Strange times

So no yard mowing today due to heavy particles of smoke in the air. That put the kabash on the Big Plan for the day. 

I guess if the grass really got out of hand, I'd do what I did in 2008 and again in 2016. Put a hot wire around parts of the yard and let my critters do the mowing.

Instead I picked berries this morning then closed up the house for the A/C to hopefully keep hubby feeling healthier.

Cell phone shots of the berries. 

The top photo is from the top of the ridge and the unripe ones are midway down into the valley. There are micro climates in our woods and I am beginning to understand that certain areas will produce berries in different stages.

Since I couldn't mow due to how wet it was and how bad the air was, I collected some flowers to try 'pressing' and drying. I dyed some Queen Anne's Lace with food coloring and some Fleabane.

Here is my sample of flowers I am pressing between two boards:

There is also Chicory, wild Vervain, Cosmos, Bee Balm, and Marigold. This method is supposed to take about a week or more.
I have to change the paper every few days to draw the moisture out. I used some rocks from my garden as weight for the top board.

Now I have some ideas of trying to put some of the flowers on handmade greeting cards so I will watch some videos of that. Another option is to place the pressed flowers into a picture frame and use it as a decoration?

It all started because I wanted some Queen Anne's Lace to use for some Still Life photos and perhaps dry some for a bouquet in the winter. 

What strange times we live in, when the midday sun is but an orange orb in the sky.

I almost feel like I am living in a science fiction novel.

A secondary smoke plume will then be
transported southward across the state Saturday afternoon into early
Sunday morning. Elevated fine particulate matter (PM2.5)
concentrations are anticipated to result in air quality index (AQI)
values in the UNHEALTHY FOR SENSITIVE GROUPS level over this period.
Sensitive groups include children, elderly people, individuals with
respiratory and cardiac problems, and anyone engaged in strenuous
outdoor activities for a prolonged period of time.

So... I was out doing garden work and dead heading the petunias when something very odd happened. I noticed I had a splotch of brown paint or maybe bug goo on my glasses. It was in sharp focus and moved when I stood up. Totally freaky! 
So I grabbed my glassed off and it was still there.
I brushed my face because, just well, because.
It moved and then swirled. I dropped my crap right then and there and headed to the house. 
Visit to Urgent Care sent me to the ED. After some testing I was given the diagnosis.
Vitreous Hemmorrhage. 
Vitreous is the clear gel in the center of your eye. Mine had blood in it. 
I will see an Ophthalmologist on Monday.
No bending. No lifting. No straining. No exercise. Damn, they should have included NO cooking too.
I get to sleep sitting up.  
I am not in pain but apparently this needs to be figured out and I don't need more blood seeping around in my eye. It sort of looked like this, but brown:

I still see stuff floating about and coming into my visual field. Hmmm. Mmmm.
Strange Times indeed.
Have a great weekend. 

Clean and purge. Uh oh..

So Blogger.com is angry with me? I don't get it. I can't post a photo and I've done everything possible. Message: Sorry! An unexpected error occurred while processing your selection.  Please try again later.

👀👅💣💥 however I can post emoji's ... ahem...

So what to do on a COLD and rainy day???

🌦🌧⛆

Time to purge and clean things in the house again.

I have to clear out the tiny living room so the flooring guys can rank the carpeting and put in the nice pretty flooring. I like to think far ahead and get things ready instead of waiting for the last minute.

We have to move the hutch and this huge a$$ed Trunk that Rich had packed plum or is it Plumb?... full of aged memorabilia. His High School Purple sweater from when he was 16, it was one his mom was going to attach his sport 'letters' to. No way it would fit him now.

Then there were those horrid looking teddy bears that look like something Hollywood would use in a horror movie.😱 [ no photo so use your imagination! these bears should be photographed in a scary place...hmmmmmmm...my tiny brain just got an idea]

Every baseball he ever used in high school when he was pitching. I think they were game balls or something. I set the balls out on the table. 

Geeze, I nearly said I 'set' his balls on the table.

Anyway. He was able to tell me the significance of each baseball. Then we moved to a box of photos of his family from a gazillion years ago. His father's baby photo! 
So I went through each photo and ID'd the people on the back. These are folks I have never seen and who were great grandmas, uncles, aunts, and homes from long ago. It was fun for him to tell me who the people were. 
I may pass these to his daughter eventually. 
Not the [base] balls though.

