Sunday's Bike trail walk

Keri, Jason and I walked the bike trail Sunday and we were discussing the hurricanes, soil content, and elevations among other things. Where we winter in Texas the elevation is around 50 feet and I guessed Jefferson to be 1014 ft. So I googled it and here is what I found. I wasn't too far off.

Nose to the grindstone

We all have tolerance levels for various things, like lawnmowing and house cleaning. I have kept my mind focused on getting things done outside. Cleaning flower beds and flower pots and doing some fundamental cleaning on my corner of the garage.
In the meantime, things tend to get left undone in the house. So today I kept at it till it was done and on top of that I cleaned a bit deeper and more thoroughly than I normally do. So tonight I am tired but gratified to have it clean and off my list for at least a day or two.
I did ride out to Bullhead farm on Thursday and I have a few pictures of the day. The first one that comes to mind was a flash of red. I was crossing the trestle bridge with no mind to stop and then I saw a flash of red on the outside of the rail and so I stopped to see what it was. It was a vine that climbed up onto the bridge.
This was the flash of red that caught my eye.

 And this is a better view of what it was.

 And then I looked up and saw a bigger flash of red in a tree!

 River pics

I do not usually take pictures from this part of the bridge. The rail is exactly in the wrong place for me to get good photos up river or down river.
Before I rode the trail I was looking out the front door and spotted this boy taking his dog for a run. The traffic was much busier than usual and I thought it to be a dangerous situation.

And then there is my geranium. It was gifted to me in the Spring and it was a little too big for its britches so I repotted it. It has really come into its own this summer. It is so sad to know it will not make it past winter. Anyone want to adopt this grown-up baby.

Today's photos

Butch and I have been a whirlwind of activity today. Yesterday Jason helped me get my landscape fabric over my hostas with holes cut so they can grow through. To back up a bit, I had been wanting some hostas so I asked a Master Gardener I know if she planned to thin some hostas or knew anyone who was and she told me that it is a myth that hostas need to be thinned. She said hostas are one plant that will take care of itself. On one hand that is good news for after I have them established but not so good for when I want some to plant. So rather than run myself ragged trying to find some, I ordered some online and Butch helped me get them planted last Friday. I received them last Wednesday, planted on Friday and they were visibly growing on Sunday. Not bad so far. $30 for 11 plants. So today I wanted to get them mulched. I put bowls over the plants to speed up the mulching process. Butch brought me the mulch and I finished in no time. I took this photo while waiting for the mulch. The upside down flower pot is another project.

I was going to toss the orange pot because it was past its prime but decided to turn it upside down, paint it and add a plate for a bird feeder. In the picture, it is an experiment before painting to see if I thought it was worth the effort. I did and will take a picture of the finished project later. Also while waiting for the mulch to arrive I took these photos:

Painted lady with frazzled right wing on miniature hollyhock.

             
 Lawn mower garage and storage shed and Rhubarb patch

Then Butch went golfing and when he returned he did some maintenance on the motorhome. Checked the batteries and filled them with water and cleaned those two bins. I went for a bike ride, not all the way to Winkleman's Switch but only to Rogers Road. There was a strong southerly breeze this morning. I stopped at this spot and kicked all the walnuts off the trail. There were other places where there were walnuts but this was the worst spot.

These next shots were taken as I was sitting at the computer looking in the back yard birdbath/satellite dish. I kept all three of these shots because this young house finch is saying something different in each one.

 Finished feeder project

Friday's Photos

Painted Ladies...

   
And Bailey Starr (Mickey's puppy)

Updated face

All is well with my face. Still looks a bit rough but sure looks and feels much better to me.
I have a lump that I now call my unicorn horn that the surgeon says will go away in 3-4 months. I told him that he got my unicorn horn a little off center. Where the actual cut was made and cancer removed looks very well and you will soon not be able to see where it was.
Today's photos:

Looks much better with my glasses on.

Thursday's ride

Added note: I started this post below in a timely manner but then promptly forgot that I had not finished it. My friend Colleen is in Jefferson for a few days and staying in our motorhome. So great to see her and walk the trail with her again. She lives in Punta Gorda FL but has been visiting her daughter in Cincinnati and is quite fortunate in that with the hurricane bearing down on her home. At this writing, we do not know the outcome and she is not sure if she will have a home to go back to.

I have noticed on more than one occasion that if I stop and just stand for about 5 minutes and look all around me that there is always a plethora of things to see that you miss when you are riding like the wind. I saw a mink cross the path today. He would not pose for a pic. Darn it.

These butterflies have almost taken over the bike trail. They are not Monarchs. I am not sure what they are but I do know there are a LOT of them.

This vine is draped over an old tree stump. I would be glad to know what they are too.

Redheaded woodpecker

Surgery pic

I was asked why there was not a picture on the blog of the surgical procedure done to my face last Friday.
This is why.

The Elusive Butterfly

Butterflies can be hard to catch in a photo. I watched this Monarch settle down on this leaf and settle in for a rest. So with my new camera, I was able to sit safely at my computer and hone in on him.

The story on the golden stem below is that I was on the bike trail with phone not camera and the sun was highlighting the golden stem with a spotlight. I could not resist and used my phone camera to capture it.

More like myself.

I am back to feeling more like myself today. I do not look like it because my eye is black. I was told it would be. The woodiness of my face is dissipating but not yet completely gone.
                                           Day 3

Butch at the same time is having a root canal episode. Went to the dentist on Thursday, was told he had an infection in it but he (dentist) failed to give him a script for antibiotics so now he is suffering till Tuesday. In my far distant past, I have had similar episodes so I know what kind of pain he is in.

 Taking care of your teeth is a lesson hard to learn for some.

A Skin Cancer

I had a skin cancer removed from my forehead this morning. It was a basal cell carcinoma and as skin cancers go this is not a bad one. As I am writing this I feel a bit looped on pain meds. Glad it is done with. They took one testing and got it all so that was reassuring. The worst part of the whole thing is the numbing up of my face. That part has not completely gone away yet. My forehead feels like a block of wood except for the bit that is throbbing. I think a nap is on my todo list.

http://www.skincancer.org/skin-cancer-information/basal-cell-carcinoma

Our son Gary had a melanoma removed from his arm on Wednesday. That is a more serious type of skin cancer but they got it all in one try as well. Be diligent about sunscreen because these things are rather unpleasant to have removed. Gary and I can attest to it!

Busy Backyard!

A wide variety of birds visited the backyard in the last half hour.
A black headed Cardinal first caught my eye so I googled it since I thought it strange and this is what I found out. It is BALD! Read about it here:http://www.tulsaaudubon.org/bald_cardinals-bluejays.htm

Northern Flicker

 

And fledgling cardinals

Blue Jay

A young Blue Jay learning the ropes.