One Last Duty to Perform

 (which is a lie - I actually have multiple duties to perform before I bug out for the airport! I just like to quote this line from Star Trek; certainly there must be many worse ways to live then drawing one’s philosophy from Star Trek)

I’ve got to get to work early and fire the damn contractor: the last straw was when he scraped Misti’s new 4Runner and failed to acknowledge it - did he honestly think she wasn’t gonna notice damage to her brand new vehicle??!!??

One of the first problems I brought to his attention was the drainage problem in the front yard… I had a landscape guy install a French drain which was grossly inadequate; last weekend’s monsoon caused some flooding and probably damaged the foot plates of the brand new cabinetry. Marvin was digging out a new drainage ditch and scraped Misti’s hatchback with the bucket of the Bobcat, but left for the day without saying a damn word to anybody. Kristy’s husband Justin has already been going through the building marking many flaws with the blue tape.

This is turning into even more of a shitshow than my worst imaginings, but I’ve still got to crawl on that plane this afternoon. At least I can cuss in this format - I always remember the Spark website’s irritating habit of correcting bad language! 

So my resources are depleted, the contractor has gone tens of thousands of dollars over budget - sounds about right, huh??

Eight is Enough

 Back to a full-stall barn - prepping for 8 ponies is plenty of work as the weather dives into wintry nastiness…

Monsoon season resumed last week as we are replenished from our summer drought - while I certainly can’t complain about this rain, being soaked with more than 8” this past weekend has resulted in some flooding. I just missed my window of opportunity to get a round bale put out (my feed store is closed on Wednesday, the rain rolled in that night & hasn’t let up since!) which leaves me puzzling us to what I’ll do for the brief period we’ll be gone for Ken‘s funeral… Peran flew out yesterday, I’ll be busting my tail to leave Tues afternoon. The red-eye arrives in London shortly after 6 AM; P already texted me the train schedules so I’ll figure it out. And while I find it mystifying that Peran booked our return flights on Friday, I’m grateful I’ll have the weekend to recover before the merry-go-round starts spinning again next Monday.

I offered to take Peran out for breakfast yesterday - he declined, so I made brunch at home for the first time in I-don’t-know-when (when Zach was home, mom’s Sunday breakfast was a tradition). Nothing fancy - bacon & eggs! but P seemed appreciative.

Much more logistically to line up so I’d better get moving.

Meat & Potatoes

 Here I present examples of our distance riding organizations’ respective scorecards: 

This is Mr Bo’s vet card from an Intro (single loop) ride - for all distances it is the same; there are just extra columns of data added after each loop. You can see it is 100% focused on the horse’s metabolic & dynamic state: is he hydrated, demonstrating normal recoveries from exertion, while remaining sound?

(I don’t have an example of the judging card for Best Condition/Top Ten scoring which is more in depth with analysis of metabolic parameters, any injuries incurred over the course of the ride, weight carried, and time factors. I think it is presumed that in order to ride your equine through “X” distance - whether it’s 25, 50, 75, or 100 miles that the rider must have a certain degree of competence)

And here we have the NATRC scorecard:

In a way, it’s like getting a concentrated riding lesson - and I don’t mean to sound ungrateful, but I am well aware of my flaws. I’m out there to enjoy the trails, my horse, and fellowship with my friends. I shared this scorecard with Crystal (Silas’ former owner) and she said it was a good score? But in my book 52 ain’t a passing grade - of course I’ve had endurance riders get upset with me for giving their darling a “B” or, God forbid, a “C”! So we’re all competitive folks here.

I’ll ask Sam for a peek at his scorecard next weekend 😉

A Tale of Two Disciplines

 I’ve ridden endurance events as a proud AERC (American Endurance Ride Conference; our national organization) member for 32 yrs now, ever since H1 & I picked up a brochure at our feed store: “Hmmm, this sounds interesting!”, and more or less what we were doing on our own as we’d set out each Sunday for a long trek of a horseback ride - back when it was relatively safe to ride down the roadside, tether the ponies at Dairy Queen or Braum’s for our lunch break, then make our way back home…

AERC is a freewheeling group with relatively few rules: time limits for events and strict veterinary controls over the horses, for the most part. We are a “Drug-Free” organization: equines must compete on their own merits, while riders can do whatever it takes to get through ;-) (I’d have to give it up if we riders couldn’t take analgesics) We have joked that it is the sport of the middle-aged housewife, since many women get involved later in life when the kids are grown, and one has the time, finances & leisure to travel to our far-flung events.

