Tag Archives: snow

Took to my bed

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Last night, I crawled into bed immediately after supper and stayed there, armed with valium, naproxen and an acupressure mat determined to get my back under control.  Recently it has been deteriorating and last night was the final straw that literally broke this camel’s back!

Come morning and I felt rested but tentative knowing full well what is the trigger.  Lugging things.

Still, it was pretty outside as there had been a lot of snow fall, with some huge drifts too.

Impressive!

And I couldn’t get to my shed to finish my Christmas Lego either.

The horses and ponies all went out after their big breakfast and spent their day eating or asking to come back inside.  We ignored them.  Pepper buggered off to the neighbours *** sigh ***.

Meanwhile, I spent my day in bed, lying flat (no extra pillows) with my Painpod zapping away and a variety of visitors and did nothing, absolutely nothing.  Gosh, it was nice.  I just rested, played a few games on my iPad and listened to the radio.

We don’t have the heating on during the daytime so I was well wrapped up and under the covers keeping nice and warm.

And I had a hot water bottle on my lap, which confirmed that Monster was a heat-seeking missile in another life.

Anyway, a day in bed, getting up only to do the animals, has been lovely. I shall get up and cook supper later, do the last check of the big shed inhabitants and go back to bed to continue creeping through the Great Pyramid of Eygpt looking for clues……  so far I’ve only managed to leave my tent!

More Snow

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We’re bored of this now.  The constant gale force north wind brings a wind chill of around minus ten and then there are the blizzards and drifting.  There is more snow to come too.  Horrible.

But today everyone went outside for most of the daylight hours as it got steadily nastier.  We put rugs on the old horses and ponies as well as Tiddles.  After lunch, I found everyone huddling in and around the containers for shelter so I shouted and they all came running and quickly went inside.  These days no one mucks around.  No naughty little ponios now.

Having Flossie here has been a god-send too.  She is beyond helpful. I owe her so much for this.  Above and beyond any call of duty.  She is tireless – mucking out, lugging water, rugs on, rugs off.  All the heavy stuff while trying to preserve my back which is putting up huge complaints.  I am even considering epidural steroid injections again, so things must be bad.

There is more snow coming but as long as we have a good stock of food for the animals, we will manage.

I can’t see anyone getting out soon, though I might try and make a dash to town next week if I can.

And Pepper has a vet appointment on Monday – dodgy ears situation.  She is having treatment so it is really only a check-up.

Still, we have an excellent supply of hot chocolate and Christmas choccie, so we hoomans are doing pretty well.

I am currently writing this with a hot water bottle on my lap, hand-warmers and a heated back belt as well.

An observation:  There is no such thing as waterproof work gloves. They are all liars and mountebanks.

Blizzard

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After a good breakfast, Floss and I put everyone outside without their rugs because they are all:-

  • very floofy and fat
  • they can move around better, roll and play
  • and it wasn’t that bad, weather-wise.  The sun was shining.

So Iacs spent his valuable daylight hours by himself standing by the gate looking hopeful that I would return.

Everyone else was in the field digging and eating grass perfectly happily.

 

Iacs was now in a severe depression.  I thought it was because I hadn’t rugged him up.  I mean, don’t get me wrong, it was cold, but I thought they all have a good covering of fat and long fur and are built for this.

So obviously I gave in and opened the gate.

I don’t like anyone being miserable.

I gave Iacs a bucket of hay replacer, because it is easy to eat and I had it ready.  Iacs stuffed his fat floofy face not even coming up for air.  I also put his rug on.

Meanwhile Haakon and Kolka had spied that Iacs had vanished. You can almost feel the resentment from here.

And then everyone turned up to look resentful too.

Once finished, I shoved Iacs back out to rejoin all his friends hoping everyone would now be ok.

Not even two hours later, we had a huge blizzard. It was vile. So Flossie opened the big shed doors, and I opened the gate.  All the horses and ponies came in as fast as they could.

Even Fivla showed some speed.

So they have all gone to bed an hour or so early and are tucked up with food and water in their nice warm shed.  The hens and ducks also went to bed early and I haven’t seen any sheep.  When I go out again later, I think they should be home by then. I left their gate open and shouted a bit but honestly we couldn’t see to the fence as the blizzard was so bad.

Cold Snap

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I must say that the horses and ponies are surviving remarkably well in this winter weather.  Their little faces are always very happy to see me and my buckets in the morning. There are no signs of shivering or misery from anyone, which is very good and a relief. You know me, I do like to worry.

Outsde is cold – it snows, rains, sleets and hails possibly all at the same time and mostly when I am outside poo-picking.  I tried silk liners in my gloves but it made no difference really to my poor fingers.  I gave up poo-picking when it turned into a blizzard.  There are limits.

While the horses/ponies were eating I examined Kolka’s coat and noticed that their winter coats are doing their job – the guard hairs are working.

And then at the side all the fur goes into points.

While the inner coat is completely dry and it is the same for everyone.  One very good reason why I don’t bathe my horses and ponies – the grease in their coats is keeping them warm and dry.

Little Pepper is not dissimilar.  She never feels the cold or gets actually wet through.  Everything just bounces off her apart from disgusting things she can roll in.

Ted, on the other paw, is made of very cheap nylon.  So today, before the dog walk, I put on his coat.  What a diffference that made.

Ted went running off enjoying every minute of the walk, even when the weather turned very nasty.  He didn’t even turn tail and run for home like he usually does.

Lambie just went back to bed.

And here is Ted looking very smart in his padded coat and no, we don’t think he looks like a chav (though we do).

 

So Much Better

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Well, it’s been a week, I think, of running around after Haakon with buckets to soak his hoof in, injections, painkillers, food twice a day.  I am exhausted but at last I can say (still praying, though) that hopefully he is on the mend.

And because today was sunny, I took off Haakon’s rug and saw that all the tucked up’ness from the pain and misery had gone.  I have my old fat boy back.

The dragon of loathing and I-hate-everyone curmudgeon has returned too, as it should be.  So I am hugely relieved and the big injections (antibiotics) have come to an end. I am also reducing the painkillers and from tomorrow Haakon will be down to one bucket as all this running around after him is killing me and he doesn’t need it now.  I also don’t want him to become used to two meals a day, please.

Though some *** cough *** Monster *** cough *** have breakfast, a snack for Ted’s eye treatment,  a snack for the dog walk even if non-participating, tea, a snack, supper and lastly midnight feast because that’s the routine we’ve been trained to.  Now I write it down, it does sound rather a lot.

Anyway, the lovely day vanished later and the temperature lowered.

When I had finished packing veg at Turriefield, I went outside to go home and was confronted by this……

Snow!  Ugh.

I dashed home and got Haakon’s bucket ready.  He was waiting and I pushed him through the garden gate to eat by himself.

I gave the vultures some little carrots to shut them up.  They all have a very good covering (ribs? what ribs!) and this is why I let them get fat over the summer.  I need constant reminding not to go rug-mad.

Anyway, I am hugely relieved.  I think there is light at the end of this tunnel.