Jasmine Has An Outing, Life With Dogs

Awareness of the outside world. NIH: Pet Dogs to the Rescue! Furry Friends Can Help Human Health. 2023.

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Photo repost [Dog Spa Day at the Barn]

Minions took Jasmine to visit the professional minion, i.e. veterinarian, to look into her plumbing issues.

For mobility, we brought her cart, see above. From truck to cart, roll into clinic, roll to office. The vet elected to examine her in situ rather than lifting her up to the exam table. Reverse and roll back to truck. Far from being pitiful, Jas sits up and watches the world go by. She wants to know where this mode of transportation has been all her life.

Verdict. Watching brief. She is not a candidate for invasive testing. It could be something dire in her waste disposal system, or it could be an increased likelihood of infection due to inactivity. Half of the symptoms pointed one way; half pointed the other way.

I am inclined toward the latter diagnosis. Infection is not good but is better than dire. Not only is it better news but it is consistent with her behavior. You know those videos you see of dogs with hind-end carts? You will not see Jas in one. Yes, she has hind-end issues. No, she does not explore her mobility search space. She has embraced the sedentary lifestyle.

Rock on, Duchess.

Previous dog posts. [Jasmine & Rose archives]

Onwards!
Katherine

Interim Report On The Western Project

Awareness of the outside world. “NPR reports on a very exciting improvement in the fentanyl epidemic … There are still too many, obviously. But this sharp decline is unprecedented and it’s very good news.” Digby’s’ Hullaballo: A Little Good News To Brighten Our Day, September 18, 2024.

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I don’t think Western is going to be a miracle fix for Rodney. It was a longshot, but a dog can dream. We still have the saddle on loan. We will keep the concept under consideration.

At the beginning of the ride, he strides along as if he is more comfortable. As the ride goes along, his anxiety builds. He does the same on the lunge.

Next idea. Bareback. See what Rodney is like with no saddle at all. See if I can do a better job than last time. “Getting off was a bit of a sideshow.” [Sans Saddle]

Although, now that I look back over the posts, I am reminded that Rodney is not a fan of being ridden bareback.

“He thinks it’s weird. Rodney doesn’t do weird.” [Looking Forward] 2017

“Does Rodney like bareback? Noooooo.” [In Which We Learn Things But Not The Things We Were Setting Out to Learn] 2022

Clearly, I have blocked this from my memory.

Previous Western Posts

[Guess My Mystery Project]
[The Mystery Project Is … drumroll …]
[First Western Purchase]
[First Western Lesson]
[First Western Ride]
[Western Saddle Observations]

For Your Amusement

[No Stirrups, No Tack]

Onwards!
Katherine

The Benefits, Morning Walk Stories

Awareness of the outside world. Been taking a bit of a news break lately. Dunno if the news is worse or if my coping ability is. Seems like everything is written for maximum clicks, particularly headlines. Sometimes they barely match the article. But then, news as drama is not new. You furnish the pictures. I’ll furnish the war. Same as it ever was. But I digress.

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My knees getting better.

They’ve never been consistently bad. I’m a long way from needing knee surgery. But there have been moments when my knees have voiced concerns.

A while back – 2013 maybe – I was crouched down on the ground putting a show boot on the hoof of a five-gaited horse. I was new to Saddlebreds and had never done this before. Turns out, the boot was the easy part. Getting back up, not so much.

A few years later, in church for a funeral service. A line of us sitting in a pew together. I was at one end. A friend with even worse knees was at the other end. We knelt to pray. When the priest finished, the youngsters between us all hopped back up into their seats. I was still kneeling. So was my friend. Down the length of the pew, we shared a look, ‘Well, I guess we live here now.’

We have now been walking every morning for well over a year. I have noticed that my knees are better. Or, more accurately, not noticed that they are bad. I recently realized it has been a while since I’ve been turtled on the ground. I can hunker down to help with the dog’s eye meds and stand back up without feeling that I need a forklift.

Consistent exercise. Imagine that.

Onwards!
Katherine

Rodney’s Dinner Table

Awareness of the outside world. “Response is local. (Knox)” Vox: Is FEMA messing up? An expert weighs in. How to know when a disaster response is going well and when it’s going poorly. Irfan, Oct 8, 2024.

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Rodney’s new dinner table.

Rodney is more comfortable with his dinner dish off the ground. Our previous effort was a clean muck bucket with a stool inside. Worked for meals, but hard to clean since the bucket had to be tied to the wall. This one is higher and less tippy.

Onwards!
Katherine

Heart Of Gold Mural, Art

Awareness of the outside world. Museum of Graffiti, The World’s First Museum Dedicated to Graffiti. Miami FL, USA.

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Heart Of Gold Mural, 10 Ct South, Birmingham AL, USA, October 2024

“A dynamic duo spray painting the USA out of our #skoolie #beastsoftheeast
#fiftystateschallenge” Instagram, @menaceresa

“Menace Two and Resa Piece are a graffiti artist couple from New York City that strive to use the most positive aspects of graffiti and street art to create murals to uplift the world. They are currently traveling the United States in their shuttle bus conversion, painting free murals for communities and trying to spread their message of love, hope, and knowledge of self through their artwork.” Menace & Resa Studios: About.

