Wooly Bear

So this is Natasha. I never formally introduced her to the internet, but I've probably had her for about 6 months or so. She's my final doggie. I will not be taking in anymore dogs. I say that a lot, but I'm for real this time. SEVERIOUSLY. 😳 See, she was the exception. I was done after Scruffy, but I've loved Natasha since we met a couple of years ago and when I found out that she needed a forever home it was like, "Well, if this works out..." which... so far it has. 😊 For her to be such a sweet dog she's had a rough time finding somewhere permanent to live. She's been through 3 or 4 homes that I know of. Despite her size she's really great with kids and she's SUPER protective, which I really appreciate.

I recently shaved her down so she's pretty funny looking, but she needed it. Her coat needed some pretty extensive stripping from what I've read and it would have a been a huge chore to do that with all the hair she had. I was just like, "Sorry, Wooly Bear, but we're starting over." So my wooly bear isn't so wooly anymore, but it will grow back all nice and curly and I'll keep the undercoat stripped and she won't get too hot or matted and it will be good. Also, I took her to the vet last Friday because of some nasty matting in her ears that she had before I got her and they had to sedate her to get all of it out. It would've hurt too bad otherwise. 😔 Poor baby. But she's on antibiotics for her ears and skin now (she had some flakiness, which the vet said was probably due to bacteria; he also said that shaving her and letting her skin get some air would do her good). So I think she's on the right track. She really seems to feel better in just a week's time and I'm happy about that.

And now, a video:

Hedgie update... not a happy ending, unfortunately. :(

TRIGGER WARNING:  Animal Neglect, Self-Harm
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

Ok, so the hedgehog had to be put down. It was really sad (especially after getting my hopes up that she'd be fine). After the initial vet trip she did really well for a few days and we all thought she'd just heal up and be 3-legged, which was cool. But suddenly she started eating another leg. SEVERIOUSLY. Jeni took her to the vet again who put her on antibiotics, but by that night she'd pretty much destroyed that leg. She chewed it all night and screamed the whole time. 😨😭

I slept on the couch with the tv on, but I could still hear her and I felt pretty sick that I couldn't do anything for her right then. By the next day when we finally got her to the vet to be put down she'd finished that leg and started ANOTHER. The vet said that all he could figure would be nerve damage from the initial wound... so that sucked. She pretty much felt that she was in pain the whole time and I really hate that. Not that it's much of a plus, but it was pretty interesting to see her walk on two legs, both on the same side. She totally did and I was kind of amazed. So yeah... that's the story.

Shadow

Shadow turned 9 last month. 9. That's almost double-digits, yo. That's half-grown. That's... it's like "whoa." I think I say that every year. 😂 It is (of course) exciting and scary and a little sad. Every year he gets a little older and little farther away from being a kid. It's crazy. He's taken on a whole lot of responsibility lately and I'm super-proud of how well he's handling it. Not only that, but this year he had to get some "older" stuff for his birthday. Like his own deodorant and body-wash - and not the kind with Spiderman or the Hulk or something on it. GROWN stuff. That's kind of like, well, "whoa." 😲

His father didn't call him on his birthday this year and I think it's my fault. After a cordial enough phone conversation I was left thinking, "Really? He really thinks it's like that between us?" Well, it's not like that at all and after all this time I finally decided to be frank with him. I don't think I was overly mean or whatever, but I just had to let him know how I felt. Every time he calls it's all about him and his songs and the trouble he's in or the new babies he's made, or (because this is important) what I look like now, or occasionally Shadow. I just had to tell him. And I told him he was welcome to call or *gasp* visit, even, but then we didn't hear from him this year. I guess that might not mean much... he could be in jail again. It didn't ruin Shadow's birthday, though, so whatever.

Where I've been...

Right here, pretty much. Well - not so much in this chair... but home, for sure. I've been working in the yard, mostly... for a lot of reasons. First of all - there is a lot to be done. Second - sitting on my ass in front of the computer isn't doing me much good. Well, maybe it is right now because I need to stay awake long enough to finish my laundry...

A few weeks ago we finished the fence. Me and Shaun planted a li'l baby willow tree. I bought some hummingbird feeders and I plan to also put up some bird houses on my fence posts. It's the least I can do since I had to cut down some brush to expand my fence. We also dug a trench in my yard so the water would drain some and not stand - making my yard all swamp-like. I learned to cut grass today - I had really never once in my life done it before. I like it. I'm going to do it some more. 😀 I will not have a jungle-yard this year! 😁

Anyway, I'm sort of making earth-friendly plans to handle the water situation in my yard. I think I'm going to dam up one end and make a rain garden type thing happen. Better to have a nice little stream coming through with a small pond-ish area than a whole yard of SWAMP. I think it will be nice. Maybe I can get a little bridge since the stream will go right though the middle of half the yard. I guess I'll just have to see how it goes. But one thing is for sure: I'm tired of fighting the land. Apparently, water will come through so it's up to me to do something cool with it. That is what I think.

Seems like there's always work to be done, but at the moment I'm totally fine with it - it just doesn't leave a lot of time to sit around on the computer. I know I've not replied to quite a few messages, but I'm sure I'll get around to doing it soon. I've just been really busy and I'm really enjoying being out in the air with my soul-mutts running around and Shadow singing Linkin Park at the top of his lungs on the porch... I just feel more connected when I'm taking care of my place. It is good.