Our sister sport is NATRC, the competitive trail riding organization which outsiders disparage as “the horse show in the woods” - it has much more intensive rules & scorekeeping procedures: judging not only your equine but your horsemanship, turnout, tack & campsite. They have relaxed their rules quite a bit in an attempt to attract more riders. When I took my darling Sahara to a NATRC event 25 yrs ago, I’ll never forget the older man who was in an argument with the camp judge. He was being downgraded since he hadn’t packed a hay net and had fed his horse on the ground: “Do you think hay grows in trees??” It just wasn’t my cuppa tea!

However, I have attended several NATRC events these past few years as standby emergency treatment vet and fill-in labor as needed - mostly with the P & R crews. I’ve had fun socializing with my friends, got in a little bit of casual riding on my own, but this did not fill me with a desire to compete. But Sam talked me into taking Silas up to the leisure event yesterday - of course any ride is better than no ride! I was going to post examples of an AERC vet card versus a NATRC scoring card but whaddaya know I’ve misplaced it?!? The last straw, so to speak, was sitting through an awards event watching all the NATRC members get their little ribbons and commemorative coffee cups or wine glasses while Sam and I got this piece of paper.

One rule that is written into the AERC  book is that ALL riders who successfully complete the event get an award**, member or not! Seems  only fair - I don’t mean to sound petulant but that is not a way to encourage new riders. The judges are trying to impart wisdom with their scorecards and I appreciate their insight but the old saying is that you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar…

** I now have several quilts worth of T-shirts even though at some rides the award might be as simple as a hoof pick. I had to purchase a T-shirt at last spring’s NATRC event even though I had spent probably close to $100 in diesel fuel volunteering my time to be there for the weekend

Lull in the Action

 As much as I have pledged to quit wasting so much time on social media, no doubt screentime is a form of addiction. Yet it does serve a vital purpose: “virtual emotional support”, let’s call it?

I went ahead and let this weekend off stand for me - originally I was planning to go to our AERC National Championship Ride (just as a spectator; I’m in no shape to ride nor could Christina break free to ride Baraq in my stead) but I’ve been diverted by Sam into going to the nearby NATRC ride this afternoon to ride Mr Silas tomorrow morning. I’ve burned up this free time with busywork**, although Zach granted me a few hours Thursday afternoon where we visited the Dallas World Aquarium (in essence a small private zoo built on the edge of downtown Dallas). I was impressed by the Orinoco crocodiles & the manatee! (I wonder how they secured a permit?)

** social media being both a blessing and a curse: I made a post in my long-haul Covid group on Reddit; judgment was rained down upon me for not taking more time to “rest” and/or delegate activities. I don’t think they know how private veterinary practice works - even if I worked for one of the corporations, I would only get “X” number of sick days per year. If I didn’t make production numbers, I would be fired. An exposition on how business corporations are ruining veterinary medicine just like they have ruined human healthcare in the US would be something I don’t have time for right now!

                                                   Smudged plexiglass between Z & an ocelot 

                             I had lunch w/Karen & her grandbaby yesterday 

Widowmaker Confirmed

 (With apologies for blunt title; I was trying to think of something more poetic but sometimes it needs to be “Just the facts”)

Things have started moving more quickly - the coroner confirmed that Ken had not just one, but two coronary artery blockages. (I’m hearing all this thirdhand from Kate by way of Peran so I actually don’t know if this was the infamous “widowmaker” left anterior occlusion?) But obviously we may never know if Ken had any premonitory signs, that’s the true heartbreaker. Ken will be cremated and Kate is scheduling the funeral for Wed Nov 1st. Peran will fly out Sun 10/29, I can cancel Tues afternoon appts (already got a full slate of AM surgeries lined up Mon & Tues), reschedule Wed surgeries, & catch the Tues evening red-eye to London. Hop the train to Coventry Wed AM & be there in time for the service. Dr M can cover her normal workday on Wed & can also work for me Friday. (While it seems really strange to me for Peran to bounce back that quickly, I am asking no questions of him!) P & I will be flying back Friday 11/03.

