Gone again, home again, jigedy jig!

A brief note on the health situation of himself.  He was home from the hospital for about a week and a half when he had congestive heart failure.  He ended up in hospital for a week and is now home again.   The doctor said he was close to death.   To be honest I felt that at the time.   When we got to the hospital, he couldn't walk but a few steps so I had to put him in a wheelchair and get him seen to.  He seems to be doing pretty well now, although weak.   Fingers crossed that he continues to improve. 

I can only say that after over four months I was starting to feel the stress.  Thankfully my wonderful daughter came and stayed for that week.  It was so good to have someone here so that I could relieve some of the stress by talking things out with. 

The garden is coming along nicely.   A few years ago someone asked me if I wanted a lilac tree that was dug up and about to be thrown out.  I've always wanted on for the garden so I said yes.   When I saw it I didn't think there was much hope as it was just a stick and it had been dug out so close to the trunk that there were no roots left on it.   Never the less, I said "Miss Lilac, I'm going to give you a chance."   So, I planted it.  This year it's done me proud.   Just goes to show that there is always hope.  And, maybe the fairies were listening to the conversations I would have with it and performed their magic. 

The lovely Miss Lilac

I've been trying to do some weeding but the black flies are driving me back in the house.  And now the mosquitoes are becoming a nuisance.    I expect I'll have to try it around five in the morning when it's a bit cooler and these creatures aren't quite ready to start their day. 

So, here are a few pictures from around the garden.

He's Back!

Himself was released from hospital about a week and a half ago.   He finally had the defibrillator put in his chest two days before being sent home.   He was wonderful the first couple of days but now he's having panic attacks all day and during the night as well even after taking a sleeping pill at bedtime.     This of course is affecting me as well.  I've not been getting much sleep at night either so am tired during the day.    He has an appointment with the local doctor this afternoon so we're hoping some solution can be found.    These attacks are a stress on his heart which is not good at all as his heart is very weak to start with. 

We had thunder last night, lots of it rumbling through the heavens.  Rain coming down in sheets.  I found it quite comforting.   The weather hasn't been too bad, a few cool days lately which made it good for working in the garden as it kept the black flies down.   The Raven has been back a few times since the first sighting.  It looks like it depends on what treats I have on the platform feeder.   Our small squirrels, who chase the crows from the feeders, back off when this huge Raven appears.   He or she is a joy to look at.   I got a picture of the first dragonfly in the garden this season.   Always lovely to see them.  I remember when growing up, my mother would sit in the sun in the garden and it wasn't unusual to see four or five dragonflies on her.   The garden is coming along beautifully.  Forget me nots abound at the moment.  So, here's some photos of what surrounds me.   The new sign is thanks to Tricia who gave me the idea.   And, the angel in the red dress I found at the second hand store.  It will be at the top of the tree on Yule. 

Update, plus other stuff.

There was another set back with himself.  He had surgery on Friday past.  The wound wasn't healing properly towards the end so a plastic surgeon had to take over.  I'm not going to go into all the details just to say that he seems to be on the mend now.   It was quite a heavy duty operation and the doctors all told him it would be quite a risk as his heart was weak and "floppy".  There was no other choice, it had to be done.  He came through with flying colours.  I was there with him before the operation and for a few days after.   We're back to waiting to get the defibrillator put in, maybe in a week or so, then home.   I just hope there are no other set backs as I don't know if himself could handle any more.  It's been almost three and a half months in hospital. 

This past weekend Gander, which is only an hours drive away got 58 cm. of snow.  Eastport where I live, according to my daughter who came to look after things here while I was away,  looked like a winter wonderland.  Only about ten cm. of snow though.  Other than that, spring and early summer has been quite nice.  I've gotten a lot of work done in the garden.  It never ends though as any gardener will tell you.   The trees are leafing out now giving that lovely lacy appearance that I just love. 

I got such a trill the other day and was so excited.  A huge Raven landed on the platform feeder and went off with almost half a can of cat food.  (My cats didn't like that particular brand.).   I still can't get over how big she or he was. 

You can click on the image to enlarge it.  As you can see, when it came back there was still some cat food stuck to his bill.

I haven't seen the grouse lately.  There are a few purple finches hanging about along with fox sparrows, juncos, blue jays, chick a dees, nuthatches, woodpeckers, robins and crows.  There have been several squirrels here at the feeders every day.  They don't get along very well and occasionally a bit of a fight and chase ensues. 

I took some time recently and made a Storm Hag.  I've been meaning to do this for some time and finally got around to it.   There she is, protected us from storms.

I also made a dream catcher.  A very simple one as I'll be hanging it from a tree outside.   They wear out after a good length of time and it's been a while since I've made a few to put around the garden.

That's about it for now.  Off and at it again.......

Spring has Arrived.

The good news, himself should be released from hospital by the end of this month.  It will soon be three months since he was admitted.  He's made great progress this past couple of weeks.  The medical staff are all pleased.    Of course it will take some time before he's completely up to par but things are looking good.  

Spring has arrived and the plants are now poking their heads above ground.   I've been so busy that at the end of the day I'm beat.  I finally got to re do the greenhouse with plastic.  I took advantage of one day last week when there wasn't much wind.   Fingers crossed that the cats don't decide to jump on the roof of it and go down through.   Today, weather permitting, I'll stain the floor of the deck and then paint the railings.   We have clean up week on the 20th, so I'll have to start hauling things down to the road that I want to get rid of.   The hot water tank burned up a couple of weeks ago.  I had gotten up in the morning and smelled something like burning plastic.  Following my nose, I found where it was coming from.   Fortunately for me I have friends who didn't hesitate to take me to get a new one, take the old one out and install the new one.   I'm very lucky.  The few friends that I've got have been more than generous with their time especially since himself has been away. 

