Monday, March 10, 2014

PHEEBS IS DOING FINE & I HAVE A THEORY

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A FEW MORE PHOTOS TODAY FROM FRIDAY’S JEEP TRIP TO CROWN KING

Pheebs had 2 Benadryl pills Sunday night about 7 p.m.  They were to prevent the itching in her nose & hopefully stop her from pawing it raw again.  We decided to take a chance & not put the $26 plastic cone on her head.  Happy to say Pheebs did not scratch her nose in the night so the healing continues.  She is on prescribed meds for the next few days.  Here’s what I think happened…..Pheebs has a habit of snapping at Bees & I think a Bee stung her on her upper lip late Saturday afternoon.  Her nose swelled & anyone who has had a Bee sting knows how itchy it gets after awhile.  Pheebs probably rubbed her nose raw with her paw in the night trying to stop the itching.  When I saw her bloody nose Sunday morning I thought she was bleeding from the inside out & right away thought of snake bite or scorpion.  Now in hindsight I think it was a Bee sting.  Some readers had wondered about the Rabbit repellent granules but the container said it was safe for pets.  I only put it around two holes & then with dirt poked the granules in the holes.  The dirt has not been disturbed.    She was perfectly normal all day & is doing fine tonight.  Her nose is scabbed & healing.  And I’ve stopped calling her Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindog:))

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Had some remaining brush piles to clean up over at the neighbors so figured I’d get that done this morning before the day heated up.  Some low hanging Mesquite trees needed cleaning up as well but had to be careful because of Bees.  Lot of Bees in the air right now with flowers blooming.  I’ll have to finish those trees up earlier in the morning while it’s cooler & the Bees are not airborne yet.

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Nice to see our days getting longer & nights getting warmer.  Of course warmer nights mean hotter days & that may affect any week long get-a-way plans over Borrego Springs way.  No point boondocking in hot desert weather if we don’t have to.  I will save my annual Ghost Mountain hike for when we return to the South-West in the Fall.  With our long homeward journey fast approaching I am now having doubts whether we will be able to fit in another boondocking week away.  Of course I’m keen to go but Kelly not so much.  Kind of floated a Grand Canyon idea out this morning but with no response the idea quickly crashed & burned.

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A FOREST FIRE WENT THROUGH THIS AREA

Had myself a lazy afternoon which I think was directly related to my waking & getting up a 4 a.m.  Been a long time since I have had that particular sleeping problem.  After years of insomnia & poor sleeping habits putting me into a Zombie like state some days I reluctantly decided to try the sleeping pill route.  Glad I did.   Thanks to those pills I have had about 20 restful months of good sleep.  However I’m wondering if after nearly 2 years my body is beginning to adjust to the sleeping agent in the pills.  We’ll see how it goes over the next little while.

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Just as sometimes I think back & do a little reminiscing I also sometimes think ahead & do a little speculating.  I’m guessing a month from today we will be on the road somewhere between Congress Arizona & Bayfield Ontario.  No hurry to get home this year as there is a huge amount of snow to be melted before we even ever get there.  Last year we had to rush home because my Uncle Harry had died.  This year I’m hoping we can see some new territory on our return & avoid that Oklahoma City, St. Louis interstate route for a change.  Of course it will all depend on weather again.  The month of April is a volatile weather month with warmer air mixing with cold fronts across the Midwest causing all kinds of nastiness.  

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The time change over the week-end has thrown us for a loop.  Arizona’s time never changes so after being 2 hours behind our Bayfield Ontario time we are now 3 hours behind.  Luckily I remembered that this afternoon & caught ‘Corner Gas’ at 1 p.m. instead of two.  NBC’s Brian Williams newscast on at 6:30 back East & here at 4:30 is now on at 3:30.  My 9 p.m. ‘Family Guy’ is now at 8 p.m which means must move my blogs ‘Publish’ deadline up an hour as well.  That means I will have to start my daily post an hour earlier sometime during the day.  Of course it was the same thing a year ago at this time & of course neither one of us can remember a darn thing about it.  Oh well………………

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GROANER’S CORNER:((  A newly retired couple from Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, Mildred and Art Stutmeyer, were wrapping up their third month of full-time RVing, driving down a lonely two-lane back road near Yuba City, California. But it wasn't a happy day, because they were steaming mad at each other. Their nerves were really on edge, probably because they had opted for a 24-foot fifth wheel trailer instead of one with more space, and the close quarters were driving them both batty! For example, Art kept getting mad at Mildred for leaving her socks on the dresser. And Mildred was equally bothered by Art's constant belching and the fact that he never even apologized for being so disgusting.

The silence in their Ford pickup truck was deafening. It seemed they had argued for an hour. But now, only silence. "It wasn't supposed to be like this," Mildred said to herself, holding back tears. Art, frowning, was also deep in thought, thinking, "If only we had bought that 38-footer." Yes, it was a very tense time.
As they drove past a huge barnyard packed fence-to-fence with big, fat, ugly pigs including one with tucks, Mildred, who was now about to pop with pent up frustration, just couldn't resist making a sarcastic comment .Pointing to the pigs, she said slyly, "Relatives of yours?"

