I'm just here for the garden

I can always count on Gigi to pose for a picture.

I've come to the conclusion that most of the good things about the South are botanical. It's a great place to be, or to grow, most forms of plant life. Magnolias, crepe myrtles, azaleas, and tulip poplars thrive around here, along with bugs, spiders, snakes, and their human counterparts, the bible-thumping, gun-toting, mouth-breathing rednecks that make the South largely coterminous with the Bible Belt. So-called "southern hospitality" is largely mythical, but the same heat and miserable humidity that makes people stupid and lazy is ideal for a wide variety of plant life.

This is a crepe myrtle that I planted when
we moved here, about 16 years ago.
I think I'll cut it back this year.

A magnolia blossom from a tree near our house.

The garden has been really well this year and still looks really good. A couple things have finished and a few others have overgrown. I'm going to trim some of them back because there's still plenty of time for new sprouts and blooms before frost.

This clump of white crepe myrtle were originally
planted along the front porch. I moved them, not really
expecting them to live. It turns out that it's actually
pretty hard to kill crepe myrtle.

The Danish Girl(s)

Sunday broke early with someone needing to get up and go outside. That's how many of our days begin. I did the morning dog routine and then we ate "breakfast", consisting of a brisket I had cooking in the crock pot overnight. With a full stomach and still lacking a loading dose of coffee, I went back to bed in hopes of a quick nap. As soon as I hit the bed I was joined by Gigi, Maya, and the big girl, Khaleesi.

Maya and Khaleesi

I had been keeping Khaleesi off the bed because it was a habit I didn't want to encourage. Gigi has always been enough dog in bed all by herself. But this morning was Khaleesi's last morning with us -- she had an adopter coming to meet her in the afternoon, so I said WTF. She snuggled like it wasn't her first time at the bedroom rodeo.

We went to meet her adopters early Sunday afternoon. They were prior adopters from Green Dogs and they brought their deaf and blind Dane, Blossom, along to meet Khaleesi. The two girls sniffed and seemed fine together. I expect they will become good playmates and I hope that Khaleesi will help Blossom navigate the big dark and and soundless world she inhabits.

Gigi may not miss her, but she was gracious in sharing her
realm with Khaleesi for a couple weeks.

Monday morning also started early and it also ended with a Dane adoption, but instead of going back to bed after breakfast, Maya and Athena and I went out for a five mile hike. We got back home without much time to spare before Athena's adopter arrived. I have known the adopters for nearly as long as I've been doing rescue and have adopted two dogs to them previously. They live in Georgia now, but I can't hold that against them.

Meeting the green dog at Green Dogs Unleashed.

I had all but forgotten that Athena came to Green Dogs because she has a heart murmur. We had that checked out and it was determined that nothing needed to be done for it, but it still exists and it's a factor that could have made her less desirable for many potential adopters. However, one of the spouses who adopted Athena is a cardiac nurse who understood what it did and didn't mean.

Although nothing in life is certain and there are no guarantees, the adopters understood that this should not prevent Athena from living a happy and normal life full of love and happiness for however long it is.

Athena is certainly full of love and overflowing with happiness and joy.

I'm going to miss both these girls and our house seems empty with only nine dogs tonight. It was a pleasure and a privilege to be their fosters, their bridge to their future.

Exercise

Saturday was an unusually comfortable day around here, thanks to the storm off the coast that brought us clouds and wind but no rain.  I took advantage of it and took Maya out for a 7+ mile hike. That was followed by pasture time and mowing with Theo, Toquima, and Max.

The storm was past and summer was back on Sunday but I did another hike, just 4 miles this time, with Maya and Athena, followed by more mowing and pasture time with the same three boys.

Maya would walk with me to the ends of the
earth. Seven miles was nothing to her but I
made sure she had several water breaks and here
we stopped to sit on a bench, mostly for me.

It was Athena's first leash walk, I guess, but she did
pretty good. She saw horses for the first time and was
quite intrigued by them.

Athena was occasionally on top of
Maya or underneath my feet, but for
a first walk, it wasn't bad.

Theo the Great

Theo with ball in his mouth waiting
for me to throw another. That's
Toquima behind him, ready to run.

Toquima is with us until the end of this week. He's easier
to keep than most of our own dogs.

Toquima, Theo, and Max

Max has become more interested in the ball, but a stick
will still do. He just needs something in his mouth at all times.

Khaleesi follow up

Friday morning Khaleesi and I made an early trip to town for a quick follow up vet visit. They removed the bandage from her belly and it showed virtually no leakage from the incision. The vet looked at it and said it looked good.

You can't call her a backseat driver when her head is up
front, right? 

I had kept the cone on her, removing it only when I tried, unsuccessfully, to get her to eat. I took the cone off when we got to the vet's office and left it off on the drive home, during which she chewed it up. I still had Athena's cone at home, however, and have still been keeping it on her most of the time.

She took a little food when we got home from the vet visit; perhaps the excitement had stimulated her appetite. She continued to ignore canned food with pills hidden in it, so I gave up on that approach. I did get her to eat the antibiotics at least, but gave up on the Tramadol they had sent home for pain. That's a nasty tasting pill and her nose could spot it in anything.

By Friday evening she was acting much more normal again and she ate some dry food willingly, if not enthusiastically. She was hungry, but the nausea was still wearing off.

Saturday morning she was acting pretty bouncy again and ate like she wanted to, although still not as much as I wanted her to have. I got the antibiotics into her with peanut butter and at this point I'm not bothering with the Tramadol at all.

She's feeling better, and I'm glad. It means that she will be going to her new home soon and I'm glad about that as well. Athena should be moving out on Monday too.  I'll miss them both.

The setting sun peaks out under cloudy skies to light up the taller buildings in downtown
Richmond on Friday evening.

Moments later, the final rays of the day light up the clouds from below,
making them look like pink cotton candy.

I took in one of the final games of the Flying Squirrels' season in Richmond last night.
I couldn't care less about baseball, but I like to go once a year to drink overpriced beer and
eat junk food. When I've thought about it this year, it's been either too hot, I was too busy, or
the team was out of town. It all came together Friday evening though. The weather was perfect
and the sun and clouds made a nice light show. Don't ask me who won the game.

Dane Spay Day #2

Today was Khaleesi's turn at the vet. It went all right and she's back home tonight, but there seemed to be fluid in her lungs when they pulled the trach tube after surgery. They xrayed to check for pneumonia and I've got a course of antibiotics for her just to make sure. We spay and neuter so many dogs that I rarely worry about it, but it's still surgery and it's not without risks, especially for the females. It should have been done when she was younger. I expect her asshole former owners had hopes and dreams of breeding her.

She was good throughout the process, however, and I was glad about that. She weighed in at 111 pounds. She's home but still quite groggy and hasn't yet been interested in any food. I'll try again before bedtime, however, as I want to get the antibiotics and pain meds started.

I brought in the big Dane crate that I have thanks to Diesel's adopter, who bought the crate but never needed it. Diesel prefers the couch. Khaleesi will need to be kept quiet for a few days so I think the crate may come in handy, although I can also just isolate her in the kitchen by closing the gate to keep the other dogs out.

They said her incision was oozing a bit when I went to pick her up today, so they put a bandage on her, that's the yellow wrap around her belly. I'll be taking her back in tomorrow morning for them to re-check the incision, and then hopefully we can dispense with the bandage. I took the cone off when I offered her some food, but put it back on because we don't want her messing with that tonight.

Kind of a rough day for her, but she should be feeling better again soon and then she has a whole new life ahead of her. Athena is acting like she didn't have surgery just two days ago. I hope Khalessi recovers just as fast.