I don’t think this phrase is most apt. Dogs get sick, they recover. Sicker than a goat, this is more fitting. Goats get sick and they die. Ironic, since goats are very resilient and have advanced digestive systems, four stomachs in fact, the rumen, reticulum, omasum, and abomasum.

So yesterday, as duly noted, we got our second round of the Moderna vaccine. Neither of us expected to have side effects of any sort, much less severe side effects, i.e., headaches, nausea, loss of energy, and stiff joints. I was so bad off this morning that I struggled to get out of bed. Cleaning the horse pen was a real challenge – my balance seemed to have been affected and I kept falling over. I wanted to just let this chore go but I knew that the manure clean up would soon be overwhelming. It was also cold, around 5 F.

I now realize that I made a mistake. I should have done research and determined which vaccine had the lesser side effects. I knew I’d erred this morning when I read in the New York Times that one dose of the Pfitzer vaccine was said to be sufficient.

The problem with our both being as sick as we are, is that we can’t tend to one another. If we’d staggered our visits to the Native Health Center, we could have avoided both being ill at the same time. But no, we didn’t think to do this.

I did get out and take Tinni and Shadow for a walk around the loop and on Siggi’s Trail because I had to get out of here. This place needs a good cleaning. It even smells bad. Maybe it’s because I’m inside, but I see dirt everywhere. We won’t get around to cleaning up for at least a few days, that is when we are better.

When I feel this crappy, I wonder if I’ll ever feel good again. There is one consolation, and this is that what we are both experiencing is a response to a vaccine, not the virus itself.

Being this sick makes me think of people who are older and not in very good shape. Some live alone, making the situation seem worse. Imagine, being in Texas right now where because of snowstorms and the like, people are melting ice on their stoves. And many more are without power.

I obviously am not in the best of moods. This is why I took Shadow for a walk. It brings me great joy, watching her race around and bound through the snow drifts. Some neighbors of ours have puppies, in a small wire cage, outside. The mother is black, and the father is white. The puppies are black and white. If the owners don’t take care of them, they will become pupsicles.

There is no good time for a goat to kid. I don’t know what we’ll do if Stormy has her babies before we get better. Dumb me, getting this vaccine.

Next: 51. 2/20/21: Removing the Rose-Colored Glasses