Iam handsome, I just know it!
Thursday, October 27, 2005
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
It's a ... It's a....
Colt... yes another one!
Sweetie (Sweet Air) decided that tonight she would have her baby.
At around 8.30pm tonight, Sweetie had a little colt by Private Agenda (yes another colt - we are thinking of changing the name of the property to "Colt Lodge" instead of "Massie Lodge") - both Mum and bubsie are doing well. It was a very clean delivery, she lay down, had the boy and then got up... I mean you would you expect nothing less from the President of Broodmare's Inc.
He is a real cutie and knew exactly what he had to do once he was delivered... get out of the sack, get up on his legs and find the feed!
We are both very pleased and will take some photos of our new little addition tomorrow.
(Buggar, her timing was impeccable as I missed my favourite tv programme... lol).
Okay Libby, its up to you to prop up the filly population around here!
Helen.
At around 8.30pm tonight, Sweetie had a little colt by Private Agenda (yes another colt - we are thinking of changing the name of the property to "Colt Lodge" instead of "Massie Lodge") - both Mum and bubsie are doing well. It was a very clean delivery, she lay down, had the boy and then got up... I mean you would you expect nothing less from the President of Broodmare's Inc.
He is a real cutie and knew exactly what he had to do once he was delivered... get out of the sack, get up on his legs and find the feed!
We are both very pleased and will take some photos of our new little addition tomorrow.
(Buggar, her timing was impeccable as I missed my favourite tv programme... lol).
Okay Libby, its up to you to prop up the filly population around here!
Helen.
Tuesday, October 25, 2005
I Woke Up
this morning after having the worst nightmare. I had decided to put a colour through my hair, and as every woman knows who actually has done this at home, you need time to actually get it all right, make sure that all the hair is covered etc. etc. etc. In my dream I had been very meticulous to make sure that all was right... however, during the middle of this very important and time consuming process, Ergon Energy decided to have a planned maintenance outage, but didnt tell us (wouldnt be the first time!) and I was stuck with all this goo on my hair... AAAArgh! I was frantic... I was running around the house trying to find some water to wash this out with and ended up having to stick my head in one of the horses' water buckets to get rid of it.
It was at the point of sticking my head in the bucket in Susie's yard that I woke up. I touched my hair (it was dry). I reached for my cup of tea to see if it was there (it was there). My foot hung precariously out of the bed to find a dog (I found Bess). All was right with the world. Phew. What a nightmare.
I dont expect any man to understand this predicament, however, all women will understand me when I say that it could of been a disaster as big as Hurricane Katrina.
With this nightmare well and truly over with I continued on with my day.
We had 42mls of rain yesterday.... and it was a great follow up to the 30mls previously received. The paddocks are nice and green after being brown and dusty, with a phenominal rate of recovery. Now... a little more follow up would be nice... please, pretty please!!
Its been hot and sticky here today....maybe we might get some more rain? Hah!
The horse swimming pool is now half full (or half empty, depending on how you see it!). I guess we are playing catch up... the ground just seems to soak up all the water after being so hard, so there is little run off. Some of the contours are full.. which is a good sign, but I guess we need some more follow up sooner rather than later. The power went off for about 45 minutes (probably the catylst for my nightmare?) ... and came back on just before a rogue cow came running past the side door from god knows where and started to scare all the horses (Sweetie, Libby, the boys and Nanna).
We had locked Nanna and Maddie and their colts in their stables during the storm... funny when we looked out Nanna was busily trying to herd young Master Billy inside the stable, but he wouldnt have a bar of it and wanted to be out where all the action was!
He is such a sweetie and very good tempered. I havent yet told him that he has no reason not to be a champion with his parentage... It continues to make me giggle when I see their little tongues sticking out the side of their mouths while they try and negotiate a strand of lucerne hay.
