Life in rural America can at times be challenging. Case in point, my husband is a truck driver, which means that I get to handle not only the fun stuff, but also all the stuff you’d prefer to have someone else do. My New Year actually started about a week ago.
Besides the horses we have numerous dogs, cats, birds and chickens. We have four large dogs, a chow, shepherd mix (Tagget) adopted from Petsmart by Rudy when he was still in CA, and I was in New Mexico, a Chesapeake Bay Retriever, (Bear) adopted to replace our older Chesapeake, a Boxer (Bree), a stray Rudy found with a horrible back leg that was broken and never set by a vet, and half the weight she should have been at that age, and her daughter, Pena.
Bree was 23 lbs when we found her and slightly dehydrated. Her daughter at the same age is now 52 lbs. Bree is the most loving dog I have ever met, with large soft pitiful eyes that beg attention and love. Because of her bad start in life, I wanted to breed her and keep one of her pups. I have no idea how long she will live, or how long she will be able to continue the life she now has before we will have to have her leg amputated. Just a few months ago the vet was so concerned about her leg we had X-rays, and a biopsy of the now deteriorating bone. There was no sign of cancer, but we will have to continue to monitor her. I bred her to a tan, and white boxer. First litters are supposed to be small, but not for Bree. She had nine pups, some all brindle, some brindle and white like her, one tan and white, and three white puppies with some brindle.
From the very beginning Pena caught at my heartstrings. She was the largest female, with brindle and white ears one of which went completely around one eye. At the time I called her Big Bertha. She was quiet and sweet like her mother, and something else I can’t quite describe. She became my puppy, the one special dog that somehow means more than all the rest though you love them all.
Slowly we started letting her out with the big dogs and now she comes to the barn running, and playing with Tagget mostly. She loves chasing him, only I’m always in fear because whether I’m in the truck or the gator, she races crisscrossing in front of the truck or gator barely missing getting hit. Last week she didn’t make it. I hit her. Immediately I ran calling to her, picked her up and put her in the truck while I fed the horses and the other animals. I checked her over, gave her Remidyl and an antibiotic, and felt no major bones were broken, thank God. She was in a lot of pain when Rudy called after which I took her to the vet just in case. He checked her out and found as I did that there was no serious damage. He put her on antibiotics and pain medication and kept her overnight just to make sure. After three days she was still having too much trouble sitting and getting up so I told Rudy I thought she probably had a fracture in her pelvic bone, not uncommon. Both Rudy and I talked to both vets, and when I went for wormer for her, I told the vet if she wasn’t doing better, I would bring her in Monday for X-rays.
The next day Rudy had a load going to Gallup. All the rain from California was coming, which for us meant snow. I watched the weather and warned Rudy of the road conditions between Albuquerque and Gallup. They were not good. He got caught in the worst of it and was three hours late. They were just grateful he made it safe and sound. Needless to say so was I. Well there would be no loads going out of Gallup and few if any going out of Albuquerque, so he decided to come home, check on Pena for himself, and enjoy the comforts of home for the holiday. One problem we had no water. Temps were cold, but we expected clear weather and water the next day.
New Years day 2011, the day that would be the beginning of a new and better year. We had been waiting for this day for a long time. Well it wasn’t quite what we were hoping for. The only good thing was that Rudy was home. He didn’t quite get the rest and relaxation he was looking forward to, but he was here. New Years day we woke to 8 degree tempatures, and more snow. There wasn’t a lot of snow, but enough to melt for the chickens, and a little for the dogs. I had bought water anticipating no water, but not enough for more than a day. There was no more water for the horses, and the extra water I gave the pasture horses was frozen solid. I broke the ice, and brought it in to boil to give the pasture horses something.
Rudy started the generator (which he was always going to show me but never did), and got the heaters going. I kept telling him I thought the pump house was frozen, to no avail. All day he worked on getting the pipes unfrozen, and I melted ice for water for the animals. The automatic waterier’s for some of the barn horses had water once I broke the ice, but not a lot. The boiling water did melt the slush and some of the ice for the pasture horses. Still there were three barn horses without water. There was plenty of snow to eat, but that only sustains you for a little while.
We were both exhausted and took a nap hoping there would be water when we awoke. Wrong again. The generator ran out of gas. Rudy emptied the one gas can, and went to town to get more gas and try to find some water. Both Ruidoso, and Capitan were having water issues. All our neighbors were in the same shape as us. Ah the joys of living in rural America. He finally got water from the gas station. 65 gallons seems like a lot of water, but goes real fast on a ranch. By now it is quite dark. We both go down to the barn only to find that the barn hose is too long, and the water won’t go that far on gravity. The small hose froze on the way home so back in the house we go to unfreeze the hose again. Rudy looks for the pump he bought in California (floods you know), only it’s too big to fit in the opening of the tank. The smaller hose does work and the three barn horses now have water.
Just before he comes back to the house he calls and I put on the pizza he bought when in town. He gets water for the dogs but wouldn’t you know it, the one thing I wanted most of all was water for the toilets. The spicket froze. Just my luck, I have johns full of you know what, a kitchen that looks like a disaster zone, and half a tank of water I can’t get. Isn’t life wonderful?
Rudy is now in bed, enjoying the comforts of home, after his nice relaxing day, and here I am writing away. There is always something, but that’s what makes our life exciting, challenging, and fulfilling. We could live comfortably in the city instead of stretched to the limit on a horse farm when no one is buying horses, but when I think of all that we would be missing there is no other way I would want to live. Each day there are sunrises and sunsets beyond compare. Deer and elk roam our land and beautiful birds fill our skies. Granted I could do without the porcupines and the skunks, but there are many animals that so many people can only see in zoos, or on TV. In the still clear night you can see shooting stars, or a crescent moon bright orange as it rises, or full with rings of color created by ice crystals in the air. Morning doves greet you with their soft cooing in the early morning, the knocking of a raven as it calls to its mate, or the cry of a falcon can be heard on any given day. Yes there are days like today, but even these days have their kind of satisfaction. At the end of each day I can thank God for the day that has passed knowing that tomorrow will bring it’s own challenges and rewards.
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