Randomness Friday

You were probably expecting this post, huh? I love these types of posts, and I'm sorry I've been doing more silly than serious lately, but I promise that I'm working on some posts that are really close to my heart.

Without further ado, bring out the random stuffs!

Two days ago we found a tick on my precious dog, Belle. I freaked out. I mean, we could be classified as living in the "country", but it's quickly becoming more populated. Therefore, I've seen my share of wild animals.

From mice to deer, from tarantulas to scorpions... And now ticks.

Belle's a little thing. We were told by the dog breeder that sold her to us that she is part papillion, part pomeranian. Sure...

Now, I highly suspect that the woman who sold her to us in a McDonald's parking lot owned some kind of not-so-good setup.

Anyways, my little blondie came in at night and I started scratching her tummy, which I don't do very often because Belle usually only goes belly-up when she's nervous or something. However, I had noticed that she was acting all dull and tired, so I started playing with her to get her up and moving.

That's when I felt the lump. My dad looked closer, and, sure enough there was a tick.

I'm not going into details or anything, but it made my stomach churn with nausea.

I've said it before, and I'm saying it again. I am most definitely NOT going to be a surgeon when I grow up. Stitches and other things having to do with surgery are my worst nightmare.

*cheesy music* It's now time for Prism's timely tips!!!

If you ever go into the country or a place with high grass, be sure to wear high socks so that a little bug won't decide you look like a Meal on Heels. If you know you've been around ticks, check the back of your neck, near the hairline. That's their favorite place. For animals, it's their tender nose and tummy.

If you do happen to find a tick, the best thing to use is tweezers. DO NOT attempt to use nail polish, nail polish remover, lit matches, or any other kind of substance. It'll be sure to make the process faster, but it may also make the tick release substances you wouldn't like to be in your body.

Take the tweezers, and pull straight out. Gently, but firmly. Do not move the tweezers around or jerk, because that might cause the head to stay in and, well, you don't want that, right?

If you or another human is bitten by a tick and the head is still in there, it wouldn't hurt to get checked by a profession to get that thing outta there.

And check for the next couple of days or weeks for there to be a red bump where the bite was and for a ring around it, like a target sign. That may indicate Lyme disease. Other symptoms are dizziness, fatigue, ect.

*music ends*

So we got the tick out just fine, and Belle is recovering nicely. She's just normal, actually... *grins*

~*~

Tomorrow I'm going back to horse riding along with violin. I'm a teensy nervous, actually. About the horses. Violins can't stomp on your toes. :D

The black horse that I rode that week (thanks for all your your awesome suggestions!!! Top two at the moment are Luna and Eclipse) trotted and I freaked out. I think the saddle was too big for me or something, because I was SO scared that I was about to fall off. It backed me into a needle tree, and I almost got scratched in the eye. There were scratched all over my fingers, face, and a long one on my neck, but nothing bad at all. Just surface scratches.

Horses are expensive. Perhaps not the horses themselves, but the equipment sure is!

If I'm really going through with this, and I pray that I do, I need to get a saddle. It will possibly cost me a two hundred dollars. A plus is that I've suddenly had a jump in income due to babysitting my new sister, Lil' Sis. It will take several years to get there, but it's a start. I think I'll have to start finding some odd jobs at our house.

The owner of the horses showed me this little hoof-cleaning tool. It worked for its purpose, and it wasn't THAT fancy. It cost him 25 bucks. Wow.

What about feed, housing, and grooming supplies?

*sigh* A bit discouraged now, but I seriously want to own my horse one day.

But have I got one aspect of it down!!! Cleaning up after them!

Last week's session was mostly cleaning out a mare's pen. She's about to have a baby! It wasn't too bad. At first I freaked out whenever I got stuff on my jeans or shoes, but it honestly wasn't bad.

Come to think of it, the smell didn't kill me either. It was peaceful out there. The trees around the pen gave me shade, and the leaves rustling gave a calming effect. It was hot, but it felt good doing some work. Honestly.

God Bless,