I think it was our first fall at the farm when I planted a bunch of tulip bulbs in the area that has since become our prayer garden. I remember arriving at the farm one morning the following spring and being delighted that several of the tulips were blossoming. They were so pretty. Later that day when we returned for our afternoon walk all of the pretty blossoms were missing and all that remained were the stems and the leaves. I wanted to cry. Thus began our love-hate relationship with deer.
Our First Tulips
After fencing the farm two years ago and then fencing in the prayer garden last year, we thought it might just be safe to plant tulips. We planted 4.
The first one to open was red. I thought this fitting since the red tulip is a symbol for Parkinsons Disease awareness and April is Parkinsons Awareness month.
The yellow one opened one day later.
And a second red one opened today. I expect the last one will open tomorrow. It looks like it will be another red one.
White hyacinth with mini daffodils.
Peach Tree
We planted a peach tree last year and it was doing well this spring
Peach Tree
so, we decided to plant a second one. Both are blossoming. It would be nice to pick a few peaches in August.
Forsythia
Lots of Daffodils
Sweet Cherry Tree
We planted three sweet cherry trees last year.
Sweet Cherry Tree
The above two have nice blossoms. I would be thrilled to pick a handful of sweet cherries this year.
A honeybee enjoying the dandelions. We lost our bees over the winter and decided not to start a new hive this year so it’s nice to know there are still bees in the area.
A wildflower that popped up and I am still trying to identify. If you know what it is, please tell me in the comments section.
My husband found the killdeer sitting on her nest. There are four eggs in the nest. She is very camouflaged. Can you see her? (Look in the foreground.) He marked the area with the yellow flag so we remember to stay away from it.
Thanks for visiting! What’s blossoming in your area?
April is Parkinson’s Disease Awareness month so I will start by sharing this link to the Parkinson’s Foundation website that has a wealth of information and resources regarding Parkinson’s disease.
I am so blessed that 5 1/2 years post diagnosis my PD has not progressed. In fact, many of the symptoms I was experiencing when I was initially diagnosed have gone away. I am not on any medications, but I do take some supplements that help with the conditions that I still experience – mostly muscle cramps and head and neck tremors.
I’m not going to go into detail about everything I’ve tried and what I’ve found that helps, but if anyone would like more details leave me a comment and I’ll be happy to share.
Staying Healthy
In January I began my 60th trip around the sun. In pondering what I wanted to accomplish this year I decided my goal was ‘to be the best Me that I could be’. In order to do that I thought maintaining my health is probably one of the most important things that I can do. In order to maintain my health, however, there were some areas that I needed to change – first and foremost diet and exercise.
I wanted to make changes that would last a lifetime so in December I started forming new diet and exercise habits.
My diet changes look like this – I started cutting calories by cutting out sweetener in my coffee. Then I looked at how much I was eating. It seems I’ve spent a lifetime eating until I was full, and it occurred to me that I only need to eat until I am satisfied not until I am full. I started cutting down on portions. For example, for breakfast I will eat one egg, one piece of toast (instead of two), two pieces of bacon (instead of three), and 1/2 glass of orange juice (instead of a full glass). Similar cuts are made with lunches and dinners.
We have also begun eating a lot of tossed salads and fresh fruit. I still eat desserts but again I only eat enough to satisfy my sweet tooth. I find that usually about 5 bites is good.
I have also developed an exercise routine. Not only will exercise help me lose weight, build muscle and increase my metabolism, it is one of the things that is most recommended as far as treatments for Parkinson’s disease. I began in December by riding my recumbent bike a minimum of 20 minutes three times a week. I continued this through January, then in February I upped my game. I began riding almost every day and increased my time most days to 30 minutes. I might miss a day now and then but somedays I will ride extra minutes.
I am happy to say that since February 1st I have lost 15 pounds and just as happy that I I seem to have less muscle stiffness and cramping.
Eclipse
During the eclipse that was visible in parts of the US on April 8th my husband and I decided to go to the farm and experience it. We didn’t have eclipse glasses so we couldn’t actually watch the moon cross in front of the sun, but we wanted to see how dark it would get and how the chickens and wildlife (birds) reacted. We were not in the path of totality, but I think our area was reported to be 96-98%. The sky was mostly clear with only some thin wispy clouds.
Full coverage (98%) was supposed to be at 3:15 P.M. (Ignore the time and date on the photo. My camera is messed up and won’t let me into the menu to change the settings.) It didn’t get very dark out. It was like a cloudy day, yet it had an eerie feel to it. The birds continued to do what they were doing, and by the time the rooster began calling his hens, thinking night was coming, it was getting light again.
