Posted on in Aging, Faith, medical treatment

Yikes!

It was seventy degrees some days last week but the snowballs here just keep flying! On the date of my birthday Bob was walking our Lucky and she was attacked by a pit bull. Bob kicked the dog and punched it several times in the face while the owner tried to get it under control. It had gotten out of it’s choke chain. He arrived back at home with Lucky limping, bleeding from her shoulder and her eye. The only way we could pick her up was in a towel and even then she cried out in pain.

I called my daughter to tell her we were going to the vet. Before she heard my news she enthusiastically said, “Happy Birthday!!” I replied, “Not yet.”

After multiple phone calls we got her in to the vet. Due to Covid we had to wait in the car. They sedated her and did x-rays to see if she had broken bones or punctured organs. She did not. Shaved the shoulder bite and stitched it up. Two groin bites. Her bleeding eye was so startling! We went home with 3 Rx and eye drops for her. The vet said, “This is one lucky dog!” I am certain that Bob saved her life as much as the vet. He had flashbacks of the incident for several days.

So yes, I was a little distracted last week. SARCASM! Majorly distracted. She would barely let us touch her for the first 2 days. Her pain was great. She did not jump on furniture (which she is allowed to do) and was almost in a stupor of shock and pain.

After the first 5 days or so we did offer her a car ride without her harness due to the stitches in her shoulder. Just attached her collar to the car cord. She is getting spoiled with hot dogs since we put her pills in hot dog pieces twice a day. She is healing nicely.

We are hoping and believing the vet will have nothing but good news this week. Sadly, she will have to get boosters on her shots as the other dog was NOT up to date on his shots. We have asked the owner to remove the dog from the neighborhood by next weekend. The owner will also pay the vet bills for Lucky from this incident.

Not the birthday that Bob had planned for me. He did however have my favorite cake already made before this happened! Lyn’s Cream of Coconut cake. Delicious!!

Maybe in another post I will show comparison photos of her before and after injuries. I am so grateful we still have our little timid beagle!

“Whoever is righteous has regard for the life of his beast, but the mercy of the wicked is cruel.”

Proverbs 12:10
Posted on in Aging, Faith

Thank Someone

Yes, I want to thank my God and Father for a long and wonderful life. The sacrifice of Jesus for our sins. The resurrection that goes beyond my comprehension though I hope to participate in that same resurrection. For a terrific marriage of over 50 years!!! For two great children, now adults. For three grandkids whom I love. For our Lucky-to-be-alive dog. Maple trees, daffodils, seasons, all the myriad of things I get to write about. Friends, old and new.

Posted on in Aging, Amazing Creations, Faith, Marriage and Memories, Nature, Traveling

And then …

When we first arrived in Colorado, Bob had taught the family how to drive the mule and the ATVs. They especially liked those ATVs! One evening Bob was going out into the meadow with Emily and Ellie on the ATVs. He really wanted me to go as his passenger. So I agreed and off we went. Through the meadow and the hard to open gate, on to the next meadow.

  • Aspen and pine
    Aspen and pine
  • "Branch-hand" LOL
    “Branch-hand” above LOL
  • Prairie dog holes
    Prairie dog holes
  • Wild snapdragons, I believe
    Wild snapdragons, I believe
  • Moments before the big mishap!
    Moments before the big mishap!

So we were tooling around the meadow, taking in the sights and even doing selfies! So unlike us old folks.

We came to a gully-ditch. Emily got off their ATV and guided Ellie how to drive through it. We came over and they assured Bob that he, too, could drive through it. As the passenger, I never even saw the thing. After Emily gave Bob instructions everyone began hollering at me to “HOLD ON!!!” There is a steel bar that runs around the passenger area of the ATV. I suppose it is designed to tie down cargo, but also provides hand holds for a passenger. So I held on and Bob drove into the ditch. Little did I know I was about to join the Camp Grenada group.

As he drove down the black bar I was holding to came up and banged me in both elbows. I instinctively let go. At which point I proceeded to get a whiplash from my groin to top of my head. We made it to the other side. I was not thrown off the ATV. I cried in pain, shock and surprise at being hurt. I composed myself after a couple minutes and we continued. We reached another gully as we headed for home. As they debated how to cross I insisted Bob just let me off! I began to walk for home.

They got across that gully and I got back on. We made it home. Both my elbows turned dark purple. The ATV had hit my back across the bottom of my shoulder blades and along my lower back. Lots of pain that night. Went to bed with pillows under both elbows, neck and any other place that hurt.

I moved very slowly the next day and the day after that. I missed posts here the last few weeks because of doctor appointments, x-rays, physical therapy and finally an MRI. Determination is I have more arthritis in my spine than previously. As far as anyone can tell nothing is broken. Bone bruises on elbows may take a long time to go away. No results on MRI yet. From what I have read whiplash can also take a long time to heal. Oy! soft tissue, please heal.