Art, equally frustrated, stared back at her. "Yeh, they're relatives," he said, "In-laws!"

22 comments:

  1. Our Jackson is allergic to bees. He was stung when very young and had a reaction. Last year he was stung again (he too snaps at them) and he had a very bad reaction. His face was all swollen, his ears were like pieces of sponge, swollen and squishy and he had a rash from groin to armpit. The vet gave him the same shots that your Pheebs got and he too was put on Benydryl. He recovered quickly. I just worry about another bee sting because they say each time is worse. I always have Benydryl with me.
    Sure glad to hear Pheebs is ok.

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  2. Go glad Pheebs is doing well. We had a Sibe that got stung and it pretty much just made her nose swell! Why do they continue to bite at them? LOL

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  3. Al, I think you're right thinking it was a bee that caused Pheebs to swell up like that, and then her pawing her nose caused it to bleed. That sounds like what I would envision. Our Rusty used to chase flies in the house and bees in the yard. He caught several of the flies but always missed the bees, thankfully.

    Still no sign of those rabbits, eh? See, I told you they were just there to seek shelter from the rain.

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  4. glad to hear that Pheebes is doing much better!
    in keeping with the 'bee theme' our first golden girl..ate a bee..and her ears swelled up..she looked like Yoda!.. a few Benadryl later and she was as good as new! Never mind the vet that we called tried to tell us that she had a blood clot and that was causing the swollen ear flaps!

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  5. What a relief that Pheebs is making great progress.

    You cleared a mystery for us....Arizona's time doesn't change. What a crazy adjustment we all have...

    Tell Kelly to think hard about the Grand Canyon. She would not be sorry.

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  6. Oh wow, missed Sunday's posting until tonight (Monday), so at least I did not have to worry about Pheebes for too long. I think you are right, probably a bee. Skruffy had a paw that swelled up last year, and we figured it was a bee....she had licked some of the hair away and you can see where the bee's stinger got her. Put some novacet on it and she was fine in a day or so. --Dave (GoingRvWay.com)

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  7. Poor Pheebs, but I'm glad she is recovering quickly. I've been stung and gotten reactions a few times in my life and it scares me to think of it happening again. Benadryl is good stuff. I sometimes take it to help me sleep, but don't want to do it regularly and get reliant on it.

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  8. Great news about Pheebs. Be care with bees. Here in our desert, there have been two separate attacks on people by KILLER BEES. One was a 71 year old woman, stung 500 times, over where I normally do my morning walks! She lived. Bees stung the firefighters, too. Another one was two women whose cars crashed into a tree where the bees were swarming. They, and their rescuers, were all stung. Just be cautious...
    Cheryl Ann

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  9. I think you are right on with your theory on Pheebs.

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  10. Thank goodness for good old fashioned benedryl. Don't leave home without it.

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  11. Good news about Pheebs, glad she feeling better.

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  12. Glad to hear Pheebs is doing better! Our little Jazzy was stung on the butt by a bee--she had a deep fear of anything which buzzed, even a fly, after that.

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  13. I agree with your theory of the bee sting. One of our girls swells up so bad that she can't breathe and needs an immediate shot. Being a larger dog Pheebs likely did not react as strongly.

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  14. "However I’m wondering if after nearly 2 years my body is beginning to adjust to the sleeping agent in the pills."

    Perhaps a change in what you are taking? Does this information help?

    The big advantage of the Lunesta, Sonata, and Ambien sleeping pills is how quickly the body gets rid of them, said Dr. John Winkelman, medical director of the Sleep Health Center at Brigham and Women's Hospital. Sonata has the shortest half-life, which means it is substantially gone from the body in about four hours -- which is great if you've only got four hours to sleep but not as good if you're trying to sleep for eight, said Winkelman, who consults for the manufacturers of all three drugs. Ambien lasts a bit longer and Lunesta the longest -- about 8 hours in older people.

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  15. Sounds like you and Kelly traded up just in time! Funny groaner.

    When I come indoors, I just wallow in it. By the time it's time to get back into Spud and move, I am ready, ready, ready. I guess that means life is good!

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  16. Really glad to hear Pheebs is on the mend. It is so hard when pets can't tell you what is wrong or where it hurts. Give her a big hug and kiss for me from Chica.

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  17. That would/must have been very alarming. Never would have thought of a bee sting. Good to hear she is bouncing back quickly.
    It is hard to believe the time to head north is almost here! This past 6 months has really flown by.

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  18. I'll just say Me too - glad that Pheebs is better and think you've figured out what happened. Wonder if it will change how she acts around bees.

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  19. Wonderful news that Pheebie is doing just fine. We all are pulling for her! :c)

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