Thursday, March 27, 2008

One last big one before I'm down for the count

Isn't this beautiful? This is one of the horse farms that's adjacent to the farm on which we live. Today I walked to this view.
I've only mentioned it in passing because I don't want to talk about anything too personal on this site but, because I have off from work, I've scheduled knee surgery for tomorrow. Fun, eh? I'm not going to dwell on it, however, in my mind or on this site.
So today I decided to take one last Big Walk with George while I'm still able.
When I moved here about 10 years ago, I could run and hike with the best of them. Today, not so much.
The trails were also much clearer 10 years ago, too. Today, cart roads that used to run through the woods are covered with fallen trees and it's more difficult to get around. The trails close by our home are well-maintained, however, and I pretty much stick to these.
So today, I went on a trail I haven't been for several years, just to see how far I could go. I still don't have the capability to put captions under my photos, so please bear with me.
I used to be able to walk in the cleared area between the woods edge and the fenced paddocks you see here, but these days, the wild rose bushes have taken over and you can't get through. So I climbed over the fence and walked inside the field.
The very top photo was taken inside the field and I wasn't planning on staying too long because once the horses find out you're in there, they're gonna come a-runnin' to see what's up. And you never know what will happen then, but I think I could hold my own with them. It's my dog I worry about and what he'll do. He's still a youngster. The fence looks huge from this angle, doesn't it?
I come to the ditch with the washed out cement pipe. This used to be an embankment 10 years ago and it was covered with earth and grass. When Hurricane Floyd came through about 7 years ago, it washed it almost completely out. It's disinegrated even more since then. The water level is low, though, so I crossed the ditch today (and got one of my boots completely covered with mud). But it'll dry.
I climbed another fence and ended up in a horse paddock and took it to the far edge. Here is where there used to be a lovely cart road that ran for about 1/4 mile through overhanging trees and when you got to the end, there was a hill and a sitting place. I used to come here all the time. But today, years later, the beautiful trees have fallen over the cart road and it was an obstacle path and I eventually gave up.
This is also the place where I sprained my ankle badly about 6 years ago, 2 miles from my house. That was a tough walk home. So I'm really careful here today. George is getting a little tired, as evidenced by his tongue!
He's also found some muck to splash in and in this last picture, he's completely covered from his belly down. He's in heaven. Look at how happy he is.
I don't want to be the one to tell him that I can't walk with him for a little while. He'll find out soon enough, though.

17 comments:

Minna Dyer said...

Ok, the comment I left in the below post was meant for this one, so I'll say it again...
I LOVE LOVE LOVE the first photo.
The P.O.V. is great. It's subtle yet vast. An entry???

Good luck on your surgery!

Russell said...

Kate - wonderful photos!! I hope your surgery goes good tomorrow. Our thoughts and prayers will be with you - and soon you will be running through those woods again!!

Take care.

Russell said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Russell said...

My computer was acting up!! I posted the same comment twice - so I deleted the second one. Sorry about that...! I just wanted you to know who deleted a comment - it was me....!

dlyn said...

Aw - praying you are back out there with George again in no time Kate!

brneyedgal967 said...

I will be praying for you to have an easy surgery and a swift recovery! Knee surgery - gah. Love seeing pictures of the land you walk on, just beautiful. And dirty George... bwahaha - he does look happy.

Hugs and be well. :-)

Anonymous said...

Goodluck with your surgery tomorrow! I hope George behaves for you while you're laid up because a crutch is a good weapon! :)

I love the picture of George with his tongue hanging out... he looks too tired to even keep his tongue in his mouth! Too Cute!!

Anonymous said...

Hey Kate, Good Luck tomorrow with your surgery. This week has been really boring without people here. I did catch the man who was getting into the cars here and around town.I hope to see you on Monday.

Meg said...

BEAUTIFUL...pictures!

You're having knee surgery??? Tomorrow???? I will keep you in my prayers...I may be headed down that same route myself!

Your "stuff" is on it's way.

HUGS!
Meg

tj said...

...Aww Kate, my thoughts and prayers are with you girl! Thanks for the beautiful photos and I don't think George will allow you to sit around too much, he'll have you up and walkin' around in no time! ;o)

...Blessings to you... :o)

Mental P Mama said...

Good luck tomorrow! I'll be sending good thoughts your way!

brneyedgal967 said...

Thinking of you today and hope you're enjoying pain-medicine-land while you can. :-)

Jo said...

Best of luck with your surgery, and keep us posted. I'm thinking about your and sending good vibes your way.

Anonymous said...

Good luck tomorrow, I know you'll do great! You will!!

Country Girl said...

Hey, thanks everyone. Rich, I didn't see your post until just now. I don't think it ever made it to my inbox. When I think of you now, the music to "To Catch a Thief" will be playing in my head. That is, if I can remember it . . .

Anonymous said...

KatyKate,
I'm doing my math and I can't make the equation work out.

Here's the problem:
I loved your blog so much I was reading pages and pages of it, and was really touched by the part about how you were going to cook all these great breakfasts for your husband while you were off work.
Now comes the knee surgery part in yesterday's blog and I can't figure out how you can cook Delicious Waffles And Stuff while recovering from knee surgery.

so I have to admit, I'm torn: sorry for you at having to be down recuperating on SUCH a gorgeous day as today was...? or for him for the ham and eggs and fresh pancakes and biscuit gravy that I was vicariously already SAVORING....

sigh.
I really love a good omelette.
sigh.
maybe with a little mushroom and asparagus.
sigh.
and maybe some jarlsberg

love ya :-) Get better,
KT

Country Girl said...

There's ham & eggs and pancakes and biscuit gravy? Where? Nobody told me about this!!!

Your comment is making me hungry. But whenevere you're torn between feeling bad for me or for my husband, the answer should always be ME.

See! It's a simple solution and your problem has been solved. I'm good that way.

And the surgery wasn't until Thursday, so my husband had a delicious pop tart every day until then. Hand-toasted by me!

Oh, I am such a fibber . . .

~ C.G.

PS -- It's really sweet that you're going back and reading all the old posts. I'm so glad you're liking the blog, KT!