June 11 2014

My parents brought out homemade chicken and rice soup, I had a nap and a sauna and practically feel like a new only slightly sick person.

Sat in the yard for a few minutes last night.  Good to be outside after so many days incarcerated indoors.

Here are the Lady Slippers I had hoped to photograph last week..they are not perfect anymore but there were twelve in this clump.  These are early Yellow Lady Slippers more will bloom in a week or so.  Far Guy bought these tissue culture plants from a Bovey Minnesota Laboratory and planted this group about 14 years ago.

June 10 2014 in our yard….good to take a photo again.

Home Sweet Home

Tuesday afternoon: My knight in shining/rusty armor brought me home this afternoon.  It was quite a siege in the hospital.  No fun, I am exhausted, I have slept about 17 hours since midnight last Thursday.  I am sleep deprived and exhausted.   Doctors orders I will be resting over the next month or so, and no over doing ANYTHING.

Chance was really happy to see me!   Far Guy has had a relapse…he says he will be fine…we will see.  So we are kind of a sick mess around here.  No much fun to read or talk about.

I will post some photos from time to time..flowers maybe or something pretty from Minnesota.  Good thing I have extensive photo archives.

You all know me well I cannot be silent for too long.

Just need some time to rest and get all better.

Thanks for all the well wishes…you readers/friends are the best!  I read all your comments on my Kindle at the hospital this morning…what a great boost!

Double Flowering Plum last June 2013

An Update

Far Side sounds better today. It seems the anti-inflamatory worked enough for her to get some rest. The hospital is re-doing rooms and clearning floors; it was quite noisy over the phone. She has moved rooms and it sounds like the doctor is going to keep her for one more day, due to her oxygen stats.  I will cross my fingers that she gets to return home tomorrow.

Osteopermum or Cape Daisy

East Side for Far Side

Thursday night when I spoke to my parents about their garage sale and their ills, a little voice said, "you should go and help your parents." I shrugged it off... I had essays to grade, it was my wedding anniversary, and Andrew had just gotten home from a trip. I resigned that it just wasn't going to work out this time. Sigh.

My morning routine is to read the newspaper and check my mother's blog. Many bloggers comment daily at Far Side of Fifty. Wasn't it suspicious when she didn't post? I've asked her about this before, and found that many times she blogs ahead of time and has it set up to post automatically. So in reality she could be dead and still blogging. I probably checked ten times yesterday to see if she had posted anything yet.

Friday morning the phone rang at 7:30am. The phone never rings that early...

A sick sounding mom said, "Jen can you come? I spiked a fever overnight, and your father is swamped with the garage sale."
I didn't hesitate and answered, "Yes, I'll come." I packed a few things in an overnight bag just in case. Turning the corner eh? Wrong turn...

I guess I didn't know what to expect when I got there... I thought I would help Dad with the garage sale I guess... but I got, "Do you want to take her to the hospital or should I?" Oh... I guess I will.

Acute bronchitis with respitory distress.

I spend the day getting her settled, water and ice chips, pants and underwear, unplugging her IV and following her to the bathroom, moving her pillows, getting her blankets and covering her up.

In the ER they x-rayed, drew blood, and set up and IV. Mom started itching at the IV about ten minutes into the Leviquin, so they switch her to an oral antibotic and got her a room. Respitory Therapy is giving her a nebulizer treatment four times a day.

After the sale was over, Dad came to the hopital and we talked about  the situation a little. I would go back home to Fisher and come the next day if I was needed.

I am disappointed that she is not going home today. In fact, she is worse today with some type of inflammation of the muscles and tendons between the ribs, so they are giving her an anti-infamatory. I suggested they give try and find another IV antibotic that she isn't allergic to... it is hard help over the phone...

She is in okay spirits; she is tired since a hospital is no place to rest. She appreciates your well wishes for her recovery. She would blog herself but the hopital's wireless has a spotty signal. Thanks for visting. I'll keep you posted!

