About Bears and Stuff.

A funny thing happened today, well we did have a bit of snow but that wasn't it.  My computer was giving me problems so I shut it down.  Then I thought of a tablet that my brother had given me for Xmas last year that I had put away on a shelf.   I used it once if I remember correctly.  So I decided to give it a go.  I wanted to use messenger on face book to get in touch with my daughter.  I'm not all that savy when it comes to computers or indeed tablets.   I managed to get the facebook page and then I had to install messenger.   My head was splitting by the time I got that done.   In fact I was feeling quite flushed.  So I was writing her to say I was using the tablet as I had shut the computer off.   You know, and I can't believe it, I was so frustrated that I couldn't figure out how to make the spaces between the words.  The letters were small enough that I had to touch with my fingers and I was looking for an icon to make a space.  Well, not finding one I sent the message off looking garbled and all one long word with a couple of mistakes.   I finally, of course, realized that there was a space bar there so wrote the message again saying "I'm using the bloody tablet."  I didn't have that written out when the phone rang....it was my daughter, who had read the message and was quite concerned, thinking I might be having a stroke.   It was hilarious!

It's gotten quite chilly now.  I don't think it got much above zero today.  A grouse has been coming to the garden most days lately.  And last month a few bears came to the garden.  Not all at once but over the space of a couple of weeks.  Wildlife caught two of them in a live trap and transported them further away.   It's usually May and October when I see them.  Gorgeous creatures.  I managed to get two photos of one but not very good pictures.  One by the deck and one of him going off towards the woods. 

He was standing up with paws on the railing sniffing the air but just as I was about to take the picture he was getting down. 

And the grouse.

This Past Year!

It's hard to believe that 2016 is coming to an end.  It's been a stressful year for a few reasons.  April brought leaks in the ceiling in two rooms.  Called for an estimate on fixing the problem and the quote was $6,000.00.  I simply couldn't afford that price so when summer arrived I bought some sealant and did around each shingle with hopes that it might help.  I really don't have much hope for it as that part of the roof is on a very low slope and when the snow piles up and the heat from the house gets up through, the snow starts melting and the water can't run off so the water seeps in through the shingles.   Next year I'll have to come up with something else.  Maybe a thick coating of tar.

I had a dental appointment in early spring because some pieces were chipping off the bonding I had done on my front teeth many years ago.  This wasn't the first time this happened and was repaired.  The dentist told me that as this was happening more often I'd be better off getting those teeth extracted and get a partial plate to replace them.   As he's also a dental surgeon and I'm a frightened mess anytime I have to see the dentist, he said he could remove them at the hospital while I was under anesthetic.    After giving it a lot of thought, I decided to go ahead and have them taken out.  The appointment was made for June.  So, saw the denturist and went through the procedure of having a partial plate made at the cost of just over $1,000.00.

Then, my doctor asked me when I last had a mammogram.   Good heavens, I said, about twenty years ago.  He said he was making an appointment to have one at the hospital.   I think this was in July and I had the appointment in early August.  Anyway, it doesn't matter the date.   So after that I got a call from the doctor's office saying he wanted to see me.  Something showed up in one of my breasts and they wanted to do a more in depth mammogram and an ultra sound on that breast.  Back I go to the hospital and have that done.  The report came back that they couldn't figure what it was so wanted me to see a cancer surgeon.  Went to see him, he examined me and said he couldn't feel anything but wanted to do surgery on the breast and take out what was showing up.  Now it was getting scary.  I didn't know what to think or do.  My mind was going in all directions thinking what I would do if the news was bad.  I'd have to leave here and move closer to a hospital, etc, etc.  I didn't have to wait long.  Everything happened so fast after the results of the first mammogram.  My daughter came to stay with me and take me to the hospital, etc.   I don't know what I would have done without her.   I had the surgery and now it was a waiting game.   I got an appointment with the surgeon within days.  Went to the appointment, very stressed out.  When I saw him he said all was well, it was a benign cyst.  What a sign of relief.  He said it was nice to be able to give someone good news. 

Whew!  haven't talked so much in ages.  So, all is well and as usually once fall came in I started preparing the house and garden for winter.  All done!  At least as much as there's going to be done. 

A picture I took the other day of the Pet Cemetery, or part of it.  Some lovely moss and the Phlox still showing but certainly on it's way out.

A few in the House. Oct 28, 2017

Long, long Winter

It's been a bit of a rough winter.   We had a lot of snow, I'd say parts of the garden had four to five feet on the ground.   The park benches that I have were no where to be seen as they were hidden under the snow.   There's still a bit around but most of it has finally disappeared.   Temperatures are down most days.   I woke up this morning to the trees covered in glitter from the freezing rain that fell and the deck was slippery with ice.

I've come to the conclusion after going through this winter that I'm going to have to invest in another source of heat other than the wood stove.   I find with each year now that it's harder on my body to be lugging wood in a couple of times a day from down in the driveway.  Climbing on the roof every so often to clean the chimney is no fun either when there's a bitter wind blowing.   Also, the back part of the house which is a relatively new addition, has an almost flat roof so ice dams build up with all the snow and it causes leaks in the ceiling inside.  The ceiling is ruined at this point.  I've gotten up on the roof after each snow fall to try to get as much snow as possible off but it still leaked.   I'm going to have to find a roofing company to give me a quote on what can be done to prevent this happening in the future.   It's going to be an expensive year.

There's more activity in the garden now.   I didn't have many Blue Jays over the winter months but they've come back and are courting.   A grouse has been showing up most days.  It picks at the seeds that have fallen from the feeders.  It's a sweet bird.

Last fall I cleared a bit of ground to make a Fairy Garden.   Over the winter I've made five stone houses and a half dozen mushrooms out of clay which I then painted.   I'm anxious to get going on it once all the snow has gone and the ground dries up a bit.

I imagine the cats were as disgruntled as I was with the winter.   All has changed now because they can get outside whenever they want.   I'll soon be doing spring things like cleaning up the beds, etc.  I'm so looking forward to it.

Tommy enjoying a bit of sun.