I know I only flew out in essence for the day of my sister’s funeral but that was a completely different scenario.

Here’s my emotional support critters, they’ve got such rough lives!

Ongoing Judgement

 My beloved cousin John called yesterday AM shortly after 7:00 (he’s an early bird) as I was still stumbling around trying to get my rear in gear… mainly he was checking to see if Peran was still on US soil, which he is until more is known - the complicating factor is that P has allowed both his US and UK passports to expire. (He was bound and determined throughout Covid that he was not going to comply with vaccination or testing requirements for travel) Whomever he spoke to (at the state department, I presume) told him when he has his flights booked, he can go downtown and pay the expedited processing fees to get his passport renewed…

Ken’s postmortem will be performed today as we remain in limbo - again, I’m making the very large assumption that funeral arrangements will be stretched out as they seem to do “across the pond” and hopefully with a couple of weeks’ advance notice, I’ll be able to arrange my schedule to go.
I glanced at airfares about a month out (economy of course; whenever we’ve caught the red-eye to London I’ve longingly surveyed the Business pods, where one can stretch out in privacy, but at 4-5X the cost of economy, that ain’t gonna happen!) which appear to be $8-900. Not too bad, but then it’s $850 a day for the days Dr M covers for me - I’ve joked around over the years that I can take exactly as much vacation as I can afford! Dr M hasn’t even been informed of Ken’s death yet because last weekend they were attending the memorial service in CO for her own son - I didn’t want to impinge on that with more sad news! I’ll be able to tell her face to face today.
I’ve “borrowed” money from my mom’s investment account to pay some bills; might as well dig this hole a little deeper! And after weeks of going round & round, Dr Williams (the male option) will be seeing my mom today - my friend Toni can go in my stead, since no doubt Mom will insist everything is “fine”: she’ll fail to mention her insomnia, episodes of confusion, or discuss her steadfast refusal to participate in community activities… I’m not expecting much, but perhaps he’ll prescribe a sleep aid or an antidepressant.

Better finish my coffee and get on with my day.

Judgement-free Zone

 …is what Planet Fitness advertises itself as; but I don’t seem to be able to escape earthly judgment in my own head. I stayed home this weekend, trying to provide emotional support to my husband, but he seemed to have little need of me. Of course he spent a significant amount of time on the phone to aunts, uncles, cousins, and yesterday morning to his sister-in-law. I noticed his voice dropped to a very soft, low, & gentle register. None of us will know much for a while - Ken’s body is with the coroner, they will perform a postmortem with toxicology testing, Kate will have him cremated, and at some point there will be a funeral. If I have enough advance notice I should be able to break free for a few days. I had a quick glance at airfares which look to be $8-900. I looked at sympathy cards yesterday as I bought a few token gifts for my girls for Vet Tech Week, nothing seemed remotely appropriate: “A Life Well Lived” - yes, Ken had a good life but it seems cruel to rub that foreshortened time in his widow’s face? He was probably 8-10 yrs from retirement.

I went riding with Sam Saturday morning on Eclipse Day. Silas did OK, but hard for me to tell if his stumbling was just the uneven ground or something more sinister underlying? (there were still quite a few cracks in the earth; we need more rain) Next weekend is our National Championship Ride - quite the big deal to be hosting it in Texas, but I’m in no shape to ride any significant distance myself. I doubt Christina will be able to ride the 50 as my avatar since it’s on Thursday. Another young lady’s horse is out for the 100 mile championship which is Saturday, but I think it would be unfair to ask Baraq to do that right out of the pasture. I’m always lecturing about the horse being God’s greatest natural-born athlete, but I wouldn’t want to risk Baraq’s well-being.

