Safe and Sound

Misty is "Mommy" No More

Misty cat has been spayed. $200 later--and that was with a stray cat discount--she is safe in the sunroom, recovering from her surgery. Had I had the time or the desire to drive close to an hour to a special spay clinic, I could have saved a bunch of money, but getting an appointment and then driving that distance might have complicated things even more. I have no idea how close Misty was to becoming a mama, and I don't really want to know, but I was pretty sure if I'd put off the spaying to search out a more economical solution, I might have had a litter of kittens to deal with as well.

On the plus side, the vet said he would neuter Peppercorn for $50, so that's a good deal. I might get that done next week. We'll see. For now, just knowing Misty is OK is enough for me.

Tucker lost a shoe yesterday morning, so I called Scott. We were several weeks overdue for routine shoeing anyhow, but none of the Boys's hoofs had grown too much, for some reason.

Lo and behold, the phone rang around noon time and it was Scott telling me he was on his way and would be here in under and hour.  When I went out to sweep the barn aisle, the Boys all came in from the pasture on their own, so it was an easy matter to lock them in their stalls to wait for their friend, the farrier.

Sure enough, Scott was soon parked in the back yard, and Mick, his border collie was parked on my back step waiting to play with me .

Was anything remarkable about the shoeing?  Yes. Tucker. He was an absolutely perfect gentleman, today.
Well, that was after he apparently gave Scott a little trouble when he went in to halter him.  Apparently, he swung his head away from the halter and then got "really tall."  Now Scott is not a tall guy himself, so Tucker's head up--17 h. at withers--was rather out of reach.  Scott said, he just waited as he didn't want to get Tucker riled up, but I guess once the bad boy decided Scott was not exactly pleased with the game, he let himself get haltered, and then once on the crossties, decided to be totally charming.  Usually, while he is good to handle, when Scott goes out to the truck to shape the shoes, Tucker wiggled around on the ties, ending up with his butt end against the barn wall and his feet banging the brooms, ladder, or anything else stored there.

Today? He never moved a foot but stood quietly and politely the whole time. He didn't lean at all when Scott picked up his feet and he did not nibble at Scott's back or do anything at all amiss. It was so unexpected, both Scott and I wondered if he was feeling OK. I will definitely keep an eye on him, but perhaps, now that he has reached the wise age of 12, he has finally settled on a more mature attitude??

Needless to say, Scott made a fuss over him when the job was done.  I think Tucker really liked that.

Also, needless to say, both Toby and Chance were practically perfect in every way.

Mick and I had some fun playing fetch, although we had to take it easy because Scott said he'd hurt his leg the week before. We cut the game short twice to get him to rest. Mick was not pleased about that as he is the typical border collie perpetual motion machine, but when his "dad" says, "Mick, that's enough, go lie down," he obeys--at least for a few minutes. *G*

It was a lovely day, but the midafternoon shoeing put me off of riding since I was going out to an early dinner.

I met some friends in the nearby town for the Elks Club's annual Lenten fish dinner. Many service organizations in the nearby towns run fundraising fish fries every Friday during Lent.  We've gone before and had a super meal and tonight was no exception. I'm not a fish eater, but I had delicious fried shrimp while one friend had the flounder and the other a seafood combo of flounder, scallops, and shrimp.  They offer a salad bar, a baked potato, and dessert for what a nice meal would cost in a restaurant, and, to be honest, the food is exceptional!

Maybe next Lent we will try some of the dinners at other places, but I doubt they will live up to the quality of this meal.  They also offered: shrimp scampi, shrimp parmesan, fish parmesan, stuffed flounder, fried oysters,  jumbo shrimp, clams on the half shell, clam chowder, and pasta. Everything is home made and beautifully cooked.

So, I may not have ridden, but I had a horsey day and ended it with a very happy tummy.