I got permission to toss the purple sweater and some magazines from over 30 years ago. He wanted to keep them and I asked 'what for'. I kept the ones that featured my photos and articles but tossed the rest. 

Old videos. Old family video tapes that were poor quality back then and re-recorded so many times that they were blurry and snowy. I imagine age has not improved them.

I'd like to get rid of the trunk as it takes up floor space that we really could use much better. Alas. He is very attached to it. The table we sit at is likewise too large to fit in our eating area, but it was a hand me down from his Grandmother. So it stays. 

After cleaning the trunk, I moved my books and other pieces of stuff upstairs. Then I sat upstairs and went through my junk. I have 3 of those reusable cloth shopping bags full of items I am tossing. I have another box packed and ready to send of to the younger grand kids with some toys.

I have one more box of Carousel Horse music boxes. I think I will see if any of my CrossFit friends have little girls that would like them. 

The strangest item I could not let go of was a rock. It was a rock I picked up in 1996. There is a long story behind that piece of rock. It stays. I will return it one day from where I took it. 

The Turn of Events Or Two Tests

This is an update to the previous post and I hope to give some folks some hope.

The Rapid Test was Negative.
Rich's classic symptoms screamed Covid. So much so that the doctors felt the test was wrong and asked for another more complicated test. Covid protocol came into effect. Of course now most every hospital I think practices some very strict PPE. 

However they did treat him as an infected person and therefore I was an infected person most likely.

I had to return to the hospital twice for things they needed. The CPAP and then a list of medications. Yeah ... this is why the person who is the CareGiver should be present.

Also they should know how to use the VA's 'Veteran's Health Information Exchange' to look up his meds and current health notes. I will not judge them for these two issues because I know our tiny hospital is over run. So I printed out a copy from his Pharmacy list and took it to them with how he should take the meds. 

The nurse called me later in the afternoon as they are very busy. She said 'We are going to remove the Propranolol from his meds and cut back on another med.'

I said to her that Propranolol was removed by his PCP a year ago because of adverse side effects, it drops his heart rate severely. This too exists in the VHIE [electronic health records].

She said 'Well it was prescribed in the ER.' 

OK. One more reason to have someone who does CareGiving there for the patient. 

Again, not really the nurse's fault, but a fault of the overburdened system right now. They probably thought it was prudent at the time. I told the nurse of my husband's health history. The Cliff Note version. 

I discussed the pain med that they were withholding. It was prescribed for his Major Depressive Disorder or MDD. 

She told me that Rich never could tell her exactly what hurts but everything hurt so bad. I said Bingo! MDD! You have a patient with severe depression and by withholding that med it causes him pain AND withdrawal pain.

See me visually smacking my head with one hand while trying not to get angry.

Test #2 finally came back. He is not Covid-19 positive. But he is a perplexing case. Wonky heart rate -- so much pain, not able to get enough 02, and some other things. 
She remarked that he had asked for a DNR order and it was noted. 

I told her I wanted a clear picture of what was his diagnosis. They get a bit hesitant with that stuff so I told her to look at the HIPPA Consent form under Richard's Living Will paperwork she had on file [in his chart].

I wanted to know if he was stable enough to come home even if he had to stay in bed. Did he need an IV for fluids? Were his lungs clear? 

She made notes. She couldn't give me an answer.

I was polite and professional. The poor woman started her rounds in our little hospital at 7AM. She got her break to call me at 2PM.

Humans are odd creatures. My husband is one such creature. I've been his personal health advocate for 24 years. I even have a degree in Billing and Coding and nearly switched over to Pharmacology. I have a background in commercial and health insurance, billing, and coding. I am very serious about taking care of my husband at a hospital that is really not equipped for what he needs. Again, not their fault. I do believe it is an excellent facility.

It is not staffed with people who understand veterans with Mental Health issues. The best place for him is to be surrounded by vet nurses and veteran staff, but that hospital is full.

My course of action is to hope that a bed opens up for him soon or he becomes stable enough to come home.

The nurse said he was pleasant and she really liked him. 

