More on Oliver and the beauty of nature...

​We are getting the beginnings of 60 mph winds this morning so I have decided to walk early before it gets worse.  A crust of ice covers the snow, making walking treacherous.  I take Oliver north on our trail, cross the bridge to my sister’s house and then head back along the county road.  As Oliver trots down the road he spies a rabbit and gives chase, flying along the fence row and plunging into the undergrowth by the creek.  He is in and out searching for the lost rabbit.  With a lot of encouragement, I am able to get him to come to me and finish our walk.  As he approaches I realize that he is covered with blood on his face, neck, chest and leg.  I am surprised as I didn’t think he caught the rabbit and usually rabbits don’t bleed that profusely.
As we near home I see that he has ripped a strip of ear loose and that it is his own blood that is spraying him as he shakes his head.  I take him into the house to clean him up and patch his ear with a bandage.  This is futile as, although he can’t lick his ear, he can catch the bandage with his large paws.  As I work to clean him up, I notice a few drops of blood on the floor, then more as the ear bleeds profusely.  Soon there are splashes of blood all over, dog foot prints in the blood and then the cat spreading the blood with his tail.  Once I have the dog somewhat bandaged I start cleaning the floor only to discover that blood is sprayed across the washer and dryer and walls in the bathroom and entry, on the white carpet and over the lid of the cat litter box.
Oliver is locked in the bathroom as I write this – hoping that the cut will clot up and that I can let him out.  He is not happy locked in the bathroom and the cat has been kicked out.
This is my idyllic life in beautiful nature – it involves blood and messiness.