That Time of the Year

It's that special time of the year.  It's the time of beautiful sunsets, and days that are still warm enough to enjoy them.

Paj couldn't quite believe I was taking pictures of something other than his pretty self, so of course I had to include him.  The sunset photos are SOOC (Straight Out Of the Camera).  Paj was partially in shadow, so I tweaked that one.



Boomer Update

Happy Thanksgiving, everybody!  One of the many things we are grateful for is that Boomer is doing very well.  His temperature is normal, he never developed a cough or phlegm, and he had his last dose of antibiotics today.

How high can you reach, David?

Yuck!  That stuff tastes terrible!

In more good horsey news, none of the other horses have the crud, and the infectious period will be over soon.  Then Boomer and Ben will be reunited.  Yay!

Sick Pony

Boomer has bronchitis.  We caught it very early (before the coughing and phlegm stage), so we are hoping that he will have a speedy recovery.  Here's what happened -

Yesterday I made my first outing after being laid low by a nasty stomach bug for two crappy weeks.  Two weeks!  I went hear our old friend and fellow horseman, Adwyn, play with the Colorado Chamber Music Society.

Adwyn's on the right

The concert was full of diversity, and I enjoyed it very much.  It was held in a historic building dating from 1913.  The building has tapestry bricks, terra cotta trim, and a tile roof.  Cool.

David stayed home to take care of the horses, and Boomer was fine all day.  But when I got home around 5 and stopped in to say Hi, he looked depressed and not his usual Alpha self at all.  I took his temperature, and it was 104.  Yikes!  Dr. Gary came right out on a Saturday night, in spite of the fact that it's a l-o-n-g drive here, and Dr. Gary lives a l-o-n-g way in the opposite direction.  The man is a Saint.

*Dr. Gary's house

      30 minutes

                      *Dr. Gary's clinic

                                                                           

                                                                        *Moondance

                                                                  1 hour, 30 minutes

That's 3 hours, 30 minutes on the road just to take care of us.  Furthermore, he told us to call him today (Sunday!!!) and let him know Boomer's temperature, because if it hadn't gone down, he'd come back and give him another shot.  The man is a Saint.  Did I say that before?  Well, I don't think I can say it enough.  We are so grateful. 

Yesterday's shots

Me - "that's a big shot, Dr. Gary"

Dr. Gary - "that's a big horse, Terry"

Today Boomer's temperature is coming down (102, still high, but a big improvement) and he's eating like a horse, so no long drive for Dr. Gary.  We are dosing him with SMZs (the antibiotic Sulfamethoxazole), and he is currently standing out in the pasture, soaking up a little sun for a few hours.  The only wrinkle in his life is that his BFF Ben is in a separate pasture to keep them from sharing cooties over the waterer.  They can see each other, and they both seem content. 

Boomer left, Ben right

Of course we are wondering why.  Maybe it's the beautiful weather.  We had some 11 degree lows, and we had a couple of days where we never got above freezing.  The horses have full winter coats (except for Paj, geez), and now we're back in the 60s.  I've always worried about colic with these temperature swings, and now I'm adding bronchitis to the list.

We are doing everything we can to keep it from spreading.  Big-hearted neighbors Kate and Mike have 6 new rescues that we are eager to meet, but we'll restrain ourselves until the infectious period is over.  Then we'll visit and blog all about it.

Get better soon, dear Boomer.  We love you.



Missing Out

The weather has been glorious.  I've had a nasty bug, so I've been missing out on enjoying our unseasonably warm weather.  David has been doing my chores, and he's also been enjoying the Clydes.  He's been riding Big Ben and trail riding and driving Boomer.  We had a special treat this weekend when Bob's 93 year old mother came out for a drive.  I missed out on that too.

David

Big Ben

(time for a mane trim, I'm thinking!)

Jean, Diana and Bob

Jean's father and David's father both delivered milk by horse-drawn vehicles.

I've been missing out on blogs too.  I plan to start checking in on everybody this evening.  I've got a lot of catching up to do!  Hope all is well, and nobody has a nasty bug!