Ten weeks after

It's been ten weeks since the Queen's accident. The doctor has said she should be able to put 100% of her weight on the ankle now, but she is still having pain whenever she tries walking. I think she needs some new x-rays to be sure the screws haven't moved and that the bone, fragile as it is, is healing properly.

Her ribs are actually healing very well, she has virtually no pain at all and can cough and sneeze without any problems. This is the reverse of what we expected - we thought the ankle would heal routinely and the ribs would take months.

She does manage to get out and about a bit. We went to Ikea, where they have a very slick wheelchair-shopping cart combo. The cart snaps to the front legs of the wheelchair and puts a basket right in front of the seated occupant, while not interfering with the actual operation of the wheelchair. Nice. In most places, the person in the wheelchair has no way to put anything anywhere other than their lap, and things tend to fall off when you are wheeling around.

DamCat just spent a week in hell for her job. She was in Baltimore Mon-Thu last week to get a new computer system up and running. Unfortunately, it seems the people who were supposed to be sure everything was in place and ready did not get their work finished before it was put into operation. Not a fun business trip at all. Now we'll see if anyone in a decision making position learns from this experience.

A few days ago we spotted a very large coyote strolling through the back yard. You don't think of coyotes as being tall, but this one was very leggy, probably as tall as Lucy was. S/He trotted around for a few minutes (the chickens were not out, so not in any danger this morning) before going behind the stone wall and disappearing into the woods. We couldn't tell if it was male or female, but I'm thinking maybe a female out looking for a bite to eat. We'll be watching for her.

PopPop is preparing for Spring. He has some tomato and pepper plants starting from seed that he will transplant into the garden, and his tractors are both ready to go. This Wednesday will see the start of the golf season, something he has been yearning for for weeks now.

Spring brings the morning choir. I love hearing the robins, they have such a beautiful song and you only hear it for a couple weeks when they are mating. I'm watching out for the grackle dance too - with luck, I'll get some action photos this year.