About 15 minutes later she called me back. She had the pharmacist with her and needed to go over a few things with me. I pulled up my chart and read off the answers for her.

So in conclusion, they are treating him for symptoms that parallel Covid symptoms. But don't have a clear picture of what is going on. His fever is gone.

At first yes Covid, then not Covid, then similar to Covid.

The only good thing to know after all of this ... is that all my extreme precautions have been working. 

Another observation. When I brought his CPAP and later his meds to the hospital, I did wear a mask and tell the person in reception that I came from a home of a suspected Covid-19 patient.
That poor girl's eyes went deer in the headlight white and she went back for gloves and a Bio Hazard bag to put my chart in.

I was a Witching Pariah, or something to that effect.

We are living in a very strange world right now. 

Last but not least I am starting a Suck Box. More on that later.

Stories from kids and whatnot

I didn't check my mail on Saturday afternoon. But Monday morning I found a stuffed envelope from Charlie's young friends in Missouri. The boys had drawn pictures for us and the 3rd grader who reads at 6th grade or above had written a story for us!
The story included Poop Rocks [I'll explain later], Charlie, magic crystals, and saving the world! 
Of course I read the story and took the challenge of trying to take photos to match the story. 

On top of the mailbox was a large box from my childhood friend. She'd said something about sending a care package on Friday, so of course I was not expecting it at all on Saturday.

Inside the package was two tubs of cookies [she is an excellent baker and cook!] and several small items wrapped in tissue paper. There were a couple of notes and a card.
Her note said: 

PS: My childhood zoo voted to go too. They want to meet Lil Bear and all of his buddies. I promise they won't eat much.
Hugs.

I immediately set aside the cookies and unwrapped the 'zoo'. You would have sworn that I was opening gifts at Christmas time. I felt like a child as I slowly unwound the tissue papers. Each toy gave me a squeak of glee and I marveled at the tiny wooden zoo animals. A Weiner dog, donkey, monkey, elephant, deer, and squirrel. 

I was out on Monday afternoon with a couple of the toys. Charlie and I took a walk to the mailbox and detoured past my favorite rock to set out toys.

And then we worked on photos for the story that was sent to us.

ValBarbie and RichKen make a return from the drawer
they were sitting in for the story!
Note the 'little' Charlie dog too!

The endangered Crystal and the Poop rock. 

These are actually iron concretions found in my creek bottom 

and the kids found some. 