East Side

Bump in road

Connie has been in the hospital for the past few days  MAY get home tomrrow.

 

Farguy

 

Wild Flowers Birds and Sales

The last few days have been kinda wild around here getting ready for the garage sale.  Getting everything unpacked…and more corners cleaned out.  It is all set.  The sale begins at 7AM and I suppose I will have people waiting at the gate by 6:45.  The weather is supposed to be  68 F or 20 C eh!  We might have rain showers in the afternoon.  There are two other large sales out in this area so we will probably get a good turn out.

The Hoary Puccoons are in full bloom.  I first saw them peeking out on Sunday June 1 2014.  I can tell you from the note in my Wildflower book that I first noticed it blooming on May 16, 2010…so was that an unusual year?  Maybe.  I think Aldo Leopold kept records on the Hoary Puccoon for nine years.

“Tell me of what plant-birthday a man takes notice, and I shall tell you a good deal about his vocation, his hobbies, his hay fever, and the general level of his ecological education.” Aldo Leopold

Of course the Hoary Puccoons are hard to miss, they grow wild in the ditches before the grass has a chance to grow real tall.

Puccoon is a Native American name for any plant that can be used for dye.  The root will make a reddish dye.  All the wool people would love it as a natural dye.

I stalked this American Goldfinch for awhile one day.  They sure can sing.

The Oaks are filling out finally and with all the rain we have had in the last week the grass is growing like mad.   I mowed on Monday and I will try to mow again tomorrow or I will have to make hay instead of cutting the grass.

I am feeling better.  I am cautiously optimistic that I am on the road to recovery.  Far Guy says “You are not that much better”  My optimism sometimes gets a reality check by his pessimism.  Time will tell.  My head no longer throbs and my fingernails and teeth no longer hurt..so that means I am better!

On the way to Buhl

Buhl Minnesota is way north of us..up on the Iron Range.  It is about a 2 1/2 hour drive if you don’t lollygag.

We saw several Eagles out hunting and a few deer.

A Tin Man resting on a huge lawn chair in Grand Rapids.  Home of Judy Garland ya you betcha!

Mountains of waste rock from the Iron Ore Mining.  Yes, trees are growing on piles of rock.

Near Hibbing Minnesota.

Buhl claims to have the finest water in America.  Far Guy picked up his “stuff” while I walked Chance, a small friendly dog ran up to us about the same time that the Sheriff came out of the building I asked him “Lose your Police Dog?”  No he didn’t but at least he smiled, the small friendly unleashed dog belonged to some other people that were unloading.  Chance was on lead…as he should be in a strange area.

The box of “train stuff” is still being evaluated.

This box should keep him occupied for awhile.  It was a quick trip we only stopped twice.

Far Guy is feeling better, I am trying my best to fight off what he had…I finally got it…after six weeks of being exposed to the nasty virus it finally got me.  The sore throat was replaced by head and chest congestion and body aches all over..even my toe nails and teeth ache.  At least I couldn’t overdo spending the day in the car.

Wistful Wednesday : Pine Springs Resort Cottages

When we purchased the resort back in 1986 all the cottages were different colors of green.  I like green and chose a pale green color to paint everything.  It was quite a project.

All the Cottages had strange names too.

Waco was a cottage they removed and the sign was stuck and grown into a Willow Tree.

Wewoka became Aspen ( I wanted some kind of order)

Sioux City ?? became  Birch

St. Louis?? became  Cedar

South Omaha  ?? or maybe St. Charles??  became Maple

Tulsa became  Oak

Cherokee became Pine

  Kansas City became  Spruce

                             Willow didn’t have a proper name, they used it for storage.

The Fish Cleaning house was named Colfax because the first people who cleaned fish were from Colfax Iowa.

I am getting older and don’t quite remember which was which I may have Sioux City and St. Louis mixed up. We always laughed at that name Wewoka.. We woka up!   They were originally named for towns of the first guests.

