Zoey's Trip to the Vet's

    The past 5 days have been a bit of a blur  

around here.  Zoey,
our 5-yr old beagle has been under the weather.  Starting on Saturday she began eating grass and vomiting.  Then she developed diahirria.  By Monday she had stopped eating but the diahirria got worse...just brown liquid, w/o a formed stool.  I didn't like the color of it either...really a reddish brown...and I 

worried that she was passing blood! 

       I had to work in the shop in Cooperstown on Tuesday and when I left for work Fanny, the older dog, and Jeff were laying on the bed but Zoey was on a blanket on the floor.  She looked so sad.  It really scared me.  I wanted to call Jeff during the day to see how she was but was afraid he'd say she had died so I didn't.  When I got home the house was quiet.  Usually when a car (ours or not) pulls into the driveway the dogs go crazy, sounding the 'alarm'.  The quiet really scared me but when I opened the door Zoey came to greet me!  She was weak but her tail was wagging.  Jeff and Fanny were right behind her and Jeff said that was the longest distance Zoey had walked all day.  When he had the dogs outside in the afternoon, Zoey laid down and couldn't get up so he had to carry her back into the house!  He said he was really sure we were going to lose her that afternoon. Fanny and I laid on the bed  with Zoey while Jeff sat at his computer for most of the night.  We never had supper and we sat there until after midnight when I finally made another pot of coffee.  When Zoey woke me up around 6:30am to go out, I found that she had done 'it' on the kitchen floor during the night.   So while she was outside I grabbed a spatula and a baggie and scooped up her 'deposit' from the floor with the idea that we could it take to vet's when we got an appointment.  After the dogs were back inside and another pot of coffee was brewing, I called and was able to make the appointment for that afternoon.

   Zoey sat in the chair by my computer all day yesterday, napping.  She wasn't interested in eating.  When it was time to leave for her appointment I just called out 'who wants to go for a car ride?' and Zoey was the first to the door, wagging her tail!  Fanny went along for moral support.  We went to Walmart first to pick up Jeff's Rx's because he was afraid we wouldn't be in the mood to do it after seeing the vet.  He even bought Zoey a container of chicken broth while in the store!  

   When we got to the vet's I took Zoey's stool sample and went inside to check in.  The vet's were following social distancing and we were given a beeper and told to wait outside or in our car.  Zoey was  interested in the lawn around the vet's building so Jeff kept walking her and she  smelled enough other dogs and cats to make her very happy.  Finally after half an hour or so, the beeper went off and we went inside.

   Zoey was tested for Parvo and Lyme.  The results were 1/1:  she doesn't have Parvo, but does have Lyme's.  She was also tested for Anaplasmosis, another tick- carried blood disease, but that came back negative. They tested her for internal parasites and luckily, that was negative, too.  They wanted to run a generic panel on her urine but she wouldn't or couldn't pee for them so they gave me a 'catch kit'...a tray, syringe and vial...and told me to do a 'clean catch' and bring it in the next morning.  They also found that she had an ear infection so they swapped out her ears and put in some ointment.  She wasn't too thrilled to have her temperature taken rectally or to have a rectal exam (she had been rubbing her butt on the ground lately). And boy, did she squeal when she had blood drawn and when she got a couple of injections!  Beside the 'clean catch kit, they ended up sending us home with anti-vomiting pills, special canned dog food and packets of fortified flavor enhancer, Metronidazole-an

antibiotic tablet and a tube of ear ointment. The visit had cost nearly $400!

   Zoey seems a little better today.  She has finally started eating the canned dog food but obviously isn't thrilled with it.  She did 'beg' and eat bites of Danish from both of us and took her antibiotic buried in a spoon of peanut butter without any problems.  I've got to give her a anti-vomiting pill around 3pm.  Right now, Zoey is napping next to Jeff.  (Fanny is asleep on the couch next to me!) And we've had 2 phone calls from the vet's (one from the vet himself) to check up on Zoey and to tell us more test results.  I'm glad this saga is about over.  I wish I could sleep like the dogs and Jeff.  Maybe I'd feel better, too.

Apple Season

    Apple Season came to a successful conclusion this week when we picked all the apples on our tree filling a small basket. The apples were not as large as I would

have liked but there were a lot of them!  So far I've made 2 pies and there are enough apples left for some turnovers.  Jeff says as soon as we have a hard frost he'll prune the tree and next year it will be a lot easier to pick the apples.  The smaller size of the apples was because we didn't spray the tree when it was in blossom and nearly every blossom produced fruit.  Next spring we will spray and hopefully we'll get bigger apples!!  Still, the pies were very good and didn't last long!

   My mom gave up making her own crust when a friend, Paula, at camp told her about Pillsbury All-Ready Crusts after my dad raved about Paula's apple pie.    I've used Pillsbury and store brand crusts and this year I tried both Hannaford and Walmart's crusts and crossed Walmart's off my list.  Still the pies didn't long.  I'd like to try puff pastry and make some turn-overs.

The Paul Boys

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 My cousin Jerry Paul's sons with his wife Barbara Ann.  (front Jon, behind him Dan and Tim.

