It's a scary time of year to be Jewel

She always seems to have a set back in the spring. And this year is no different. She looks sore. Maybe I let her have too much green grass. Maybe she is just having a flare up of her lyme. I don't really know, but she is now not allowed any lush grass. She has plenty of pasture and short grass to munch but not the thick stuff in this photo.

I have started her on a low dose of doxy again. It obviously doesn't do anything except make her feel better and if it does that, what's wrong with giving it to her???? I am struggling with whether or not to vaccinate. I think not. Last year she had such a bad reaction to the vaccines. I ended up never giving her the West Nile. Have we had any of that around here lately? I haven't heard anything.

It sucks having tons of awesome pasture and a horse that can't be allowed on it for health reasons. I really, REALLY hate that.

I drove my horse trailer around the block and put air in the tires. Damn thing is just rotting, sitting here never used. I think about selling it. If I needed/wanted to go somewhere there are plenty of people I could call to haul for me. But, it's nice having it if ever there was an emergency need or if she starts feeling good enough to make an outing. I don't know, I probably won't use it and should sell it. ACK!!! I never dreamed I would end up with a pasture ornament. Not that it isn't a bad thing, she is a beauty to behold and the sweetest girl in the world and I love her, but it sucks that I can hardly ride. Just plain sucks...............

Jewel and Buzz! She is SUCH a good horse!

She is funny, she looks like she might be saying........"HUH? The DOG is going to lead me?? Seriously??"........


"OK, got it, the dog is leading me, but he better move out! My legs are a LITTLE longer than his!" -
"Good dog, that's more like it!" -

I have more, but I can't find them. Have I told you I hate picassa as my photo program? Not sure why, but I seem to be totally computer dense when it comes to some things. Just totally dense and it makes me nuts!

Helen did more photos......this past spring!

Ultimately, I was trying to get some new photos for my business cards and business info sheets. I wanted all three dogs and Jewel, but the trouble is Colby squints now in any bright light, so we did the dogs in the shade. Not sure how those will do on a business card, but I may do a template and see how it looks. She took some of us in the fields with the buttercups, too.



OK, the trouble wasn't just Colby squinting, getting all three dogs to hang out with me and Jewel in the field wasn't easy. You'll see as you scroll down! I saved the best for last!



Jewel is THE most photogenic horse!!!

Spur - he just can't control his LICKER!!!

Yum, that cat shit you just ate tastes SO good on my lips!

I may settle for one of these shots with just me and Spur, although I think the shade just diminishes the definition in his adorable face? She is sending me a CD with many more and she said she can lighten up any ones I like.

Is he not THE cutest dog in the world??????

OK, this one cracks me up!! I mean, NO, we didn't have a wind machine making my hair blow like that! Who does that sort of thing?? Do I LOOK dressed like a fashion model???? That's a bait bag on my butt, for cryin' out loud! And cargo pants??? Oi! At least I had that nice hat on! Brought that hat out the other day for Evelyn's service and found a HOLE on the edge!! Damn IT!! I LOVE that hat.
Helen lightened my face. I just think it is corny and dorky looking. Helen loves it! She can pretend she brought along her fancy wind machine. Yeah, that's it, cuz my friend Helen has a wind machine!! Yeah, RIGHT!!!

Now, drum roll please................THIS ONE FREAKIN' CRACKS ME UP!!!!
No caption needed, Roscoe is saying some very bad words!

I title this one......"The good (Colby), the bad (Roscoe) and the beautiful (Jewel)."

The field daisies are in full bloom and SO pretty!

These first two pictures of Leta are funny. The camera focused on the daisies, not her! Still, kind of cool photos!! She sure has that feral kitty look in her eye, doesn't she? She is quite savvy, I think. I hope. With beavers or otters and coyotes and foxes I sure worry about our feral kitties. Juno hardly ever leaves the barn, but Leta is a busy girl. Luckily, she doesn't go far and is ever on alert.

The girls are getting an hour or so out back and so far, lovin' it!! The deer flies are not out in force, yet, the mosquitoes are JUST starting to come out, so it's pretty nice out there and they run out there at TOP speed. So fun to watch and listen to their thundering hooves!!!

This picture cracks me up!! Are they about to crash???? Playing "chicken"??? And I think this one is really cool!!!

Jewel's lyme titer results came back.

Pretty disappointing. It appears that all the antibiotic treatments I have tried (oral and I/V), the year of herbal remedy, homeopathy, nothing has touched her lyme. Her score hasn't come down at all. Still a "strong positive" in the very high range. It just stinks. My vet is going to call and discuss her case with the specialist at Cornell. But, really, the one thing I know about lyme is that we really don't know much about lyme. Sadly, that seems to be the case. We know some things like how the organism works, how smart it is, how incredibly sneaky it is and how it can devastate animals, but how to treat it, we don't know. I stopped the doxy I started after her vaccine reaction. She reacted so badly after her spring shots I thought she was a goner!! She looked like her feet were stuck to the ground and she simply could not move. It was sucky. We will never know if it was just a vaccine reaction or if the vaccines brought the lyme back "out of hiding". Either way she does seem to be doing better. I have put her on B-L solution, which is Devil's Claw, Yucca and B vitamins, and may just start using that as an every day supplement. It seems to work pretty well with her discomfort and works nearly as good as bute at times. The B vitamins are supposed to be great for animals with lyme. Oi. It's just depressing, but I think if I wanted I could take her out for a ride and just stay on the soft grass. I have let her out to the back field for about 1/2 each day and she FLIES down the gravely road to get there and back, so if she feels good enough to do that she can tote my 125lbs around for a while, I think. :D

Poor sweet girlie.