Then my son gave me another “moment” when he called me Saturday night - turns out he & Victoria were back at the State Fair (in general vicinity) when this incident occurred! He joked about their lax security but Mom didn’t think it was very damn funny.

A 22-year-old man faces aggravated assault charges in a shooting that injured three people at the State Fair of Texas. The victims were in stable condition on Friday, police said. The big picture: The shooting, on a busy night at the country's largest fair, raises questions about the fair's safety protocols. What happened: About 7:45pm, a man shot at another man inside the fair's Tower Building, per police. Three people were shot and were later determined to have non-life-threatening injuries. The suspect ran from the scene, but police found and arrested him. The fairgrounds were also evacuated. What's new: Dallas police identified the suspect as 22-year-old Cameron Turner. The fair delayed its opening on Sunday from 10am to 2pm. The DMN identified one of the victims as Liliana Andrea Araujo, a 41-year-old cleaning crew worker who was shot in the back. "I immediately thought of my daughters and my husband. I've been hit. I'm going to die here," Araujo recalled, after being treated and released from the hospital. State of guns: Texas law allows open carry of weapons without a license, but private entities and some government sites can restrict them. The State Fair's website says that while the fair is a "strong supporter of the rights of responsible gun owning Texans," open carry is prohibited on the fairgrounds. Concealed carry with a valid handgun license is allowed — provided the attendee follows all applicable state laws — as a "reasonable compromise that best ensures the safety and comfort of all fair attendees," per the fair. Weapons aren't allowed inside Cotton Bowl Stadium or the fair's livestock facilities. Context: Almost 160,000 people went to the fair on its third Saturday in 2022. There's usually a heavy police presence as well. What they're saying: The fair said in a statement that it's "committed to upholding the level of security required to ensure the State Fair of Texas event is a safe and family-friendly environment for all fairgoers, vendors, and employees."

Body Blows

 You know all those uplifting sayings about God only loading on as much as you can bear? I think it’s obvious BS as we got more shocking news last night - P’s younger brother Kenwyn (55) was found deceased in his office by his wife, still dressed in his cycling gear. She didn’t go looking for him immediately because she thought he was still out riding, not that it might’ve made any difference if it was a catastrophic cardiac event. There will probably be an autopsy and they seem to stretch the arrangements out in the UK considerably longer than we do over here. (When P’s parents died, their respective funerals were about a month from their dates of death)

I asked Peran if he planned to hop a plane just to show up for his sister-in-law, nieces and nephew (they had three kids) but he is waiting until we know more… Zach was shocked and tearful - he thought I was calling with tragic news about his grandmother. If it all possible, I want to attend the funeral - we’ll have to see. But when I went to embrace my husband when I got home last night (I had taken Annie back to her owners in Waxahachie), there was nothing there. I even asked him to sleep downstairs but he politely declined. I had stopped by the store to pick up a few tidbits for the trail ride which I obviously won’t be attending this weekend - P did eat the loaf of sourdough rye that I brought home, but declined all my offers to fix anything more substantial.

So off I go to the one constant in my life - work! As I  scroll some social media, looking at Ken‘s visits to concerts and rugby games… this group photo is from 2017 when my mother-in-law fell ill: Ken is at the far end of the table hoisting his glass, Peran’s nose and eyebrows are across from him, and Tristan (their baby brother) is the sour-looking bearded individual in the middle.

My Kingdom for a…

 (Fill in the blank) - for most, it would be a horse, but for my friend Donna, she really wanted a dwarf reticulated python!

I’ve known Donna for many years - after decades of weight struggles (just like me), she underwent bariatric surgery 3-4 yrs ago (if memory serves, shortly pre-pandemic) and completely transformed herself. She was having neck & back issues (perhaps we are sisters under the skin), and “went gaited” (bought Silas) last year. But then she got her Andalusian colt back from the trainer’s and there was conflict. As is often the case with some of these horse deals, there were strings attached: she bought Silas from Crystal, a NATRC (competitive trail, endurance riding’s sister sport) rider who lives down near Austin. The deal was supposed to be, if Donna did not keep him he would revert back to Crystal - however she’s in a cramped space and didn’t really have room to take him back either.

