The storms came, the storms left. Most of us had a perfectly ordinary evening. Lights stayed on. Pounding rain did not flood our basements. Trees fell on roads and rail tracks, but not on houses nearby. The tornado passed by to the south, to the north, leaving us alone. I had just one tense moment as Millie woke from an evening nap and clearly needed to go out, just as one storm cell was exploding over us. I placed her on the grass just outside the garage and said a firm "go NOW!" and she did. Phew!
This morning, the cold air swept in. Time for warm jackets again. You can complain and shiver and wish for a better forecast, but honestly, dealing with a cold spell is easier than dealing with tornado warnings blasting on your TV screen all evening long.
Millie had a good night and seems to be recovering nicely from her digestive issues. We walk, we eat breakfast.
She naps. But it's just as she's settling in for her couch nap next to me that I notice something about her. The little girl's jaw is chattering. What the heck?
I look this up on the internet. She appears to be experiencing an Episodic Mandibular Tremor. I take a video clip and send it to my vet.
What causes it? With what consequences?
These are big questions for which I do not have answers. I'm hoping for "we don't know and don't care" and "none." More vet conversations. Because I haven't spend enough time in the vet's office! Good thing the girl likes it there. She thinks they're all her friends. (Vet's advice -- keep an eye on it and don't worry.)
Millie, you are a medical handful!
("who, me?")
Playtime: she loves to climb into the toy basket. Funny pup!
The afternoon is an interesting one -- for me, for Millie too. I have her booked for a grooming. She really needs a haircut. Much as I may admire the shaggy dog look, it's difficult to keep her unmatted and sanitary.
The place I picked is just a short drive away (in McFarland). I like what people wrote in the reviews, and I also like the fact that they go slow. The pups stay with them a full four hours and when they are not being bathed or dried or trimmed, they play with each other.
I asked for a full doodle cut, figuring it would be easier that way. And, too, I like short haircuts on dogs! They warned me that at her age, she may not have the patience for the whole trim. That she may require a couple of puppy cuts first, before they set the clippers on her full body.
While she is being attended to, I drive down toward the farmette, along rural roads that are so familiar! We have gone this way dozens of times, most trips for me being to the nearby Kopke's Greenhouses. I know that they open for the season today and so I stop by.
A blast of color!
I am not doing tub plantings this year, nor am I picking up baskets of blooms for the farmhouse porch. Ed doesn't want to bother with the maintenance they require. But he did agree to a purchase of a basket or two for my new home (first Sally's then Steffi's). A birthday present! I pick a pansy one today since I know we are still in a cool spell: pansies dont mind that, but other annuals aren't as forgiving.
To the farmette then, to dig up a rose bush. I want it for Steffi's yard -- it's a total waste at its current location -- seen only by the kids when they walk the flower field path. I also purchased a lilac bush to plant in the Steffi yard. The digging up of the rose is hard enough, but the digging of holes at Steffi's is a real challenge. New developments are notorious in this regard: the houses are build on rocky clay soil. They throw an inch of dirt on top and leave you to it. Most people dont bother planting much in this horrible soil, preferring to just put down sod and get into a mowing routine. I am not most people. Lawns are not my idea of outdoor bliss.
I don't know if I waited too late in the season to transplant the rose. I hope not. In putting it in, I felt so much older than when I had first planted the farmette flower fields! Tough digging didn't used to bother me. Now, I was extremely glad to be done with it!
In between the digging, Ed and I take a coffee pause at Tati's. Just long enough to luxuriate in a break from minding something or someone.
And speaking of minding someone, by 4, Millie is done and ready for my pick up. She looks like a different dog!
I was always amused when they made my poodle (back in Poland, when I took my dog for a trim) look like a poodle. I preferred him curly and wild. With Millie, I'm more amused. I could do without the fragrance (is it the shampoo?), but otherwise, it's nice to see her tidied up a bit.
In the evening Ed stops by for supper and a movie. Half an hour of digging and I'm exhausted! It's good to sit back on the couch with him. And her!
with so much love...
