Monday 17 June 2013

A foggy head

I am concussed,
not much, 
just a little,
enough to give me the feeling of what it is like to suffer from concussion,
which is a new experience to have.

Twenty four hours after the sheep jumped into me,
that is what it took for the after effects to hit.
So what I have done today, 
is not much. 

But I did do some scything,
and I did make my first DIY hay bale,
only one though because it started raining.
And I did clean out the poo from the sheep paddock,
and I did glue some sheet music together,
and I did ....
actually nothing much else.

Except went with the flow of having a very mild concussed head,
which is different to having a stroke,
because then one feels all sort of detached from one's self.
Being a little concussed just made me feel spaced out really,
a mildish headache, not much,
and mental faculties which were a bit odd,
so I sort of sat back within myself,
and 'watched' me being concussed.
And that, my friend, was the learning curve I had today.

But....when the goat took a flying leap out of her pen this morning,
I stepped to one side,
and let her escape. 
Tomorrow, I might stop her,
today I thought better of it.


Orange alert again, this time for storms and hail. 

12 comments:

John Going Gently said...

Oh you big pudding
Take care of yourself dear lady

Horst in Edmonton said...

Wow, you must take care now, so you don't get a stroke. Those darn animals, they can hurt you. I once got hit on the chest with both hind feet, by a first time young mother cow when I first tried to milk her, she smacked me against the barn wall. I gave the young cow a smack on the back with the milk stool and we never had a problem again. She became a very good milk cow.

Ohiofarmgirl said...

For heavens sakes, Vera! I look away from one second and you are pummeled by sheep! I am very glad that you are well altho it sounds, a bit, whoozy from the hard hit. I couldnt tell if you went to hospital but I hope you did.

I actually came over here to talk about dogs. I had a thought as I was driving around today. First, I'm so glad that you kept that pup. I guarantee the hard work will be worth it. There may be some stumbles but I'm guessing at some point one or both of those dogs, when grown, will come to your aid.

Also, I cant recommend enough the book by The Monks of New Skete, “How to be Your Dog's Best Friend. I'm sure you can get it on amazon.uk. While this is written specifically for German Shepherds its good for all "tough" breeds such as yours. I hope you'll use the training techniques that the Brothers have developed. They have been invaluable to us.

Especially when they were younger we find that a tired dog is a good dog and have used the game of fetch to tire our dogs out. It might help with the pups and encourages obedience. Then, if I may continue on my bossy advice, one thing that really helped us is to not only use the dogs as a group - but to have them function independently. So for instance, i'll call Kai to one spot and my husband will have Zander go to another. Or I'll have all the dogs gated in the kitchen and I'll call just one dog out to be with me (or for a snack) and the rest have to just sit there quietly. This reinforces the pack order- that you are the boss. And that they need to listen to you independently. It helps them think differently for some reason. And it can be very useful to encourage them to bond with you and not just with each other.

Certainly you don't have to publish this - just some thoughts for you.
:-)

Niall & Antoinette said...

You take care! my understanding is that even very mild concussion should be taken seriously and you need to rest.

Hope you avoid the worst of the storms. We've had some rumbles here, but it is north of us in Vouvray [we buy our sparkling wine from producers there] where there has been terrible damage from hailstones the size of eggs.

Diane said...

I know all about concussion from riding horses for a lot of my life, not fun. Hope you are feeling better. Take care Vera, Diane

Denise said...

I am little concerned, Vera - have you had that concussion properly checked out? They are tricky things, concussions.Unpredictable.

Hope you are feeling better today, anyway. X

Vera said...

John, thank you.

Horst, wow, at least I didn't get two hind feet in my chest! I bet that winded you!

Ohiofarmgirl, oh I feel so much better knowing that we are on the right track with our rottweiller girls. This is the first time I have had big dogs, so want to get it right. I am already doing much of the advice you so kindly have given me, so feel more confident with my handling of them. One thing though, is that I am unlikely to have small dogs ever again! Thanks once again for the time you have taken in giving me this advice.

Niall and Antoinette, we seem to have avoided most of the storms, and because we are on the Adour flood plains most of the hail falls on nearby hills. Our local farmer friend lost a lot of his grape harvest last year to hail damage, and it would be a shame if this year the same thing happens. And I am resting, honestly I am!

Diane, oh so you have bangs on the head as well! I most definitely prefer to have a sheep barge into me rather than fall off a horse though!

Denise, I have not troubled doctors or hospitals because I am still up on my feet, just about. And the concussed feeling is vaguely similar to when I had the strokes, so it is not a frighteningly new experience, and at least this time I still have my full physical faculties, and not rendered with a feeling of having my motor (physical movement) strings cut. I am better, honestly!

SueC said...

I do hope you are feeling much better now - do take care!
xxx

rusty duck said...

I'm glad you're feeling better today, take it easy!

Tommo said...

This doesn't sound good. Hope you're feeling better. Do see a doctor if the fuzziness persists.

Vera said...

Sue C, Jessica, and Tommo, thank you so much for your best wishes, and I now well in my head!

Jean said...

I hope you're now better, by the time I am writing this.
Life is never dull, chez vous!