Normal Saturday – March 7, 2020

Harry had an almost normal day today! He worked in the studio with Tom, and there is a sense that life is returning to the old routine slowly. I, on the other hand, had a day of small annoyances and some accomplishments. Our lives diverged a little bit, which, again, is customary. I went to the store (which is NOT usual), and worked a bit outside, which was familiar and wonderful, as it was a delightful, warm day.

The morning began with horse turnout and there was a lot of playing, which can be nerve wracking, but is also fun to watch. The horses are so athletic and full of joy. I was sorry I didn’t have my good camera, but I took some rather poor quality shots of Bart and Stone to show Harry what he is missing…

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Harry is doing leg stretching exercises now, twice daily . With the brace off, things are really looking normal! The wound inflicted by the sculpture horse’s tail has completely healed. Harry is getting quite speedy on the walker and has abandoned the safety belt. Tonight we move to Daylight Saving (one less hour of sleep, unfortunately). As Nancy pointed out, Harry has been springing forward for weeks now, so he’s more ready than I am!

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Tom came to work in the studio, and Harry spent several hours with him. Harry was able to work a bit in the wheel chair, and was able to oversee Tom’s excellent work. I had a very frustrating trip to town, full of small annoyances. For instance, Starbucks will not serve coffee in personal cups anymore because of Coronavirus. Oh, please! This is out of hand. Don’t get me started! Anyway, I brought lunch home and the artists broke for lunch, which was fun, then Tom went back to work, while Harry rested.

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There was a cat fight while I was gone between Roscoe and Mickey (the new wild cat), so I decided I must trap Mickey today and keep him in a crate until I can get him tested and neutered.

It was beautiful weather, more crocuses blooming and happy horses on grass that is just beginning to green up a little…

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But there are hazards, too. A broken fence board – an accident waiting to happen…

So I had to mend fence, and that made me very sad, because last time we worked on the fence, Harry and I had a great time repairing it together, on a nice day in January, before this year turned to a bit of a fiasco. Also, it’s hard to fix fence alone!

By the time I got done with bringing horses in and setting the cat trap, it was dark, and poor Harry was stuck without lights! I am the WORST caretaker when there are distractions. I do a great job if I stay in the house, but my distractibility is severe outdoors, and my sense of time is terrible! Luckily, Harry is the nicest patient ever, and didn’t complain at all. He really is heroic in the way he is dealing with this difficulty.

Calls and texts rolled in from Horsley Gallery to let us know what we were missing. FaceTime was attempted with mixed results. We were sad we couldn’t make it to the fun gathering, but we loved getting the news, and pictures.

After supper, I went outside to check the trap and found that I was trying to trap the wrong black cat! Licorice was sitting by the trap! So I moved the trap over to the house and called Mickey (I had fed him last night, so he was beginning to see me as the source of food). In keeping with the day’s frustrations, the trap did not work – Mickey walked in and out of it with impunity. There was much cursing and swearing and resetting, and in the end, the day culminated in success…

Not only did I trap him, I successfully transferred him to the crate in the tack room. He’s not very happy, but there will be no more cat fights.

Cora is relieved the wild cat has been caught. She does not like disruptions!

And finally, another day done, Doctor Weedy says I must get some sleep…