Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Oh, For Some Sleep

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It’s 9:30 in the morning and I sit here, barely awake. I had to drive to Connecticut to pick Don up yesterday and we both thought the best way to handle all the hours away from Riley would be to make the trip in the late evening and early morning hours when he’s asleep. So, still sleep deprived, I headed out around 8:30, arrived at 11:30 and with a quick stop for something to eat, we arrived home at close to 3 am. I slept for about an hour on the way home, but the cumulative effect of my lack of sleep has really knocked me for a loop.
Riley’s exhausted today – he had a restless night. Yesterday, in the middle of the afternoon, he got up by himself. I couldn’t believe my eyes. He walked around a lot and even tried eating his dinner in a standing position. He can’t maintain that for very long, but bless his heart, he gave it a try.
Oh, for some sleep.
We’re home safe and sound and the dogs are sleeping and it’s supposed to be 96 degrees today.
Happy Saturday.

Riley and Scout: The State of Things

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We’ve been parked in the living room for days now. Maneuvering down the two steps into the den is done rarely. We have the air conditioner in the kitchen running constantly and it keeps both rooms nicely cool.

I’ve covered the rug with a large mat. Since Riley can’t always control his bladder or bowels, it just makes life easier for all of us. Bless his heart, though, he still does his best to let me know he has to take care of business and, more often than not, we make it outside in time.

Riley can’t get up by himself anymore. There’s always hope that might change, but for now, when I sense he’s trying to get up, I run over and lift him. He can walk; sometimes with relative ease and other times with great difficulty. He falls over a lot. And when he does stand, he can’t stay upright too long unless he’s moving. When he walks around the room and keeps moving, he does a pretty good job of it. To help him with that, I bought these:

They’re unattractive, but who cares about that at the moment? They give him traction as he moves from the living room to the kitchen. They’ve really made a big difference.

His appetite is still very healthy. He loves to eat. And he drinks a lot of water. Occasionally – and when it happens, I feel a spurt of happiness  – he joins in on one of Scout’s extended barking arias. She barks, he barks, she barks, he barks. Just like they used to. When that happens, I jump right in and bark along with them.

Scout is concerned. Whenever I’m trying to maneuver him, she’s right in the midst of things; frankly, she gets in the way. But she knows, as dogs do, that he’s not well and it worries her.

This morning she’s in ‘the tunnel’.

It’s her safe place. She’s almost fully recovered, by the way. Every once in a while she stumbles and I notice that she lies down a bit more carefully than she used to. Otherwise, she’s back to her feisty, naggy, funny little self.

That’s where we are at the moment. As for me, I’m sleep deprived.  I go a little stir crazy at times. I wish I could open the windows. Some fresh air and the sound of birds would be welcome as I sit in the chair watching over my boy.

It’s not time yet. As Don says, we’ll know when it’s time. Right now, he’s sleeping peacefully. For that I am grateful.

Happy Friday.

The B List: Birds, Bees, and Bunnies

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I waxed rhapsodic about gardening the other day. But I’m wondering…the weather has been so extremely hot here for the past several days, have we already reached that part of the summer where we simply do all we can to keep the plants from wilting? I’m sure I’m not alone in my worry about the heat’s effect on my plants – especially the potted ones. I feel like I’m constantly filling and refilling the watering can in order to give those plants a good soaking. Have we gone into maintenance mode?

That pair of finches? I think they hang out in one of my hanging plants after dark. The other evening when it was almost, but not quite dark, I ran out to water the hanging plants. As I drew near, a bird flew out of the pot. Then as I lifted the can and started to water, another one startled me and flew right past my nose! I checked and there’s not a nest but they’re definitely camping out. No more watering at night. I’m sure I really startled them.

The birdbath continues to be the community pool. There’s almost constant activity there, especially during these oh-so-hot days. If left to my own devices, I could spend all day watching them. And the bunnies. I see one little one outside my kitchen window every day. And the bigger ones hang out in the back forty or near the shed. They freeze when they see the dogs. (I don’t blame them.)

You remember that Riley has been waking me up at 5:30 am because he’s thirsty and/or needs to pee? Well, he’s stopped doing that, but the irony is that I’m still waking up at 5:30. Like clockwork. Seriously sleep-deprived here.

Don and I have officially been together for 18 years – we met on the Fourth of July. And there were fireworks.

The winner of a copy of Darkness All Around is Missy Max. Send me an email with your address and I’ll forward it to the folks at TLC Book Tours. Congratulations!

Happy Thursday.

Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

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