Adding To The Collection

      Here are 2 cowls that I've added to my Highland Knit Collection.  The top one is Covet Knits' Braided Cowl designed by with Red Heart 100% acrylic yarn in Aran and is machine wash and dryable.  This cowl measures 7" by 24".

    This 2nd cowl is The Gathering Cowl designed by Karen Clements for 'The

Highland Knits...Knitwear Inspired by the   The rest of the collection may be found on this blog in the entry for March 25th  of this year.  The knit pieces are available at Cooper Country Crafts, 2 Doubleday Court, Cooperstown, NY.

Time For An Adventure!

    Zoey, our  4 yr old Beagle, had an adventure this morning.  Jeff usually has her out on a long lead every morning and Zoey likes sitting under the apple tree watching Wally's yard.  Jeff stayed outside with her for 10-15 mins then came back in to refill his coffee cup and told me to keep an ear out for Zoey's cry to come in.  (She usually doesn't bark but will squeak or cry a little when she's ready.)  After 30-40 minutes I asked him is she was still under the apple tree and he said he couldn't see her so I went to the door expecting to find her sitting there but all I found was what was left of her lead.  I went back in and quickly put on some shoes and called him  He got on the Cub Cadet and I stated walking around the yard.  When I saw her down by Wally's garage I pointed her out to Jeff and he headed down there.  Once Zoey saw him coming she headed straight towards him!  Jeff didn't stop to load her into the wagon but just kept her headed towards me.  Zoey ran right up to me and Fanny...who checked her out quickly!  We all come into the house for some cold water and after a snack of peanutbutter and pretzels Zoey decided it was nap time.

Time for a nap?

Wally has some company this weekend including a long-haired dachshund who they've let wander around loose...and it's wandered up here a couple of times. Zoey and that dog have had a few barking exchanges, too.  I think Zoey was just looking for that dog but no one was home when she visited.  It's a good thing Zoey didn't decided to chase a rabbit or squirrel on her way down because with a couple of yards of lead behind her if she had gone into the old horse pastures on either side of the driveway she would have been bound to get tangled in the brush!  And that would have been a mess!!

And Another One Bites the Dust!

    The big Box Elder in the back yard finally finished falling over.  It was a big beautiful tree when we moved here in 1962, shading the back lawn very nicely.  Several years ago the top of the tree broke and fell over...but was still connected to the main trunk...forming a natural arch that continued to leaf out every year for quite a few years.  Slowly the tree died and this year it did not form any leaves at all.  During lunch today I heard wood cracking and then a soft thud.  The dogs got excited and started to run around barking and carrying on.  Jeff went outside to see if he could find the tree that fell and soon came back in.  It had been the box elder.  After lunch I went out and took photos of what was left.  The snowmobilers and 4-wheelers will miss driving thru the arch...eventho there was a "POSTED" sign on the tree.  At least now we don't have to worry about the arch falling on some kid who got their machine stuck there!  Here's what's left of the box elder:   You can see that the trunk had very little bark left on  

it and where the top had been connected was totally rotten now and just snapped off today.  All the rain we've been getting every night probably helped it along.  While walking over to this tree I noticed that the stump of a cedar tree that is about 4' high (we use to put a bird feeder on it) is very fragile.  It moved very easily when I pushed against it.  I think I better tell Jeff so he can pull it out with the Cub Cadet.  Boy, will the back yard be easier to mow without it!

Apples...Day 57

     It's Day 57 of Apple Season and Jeff suggested this morning it was time for another photo of the tree.  The apples are a little bigger than golf balls and still

without a blemish.  I noticed a few on
the ground and Jeff, the resident expert (he use to work at JustAMereFarm, near Twin Orchards, years ago) said it was normal.  The top of the tree is quite full of little apples.  I still think our herd of deer will find this tree when they are ripe and try for their share. 

Since it is close to the house, Zoey has claimed it as 'hers' and sits under it most days.  (Don't know why, it doesn't give much shade!)  Maybe she'll announce when the deer come near it and her bark and bay may keep them away. In the meantime, we'll keep an eye on the tree and keep taking photos as the apples grow.  
   I'm still dreaming of making an apple pie. Got to keep an eye peeled for Pillsbury's Pie Crusts in the refrigerated section of Walmart and Hannaford.  Can't beat them!  My mom always made her own crust and thought they were pretty good.  Then one day Dad mentioned that one of our friends at camp and given him a piece of apple pie (THE only kind for him!) and her crust was so good.  Mom asked Paula for her recipe and they both nearly fell over laughing when Paula handed her an empty Pillsbury Pie Crust box. That did it for Mom, Pillsbury was her recipe from then on!  It makes a good pie even better!  I'll post a photo of my pie, too!
(Oh, Jeff didn't last long as a 'picker' at JustAMereFarm.  His hands were too big and he bruised the apples, so the owner, Jim, showed him how to make cider (loading the pressed, etc).  He always says they never added anything but apples to their cider.  If it was too sweet, Jim said to add some other apples and that cut the sweetness.  If it was too sour, Jim added different apples to sweeten it.  Jeff always says Jim was an true artist.  JustAMereFarm got surrounded by developments and pushed out of existance.  Jeff says no one else made or makes cider quite like Jim did.)