Parched

With the current heat wave, but this time with little or no rain; the land and plants are extremely dry.  The lack of moisture and intense heat have left us all parched.  Working at the pool and ranch have been more difficult because our bodies must spend extra energy trying to cool down, which strains our heart and causes fast fatigue.  Our body faces a heavy physical burden to stay at a safe internal temperature.  Because our blood rushes to our skin to cool us down, our working muscles and brain get less oxygen and energy.  This makes us feel tired very quickly.
 

Saturday 9/5 - I woke at 3:30, with only three hours of sleep.  I always have company at my computer in the wee hours.  I finished and posted my blog, answered several emails, worked on some office tasks and then read till I got sleepy.  I did get a two hour nap mid morning, but then didn't have time for the gym. 

I worked a hot, exhausting shift at the pool, subbing for Vicky.  Joe had left on another trip, this time a weekend in Illinois for fantasy football and poker, so again I was stuck with the tasks of full doggy care.
 

Sunday 9/6 - The sermon at church tied in having a parched spirit to that of our current state of drought.  So many points were hitting home with me.

Signs of a Parched Spirit - 
Exhaustion: A deep sense of lethargy or spiritual fatigue. 
Irritability: Growing impatience, frustration, or a short temper. 
Isolation: Feeling disconnected from God or the people around you.  
Ways to Refresh Your Spirit -
Prayer: Reaching out to God in honest, quiet prayer restores inner strength.
Scripture: Reading daily verses brings "living water" and fresh perspective to a weary heart.
Worship: Listening to uplifting music or spending quiet time in reflection redirects focus away from daily stress.

Before Church I had started a crock pot of beans for a potluck at the pool.  Well, I was in such a hurry to get to Church on time, I forgot to put the lid on the crock pot.  By the time I had gone to Food City, for more beans and pulled pork; the beans had been cooking, baking, burning, getting parched for nearly three hours.  This internet photo is close to what I encountered when I got home.  Adding more, wetter ingredients, helped and the beans now had kind of a caramelized flavor.   
I had a wonderful time at the pool party; relaxing in the cool (but crowded) water, eating, drinking, and being merry.  Our patrons (friends) are such a fun group.  

I stayed longer than planned, rushed home to walk and feed the dogs, and then went back to work an hour, helping the new lady who had agreed to sub but needed help with the closing procedures. 

Courtney sent this photo of she and Kent at his brother's wedding, up in Milwaukee.  What a handsome couple they are.  Joe had also reported this morning that he had made it to Peoria.  I always like hearing from and knowing my 'peeps' are doing okay.
 

Monday 9/7 - Labor Day, and I had to work, basically the fifth day in a row if you count helping for an hour yesterday. 

Shadow (the feral cat I feed who has become quite tame) has been following me when I walk the dogs, to make sure I don't forget to feed him when we get back to the house. 

Shadow got fed and I headed to work at the pool.  

Once home, again I was walking the dogs with Shadow shadowing us.  Joe had gotten home but then left to golf.








These two photos are from this (video) of the two.  Shadow rubs against Cookie, who is gentle, but then gets playful and it quickly gets too rough.  They do tend to provoke each other.  

Second Wind Knox was at Mirror Lake Blast so I was sure to get there early because it was going to be a big crowd.  Caroline enjoying the brass section who came out on the dance floor with us.  










It was a large crowd, possibly our biggest yet this summer.  I tried a panoramic shot.  

 

Karen and Joanne had gone for a ride and reported that George was very friendly during feeding time.  

It was a beautiful night, light breeze with just the right temperature, and the rain shower forecasted to hit, never did.  
Lots of dancing occurred (video).

Tuesday 9/8 - A photo of my dinner (teriyaki chicken and pasta salad) from my favorite food truck.  
I took my time getting to the ranch so the Pasos had as much pasture time as possible, and would spend less time in the paddock during the day. 
Then I went to my oncologist appointment to check my iron and for a tumor marker blood test.  From there I went to Tractor Supply and Walmart.  




I got everything unloaded at home and as quick as possible, was back out the door to get to the gym.  I had a decent arm and ab workout.

After a protein snack and 20 minute power nap, I did pet chores and was soon on my way to Lake Tansi with Micki and Johnny.  We met Tamera, Armina, and Jake (seen in photo) there.