I have a video someplace, few of the old photos have names that you can read…and none of the photos are marked with cottage names..just dates.  Another winter project.

Our daughters may remember.

The pontoon on the left was called Big Blue, Far Guy bought it for ten dollars.  It nearly sank as water came over the boards as Art and Kathy towed us home after we bought it.  It was beached and the pontoons were repaired and a new deck was installed. Some of my favorite times was when we loading up a cooler and the grill and heading out in front of the resort to cook supper and ignore the ringing phone on a Friday night...we had an outside bell that rang when the phone rang. Saturday was work day…cleaning those cottages kept me busy.

The stone foundation boat house on the edge of the lake is all that remains. Boat house and bait on the lower level and the upper level was a Recreation Room.

Directives

I suppose we are elderly now.  The Doctor has suggested that we fill out health care directives. ( Hint hint, you are getting older and might croak soon and our job would be easier if you would just do this mountain of paperwork)  Mine was easy CPR NO, feeding tubes NO, Intubation and Ventilator 3 days and then the plug is pulled, no waiting around either 70 hours is time enough…pain medications..YES!~ BRING ON THE GOOD STUFF! 

The three days gives them time to treat you with antibiotics to see if you can recover to be sort of normal/return to home again.

Talk about paperwork…somebody that speaks legal ease must have come up with all that crap.  Four pages of instructions and then a hot pink envelope…I suppose the envelope should go on the fridge?  I didn’t read that far in the instructions.  The three pages of paperwork has to be witnessed by two people and then notarized.  The government must be involved to make things so freaking complicated.

Wouldn’t it make more sense to have a Medical ID Bracelet with the info? Or maybe something in your wallet?  Maybe it could be put on your drivers license? I know a implanted chip that they can scan!!

I am certain that if the ambulance hauls Far Guy to the hospital I will make sure they have his hot pink envelope.

I was an Emergency Medical Technician for many years, CPR is not an easy thing…I saw two cases where it worked…one lady lived for two days enough to let her family say goodbye and the other fellow lived awhile in the ER and was then pronounced.  Time of death?  Everyone looks at the clock and then sighs when the ER Doc states the time.  In my opinion CPR should be saved for the young and for drownings.

Death Directives:  Cremation…I would like the bulk of my ashes to go to the Pacific Ocean at Cannon Beach.  Just the sound of those waves crashing to shore relaxes me.  A small amount of ashes can go to the cemetery nearby in a smashing ruby red container so mourning relatives have some place to go.  We are torn as to which cemetery we should be buried at…I think Linnell is winning over Riverside…because Linnell gets mowed more often…Riverside looks weedy part of the summer. At any case we have not bought a plot YET.  Linnell is the cemetery I go to star gaze at night…it is just down the road from where we live.

Our wills have been recorded for a number of years.  I don’t know about other States but in Minnesota the will must be recorded at the Recorders Office …in order for it to be a legal last will and testament. I bought a certificate at a local fundraiser that allowed us to have our wills made out by a local lawyer.  Again lots of paperwork.

Somewhere on a different computer that has since been junked I had a obituary and an order of service.  I will have to work on that again some day.  Children should not be left to write the obituary, they have enough to contend with and will often guess at dates and years…so if you want it done right …do it yourself.  As I recall it was a rather humorous obituary too.  I will have to look and see if I kept a hard copy someplace.

I found this old photo when I was organizing some “stuff” It was taken at Cannon Beach Oregon on October 30 2003.

Chokecherry Blooms

The Pin Cherries have already bloomed.  They were late this year.  When the Pin Cherries are in bloom I always smile and think about an old neighbor Naomi.  The Power Crews were coming along to clear out the brush and trees underneath the power lines, Naomi tied all kinds of ribbons on her Pin Cherry and then proceeded to tell them that they better leave it alone…and they did.

The Chokecherries are blooming now along with the Lilacs.

Our driveway has a number of Chokecherry bushes.  Some people make jelly if it is a really good year…others like us just leave the berries for the birds.