In between all of this (trying to get the cow out of the yard etc) and all the lightning and thunder, we had to keep an eye on Sweetie in case she decided that that was the right time to have her foal. It wasnt, thank goodness! Your guess is as good as mine as to when this might happen. LOL
Back to the cow. After being herded out the front gate by Evan in the pouring rain, the cow proceeded into our next door neighbour's and about 20mins after we went back inside we heard Leo trying to get rid of the said rogue bovine. Evan went over in the rain to try to help him.... and he was not a happy camper.
While all this was happening and with all the rumbling of the thunder and lightning, Matilda felt that she was safest in our wardrobe and Milly decided that behind the toilet was a good place for her! Bess and Lance were with me and if I went outside, they had to come outside, or if I was sitting on the lounge, they had to be near me... talk about a bunch of scardy cats!
Well, Iam looking over my computer monitor in the study and I can see sunshine and green paddocks. I dont think we will be getting any more today.
Um, how about tomorrow? Cross your fingers.
Helen.
It was at the point of sticking my head in the bucket in Susie's yard that I woke up. I touched my hair (it was dry). I reached for my cup of tea to see if it was there (it was there). My foot hung precariously out of the bed to find a dog (I found Bess). All was right with the world. Phew. What a nightmare.
I dont expect any man to understand this predicament, however, all women will understand me when I say that it could of been a disaster as big as Hurricane Katrina.
With this nightmare well and truly over with I continued on with my day.
We had 42mls of rain yesterday.... and it was a great follow up to the 30mls previously received. The paddocks are nice and green after being brown and dusty, with a phenominal rate of recovery. Now... a little more follow up would be nice... please, pretty please!!
Its been hot and sticky here today....maybe we might get some more rain? Hah!
The horse swimming pool is now half full (or half empty, depending on how you see it!). I guess we are playing catch up... the ground just seems to soak up all the water after being so hard, so there is little run off. Some of the contours are full.. which is a good sign, but I guess we need some more follow up sooner rather than later. The power went off for about 45 minutes (probably the catylst for my nightmare?) ... and came back on just before a rogue cow came running past the side door from god knows where and started to scare all the horses (Sweetie, Libby, the boys and Nanna).
We had locked Nanna and Maddie and their colts in their stables during the storm... funny when we looked out Nanna was busily trying to herd young Master Billy inside the stable, but he wouldnt have a bar of it and wanted to be out where all the action was!
He is such a sweetie and very good tempered. I havent yet told him that he has no reason not to be a champion with his parentage... It continues to make me giggle when I see their little tongues sticking out the side of their mouths while they try and negotiate a strand of lucerne hay.
In between all of this (trying to get the cow out of the yard etc) and all the lightning and thunder, we had to keep an eye on Sweetie in case she decided that that was the right time to have her foal. It wasnt, thank goodness! Your guess is as good as mine as to when this might happen. LOL
Back to the cow. After being herded out the front gate by Evan in the pouring rain, the cow proceeded into our next door neighbour's and about 20mins after we went back inside we heard Leo trying to get rid of the said rogue bovine. Evan went over in the rain to try to help him.... and he was not a happy camper.
While all this was happening and with all the rumbling of the thunder and lightning, Matilda felt that she was safest in our wardrobe and Milly decided that behind the toilet was a good place for her! Bess and Lance were with me and if I went outside, they had to come outside, or if I was sitting on the lounge, they had to be near me... talk about a bunch of scardy cats!
Well, Iam looking over my computer monitor in the study and I can see sunshine and green paddocks. I dont think we will be getting any more today.
Um, how about tomorrow? Cross your fingers.
Helen.
Sunday, October 23, 2005
Iam Feeling...
very mellow, I have had a few glasses of a very nice drop of white wine from the Margaret River (the same that Sue and I sampled yesterday) and Iam relaxed. I had a very nice win on the girl yesterday and also a very nice place bet on Fields of Omagh... so, my Tab Account has been reborn! Which, is probably just in time for the upcoming few meetings in Melbourne!
Here is the little man after finally settling down after bolting around the yard and giving Nanna a fit. Um, we think he is a cutie pie.
Didnt the Cox Plate give you goosebumps?? (Or are you one of those like Anthony Cummings who was a non-believer?). I guess he had to talk his horses up (Iam sure that his owners were watching!)... however, in every interview that I saw over the last few days prior to the Cox Plate, he had no hesitation in talking the Diva down.
