Pain in the Head! Literally.

How can you go, in minutes, from being happy and pain  free, to howling like a baby and nursing a severe head ache?  I'll tell you how, it can happen in a second.

We have a wooden storage bin where we keep out garbage containers; you can see it below.   Last Tuesday night I went to get a container out and I forgot to hook the lid up.   As I leaned in to get the container, "bang", the lid smacked me right on the top of the head.    Oh my God did it hurt, and I could only scream for Chris who came with a bag of ice for my noggin.  

 When the ice finally melted, my first reaction of course was to maybe go to emergency, but it was evening and on Bowen Island this would mean likely not getting home because  the ferries stop running at 9:30.    So I just cried for the rest of the evening and went to bed.

I made it through the night and went to work as usual for the rest of the week, but oh my head hurt.  In retrospect I maybe should have gone to my doctor.

My head continued to hurt and throb like it was in a vice.  In particular at the base of my skull, which is not where I was hit.   Yesterday was Sunday, and I decided I needed to go to emergency to make sure I was ok.   Chris drove me and I checked in at 11:30am.

I was seen by the emergency room doctor at 1:45.  He did a series of neurological tests with hands, eyes, feet, and balance and coordination.  I passed them all, and he said he did not think I needed a scan.  He thought the pressure I was feeling at the bottom on my skull was soft tissue damage from tensing up or moving with the blow to the head.  Go home, rest your head and take ibuprofen and it will get better in a couple of weeks.

So here I sit, still with a headache, wondering if I should go back.  I have a colonoscopy tomorrow and will be in hospital anyway, so who knows.  I just don't do headaches very well, and this one won't go away and it is 6 days now.      If the  doctor is right is his assessment without doing an xray or scan, then I consider myself extremely lucky that my injury did not crack my scull or  cause a fracture.  I just hope I am not bleeding inside my brain. That would not be a good thing.

Succulents and Shelf Art

I love growing succulents.  Makes sense, since I love growing flowers, plants, shrubs and trees.   I have some succulents on a little shelf outside the spare bedroom window, and every time I come through the arbor onto the patio, the shelf with succulents and owl and pussy cat statues greets me and makes me smile.

We have succulents on the log up by the pond as well, and they do extremely well with no maintenance at all. 

Mr. Smoke is the guardian of some of the log succulents!

Cats Rule!

Well at least this one thinks she does!  She's claimed the "man cave"!

That's our little Gypsy!  A cat with "altitude"!

Outside Our Kitchen Door

 You can see the back of this little old garden shed. 

 Right now it is surrounded by this lovely late blooming Hibiscus bush.

And outside our kitchen door and beyond the little shed are these beautiful purple cone flowers, otherwise known as Echinacea.

And outside our kitchen door and beyond the little shed and on the other side of the Echinacea, are Rudbeckia.  These bright and sunny ones are known as Black Eyed Susans.

 And just exactly right in front of our kitchen door is this really happy Gazinnia.

I love flowers. Flowers make me happy.

Another Goodbye

Chris sold his boat on August 1st.   We wish the new owner and his son, the best of success with her; she is a good solid boat and he will enjoy teaching his son how to fish.

Selling a good boat is a bittersweet experience.  Chris was very emotionally attached to his boat, which served him well for 30 years.  We met on that boat, in Campbell River, so some good memories for me as well.    We just seemed to not use it very much anymore, and it was no longer the right boat for the waters around Bowen. 

We sold it, and the trailer and the motor, all in good condition, for the price Chris was asking;  yet we are happy and sad at the same time, remembering the fun times we have had over the years.   She is now ready for new memories with a new owner, and so are we, in whatever comes next.

Here is Chris on his last sit on the boat!

And there she is, ready to roll away!

Fruits of Labour

The runner beans have been the star performers this year, yielding a bowl of fresh picked beans like this each night for the past 3 weeks.  The freezer is full!!!  (and boy are they yummy)!

