Haven't mentioned hawks recently because, since about the last mention, they have all disappeared, gone north I presume, where there is more temperature variation and thus better thermals to ride. So I was surprised to see on one of my walks recently a hawk perched on the shingled roof of a house calmly tearing apart his feathered breakfast. He was surrounded by a disapproving chorus of smaller birds (also on the roof but safely out of range). He did not let their raucous insults disturb his dining experience.
Saw him again this morning, perched on an electric line. Fourteen/eighteen inches head-to-toe, two feet head-to-tail tip. Far too large to look comfortable on a wire. I walked right under him. He was staring intently at a nearby tree and, again, a number of smaller birds had set up a perimeter around him and were sending out warnings. No doubt there's a nest in that tree.
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Suburban Zombie Dog-Walking Lady, Part 3
I have discovered the lair of the zombie dog-walking lady. It's at the furthest point of my walk before I begin the loop back. I have varied the timing of my walks (more by accident than design) and--arriving early one morning--discovered it standing by the circular drive, still, unmoving, looking for all the world like a giant, white, overweight, female jockey boy statue holding the reins to the dog. (So, just like one of those obnoxious jockey boy statues except for the giant, white, overweight female part.) It did not move an inch as I went past.
The house is strange but in a very subtle way. It is single story, as so many others in the neighborhood are, but with a roof that rises to the level of a two story structure without gables or skylight. It also has a half turret appendage attached to the back. (The back abuts an empty lot which in turn faces another road that is part of my walk so I can, between the two see the entirety of the place.) It can not be hollow under those huge eaves. No one would be crazy enough to heat or cool all of that empty space.
Since no house in south Florida has a basement, the water table being far too high, the only logical conclusion is that the reanimation lab is tucked up under the roof, invisible to the casual observer.
I have never seen lights on in this place, nor a car in the driveway. Since any closer inspection will involve either deception or trespass, I am not sure where to take the investigation from here.
The house is strange but in a very subtle way. It is single story, as so many others in the neighborhood are, but with a roof that rises to the level of a two story structure without gables or skylight. It also has a half turret appendage attached to the back. (The back abuts an empty lot which in turn faces another road that is part of my walk so I can, between the two see the entirety of the place.) It can not be hollow under those huge eaves. No one would be crazy enough to heat or cool all of that empty space.
Since no house in south Florida has a basement, the water table being far too high, the only logical conclusion is that the reanimation lab is tucked up under the roof, invisible to the casual observer.
I have never seen lights on in this place, nor a car in the driveway. Since any closer inspection will involve either deception or trespass, I am not sure where to take the investigation from here.
Monday, July 26, 2010
The Anti-Feng Shui House
There is a house along the route of my morning walk which has, for it's front yard, a planting of trees and shrubs which is almost but not quite perfectly misaligned, misplaced, mis-spaced and mis-selected to produce not just a space that is impossible to appreciate--or use--but impossible even to walk by without an inward shudder for the lack of artistry, design--grace even.
I say "almost but not quite perfectly" because to say otherwise would imply intent, consciousness and awareness to the planter of this monstrosity. And there was a planter. This is not a happenstance of nature. Nature, indifferent though it may be, is natural. There is nothing natural in this layout*. The precise misplacement of each item proclaims its anti-naturalness. Yet there is a sincerity to the place that precludes one from proclaiming "Here be Irony!"
*Besides, when this town was originally laid out, the entire peninsula was scraped down to the limestone. Perhaps one in 10,000 of the original trees was spared.
I say "almost but not quite perfectly" because to say otherwise would imply intent, consciousness and awareness to the planter of this monstrosity. And there was a planter. This is not a happenstance of nature. Nature, indifferent though it may be, is natural. There is nothing natural in this layout*. The precise misplacement of each item proclaims its anti-naturalness. Yet there is a sincerity to the place that precludes one from proclaiming "Here be Irony!"
