Author: Anne

A sad anniversary today. Thirty-seven years ago, in 1988, November 13 was a Sunday. Harry and I were driving home from Galena, Illinois, where we had been fox hunting. I was a professional huntsman in those long ago days. Unknown to us, as we were driving south to Missouri, my friend Ann Miller Roth and her husband, Jerry, were killed instantly in Florida that evening in a dreadful automobile accident. I learned of it on Thursday, I think. My life has felt Ann’s absence ever since. Now that I am old, I often muse about Ann and Jack always being young in memories, and departing together, albeit early. And now, on we go… carrying fewer memories than we had hoped for.

Well, from that gloomy reminiscence let’s focus on yesterday, which was a glorious Fall day. My brother, Michael, came for a visit, which gladdened us immensely. We had a nice visit, a meager lunch, and Michael and I took a postprandial walk through the woods, shin deep in dry leaves. It was great fun.

On our walk, I took a picture of the new electric lines that have gone up (and I do mean UP) to our south. A data center is likely coming to our county. More electricity is called for, and a dreaded use of water, apparently, which is worrisome, as we continue with drought conditions here.

Yesterday evening, there was a chance of another view of the Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis), but we only had a faint glimpse, not the wild red glow from Tuesday.

There is much to celebrate here, of course. The witch hazel is positively luminous this year.

And the animals, wild and tame, are treasures.

Too many pictures tonight, perhaps, with not much news. Better times will come, and this evening provided a beautiful sunset…

Be safe, be well, laugh often. Be grateful and kind. Slava Ukraini! Peace…

Frost came a month later than usual this year, but hard on its heels, we have had a hard freeze, and all the flowers that toughed out the frost are now knocked out until next Spring. Knowing this was coming, I took a few pictures on Saturday morning.

The light is beautiful at this time of year. Saturday was a beautiful day, but I had to get plants situated indoors, knowing the hard freeze was nearly here. As always happens with every project I undertake, mistakes were made…

Artwork was returned to us from the gallery, as they prepare for another upcoming show. Some pieces remain on consignment at McCaughen & Burr, many pieces were sold, but it is nice to have some Weber sculptures back in the house again.

Harry continues to make slow progress. It is hard work, recovering! He remains cheerful and we await some equipment that will make life easier, we hope. For now, we are quite accustomed to the oxygen tether.

Much of today was snarled in phone calls and efforts to arrange medical matters. That effort will continue tomorrow morning, then we go into St. Louis for pulmonary rehab and oxygen. It is very frustrating that the oxygen supplier needs us to be at home for delivery, but cannot tell us when they will be here (and they only com out this far on Tuesdays and Thursdays), so we have to go to them tomorrow to trade in empty canisters.

The dogs make up for all the medical irritations. Weedy is a source of peace, and Eddy a source of hilarity.

We never tire of the sight of horses…

Cats are tucked into the heated tack room. Sixteen year old Skittle shares a bed with Rosie, which warms my heart.

Roscoe shares our bed, where he is well camouflaged.

Tom Morris made the most of Saturday’s warm sunshine on the back porch steps.

This evening, I finished in the barn just in time to catch the last of the red sky at night in the west…

Be safe, be well, get better. Be kind, and grateful. Slava Ukraini! Peace…

Well, it was beautiful, warm weather today, after our first frost yesterday. Every day presents another step toward improvement in Harry’s condition, but it is a very gradual progression, and not much noteworthy day to day. But here are the horses, as the first frost began to lift yesterday…

Anticipating the frost, I took a few pictures of plants that will be going dormant.

The cats are always picture worthy creatures.

Since not much of interest has happened, here is a flashback to October 19, when we attended the unveiling of a new mural in Treloar along the Katy Trail…

Treloar (in the old 19th century Treloar Mercantile Bank building) is the site of the Ted and Pat Jones Welcome Center on the Katy Trail, a Rails to Trails state park that crosses the state of Missouri and attracts bicyclists from all over the world. Dan and Connie Burkhardt are great ambassadors for this truly unique attraction and benefit to Missouri. I have “through biked” the Katy Trail several times, and it has provided some of my favorite memories. Our friend, Sharon, is a Katy Trail expert, and a Fearless Leader and arranger of biking adventures.

Bicyclists from Colorado visited Treloar for a short rest before continuing down the trail on a beautiful day…

Be safe, be well, get better! Have adventures! Be grateful and kind. Slava Ukraini! Peace…

The full Beaver Moon shoe brightly through the eastern woods this evening after a glorious autumn day, squandered by annoying bureaucracy. I literally spent hours on the telephone, much of that time dealing with a robotic AI intermediary, or on hold listening to bad music on repeat.