The birds are very active these days.  A couple of Robins were here last week.

Chick a dee with wind blown head feathers and the look of surprise on his face.   haha.  So cute.

I spotted a grouse in the garden a couple of days ago.  He was here all afternoon.  

And, squirrels in the garden.

Spring is in the Air.

This afternoon the sun is shining so I thought I'd go out and do some work in the garden.  Yes, there are still patches of snow around but the garden is calling me.  So, I bundled up and started to work on the medicinal and magical perennial herb garden.  I raked a bit and pulled up some grass that had gotten in among the plants.  It's amazing how easy it is to pull up grass this time of year.  I can see signs of the lemon balm showing and the lovage is just about ready to break ground.   The cats were all out cavorting around and seemed quite excited to have there human outside with them.   What a great feeling to be out at the earth once again.

I'm not long back from another week in the city.  Himself is still hospitalized.  The infection in his wound appears to be healing and he sounds and looks much better.  Unfortunately he got hit with another thing, a Super Bug.  So he ended up with a blood infection.  I don't know how he's managing to cope with it all.   We still have our fingers crossed that he will be able to get the defibrillator put in soon and then come home.

Robins have been sighted and the woodpeckers are drumming so it surely must be spring.   The redpolls have been here each day lately.  We had snow one day last week and they were filling up on the sunflower seeds.  

That's about it for now.  Hope you're enjoying Spring where ever you are.

Cats

This cat.....showed up a while back.  I don't know who owns him but he looks well fed, was looking in the window,

at this cat.

Cats are funny!

Another Update.

So, here I was, just as daylight was coming over the horizon, up on the roof laughing at myself.   The chimney needed cleaning so nothing for it but to do it myself.   The reason for my laughter was that I realized how I must look.  Holding the long chimney brush with an old ragged jacket belonging to himself, full of burn holes from being around bonfires and full of spruce gum and murr from the wood and heaven only knows what else, with an old toque on the head and big old boots on, standing on the roof.   The jacket being way too big, hanging down to my knees and over sized gloves.   Thinking back to when I use to be a bit of a fashionista, I couldn't help but laugh at myself.  

I had been back in the city once again for another week because another incident happened to himself and he was once again on life support.  Thankful it was only for a couple of days.  It's been a dreadful time for all involved.  He is now starting to get his voice back and each day I saw a tiny difference for the good.  He's very weak and not eating much.  They are trying to exercise him now a little step at a time but it's going to be some time before he's anyway near normal.   He's been moved from the Cardiac Care Unit and is now in the Special Care Unit where I can talk to him on the phone a couple of times a day. 

Yesterday we had a snowfall.  About six inches fell so this morning the deck had to be shoveled and I had to get the snow off the wood to bring it inside.   Fortunately it's been covered with tarpaulins but still, had to get the snow off those.   Then put wood in the sleigh and haul it down to the house, take it off the sleigh and bring it inside.   I'll be so glad when this winter is over.   I've heard that we are to have 25 cm of the white stuff on Friday but fingers crossed that they are wrong.  

So, with thoughts of spring and summer in my mind, here's a picture of some of my roses.

Update.

It's been a rough couple of weeks or more for himself.  He's in the hospital in the city and finally seems to be making progress.  I'm not going to go into all the details, he had a double by-pass, after that his heart stopped and he had to be shocked, he was on life support for about a week but is now off it and he still has a long way to go before he can come home.  Luckily my daughter could come here to look after things which meant that I could go to the city for a week to spend time at the hospital.  His two daughters flew in, one from the States and one from Spain.   I'm hoping to get back to the city again, maybe in a week.  It's been very stressful. 

The weather has been spring like which gives me a boost.  A lot of the snow has gone but as you can see through the window, there is still a fair bit left.  Of course we can still have snow but at least there are signs of spring.

On my return home a few days ago, my daughter had bought me this sweet teddy called Grace to welcome me back.

The cats were glad to see me back I think.  Two of the darlings.....

And last, the Frog Fairy. 

You should be able to click on any of the pictures to enlarge them.  Well, that's about it for now.  Thank you all for your lovely comments on the last post. 

Sunday.

Two weeks ago himself had a heart attack.  Friday past he had a double by-pass.  He's doing well at the moment and will feel a bit better as each day passes.   I'm anxious to get him home but that won't be for another week or so.

We've had more snow but today and the next few days are to be sunny.  It's been a beautiful day today with a good bit of warmth coming from the sun even though we are still in February.  

A few pictures after the last snowfall.

A blue jay enjoying the suet.

Malachi loves having his stomach rubbed so when he wants this, he lays on his back and looks up with this sweet face.  Who can resist!

That's about it, not much else happening these days. 

Brrrrr! Cold!

On the way back from shopping on a rather bleak day.   As you can see in the first picture, the ocean is frozen over.

So, winter goes on and on......   We had some terrific wind last week and the house, at times, was literally shuddering.   The power went at some point over night but was back on when I got up the next morning.   We've been having some clear nights hence the nights have been terribly cold.

Poor little birds.  One wonders how they get through it all.  The only thing I can do is provide suet and fatty seeds to help them through the nights.   A nice surprise the other day, I was on my way out to fill the feeders when I saw that a group of Redpolls had arrived.

Nothing much happening with me.  Seems we're in the winter doldrums.  Time is flying though and once March arrives, things seem to brighten up.  At least that's the feeling I get.  Guess it's because Spring is just around the corner. 

One more picture of my favorite bird.  Sitting in the sun.