I can't go to the NW garden show, is anyone else going?

I have to be in Juneau for the NW garden show again this year. I hope someone will go and take some pictures and post. Also any information at the lectures would be good. Let me know.

Pixydish, Rachierabbit and Susybell from the PNW forum are going and planning on sitting in on at least Dan's presentation. You should check with them. There is a thread about the show going on.

Anybody else from this forum who wants to hook up with them should go there, too!!

Wish I could go but too far this time of year.
Very cold here, coldest morning of year so far. 5 degrees above zero. but the Wolf moon is shining brightly, didn't even have to turn on outside light for my Blue dog to go outside.

Donna

It's brrr cold here, with a high pressure system off the coast and all our air flow coming down from Canada. Nighttime temps are in the teens, something we don't usually have here. And the moon has been bright. The beams of light shining through the forest next door to me make it look like there are little faery gatherings going on out there . . .

It has been way below zero here at night, beautiful moonlight, but our fairies are gone, perhaps helping the writers strike or something.

We have been taking turns hustling the dog with diarrhea outdoors all night, usually just when we have gotten nice and warm in bed again...

Capped off by the discovery the furnace broke down in the building where our gallery is, 45 degrees inside this morning.

Anybody remember July and August? Sigh.

I want to go to the Seattle show, but do not know if it will be practical at that time. Sigh again.

I grew up in Alaska, but it's been 30 years and I don't really know how on earth we survived the temperatures. Hope the dog is better today - canned pumpkin works wonders around here. I now what you mean about getting "called upon" just as you've settled into bed. My Bug is notorious for that.

Sorry about the furnace difficulties. Hope there weren't any casualties and that you were able to get someone out to repair it.

I'm missing the summer now, too. I left work promptly at 5:00 today and it was still light outside!! That was a big lift for me.

Now you guys know what veterinarians go thru every night. Just when they lay down to sleep the phone rings and someone needs to go outside. LOL The joy of being on call.

Canned pumpkin? Never heard of that, will try it if still trouble tomorrow. I have been using boiled milk with pablum and real raw milk kefir. Looks like the dog is doing a lot better now.

We think he swallowed a bit of fiberglass insulation I caught him shredding. Now there is something to rile up the internal organs...

All is well at the gallery again, until the ancient furnace breaks down again. The landlord refuses to replace it although every repairman tells him he should and all the businesses in the building want him to.

Summer, a distant memory...

But we are getting sparkling snow today. I have the biggest drifts in our yard we have ever had due to the wind we had. Really pretty. Good for the plants, the ground is usually way too bare all winter here, hard on everything.

Sofer,
There is one important distinction. You are getting PAID to do that, ha!

Mulchmania

You never get paid enough to get out of bed and go out in the cold and drive to the place you just left and the place you have to be in a few hours. LOL

My vet recommends canned pumpkin when my dogs get diarrhea as well. I haven't tried it yet though.

Steve, I'm curious what is it in canned pumpkin that is good to help a dog's digestive system with diarrhea problem.

Donna

Sofer,
I cannot think of an amount of money that would really make me want to go outdoors from a warm bed into 20 below zero weather...

Mulchmania

I actually don't know what it is, specifically, about the canned pumpkin, just that it works wonder, is cheap and the dogs love it. I figure it has to be good for them as it's orange . . .

Still cold here, though no snow. Last night was woken up by Bug barking his head off and running through the house. Of course then he had to go out and I was worried he was going to pull me over. I keep him leashed because he can easily jump my 5 foot fence. Don't know what was in the back yard, but everybody was very interested again this morning. Guessing that it was a raccoon. Good thing that I had him leashed.

Maybe tonight we'll sleep through the night . . .

Pumpkin is high in fiber and aids the digestive tract in allowing natural systems, IE bacteria, motility, and digestibility to go back to normal. Colons benefit from fiber and water is absorbed out of colon contents with high fiber content. I usually recommend fasting 24 hrs and boiled hamburger and rice for diarrhea.

Ooooh. Thanks, Steve, for the info.

So pumpkin (and other squashes, too?) allows for "good" flora regrowth? There are other fiber-laden foods, but I've not seen them used for or work so well for minor gastrointestinal upset as pumpkin . . .

Again I don't use fiber much in Gastroenteritis (tummy upset) but rather rest the gut and give easy to digest foods.

Sofer,
I thought it quite generous, and informative, of you to provide information that you usually are paid to provide as part of your career.

Much appreciated,

Mulchmania

Me too!! Though how one would separate ones love of animals from his "official" business I don't know. I can see how that would be a regularly-encountered pitfall. Sort of like being a professional landscaper and offering gardening advice . . .

I make enough money to be able to help those who need it. I enjoy helping and especially animals. They are my heart, joy and peace.

That they are - we are so privileged to be able to share our lives with them.
Hopefully giving them love due to the awesome responsibility of quality stewardship.
How can I not be deeply moved by looking into the eyes of acceptance?

Okay . . . you guys made me tear up.

This is one of my favorites. Captures my philosophy to a tee:

If all the beasts were gone, men would die from a great loneliness of spirit, for whatever happens to the beasts also happens to the man.
All things are connected. Whatever befalls the Earth befalls the sons of the Earth.