They were fascinated by the forms of the rocks and 

dubbed the long bumpy ones as ... you guessed it, Poop Rocks.

~~~~

My friend called me Monday afternoon and we talked about my love of toys combined with photography. I told her maybe I was just a silly old fool. And she replied that she loved that I still was able to exercise my 12 year old mind.

After all, it has been going on a long time. I can't help myself. 

I was always considered the odd one.... Points Down.....

Fence War ~ I guess it's a feud.

My 5 little hanging ghosts I'd put out in the forest on Friday afternoon got a HUGE reaction! 

You know little Halloween decorations.

I went back Sunday with some Gnomes to take some Still Life photos and walk with Charlie.

Imagine my surprise when I saw that the person bought 20 brand new yellow Do Not Trespass signs ~ and literally nailed one to nearly every tree around his stand for about 20 yards in either direction.

He also put up a camera on our/his fence line. 

I do not trespass period.
He has owned that land for 15 yrs and made it clear to all of the folks in our area that he would not allow anyone ever on his land.
I have no reason to go there, it is a large corn field and rather boring.

I would call his reaction to my little ghosts a bit over the top...I'll explain in a minute.

I have a trail cam set up next to one of the Halloween decorations. There is a nice photo of a small buck grazing not far from it. So yeah, it didn't bother the wild life at all. 

It was the Huge Purple/Pink Dildo that he strapped to one of the trees that I thought was in poor taste. I almost was offended, but then decided it was probably one of the funniest grossest things I'd ever seen. The guy's trail cam is aimed at the huge dildo strapped to the tree. I suppose he thinks I'd find it so offensive he'd catch me on camera stepping through the fence and removing it.

Tempted to make a sign and put on my side of the fence.

"Is your wife missing this?"

But then I'd stoop to his level. 

I didn't get up close to look at it, but if it is plastic or rubber, the raccoon will have a field day with it. I know, they've chewed up my dolls I had back there for Halloween past decorations.

Odd things happen to items left out in the woods....remember the Teddy Bears at the creek?

So just to be clear, I've decorated that area of my woods before with zombie dolls and skeletons so the neighbor kids could take a long walk and do a Treasure Hunt in that section of woods. 

Well obviously I won't have any Treasure Hunts back there for a long while now. At least until the forest creatures chew up the purple/pink thing.

Also...something I thought very funny. This fellow had to actually make a huge effort to go out and purchase the signs ... then spend a fair amount of time nailing them up.
He had to use a step stool or something as the signs are about 6 ft up...and god knows where he got that offensive huge Purple/Pink Dildo, but he spent a good amount of time NOT hunting.

Here is a view and I smudged the offensive Purply Thing. The flowers are on my side of the fence. 

I'm thinking of my next move.

This is starting to be really quite funny. However, I think my point was taken. 

Don't Shoot on my Land. Recovery yes. 

I am totally bored with this Isolation/Staying at Home situation. So I can have a bit more fun with this. 

Think Blair Witch Project? 

I am very creative. But I won't stoop to offensive behavior. 

Oh...

Here is the Gnome project I was doing!

That is all I have for today!

Have a great day. I'm going to be busy again!

Oddness

I may be in one of those moods. What kind of mood? 

Gosh I really don't know. I walked out yesterday morning and watched the sun rise over what used to be the Merry Meadow. It belongs to the neighbor and we no longer brush hog it or fence it for pasture. At one time it was nice to walk through that well groomed pasture. I think there were about 10 acres of it. Now it is a nightmare to walk through unless the snow has pressed down the weeds and grasses.
Still, the morning sunrise is still beautiful to watch.

The Teddy and his lonely tea party. 
I spray painted the cups and sauces.
They were purple.

My husband's Aunt sent us this huge decoration for our house. I don't have the heart to tell her that it is way too large for my tiny house. I chuckled at the word 'Family' on it. 

Let's just say that I don't get the Warm Fuzzies with the word Family.

I get what it is supposed to mean though.
I was sorting through my mini boney dinosaurs to figure out which ones I'd keep and which ones I'd send to my youngest grandson. I set the ones I wanted to keep for photos on the mini bench in front of the place I stashed the Family sign for the time being.

[I have no idea where I would actually put it. Really...I don't! 

I'm thinking though it would 

make a nice frame without the letters to use for a 

flat layout and still life photography... hmmm....]

Other meandering thoughts. My flower garden is going great guns and it will be time to start collecting seeds for next year's gardens. The barrel I had in the middle of the plantings is now surrounded and one has to peek through the towering plants to see what is on the spool top I set on the barrel.

The Tree Ent looks

pleased.

Think so?

The tiny brass car with the hen and chick in it looks like it is doing well. I have to remember to reach in and water that and the ones in the tea cups....

Maybe I'm feeling the ... well, I don't want to call it stress... but perhaps it is stress...

The stress of worrying about something I can't really do much about. The worry about the coming winter. The worry about world events. 

Perhaps what causes my feelings of unrest come from something deeper. The cost of Isolation and being careful. 
The feeling of waiting for that Other Shoe to Drop.

Sometimes I go to do something and I just stop. I look around and feel as if I've lost my way a little bit. I stand and wait. Then I think of something I should be doing. And of course then I do something else.

