Rock and roll Ripley

Ripley went to the Vet and was given a good progress report, and will have his stitches taken out on the 12th of August. It will end the days of wearing the "cone of shame" and later the terrible toga he decided was better than the plastic cone. The toga, actually an old top of Elizabeth's, served to keep the stitches in his belly clear of outside agitation. This was our version of buying a child's shirt at the Dollar Store, as suggested by Laurie at the Vets office. She also suggested a spray called "Bitter Apple" which, when applied, left a very bad taste in his mouth as a dissuader to licking the stitches, or worse yet chewing at them. We didn't want to see his intestines fall out if he succeeded, and certainly didn't want another $1,000 bill at the canine emergency ward.

Ripley is OK with the spray, which may impact him only if he licks himself where it's been employed. We try to keep the area small, just covering the stitches. However, he seems to think he can roll around and unburden himself of this "medicine", and thus we'd see him run in circles and rub his nose on the carpet. There's no rhyme or reason, it's just that he's a dog.

If I were better at using this upload facility, I'd post .58 seconds of Ripley running around like a crazy person, but apparently my Apple (as opposed to Ripley's "Bitter Apple") doesn't seem to have a correct format. More likely, I don't understand its format, but suffice to say Ripley is pretty darn funny when he gets the crazies, but for most of the past several weeks and especially since the surgery, he's only had flashes of crazy amidst hours of sonorous slumber.

Imperial Beagle, Ripperius Magnus

TOGA, TOGA, TOGA - well, that beats diaper, diaper, diaper.

Anything to avoid the dreaded "cone of shame" (see inset picture with clear cone) that Ripley hated wearing to keep him from chewing on his stitches. When we left the vets office last Thursday, following the invasive surgery required to remove the peach pit that went down way too quickly. However, it came out slowly and expensively with the help of two veterinarians and perhaps several technicians, AND he had to wear the "cone of shame". He didn't like it and he ran into things (a clearance issue); he couldn't scratch his ear, he couldn't sniff stuff on the ground, and for a beagle that was the worst form of punishment - the inability to sniff things on the ground. So, when he went back on Saturday morning, the vet tech suggested a small shirt and a spray of Bitter Apple, which we bought at the nearby pet store.

He also had not been able to use his crate, as the cone would not allow him to go through the gate. Two nights of him in our bed wearing the "cone of shame" were not fun, for Ripley or for us. The "toga" is one of Elizabeth's old sleeveless tank tops, slit up the back (along his spine), and using a twist tie at the shoulders to gather it up. Where it's slit, we then tie the two sides and this covers his stitches. A squirt of bitter apple spray further discourages licking that area.

Ripley is on a prescription diet ("I.D."), and he eats this wet canned dog food four times a day, with a quarter can every four hours (8, Noon, 4 and 8). He's also on three meds, in addition to the four meals. Neosporin on the wound whenever we can get him to sit still (not easy). He's somewhat lethargic in the morning (his pain meds are also administered in the morning), but by noon he perks up.

And aside from the fact he's not drinking any water, we can add a bit of water to the wet dog food, and he will lick an ice cube I hold in my palm. He's getting enough to pee, and today I discovered a new trick - I let him taste my fat free milk in the glass I use to take MY pills, and then quickly withdraw it and water it down a lot - it's still milky in color and he finishes it.

Maybe water is the next challenge to overcome, but he's doing fine on processing the dog food through his system. Too bad he couldn't process the peach pit as well. So no more "cone of shame", and he's now known as "Toga Boy" around the neighborhood.

The Thousand Dollar Peach Pit

Another story featuring Ripley and his recent adventure swallowing a peach pit. As you can see, this was not a small item, but when it slipped out of my fingers while eating a very expensive peach, Ripley was there in a heartbeat, literally, and had swallowed it whole before I could stop him. That was a week ago Tuesday, and immediately I called the vet to ask "what can I do". The staff said "well, watch him closely and if he shows any distress, call us". They made a logical assumption that what went down would ultimately pass through his system.

Well, it didn't pass through, and by the following Saturday, an X-ray was in order. The pit was there, in the stomach, just sitting there going nowhere - but at great risk of causing trouble later. Our vet had a specialist coming through the following Tuesday, who had surgical expertise, but also a endoscope which was basically a camera with pincers that could go down the throat into the stomach and hopefully grasp and remove the pit. He also had ultrasound gear that confirmed the location. Endoscopy was the preferred method, and the least invasive. Tuesday we took Ripley back and awaited the phone call.

The endoscopy method did not work, after three tries there was a concern that the pit might fracture and cause more problems, so Trapper John and Hawkeye (well, they were also both vets, right?) went to Plan B, an incision and extraction through the stomach wall. Three sets of stitches later, and two days of IV drip of fluids, we were told Ripley could come home to recover.

