Benny the dog showed up when it was raining again last night. This was the fourth time he’s shown up, so he appears to know the route. The dogs barked a lot last night thanks to that, so no one got a lot of sleep.
Rainy night led to a foggy morning.
I was quite surprised to turn around and see Benny and Carlton in my bathroom doorway this morning. I guess he has the dog door figured out.
Carlton is Benny’s fixation
So, we’ve been waiting to hear from his owners, but I guess they haven’t missed him yet. It’s no use driving him over there, because he’d just follow us back. Sigh. In the meantime, he follows Carlton around in a lovesick manner. I’m sure Carlton is getting tired of it. I promised him either Benny would go home or he will be neutered next week. That should help.
Finally Carlton got to sniff.
No one here dislikes Benny. But we aren’t looking for a dog, especially one with owners. So, we’ll see what happens. At least he’s safe and getting tummy rubs.
I like it here!
Tonight Anita and I went out to dinner for the first time in a good while. We ate Vietnamese food, which is a real treat for us these days. She has finally had to let Pickle go, after a couple of pretty hard years with dementia and other issues. You know that was hard. It’s one of the hardest decisions people make. People at the veterinary office were so kind to her, though. That warmed my heart.
Farewell to my former roommate.
I’ll miss Pickle in her younger years when we cuddled in bed and went on long walks with Vlassic and Anita. I’m glad she’s no longer confused and unable to go out. Send Anita some good thoughts.
Penney doesn’t like them there chiweenies, however. Not Pickle, not Vlassic, not Benny. She’s consistent.
This is difficult to write, because I’m in danger of veering off into blaming myself, berating myself for being such a wimp, etc. But the goal of this post is to focus on what’s best for everyone.
Nope. Dusty isn’t going anywhere. Kathleen now rides him for hours!
As you may know, my little gray gelding, Drew or Droodles, has had some issues ever since he got kicked in the head by Fiona (mini-donkey). His boundaries are not good, and it takes constant vigilance to remind him to give humans and other horses space. Consequently, my son got kicked by him and had spleen damage, I got knocked into a metal fence rail and needed stitches, and just this week, Kathleen got crowded into a fence and kicked. Not to mention damage inflicted on other horses. I just can’t have any more injuries caused by my horse. (Note that I can go on and on about his good qualities—I love him.)
He’s beautiful (and chubby)
We had already been trying to find him a place where he’d fit in better. We had decided that he needed somewhere he’d be worked with every day by experienced horse people, and where he could have a job.
These guys need to be in a calm environment, too.
Kathleen’s stepson just happens to be a genuine cowboy, trained by his dad and others. He works with a very good trainer who has helped him with a couple of horses who’ve turned out really well. After this last accident, the family agreed to get Drew over there sooner rather than later. The time for waffling over it had ended.
Drew meets his new trainer. And his dog.
I’m convinced that Drew will adapt well to the new style of training he’ll get, and that the education I already got him will speed things up. Being worked with more often will keep his mind busy and build back his muscles. No matter how much I’d hoped for it, my work and travel schedule would never keep him where he needs to be.
You bet, he will have more muscles.
So yep, my family and my other horses will be safer. I can work with Apache more easily without Drew raising a ruckus. The water troughs won’t have him chomping on the spigots (though it’s good there’s now a cage around the automatic waterers, since Spice is a big splasher, too). Drew will be in a more suitable situation with the cowboys, ropes, and all that. My hope is he will be happier.
Do I get to ride in this heirloom trailer?
But I’m very sad. I promised him I’d keep him safe, and now after just four years I’ve let him be shipped off. That’s normal, though. Even with his flaws, he was a lot of fun, and his curiosity always made me laugh. Sara said it was bittersweet when I told her. That’s it. Bittersweet.
Loading like a champ.
At least he’s still in the family, and I’ve been promised photos and videos. I’m truly grateful that Drew has found such a good new situation with good people.
Argh. This is hard.
Stopping now before I go into blaming myself. It is all for the best, just sad.
Good news: the rods in the horse pens are all back up and properly welded. More safety! More gratitude for the help on this.
It being Samhain or Halloween, I figured I should write about life and death and moving on. (That’s where snouts come in.) As for life, I was happy to see a turtle head pop up in the new pond. It’s good to see it getting to support life again.
Turtle is to the left of the black leaf.
There is much new life behind us, as more calves show up. This is one of the fuzzy twins. They look like stuffed animals!
Bawww!
There’s death, too, as I discovered when I checked the mail. I found just the tail of a rabbit. Hmmm. I could choose to believe it got away with just a tail-ectomy.
Not a usual find!
This is also the time of year in my culture and many others, where you think of the dead and welcome memories. While I’m thinking of way too many friends who’ve recently lost spouses or parents, I’m also comforted by my own memories. My stepsister sent me these fun pictures of my dad, so I’ll put them here as an electronic ofrenda.
Snappy dresserDad and Florence on their wedding day with my offspring. Prince Kendall, ever the clown
Much of the day today I thought about transition. The butterflies started it. The snout butterflies are still migrating, and I enjoyed watching them today as they visited flowers and grasses and did mating dances. They’ll lay eggs and make more little snouts as they head north. (I’m also throwing in a Gulf fritillary and sleepy orange — what a great name.)
Pretty American snoutOops. That’s a vineThe side you usually seeThreesome!Delicate perch!Fritillary has seen better daysSleepy orange Other side of sleepy
Like the butterflies, we all move on and do as much as we can while we live. That’s my goal. Keep moving and enjoy my life.
Whew. I got through my last day at this job pretty easily, because there was a workshop all morning that was sort of fun, other than a couple of people scowling at me for showing up. But, they couldn’t stop me!
Generic desk, devoid of Suna.
Two colleagues showed up at lunch, and we had a nice lunch in the courtyard, which is the part of the building I’ll miss the most. They then helped me load my car. My poor desk looked so empty.
It was good to see that Trevor is a real person.
At least I got to meet Trevor, the newest person on our team. He was nice in person, just like on Zoom.
t looks so fancy. I gave Anita those nice flowers for her birthday.
Then I went back to the Bobcat Lair, which doesn’t look at all like my house anymore. It should appeal to all bland people! I put a bunch of stuff in Lee’s car, so there is room in the garage for my son’s stuff to hide when they are taking pictures and showing the house.
The rug has been hiding since I got Carlton and he tried to tear it up. Nice rug.
I also did a lot of sitting and looking out the windows, because it’s so darn pretty.
This is our guest room, or would have been if it hadn’t been crammed with plants and boxes. It had a beautiful view.
Carol, our long-time friend and real estate agent, is working hard to get the house ready, and we sure do appreciate that. Things are just so crazy for me that I can’t stick around here to be of much help. But, I did a little, anyway.
Some of my wonderful book club neighbors.
Last night we had book club in the neighborhood, and they all seemed glad that Anita and I plan to continue to attend, even when we no longer live in Austin. I told Anita she could share my hotel room. I’d even give her a ride. (Sorry I didn’t get good photos of everyone; I love them all.)
Very sad friends.
My friends were SO sad about the house going on the market. But we had a great time. Friends make even hard transitions a little easier.
The Hermits' Rest 