I stood under the barn porch and without looking I aimed my camera toward the sun to take some pictures. After I had taken several my husband told me that doing that could have ruined my camera because I was supposed to have some kind of filter on it. Oops! My camera doesn’t seem to be any worse off than it already was and below is a photo of what my camera saw at 3:15 on April 8th.
Spring Has Sprung
One of my favorite parts of spring is when our forsythias are in full bloom as they are right now.
A stunning display.
So brilliant and uplifting.
Daffodils are also in full bloom adding to the beauty of the season.
Some of the other things I loved about last week were seeing the first dragonflies of the year and hearing the mating songs of the toads. For more on toad mating see this post from last year.
Finishing Touches
After redoing the floor and the cabinets in our bathroom last month I still wasn’t satisfied. I thought the mirror frame needed updating. Since it was made out of a plastic or resin I wasn’t sure how well paint would adhere to it, so I took a different approach.
At the fabric store I found ribbon that was the perfect color and width. I used clear craft glue to attach the ribbon to the mirror frame.
Once I had the ribbon on the overlapping corners looked sloppy, so I needed to dress them up. I wasn’t sure what I was looking for when I went to the dollar store, but when I saw these butterflies, I knew that was it. They would complement both the ribbon and the flowered wallpaper.
We love the results.
Crochet
I finished the baby afghan I was making.
I also made this heart shaped stuffed octopus. The octopus is my own design. I am calling them octo-loves.
In Memory of Peanut
It was a sad day when our Dear Friend Peanut went to wait at the rainbow bridge.
“Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.
“When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.
“All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor. Those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by. The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.
“They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent. His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.
“You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.
“Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together….”
Peanut was a friend to all creatures great and small.
He couldn’t resist a comfortable lap to sit in.
To quote our granddaughter, Addie “Peanut is the best cat in the whole wide world.”
My husband honored Peanut with a special resting place for his remains.
He is dearly missed.
Thanks for visiting. What are you loving about spring?
If you are new to my blog or haven’t spent much time here, you might not realize that in 2018 I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease. I generally don’t write about it because, thankfully, it hasn’t had to, nor do I allow it to, take center stage in my life. Today I have decided to write about it because April is Parkinson’s Awareness Month.
I’m going to start by sharing a link to the Parkinson’s Foundation website where you can learn a lot about the disease.
Since I do not use social media, other than my blog, and I don’t watch much news I’m not really certain how much awareness is being spread. Today I’m going to share a brief story as an example of how more awareness may benefit me and perhaps others with PD. Since every person with Parkinson’s experiences it differently I will do a future post to tell you more about my PD story.
Please Don’t Misunderstand Me
I need to preface this story by explaining that at this point my main Parkinson’s symptom and the only visible one is tremors. I am blessed that my tremors do not affect my limbs but are only present in my head and very, very slightly in my hands. Unfortunately, these completely involuntary head tremors, that at times I am not even aware are occurring, are often mistaken for a form of communication. They have in the past been interpreted as; shaking my head “No”, shaking my head in disgust, frustration, or anger, and one time I was asked if I was cold because the person thought I was shivering.
Most recently, I was shopping at our local dollar store. The store was not busy and there was only one person in front of me in line and no one behind me. The person in front of me finished paying and walked toward the exit, and the cashier began ringing up my items. As the person who had been in front of me in line was walking out, he stopped and asked the cashier if the carried powdered sugar. The cashier said “sometimes we do but I’m not sure if we have any. Let me check.” As she quickly left the register, the person said, “no, don’t bother. She’s shaking her head.” I’m not sure whether he thought I was indicating that they didn’t have the item, or that I was upset because the cashier had paused her service to me in order to attend to him. I attempted to explain to him that the tremors were involuntary and had nothing to do with his interaction with the cashier, but he didn’t seem to acknowledge me.
The cashier was back in a matter of seconds telling him they did not have what he was looking for. After he left, I told the cashier that it is frustrating when people assume that my tremors are something that they are not. I explained that the tremors are caused by Parkinson’s, and she understood, telling me that she thought that someone she knew was in the early stages of this disease.
In a day and age where people are highly sensitive and quick to react to a perceived offense, I often fear that someone, not understanding my condition, may take offence. I am sharing this story with you today because promoting awareness of Parkinson’s and perhaps wearing a button or clothing with the below emblem on it are the only things I can think of to help prevent these kinds of misunderstandings.