Where has good sportsmanship gone? Even Bossy was a little bit (and I mean a little bit!) humble when speaking about the other horses in the Cox Plate before the race and did not let his ego over take him. However, in saying that, the Diva had put only put a third of her nostril over the line first before the showman took over... lol
Whether you love Bossy or not, he does know the girl well, and knows all her little nuances to give her every oppportunity and for that both me and my tab account are forever grateful!
Winners are grinners and the others can stay and drown their sorrows at the Hotel Grand.
LOL
We have had a very relaxing day today with Sue and girls leaving around 3pm. Evan worked Miss Caramel this morning and a joint effort was needed to give Joey a worming paste... Evan not very happy as some of it ended up all over him (yuk!). While she is easy to catch and comes up to us, she was not a happy camper getting this special treatment.
Susie has let down very well and is getting a tummy on her. It was good for Sue to be able to spend some time with her as she is a part owner of Susie gal.
Massie Lodge has turned green and its a nice sight to see the girls (and they are mostly girls here at the moment apart from Lenny and Jakey) all away, busy in their paddocks picking. It will be a good start on summer if we get some follow up rain this week. (All those who feel inclined, please do a rain dance and send it this way!).
We are still waiting for Sweetie and Libby and you will see from the attached photos that their respective tummies are quite humungous! Iam not looking forward to seeing how maternal Sweetie is. AAAArgh.
Life is good... gotta get me some more of it!
Helen.
Here is the little man after finally settling down after bolting around the yard and giving Nanna a fit. Um, we think he is a cutie pie.
Didnt the Cox Plate give you goosebumps?? (Or are you one of those like Anthony Cummings who was a non-believer?). I guess he had to talk his horses up (Iam sure that his owners were watching!)... however, in every interview that I saw over the last few days prior to the Cox Plate, he had no hesitation in talking the Diva down.
Where has good sportsmanship gone? Even Bossy was a little bit (and I mean a little bit!) humble when speaking about the other horses in the Cox Plate before the race and did not let his ego over take him. However, in saying that, the Diva had put only put a third of her nostril over the line first before the showman took over... lol
Whether you love Bossy or not, he does know the girl well, and knows all her little nuances to give her every oppportunity and for that both me and my tab account are forever grateful!
Winners are grinners and the others can stay and drown their sorrows at the Hotel Grand.
LOL
We have had a very relaxing day today with Sue and girls leaving around 3pm. Evan worked Miss Caramel this morning and a joint effort was needed to give Joey a worming paste... Evan not very happy as some of it ended up all over him (yuk!). While she is easy to catch and comes up to us, she was not a happy camper getting this special treatment.
Susie has let down very well and is getting a tummy on her. It was good for Sue to be able to spend some time with her as she is a part owner of Susie gal.
Massie Lodge has turned green and its a nice sight to see the girls (and they are mostly girls here at the moment apart from Lenny and Jakey) all away, busy in their paddocks picking. It will be a good start on summer if we get some follow up rain this week. (All those who feel inclined, please do a rain dance and send it this way!).
We are still waiting for Sweetie and Libby and you will see from the attached photos that their respective tummies are quite humungous! Iam not looking forward to seeing how maternal Sweetie is. AAAArgh.
Life is good... gotta get me some more of it!
Helen.
Saturday, October 22, 2005
HERE IAM!!
BOO!I would like to take this opportunity to introduce the newest resident to Massie Lodge, Nanna's colt (who I call Billy). He is the sweetest, gentlest young man and I can now say is suckling well off mama.
While Nanna was overdue, he came out a few days too early and Nanna wasnt ready for him, hence the problem with the early milk supply.
Many thanks must go to Lyndhurst and Jeff Kruger who helped us out with an emergency supply of Colostrum to get him over the initial hump. It seems though, Nanna's supply has come down and the young man can't get enough!!