~Chief Seattle of the Suwamish Tribe, letter to president Franklin Pierce

I had a dog seriously hit by a car and it's hips are severely broken in several areas. This was 2 days ago and she was almost put to sleep. But I got the owners to work with getting this 7 month old golden retriever to try. Well she just got her pills for pain tonight and sat there licking my hand and pressing her head to mine as I lay on the floor and talked to her. It is a good day.

Ohhhh, nothing can beat the gratitude of a dog.

Sofer - that brings tears to my eyes. Bless your heart - you're her angel. Just giving her half a chance.

My Vana got hit by a car a couple of years ago. She's a sighthound and black and has no car sense. She got out of the yard at 11:00 p.m. and by the time I had gotten up to the main road, I saw her dragging herself along the side of it. I went into robomommy mode and picked her up and put her in the truck and we were off to the vet (I in my pajamas). She never whimpered.

It took transport to intensive care and then 1.5 wks there to get her out of immediate danger, a femoral head osteotomy and then time, lots of love and attention for her to get better. Every vet that treated her and the vet assistants as well were unbelievably dedicated to her healing. I was awed and amazed. And, of course, so grateful. Now, she runs like the wind and you wouldn't even know she didn't have a hip joint. We are blessed. Dogs can teach us so much about moving on.

Of course, I couldn't help but tell them that they needed a little work on their grooming technique. LOL

Hope you are sleeping well tonight. You have done miracles today, dear man.

Steve, good thing you were persuasive to the owners and that you take such good care of your patients.

Donna

Sofer,
Knowing the medical techniques to use is important, but the unmistakable caring you bring to the animals is also vital. Good going!

I actually got called to work on calf a couple of days ago, which is wildly unusual for me. The vet has said he cannot help the leg. She is a valuable calf born Jan. 1 and her mother stepped on her ribs before she was two days old. That apparently has affected her right rear leg and she won't put any weight on it. The left rear is bowing from taking all the weight on that baby cartilage.

She has a sweet nature but seemed so discouraged. Pneumonia has set in. I did some reiki with her, very difficult to get any energy running down her spine into her rump.

After I left I kept having the recurring thought she needs massage a couple of times a day and some chiropractic work. I know they have equine chiropractors but don't know about cows.

I called my friend who had asked me to work on the calf and they had a massage therapist there learning to milk, so that part was easy. And she knows an equine chiropractor so they are going to try that.

The young couple that owns the calf wanted to give me milk and beef for working with her but I declined. My first time doing reiki with a cow, I just want the little bugger to grow up strong and healthy. I hope she makes it, sure has a rough go starting out.

I will do reiki on her again later this week.

Mm the only trouble with what you are doing is the low probability of success. I always find that the intimacy of nursing/doctoring causes a bond that is painfully shattered when we need to let go. That may not be the case with your calf but it is the fear I always go up against when taking a chance on healing. That is why I pray. I often need extra help.

Sofer,
Of course you are right. Heck, the only reason they even asked me to do reiki is because they were at their wit's end with this calf and had seen me work on their elderly dog to good effect a couple of months ago.

But I cannot do any good with reiki if I am attached to the result. The more I allow it to do what is needed (without me deciding what that might be...) the more useful it seems to be. It does not mean I don't hope for the best healing in the way I see things, but in an important way I have to just stand there and let it be what it will.

I have seen enough death to know it isn't the worst possibility, it has its time and place too. Mostly I am grateful I can just let the reiki energy come through without having to know what is best, and allow it to facilitate whatever is most needed.

The hardest work I ever did was with a friend who was dying a slow and difficult death. Yet it was miraculous as well, because I was allowed a rare sight of her amazing spiritual transition in the midst of dreadful physical conditions.

Surrender to the divine is essential in such matters, whether it concerns our loved humans, loved animals, or loved plants.

Mulchmania

Ditto.

Great discussion, you guys. I went to healing seminar with Roslyn Bruyere, the energy healer, several years ago. She made a comment that you have to love somebody before you can run energy through them effectively. What she meant was not in the classic sense of intimate love, but respect for the nature of their being.

It occurs to me that "purifying" (for lack of a better word) your love in that way can help you to surrender to the result without backing off from your efforts to treat.

Just a thought. Good hearts, good work, you two.

Steve, what's the news about the Golden today? What's her name?

Her name is Grace and she is even better today. She won't be able to stand for 2 to 3 weeks without support but tail is wagging and a smile on her face every time I go and see her. Eating well, No poop yet, so that worries me. But I have given her stool softeners today to help.

May Gracie have a good poop here pretty soon - for herself and for the doc. :-) Glad to hear that the hip breaks are in places that can heal.

I was a little worried to ask, considering the difficulty of her situation, but that is such good news. You must be feeling pretty good (and pretty exhausted as well, I'm guessing).

Thanks for the update, Steve.

No I was on call all weekend and didn't have a single call. Usually I have 20 to 30. So God gave me all the time Grace, Piglet, Maverick, Trouble and Peachie needed. Piglet is a diabetic I am starting on insulin, Mav and Trouble are kittens from the bush with chronic diarrhea, and Peachie is an old cat that drinks her water by pulling it up with her paw.

Steve good luck with all your needy animals. The little part Silky that I had before Blue developed diabetes when she was 11 years old. I gave her a shot every morning for 3 years. and miss her still.

Donna

Love those names and that you remember them all. :-)

Here's Magic in the snow today. When it snows, his inner Borzoi really comes out. That boy never gets too wet or cold!!