Here's the Mulberry tree out back dropping its golden canopy:
The usual gorgeous Fall colors seemed to come on so quickly.. and all while it was still incredibly summery (shorts-weather & sandal-warm). So, with the cold snap that's set in the past few days, I find I'm completely undone by it. Poured rain here at home in the wee hours this morning and snowed on all the passes. Lassen & Bogart got almost 7 inches of snow! This is the first of the season.
A few weeks back Abby called me up and said that, as the calendar changed from the Summer into the Autumn months, she started to feel a bit anxious about Summer being over & Winter coming on. And then! she realized, "Heck, I live in Hawaii! It's gonna be summer forever!!" Color me jealous!
Since last March a few new & old weird health issues have dogged me, threatening to eliminate my ability to thoroughly revel in the joy of being released from the cold & inactivity that this old cold house & property wrap us in 9 months of the year. Hence the disappointment seeing the winter months encroaching already. Which actually began with the first frost hitting the garden the other day.
BUT! since today is a rainy day (first in months), and we are trapped in the one warm room indoors, it's a good day to catch up on journal-ing & posting pictures of the times I was mobile & energized!
One gorgeous day in early June I'd taken a drive over to Peggie's & happened to have my camera along & took a few pics of the view before getting to their dirt road..
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| Peggie's home (distant left beyond the specks of cattle), West Prospect (to left of hay barns), Sugar Loaf (center), snow-covered Lassen to its right |
Back at the house I noticed how many of our Western Fence Lizards were
out-and-about & got a shot of this guy sunbathing on a digger pine
cone (with a bit of Jenny-dog's hair in its mouth, poor thing!):
Because I was laid up all Spring to early Summer the garden got off to a late start. Since 'The Move' had displaced so many garden tubs & their soil we had to essentially start over this year. Ben & Papa & Peggie were instrumental in digging & hauling more soil from Peggie's ranch. On my good days I'd work on re-doing the beds to protect against moles, gophers, & the ever-present, invasive tree roots. Papa helped me mix in the peat moss & perlite & dolomite. Little by little I was able to start putting in starts & seeds.
I was anxious to get this part of the gardening done, not only because it was getting on towards July & it would be too short of a growing season, but I also knew my time was short before my upcoming hand surgery (second in 2 years).
July 19th Eli took a ride with me to the surgeon in Walnut Creek. He was along for 3 reasons:
1) Being especially interested in human anatomy he wanted to observe the procedure.
2) Most likely I'd need a driver for the trip home. Last time I was able to drive both ways, even though Papa was with me. But this episode promised to be more intensive because my case of this damnable Dupytrens is also especially aggressive (the previous surgery outcome was not long-lasting-- only lasted 3 wks before the re-growth :/
3) He's such TERRIFIC company! I love spending time with this boy, and with his being away at school most of the year I don't get enough Mama/Son time...
So he took some Family Leave Time at work and headed down the mountain early early the day of my appointment. It was a grand trip & he didn't even faint when they worked my hand over with the numbing needle.. the boy's got needle aversion, doncha know :D
Eli took pictures at a busy intersection of a cool pedestrian bridge so Abby & Ben could see & admire its construction :)
Arriving at the hospital parking lot I parked, opened my car door, & was immersed in the delightful scent of blooming star jasmine. I was out & in it immediately!
Don't remember what Eli said, but it was obviously purty dang funny:
A few photographic tender ♥Mama-loves-the-middle-child♥ photos...
..and then into the torture chamber:
A BEFORE image:
And an AFTER .. fat & swollen, sore & numb:
Not a huge change this time around. Though the tight contracture in the palm is always relieved (see how nice & flat the palm is now? It's usually curled up into a cup shape), the cords up through the finger are becoming more intrusive & not as responsive to the operation. In more severe cases, when the PIP joint (top of knuckle) is affected, as mine is, it cannot be helped & the knuckle will ever be bent, painful, and annoying. But then, the entire affected parts on my right hand have all 3 of those issues & sometimes drives me almost to tears :/
One day, when our first world nation joins the rest of the developed countries on this planet, I will have affordable health care and fly to Florida to have this crippled up mess worked on by Dr. Eaton, the amazing doctor who introduced the technique to America. At least that's my dream before the condition reaches the stage it can no longer be helped :)
Okay then, I'm not done with updates to 'What I Did For My Summer Vacation' ..not by a long shot!.. so the next time the weather (which has now turned from rain to snow right here at the house..eek!) keeps us indoors I'll share some more story time & pictures =)
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