He came home, complete with a plastic "Elizabethan collar" as the vet called it. The collar is to keep Ripley from chewing on his stitches. The little guy is a trooper and hasn't objected too strenuously about wearing it. We take it off when time to go outside - if he stops to agitate his stitches, we can always bring his head back up with the short leash. However, no more 20 foot leash and swimming in the lake, and no more climbing trees for at least a month. He has dissolving stitches in the interior parts, but the stitches on his belly will have to be removed by the vet in two weeks.

His doctor is a fine man, and we have a good prognosis for a complete recovery. We have banned peaches (other than the variety that comes in cans already cut up) from the cupboards, for good measure. And judging from the picture of the pit alongside the ruler, you can see that this obstacle was no small item. Ripley fought the peach and the peach won. So, we have just added to our investment in our priceless beagle buddy. Maybe that means one less cruise this year, but he's worth it. And with a beagle around, who needs a goat to clean up.

Something good in Winding Oaks

Despite the fact that activity at the Winding Oaks Pool has ground to a halt now for over ten days, the area surrounding the pool and the adjacent pond has been busy today. Valley Crest Landscaping crews have put on a massive cleanup and trimming campaign, both in the "nature walk" area immediately surrounding the pool, and the back yards of homes on the "even address side" of our street. When I went for a morning walk to see if any progress on the pool was evident, I noted two large stake trucks loaded to the top with cuttings and organic debris.

Neighborhood readers of my blog have followed my frustration with the pool project, but from reading Mark Hullinger's "Pool Project Update", volume 3, dated July 22, 2011 I can see the Board cashiered Kent Kimes, and the newly hired project engineer found sixteen (16) principal errors in the Kimes plan. So, giving them the benefit of the doubt, I can understand some "stop, look and listen" delay, but for something which was promised for completion in 2010, I don't think anybody could blame residents for being unhappy with decisions made in the past to start down this road with an unprepared guide.

But, let's get back to something positive - the work today by Valley Crest. Palm fronds have been trimmed and hedges have been manicured and groomed - the place really looks good right now, and the work has been done aided by the presence of cooling showers in the area from time to time today. Valley Crest has also been active in a beautification project behind 3401 where the well belonging to the master association has been installed and land cleared for fresh plantings. That project is paid for by Bay Isles Association, not Winding Oaks, but we benefit in added beauty to the nearby entrance to our neighborhood.

Hot Summer days, Wet Summer nights

The picture at the left shows how high the thunderheads get over our island offshore from Sarasota, Florida. The right hand side picture is our home, with an almost solid background of graying cloud. This is typical July weather here, with hot and steamy days, and cooling rain at night. You'll note no cars in the driveway, as often these storms bring hail, so both vehicles spend time in the garage. Weather today reached 90, but it is always a few degrees cooler on the island with the sea breeze.

As I sit down to write this blog entry, it's only 84 degrees with scattered thunder storms, and overnight it'll get down to 75 by six AM as Ripley and I will start our Monday with the ritual walk down to the Marina, and back. Our trip takes us through the Tennis Gardens (over 20 courts), past the Grille at the club, where we stop for water, and then onward to admire all the boats at anchor. By the time we return home, his food has been set out and my wife has that first coffee along with the morning newspaper. Rip and I both like to avoid her until that second cup touches her lips. She's more than happy to catch that extra 45 minutes of sleep anyway.

Looking out my window into the courtyard, I can see the 40% chance of precipitation has not YET come to pass, although on our after supper walk we heard lots of rumbling and didn't tarry far from the house. Precipitation or perspiration, it doesn't need rain here to qualify as a participant in the wet T-shirt contest, so the water bills are higher in the summer due to many more cycles of laundry.

So, the summer cycle revolves around Ripley and the weather, with the object being to spend as much time as possible in air conditioned comfort, without becoming a total couch potato. Some good news - we're now 25% of the way through the traditional June through end of November hurricane season, and only two tropical depressions passing far away. Having sold the Missouri condo my wife insists we no longer have a Plan B. If a hurricane should come here and take out both the current home and the rental property six miles up the island, I think my Plan B is to take the insurance check and book myself into Plan C - a long cruise around the world.

Bastille Day, 2011

Today is Bastille Day, July 14th, the day of the French revolution and my wife's birthday. This is her present, a new custom built bookcase to house her hardcover and paperback collection. Of late, she's been buying books from the Apple store and putting them on her I-pad, but what we had in this second bedroom was still insufficient to store the earlier collection.

