It's Almost Time...

 

The trees are changing colors and that's telling us it's time to head south. Fall is not "acting" the way it normally does though. Instead of having a forest of yellow aspens all ready to show off for the fall, we have a forest of trees with dying leaves. I think it might be an indicator that we did not have enough water during the year to sustain the leaves to turn to yellow. Now, don't get me wrong, there are some yellow trees out there, but the majority just look tired.

As we drive up the Snake River canyon the mountain maples are starting to fade. The red and orange of last week is quickly changing to welcome the next season, which will be winter. There's a saying up here that Fall lasts about 6 weeks and then winter starts. All of us are hoping that winter will be white and wonderful this year.

In the meantime, we're closing down the summer house, which is a bittersweet moment. Brigadoon, as we sometimes call this place, will go to sleep for 5 or 6 months. To get it ready for that "hibernation" we'll have to turn off the water and winterize the pipes with antifreeze. All outdoor stuff has to come inside. All inside stuff has to get covered and dust-proofed. All stuff we're going to move from one place to the other is getting lugged into the laundry room where it's an "easy" task of moving it to the truck. We've done this move 32 times and we know what to do.

In the meantime, wish us luck on the long drive to our desert home. We have help with the drive this year and that will make it easier. Anything that will make things easier is a good thing. Remember, we're all in this together.  

Some Old Movies and TV Series

A long time ago I read that looking at fun movies was a good way to recover. Since I'm still in "recovery mode" I've been recording some Turner Classic Movies (TCM) and streaming old TV series. Some are quite good and stand the test of time, others not so much.

Last night we tried to watch "Cheyenne Autumn." The 1964 movie was supposed to a more sympathetic look at the American Indian. We viewed 18 minutes of the movie when we looked at each other and said "we're done." Turns out a cast of "famous" actors can't make a bad story good, even if it is directed by John Ford. The pacing was horrible and while the storyline had not completely emerged in 18 minutes we felt it was not going to end well for anyone. We deleted the movie. We've been deleting a lot of TCM movies recently. Just because a movie is old does not make it good. 

On the other hand, I've also been enjoying some "classic TV series." Gunsmoke showed up on my streaming video Home Screen and I thought why not give it a try as it was a family favorite when I was a kid. The black and white episodes all star Marshall Dillon who is some sort of marvel. As a kid I did not realize just how wonderful Mr. Dillon was. He seems to be able to do just about anything in Dodge, Kansas. He keeps law and order, he's an expert shot, and he has charm to tackle problems, no matter their size. Then there's Miss Kitty.  No one seems to mention the fact that Miss Kitty is the madam of a brothel. As a kid I had no idea what Miss Kitty did other than wear fancy dresses and too much makeup. The stories are pretty good and hold up the test of time. They are "period" pieces and they depict the period fairly well. Gunsmoke is a good diversion if you want to have a blast from the past.

I've also been looking at the original "Little House on the Prairie" series, circa 1975. I never saw it when it was originally shown, yet I was a fan of the Laura Ingalls Wilder "Little House" books (which I read to my classes). Again, the head of the household, Pa Ingalls, is the star of the show. He can do everything and be everything, etc. etc. etc. This led me to learn more about the actual people who were in the program; in particular I wondered what happened to the little girl who played Laura. In the intervening 50 years, several memoirs have been written about what it was like to be on LHP. Turns out, lots of drug and alcohol abuse were needed to survive the "happy" life the Ingalls family lived. They all look so happy on the set which (in hindsight) must have been in an emotional turmoil most of the time. They really did "act" to get thru the day. The new LHP is woke and is a mere shadow of the books. The old LHP is not woke and follows the LHP storyline well. The underlying story of the folks who made LHP "work" paid a high emotional price to be in the series. I've not seen past season 1...as back in 1975 a TV series had at least 30 episodes per season. Nowadays a "season" is a mere 8 episodes. 

I've been recovering. I do something, then I rest. I look at TV or read or crochet or paint rocks...then I do something else. The cycle repeats. If I feel good, I don't sit down a lot. If I "overdid" the day before, then I sit and rest. The beat goes on. My back pain is just about gone most of the time. I'm a happy camper. I'm thankful I have lots of diversions to aid in my recovery. Remember, we're all in this together.

Recovery and Other Musings

It's been 8 days since I had the second BVNA procedure on my back and I think both of the procedures are working. I do not have back pain. You have no idea what a joy it is to write that sentence. In fact, I don't have a lot of pain anywhere...this is good. 

SO, I'm walking and trying to act like a real human being. Some days are better than others, but I'm keeping up my routine. I'm walking circuits around the house, practicing standing and trying to get my stamina back. It's a slow process but it's starting to come together. I see the doc on Thursday and I'll let you know what he says.

As I look outside, I see a gray sky, damp ground (no puddles) and leaves trying to change color. The aspens in the back are not quite lemon yellow but they are trying. The mountain maple by the Snake River are brilliant reds, oranges, golds, rusts and yellowy-browns. They are putting on the first display of the season. Soon the cottonwoods and the aspens will catch up. Right now there are splashes of yellow and gold among the conifers in the mountains. It's a short lived display and always beautiful. 

