed to work with both horses while waiting for Trixie to come do feet this evening. Drew really paid attention in his last lesson, because since then he’s like a new boy, with no more Zoolander problems. We turned right at all speeds, transitioned between gaits, and stopped on a dime consistently. There was no crowding or pushing. All his lunge line work was spot in today, too. He got the reward of being done quickly, because he did exactly what I asked!

Apache, well, he was an absolute DREAM today. We had the best ride of our lives today. It was relaxing and fun. I think he may be a bit woozy from all his shots yesterday, because he was not terribly interested in trotting fast. But, he trotted when asked, and did his jumps like a man. We rode all over the pasture with zero issues. Once or twice he started to go astray but all I had to do was refocus him. It was GREAT. He’s becoming the horse I knew he could be.

It’s been a good week of spending time with all the horses. Even Mabel and Dusty are enjoying all the togetherness.

When Trixie got here, she was able to just do Drew and Apache’s feet. She has only one good hand after being scratched by an angry cat that didn’t want to get in a crate to go get neutered. Cat scratches go septic so easily! I’m amazed she could get anything done, so I’m happy to wait for Fiona and Dusty. But Drew is now ready for the clinic tomorrow, since Apache’s Coggins results aren’t in yet (not surprised).

I’m more ready after pain pills and a visit to Carlton’s favorite chair, the massage chair.

It’s really great to enjoy all your tasks so much that pain is inconsequential. I just looked at the sunset and felt better. I’m content right here. Where I belong and am loved.

Ouch, More Than One Way

The day started with an ouch and ended with a painful long-term one.

These two are hanging out so I can quickly get them for a lesson tomorrow.

I was planning to go ride with Sara this morning and ran late, but I had Apache clean and saddled in time. We were walking to the mounting block, which is in the portable round pen. As we entered, the stirrup in the right somehow caught in a panel and started following us. That rightfully scared him and he jumped. Jump number 2 landed on my foot. Ouch.

The inner part here used to be next to the outer part.

He got free, though, and said “oof” then stood still. I got up and went over to him and hugged him. He was fine! I got on him and went over to Sara, apologizing for not making it to the gate so Aragorn wouldn’t have to walk near our horses.

The longer grass shows the former outline of the pen.

We regrouped and had a nice calm ride, since Aragorn is working on a hoof issue. I was really proud of my horse and me. In fact, my foot felt fine in my good shoes. It only started hurting when I took the shoe off.

I forgot to put a picture of Harvey on yesterday’s post. Here he is with his favorite pillow.

The other hurt is one I won’t go into detail on, but I found out I’d lost a friend through misunderstandings. For the second time in recent experience, someone got very angry with me due to associating me with someone else. Assumptions were made and even when it turned out they were wrong, I was guilty by association.

The good news is at least this time I know what happened, how it came about, and that there’s not a thing I can do but apologize for things that came across wrong. Sigh. I hate losing friends I really cared about.

On the other hand, I’m no longer in the middle of something I don’t understand and can move on. I’ll just hang out with people who know I’m me, not anyone I’m associated with.

These lessons are always painful, even when you’ve made progress on your desire to be liked by people who matter to you.

Ouch.