Please feel free to share this post and help promote Parkinson’s awareness.
I have read a lot of articles lately about how people are coping during the pandemic crises and even had some conversations with family members about it. Today I’d like to share my thoughts on the topic. While the terms coping and managing are often used synonymously they are two very different things.
The following story is how I came to that realization.
It was probably two months after first being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease before I said the words “I have Parkinson’s disease”. Up until that point I was in, what I thought of as, a healthy state of denial. I would say things like “I have been diagnosed with…” or “they tell me I have…” but I was not ready to own it. I guess that was my way of coping.
I remember clearly the day I finally said the words “I have Parkinson’s disease”. I was alone in the house (I wasn’t ready to say those words to anyone else) standing at the kitchen sink washing some dishes thinking about what was happening to me. Then I said the words out loud “I have Parkinson’s”. As soon as I said it the voice in my head, God’s voice, said “Yah, you got this.” Then I said, “Yah, I’ve got this. It doesn’t have me. I have it.”
It was then that I remembered that I am the manager of my life. Regardless of the circumstances that come my way, I still get to make decisions about how I respond to them. You might remember from my first post about Parkinson’s disease that I’m not in this alone. I have a wonderful team to support me, but ultimately I am the manager of my life.
My message to you today is, if you find yourself struggling to cope with a situation (COVID 19 or other) remind yourself that you are the manger of your life. Take control, make good decisions for yourself, your family and others around you. Do not let the situation control you – you’ve got this!
I began writing this piece about a year ago. It has been sitting in my drafts folder and I have gone back to it a few times to work on it. Now, when along with so many people around the world, life has again thrown me a curve I feel it is important to finish and publish the piece.
When Life Throws A Curve
It happens to the best of us right? You know how that happens – you are standing at the plate ready for the pitch. The pitch is thrown and with your eye on the ball you notice it is coming outside the strike zone. You relax a little – then suddenly the ball is right there, right where it should be. You are caught off guard. What do you do???
After thinking about how my whole situation played out, here is what I realized.
Even though I was not as prepared as I could have been I still might be able to take a swing at the ball. Perhaps I would hit the ball anyway and even if I didn’t a strike is a strike whether I swung and missed or just let that ball pass by. A strike doesn’t really matter that much. Even if I strike out it really doesn’t matter that much as long as I do the best I can do.
This is why.
My life, just like baseball, is a team sport. If I strike out there will be another batter stepping up to the plate to give it their best shot. Even if my strike made the last out in the ninth inning, causing my team to lose the game, there is going to be another game. Even if it is the final game of the season, there is going to be another season.
In the game of life the only way I lose is to quit the game.
That may be a bold statement but I can say with confidence that I play on a winning team. Let me introduce them.
First and foremost is my coach, or rather my coaching team, The Father, Son and Holy Spirit. I have a multi-lifetime contract with this coach. It doesn’t get any better than that! He will be with me throughout my life on earth and when that has finished He has reserved a spot in Heaven for me. I couldn’t ask for a better coach. He makes sure all of my needs are met and when I mess up he forgives my errors.
I often turn to Him for strength and wisdom and in my 50+ years on earth He has never let me down.
Next is my Co-captain. We promised to love, honor and cherish, through good and bad times until death do us part. We have kept this commitment each and every day. We work together and make decisions together to make sure “our team” is doing it’s best and when one of us is weak the other steps up.
Other players on the team include my sisters who I can always count on to be there in my time of need, my daughters, dad and other family members and friends. People who ask if there is anything they can do to help, offer encouraging words or pray for or with me.
Doubtless many who will read this today are feeling that life has thrown them a curve. Some of you may have held your stance and even hit the ball out of the park while others are still standing there in a daze wondering what just happened. Either way the question I have is are you playing on a winning team? If not then you may want to talk to my coach. He is always looking for new recruits.
I am sure this post will leave you wondering what it was that initially prompted me to write this and I’m not going to leave you guessing. In Decenber of 2018, after several months of undergoing medical tests, I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. Even though some of my symptoms fit the diagnosis I was shocked when I heard the words. It was in the first few weeks after being dianosed that I realized that I was not in this alone but I was “playing on a winning team”. While I have not had any medical treatment for my condition I can honesty say that I feel better today than I did during the time leading up to my diagnosis. In future posts I intend to share some of the things I have been doing to manage my condition/life.
While I always welcome your comments and encourage you to do so but I will ask that you do not feel sorry for me because I do not feel sorry for myself.
Don't Eat It! Soap and Skin Care 