Nearly two weeks ago I took a bad fall into the chicken yard, striking my lower spine on the concrete pad just in front of the door to the chicken house. The little temporary fence I was climbing over doesn't show well in the photo but, believe me, it is there. I swung my right leg over the fence easily, but when I swung my left leg my shoe caught in the fence. Down I went, backwards. Luckily, my head and shoulders hit the dirt.
The little fence is a contrivance that allows the little chickens (aren't they a motley crew?) to exit their side of the house and run free in half the yard. The old hens live in the other half of the house and exit into their side of the yard through their own door. When the little chickens get as big as the old hens they will all live together and run together in the chicken yard. Until then, the old hens would attack the little chickens so they have to be separated.
So, there I lay in the dirt. Dennis was fishing in Colorado, so I was on my own. The first step was to determine whether my limbs would move. Assured that they would, I planned how I could get back on my feet. Fused wrists complicated the problem, but I did get up, brush myself off, and hobble away.
That fall has brought me to a stand-still. Back pain and internal malfunctions have made me a semi-invalid. All my usual activities are on hold. I should be freezing broccoli, picking peas, digging new potatoes, finishing my art project, doing laundry, cleaning out the refrigerator.
Great patience is required. That means accepting the situation and allowing events to unfold day by day. Playing a passive role is not my way, but I'm learning. The great thing about growing old is that one keeps learning new lessons that build character. Oh, I'll hitch up my britches and keep going somehow, but I sure wish this wasn't a lesson I needed to learn. The main lesson, a lesson that I have to learn over and over, is that a moment's inattentiveness can exact a high price.
The little fence is a contrivance that allows the little chickens (aren't they a motley crew?) to exit their side of the house and run free in half the yard. The old hens live in the other half of the house and exit into their side of the yard through their own door. When the little chickens get as big as the old hens they will all live together and run together in the chicken yard. Until then, the old hens would attack the little chickens so they have to be separated.
So, there I lay in the dirt. Dennis was fishing in Colorado, so I was on my own. The first step was to determine whether my limbs would move. Assured that they would, I planned how I could get back on my feet. Fused wrists complicated the problem, but I did get up, brush myself off, and hobble away.
That fall has brought me to a stand-still. Back pain and internal malfunctions have made me a semi-invalid. All my usual activities are on hold. I should be freezing broccoli, picking peas, digging new potatoes, finishing my art project, doing laundry, cleaning out the refrigerator.
Great patience is required. That means accepting the situation and allowing events to unfold day by day. Playing a passive role is not my way, but I'm learning. The great thing about growing old is that one keeps learning new lessons that build character. Oh, I'll hitch up my britches and keep going somehow, but I sure wish this wasn't a lesson I needed to learn. The main lesson, a lesson that I have to learn over and over, is that a moment's inattentiveness can exact a high price.
2 comments:
fence rental services are very much useful to control our pet animals in yard and at residence. They act as a security agent stop them from going outside the residence or yard.
I had no idea that one could rent a fence. Actually, we could have improved our little fence for safety's sake if Dennis hadn't been in a hurry to set off on his fishing trip. Haste does make waste.
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