I decided after my Christmas letter that this blog had gone on about as long as it was worth doing. Primarily because I wasn't doing anything that I considered worth writing about. The "jury" is still out on that one. We will see if that is still true.
They say that a knee replacement takes a long time to recover from. Mine turned out well and probably better than a lot of them do. Of course age has a lot to do with it as well. Primarily because it is so easy to lose, both ambition and conditioning. I was told by a Nurse Practioner that my recovery would not have the best outcome because I would be unable to go to physiotherapy due to the distance that I would have to travel. That did not happen, in fact I eventually had to slow down quite a bit because I was doing too much, especially in the last 6 months of last year. I eventually realized that I just needed to allow the time needed for the leg to heal. At 80 it takes no time at all to get flabby and lose condition. Also at the time I was having problems with my left shoulder and back. Several years ago I had a "Frozen Shoulder" that ended with one of the attach points to the muscle in my right arm to tear loose from the elbow joint. Once that occurred the pain stopped. This spring I had a problem with my back and shoulder that just would not go away. In the last few days of June the left arm muscle snapped off from one of its attach point at the elbow. This time my arm was discolored, shoulder to my wrist, but there was no more pain.
This all reminds me of a story told to me by one of my neighbors, ( the one at 25 miles distance) The story goes that at a family reunion the youngest brother at 75 years old arrived and everyone inquired about his health. He related a long litany of complaints about all his bodily functions that no longer responded, lack of sleep and a long list of others ensued, When he finished his older 85 year old brother sighed and said " Oh to be 75 again! Apparently I am now there.
The biggest factor in my life enabling me to be as active and healthy as I am, other than good "genes" has been my ability to exercise regularly. So now my exercise routine seems to be walking. Weights doesn't seem like a good idea right now. I have an app on my phone that records how far you walk. I am now up to 503 miles since June 2,2024. It really hasn't helped. I have learned to like sitting on my ass!
As I have related many times previously this area has not recovered its Rabbit population. Hunting my Hawk has been my main reason for being active.
It apparently takes a long time to recover when every Jack Rabbit in your area starves to death. When the die off is caused by disease and over population the recovery typically takes about 7 years to the point that they are so plentiful that another die off occurs. Now we are dependent on a much slower process of expansion from places that did not suffer from the ice in 2018 that killed almost all the Jack Rabbits within a 100 mile or more radius.
I have not been able to hunt my poor ole Harris for the last 6 years as there was nothing to hunt her on. I hunted for two weeks last year and quit because I was actually afraid that If I did kill one it might be the key to reproduction for the area. I had hoped that this year would be the one where I could actually find a huntable population. So far I have searched all the old hawking spots within a 60 mile circle and have really found nothing better than the Sage right outside my fence. I just returned from a 3 mile hunt where in we did catch our first Jack of the year. She had 7 chases before she was able to finally catch one.
They like to tell you that the predators take out the weak and sick ones from the population and that predators actually make the prey populations stronger. Mostly when they are talking about reintroduction of Wolves into the wild. It is actually true, but a bit misleading where Wolves and Cows are concerned. The Cattle herd is doing just fine without them, thank you.
This particular Jack's demise came about because he let us get too close. The other 6 Jacks that did not get caught, flushed 100 yards away resulting in a long flight to catch up, giving the Jack time to plan his escape. Do not kid yourself Jack Rabbits are smart, and know every bush in their 2 acre home range. With those big ears, no one is going to sneak up on them, plus a hawk on a stick 8 foot in the air is hard to miss in a three foot high area of Sage.
Hope will catch or at least grab every Jack that jumps within a 90 foot circle of her. She is that fast!
When I cleaned him, I was reminded of the number of Jacks with a Tape worm cluster stuck on them, that are caught. Late into the fall a large number have clusters of Tape worms under the skin. If its big enough I am sure that it seriously affects their chance of out running a pursuing Hawk.
The tape worm is specifically designed to infect Canids, is passed from Rabbit to Coyote when they are caught and eaten. The Rabbit gets it from its mother and other Jacks, through them eating Rabbit pellets, or the eggs off plants. The tape worm burrows through the Rabbits gut to form cysts under the skin. Depending on where the cyst is formed depends on whether it handicaps the Jack, making it easier to catch. This one didn't have worms, but it did have some sort of a compaction in its guts that was formed of compacted Sage or other green material into a rather large knot. It otherwise seemed to be healthy enough. However, did that contribute to the reason that it tried to hide, rather than run as did all the others that I encountered this morning?
The pup is doing just fine. I worried that she might be more of a hindrance than help because of her running. I have never seen a dog as active as her. I have paced her at 30 MPH running along side my quad. She can do it for three miles as well. I checked! We have developed a compromise for when I walk the runway for my daily exercise. On the trip to the end she is allowed to run where and how fast she wants. I may not see her at all, but she meets me at the end where I have a bench. On the way back she is required to walk at heel. I mentioned in an earlier post the I had purchased a shock collar with a 4 mile range. It has a function that will buzz without the accompanying shock. When I press the button. she will turn and circle back, thus staying within a small enough radius that we can at least see the Jacks when they jump. I was also concerned that she might burst in on the struggle when the Hawk did actually catch one. I am very pleased that this did not happen today. She is crazy about Rabbits, she just about dismantled Brenda's Honda before I found that Brush Bunnies were sleeping on the air cleaner, under the hood in Brenda's car. I actually caught three of them in a live trap this spring under her hood. They eat wires too!
When she was a pup she used to bark at Hope, and Hope would try her best to grab her. As she got older and her butt spanked, she quit that, but I wasn't sure if Hope had forgiven her. Apparently so, she has displayed no aggression towards her at all.
As you might imagine there have been some changes in my life due to all these changes and enforced nonactivity. In other words I have taken my first steps in "Getting old". There are of course all the platitudes concerning that. Like "its only in your mind! Bullshit! Its a reality, not a figment of ones mind. Only two of the guy's that I used to enjoy doing things with are still alive. Both live in other areas, and one of them has forgotten how to communicate.
As you might imagine living where I do now could turn from my dream to my nightmare, and possibly soon. Considering its 130 miles to the nearest Walmart. gas is a problem since it has to be trucked in, the cost is much higher than you city folk have to pay. "They" put in a Tesla fast charger in Jordan valley, 50 miles away. So I bought a Tesla Model Y. I also installed a 48 amp charger in my Garage. It now cost me .11 cents a Kilowatt to charge it. A kilowatt is good for 3.2 miles, and about $9 bucks to go to that Walmart. The part of it that counts is that the damn thing will drive for me. I can tell it to "take me to Walmart in Nampa" and it will do so. Its my best hope to keep out of the "Old Welders home" when I get too feeble and unsafe to drive myself. "Visiting Angels" don't come out this far. Wish that I had bought the Truck rather than the Y, but I couldn't afford the Truck. Did I mention that it will come find me if I should forget where I parked. Its my new Hawking rig. Its a bit low to the ground, but I have had it some interesting spots so far.