I’ve been told there is a protocol to graffiti. I certainly don’t want to step on any toes. I figure that since they have an Instagram for this project, they are good with publicity. Instagram, @menaceresa: Heart Of Gold

Onwards!
Katherine

Turning Yourself into a Character, Personal Narrative Assignment #2, Class #3

🛸🛸🛸

Placement Officer: We’ve found a human match for your recon mission to the planet. Synchronizing your brain patterns will allow you to observe without the individual being aware of you. They will continue to act freely.

Scout: I am excited for this opportunity and hope to make the hive proud.

Placement Officer: Naturally. This is the image of the individual. Do you have any questions?

Scout: Why is the hair two-tone?

Placement Officer: It’s called going grey. Human hair changes pigmentation as the human ages. There is a large industry involved in denying this fact. Research says this individual has been going grey since the age of 19.

Scout: Is that why this one does not participate in the ritual discoloration?

Placement Officer: So it would seem, although many in the proximate location do participate. The individual appears to have brought social behaviors from previous locations to the current one. This is one of the things we would like you to gather data on.

Scout: The legs look strong.

Placement Officer: This individual often walks in pointless circles. Since you will be able to observe the brain patterns, you will help us understand the purpose of this activity. Research says this individual grew up in (checks notes) New York City. This area has a greater share of public transportation than other conurbations with the geographical polity. The use of buses above and below ground entails a large amount of concommitent pedestrian activity. Perhaps walking is an form of exercise the individual feels comfortable with.

Scout: The arms are not as well-developed as the legs.

Placement Officer: Yes. Aside from walking, there is an extreme lack of sports on the schedule. If there is any exercise, it is methodical and individual, such as riding a bicycle. The lack of group melees or sudden darting movements gives us hope that we will be able to maintain a good connection between the brain patterns. Dropping out can be disorienting.

Scout: For which one of us?

Placement Officer: Mostly for you. The individual may notice a change, rather like the feeling of losing a train of thought or forgetting why you walked into a room. Humans do it all the time, even without having one of us along.

Scout: That fact that no harm will come to the subject both strengthens my peace and gives us better data.

Placement Officer: Your attitude is both admirable and correct. To continue along the arms. You can see from the line of the shoulders, an indication of time spent hunched over books and keyboards. Observers have seen ongoing attempts to remember to stand or sit straight but the effort generally lasts until the next page or the next paragraph.

Scout: Speaking of keyboards, the fingernails look very short. Is that to facilitate typing? Not that humans have an sort of respectable hand equipment. (Buffs talons against body covering. Regards proudly.)

Placement Officer: No, the short fingernails are from biting, or more accurately these days, from picking at or clipping. This individual keeps nail clippers in several locations to trim any pointy bits. This appears to limit the actual fingernail gnawing.

Scout: Isn’t that a bad habit, a childish one even?

Placement Officer: Our analysts are divided. One half thinks the prevalence of nail clippers is a sign of maturity. A way of dealing with the tendency without tearing the nails down to a damaging level. The other half thinks the habit itself is a sign of weakness. Just quit already. Hand care is an important part of self-presentation. (Flexes own hands. Extends talons. The middle hand has talons significantly longer than those of the Scout. This does not go unnoticed.) The nail problem will work in our favor, as an indication of a busy internal monologue. Any bleedover from us won’t get noticed in the static that is already going on.

Scout: The individual seems pale.

Placement Officer: As you know, humans come in a limited range of colors, all variations on the theme of beige. Pinkish. Brownish. Yellowish. They seem to get quite excited about the differences, which is ridiculous given the chromatic range of the rest of the lifeforms on the planet. This individual comes from northern genetic stock, which they call “white” but as you can see is closer to pink.

Scout: There is a large amount of localized activity.

Placement Officer: Yes. For a non-sporting type, the individual is quite kinetic. Moves around. Waves the hands and arms. Talks a lot. Shows teeth. Interestingly, a human smile signifies joy, while in the human’s closest relative, the chimpanzee, a “smile” signifies fear.

Scout: The chimes are ringing. I must go prepare myself.

Placement Officer: May the spirit of the hive protect you.

🛸 🛸 🛸

Afterword

Classroom detail.

Assignment #2. Turning Yourself into a Character. Use physical description to portray background & character traits. Target length 750. Example, Michigan Quarterly Review: “Portrait of My Body,” by Phillip Lopate.

Result. More science fiction than was intended, I suspect. (Look at me being extra fictional!). A) I was having trouble finding a way into this. B) Not submitted. Half the class gets critiqued each time, which means we are only scheduled to hand in two of the four assignments. We are on the honor system for what we chose to do with the non-submitted assignments. The joys of continuing education. So, I took a bit of a turn. I figured you wouldn’t mind.

Evaluation. Pluses. Met word count. Wrote something. Always a yay. Minuses. Only moderately fulfilled the assignment. Lopate had more concrete details and more storyline. He managed to work in the color of his eyes and his religion. My stayed superficial, arms, legs, and so on. And, once more, the writing was expository rather than narrative. One character speaking in a thinly disguised info dump. The thing is, I like info dumps. I’ll happily read an entire book on the history of X, without a plot in sight. But I digress.

Mine has less genitalia than Lopate, which I’m counting as a plus.

Class posts
[What Is Personal Narrative, Thoughts Before A Class]
[Why I Write, Personal Narrative Class #1]
[What Is The Story Of Your Name? Personal Narrative Assignment #1, Class #2]

Onwards!
Katherine