Since word has trickled around that Dr. J is horse-shopping, of course I’ve been deluged with offers. When I saw Donna posting pictures of the ball pythons she’s recently purchased, I joked with her that I could’ve made her a heck of a deal when I was rehoming Zach’s snakes! Then I mentioned Barry and it was as if I’d hit the jackpot - we soon worked out this trade. As it turns out, my son told me a little white lie when he bought Barry - he had told me he was $800, but then when I was telling him about this python-for-a-pony swap he said he had actually been $1000. So I think we both got a pretty good deal - I took Silas out last Saturday and he performed admirably, although I can tell he’s deconditioned - but what the hell, so am I! I was alarmed at Donna‘s drawn and haggard appearance - she has had digestive issues since her surgery and suffers from maldigestion/malabsorption. Donna and I were much alike: plump but not grossly obese… I can’t see any circumstances under which I would subject myself to bariatric surgery; I’ve seen too many complications.

                                             Donna & Stryker (an After photo)

 

                                             Photos do not do justice to Barry’s iridescent sheen

                                             “Before” photo w/Donna’s Arabian Stormy

                                                       Barry be nice! No bitey!

Headless Chicken

 …is what I feel like these days, running around aimlessly, frittering away my irreplaceable time on this earth with busywork! Or just stupid stuff like driving off and forgetting to grab a bag of dog food for my mom‘s dog: I walked through the door and saw poor Abby pacing around, turned around and drove right back to get it for her - that was only 20 miles & another 45 minutes!

And my poor befuddled mom wonders why I don’t have the patience to sit with her for very long these days - too much towering over me on my things to do list! It ain’t HER fault I’ve waited until the literal last minute to ferry all this tax paperwork to my accountant - if she doesn’t manage to thread every possible loophole for me and I wind up owing a big chunk to the IRS, I may completely lose what’s left of my disintegrating intellect. 

Cabinetry is being stained, countertops being installed as we stumble towards competition of my far-from-the-Taj-Mahal veterinary palace. I still can’t figure out the workmen’s irregular schedules. Trying not to obsess about my friends’ posts on social media as the weekend weather was perfect for the Quitaque ride - I did manage a short maiden voyage on a new prospect yesterday. One of the weirdest trades you may have ever heard of: a pony for a python? (More later; hubby just got back from his morning hike & I’ve got to get on with my Sunday) As you can imagine, when word trickled out that Dr J was horse-shopping, I’ve been deluged with prospects. But Mr Silas (approx 20 yr old TWH) may be just the ticket; he did very well yesterday.

We met the newlyweds for dinner Thurs night; I remember The Golden Hare from my childhood 

                         Sugar Ridge Silas has a nice ring to it

Slow Motion Disintegration

 Not much to say.

Not much to do, as I watch the bank accounts crater out - will those last couple of checks for essential invoices clear? then I’ll scrape together enough to pay my staff next week, everything else will have to wait. Waiting for my mom’s SS check to post (which should be today) so I can go pay her assisted living invoice - this is the last month of her 90-d discount; what on earth am I going to do NEXT month??

I’ve already notified Dr M that I won’t need her to work this Friday - no earthly way can I justify hauling off to the Panhandle for another ride. I spent about $200 in diesel fuel last weekend going to the beach for about an hour and a half’s ride - let’s just say Baraq was not the correct choice, but at least he didn’t toss me on the pavement or on the beach in front of all those nice people! (Crowds camping out with tents, kids running around with toys, and of course, the crashing waves) At least we had a couple of nice meals out, I made cocktails at our trailers each night, and I got to see my dear old friend Deb: we rode the ferry across to Galveston and she came and picked us up Saturday afternoon. I had a few hours of peace because I left my phone in Sam & Gayle’s truck when we caught the ferry; my mom was very unhappy at me for leaving and was blowing up my phone in confusion, thinking she saw my truck in her parking lot.

So I have precious few pictures (& none at all horseback). A distraction from cold hard Reality.