In the meantime it's pretty good in the Rocky Mountains. Remember, we're all in this together. 

End of Summer Lazy Daze

It's 9-11...a day none of us will ever forget...and I hope one we will never have to live through again. Please bow your head for the folks who have fallen to save our wonderful country. I did not come here today to talk about 9-11..it sort of happened. It's important NOT to forget that we live in a fragile world.

I meant to talk about the end of summer and that's when I remembered that today is 9-11. Not a happy day. Aside from it being 9-11, it's almost the end of summer. In fact, the rest of the country thinks about summer ending about the 3rd week in September..but in the high country, it ends right after Labor Day. There must be a "magic" clock somewhere under the mountains that rings a tiny alarm (that us mere mortals cannot hear) and all of a sudden it's fall. The colors are not exactly changing yet, but they are right on the verge of changing from green to gold. Right now, there are a few aspens dressed for fall with bright yellow leaves, but most are covered in dusty, dry, greenish garb. The mountain maples dot the hillsides with bright reddish orange splashes of color. The air has a different feel to it. It's not the crisp air of summer but the muted air of fall. 

The aspens on my little patch of terrain are tired looking. Their leaves are still green, but the green is "spent"..there's no life left in the green. They are getting ready to change color for fall. The breeze is slight and the quaking aspens are singing their song of the great outdoors. Somehow that song is different too. Because there are not as many leaves on the trees, and the leaves are brittle, the sound is a note or two higher. It's still calming, but I imagine it saying "good-bye summertime..our quaking song is coming to an end, and we need to get ready for the cold winter." 

The sound is also talking to the DrCs, as it's about time for us to go away too. We are fair weather friends. We come when the mountains start to warm up and the aspens begin to leaf out and we leave when the air becomes cooler and the aspens change their colors. We travel to the desert to the edge of the hottest, driest, desert in North America. Many folks for our little valley of the stars migrate to the dry desert where the  mountains are painted red and coral and yellow and  brown. We won't see larges expanses of green for a few months and we truly miss the green. Yet when the green disappears and the weather turns cold in the mountains, we'll enjoy the heat and sunshine of the desert and it will be good.

We'll spend these last few days of this "tween season" not quite summer not quite fall, getting ready for our migration. It takes quite a bit of work to make the move and lucky for us we know what to do and when to do it. We have a helper this year, as our niece will help us close down this house and drive south and open up our other home. We are thankful that she can help. The lazy days of summer are coming to an end and a new adventure is on the horizon. Remember, we're all in this together.

Recovery Day 20

 A lot has happened since I last wrote. My back doctor said if I had the procedure by the 10th of August, I would be ready to go to a wedding on the 22nd. Well, we went to that wedding (so I guess I was ready) in Southern California and we both did well. The hardest part was climbing stairs, but we went up and down the stairs very slowly and all went well. Of course we tried not to go up or down the stairs any more than necessary.

The wedding was wonderful. The bride was gorgeous. The parties were grand. We had a great time. We flew handicapped and Delta took good care of us. Once we landed in Ontario, we rented a car (a Genesis which was very plush) and drove to Fallbrook. All the planning worked out, but then I'm a planner.

I've had the follow-up visit with my doctor and he says I'm ready for part 2 of the procedure which is doing the same BVNA procedure on L4 and maybe L5. Apparently you can only do the procedure on 2 vertebrae at a time. That might happen on September 11 (also called 9-11--kind of an ominous date).

In the meantime, I'm walking and standing better, but I still can't walk a mile--2 blocks seems to be what I can handle. I can stand a little bit, but if I cook at the stove, I sit on a barstool. The pain level is low. I'm doing PT in both the pool and the gym, so I'm trying to do everything I can to recover and keep the back pain from returning.

I'm watching the fawns grow up. The twins, which were full of P and V when they were newborns, are now proper little fawns. All four of the fawns are starting to lose their spots--that means they are growing up and will soon have a scent of their own. Fawns with spots do not have a scent, nature's way of protecting the little ones. Yesterday the twins were resting in the back yard and their mama was not too far away. They mind her now--she finally taught them how to be little deer, but she had her "hands" full with their antics. The other 2 fawns were much quieter than the twins. 

Life in the Rockies is good. We are getting a bit more rain this year than usual, and no one is complaining. The rain is needed as the rivers and lakes are low on water. It rains at any time of the day but there's always a breeze before the rain. The rain is spotty too. The RV park, a mile from my home, will get rain and we'll be dry or the other way around. Rain cells are not predictable. '

I'm still crocheting. The menagerie on the kitchen desk has duckies, turtles, piggies and kitties. Most have a new home waiting for them but I get to enjoy them before I give them away. The latest turtle I've named Tortellini and I'm working on Donatello, who should be finished tonight. 

Healing takes time. I have the time and things to do to help me use the time well. I listen to books, crochet, paint rocks and watch the fawns grow up. All is good. Remember, we're all in this together.