It was another beautiful night, perfect temperature, nice breeze off the lake, and a fantastic band, Soul Soup.  I danced so much that I could hardly walk when I got out of bed the next morning.  Oh, and I had my favorite meal, shown earlier.

Wednesday 9/9 - I slept 10:30 - 1:30 and 3:00 - 6:00 ...  not what I'd call a good night of sleep.

Just before Bonnie and I headed out on a ride, I met with a new hay man, Jerry; because we are afraid Dale is going to bail out on us a second year in a row.  Last week he said he had 200 acres to bale before he could get to us.  When Joe checked with him yesterday, he said he had 500 acres.  WHAT???  I think he keeps bumping us to the bottom of his list, and then never gets to us.  

Bonnie and I had a great ride.  Both horses were very forward moving and cooperative.  They were 'on edge' a couple of times, but probably just deer in the woods or something else (bear or squirrel), one never knows.   

I read, relaxed and cooled off at Druid pool.
I also went to bed early and continued reading and relaxing, until at 8:15 I couldn't keep my eyes open.

Thursday 9/10 - I spent over five hours trying to post photos on this blog.  I even tried a different website to create a new blog on another blogging platform.  But I was overwhelmed with all the steps necessary to get started.  I was ready to give up blogging all together.  I e-mailed my sisters for help/advice and then turned off my computer.  





I got ready to go for a hike with Joe and Cookie.  








Mama Styx and Monita helping me with my shoes. 

On our way to Pleasant Hill where we were going to hike two of the Marathon trails, Cookie was being so good (as usual) traveling in the car.  She just lays there, even falling asleep sometimes.


First we did the Lake Alice trail.  In this photo we are at the Fery Branch trail head.  


The day was heating up but it was cooler in the woods.  The hikes were scenic.  We only did a total of a little over 2½ miles, but with the heat, and our age, it wore us out.  



I think it wore Cookie out too.




We all three took a nap once settled in at home.  The cats and Maggie were napping too.  





I went to the ranch early for chores so I could first ride Amiga.  Because I ride her bareback, I use this stump just outside the back gate, to get on her.  






I was surprised to see this fungi growing, as dry as it has been.  I guess the rotting wood and shaded forest kept it from getting parched.  


Amiga was great as usual.  

Here we are, heading to go under the lookout tower on our way back to the ranch from Hathaway.  
After feeding down below, I spent a little extra time filling up our feed bin and then mucking the paddock.

I had reached out to Courtney about my photo problems, and she gave advice.  I changed the setting on my phone, tried down loading photos here, and it worked.  I am fairly sure that Blogger, the site I use, was experiencing problems this morning, because it would not let me post any photos, regardless of format, but it would post them this evening.
  

Friday 9/11 - May we all commemorate those who lost their lives 25 years ago and those who were forever changed by the horrific events of 9/11.

I woke at 2:30 with a parched throat, took my Levothyroxine and got a big drink.  I had no other symptoms of a cold or allergies.  By 3am when I got up to start my day, I was wondering if I had some kind of throat infection, except I felt fine, other than it really hurt to swallow.

Rosco and Rico grooming each other across the gate.  

 

I had many distractions on my phone during my pool shift.  There were several shared photos and videos from various people while I was also keeping tabs on Joe.  Patty caught Rico and Rosco being friendly even with a gate between them (video). 





Rosco, how did your fly mask get off and into the Paso paddock?
Rico, is that Rosco's fly mask you are playing with (video)?

Joe had been having shortness of breath and fatigue lately, reminding of us of the same symptoms he had a year ago, when they found two blood clots in each lung.  With a little coaxing on my part, he contacted his two different doctors, both who told him to go to the ER.  So I waited to hear from him.  He was there for seven hours.  Long story short - They tested for covid and flu, nada.  His blood draw showed elevated kidney function.  They gave him IV fluids.  The lung scan showed no clots and his EKG was normal.

Joe was sent home, with instructions to follow up with his regular care doctor.

Bonnie sent several photos of the three boys in the lower paddock playing in the pond.  They were cooling off from the parching sun rays. This was my favorite shot.  






It was an uneventful evening.  Joe got home while I was eating dinner at 6pm.  I did take Cookie on the one mile library trail hike.  I also got these photos of the pond in back which is just a puddle now.  We really need rain.  The last photo is two combined.  To the left you can see the damn and how low the water level is.  To the right is much of what is behind our's and Brian's house.  No water at all, just parched ground and aquatic plants.