Both Evan and I are very taken with the youngster and he has certainly become the apply of Evan's eye. We are still wondering about the Chestnut with the baldy face appearance, however, Nanna's sire, Luskin Star was a chestnut with a white star. Perhaps that is where he has thrown to? Lets hope has some of the ability of his Grandaddy. On Billy's dad side, you have Canadian Silver, by Geiger Counter out of Cheerily. Speed, speed and more speed. We are just happy that he is healthy and is very bright.
What a way to welcome the youngster to Massie Lodge with 30mls of rain. Mind you, its not a complaint! The whole property has turned from Brown to lush Green in a matter of days. The way this land rejuvenates is amazing. In fact, the whole of Warwick has turned green. A really great site and hopefully there will be more of that wet stuff today as it is very humid and sticky today with flies aplenty!
Hopefully today sees some R&R with it being Cox Plate day (go the girl!), so after a quick Martha Stewart display this morning, it has been taking some time out to watch the Melbourne races - no not on TVN (hah!), but on Channel 7 who have a broadcast till 5 this afternoon.
Sue Black and girls are down for a quick stay at Massie Lodge overnight so, we will have a few drinkies (and a few more?) and some nibblees to relax with.
*Sigh* You know, I did have a few issues to raise today with you... (yes, another SOD of the week!), but, quite frankly, I'm too mellow to get agro, if you know what I mean. Iam relieved that Nanna and her boy are both doing well after a bit of a rocky start. Now, we just have to wait for the President of Broodmares Inc. to have hers.... whenever that might be!!
Oh, before I go, I do have a quicky for you..... which transport company is now charging an extra $15 per trip as a fuel levy???? Booo His Booo
LOL
Helen.
P.S. Yes, more photos to follow!
Thursday, October 20, 2005
A Mate For Max..
4.30am Tuesday Morning - 20th October, 2005.
Nanna "Splendid Feeling" decided to give birth to a very lanky Chestnut Colt, 3.5 white socks and a big white star on his forehead.
Hang on a minute, a grey mare and a grey stallion = a Chestnut Colt?
Both mum and son are doing well.. watch this space for some photos!
Helen.
Nanna "Splendid Feeling" decided to give birth to a very lanky Chestnut Colt, 3.5 white socks and a big white star on his forehead.
Hang on a minute, a grey mare and a grey stallion = a Chestnut Colt?
Both mum and son are doing well.. watch this space for some photos!
Helen.
Tuesday, October 18, 2005
Today
I was sitting on a very comfortable lounge chair, under the shade of a pergola. The spray from the ocean was occasionally sprinkling on my face and I could hear the roar of the waves in the distance. Beside me I had a very appealing Strawberry Daiquiri in a very odd shaped glass, with a Cointreu soaked Strawberry arranged on the rim. It wasnt too hot and there would be just enough shade to allow my pale features to be covered. I had the latest Patricia Cornwell novel drapped over my body, opened at the second page and I was dozing to some nice background music until ....
Matilda jumped on the bed and licked me on the face. AArgh!
*sigh* I could of been anywhere ... in fact I dont care where I was... it was heaven!
I quickly pushed Matilda off the bed and tried to close my eyes and tried to drift back to where ever I was...
Evan's mobile rang. Maybe it belonged to the drinks waiter? No?
Evan's mobile continued to ring.... ok, ok .. I get the hint. I was not supposed to have a quiet day today.
I rushed to find the phone, answered it.... "I want to buy a horse that will run in Group 1's in Spring Carnival time in Melbourne. I have $2,000". He exclaimed.
"A-huh" I say... and continue on with the best pre-caffeine spiel that I can manage half asleep about what sort of quality horse you are going to buy for $2,000.
"... I want to send this horse to Hong Kong too........"
"A-huh" I manage to get out again...
It's funny, you can tell people something until you are absolutely blue in the face, but they will not hear what you are saying. This bloke was not going to listen because he had an idea and no one else could tell him any different.
"How about I get Evan to give you a call back... he's just down with the horses??"
"Do you think he might have something on his books?" he asked
"Um, possibly." Was all that I could manage.