So our Camp Grenada experience continued. One friend said it sounded like a bad movie. But you know what? It was a beautiful place. We were so grateful to be able to take family and friends there. We likely can never go back because of breathing difficulties. Overall, it was a grand way to celebrate 50 years of marriage. Betty is finally out of the boot and did not have to have surgery for her broken ankle. Bob;s wounds are all healed up. We think his knee is not torn again. Time will tell!

My dear friend, Betty, remembered this saying and I will adopt it for myself.

“Growing old gracefully means letting go of the things you can no longer do and rejoicing in the things you can still do.”

Ah! Grandeur of Yellow Ponderosa Pine right outside your window!

 It is good to give thanks to the LORD, to sing praises to your name, O Most High;  to declare your steadfast love in the morning, and your faithfulness by night.  For you, O LORD, have made me glad by your work; at the works of your hands I sing for joy.  How great are your works, O LORD! Your thoughts are very deep!

Psalm 92:1-2,4-5 (NRSV)
Posted on in Memories, Nature, Special Event, Traveling

Other Sites in the Area

There was a one room school house basically surrounded now by cow pastures!! The sign reads “Debs School was attended during summer grades 1-8. Constructed 1930.” When our son-in-law, Dave, spoke with the Colorado water man who came driving past the cabins one day he said he went there as a child. Dave really wanted to go inside but the man did not who to contact or if that was even possible.

Always when returning to the ranch one must unlock and open the gate. Let driver though and then close and re-lock gate. My sister had taught me the how-tos on that over 20 years ago. Here I am doing the chore while Bob drove the vehicle.

My sister told us to be on the look out for their flock of mountain bluebirds. I saw many in the meadows while Bob drove back and forth to Pagosa Springs, but never could catch a photo. They are known to migrate in flocks of 50 or so. Below is a photo I found on the internet. I was delighted seeing so many together!

Mountain bluebird near Tower Jct; Jim Peaco; April 2013; Catalog #20016d; Original #IMG_9980

I included the scrubby photo below so you could see the hostile environment the thistle was growing in. Certain Bob and Dan could have gotten better photos. Remember I was shooting from inside the vehicle. If we had stopped for every photo we wanted we might not be home yet! This is musk thistle and considered an invasive weed. That color does POP! though.

“Oh, and you must eat at Kip’s!” instructed Paula. My sister was afraid the pandemic might have closed down one of her favorite restaurants, Kip’s. They were able to survive. Bob and I split an enormous green chili burger there! Wow! what a great feast! And GOOD guacamole not loaded with raw onion.

I did not eat the jalapenos!

Posted on in Aging, Amazing Creations, Faith, Nature, Spiritual growth

A Slow Hike

We drove to a trailhead and hiked a while with Emily and her girls. It was slow going as it is hard for people with compromised lungs to hike at 8,000 Feet.

Some of the aspens were just beginning to turn their bright yellow. “Quaking Aspens” fascinate me. They remind me of the Bible verse Isaiah 55:12

You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.

So here are the old folks hiking with the young’uns, who were actually far ahead of us. Our daughter though did decide to stay at our side at all times.

The trail is basically between our shoulders!

Since the trail did not go where the girls wanted, we went separate ways back at the parking lot. As Bob drove the other side he pulled over for these photos of the canyon the stream had carved.

We could never see where the trail we had been hiking went! Oh well. It was a lovely day and we enjoyed the walk.

Posted on in Amazing Creations, Faith, Traveling

Bob Liked Stars, too!

See this lovely cabin?

This is the “Dot” where we moved after the Cookseys went home. See the lovely landscaping? the reflection on the storm door? the huge poles around the porch with one right at the stairs?

Bob was also getting excited about the stars. One night I was already in bed reading. He went outside to look at the stars and decided there were too many lights on in the cabin. So he went in and turned them off. He thought he knew just where the pole and the stairs were. I had left a flashlight right at the door, but he never noticed it. He never even thought to grab one.

He fell off the porch and thanks be to God he did NOT crack his head on those large stones!! I thought I heard him cry out. I called to him. No answer. I called louder; no answer. So I went running to the front door just in time to see him coming through the door dripping blood from his leg and arms.

I am so thankful my sister keeps a first aid kit in each cabin! I cleaned him up, got him bandaged and put to bed with some Tylenol. His right knee was already bruising. And sadly, that is the same knee upon which he has had meniscus repair – TWICE!

Next day he was stiff and sporting many bruises. We were so thankful he had NOT hit his head. We were too far away from civilization for emergency medical care. I decided I should increase my prayers for safety for the family for the remainder of this trip! Yikes. “Here I am at, Camp Grenada!”

Now his gashes and bruises have healed up. He has a new scar on his leg to remember Colorado! Those stars were lovely, though.

 He counts the number of the stars; He gives names to all of them.  Our Lord is great, vast in power; His understanding is infinite.

Psalm 147:4-5 HCSB

 Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD rescues them from them all.

