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| Morning picture to the northwest from behind the house, July 7 |
Recently we’ve had some pesky problems to work through. First,
the refrigerator debacle just doesn’t get better. Sears is giving us a royal
run-around, wasting hours of our time – and theirs. One day we think the
situation is resolved, the next we’re back to square one.
Then
the town house air conditioner failed on July 3 at the beginning of the hot Fourth
of July weekend. Heating and A-C shops were already closed, so we coped as best
we could until the evening of the Fourth and then drove back to the farmhouse. Sunday
night we went to bed with the windows wide open when a windstorm came up and blew
the inner window in the master bedroom shut, causing the glass to shatter. (The
window is meant to provide ventilation, or a cross draft, from the dormer
windows at the front of the house.) |
| Repaired window |
But
the worst of all was that on Sunday (July 5), old dog Nellie had some kind of
reaction that caused her back leg to swell,
edema, and respiratory difficulties. We suspected a rattlesnake bite and Sunday
afternoon Mike contacted our vet, who prescribed quiet rest, Benadryl, and
Rimadyl. Monday Mike headed into town with Nellie and the broken window. The
vet examined Nellie and couldn’t find the bite site (nor could we). However,
her symptoms were those of rattler bite. She is recovering nicely.
Mike
returned Monday afternoon with Nellie and the repaired window. He had also arranged for a service call on the A-C. Predictably, they were backed up with emergency calls, and when Mike said he was willing
to wait until Thursday (today) for repair, the scheduler said he was her
favorite customer. (It’s nice to be someone’s favorite customer.)
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| A few brief showers -- then more heat (July 7) |
Tuesday
son Clint rode in from Winchester Lake where he was camping. He and Mike enjoyed
riding their dirt bikes to points near Dworkshak Reservoir.
On the Fourth, we brought Ken's dog Pepper back with us. The days went well, but
she didn't settle down at night. When Ken and Ginny drove in yesterday, Pepper was
overjoyed to see them and to go home with them last night.
Ginny
alerted me to the fact that a zucchini was ready to pick. “Leave that until
tomorrow and it will be oversized,” she advised. I went right out and picked
it. Just think! My first zucchini of the season!
I
picked the last of the cherries today (3 cups this year), and just a few
raspberries still cling to the bushes. I estimate I picked a quart.
Our German Shorthair dogs have not been particularly good watch dogs – until Bess,
that is. Bess keeps a close watch on what’s happening, warning of intruders. Something
in the tone of her bark at 4:30 a.m. sent Mike flying down the stairs
and out the door. At first all was quiet. Then Bess began barking frantically again.
“No Bess! No! Come back, Bess! No!” Finally Bess responded to Mike’s
commands. The intruder? – a large porcupine. Disaster was averted, thank
goodness! KW
3 comments:
Yay for zucchini! I've picked several, too, and have high hopes for this year's crop. At least something is looking positive for you. AND you are somebody's favorite customer. :-)
I'm glad Nellie is doing better--not a fun time for any of you.
Oh, and you know, of course that porcupines will eat your pine trees. They'll eat the bark off the tree and kill them. Dan goes after them with a vengeance. I'm glad Bess didn't tangle with it, but hope she scared it off.
Yes, we do know that porcupines eat bark, but thanks for the reminder. Mike said he hadn't seen a porcupine in years here. It appeared ready to defend itself but was moving along as fast as it could.
A previous dog, Nobie, was "quilled" by a porcupine and had to visit the vet for extraction. Rather than making her wary of future porcupines, she was angered by the very sight of one. Fortunately she had only a few encounters in her lifetime.
Nellie has recovered from the major effects of the bite, thank goodness.
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