June's flowers

We have many things in bloom this year, but most are in pots, owing to the fact that "Big Foot" Milan does a daily survey of all natural wonders around her.  Mrs. Wren has taken up nesting in our yellow petunia pot, hanging in front of the fireplace, so I guess pots are an improvement.  She scolds and scolds when Mr. Lucky, our outside kitty, hangs around by the door, hoping for his treats.

A "good" Tick Year

About a month and a half ago, I found a little "seed" tick buried in my leg, down where the outdoor kitties rub against me. So I took myself to the doctor, after I dug and dug and just could not get the thing all the way out. There was a huge red circle developing around it, and I thought, hmmm, this is way more serious than I thought it was.  Anyway, got the tick dug out professionaly, had a blood test, and yes it was a tick-borne bacterial infection, got on Doxycycline, the only antibiotic prescribed for Lyme disease, and had the 21 day doses.  This past week our pup Milan got the same thing, had to go to the vet for an overnight stay, had the blood work drawn, got her diagnosis, and now we get to fight the battle of the pills.  She remembered that last time I lured her into taking some pills, the peanut butter on the finger turned out to have a hidden prize.  So she rejected the first two times, and had to be tricked into eating it mixed in with her regular food.  Ran into a friend who works at a veterinary clinic and she suggested hot dog pieces. It worked!  Milan knew she was being tricked but just could not resist that old hot dog. Let's hope it continues to work for the next 19 days.

Oh yes, I did apply a fresh dose of Frontline as soon as we got home from the vet's, taking no chances this time.  Our neighbor farmer said this year was a good mushroom year, and an especially good tick year. He should know, his farm dogs are out in the field daily too.