This Week, In Pictures (Mostly)

I don't think I have many words to say, but I'm sure I'll think of something.  I do have several pictures of our area from this past week that I'd like to share.

This is what's left of the potted plants on the stump, and it doesn't look too bad.  The rest had been ravaged by the rabbits.  Not pictured here are the flower pot out front and petunias on the back steps.  The only thing left out front was a green stalk of a yellow marigold that was still trying to live, everything else was devoured.  I moved a couple petunias out front and surrounded the pot with chicken wire and they seem to be doing well.

For the sake of keeping the home page tidy, see the rest after the break!

No Cukes This Year

We've given the vines enough time to show their flowers if they were going to, and they didn't.  So yesterday we pulled them all out.  They had just gotten so big and were reaching everywhere no matter how many times I guided them back into their own space.  The back left garden was so completely overrun we just pulled the fence up and brought the vines out almost in one big, tangled piece.  Pretty much filled up this year's side of the compost bin, but they will break down easily now that they're pulled.

It was a nice thought, getting some bonus cucumbers out of the garden this year, but it just wasn't meant to be.  And that's okay, it was still a fun thought and no harm was done.

I'm very pleased with the new gardens.  Even if putting them in was the start of my recent back trouble, it had to be done.  And I'm doubly glad they're metal because more than ever I don't want to do it again!

Literally Back. And Back.

I've not posted in a few weeks as I just haven't had much good to say.  I'd written about my latest with my back, so it made no sense to keep complaining until there was something new.  Well, I guess there was something new, I was just too upset about it to write about it at the time.

I spoke to my doctors office on Tuesday, June 15, and they said they couldn't schedule the shot in my back (a CT-guided left S1 selective nerve root injection) until it was preauthorized by my insurance and they would submit it that day.  By Tuesday, June 23, I had not heard anything back so sent a message to my doctor's office to inquire.  I waited the next day, but received no response.  So early on Thursday I contacted my insurance and they said they just  received the request the day before - 8 days after my doctor's office said they would submit it.  I told the story to that insurance agent, and she seemed sympathetic.  The preauthorization was approved the very next day, so either she expedited it for me or my doctor's office got it expedited somehow.  Probably the former, not the latter, but I'm still bitter.

I'd never had a reason to not trust my doctor's office before, but I won't make that mistake in the future.  They'd been bought out several years ago now by a larger company so I'm sure expenses had to be trimmed and the quality soon follows (duh!).  But I had to spend 8 extra days in pain, 8 extra days on opioids, and 8 extra days limited for work.  Eventually I got a cursory apology from the guilty staff, and a more in-depth apology from the head of the department, but I was definitely not happy.  I considered my options; talking to a lawyer, taking them to small claims court, even calling and yelling until I was blue in the face.  But in the end, nothing would come of it and I would just be more miserable.  Best to get on with it and go through with it.  Just get it done.

Eventually I got my injection two days ago, Wednesday, July 7.  It was certainly the most painful of these injections I had, I think this is the 4th, and not the most or least effective I've had, either.  I still have pain in my butt and groin, sometimes extending down the back of my thigh or to the back of my knee, all left side, and my left heel has been tingling ever since.  I no longer get pain all the way to my foot, or the very sharp pain from internal pressure, such as a cough.  

Overall, it's just taken the edge off and I think this is something I'll just have to live with.  Until I can't anymore.  Then I get to go through this whole process yet again.  Next time maybe ending up in front of a neurosurgeon.

So, that's that, I'll try not to complain about it here anymore.  I do have some things I'd like to catch up on so I'll try to write more this weekend.  Stay healthy, everyone.

Solstice Plant Update

This has been a difficult spring, not being able to do all I want to do.  I've had to let things go for a later time, which is very much against my nature.  One of the things I've let go of is trying to keep protecting the potted plants, and the rabbits have gone to town on them.  Whether in the pots on the stump or the pot out front, they've just been eaten right up, even though other plants in the area were their favorites in years past. Only the hanging basket out front is doing well as it's out of reach.  And the petunias I moved onto the back steps about a week ago, so are making a small comeback.  We even put out a tray of water thinking they were eating them for the moisture during our mild drought.  Very discouraging, but I still will not be letting our cats out.  There are other neighborhood cats that roam free and they do come in our yard sometimes, but makes no difference.

