A Bike, The Orchard, Gertie Wounded

Summer                                                       Hiroshima Moon

Got a bike and a helmet today.  Ready to ride.  This bike’s a fixie which means it won’t coast, though it has a hub that can switch out so it rides like an old timey Schwinn.  Not expensive, my helmet cost almost as much as the bike.  Wanted another aerobic alternative, something to get me outside for exercise.  This’ll do it.  Bought the bike on line and had a local bike shop assemble it.

Kate and I worked in the orchard today.  One day a week she says where and what she’d like to have me do outside.  Think it’ll be two days this week.  I like to work outside for an hour to an hour and a half, then I’m done.  She likes to work until she’s finished.  Commendable, but not my style.  I parse tasks over time.  Needless to say Kate gets more outdoor work done than I do.

Gertie has wounds again.  This is the third time since she got here and the second time in a month.  We’ve not seen it happen so we can only speculate, though they look like canine bites and tears.  Fortunately pediatrics has a lot in common with veterinary medicine–that is, the patients often can’t talk–so handling doggy trauma at a certain level is well within Kate’s capacity.

I held Gertie while Kate put hydrogen peroxide on and into the punctures.  The punctures went all the way through the dermis to the muscle fascia.  She debreeded, then put an antibiotic ointment under the skin around the wounds.  Then, some bandages that lasted for a bit.

We started her on antibiotics we have here from other doggy misadventures, gave her some rimadyl for the pain and let her sleep in our room.  Where she is right now.