Prunus virginiana or Chokecherry

A long time ago…I used to make juice and can it and then make jelly in the winter when I had more time. 

The blooms are highly fragrant.  If you wait for the berries and pop one in your mouth you will understand why they are called Chokecherries.  They are bitter and require a fair amount of sugar to be palatable.

Much needed rain

It started raining late Friday night.  The rain was oh so welcome.  The pollen is settled!

I heard it…thundering and gushing down.  Far Guy says we got over an inch of rain.   Since then it has been raining off and on.  We may get another five inches of rain into early Sunday…when it rains it pours.

The entire patio and walkway are covered in twigs and other parts of Oak Trees…a spring cleaning of sorts.

My sorts were out yesterday, I slept most of the day…I had a tickly/sore throat with a massive headache.  I started some Claritin Allergy Tablets …and used Zicam so hopefully I am over the worst of it! 

There was free recycling of electronic “stuff” at the County Landfill yesterday.  Far Guy took in all the dead electronics…old computer, printer, power supply ...etc. Usually they charge $5.00 per item.  So it was bargain day at the dump.

My May List and Wildflowers

Ack my May list of things to accomplish is a tad lacking.

My May List:

Clean garage  In process another day or two and I will be done.

Vacuum cars and wash windows.   I got Far Guys vehicle all done.

Sleigh Bells…nope

Spring clean some kitchen cupboards…probably not all of them. Yes some are cleaned!

Trim some grass around some old grave markers. Yes the markers look better.

Visit some graves that I have not been to in a few years. Maybe someday in June when Far Guy is feeling better.

My June list.

Garage sale

Road trip to Buhl Minnesota.  It seems Far Guy was bored in the middle of the night and bought a whole tote of train “stuff” and it has to be picked up. I have no idea where Buhl is..up north someplace in the boonies.

I can finish up “stuff” from previous months.

Wildflower photos!!

 

Large flowered Trillium or Trillium grandiflorum

You can see how dusty the foliage is along the roads.

Large Flowered Bellwort or Uvularia grandiflora  one of two Bellworts found in Minnesota.

I think the prednisone that Far Guy has been on leaves him sleepless at night.  He discovered how to sinc his Roku to his computer so he can watch his favorites on You Tube on his TV.   I told him I didn’t want to be involved…my tech skills are already at their max. 

It hasn’t rained yet, we are still waiting for a good rain.

The Yard Report

We went from late spring coolness to August like hot weather just like that.   It is dry, I hope it rains soon.  In August our yard is heavily shaded.  No so much in May.

The Oaks which we curse each fall with their millions of leaves are finally starting to show some green. In the next photo you can see how I rake the leaves to the edge of the woods every fall, soon grass will grow up through those piles of leaves.  In the spring those leaves are wet from snowmelt and provide an extra barrier of protection should there be a forest fire…wet leaves do not burn.  Oak forests usually do not burn either..but just incase my leaves will stop a ground fire.

Andy and Jen carried the lawn swing out of the garage.  I am giving the garage a good cleaning before the garage sale…that happens a week from today.  I sure do have lots of crap highly collectable items.  I have not had a garage sale in about four years…it is time.

I had Far Guy dig out that worthless Forsythia last fall and added another bird bath in it’s place.   I mowed part of the lawn, I insisted Far Guy stay indoors.  We went to town and bought a battery operated weed trimmer that should be easy on my shoulders…compared to the gas one that you have to pull your shoulder practically out of joint to start.

I love the green grass.  Our lawn is not perfect, it has dandy lions all over, I find them pleasant, like little bits of cheerful sunshine amongst the green.

  The Purple Leaf Sandcherry had a tough winter.

Looks like a bunch of dead sticks with a little growth along the bottom.  I will trim it after it rains.  The jury remains out on the climbing roses…they don’t look good. I must be patient.

