Day 133 - No Man Went to Mow

green grow the rushes-oh

I spent most of today waiting to see if the weather would dry up long enough to mow the lawns.  

It didn't, which I'm somewhat conflicted about...on the one hand, yay, I didn't have to mow the lawns!  On the other, damn, those lawns still need mowing!

The venerable JazzyB is on a new drug regime for his ongoing lameness...he's now on Metacam, an NSAID (like ibuprofen), Tramadol, an opioid analgesic, and Symmetrel, which is a drug used to treat Influenza and Parkinsons Disease, but can be used in dogs to increase the effectiveness of other painkillers. 

So far he's doing ok, and this evening he isn't limping much, considering he's been out for a walk today (which is encouraging...). 

We went to see Frankie, who was lying down in his field, somewhat worryingly.  When he saw me, he struggled to his feet and started to hobble over.  I jumped over the fence and went to meet him, to save him walking all the way to me. 

I gave him a couple of apples and a bit of a fuss, but then left him fairly quickly, to save him following me.  

Later on, I phoned the shepherd (whose sheep were in with Frankie the other day), and he said the horse was his, and he hadn't noticed anything when he'd been there earlier, or through the week!   Clearly, he doesn't pay attention. 

When I asked the horse's name, he said "the kids call him Toffee", which I thought was a curious response (not to mention a bit of a rubbish name).   He'll always be Frankie (or occasionally Ol' Blue Eyes) to me.

I explained that the horse appears to have laminitis, and probably needs to be stabled and treated.   I'm not sure how seriously he took it - he said that the farrier was due to visit next week...to which I thought, well that won't be soon enough, and he needs to see a vet!

Anyway he said he was going up there shortly and would take a look, so we'll see what happens.  I'll try to check on Frankie again tomorrow. 

Following that, we wandered over to this little artificial pond, which is only about 30-40m from our house.   It's referred to as a canal on some old maps, and I guess this is strictly true, as it's straight and narrow, and man made. 

The pond always looks lovely at this time of year, and as far as my blog goes, it's another reminder of the gorgeous verdant green I seem to surround myself with in the Spring.

There are a pair of mallards that seem to be in residence.   I've seen them a few times in recent weeks, and you can spot them at the far end of the pond in this photo (click on it to view it full size, on a PC at least - smartphone users will have to make the best of their teeny screen).

Having said that, as we were leaving in the car earlier this evening (heading to the local pub), we saw the pair of them wandering down our lane...I've not seen them do that before.

Anyway, our new camera hasn't arrived yet (although, frustratingly, one of the lenses has) , so this is a standard smartphone photo.   

Speaking of which, Anna is getting a new (work) smartphone on Monday, a Samsung Galaxy S5, which apparently is capable of recording 4K video!!!

Can't wait to give that a trial run...although first I have to get over feeling peeved that she has a phone two generations newer than mine, when I love my funky gadgets, and she really couldn't give a toss... 

That shit ain't right! 

Hmph...

}:-\