Enter One Grumpy Elf, the DBA (doing business as) for our friend Peter Elliott. We met Peter through friends Dick and June, who had him build custom bookcases for them at the Evergreen Way neighborhood. Peter built us a nice storage chest and a hall table inside the front door. When we moved, we brought the chest along. Later, we added two bedside tables ($150 each) and then a headboard for the queen sized bed in the second bedroom. The headboard is actually from one of the original kitchen doors at the new house, which we scrapped but gave to Peter. Peter builds things out of louvered doors, which he finds wherever people are upgrading closet doors that were more popular in the 1970's, 80's, and 90's. We like the fact he recycles, and between our two condos we have six items now. The bookcase, with four shelves up instead of the traditional three, cost me $225 plus tax. That's with a generous discount for returning (and returning, AND RETURNING) customers. Peter - once again a great piece and just what we wanted.

Ripley also had a busy day, going to the vet for his six month blood test following his heart worm treatment last December. We're proud to say our boy passed his 4DX test with flying colors. Pictures are on his Face Book page, under Ripley Wild. He's pictured here on that bed, and in the picture you can see the former swinging door from the kitchen, and the bedside tables. Rip is generally not allowed in the guest room, so this is a rare picture for his album.

For her birthday, Elizabeth got this neat piece of furniture (OK, so I'm no romantic) and a gift certificate for a pedicure. Ripley got his toenails done too, at the veterinarian. The only difference.......the vet doesn't speak Vietnamese, but then again the nail technician doesn't speak beagle.

"On The Road" Car Show

I ran into an old friend on Thursday night while up in Saint Louis, and he mentioned going to a car show over in Illinois, in the town of Worden, just up I-55 a bit. He was taking his Foose Mustang, and after mocking me for so much road dust on my car, suggested I bring it over to his place the next day, and we'd clean it up for the show the next morning. I figured, "well, I know I can probably get the trophy for who came the farthest" so I agreed to meet him and drive over to this small Illinois town for it's car show.

We stopped along the way and visited a buddy, who has the neatest garage I've ever seen. Behind two of those door panels in that work bench area are a compressor and a a hot and cold water hookup with hose for washing his cars. Jim Smith has a fifth generation Corvette, but wasn't going to the show. He said nice things about my sixth generation Grand Sport, and spotted me two diet Dr. Peppers for my other buddy Jim's cooler. We then all grabbed breakfast at Hardees in town, after which Jim VanNest and I set off for Worden, Illinois.

Worden isn't much of a town, but the local people make up for it in personality. Wonderful mid-American values and hospitality, and the site was a year old town park where they had food, drink, and local merchant donated raffle goods. I spent about five bucks on food, another five for a chance to win a quilt (benefitting a recently deceased firefighter's family), and five more for six chances to win Cardinal baseball tickets for the last night I'll be in Missouri. The drawing comes after the town fireworks tonight, but if my cell phone rings, Smitty can pick them up, take them to Jim at Boeing, and Jim can bring them to me in plenty of time for my wife, Caitlin, son-in-law Matt, and me to use them. And spending less than $20 bucks while my wife and daughter were out shopping for baby stuff in Missouri beat going along and watching them spend more. After all, it was a Saturday in the park and everything went for good causes. Oh, yes, you can click on any picture to enlarge them too.

Let me talk about Jim's Foose Mustang - it's one of 252, before they stopped making them (something about the company personnel going to jail on another project). It was designed by Chip Foose, who is known to car nuts everywhere, and has his own cable shows. Jim got a great deal on the car, only made in model year 2007, and this one had been untitled until 2010 because the original dealer wanted over retail and it sat unsold. When the dealer died, his son marked it down for sale and my friend lucked into seeing it before somebody else could grab it. Anyway, it's the only one of the 250 some with that specific paint and stripe color combination, and it wins awards at most shows where it's entered. Jim won first place in his class again, and since I had a Corvette and was in a separate class, I also won a similar sized trophy to his. However, the trophy in the picture was the "Chief of Police's Choice" and the largest awarded - they gave it to me, much to my surprise. I don't know if it was because I had come the farthest to participate, or just that the Chief wanted a Corvette Grand Sport of his own. I can imagine his chasing speeders on nearby I-55 in that car, and he'd get away with exceeding the 19th century Illinois speed limit of 65 in doing so.

I also shot several other winning car pictures, those who won special mention as the Mayor's Choice, and the Fire Chief's choice, and best paint. You'll see a husband and wife entered 1934 Ford Truck and 1937 Ford Sedan in matching blue, a purple 1040 Mercury, and of course the ubiquitous 1957 Chevy. It was small town America at it's finest, with great American cars from the 1940's to my 2011 Chevy - not a single "rice burner" showed up, but in rural Illinois you'd probably be sent packing if you drove a Nissan or Honda into town. Maybe that's why I got the Police Chief's choice trophy - he lusted after something fast and furious that could show foreign cars that Detroit Iron still rules in "flyover country" USA. Well, thanks Chief for your vote of confidence - and thank you to all the great people I met and enjoyed spending time alongside as we swapped stories about the cars that we hold precious.