summer days...

This heat is killing us... it was confirmed a 'heat wave' the other day because we had over 90 degree heat for more than three days in a row. Don't know if we broke any records for this area, but I know it broke my patience and a fan.

The chicken babies had to be moved under the shade of a tree. The horses got hosed down with cool water. We put up the pool in the back yard and it only took 3 days for 3,500 gallons of cold well water to turn 86 degrees.

The dogs are lying on the floors in front of the fans, panting. We put some ice cubes in a dish for them to chew on and they were leaving little puddles of water all over the place. Kinda shocks you for a minute, then the rush of thought that says ... oh, a puddle.... then remembering that it's ice cubes, not leaking dogs, lol.

Too hot to ride in this heat, to hot to cook, too hot to work (and my dear, darling husband is putting on a grey metal roof in this heat :( He's been coming home to soak up the cool air of the fan and sizzling the heat off in the pool. Hey, that might be the reason it's warming up so quick.

Now for the update I hinted at the other day. Tommy's on again, off again lameness is bad arthritis in two legs and ringbone in the third. Even with corrective shoes and pads, he is still not pasture sound. And, unfortunately, the other day when Joe was here to shoe the horses (even with 5 bute in a 24 hour period prior to him coming) he was too sore to shoe him again. He wasn't even sound with the pads, bute and glucosamine :( All the work we did to bring him back up to weight has put too much pressure on his legs, joints and feet.

Pisses me off that he is in this predicament. From being rescued and starving a year ago to getting back to good health, and now this. So, no hate mail, no nasty email messages, but we are giving him the summer and trying to keep him comfortable (most mornings we have to make him get up out of his stall and go out to pasture). We will most likely lay him to rest in the pasture next to my old geldings, Abacus and Shiloh, under their favorite resting tree. It's the best thing I can do for him.

On a much lighter note, we do have a new addition. Yurik Ferdinand Byrnison. Big name for a cute, cuddly, little kitten. (Iorek Byrnison is the polar bear warrior in The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman; Ferdinand came from The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf) Ferdinand was my favorite story when I was young. I still have the much loved copy of the book and 45 record (do all of you know what a record is these days??? My girls laughed when they saw it!). For those of you that don't know, I am an Assistant Librarian and my girls and I read and listened to Philip Pullman 'His Dark Materials Trilogy' years ago and I loved the name Yurik (Iorek)... so, my youngest daughter and I have been having a skirmish over which name is going to win (I pulled rank, which is always an option when you are the mother) and we came up with a combined name.

I will post pictures of the little bundle of scratching fur ball as soon as I confiscate my camera back from my husband. lol

Speaking of fur balls, he just climbed up my llllleeeeegggg. Ouch. Those little toenails are sharp... gonna go feed the little monster!!! He's trying to catch the words as they type on the screen. Very difficult to type as I have to keep correcting words as his little feet are typing along with me....