Grab Bag

Mack, the other ox, decided to throw a monkey wrench in my weekend plans.  On Friday, I noticed a possible hernia.  Standing right in front of me, he reached forward with a back leg to scratch his head and where his masculinity had long been removed, bulged out something the size of a head of cabbage.  Always quick to palpate, I compared him to Tommy, Tommy to him, enough times to make them flee and for me to begin to worry. 

Never mind that it was raining all day Saturday and that my horse trailer holds all my farm implements, Saturday morning a mad groundhog was pitching all her stuff out the back of the trailer in order to make room for the oxen. Mack will go nowhere without Tommy, so both made the trip to the vet school. 

As with our previous experience in Auburn University's cattle handling facility, Mack nor Tommy fit in their equipment.  Thanks be to their placid nature that they can be kept calm simply by squeezing them with panels.



Ultrasounding

 Dr. Carson awaits collegues' opinions on Monday.  Hopefully, surgery will be unnecessary and they can give me the green light to pick them up. On Sunday, I went back to visit and was very pleased at how attentive the attending vet student was to their needs (and whims).

Three activities on this weekend's To-Do list could not be rescheduled.

First:  Serve Cole with Squirrel au Jus with new potatoes...preferably using the audacious squirrel that sneaks into my vegetable garden, digs up plants and chews on my new seedlings. I have seen it from inside the house many times, but this squirrel has its radar tuned to us.  Any attempt to exit the house from the back and creep up on it have failed.  Early Sunday morning, I removed the living room window's screen and left the window open.  It was chilly in the house, but worth it.  I will not be replanting my basil nor beans...




Demonstration of how we solved our problem

 Second:  my running coach had a 15 mile run lined up for me on Sunday.  Tuskegee National Forest was calling my name.  The Bartram Trail is an out and back run, half along an Upland pine forest, remainder in the wetland forest along a large creek.




Sunday's run



Cole forging the way on the Upland side.

 Meanwhile, I was scanning the ground ahead of Captain Oblivious for rattlers and copperheads.



Entering the wetland area, the  nice boardwalks are only teasers, muck and mud ahead. 

 Now on the lookout for water moccasins and alligators. 

After the second Super Grover maneuver, I decided Cole was in less imminent danger than I.  My last fall kept me on the ground for a couple minutes while I contemplated life, why I bother running, if my camera and cell phone were intact, if my flank was wet from mud or something worse, and dear heavens, if my GPS watch had stopped and lost my data on the past 9 miles!  

Third:  Angus turned 11 years old on Sunday.  Apart from four years of his adult life and his first 6 months living in Canada, he's been my boy.  It's a cause to celebrate.  With cake.  Oatmeal, brown sugar, carrots and apples.



Happy Birthday Angus!

 He even shared, reluctantly, of course. 



My Axel at the trough with Angus!

 My Sunday supper came in the form of homemade pizza from next door.

Yeah, life is good. 

It will be even better when the vet calls with positive news concerning Mack. I'm counting on it.  He may appear to be nothing more than a 3000 lb pasture ornament to some. To me, he's still the tiny 2 day old calf  I brought home from Georgia, raised to be part of a working team.  He and Tommy may not (yet) be the working team I aspired for them to be, but they fuel my dreams and make me persevere.  Having them waiting for me at the backyard gate when I get home from work is my reward.  Waking up to see them sleeping by the fence, no more than 50 ft away, magical.  Best view in town.