Wednesday, March 30, 2011

April Fools' Snow??

Thursday morning sunrise in Maine.  We have an old saying
in these parts, something about sailors taking warning.
(Edited Thursday AM to add picture.)

The latest from the weather folk is that March will leave us Thursday with a whimper.  In fact, it'll be a generally nice day here in Southern Maine.  Clouds, however, will be on the increase and by midnight Thursday a good old fashioned Nor'Easter could hit the area.

I live within a few miles of the coastline and this region is expected to have the snow change over to rain during Friday keeping the snow totals down somewhat.  But just a few miles inland, it'll start piling up dramatically and the mountains could see about a foot of new snow.  That's a good place for it.  Of course, as we're always told, it depends on the exact track of the storm.

Joe Cupo, the meteorologist for WCSH6-TV, assures us his forecast is no April Fools' Day joke.

It looks like we're in for an interesting day Friday.

GiM

Monday, March 28, 2011

Snow to end the month?????

Well, it depends on the track that will decide whether or not we end this week with some potentially plowable snow to end this week, the final hurrah for March, 2011.  Naturally, like all potential storms in Maine, that "track" will be the final determiner; and, considering the track records of the forecasters in the last few years, I guess I won't spend more than this time thinking about it.

In the meantime, Gator Golden continues on her way to healing from surgery to correct a torn  ligament in her hind knee.  She's done a super job of letting the staples do their job of healing the incision.  All are still there.  Perhaps my little discussion with her about wearing that horrendous cone thingy on her head if she didn't leave them alone worked.

The staples are scheduled for removal next week on the same day, incidentally, my Fearless Friend and Mrs. FF, leave their winter home in Florida for another season and head home.

This week, though, our only activity will be attending the luncheon several fellow retirees and I have on the final Wednesday of every month.  That's an activity I always enjoy.

GiM

Saturday, March 26, 2011

March's last weekend

March is marching to its end as we are in the final weekend of the month.  It officially leaves us next Thursday.  It's been a different kind of March for the Gator Clan.  I crossed into another year as did Gator Daughter.  We're both old enough that it doesn't make that big of a deal.

It is Gator Golden who faced the biggest challenge of the month.  Late in February she slipped on a patch of ice while racing around the corner of the house and tore a ligament in her knee.  She didn't complain, but the rest of us suffered just watching her maneuver on three legs.  By mid-March, she had undergone surgery to correct the tear.  It was successful and now, even though a whole row of staples remains in the incision, she is walking on all fours once again.  By late in the days, however, the leg gets tired and she favors it just a bit.  The staples will be removed in early April.

Have a great weekend.

GiM

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

GG's improvement continues, perhaps a little ahead of schedule

It has been a week since Gator Golden underwent surgery to repair a torn ligament in her hind left knee.  Progress has been wonderful.  I don't have any new pictures yet as when I try to get one showing her improvements, my very slow camera takes the picture after the moment passes.  I can get pictures of her sitting or lying, but they don't show her continued increasing use of her leg. 

And that's where the improvement is.  She now walks with all four paws on the floor/ground and puts enough weight on that repaired one to hold her limping to an absolute minimum.  If she does want to put a little more quickness in her travel, she still hold the leg up, but even lets it touch occasionally.  Of course we are under instructions to keep her from running as much as possible.

She has two chairs in which she's allowed to get.  Both are near windows that allow her to keep track of what's coming down the driveway.  Both are temporarily off limits to her, though, as more the vet's orders say no jumping.  She does not understand that and thinks she's being punished for something.  (Perhaps technically she is for racing on that ice three weeks ago.)

Her "duty" station activities continue easily.  We had had trouble in the beginning as she had never been on leash before; but now we take her to her special place, remove the leash while she takes three or four steps away, completes those necessary tasks, then returns directly to be reconnected.  Unfortunately, Gator Wife has about 90% of the responsibility of taking care of these needs as it is extremely difficult for me to walk on the lawn.

The next visit to the veterinarian is in two weeks when the staples are scheduled for removal.  Until then we are watching the little girl carefully and letting her know how happy we are as she continues to improve.

As for me, I'm almost sorry I gave up my political comments.  There are some issues in the news that I'd almost like to return to the old blog to offer my uneducated, highly opinionated thoughts.

GiM

Monday, March 21, 2011

Another week in March

March continues on and the next to last week is underway.  Except for a forecast miserable day Monday, I have no eventful events on my plate.  Spring sprung yesterday, but from what forecasters predict for this Monday, the snow gods forgot to read the forecast.  One forecaster says we'll get from one to three inches of snow in our little area of Maine and another is saying the potential for two to five inches is there.  It's that "track," don'tcha know. 

Gator Golden continues on her way to recovery from her knee surgery.  She now puts her leg on the floor more than she did and even is applying weight to it.  She also wants to climb into her favorite chair more often and thinks we're punishing her for something she knows not what because we won't allow her to jump.  That, of course, is part of the doctor's orders.  She's also balking more at the leash.  Since she's getting her ambition back, she's not happy being held back.

I don't have any new pictures today.

GiM

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Typical March Weekend

Friday...record high temperatures.  It was officially 68 degrees in Portland which beat the old record by three degrees.  We recorded a degree higher here on the Maine Gator Swamp.  Actually my device said it was 69.9 at one point, but I never did see a 70.  And then Saturday arrived and we awoke to a snow shower.  The snow isn't accumulating and the ground is too warm for that to happen; but nevertheless, record warmth one day and snow the next.

