With the cold and wind the cattle mainly strayed in the loafing shed and corral, and out of the wind. Their hay bale was out in the north pasture. So they didn't have to go out to the hay bale and the wind I put some hay in their wooden feeders in the corral. I put out a small hay bale and then using a pitchfork pried hay from the replacement heifer's hay bale and carried in over to the cow's feeder. It was work but not painful work and I didn't feel any back problems the rest of Tuesday.
Wednesday however it was different. I tried to shovel some snow but that didn't last long as that activity was painful. I had a dental appointment that afternoon. Fortunately my pickup was a 4-wheel drive. I took some ibuprofen, which I rarely take, and drove to my dental appointment. I was having the start of a crown replacement. Also at the dental office was a nursing student. She wanted to take photos during the dental work so she could share them with her college medical class. I gave approval to take photos.
After the dental work I stopped at my doctor's office. He was out that day. But I got an appointment made for Thursday. Thursday I saw my doctor and described what had happened. I wanted an x-ray of my back. Either I bruised the back and ribs, or maybe cracked a rib. Maybe the physical work on Tuesday caused the crack to worsen or have an impact. Sometimes I think the painful movement is due to a bad bruise. Somethings I think it is due to a cracked rib. Did I sometimes hear the rib move?
No word back from the doctor's office. He was waiting for an x-ray technician to look over my x-ray. I hope to hear on Monday.
I'm find the back muscle is involved in more activity than I would have thought. Certain movement lets me know to try to avoid doing that movement again. Some movements I can't avoid. Getting in or out of bed hurts a lot. I'm doing that much slower now and in a different way when I can.
Today is the first day since Wednesday that I feel slightly better and didn't have to take any ibuprofen. Or maybe I'm getting better at avoiding certain movements. I did do some minor shoveling of snow the tractor couldn't reach. It didn't hurt like the other days.
Wednesday when I started my pickup it struggled to start. Like it wasn't getting gas. After a few attempts the pickup then ran fine. No other problems the rest of the day. On Thursday, the engine wouldn't turn. Like the battery was dead. I put a battery charger on. The charger didn't seem like the battery was dead. When I tried to start the pickup the headlights came on and were bright. Still no turnover. One time I overrode the headlights and turned them off before trying to start the pickup. The pickup started right up. The rest of the day and multiple stops the pickup started right up. Friday was grocery shopping day. Again the pickup acted like Thursday. This time turning off the headlights made no difference. I let the battery charge an hour. A few more attempts. Same thing. Then another attempt and the pickup started. The rest of the day and multiple stops, no problem. Next week I will try again and see if the pickup acts the same way.
Normally I shovel the snow off the driveway and back yard. That's not going to happen for now. Friday it was time to put out another large hay bale. I put a bucket on the tractor and cleared snow from a new area for the hay bale. An area closer to the corral as Monday and Tuesday are predicted to be colder and windier again. Once the area was cleared for the hay bale I used the tractor to clear the snow off the driveway and backyard. Quicker and easier to do with a tractor. I need time to recover and allow my back to heal.
February has been the coldest and snowiest month of this Winter and is predicted to be colder and snowier for at least another two weeks. I can't wait for March to arrive.
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