Distracted and disjointed.

I sure hope this oddness passes.

I think I'll take Charlie for a stroll now. Unless I should be doing something else.

[Oh...and if my kids read this they'll get the reference to Family. It isn't about them, they will fully understand why I chuckle at the word.]

 

I'm going to have nightmares....

It's been a while since I messed around with fractals and abstract art.

Probably a bit too long since I've forgotten how to do some of these old strange and wonderful creations.

Well, not really. I do know how to do it. I just forgot which were my favorite formulas and I used to have fun 'tweaking' other artists' shared formulas for little challenges and pongs to see what we could do to each other's art.

So today I spoke to a good friend on the phone. I'd sent his wife a link to a nice farmhouse in our area that was for sale.

Just for giggles, as they always wished they could move here and one day that may be possible.

I'd noted on FB that they must have been on a second vacation from the photos of the places they'd been.

So I asked if they'd been on vacation. 

Nope, he told me. They were under quarantine.

Hmmm?

Well they'd been with other family members and those members tested positive with symptoms. But weak symptoms.

Nothing serious. So he and his family had been exposed and were tested.

His daughter's tests came back in 3 days and they were negative. His wife just got a negative result and his was still out.

So they had been told to quarantine for 14 days either way because of the exposure.

Slap me if I am wrong. But what is the definition of a Quarantine?

This person continued chatting and telling me of all the parks they decided to go visit and see. They were careful mind you, of course, to not go into crowds.

Bahhhhh!

All I could see in my brain as I stared out at the dense fog over the pasture was ...

COVID virus monsters!

[This is a fractal I had created about 4 years ago...edited with Deepdream]

I think I stood there with a loss of words. Not wanting to offend my friend, I just remained silent while questions ran through my head.

Precautions?

Wait? Did you distance? Did you wear masks? How sick were they? Who else???

Breakdown...

I really couldn't say anything. I was so stunned and perplexed.

He went on to tell me that one relative was bedridden but came out of it, another was just tired, and it must not be a big deal cuz most people just are fine.

And then I thought ... uh huh. I nodded my head slowly, very slowly and stared again at the fog.

Um.

I changed the subject ~~~~all sorts of things were bouncing around in my head that I wanted to say

...no shout 

but

really

it would fall on deaf ears.

This person has had a brush with Covid-19 and it hasn't affected him yet. So obviously it isn't a big deal.

That weighed on my mind most of the day.  

And in the headlines?

Texas is looking for refrigerator trucks to store dead bodies. Their hospitals look like war zones....

I did some artistic stuff to another image, but since it is pretty disturbing [and it is meant to be], I'm not posting it to the blog.

So to remind myself that there are good people and good things in this world I post this instead.

I will think of unicorns....

Last note. On FB my coach shared a letter written by someone regarding how people could avoid become ill if only they would exercise and eat properly. The discussion that followed seem to want to blame deaths on fat shaming, diabetes, and other health issues that the posters felt everyone should be able to control.

I don't think the coach meant for things to go that way in the discussion, but ....

I find that a very narrow view on humanity. And human health.

We are all different...

Bleh!

And now I need a Unicorn AND a Rainbow!

I'm becoming more and more interested in becoming a hermit.

Nuff

said.

And it was Friday...the 13th...

I went to my regular CrossFit time and was able to write up a warm up for anyone else who happened to show up.

So myself and my friend Bill were the only ones to show up. My membership ends on Monday so I figured this would be my last day in the Wellness Center.

The COVID-19 was splashed in the news everywhere. The amount of people on the other side of the gym was diminished greatly.

Our coach was in the process of renting a place for us. Everyone was excited. Me? Not so much. I told Bill that after this, I was not going to be around 'crowds'. Not so much for myself but I need to keep my husband safe.

I hit Walmart afterward and picked up some fresh lettuce and fruits and some pepper. I saw people with gallons of milk in their carts and signs up with limits on certain goods. The isle for hand sanitizers was barren. I know you can make that stuff fairly easily and I had everything at home in my bag of vet/human first aid things.

I picked up veggie seeds and an extra bag of food for Charlie.

Then I headed for the Kickapoo Valley Reserve.

And we hiked the Wintergreen Trail.

There I am a rare photo thanks to Bill of me after climbing a hillside to 

show Bill one of the ice caves.

Pictures from our hike.

Bottom of fern leaf on the bluff

Infrared shot from the lookout

And of course our pace setter...Charlie...

When I got home I opened my emails.

Banking should be on line or the drive up.
Master Naturalist Class was now cancelled.
All WI schools were cancelled as of Wednesday.
The VA had procedures for appts. Line up to get in the parking lot to get screened. Telehealth.
The nursing homes instituted more severe restrictions.
Local restaurants asked patrons to 'order out' and not eat in.

I spent most of the night awake even though I was tired.

How was our life going to change?
I didn't have to really wonder very much. Things were going to be a crapshoot.

I felt pretty lucky. Spring was coming.
Foraging in the woods would be a wonderful way to get exercise and fresh wild veggies.