And the day pretty much went on from that...
Bass Statements, feeding horses, mucking out stables, checking waters, trying to give obstreperous 2 & 4 year olds worming pastes... not to mention the canine activites... washing beds etc. and clipping Miss Millie. Oh, and dont forget cleaning out bird cages!!
I think Iam going to have an early night tonight... hopefully I have a reservation at my favourite dream resort. Do you think I should order ahead for my drink?
Helen
P.S. I received a very charming email from Nigel, my contact at Ergon Energy today. Apparently yesterday was "another" weather episode... and he hopes that Warwick will get over them soon.
AAArgh - Give me a break!
Matilda jumped on the bed and licked me on the face. AArgh!
*sigh* I could of been anywhere ... in fact I dont care where I was... it was heaven!
I quickly pushed Matilda off the bed and tried to close my eyes and tried to drift back to where ever I was...
Evan's mobile rang. Maybe it belonged to the drinks waiter? No?
Evan's mobile continued to ring.... ok, ok .. I get the hint. I was not supposed to have a quiet day today.
I rushed to find the phone, answered it.... "I want to buy a horse that will run in Group 1's in Spring Carnival time in Melbourne. I have $2,000". He exclaimed.
"A-huh" I say... and continue on with the best pre-caffeine spiel that I can manage half asleep about what sort of quality horse you are going to buy for $2,000.
"... I want to send this horse to Hong Kong too........"
"A-huh" I manage to get out again...
It's funny, you can tell people something until you are absolutely blue in the face, but they will not hear what you are saying. This bloke was not going to listen because he had an idea and no one else could tell him any different.
"How about I get Evan to give you a call back... he's just down with the horses??"
"Do you think he might have something on his books?" he asked
"Um, possibly." Was all that I could manage.
And the day pretty much went on from that...
Bass Statements, feeding horses, mucking out stables, checking waters, trying to give obstreperous 2 & 4 year olds worming pastes... not to mention the canine activites... washing beds etc. and clipping Miss Millie. Oh, and dont forget cleaning out bird cages!!
I think Iam going to have an early night tonight... hopefully I have a reservation at my favourite dream resort. Do you think I should order ahead for my drink?
Helen
P.S. I received a very charming email from Nigel, my contact at Ergon Energy today. Apparently yesterday was "another" weather episode... and he hopes that Warwick will get over them soon.
AAArgh - Give me a break!
Monday, October 17, 2005
BOG City...
This is the scene in Rosie's Paddock... mud everywhere... it doesnt matter what colour the horses are, they are all mud brown. Not that we are complaining at all, its just that there is alot of it around at the moment!
In fact its most unusual to have to worry about mud at this time of the year... Nanna thinks its wonderful... as she thinks that there is nothing like a mud bath when you are 16 days overdue delivering a baby...
No, we are very grateful for the rain that we have received, with the hope of some more... (this is where you cross your fingers, ok?). It hasnt actually been dam filling stuff, but it has already started turning the paddocks green. The rate of recovery of the paddocks still amazes me.
What also amazes me is the efficiency that Ergon Energy continues to deliver our electricity!
That statement was delivered covered in sarcasm, oozing in contempt and sprinkled with malice!
Without going back further than last Wednesday, we have been off the grid for at least a good 9-10 hours. Last Thursday being the biggest when we were off the grid for 6 hours (I missed al my favourite TV Shows... it was a real disaster at Massie Lodge that night!!). Today we had a surprise outage and were off the grid for over an hour at midday. Sunday am the power had also been off because the alarm clock light was flashing. I have been very fortunate in finding a customer service contact at Ergon Energy (not so lucky for him!) in Warwick and I email him quaint little emails when the power goes off! He in turn sends me long wordy emails giving me the full history of the outage and what they had to do to get us up back up on the grid.
God help us when we are in the middle of summer.... AAArgh! It is a real problem here when the power goes out... no running water (there is no electricity for the pumps to run), the toilet wont work (heaven forbid if either of us have a dire emergency in that department!), cant wash our hands, cant get water to the horses, not even mentioning the fact that the bar fridge goes off and Evan's beer becomes tepid ale. I also need to mention that Iam unable to post on my blog. AAAAArgh!!!
