Walking Wounded

A small selection of this evening's meds

Walking is a misnomer. Limping wounded. Everyone's sidelined to some extent. I have a husband with a staph infection. Two ewes have foot rot, and the ewe lamb has joint ill. Pip the labrador is recovering from multiple barbed wire tears and punctures. Dulcie the spaniel tore a cruciate ligament and had an operation this morning to pin the knee and won't be able to work for the rest of the season. The chickens have gapeworm, and my tendonitis is now in both wrists.

It could be worse.

I put all my animal meds in a box - well, the vegetable drawer from the fridge - and carry it with me on my rounds. A jab of penicillin for one, an antibiotic pill for another. An icepack for Dulcie. Most of them accept their treatment with benign resignation, except for Mike. He's the worst patient I have.

The dogs that are well, or well enough, are picking up the extra shifts. But it's tiring for them. I hoped I could ease the flatcoat into work but she's going to have to start as a full member of the team sooner than expected.

Pip finds a quiet corner after another day's work

Dakota worked this afternoon driving birds over the guns so she's sleeping it off too

Poor post-op Dulcie!

Uhh..my back end is awake before my front end....

Dulcie is still recovering from her anaesthetic. I just carried her home from the vets and put her in a kennel in the kitchen where she'll recouperate in strict confinement for the next few weeks at least. No doubt she'll take Mike's title as worst patient by the end of her treatment. Dulcie, like Mike, is a worker and hates being sedentary. I'm more on Pip's wavelength.

Mike is falling asleep in the chair, Dulcie is waking up in her kennel, tomorrow's venison stew for the workers is braising in the oven and it's my turn to take my medicine -

Add some leftover pheasant picked off the bone and it's dinner too.

In spite of all the difficulties, including near constant rain, nature throws us a bone occasionally -

Even over our muddy trucks and askew chicken houses, the rainbow looks amazing. I hope it's an omen of good things to come.