 But best of all - we had a super crop of russet potatoes.  Just harvested them yesterday and had one baked!  Oh my - they are fluffy inside when so fresh.    And gee, I just heard that today is national potato day in the USA!  How about Canada, eh!!   The only problem now, is that they were ready too early, and there is no place cool to store them yet.  hmmmmm 

One Per Year

I know, I know.  It's the 3rd car in 3 years.  But this is the one I wanted in the first place in 2014 when I went from the 2002 Rav4 to the 2014 Matrix.  And then in 2015 from the Matrix to the 2015 Yaris.  So now it is 2016 and I am back again with the latest model of the Rav4, 2016.  Enough said!  this is it!!!

Blackberry Season

And I don't mean the phone!!!!   Our first pick today of this year's crop of blackberries. There are so many still waiting to ripen that I know it will be another long season for blackberries.  Dreaming of those smoothies already!! But wait!!! I still have a freezer full from last year!

Mother Nature's Back Yard!

Why do we love where we live? It's not complicated at all.  We are surrounded by nature and so removed from the city, yet the city is only 15 minutes away by ferry.  Today, while dead-heading a Rhodo, Chris spotted several of these chorus tree frogs on the Rhodo leaves.   That's why we love where we live.

And on the patio we have an abundance of these black ground crickets. 

 That's why we love where we live.

And in the evening when you put the crickets and the frogs together - well what an amazing chorus of song you have to go to sleep with.  That's why we live where we live.

Berries

Best crop of Blueberries so far ever!  My favorite berry of all.

 Followed by Raspberries.  

This year has not been the best for the raspberries, but good enough for the pickin!!!

Scarlet Runner Beans!

This summer the bean crop is fabulous.  The vines of Scarlet Runner Beans flower in long sprays of ten to twenty bright red, sweet pea-shaped blossoms.   Not only do they have very showy flowers the beans are so very yummy and both Chris and I love them.   

  

Chris is picking this much every day and turning them into french-style beans and then I am freezing them or coking for dinner - just depends on the meal.  We love to eat what we grow!!

Washing Lines

I am in love with my washing line!  What can be better than a line of laundry blowing in the breeze on a sunny day?   There is something so therapeutic about hanging each and every piece of laundry out on the line.  No dryer noise, just birds singing, and for a few short moments, life seems so much simpler.   Hanging washing on the line, peg by peg, has always been one of my favourite chores, and the end reward is that wonderful, “no-mistaking-it”  line-dried fresh air scent.  Crawling into bed with line dried sheets and pillow cases at night is breathtaking!  You sleep so much better with that fresh-air scent.

RIP Jake: 2004 - 2016

A 110 pound German Shepherd mixed with special magic entered our lives 12 years ago.  We walked together, snuggled together on the couch, played ball, we swam, we chased herons from the pond, we did everything together.  Jake, Chris and me.  I yelled at him and Chris coddled him!  He loved us both!

Jake left us this week, and the silence in and out of the house is deafening.  No animated dreams, no nails clicking on the floor, no woofs at the kitties, no calling the koi at the pond for their dinner.

He always had a bark to give us when we came home or had visitors.  He knew when it was his dinner time and didn’t even wait to remind you.  He touched so many lives with his gentleness, and made us crazy by stealing slippers or bras when we went out without him.

His sudden  passing has come with much reflection.  We loved his mannerisms, his attitude, and his personality - all elements of his Spirit. We didn’t care about his fur, or his goofy underbite, or all the hair he shed (ok, maybe I did a little with the shedding).  Mostly, we loved him for what he was – a constant and faithful companion, and a gentle giant.

 

 

Beautiful Specimens

Beauty of course is in the eye of the beholder, but I can't help sharing some of my favorites this year in our garden:

Crocosmia (Lucifer)

Cranesbill

Yes - it's a Sunflower!

Stargazer Lilly

Bear's Breeches (watch out for the thorns)

Agastashe (Hyssop)

 

A Weed By Any Other Name is Just a Beautiful Wildflower!

