So the dogs did not make a miraculous recovery, and we didn’t go to our Boles Aero trailer.  I did the chores while Tom weed whacked and mowed.  I did get a chance to admire the flowering crabapple trees.  They were just gorgeous in the sunshine, and the bees were loving it.

I walked the property to see what the dogs might have gotten into to make them sick, but I couldn’t find a thing.  I gave them some donkey hoof pieces after the farrier was here earlier this week, but they have had these before without any problems. The only other thing I can think of is that I planted three rows of seeds in the garden.  In hoeing the garden for this planting, some manure bits are up.  Maybe they ate them?

In the afternoon I decided to process the flax.  First I attempted scutching.  I used a fence post and a lath.

I didn’t get much debris from this because I don’t think I was doing it correctly.

Steve was still laying around and not looking happy.  But the flies were bugging him too.

Then I moved on to hackling the flax.  Tom donated his work bench and clamps.  I used my combs.  I hackled the flax once and then combed what was left to get the soft, longer fibers.

After all of this work, this is what I got.

Here it is in the sunshine.

It weighed 7 ounces with the weight of the sack.  I love the color and hope it stays.  It is soft and lustrous.  I look forward to spinning it on my great, great grandmother’s Swedish flax wheel.  Below is what was left called tow.  They say that you can process it into a rough cloth.  It is horribly rough, and I will not be processing it into anything.

This evening Ryeleigh started showing interest in food.  After $1600 at the vet yesterday, she was diagnosed with inflamed intestines.  They prescribed an anti-nausea medication and Sucralfate, a stomach coating medication.  Tonight she finally ate!

Steve however refused to eat.

But then I cut up some steak bits and hand fed him to him one at a time, and he ate those.  When I tried to hand feed him the dog food, he was no longer interested.  But I will take what I can get at this point.

I am continuing the meals I had planned for the Boles.  So this evening I made a ham that Tom’s brother David had smoked for us.  I used this recipe (except I didn’t brine it as it was already brined), and it was amazing. The best ham I have ever had!  I also uncorked the blackberry wine from last year that is now ready as of today.  I was planning on sharing this with my family as well.  It is good though and paired well with the ham.

So rather than walking through wildflowers with the dogs, relaxing with knitting and reading, and hanging with my family, this was my day.  Disappointing but at least I accomplished something.  And the dogs seem to be improving.  That is a huge relief.