The horses enjoyed the pleasant day. When I bring them in, I lead Bart to his stall, and Stone and Oisin come in on their own. Stone is very reliable, but Oisin has lately been a bit naughty, wandering around a little for fun. Privileges may be revoked.

For the most part, horses stay with their herd. Rarely does one horse stray far. But there is always an exception to every rule with horses.

I was bringing horses in on a summer morning when horse flies were bad. We had a pony named Brownie and he bolted away from me when bitten by a fly, before I had a halter or a rope on him, but the gate was open. The other horses were already in the barn, so I expected him to join them. No such luck. He trotted south toward the studio, then picked up a canter and disappeared. I followed with a halter and grain, not too worried. But then, I heard hooves on the wooden footbridge over the creek. I ran out to the back field, and there was no sign of Brownie. I returned to the barn, and enlisted Harry to drive around searching, while I saddled a horse and looked through the woods. We called the sheriff and reported Brownie missing. Eventually, Harry found him off a road to the west, happily grazing on a lawn and being adored by a little girl. We reported him found, brought him home, and from then on, we were careful to capture Brownie before letting the gate swing open.

The dogs enjoyed this lovely day, with the back door open to the pen, while Harry and I went to Pulmonary Rehab for the first time. It was very encouraging. I think it will be a little bit like taking riding lessons twice a week, though not quite as much fun.

Most flowers are worn out now, but the lantana continues to brighten my walk to the barn.

Be safe, be well, be grateful and be kind. Slava Ukraini! Peace…

Horses have been my passion since before I can remember, if my mother is to be believed. She related that my first word was “hoss”. Before we moved to this country, when we lived in Kent, our milk was delivered by horse drawn wagon. The horses, Silver and Dolly, lived in a nearby field and I loved to feed a piece of bread to the hard working animals.

Well, now my fondest dreams have been realized, and I have had a life with horses. I am the one doing the hard work. Harry and I often say that if aliens came down from outer space and observed us for a day or two, they would assume we humans were servants of the other creatures – dogs, cats and horses.

They are a great deal of work… but at least they are very expensive, too!

All of the animals bring us immense joy, but horses in particular are magical. They outweigh us by more than ten times. We are as small in relation to our horses as Roscoe, the cat is in relation to us! Yet they allow us to boss them around and ride them, and they entertain us with their antics. We are astonished daily by how lucky we are to live with these creatures.

Harry has two passions, of course – the animals and the artwork. He is able to enjoy the horses from the window, and the dogs and cats are paws on helping him recover. Soon he will be back in the studio, where Jackie Joyner Kersee awaits him…

And that is all from here after another day on the road to recovery…

Be safe, be well, get better! Be grateful for small improvements. They add up. Slava Ukraini! Peace…

Two days yet until the full Beaver Moon, and the moon tonight was so bright it threw shadows as I went to the barn for night check. And, oh, yes, we transitioned to daytime turnout when Harry returned from the hospital. While he was there, the horses stayed out day and night.

Slow progress toward improvement continues, with Weedy and Eddy doing all they can to keep Harry happy.

This has been a particularly difficult Autumn, but for all the beauty of the season, it has for years been shadowed with some sadness. For consolation, I turn to animals and Nature, which we have in abundance.

It has been a strange change of season. The light has altered, as it always does, but we have not had a real frost yet. The first frost date used to fall in the first week of October! Also, the lilac and clematis have rebloomed recently, which is very unusual.

I had my camera handy while up at the mailbox and happened to see Jane’s Sandy enjoying the proverbial greener grass on the other side of the fence…

Back at the house, the dogs and Roscoe provide great comfort and healing to both Harry and me. We are very fortunate!

Be safe, be well, be kind, be grateful. Slava Ukraini! Peace…

Thanks for many good wishes and prayers – no worries about us, we are adapting to a slight change in lifestyle, possibly temporary, and we are not complaining.

Though we are likely to have fewer adventures for a while, we are enjoying unexpected peace and time for recovery. We are fortunate to have constant entertainment from Eddy, when he is in the house, and beauty out of every window. This morning was quite misty, appropriate for November, with the departure from Daylight Saving, and shorter days in store.

Speaking of having more time, at risk of boring readers, I am going to travel back to September, when I had a wonderful day in Fulton, Missouri, visiting William Woods University, where our good friend, Gayle Lampe, was recovering from surgery. Linda McClaren Parkhurst was also there. It was nice to meet the University president and other luminaries, but the most fun was in seeing and feeding Gayle’s ducks.

