Sunrise after the storm.

Well it wasn't 20" of rain in twenty-four hours like they just had in Texas; but we are getting more moisture than we normally do in high desert this time of year. With the projections of massive drought in the southwest due to global warming, we have been planning and in a way, bracing ourselves for the difficulties to come. Instead, this is officially the wettest spring on record in New Mexico. That isn't going to sooth us into thinking we can stop looking for ways to harvest and store runoff water, or that we can stop thinning our portion of forest for health and fire safety.

Living in a valley nestled between high and rugged peaks, we have microcosms of weather. I often stand on the deck and watch intense thunderstorms just to the east of us, knowing they will pass us by without so much as a drop of rain. They are awe inspiring entertainment...the best show around. But if clouds begin rolling over the peaks above us to the west, close the windows and tie things down.

All afternoon yesterday, thunder rumbled and storms rolled by us traveling from the north and sliding just east of us. By nine I thought this series would miss us completely...until the crash that took out our power and left me groping for a lighter to start a kerosene lantern. I was already tired, I tend to be in bed by nine or earlier since I broke my wrist, so I tucked the dogs in and climbed up to bed to listen to the wind whip around the yurt and the sound of rain on the skin just above my head.

An interesting thing, because of the very high peaks above us to the west, our sunsets are vivid reflections we see to the east. By the way, I'll be leaving early in the morning for the Voice of the Horse Conference and won't be back till late Monday.

Life goes on...

I've crossed two important hurdles - I can touch my thumb and little finger together and I can type with two hands again. Big progress. I'm also spending about an hour a day in the workshop and have begun to get caught up on orders again. I am still wearing a pretty strong splint and I find myself unconsciously using my hand more and more without pain, so I think all is going well.

The electric fence had quit working again so this morning I got brave and made the trek up to walk the fenceline to see if it was grounded out somewhere. This is a difficult climb with two hands so I was a little anxious about the whole thing and made sure others knew what I was doing. I went slowly and carefully, following the mustang highways as much as possible and always being sure of where I was putting my feet. Still, this is a hard climb even under fully functional conditions.

Once you are up here though, how can you not be inspired by the view?

I had planned the hike early because my energy level is still fading hard in the afternoon. Plus I wanted to avoid the heat and horseflies. I must have done it right because I was just finishing up as the flies began making their assaults. And wouldn't you know? It was just dead batteries in the charger.

Celebrating by relaxing for a few minutes.

This morning I officially finished my presentation for the Voice of the Horse Conference. All I have left to do is burn the many photo images to a CD and get the whole package out in the mail tomorrow so the photos can be set up as a slide presentation. I struggled with it, especially typing with only one hand, but I am very happy with how it turned out. I really hope the conference goes well with its mission to create greater understanding of horses, and to raise much needed funds for the Tapestry Institute.

So here are some recent photos that have been sitting on the back burner, waiting for me to have a chance to post them...

The first time I saw this formation I didn't have a camera with me; but it inspired me to write 'Earth Bones'.

And this little guy is one of the still living residents of 'Splat Flats'.

How could I resist catching Ellie in yet another undignified position?

Sweet boys sharing breakfast.

And there you have it...

Frankenstein wrist with more than 40 little stitches. The stitches are out now and my wrist is covered with surgical super glue plus a layer of little adhesive strips I'm supposed to allow to fall off on their own. No water on it for 48 hours and then 'use it, use it, use it'. You asked for a photo and there it is!

And for your further entertainment, and since I exhausted my right hand typing my Voice of the Horse Conference presentation...

I'm so cute!

Look at my speckled tummy!

Watch me bite this pillow!

What's up with Ellie?

Nothing but a terminal case of cute!

Sorry to disappoint...


The x-rays of my wrist look great but Dr. Conescu decided to wait till Monday to remove the stitches. In a way I was glad because I really regretted not having the camera along when his assistant removed the surgical dressings and I saw all those tiny neat stitches winding their way up my arm! I'll bring it Monday so I can have a record of what I hope is the only surgery I'll ever have. In the meantime Janet, you'll have to settle for this...


Oh, and these...






Plus, Mike is on his way home again!

Back to tying my shoes with my teeth...

Just look at that sky! I took this at 8:00pm last night, standing out on the deck and wishing Mike hadn't been called out again. Besides tying my shoes with my teeth, taking photos isn't easy with only one hand either.

I only got to have Mike home for five days and it was not only soul-easing to have him here, I know I will be feeling how much of the daily chores he took care of. He left me with full feed bins and enough hay to last the horses a month though. The water holding tank is full and all of the other chores requiring two good hands are caught up. The only things we didn't get to, that had been planned for today, are the laundry and shopping. A neighbor and good friend is coming over today to help me with those things...I miss you Sweetie.

Be warned - I get the stitches removed from my wrist on Thursday. There will be photos!

Squirrely events.

The local ponderosa pine forest squirrel species is called Abert's Squirrel. They are a handsome pewter gray with a silver underbelly. Perhaps their most charming characteristic is long tufts of hair on their ears that give them a foxy appearance. These squirrels have an important function in the forest in that their diet is primarily pine nuts and young cones...forest birth control.


We have a number of woody nests up in the trees that we have enjoyed watching along with the squirrel arboreal highways that run between them. For the last four years, we have conveniently kept our horse halters hanging on a tree next to the gate. They are easy to find and grab, and up till this spring, nothing has bothered them. Unfortunately the owner of this nest decided chewed up horse halters and lead ropes were just the thing to line her nest with.

When I realized what was going on, I ran out and gathered up the halters to move them into the shop. The cheeky girl was so angry to lose her nesting material that she hung above my head barking at me! Miss Vannie made it quite clear she would have none of that insolence though and stood guard under the tree for a good part of the afternoon.