Meanwhile, in the gardens, the strawberries and raspberries have been doing very well since being replanted.  The strawberries are winding down but the raspberries are just starting to ripen.  The (what I believe to be) cucumber vines have grown into monsters.  We've been trying to keep the vines on the fences but they are reaching in all directions and show no signs of slowing down.  If we don't start seeing some flowers soon we may start pulling them out, starting with the multiple large vines in the raspberries, but we'll give them a little more time.  The fence doesn't go all the way around the raspberries as I ran out of chicken wire, but it's working well enough as is.

Weather has been seasonable lately.  We've gone back and forth from air conditioning to windows open, and have had some rain lately with more called for here in a couple hours.  The front lawn had gone mostly brown so the rain is good, but we're still several inches below normal so far.

The view over the house is a little different now with one less tree, but it's still nice to look up and ponder life by the light of the fire.  Happy solstice, everyone.

Another Tree Gone

A couple weeks ago another large tree limb fell out front, from the maple tree on the terrace of the house directly across the street, right in their driveway apron.  When the yellow dot showed up on the trunk shortly after we suspected it might be taken down, and today it was.

But first, I had the MRI last week and the other morning found out that a shot in the spine is recommended.  Exactly what I suspected when this first started, but you have to go through the whole, lengthy process.  Probably what my doctor suspected, as well, since he never did refer me to the neurosurgeon.  A week or two ago I was getting pretty worried it would be surgery, but the pain has lessened a bit since.  Next is scheduling the shot, but first I have to wait for pre-approval from my insurance.  I've forgotten how many back shots I've had overall, but actually this may be only third or fourth, to go along with the two prior surgeries.  Anyway, more waiting.  Back to the tree!

Last year three more trees on the block were taken down.  This picture, looking down our block, is from 2019.  The second tree down on the left side was removed in 2020, as were the second tree down on the right and another on that side about 6 houses further down.  The year after removal the city will come and get the stump, and sometimes will plant a new tree the year after that.  I hate to lose old, big trees but so goes the circle of life, I guess.  And now we won't worry so much about a branch falling on our cars when parked in the street.

I worked off and on today while I keeping tabs on the activity outside.  The cats certainly did not like the constant loud noise from out front so spent much of the day in the bedroom.  On top of the bed, thankfully, and not hiding under it.  In fact, there was much activity on the street today with this tree being removed by the city, a private company removing a tree up the block in someone's yard, and on the next block were a new front walk and a new driveway being put in at separate residences.  So there were a lot of workmen, big trucks and loud noises for much of the day.

But this is the picture story of this one tree's end across the street.  Pictures were taken from the front storm door window and the (dirty) front window, and I've not even reviewed them myself just yet, so we'll see what's interesting enough to post.  After the break!

Unexpected Cucumbers

We grew some cucumbers in our gardens once, but it was years ago.  Now, in 3 of the 4 gardens new cucumber vines are thriving.  The only way they could have gotten into the gardens is from our compost soil, from cucumbers we bought but went bad before they got eaten.  And, strangely enough, they are sold as 'seedless' cucumbers.  My wife likes them in her salad, I'm not a huge fan.

In the two gardens on the left with strawberry plants they are luckily close to the chicken wire and are climbing up and over it.  In the lower right garden there are several vines and they are attached to the raspberries.  This weekend we'll put a fence around that and I'll try to coax the cucumber vines over.  Or use delicate brute force, whatever works.

If we get a bumper crop I'll have to look up how to make them into pickles!

Also, almost two weeks ago Sunday the big peony (fuscia?) started blooming, and the neighbor's pink ones across the driveway.  There's only been little rain and the sun has been strong recently and this peony has lost it's luster, but the others are just beginning.  We also have one on either side of the gardens and last post I forgot exactly the colors.  I thought one was white and one was pink, but they're both pink - a very light pink.  Peony pics after the break!