Gayle was in charge of the equestrian program at William Woods for many years. She rides Saddlebreds, which is now sort of a parallel universe to the riding that I do. Years ago, different disciplines showed at the same horse shows, but like everything in the modern world, specialization has happened. William Woods offers Hunter Jumpers (which is my discipline), Dressage, Western and Saddlebred riding, giving students a well rounded view of the horse world. By no means is that everything we can do with horses, but it’s more than many are exposed to. As it happened, I went to the St. Louis Charity Saddlebred show to spectate. Last year, Gayle was showing, but this year she is sidelined. Here are a few glimpses of American Saddlebreds from September…

And final flashback to September on a visit to Three Creek Farm, where my life’s course was set.

This morning, goldfinches are wearing winter feathers, while Roscoe, Weedy and Eddy enjoyed lounging in bed.

And finally, Harry rests today, working toward a return to the studio and the saddle, thinking of September, before the trouble started…

Be safe, be well, be grateful. Slava Ukraini! Peace…

A lot has happened around here, some of it a bit difficult. Catching up may take a while, but for now I will relate the story of Harry’s health.

The day after the Charity horse show in September, Harry went to his doctor because he was short of breath. Next thing you know, I received a phone call (while in Augusta, Missouri) that the doctor had sent him to the emergency room!. I tried to reach Jane, and she had forgotten her phone, for the first time ever. So, there was a mad drive home to tend to animals, and thence to the ER, where Harry was diagnosed with exacerbated emphysema. Two days in hospital, a hefty course of steroids, and on with life. I was not allowed to blog about it.

Fast forward to October 10, the day of Harry’s retrospective at the art gallery in Webster Groves, McCaughen & Burr. By this time, we had seen two new doctors, and oxygen had been delivered the house, but Harry was not using it.

The art show was an insane success (Harry had a short course of prednisone to help him through giving a talk and greeting many, many friends). There were a couple of hundred people – it was chaos, but fun chaos. Harry’s childhood friend, Gay, flew in from San Francisco and surprised him at the gallery, then stayed a couple of nights.

Louise threw a dinner party for Harry the next night. It was a wonderful, busy time.

Skip forward again, through another full week, during which Harry was stoic, but not very well. Still not using the oxygen…

And then, on Tuesday we went with a friend to the gallery and lunch. Afterwards, Harry began to use oxygen.

On Wednesday, Aunt Pat came from Chicago to see the artwork in the gallery and Harry was not well enough to join us. Now, I was really starting to worry. Also, I had seen the swelling in his legs, which had been going on for much longer than I realized.

On Thursday, we went to see the pulmonologist, Dr. Shah. He stopped at the doorway on his way past, just to say hello and ask about the art show, which he had missed due to a wedding. When he saw Harry’s legs, there was no discussion. Harry was sent immediately to the hospital. This time, I was not surprised at all.

We were put into a really nice, private room, quite a change from the miserable September accommodations. Harry was given diuretics. A lot went awry after that. I won’t belabor the story with details, but on Friday, Harry’s kidneys were insulted, let’s say (because of the drugs). There was talk of moving him to 6, which I understood to be the cardiac floor, and we really wanted to stay in the nice room. They did allow that, and Harry rallied, with all meds paused. Luckily, I did not find out until Saturday that 6 is also the ICU, which is where they were contemplating putting him!

With a “micro dose” of diuretics, kidneys rebounded, and Harry was well enough on Sunday that he was discharged, to the dismay of the pulmonologist (one of the 5 doctors involved with the case).

We revisited Dr. Shah on Monday, and spoke to the cardiologist. The news was not very good. Life is quite altered by the tether to oxygen, but we are adapting.

Then, on Wednesday, Weedy had a small skin tumor removed. Poor Harry missed him terribly for the 5 hours he was away. It was either Wednesday, or wait until December 11, so we added that to this hectic week.

Yesterday, we saw Dr. Stein, Harry’s primary care doctor, and he was less discouraging in his evaluation of Harry than the hospital doctors had been. We have more hope now for improvement, but it is going to be a while. Failure to address health issues is a common problem with horse people, who tend to “tough it out”. Harry stayed tough for too long, and recovery will take even longer. Obviously, emphysema does not offer much recovery, but Harry will be doing pulmonary physical therapy starting next week. Better times will come.

Stay well, or rest and recover. Be grateful. Slava Ukraini! Peace…