Feelings of chagrin never enter my mind as I try to cultivate some of the most beautiful perennial weeds, which I call wildflowers. 

This one, called "Fireweed" is one of the most beautiful wildflowers in my opinion, especially when you see them growing in mass in mountain meadows or areas that have been cleared or burned in forest fire.   It's one of my favorites and I am slowly getting a field of them along the back fence line.  This year some of them have reached almost 6 feet and could get to 8 feet.   Fireweed forms cottony seeds (like cottonwood seeds only smaller and lighter) in little seed pods that are spread by the wind.  Blow where you will my little fireweed friends.

Now the "Feverfew" plant is often thought of as being an invasive weed to the garden, but it is actually a species of chrysanthemum that has been grown in herb and medicinal gardens for centuries, and even harvested from the sides of roads.  Herbalists would use feverefew for headaches, arthritis, and yes, for fevers.  The plant self-seeds so if you deadhead you can control the spread, but I have a fair number of plants and I don't mind where they pop up because they add a splash of brightness to every garden,

headaches, arthritis, and as the name implies, fever.

Read more at Gardening Know How: Growing Feverfew Herb In The Garden http://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/herbs/feverfew/growing-feverfew-herb.htm

headaches, arthritis, and as the name implies, fever.

Read more at Gardening Know How: Growing Feverfew Herb In The Garden http://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/herbs/feverfew/growing-feverfew-herb.htm

My other favorite is Milkweed.  Also known as butterfly weed  this wildflower is a butterfly magnet, attracting many kinds of butterflies to its blooms which are filled with nectar.  The hummers like them too.  There are many kinds of milkweed, and many different colours.  Mine is the common Milkweed and a favorite for Monarch butterflies

My dream is to have a wildflower meadow in the back instead of all grass, or at least as a back drop between the grass, the pond and the back trail.  There would be nothing to do but enjoy the flowers.  There would be more birds, bees and butterflies in my wildflower meadow and it would simply be a "window" into  nature.  I'm getting there slowly, as I try to convince Chris to like the idea.

Surviving Major Surgery!

Well Chris had his colorectal tumour removed on June 17th.   After his 4.5 hour surgery he seemed to be in pretty good shape.   The Doctor attempted laparoscopic surgery but ended up having to use the traditional surgical technique of opening up the abdomen. This meant his stay in the hospital was 6  days instead of 3.

He came through with flying colours and really wanted to get home.  Fortunately they got everything they went in for and no surprises.

Chris ended up with 19 staples on the outside  which came out June 30th.

And inside he has 24 staples in his colon holding the two ends together after removing 9 inches of the sigmoid junction.  Those staples will stay there and eventually new tissue will grow over them.  

 I thought I knew what to expect when Chris came home from his surgery in June.  For the most part, things were as we expected or as we were told, but boy can it throw you for a loop!   Here’s what I learned. 

- its hard to do everything by yourself

- you get no time to yourself (unless you go to the bathroom often)

- you feel guilty every time he is in pain, even though there is nothing you can do about it

- you feel better when the baby steps get bigger (oh you can cut your toenails by yourself now!!)

Its  been 3.5 weeks since Chris came home, and it is a very slow process.  They say 6 to 8 weeks before he may be feeling better and able to do more things.  He is taking Jake for one walk a day now, so that is good.  Baby steps, baby steps, baby steps.  Our summer plans, and fall too, have all gone by the wayside, but that's just a small price to pay for Chris being well again. There is always next year!

Yellow and Blue

This spring our focus was on showcasing bold blues and unique yellow hues.  You put these together with the shades of green leafage, and you create wonderful eye candy wherever you look.  

Today's Photo Opportunities

Up at the pond a dragonfly basks in the sun atop the swan's neck!

 Nesting chickadees in this home-made birdhouse hang from a hemlock at the trail entrance.

 Mr. Owl guards the trail entrance from his perch on the old stump!