Surely in this day of ever evolving technology, Ergon Energy can keep an essential item like Electricity up and running to the rural properties of South East Queensland?
Obviously not. (Oh of course, they need to have planned outages and will forget to tell you about it. OR, they will hand the notices over to our other favourite Government Agency, Australia Post, and they will forget to give them out to the ratepayers!!!).
Sorry, but its bloody annoying. Actually Im not sorry at all... there are real issues here that need to be dealt with at a State Government level, however, Iam sure that they will continue to deal with this issue with the high priority that it deserves...
Yeah right.
It sort of reminds me of the TVN / Sky Racing debacle. Each Government Department from each state involved has basically said, "Sorry, its not us... why dont you try....??" We have had full support from our local member on this issue.
Sorry, thats a blatent lie. He told us to get Satellite Broadband and then there wouldnt be a problem.
I throw my hands up in the air in complete disgust at these people.
(Deep Breath).... How they (meaning, EE and the Politicians) seem to get away with this ongoing lack of performance astounds me.
Must be time for a Cognac.
Helen.
(hic)
Sunday, October 16, 2005
The News Is Good
on all fronts.
The vet rang this morning and said that Bess's blood continued to clott satisfactorily overnight and wanted us to come and pick her up. Apparently on one of her tests, the blood clotted but it dissolved - which is a sure indication that there is poison in the system, however, Anna the vet was still not convinced that she was bitten as she was still so bright.
Boy, am I relieved and I know that Evan is too (but he never lets on!!). So, we brought her home and she has basically been very quiet today only poking her nose out to go to the toilet and get back up on her bed. Something happened to Bess yesterday, perhaps it wasnt a snake bite, but something really affected her systemically. If only she could talk!
It has been raining on and off since Friday (we have received over an inch of rain so far), and the place is boggy and muddy and all the horses are filthy and full of themselves. Nanna continues to deny that she is carrying a baby, however, we are hoping that now there has been some rain, the Union Delegate of Broodmares Inc. will proclaim an "OK to go", so that Nanna can have her baby! Both Evan and I are back in the habit of having full night sleeps... Iam not looking forward to starting shifts again.
Young Max (who is filthy like the rest of them!) continues to make me laugh... especially when he tries to get into mum's tucker.... its the funniest sight to see him trying to manage a stick of lucerne hay with his tongue, which ends up out the side of his mouth!
We are both very relieved that finally we have had some rain, not just for the sakes of the paddocks, but because the housetanks were getting precariously low and we were going to have to get some bore water into the tanks pretty quick smart. They are saying that there is some more to come, BRING IT ON !!! I say.
I look out the window now and I can see our resident Magpies fussing around in the puddles on the lawn looking for a worm or two ... Bessie Merle is asleep down by the heater (that I had to turn on because it was getting really cold!), Millie is under the desk and Lancey is over by the door. Matilda is out with Evan in the loungeroom. Our family is together again.
I was very sad to hear about Mummify yesterday... I read somewhere that although he was not being called a champion, he was being called a very professional racehorse. To his owners, he was their champion... what great courage to finish the race and run a place. He was all heart. RIP Mummify.
Helen
The vet rang this morning and said that Bess's blood continued to clott satisfactorily overnight and wanted us to come and pick her up. Apparently on one of her tests, the blood clotted but it dissolved - which is a sure indication that there is poison in the system, however, Anna the vet was still not convinced that she was bitten as she was still so bright.
Boy, am I relieved and I know that Evan is too (but he never lets on!!). So, we brought her home and she has basically been very quiet today only poking her nose out to go to the toilet and get back up on her bed. Something happened to Bess yesterday, perhaps it wasnt a snake bite, but something really affected her systemically. If only she could talk!