Psalm 34:19 NRSV
Posted on in Amazing Creations, Traveling

Another Link to Dan’s Photos

I wrote earlier that I was fascinated with the stars.

Dan wrote about the stars and Betty’s accident in his post on September 18th. Enjoy the photos! Click on the blue underlined words and choose open in another tab.

Last Colo

Posted on in Traveling

After the Falls, the Fall

We were having a delightful time! We all had breakfast in our cabins. The “Minor” house is really the major house. It has the largest dining table, best equipped kitchen and easily room for all 8 of us to eat lunch and dinner together. Cooking was on a rotational basis and as mom used to say we had “food for an army.”

When we tried to hike to Piedra Falls we turned back because the trail was so muddy and downhill. We decided amongst ourselves that discretion was the better part of valor.

We returned and were doing really well until a patch of loose gravely stones caught Betty’s right foot. She went down and cried out. She thought it was a bad sprain, even though her foot had almost touched her shin when she landed. We let her rest for a minute on the trail. Dan and Bob got her upright to see if she thought she could walk/hobble. I took Jessie’s leash while they took Betty’s arms, guarding her side by side. I thanked goodness we were really close to the end of the trail. Would have been so much worse had we been further from transportation!

We drove her back to their cabin in the “Mule.” Dan got her situated on the sofa with ice and medication and elevation. He came to the Minor house to get lunch foods to take back. Dan went to the wood shed and found a stick to help her walk. We made certain they had dinner and stopped by afterwards to be sure she was okay. She looked as if she was in considerable pain.

Next morning the Cookseys decided to head back to Albuquerque and get her checked out at their usual medical clinic. The bad news was Betty actually broke her tibia at the ankle. Ouch!! Yes, she needed medical attention!

Here she is waiting on the porch and saying good-bye while we loaded their car.

Like I have said we were more like the “Honeymooners” TV show, even though we stayed in the “Honeymoon” cabin.” Do you remember the song from 1963 about a kid who went to camp? Our bodily welfare turned out to be like some of the kids at Camp Granada.

Since theirs was the nicest cabin with good wifi, I proceeded to wash the sheets. Bob and I packed our things, left the obvious mice behind, and moved to the “Dot,” which had less obvious mice. As my sister told us, those mice live there year round. We just visit occasionally and set traps when they get inside!

Posted on in Amazing Creations, Faith, Traveling

Oh the Stars!

 The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.  Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge.  They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them.  Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.

Psalm 19:1-4a (NIV2011)

One thing I dearly wanted to see in Colorado was the night sky without all the light pollution of Greater Cincinnati area. Being older, and full of excitement, we went to bed at our usual early hour. The first night when I awoke, I glanced out the window from the Honeymoon cabin. Even without my glasses I could see stars. With my glasses, I was absolutely amazed.

The next evening we went outside before bed, but it was not quite as dark as after midnight and not as impressive. At 1 AM I tried a different window, but it was not as startling as the first one. Still too cold to go traipsing about in my nightie. And, alas, too tired to try a camera. Bob had assured me that I would need a good camera with a long (or was it slow?) exposure. My iPhone 8+ just would not get it.

Our friend, Dan Cooksey, captured it for me! Click on the link below to open his blog. He wrote about it On September 9th at https://danandbettysplace.blog/2020/09/20/stars-in-the-heavens/

And he has a gorgeous portrait of Jessie the traveling dog as his blog banner. Hope you enjoy the words and photo from one of our “besties.”

Posted on in Memories, Nature, Traveling

Hike to Piedra Falls, Almost

Here we are loaded onto the “Mule” for the short drive to Piedra Falls. Then we planned to hike. And Jessie is in the back with Betty and Dan. She seemed to think it was a pretty cool ride.

Bob, the Goof Man driver!

Just realized I may not have a face-on photo of Jessie. Hmm …

Aspens among the pines

This was one of those crystal clear days that made you take a deep breath and be thankful!

Now for someone afraid of heights and hiking ahead by herself this seemed very daring – and I did it!

The river below
River in the shadows

I kept climbing higher and looking back. Bob had stopped earlier due to breathing troubles. Then Betty and Dan stopped so she could catch her breath. I passed people with dogs and told them about the Golden Retriever behind me. And then uh-oh. Trail turned muddy and slippery.

Having fallen at the end of a trial in Smoky Mountain National Park I was reluctant to proceed.

Then Betty and Dan arrived and said no, not for them. Then to my surprise Bob arrived! and he agreed not a good idea. So we were close, but the trail told us not to go further. This must be the lower falls?

Using the telephoto we could glimpse the falls, or at least the first falls.

No idea how much further past the downhill mud trail. I was delighted Bob had made it this far. Learned later it was quite a struggle for him, lung-wise.

The actual falls according to http://pagosa.com/adventureguide/piedra-falls-hike/ “The falls are impressive, thundering off a cliff into a V-shaped canyon of huge boulders. The hike takes about 15 to 30 minutes each way.”

And then the trip began to take a turn towards Camp Grenada.