Dodgy Knees On The Homestead

Greg and I have an ongoing bet on which one of us will break a hip thanks to Odin. I almost lost!

I had just finished feeding animals and decided to pop into Greg's study and let him know I was going to take a shower.

Odin, he who rampages like a herd of elephants, saw me heading for his door and tried to get there first, knocking me flat on my pride. Unfortunately, he hit the side of my knee like a Mack truck.

As God as my witness, I thought he broke it. I lay there crying, unable to get up. Greg rushed over and had a hard time pushing Odin away. I don't think Odin realized he had hurt me, but since I was crying, he wanted to shield me with his body. That only made things worse.

I think what happened is that he popped my knee out of joint. As soon as I tried to move it, it popped back in. Hence, the agony. 

I was out of action for several days, but today I can walk without a cane. 

Odin is relieved he's not in trouble anymore.

Greg is relieved he doesn't have to be at my beck and call.

And I'm just relieved. Ha!

We've been working steadily around the homestead for the last few weeks. We had several large trees to take down in a very tight location. And we've had an assortment of chores including replacing two storm doors, fixing the riding mower, and moving a lot of brush for an enormous fire.

There were piddly jobs too like mucking out pens, cleaning cages, turning mountains of compost, and giving the goats manicures. Tedious, but necessary.

We are very, very careful. Not like the old days when we used to take our chances. Nowadays, we plan every step before execution. Felling the trees was planned like solving a geometry problem. 

Those trees dropped exactly where they needed to fall--without hitting us, buildings, or fences. Greg is the architect, but I'm just the beast of burden. He tells me where to pull and what to lift.

Nature is a funny beast though. Even when you plan for contingencies, things can and do go wrong. That's what makes it scary.

Sometimes I wonder how we manage at our age. In my whole life I've only ever known one person (our age) who worked the kind of jobs we do on a regular basis. We are reaching a point where we do hire help for the most dangerous jobs like roofing and HVAC work.

I always give Greg the option to decline a project if he feels the job's too big for us, I don't mind in the least farming it out. Better to spend the money than break a hip.

But Odin! That dog is going to pummel us to death with love. He really should live with a jogger or a power lifter. Instead the poor boy is stuck with old people...with dodgy knees.

Have you ever had a rough and tumble dog?