Of Paws, Chickadees and Good Friends

Thursday was a big day. I had a friend over whom I had not seen in over a year. Part way through the afternoon I received a call from Kohlton who called to tell me that my help was needed. Kohlton and Remmie went out to hike the trail that Ellie and her crew were working on.

They started down the top trail at upper White Ranch. It seems that the hike was very steep and rough. Though the hike was long, it was not the longest one Remmie has been on, but the rocks were hard on his paws. Once they were close to their destination, Remmie started trying to take a lot of breaks, something that is unusual for him. Kohlton thought that maybe Remmie was just hot, or in need of a rest. Upon closer inspection, he found that Remmie's main pads on both of his front paws had begun to tear off and flap around like dried bits of leather. This was alarming and worrisome, so a Remmie rescue took place. It was clear that he would need to be removed from the mountain without his walking the rest of the way on his own. Ellie carried him for a short while, then Kohlton took him the rest of the way. That part took Kohlton about an hour and a half to hike.

I am certain that Ellie would have like to be there to calm her dog down, but she had to finish her shift. Larr met Kohlton and Remmie at the lower parking lot to bring them home. I was going to go pick them both up, but Larr was able to get there faster than I was.

In the meantime, I arranged for a vet. appointment. Our usual vet was booked until the middle of next week, so Ellie and Kohlton took Remmie to my mother's vet. That visit did not go well; both Remmie and Ellie were upset afterwards.

That night Remmie was clearly ill and seemed to be running a fever. The next day was more of the same. As the evening drew near, Remmie seemed to be making a recovery. We were all relieved.

Today he seems to be feeling much better, and my, is he ever happy to be better.

Larr also did a wonderful thing for me. When we were much younger and new to our house, he put in a hook just outside of our bedroom upstairs. On that hook we hung a lovely, wooden birdhouse. I loved watching the birds at the feeder in the morning. Over time, the birdhouse fell apart and we did not repair it as we had become busy with baby Ethan.

Now that I once again have a bit of time to wake up in a leisurely way, I love to listen to the birds again and I told Larr that I wished that we still had a bird feeder. Later in the week he brought home a large feeder along with three kinds of feed to attract different kinds of birds. So far the chickadees have been happy to discover our feeder. I look forward to see who else shows up.

Ethan and a few of his friends spent the weekend in Wyoming have a great time hanging out together and going to the Cheyenne Frontier Days. They attended some of the rodeo type events, attended the Keith Urban concert. Ethan was impressed with the concert and how much heart and soul Keith put into his performance. By the time Ethan came home on Sunday night, he was sunburned, tired and all pumped up from having so much fun.

On Monday, Kohlton starts a brand new job. We are all excited for him. We hope it turns out to be a great opportunity for him.