So far

One of the things that is very different about living in Western Kentucky is that the weather forecasts are most often correct. This was a revelation. In Maryland, I scoffed at weather reports. If the weatherperson said, "Rain, heavy at times, with temps dipping into the low 40's," and you thought you shouldn't take the dogs to a field trial to stand outside getting drenched to the skin, the weekend would unfailingly dawn sunny, bright, and pleasant, and you would be home with dogs casting disgusted, accusatory, "we could be coursing" looks your way.

I learned.

Pay no mind to the silly weatherpeople. Just wake up and go.


But here, they get it right. My scoffing days are done.



This was at ten o'clock last night. It is looking out the east foyer window. If you click to enlarge (use your back button to return, please don't get lost out there!) You will see the ice on the window sill.



Again at ten. Isn't it strange how the ice collected at the base of the flower pots? The sidewalk was ice, smooth as glass, but much more treacherous.


This morning at seven.



Our arbor benches which got shmooshed when the tree fell on them in the wind storm.

The power went out somewhere around three this morning. We woke up because the bedroom was chilly, and the clock on my bedside table (which so happens to be Fat Charlie's crate) was dark. Each dog has four or five blankets in their crate this time of year. I cover each of them up after they get their bedtime biscuit. I checked, and they were all invisible. Only Sam I Am had his head out of the covers. His sire was from Massachusetts; that explains it. I recovered Very Old Dog, who lay between Bill and me. His ears felt chilly.

Oh that sweet soft sigh.

I'm listening to our NPR station, WKMS, online. That comfortable space on the radio is only rude static. Something about no power for their main transmitter.

Our power came back on at around 5:30. We woke to the sound of the furnace revving up. As I snuggled up to Bill, I thought of the poor people who were outside in this freezing rain and sleet, in high bucket lifts handling electricity. So that our heat would come on.

Yowsa.

How do you thank the nameless folks who do that?

They're saying that there's lots more ice to come. It is scary for Very Old Dog.

hug your hounds

The Ice Storm Cometh

(clockwise from TOP: Luciano, Fat Charlie, Giacomino aka Very Old Dog, Sam I Am)


Oh brother. Looks like a doozy. We're going to hunker down and hope the power stays on.



Hug your hounds and stay safe

More on Thunderphobia be Gone, and more...

Jean wrote:

Some clarifying points for questions you had and those of some of your
readers: I completed the two year certification program in Donna Eden’s modality
of Energy Medicine http://www.innersource.net/ . The work
with Giacomino was not about massage, but about working the appropriate
acupressure points. In this case the key points were the sedating or calming
points on Triple Warmer, or more traditionally called Triple Heater, meridian.
We also did some other things to rebalance the energetic charge he developed
around the sound of thunder storms. Someone asked for a resource for animals.
The best one I’m aware of and the one we were given in my class is the Tallgrass
Animal Acupressure Institute http://www.animalacupressure.com/index.html
-- they have videos, charts, courses etc. They are where I got my charts and
video from.

Thanks, Jean! (Oh and BTW, Jean, after you left today, Giacomino had a nap while I sewed, and then when we went outside at around four thirty, he galloped around the yard! Galloped. He was being sooo silly! And he ate all his dinner.)

**********************************************************************

We got an award!!!

Which we totally do NOT deserve!!! But the Zoo Crew were nice enough to give it to us. (I am pretty sure they felt sorry for the whippets, seeing that they have such a slacker servant.) I do think about the blog everyday, and I'm a daily blogger in that I visit my favorites every day, so maybe that's worth something. The Zoo Crew have a very sweet blog, and they have a white puppy named Willow, how amazing is that, so be sure to go visit them. (This Willow is a smidgen bigger than our Willow was.)

I am going to pass the award on to The Lurchers (maybe it will bring more good energy for Lurcher #1's blood work) and iList Paducah Blog, (you remember how much Mary has done to help the dogs around here) both of whom actually deserve it! Oh and to Gus and Teka who also deserve it and have just moved from Arizona to Memphis which is QUITE the move.

Thank you Zoo Crew!

************************************************************

And today was Fat Charlie and Mama Pajama's eleventh birthday. The weather gods smiled on us with a generosity of spirit unheard of around these parts. It was simply glorious. We had a nice little dinner, and all the dogs got hamburgers from the grill, with whipped cream from the can for dessert! I will post the photos tomorrow.

That Mama Pajama is here, celebrating her ELEVENTH birthday is purely a little miracle. At least to me.

hug your hounds

Thunderphobia be GONE!

You may recall, dear readers, that Very Old Dog's thunderphobia had advanced to the point where I feared that he would literally die of fright. His fourteen year old heart simply would explode under the strain. He was terrified. And he got worse with each storm.

He had been totally oblivious to storms or any loud noises until about the time he turned twelve. During the last several storms he had gotten to the point where he paced, he shook, he panted and he suffered abject terror. The flash of the lightning would make him jump and whimper, and then the thunder... oh it has been awful. And in this part of the world, thunder storms are a violent, persistent presence. Year round.

Well, one of you dear readers, who happens also to live in Paducah, took pity on the old dog. We knew her casually; she and her husband enjoy Bill's art. They had us to dinner once and we had reciprocated, and we'd see each other at goings on around town. Jean (not to be confused with Jeannie who went to see Xela run with me, even though I called Jean Jeannie for three months cause I'm not so swift) and Roger were fun people and we looked forward to getting to know them better.

(A moment of truth: I was intimidated by that first dinner. Holy Moly could she cook! And everything was so beautiful, and organized and ... and I'm not. But I've gotten over it.)

I can't remember if Jean called or just stopped by, but she said the magic words, "I might be able to help Giacomino be not so stressed during storms."

Well, don't be bashful, come on over!!

I had been interested to hear about Jean's course of study, which she's been doing for some years. (Ill find out how many and edit.) She studies Energy Medicine, and is a Certified Practitioner. Now, I imagine it took some courage to come to the house of a retired M.D. and a retired R.N. and say, "I am going to work on your dog's energy flow and meridians and help him with his fear of storms." But I'd seen very good results in my dogs and horses with acupuncture treatments in the past, and I said, "Sure! It can't hurt."

So she worked with him. Oh, yes, she is trained to treat humans, but she had one course on animals, and she punted.

The first couple of storms after the first couple of sessions, I didn't see any improvement. But then the next storm, I thought, "Huh." He didn't seem so frantic. I reasoned that maybe his hearing was gone to the point that he couldn't hear it. I wrote if off as a simple, "huh."

But then there was no denying the improvement. More storms came, doozies, and he was unfazed. Maybe he'd look slightly unsettled for a nanosecond. BOOM!!! The windows rattled and the room lit up. Zzzzzzzz went Giacomino. "Oh thank everything that is good," cried a happy me!

Night before last was a big test. Bill and I were out, and a bad storm rolled into town, just minutes before we got home. When we opened the kitchen door, I saw dear Giacomino standing with both ears straight up, staring at the flashing window.

Uh-oh, I thought.

He was fairly worried. So I "worked" the points to relieve his fight or flight reaction, as Jean had taught me. This storm was bad, but I felt the pulses under my fingers, and saw some of my dog's muscles twitching, meaning that I was getting a reaction, and then, as the flashes and crashes kept on, I saw Giacomino relax.

And then, he went to sleep.

Good glory be it's a genuine miracle!!! I am one happy whippet servant! What a gift! (I know that is a lot of exclamation points, but I am exclaiming!) It is so miserable to watch your dear dog in a total panic and not be able to do a thing to help, and it is heaven to be able to help him.

Thank you, Jean.

hug your hounds