On the recovery issue, I've been dealing with a lot of chest congestion the last two days. They tell me this is common following surgery but the constant coughing s getting to me. I went to bed at eight last night with Tiger Balm smeared all over my chest...don't know how Mike managed to sleep with me. Ellie was in personal conflict too this morning when I got up, wanting to be close but overwhelmed by the fumes. I still can't seem to go longer than six hours without a pain pill either. I have an appointment next Thursday to have the stitches removed and then I'll be in a simple splint. I'm not sure I'm completely ready to see how the titanium wrist is going to look!

Guess I better post something...

I'm continuing to recover and just as I was advised, my pain level goes down more each day. True to my nature, I overdid things a bit yesterday by going with Mike to do all of the errands, plus I worked on the deck garden while he wisely took a nap. The result was me feeling feverish and chilled by evening. I got the message from my body, took a pain pill and went to bed at nine.

I think some of it is that I feel guilty about how exhausted Mike is. His face was one of the first I saw in the recovery room and certainly the one that made me happiest; but even through a pain filled haze I could see how beyond tired he was. So I guess my internal struggle is to stop being the care giver and to allow myself to be cared for...Mike does an excellent job of that when I let him.

PS - typing with one hand is still a major pain in the rear.

Home again.

Thanks everyone for your good wishes. Just got home a bit ago. Ortho-doc said the surgery went well and should heal fine. The pain in recovery is something I won't soon forget though! I didn't think to tell them demerol doesn't work on me and before I knew it, that's what they had injected and then couldn't give me much else. Significantly better today though, after a night on morphine, and I believe the worst is past. Now I'm going to go lie down...

The oh so NOT good news.

I sat patiently waiting in the ortho-doc's office this morning expecting that I was only there to get a cast on my wrist. Instead, he marched in and informed me I would be having surgery at 7:30 tomorrow morning. It turns out the small amount of displacement the ER doc saw didn't take into account that the end of the bone that goes into the joint is now at 30 degrees instead of ten. Not doing surgery to straighten and stabilize it with a plate would mean very limited function in my wrist.

I am completely unnerved since I have never had surgery of any kind and this has blindsided me. Mike is working on getting home and a good friend will get me into the hospital in the morning and feed the animals. Now I am trying to figure out what needs to get done before 6:00am and how on earth I will manage an overnight in the hospital.

The only good news about this is as long as there is no infection or healing problems, I should be feeling so good in three weeks that the biggest problem will be not over doing things.

And here's how it's going...

Ellie has become my role model. I admit that I'm mildly compulsive. Some would call it a strong work ethic and I think of it as self-employment survival training. In other words, it is very hard for me to not stay busy.

A thing of beauty. This morning I 'girded my loins' and drove the thirty miles into town to do the shopping. On the list was an electric can opener and this one is an efficient beauty. I know everyone was impressed by my creative solution; but trust me, this is much better. I also purchased lots of 'easy to fix with one hand' food items, made a stop by the vet's office to deliver a Thank You card to them from Vannie, and then on to the feed store. Hopefully I don't need to say the feed won't be unloaded by me!


Everyone I run into seems shocked I don't feel intimidated by carrying on up here with a broken wrist. Compared to managing during a severe snowstorm last winter, this seems like easy sailing. I've also been repeatedly asked how I broke it. It's odd that I hesitate to tell and it all goes back to my childhood, where anything I loved could disappear on a parental whim. An example is when I was four and we moved from Nevada. A large barrel of carefully packed and cherished stuffed animals, many of them handmade by my mother, didn't arrive at the new home. Why? My father gave them away because he didn't feel we needed them anymore. Remember, I was all of four.

As we grew older, my siblings and I felt compelled to lie anytime one of us was hurt in some horse related incident. The constant warning was, 'Don't tell Daddy! He'll sell the horses!' Even now, with a loving and supportive husband, my first instinct was to lie. But the truth is quite simple - I was mounting Besol from some old steps I used as a mounting block and they skidded out from under me, dropping me backwards on my left wrist. They also sent me skidding directly under Besol who, bless his sweet heart, never moved a muscle.


I wish I could say my pain level was minimal but it isn't. The ER doc and pharmacist gave me so many warnings about percoset I thought it would be quite effective. It isn't, at least not on me. And that is really increasing my anxiety about my appointment with an orthopedic doctor on Monday to set and cast it. When I made the appointment I asked if I would need someone to drive me home. I was assured that no, they don't administer narcotics at their office...great. I feel ever so much better knowing my bones will be set with nothing more than local anesthetics.


And so, with the shopping done and still hours before the evening chores, I am following Ellie's example by enjoying the deck...my feet up, ice on my arm, and a pain pill beginning to lighten the load just enough to let me enjoy the view. Yes, those are the boots I can still get close enough to my face to tie laces with the help of my teeth!

Beer and catnip...a bonding moment with Fionna.

I had to keep up with Janet who posted post-surgery photos of her belly...

No Fun Fotos today...

I had a very stupid fall yesterday and broke my left wrist. Of course Mike is feeling terrible that he can't be here to help me out; but in a way Sweetie, you are. You see, after living with you this long just a tiny bit of your problem solving skills must have rubbed off on me. I'm especially proud of this can opening solution I came up with this morning -

So far I have found a work-around for everything except tying my shoes...any suggestions out there? And I'm a really fast typist with two hands, not so much with one.

Update: well all those years of practicing yoga paid off...I discovered I'm still limber enough to get my foot high enough up to use my teeth to help tie my shoes! Life is definitely an adventure.