~~~~~
And as always. Things are rapidly changing again today, Sunday.
The schools are closed now and won't extend until Wednesday.
A tent is being set up to triage people in the hospital parking lot.

I am done being a part of the madness. I am going to actively become isolated for my husband's sake.

Patchy Smoke and then Patchy Fog

For real, that is what the LaCrosse NOAA service sight said last night.

I was wondering what Patchy Smoke would look like. Last weekend there was Canadian Wildfire smoke obscuring the night horizon while we were watching for the Perseid Meteor showers.

Just before I went to sleep last night, I went out with Charlie and noticed the crescent moon was a deep orange.
Ahhh. Smoke.

Charlie woke me up right at 5 am. I looked out the window and had my first surprise of the day. Little Richard was outside my bedroom window grazing. He was loose.
I walked out in bare feet and a t-shirt and walked him to the 3 electric line pen. He went like a Prince.
I'd been asked if I'd sell him recently and I said no. He could be a pain in the butt, but he does a good job at grazing areas I have a hard time mowing by hand.

There was a faint light in the sky while I watched Charlie do his business and we wandered back to the house to have coffee.

The sky was very dull and at first I attributed it to the fog. I gathered my camera bag stuff and keys. Charlie wasn't letting me out the door without him.
He even tried to help me with my socks and boots...

I plopped him into the 'car seat' and we set off to the ridge. The sky and fog had an unusual dullness to it.

Generally if it is foggy and the sun has risen, the fog has a brilliant color...this morning?

It was as if someone had wiped all the colors from the sky.

Yet the sun was already up....

So this must be what partly smokey and partly foggy means.

I felt the sun looked rather strange, almost like a red full moon rising.
Except I knew that it was the sun.

About Morris

Mr. Silver Face had two incidents in the past week that caused us concern.

I was walking with Morris in the summer pasture and squatted to take a photo of a dandelion.

When I stood up, Mr. Morris was nowhere to be found. I called, I walked around, I called.
Then I yelled quite angrily because I figured he was messing with me.

After about 15 minutes of hollering for him, I decided that he must have got it in his head to go home and wait for me. However that didn't make much sense as he didn't like to go under the electric fence by the gate.

I jogged home.
No Morris.

I went back to the meadow and walked around.
Now my calling for Morris sounded pretty scary. I was getting afraid, then angry, then afraid again.

I walked back to the gate and stood.
Then I headed back down the grass lane towards the house.

I turned around and here came Mr. Morris walking slowly behind me.

"Where were you?" I asked really peeved. He dropped his ears and walked slowly past me. I reached out and picked him up.
"You had me worried!"

He just looked at me.

I forgot about the incident until yesterday when it happened again.
Rich was standing on the porch and Morris was on the west side of the house sniffing around down near the electric fence. It was part of the yard we still had to grade and reseed from the mess of remodeling last year.

I was digging up a section for flowers next to the house.

Rich and I were talking about the rain and how wet everything was. Then he asked me where the dog was.

I looked around.
No Mr. Morris.

I called.
He called.

We started walking around the house thinking he'd gone into the shed where the hoof trimmings from Saturday were still in a pile. He wasn't there.

I began yelling.
Rich began yelling.

Suddenly I heard Rich call my name and say, "Found him!"

Rich had a concerned look on his face.
Morris walked slowly towards the porch sort of in a vague manner as if the porch was his destination but he wasn't sure how to get to it.

"I think he had a stroke or something," Rich said. "He was under the fence in that tall grass and it was like he couldn't get up and then he ..." Rich made a motion with his hands in a circle. "He went 'round and 'round. He is not okay?"

Morris walked by me to the door and paced back and forth. I checked him over. He was wet from the wet grass and otherwise his eyes looked clear and bright.

I let him in the house and Morris went to his crate and curled up with a sigh.

Last night Morris got the red carpet treatment from Rich. I caught Rich petting him while we sat on the couch and tried to watch a program.

Halfway through Rich commented that too many things were going on and he didn't understand the story.

Morris is following Rich around the house today. This morning I watched as Morris lay by the door to the bedroom when he heard Rich stirring.

"Old Dog, Old Man" ... says Rich.
"We get along."