Deer Park Farms: My Poor Girls

Oh man, do I feel bad for my girlies. Ellie woke last night at about 12:30 with a raging fever - I stripped her down, gave her Advil, and then sat and rocked her while we watched videos on the Flip Camera...it was the only thing that would keep her from screaming! Her fever finally came down a bit, and I was able to get her to sleep, but she was just so darn uncomfortable she continued to fuss even while she was sleeping. I pulled up a stool, leaned over the crib railing and patted her back for a while, then snuck into the bed that's in her room...she woke every hour until about 8 am - at which point, I was able to fall asleep until 10. Wait - TEN??? Yeah. The horses hadn't been fed...if you've ever been around horses around feeding time, you know how insanely demanding they get when you're late - and I was 2 - 3 hours late. Ellie was still sleeping, so I called my mom for a second opinion - "Mom, you think I can leave EG in the house alone while I go feed the horses???" She thought it'd be ok, since it would only be 5 - 10 minutes...the dogs were bugging me to go out, so I thought I would take them in the car. So, I opened the back hatch, called Jax and Boots, and up they jumped. I slammed the hatch closed...but it wouldn't latch. WTF??? I pushed down hard to make it close. At that point I saw Jax frozen in pain, her tail sticking out the side, and me pressing down with the door...I burst into tears. My poor little girl. I felt AWFUL. So off I went to feed the horses, with Jax in the back with a hugely swollen tail. Oh man. I called the vet, made an appointment for the afternoon, and gave her some Metacam (pain-killer and anti-inflammatory that the vet makes me keep on hand since the dogs are always getting into some kind of trouble).

I came back, and was relieved that Ellie Graye hadn't woken up - she was sleeping quietly in her crib. I used the opportunity to start some of the tidbits I'll be serving at our Halloween Bash. I love having an extra freezer!!! I always think of my friend Mona when I make my Spinach Cheese Rolls. I gave her the recipe once, and I don't think I wrote it well...so I'm always thinking of ways to improve it! Now I have photos!

Ellie ended up sleeping until 1 pm, and woke up in a great mood. Grandma Lene came over to help for a bit (and was kind enough to stop and pick up Victor and Lorena on her way here), so I was able to grab 30 minutes or so of shut eye, then it was off to the vet. The ladies at the vet felt so bad for me, but they are always halfway laughing when I walk in. It's ALWAYS something! Most of them didn't know that Jax had been in last week to ER for stitches on a major gash under her leg, so when I went to check out they just looked at me like I was crazy! "She had surgery last week?!?!?" Yes. I think I single-handedly support that vet clinic. Tomorrow they're coming out to clean the horses' sheaths. Ugh. The good news is that the tail isn't broken!

I spent the rest of the evening with Ellie while Victor and his neighbor installed a new heater in the pool house, and unloaded all the other electrical supplies that we'll need to build Jeffrey's office and run electricity to the barn for the winter!