It has been raining on and off since Friday (we have received over an inch of rain so far), and the place is boggy and muddy and all the horses are filthy and full of themselves. Nanna continues to deny that she is carrying a baby, however, we are hoping that now there has been some rain, the Union Delegate of Broodmares Inc. will proclaim an "OK to go", so that Nanna can have her baby! Both Evan and I are back in the habit of having full night sleeps... Iam not looking forward to starting shifts again.
Young Max (who is filthy like the rest of them!) continues to make me laugh... especially when he tries to get into mum's tucker.... its the funniest sight to see him trying to manage a stick of lucerne hay with his tongue, which ends up out the side of his mouth!
We are both very relieved that finally we have had some rain, not just for the sakes of the paddocks, but because the housetanks were getting precariously low and we were going to have to get some bore water into the tanks pretty quick smart. They are saying that there is some more to come, BRING IT ON !!! I say.
I look out the window now and I can see our resident Magpies fussing around in the puddles on the lawn looking for a worm or two ... Bessie Merle is asleep down by the heater (that I had to turn on because it was getting really cold!), Millie is under the desk and Lancey is over by the door. Matilda is out with Evan in the loungeroom. Our family is together again.
I was very sad to hear about Mummify yesterday... I read somewhere that although he was not being called a champion, he was being called a very professional racehorse. To his owners, he was their champion... what great courage to finish the race and run a place. He was all heart. RIP Mummify.
Helen
Saturday, October 15, 2005
It Certainly...
has been a case of the Life and Times of Massie Lodge these last few days, where does one start? Every day presents a new challenge! As did this day.
Finally we have had some of that wet stuff firstly on Thursday we had 8mls (beggars cant be choosers can they?) and today (Saturday), its been raining steadily since about 4pm (its 9.45pm now) - heaven, just heaven you know.
I did the lunchtime feeding today (and let Evan have some peace and quiet with the races) and as normal, Bessie Merle came down with me and because I was so preoccupied with the 4-hooved ones, I didnt notice where she had been or what she had been doing. Not that she wanders far but she has her little places that she visits.
After coming up for lunch at approximately 1.30pm, I got up after eating my lunch and made for the back door and noticed Bessie Merle stumble off the lounge unable to walk on her back legs and salivating rather excessively.
"EVAN!!!" I called.
Rang the vets and put her in the car with a suspected Snakebite.
Anna the vet took some blood from the poor wee girl and did a coagulation test. Blood coagulated fine. Anna suggested that we leave her in with her as sometimes the symptoms dont manifest until a little later on. Also, she wanted to take some more blood in the next few hours to check the coagulation rate.
As you can imagine, I was beside myself when I left my girl there at the vets with the thought of whether I would see her again alive foremost on my mind.
I got a phone call from Anna at 7pm. Coagulation fine, but it seemed to dissolve. Anna wasnt happy but wasnt convinced yet that it was a snakebite as Bessie was quite bright and walking ok.
Apparently there are separate antivenom serums for black and brown and also a serum for "not sure". Cost for Black or Brown serum around $300 for a vial. Cost for "not sure" serum $600 per vial. We were currently looking at the "not sure" serum and sometimes it takes 2 vials.
Anyway we left it that Anna was going to do another coag. test in an hours time... poor Evan, I have been soo miserable since this happened (yeah, yeah, red puffy eyes). As you all know, my dogs are my kids... and Bessie especially as she has sort of stepped into "Jack's shoes" and has become my shadow.
I got another call from Anna around 8.30pm after another coag. test. All blood has coagulated within normal time parameters and has stayed that way. Bess was still bright and walking fine. Bess has stayed overnight and Anna said she would call me if there was any change.
I said to Anna no offence, but I hoped I would not be hearing from her tonight. Its now 10.15pm and have not heard anything...please cross your fingers that I dont hear anything more tonight.
Why do we get so attached to our animals? Is it because the love they offer is so unconditional and is given with no other thought or hidden agenda? My dogs have always been part of my dysfunctional family upbringing...especially through the period of my life when I was the major carer for my mum who was very sick with cancer and which continued on after her passing. Even now, here at Massie Lodge, our 4 dogs form part of our family.
