No Riding for Her This Year

Went with the Boss to see a spine surgeon earlier this week.  She has a disc that is almost gone and a vertebrae that slides back and forth.  This has been causing pain and leg numbness.  Apparently the only fix is to install a spacer and fix one bone to the other using hardware.  This will require 2 surgeons, one entering from the front and the other from the back.

Surgery is scheduled for late September because she wants to hold our newest grand child that is due early the same month.  Recovery time is expected to be about 3 months. Part of that time will be with her in a stiff body brace. 

No horseback riding for her this year.

Finally at the Range

Made it to the shooting range today for a couple of hours.  Tested 8 or 10 different types of .22 ammunition in my old Marlin semi-auto rifle.  I first ran 5 shot groups, then of the best ran 12 shot groups.  Three of the ammo types were very close to being the same.  I'll try those another day with a clean rifle.

After about an hour a group of old geezers showed up with 22s.  They all knew each other.  Guess I was another old fart, but I didn't know any of them.

Just for fun I put about 20 rounds through the 4" Charter 44 special.  I never have settled on a load for that little revolver.  That thing kicks a bit.

58

Yesterday was our 58th wedding anniversary.  Poor woman has put up with me that long.

Numb Leg

Managed to squeeze out a couple of hours for the horses last Sunday.  About half that time was on the trail.  Both horses behaved much better.

The Boss has lower spine and sacrum issues.  Trail riding used to make some of the pain go away.  This was a short ride partly because her right leg went numb. She went in for another MRI this week.  I hope the Docs can come up with a fix because the only time she approaches pain free is sitting in a recliner.  That's no way to live.

No Home

My youngest son & family lost 2 cars and their home to one of the very many tornadoes that hit southwest Ohio memorial day.  They're now negotiating with insurance and trying to find a place to live.  I'm sure dozens of families are in the same situation.  Until they can find a rental, if there are any available, they'll be staying with her father.  We don't have bed space or a functioning kitchen. (Hopefully we'll have a kitchen in a week or two.)

Being Retired

shouldn't be such hard work.  Now reporting to Wife Inc. the last 2 weeks has me wiped out.  No time or energy to fish, shoot at the range or spend time with the horse.  Being a desk jockey the last few years has not prepared me for all this physical work.

Haven't paid much attention to the monkey show called the federal government the last few weeks.  The President may be a jerk, but he sure has been good for the country.  Sure hope he keeps fighting for us.

Hit The Dirt

Went riding this morning but stayed out of the woods because of the expected mud from the recent copious amount of rain.  Instead we rode around the edges of corn fields.  The critters were very energetic, as expected, since they have spent a lot of time in stalls and this was the first ride of the year.  I don't know what caused it but my mare went ballistic, reared up, circled and then ran and bucked.  I was launched onto the ground.  Then instead of standing still and waiting on me like usual, she ran back to the barn.

Got some soreness as I write this.  We'll try again in a couple of days.  Maybe we'll give them a little chemical tranquility next time.

Update
My left hip is extremely sore.
As it turns out I was unconscious for a short time.  The Boss was thinking I was dead due to my completely inert body.  When I got to my feet my glasses were laying someplace on the ground.  I don't remember any of that, including getting off the ground.

Going to wait at least a week before riding again.  Want to be sure the brain is OK.