How can so much happen between October 25 and November 7? It has been a roller coaster ride of emotions.
First, upon arriving back from our trip to Alabama we noticed one of the four kittens in our house was acting dopey. Sleepy, no appetite. Then the diarrhea arrived. We nursed little Looshus along thinking it was no big deal. By Monday I became very fearful. He had started throwing up clear liquids. I followed the vets orders to give fluids either sub-q or by mouth and keep him warm, then bring him in the morning to the office. I felt hopeful, as he drank three syringfefuls of water while I wrapped him in a blanket and watched Dancing with the Stars on television.
He jumped down out of my lap and I felt he must be gaining strength back. He walked to the water dish and drank - even better!!! By morning he was looking rather pekid but still walking around the kitchen. I quickly put him in the cat carrier and kept him warm and made the drive to the vet. They put him on a heating pad. They gave him more liquids. Then I got a phone call at 9 am - Looshus had passed away. So again, the process of beating myself up began. God gives us wisdom - he gives us a brain - to notice things, to observe, to get help when needed. Exactly WHAT DID I MISS??? Rachel has taken this very hard. There have been a lot of tears shared, and a lot of questions asked. I have no answer why Looshus got sick and died. All I could come up with was a bible verse that Pastor David Holt gave us in church one time - Deuteronomy 29:29 - "The secret things of the Lord belong to the Lord......."
It doesn't make us feel better, but it lets us know that He is there and according to His word He knows even every sparrow that falls to the earth. How much more did he care about little Looshus? So our little kitten was picked up by Craig and brought back to the farm to be buried. Rachel wants me to be sure he is never forgotten. I also refuse to forget Trouble, Rascal, Willow, Velcro, Tuffy, Grandma Kitty, Squirt, Tommy, and other cats who have lived both brief and long lives at our farm. No matter how conscientious we are, sometimes we lose a kitty. Someday we'll have the answer.
Halloween came and went. I watched my 7th grade son do a street dance with his friends and have fun while my daughter trick or treated as Minnie Mouse. I proudly say that she won second prize in the costume contest that the legion had! She worked hard for that.
We had one of our friends' father pass away this week - very hard stuff, since her father was only 61. My thoughts and prayers are with Michelle and her family. Then, last night, we went to a musical tribute for David Crook, who passed away August 2 at age 61. What a shock to lose David - what a loss to the world - and the love for life she showed to others was reflected in the people who were at the Fieldhouse in La Farge last night. It was a wonderful night of recounting memories, telling David stories, and eating and dancing. Shots of chocolate milk were offered up in memory of David, as his favorite drink was organic chocolate milk! David was the very first person to tell me about Standardbreds. We met in 1988 or 1989 when he was working with my dad on satellite dishes. It started a friendship that would span many years, with many miles of trail riding. Nights under the stars, drinking a Point beer, listening to rock music, sharing dreams and aspriations with our horses tied nearby. You can never let go of times like that - they are forever etched in my heart and mind. Cheers to you, David - you live on through all of us whose lives you touched.
I am learning to navigate around facebook and it's a bit tricky but also very addicting and fun! I have linked up with a whole lot of harness racing people already, and even have some of my older kids' friends wanting to be my friend - coooolll!! Many of you are also facebook'ers, I am finding out.
Allie did find a placement and the people are working with her and all is well so far. DT got a home, as well as Cam's Matte Finish. Yesterday we had to go down and remove six horses from summer pasture - bringing them back alarmed us as we looked around our property and realized that we don't have a spare inch left. My husband feels we may lose our farm if we have to feed them all winter, so if you have room for one or two for the winter please let us know! Or if you have hay, or know of someone who has hay to donate, let us know. It was wonderful to get a donation of hay recently, but by the time we paid someone to go and get it, we were shocked to find out the bill was $475 upon his return!!!!!!!!!! We'll go and pick it up ourselves next time. Oh, the six horses who returned are Stylish Sharon, Bob Cook, Arne, Steelin Apples, Strawberry Jacki, and Little John. What a crew.
Cherie and Julien came to spend the weekend with us and we all enjoyed the sunshine very veyr much. I was outside nonstop most of both days, riding Timesareachanging. Amy came down and we hoped to ride Taser and Times together, but Taser is suffering from some rear leg problem of unknown origin. He has just been down and out lately, so I began some bute to see if it would make a difference. His hock has some fluid in it but is not enlarged. He just seems sore - even too sore to be fighting with Little John and Strawberry across the fence. Timesareachanging has taken that upon himself for now, thank you, with Taser watching from a distance. What a change in Taser - it's almost scary!
Special thanks to Lori H. and Barb and Scott Edwards for their recent gifts. Again, we could not function without you. We are hoping that IHHA will come through with an end of the year gifting, as they have in the past.
Enjoy today and this week - it won't be long before we'll be cursing winter. Let me know if you can help us - PLEASE!!!
Susan