Dogs offer something very special to human beings. I remember when my mum was sick, Millie was always by her side; when mum couldnt walk so good and it was more of a shuffle than anything else, little Millie would be there by my mum, keeping time with her, never leaving her side, offering unconditional support and love.
I know that I love each and every horse here on our property but Lancey, Bessie Merle, Matilda and Millie offer something back that the horses dont... unconditional support and love.
I look at my mobile phone and make sure that there are no missed calls from the vets on it. Lancey is behind my chair, snoring like a 60 year old man and Millie? Millie is here under my chair with her head on my foot. It certainly has been a very trying day for us... and we both certainly miss our Bessie Merle tonight.
Sleep sweet and safe Bessie Merle - i'll hopefully see you in the morning.
Helen.
Finally we have had some of that wet stuff firstly on Thursday we had 8mls (beggars cant be choosers can they?) and today (Saturday), its been raining steadily since about 4pm (its 9.45pm now) - heaven, just heaven you know.
I did the lunchtime feeding today (and let Evan have some peace and quiet with the races) and as normal, Bessie Merle came down with me and because I was so preoccupied with the 4-hooved ones, I didnt notice where she had been or what she had been doing. Not that she wanders far but she has her little places that she visits.
After coming up for lunch at approximately 1.30pm, I got up after eating my lunch and made for the back door and noticed Bessie Merle stumble off the lounge unable to walk on her back legs and salivating rather excessively.
"EVAN!!!" I called.
Rang the vets and put her in the car with a suspected Snakebite.
Anna the vet took some blood from the poor wee girl and did a coagulation test. Blood coagulated fine. Anna suggested that we leave her in with her as sometimes the symptoms dont manifest until a little later on. Also, she wanted to take some more blood in the next few hours to check the coagulation rate.
As you can imagine, I was beside myself when I left my girl there at the vets with the thought of whether I would see her again alive foremost on my mind.
I got a phone call from Anna at 7pm. Coagulation fine, but it seemed to dissolve. Anna wasnt happy but wasnt convinced yet that it was a snakebite as Bessie was quite bright and walking ok.
Apparently there are separate antivenom serums for black and brown and also a serum for "not sure". Cost for Black or Brown serum around $300 for a vial. Cost for "not sure" serum $600 per vial. We were currently looking at the "not sure" serum and sometimes it takes 2 vials.
Anyway we left it that Anna was going to do another coag. test in an hours time... poor Evan, I have been soo miserable since this happened (yeah, yeah, red puffy eyes). As you all know, my dogs are my kids... and Bessie especially as she has sort of stepped into "Jack's shoes" and has become my shadow.
I got another call from Anna around 8.30pm after another coag. test. All blood has coagulated within normal time parameters and has stayed that way. Bess was still bright and walking fine. Bess has stayed overnight and Anna said she would call me if there was any change.
I said to Anna no offence, but I hoped I would not be hearing from her tonight. Its now 10.15pm and have not heard anything...please cross your fingers that I dont hear anything more tonight.
Why do we get so attached to our animals? Is it because the love they offer is so unconditional and is given with no other thought or hidden agenda? My dogs have always been part of my dysfunctional family upbringing...especially through the period of my life when I was the major carer for my mum who was very sick with cancer and which continued on after her passing. Even now, here at Massie Lodge, our 4 dogs form part of our family.
Dogs offer something very special to human beings. I remember when my mum was sick, Millie was always by her side; when mum couldnt walk so good and it was more of a shuffle than anything else, little Millie would be there by my mum, keeping time with her, never leaving her side, offering unconditional support and love.
I know that I love each and every horse here on our property but Lancey, Bessie Merle, Matilda and Millie offer something back that the horses dont... unconditional support and love.
I look at my mobile phone and make sure that there are no missed calls from the vets on it. Lancey is behind my chair, snoring like a 60 year old man and Millie? Millie is here under my chair with her head on my foot. It certainly has been a very trying day for us... and we both certainly miss our Bessie Merle tonight.
Sleep sweet and safe Bessie Merle - i'll hopefully see you in the morning.
Helen.
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