A Few Rough Days

Last Saturday was very warm, and the pine trees started to weigh down the air with their pollen.  As you know Far Guy has battled Acute Bronchitis for over a month.  The pollen proved to be too much for him.  His oxygen sats plummeted.  I took him into the ER and they kept him in the hospital for four days.   His Doctor called his breathing problem a  “perfect storm.” They gave him IV antibiotics and steroids.

He is much improved and is listening to everything most things I say.

Chance, Miney and Little Elvis were in a real funk.  They couldn’t figure out what I had done with Far Guy…all they knew is that I took him someplace and I didn’t bring him back, that I would come and go many times a day and smell different. They were good company for me when I was at home to do a few things and play ball with them.

Little Elvis was delegated to lick my fingers or my toes every morning until I awakened.  He took his new job seriously!

Yesterday afternoon after Miney and Little Elvis went home ( their people returned from a vacation in Colorado) and Far Guy was settled I crashed on the couch and slept for three hours.  I didn’t answer the phone, I don’t know if it rang or not.

Far Guy enjoyed Room Service in the hospital, they cooked him whatever he wanted to eat, and his nursing care was excellent. I am cautiously optimistic that he is over the hump now…he says he feels about 75 % normal.  He sees his regular Doctor again next week, in the meantime he is still on antibiotics, steroids and an allergy pill.  We have the AC on since everything in our area is spitting yellow pollen, I will open the windows after it rains.

Wistful Wednesday: Bill and Gertie

Just on the other side of the section of land where I grew up was a big old white house surrounded by farmland.  There used to be some falling down out buildings…I recall a chicken coop and maybe an old garage or small shed. 

Bill and Gertie lived in the big white house…two story…probably what is called a foursquare house. 

This photo was taken on their 50th wedding anniversary on October 23, 1957.   I wondered why I remembered them this way and not any older?  I looked up their gravesites.  Gertie 1885 to 1958, and Bill  or W.T. 1877 to 1969.  They were already in their 70’s and 80’s when I met them.  Gertie died about six months after this photo was taken.

I remember visiting their house and having cookies…cookies were always a big hit with me!

We drive by their old place sometimes on our evening drives.

The house has been enlarged, someone else lives there now and it is for sale. 

My parents owned this property at one time…I think they bought it from the Estate after Bills’ death in 1969.  They farmed the land for a number of years.

Bill and Gertie were good neighbors, no one ever spoke badly of them that I can recall.  Salt of the earth kind of people.

Savannah’s Graduation Party

The Graduation ceremony was held in the Sanford Center in Bemidji Minnesota at 10 AM.  310 students graduated, the ceremony took about 2 hours.

There were two too many speakers who just liked to hear the sound of their own voices.  The student speakers were the best!  The old farts should have just stayed silent.

Savannah’s parents held an open house in her honor in the afternoon, we had several hours to make the final preparations.  The day before the party I made potato salad for 100 people.  Uncle Andy smoked pork for sandwiches.  We mixed up cole slaw, baked beans and made the frosting for the cupcakes before all the guests arrived.
It was a warm sun shiny day.  Shade was welcome…we went from cool spring weather to sunny and hot.  People came and went all afternoon. 
During one of more quiet times I asked Savannah to open her gifts.
This is the gift from Savannah’s Great Grandparents ( my parents) they were unable to attend but my Mother made Savannah a quilt in her favorite color …green.

I made her a scrapbook page with her newspaper clipping and her graduation photo, then I scanned it and found a frame that is a shadowbox…so she can put some keepsakes in the frame.

Savannah’s Aunt Jen made her a book…all through the years.  It made her cry…which in turn made just a few of us cry.

Then another gift from Aunt Jen, Uncle Andy and the boys made her smile.

“Bananas in pajamas are coming down the stairs, Bananas in pajamas are coming down in pairs”  It was a cartoon or a show on TV when she was just a little girl…we changed the lyrics to Savannah in Pajamas!

It was a lovely afternoon.  We were so happy we could be there.