a scare and shouting

Yesterday the dog decided that he could not put an ounce of weight on his back leg–the same one that had a ligament replacement just a short while ago. Today he’s limping a bit on it. We’re carrying him in and out of the trailer and walking him only enough to let him pee. Forced rest. Talked to the orthopedic vet today about him, and he said that the rest is all they’d do and wait to see if things got worse or better. Worse and I have to get him into a vet here. Not worse, and I can wait until next week. And right now he’s shouting at us. Sitting on the floor and yelling. Pet me. Put me on your lap. Scratch my stomach. Love me. Look at me. Pet me. He’s very loud about it. Little rat.

It got hot here today. Ran a bunch of errands and filled out paperwork at the man’s job–his benefits finally kicked in!!! That’s always a good thing.

Folks left for CA. I’ve got another week here before I have to go home. Not looking forward to it. Already miss the man. Sigh.

Blackberries are ripe here. We’ve been picking them. Yum.

Which brings up something interesting. There’s a big island of blackberry brambles on a big lot we drive past most days. It’s a rectangle surrounded by roads and is zoned commercial. It’s probably big enough to hold a big gas station and convenience store. So a couple of days ago, someone came out and started tearing out the blackberries. Cleared half of it. It revealed two very large homeless campsites within the brambles. Complete with big mattresses, tons of clothes and other things. I wonder if that’s the point of the clearing–to clear out the homeless. It made me think, though, about how rough that life is and how much ingenuity a person has to have to make so much out of so little. It reminded me of the gypsies in so many novels–derided by most of the people, and frequently admired by others for their hardscrabble abilities.

I can’t imagine living like that. I can’t imagine having to live like that. I hope they find another place that’s reasonably safe.

ETA: Damned dog just jumped up on the couch. I’ve told him over and over not to jump. He is totally not listening. At least it’s a sign that his leg is feeling better.