Buying more love today!

Translation -

Horse vet coming today for spring visit/shots.

I will also be drawing a lyme titer on Jewel to see how we are doing. She seems fine, but this is always a bad time of year. It has been the time of year she has had issues. The ticks are terrible, the grass is growing lush and is a risk. We let her have SOME grass, but always it is a worry. All the times she has been sick have occured in the spring. Sucks. Her feet feel warmer than Precious', but that has always been the case. She doesn't look lame or sore, but sometimes it is hard to tell. I would LOVE to say she is doing great and there won't be any indication of lyme left in her body. Trouble is I doubt that's the case. Rounds and rounds of oral doxy, then 21 days of I/V tetracycline and I have this gut feeling she still has lyme. I am afraid it is there to stay. But, maybe I am being a Doubting Debby? I just hear the stories and know what we have been through. Is she OK? Yes. Will she ever be fully sound and healthy? Maybe not. I can live with that, she seems happy enough. We are riding, some.

Here she is enjoying a good roll after her limited time on the back pasture -


Colby and Roscoe are both on doxy for positive snap tests. I didn't bother with the titer test this time and went straight to the doxy. I will do the titers in six months. Both Pin Heads handle the doxy just fine and I am SO paranoid these days. Colby is so fragile. In fact, the other day she did something (probably over-did it digging for a rodent?) and was horribly lame!! OI!!! Even on doxy, which has anti-inflammatory properties, she was this lame -



I leashed walked her the next day. She seemed fine! Today, two days later? She seems totally fine. I don't know what she did, but I will keep her from over-doing it for a while (like THAT is easy, NOT!!) and see how it goes.

GOOD GRIEF!!! I seem to be plaqued with animal health issues? Why me? Why MY beloved animals? Our old Zeus kitty now has thyroid issues and needs a pill twice/day. Goodness!! Although, that's not such a bad thing. He is at least 17 years old and an outdoor "feral" kitty so he's doing DAMN good, really!!!

Jewel has a new handler!

Not sure how happy she is with her new handler?...........

Spring fever!!!

Look at the GRASS!! I think I have mowed five times already. The ground hogs are busy, which means the Japanese Knotweed crunches under their busy feet as they scurry back and forth filling up on fresh, spring greens. Why is that worth mentioning? Because it gets the horses all worked up!! The horses, all 900-1200lbs of them, get all worried about a scurrying little ground hog. WHAT THE????? Then, once they get going I think Jewel is feeling so good lately she gets so full of herself. She forgets the ground hog and just enjoys a good RACE!!!
Spur can not contain himself..............He joins in.........thankfully, in the safety of his yard...........

What's he sayin'?..........
The herding blood runs deep. He may be a Paussie, but the aussie herding blood is deep.............would a papillon do this?...........

Those words are probably not nice words?...............

Roscoe has no interest in herding, but he comes running to see what the commotion is about. Who knows, there may be cookies being passed out...........
Love the feet completely off the ground. Wish the Honeysuckle bush wasn't in the way.........Where's that ground hog???........
Poor Precious hasn't a clue what all the commotion is about. She's just running because Jewel is. She'd rather be eating, but she is a "follower". There isn't a take charge bone in her body. She does what the group does and if it means run.........well.......darn it, she runs.........Jewel - "Hey, watchalookinat????"Notice the flared nostrils? She snorts and blows and lets the world know she is there, protecting her pasture from the Horrible Hogs. How much can a ground hog eat? More than Jewel is happy about!! The Horrible Hogs take over and she doesn't like it. She doesn't like the noise they make, she doesn't like the strange way they waddle their fat bodies back to their holes. I mean, really, Horrible Hogs don't move well. They are not exactly fluid in motion. Not like Jewel!

The Maxwell's don't call them ground hogs. They are Woodchucks. And you don't say that word in the presence of George, the border terrier. Nope, you can't even spell woodchuck. Ground hog? George doesn't know because the Maxwell's don't call them hogs. They are chucks. Chucks take over George's word. Hogs take over Jewel's world. It's all the same, only different.

Maybe we should start calling them Wood Hogs, or Ground Chucks? Hog Wood. Hog Chucks?

You know we also have Wood Cocks around here that I also call Timberdoodles. Just sayin'...................

Nice day yesterday, today......not so much.

It was a lovely spring day! Look how green the grass is getting!!! Better start up the mower! :O Spur had a wonderful time with his ball tug that I only give him on occasion. He whacks himself with that ball, which I just can't understand! The weenie dog melts into a pile of papillon mush at the sound of a jump bar knocking down, yet he can whack himself in the head with a big, hard rubber ball????

My friend and her little dog, Buzz, came over for a walk. Buzz is the cutest short legged Jack Russell. He's just a funny little guy!

Jewel had spring fever and was FLYING around the paddock. Why is it when I get a nice photo of her the manure pile is always in the back ground? Ewwwwww! Oh well, it is a nice pile, actually. Can't wait to spread it around the gardens this year! Some of it is a couple years old and well composted. Good stuff!