Most of this weekend will see daytime temperatures hovering around 40.  It's a typical weekend in March in Maine.

Gator Golden continues to improve.  By yesterday afternoon, she was touching her leg on the floor as she walked.  There really wasn't any weight put on it, but at least she didn't just leave it hanging in the air. The knee operation she had Wednesday, though, seems to be heading in the right direction for recovery.
Her head hides them here, but she keeps looking back at those staples holding the skin together.  One of the hardest parts for GW and me is keeping her mouth away from them.  The vet had told us he wouldn't put one of those huge cones on her head as long as she lets the healing take place.  A friend of ours who had a dog with a similar operation and it had to wear that cone.  My friend said it took the dog only minutes to get it off.  He said that cone requires total constant watching.  So far, GG hasn't caused us to think about adding it.

As I told my Fearless Friend the other day, GG's biggest problem during the first day of being home was taking care of her personal needs outside.  For all of her life in her yard, she has never been on a leash.  Vet's orders were to take her outside on leash (also around the inside) to keep her from running and jumping.  Chasing squirrels, one of her favorite pasttimes, is an absolute no-no for a while.  On the leash she had "bashful waste eliminators" and didn't/wouldn't take care of those things.  GW solved the problem.  She took GG to her normal area and took off the leash.  The pup took a couple steps, did her business, and simply returned to GW to be rehooked.  Problem solved.

I haven't been able to get a picture of her touching her foot to the floor yet as by the time I get the camera opened and wait that eon's long prep time, the picture op is gone.  Now to be fair, the camera really doesn't take eons to prepare itself, but when a picture opportunity arrives, it surely does seem that long.  I'm not sure cameras that cost a little more than we paid for ours aren't ready a whole lot faster.

I haven't mentioned Gator Daughter coming over for a while.  GG gets all excited when GD comes so GD has said she won't visit until the pup gets more active.  She doesn't want to be the reason for a setback, but we do miss her visiting, and GG still wants to get in the window to look for her when she calls, a normal signal GD is coming.  GD also tells us her Golden, GG's litter sister, also doesn't understand why there is no visit. 

If only I knew how to communicate in dog language!

GiM

Thursday, March 17, 2011

GG's knee surgery went well!

Wednesday was a tough day on the Maine Gator Swamp.  Gator Golden had slipped on ice a couple weeks ago and tore a ligament in her knee.  Wednesday it was surgically repaired.

We are very happy to report that the surgery went very well, except the vet also discovered she is loaded with arthritis and so the chances of her other leg needing the operation has increased.

When she came home Wednesday night, she was, naturally, lethargic but went directly into her safety zone, her crate, to rest.

Thursday morning was a little better and she had ventured forth but without encouragement from us, she is taking it very easy.  As long as she isn't too active, she won't be confined to the crate.

I'm truly not sure who is more disturbed by her discomfort...Gator Golden or Gator Wife or me.  But as long as she's near us, she seems quite content.

She is not at all familiar with being on a leash so she is having a difficult time taking care of her personl needs outside.  She apparently is not sure if it's OK to deposit waste material with one of us within a couple of feet.  We're working on that one.
That surgical spot on her hind leg doesn't look too bad, but from watching her protect the leg, I guess it remains a little sore.  We do have some anti-inflammation pills, some antibiotics, and some pain pills.  The vet gave us a regular schedule for the first two but said we only should give her the pain pills when she needs them.  The shaved spot on the front leg, incidentally, is where the I-V for the anesthesia and other medications had been inserted.

I'm still waiting for her to ask for a pain pill.

So now we're in for several weeks of recovery.  You'll be able to follow that adventure periodically right here.

GiM

Monday, March 14, 2011

Not a happy March week

The winter doldrums continue on the Maine Gator Swamp.  But, of course, spring arrives soon.  We've already returned to daylight savings time.  I saw a cute joke on a forum I read regularly.  "The Old Indian" said, "Only the government could cut a foot off one end of a blanket and sew it on the other and say we had a longer blanket."  I think it's an old one, but I still like it.

Why is this not a happy week?  Wednesday Gator Golden goes to the vet hospital to have her hind left knee surgically repaired.  She slipped on the ice a couple weeks ago and tore the ligament in the knee.  The poor little pup (she's seven years old) is in for several weeks of recovery.  That means she won't be allowed outside except on leash and someone, mainly Gator Wife, walking her.  We have a sling-type device to help her up and down stairs.  And she understands none of it.

GG is too important in the clan's lives not to take care of it, but we're all in for some 'interesting' times.  For anyone who may be interested, I'll give a report sometime Thursday.  But right now, it's a tough Wednesday that'll be holding all our attention.

GiM

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

March

Continues!

GiM

Monday, March 7, 2011

Monday storm

Rain, snow, freezing rain, and sleet all arrived in Maine.  What one got and how much simply depended on where you are.  And now, for most of us, it's gone.
GiM

Saturday, March 5, 2011

Same old, same old! Just warmer.

First weekend in March?  No change.  Dreary.  At least the temperatures will be warmer...possibly into the 50s Sunday.  But showers Saturday...much rain Sunday into Monday...possible changeover to snow showers Monday. 

GiM

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Can spring be far behind?

March in Maine is now underway.

GiM