(This photo was taken before the operation, there is nothing graphic in it, I know that would upset some people.) I went to the clinic just before noon. I had asked Dr. Fariello if I could take a photograph of the surgery beginning and we both agreed that I wouldn’t stay once the amputation procedure began. It might be distracting to the doctor, and I didn’t really want to photograph it while it was underway. So I came in quietly a few minutes before the operation, took one or two photos and left. Minnie has been in surgery all after, it is still underway.

I wanted to take this photo, it makes the whole thing real for me and for the people reading the blog. This is not a tragedy, Minnie will be fine and will resume her life as a barn cat in a week or so. It reminds me that life happens, for all of our precautions, especially for animals who live in the real world of animals, not the ones we create for them.

Minnie is on my mind today, the noon hour was chaotic, the Time Warner cable repair man came to fix our broken modem, Minnie went into surgery, my photo program crashed on the computer, and JimMcRae, our shearer arrived to shear the sheep. Things are settling down.