Tuesday, June 27, 2017

Growing Her Wings


 Whew!!  I have been really busy lately!  Which is a great thing.  We are beginning the height of our growing season here and have lots of stuff coming in from the garden now.  So, you know that means picking, canning, freezing, drying and so on.

 Most of the garden is doing well but some things got off to a real slow staart, like the tomatoes and okra.  We've had plenty of rain!  But that's makes for not so much sunshine...at that slows down some veggies.  We are finally starting to get a little of everything now.

 I guess I put this up mainly for the little birds!  They are about the only ones that ever see it!  The little phoebes and bluebirds have been working their little hearts out this year though...catching lots of bugs for me.

 I think we will have a much better corn crop this year.  We added amendments to this plot all winter long and it seems to have helped a lot.  Can't wait for some fresh, hot buttered corn on the cob!!

 Just a little sampling of what we are getting so far. 

 We also did a bit of landscaping while we had the neighbor's backhoe.  This area was really lumping and horrible; filled with rocks and stumps.  It was about impossible to mow, so I had Allen dig up all the stumps and grade everything.  We also expanded the little wet weather stream bed and I am slowly lining it with flat rocks to make it more attractive when it's dry.  It looks pretty nice actually but this photo isn't very good.  The edges are lined with irises in places.
We also cut out several old, crappy trees and expanded the cleared area, which you can't really seee here.  We intend to plant another apple tree and possibly a plum and cherry.

My annual row of zinnias in the garden is finally  blooming!  There are a few other flowers mixed in but the zinnias kinda dominate.

Thank you for all the kind comments in the last post.  I wanted to respond here to a couple of the last ones made, so to be sure they would be seen.  And also, please, please note this:  my blog is set so that all comments made after 3 days of the post publishing, must be moderated by me.  I have to physically post them.  Blogger does NOT always tell me when some people comment.   I don't know why.  So....I don't always know that I a comment has been left unless I go to the blog dashboard and check specifically for that.  I forget to do this frequently because not a lot goes on here anymore.  I recently discovered a comment from last year!! that I never knew about and never published!  I would never skip a comment on purpose (unless the person was just being a total and complete, useless ass in their comment), so if this ever happens, please know it is not on purpose.  My memory is just not what it was and sometimes I forget to look.

Since March the doctor has had me trying a couple of different meds and dosage amounts etc. and it's had me all over the place at times.  But that's just natural.  They have to try lots of different things for each person to find the right combo.  Anyway, he doubled my dose of Mirapex lately and I had a very bad reaction to that and went I dropped back down to my low dose it seemed to throw me in a another horrible direction!  It was quite unpleasant.  So, after wrangling around with the cost of another drug (there was no way I could begin to afford it) he put me on a very, very low dose of Sinemet.  This is actually helping a lot and I feel much better.  I still have a lot of pain and stiffness but the brain fog is better and just feeling more like doing things and with a better outlook.  My skin has cleared up great and doesn't hurt all the time and I can swallow food easily now.

Tammy asked about a support group and I have looked into that.  Unfortunately, there is only one anywhere around me and that's at UAB, of course.  On a good day... UAB is at least 45 minutes away, usually 50-60 minutes, so that's not really something that would work well.  I still don't often feel "clear" or "on" enough to drive in Birmingham traffic. If you've ever been or lived here you'll know what I mean! lol!  So.  I did find a good online support group though, that I like very much and is very helpful.  So, that allows me some contact with folks that truly understand my condition.  They are very encouraging and a lot of them have some pretty wicked sense of humor, so it's fun.

So, that's part of what's going on.  Hopefully I will be back soon with some more activity!!  I hope you all are enjoying your summer!!

10 comments:

ErinFromIowa said...

This post was good medicine for me. I can see the direction you are heading with the latest landscaping. Gonna look nice. :)

Anonymous said...

Sounds like your general direction, with your garden and your condition, is going up. I hope it sustains (and I hope you win more age group medals in your runs).

Hermit's Baby Sis said...

Beautiful garden and good news - good day all 'round. Things are looking up!

Anonymous said...

hi annie

JO said...

You have no idea how beautiful your garden looks to me. It is hotter than hell itself her and everything is brown. I lingered over the first picture for a while and enjoyed all the others. the green beans, blueberries and all the other veggies look so good. And oh the flowers so pretty.

Happy they are finding meds that work I know about trial and error. I'm happy you at least feel better and I hope it continues to be as good as it can be.

JO said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Caddie said...

You all sure have a "green thumb". Such perfect produce and 'posies'. So glad you are feeling better, Mama Hen Annie.

Blackland Prairie said...

Hmmm, I tried to leave a comment on your last post but every time I hit publish it just sat there and did nothing. I'm not sure if the trouble was on my end or yours but it's not the first time that's happened to me.
Anyhow, just wanted to say that your gardens are BEAUTIFUL!! And it looks like you've got your hands full prepping it all!

Vonne

Anonymous said...

Annie, I hate traffic of any sort and I have driven in B'ham traffic many moons ago. I would probably have a fit now. Sorry there isn't a support group closer but glad you have found one online. Delighted this new med seems to be helping.
Hang in there and I am so very envious of your gardening and carpentry skills.
I want to do more and more, time constraints of course.
Take care, and hopefully each day will get better.
Tammy in LA

pamit said...

I am late here but ... good to see you back! Great pix and congrats on the 10K place in your age group. --Pam in CO, still enjoying my bowls...not a chip or crack yet!