*Besides, when this town was originally laid out, the entire peninsula was scraped down to the limestone. Perhaps one in 10,000 of the original trees was spared.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Chemical Weapons
Mom "discovered" lots of bugs of various kinds in the house today. Mostly flies and palmetto beetles. They call them palmetto beetles because admitting that cockroaches can grow that big is really depressing. Anyway, Mom sprayed and sprayed all over the bathroom and kitchen, attacking each bug individually and effectively drowning them. Then I took her to the eye doctor.
When we returned I noticed the spray can sitting on the kitchen counter and asked her, "Is this the stuff you used to kill the bugs this morning?" She said "Yes, it is. I couldn't find the regular can."
We have the shiniest cockroaches in the neighborhood.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Fun With Pills Followup
The doctor's office called this morning in response to Mom's call to him regarding her collapse. At first they suggested taking her off the new meds since this is a known side effect, but when I explained she had accidentally double-dosed herself and we had taken her off for one day and then restarted with the proper dosage and everything seemed fine they said "O.K., keep going and just monitor the situation."
Mom says she can tell the new pills are working and is now very happy with them. Her legs are gaining strength (relatively speaking) and she went down to the mailbox this morning.
All is well.
Mom says she can tell the new pills are working and is now very happy with them. Her legs are gaining strength (relatively speaking) and she went down to the mailbox this morning.
All is well.
Monday, July 19, 2010
Fun With Pills
My brother came home a couple of evenings ago to find Mom on her knees in front of (and facing) the couch unable to raise herself. He helped her up and got her settled in her usual spot, had a quick bite to eat and then headed out to work. He met me in the driveway just coming home and was obviously still freaked out by the incident.
I had taken Mom to the doctor on Friday. (Same packed overnight bag because "I won't be home for dinner tonight. He'll send me to the hospital for a procedure" which, of course, never happened because all he did was write out a new prescription. I'm learning to just let the drama ride.)
She had double dosed the new prescription. They're small pills and/or she misread the instructions so she took two at once instead of two per day (one every twelve hours). Shortly after that she lost all feeling in her legs and went down for the count. She was probably on the floor for about fifteen minutes before Bob came home.
When I talked to her about it, she at first admitted taking two pills but after "thinking it over" (and not liking to be caught doing something dumb) reconsidered and was "sure" she had only taken one and needed to call the doctor to tell him the prescription wasn't going to work. Since it was the weekend, that would have to wait until Monday. I fixed dinner for both of us and we watched the baseball game. Over the course of the evening, the feeling slowly came back to her legs and she was able eventually to get to the bathroom and bed on her own (with the walker).
Later that evening, I counted the remaining pills. There were 180 in the prescription (a three month supply!). There were 178 in the bottle.
I had taken Mom to the doctor on Friday. (Same packed overnight bag because "I won't be home for dinner tonight. He'll send me to the hospital for a procedure" which, of course, never happened because all he did was write out a new prescription. I'm learning to just let the drama ride.)
She had double dosed the new prescription. They're small pills and/or she misread the instructions so she took two at once instead of two per day (one every twelve hours). Shortly after that she lost all feeling in her legs and went down for the count. She was probably on the floor for about fifteen minutes before Bob came home.
When I talked to her about it, she at first admitted taking two pills but after "thinking it over" (and not liking to be caught doing something dumb) reconsidered and was "sure" she had only taken one and needed to call the doctor to tell him the prescription wasn't going to work. Since it was the weekend, that would have to wait until Monday. I fixed dinner for both of us and we watched the baseball game. Over the course of the evening, the feeling slowly came back to her legs and she was able eventually to get to the bathroom and bed on her own (with the walker).
Later that evening, I counted the remaining pills. There were 180 in the prescription (a three month supply!). There were 178 in the bottle.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Leftovers
Mom decided to clean out the fridge and make dinner from leftovers. She tore up a couple of slices of bread and mixed it with ground beef to make a kind of meatloaf, except the bread chunks were huge and only stuck to themselves so they ended up the center of a bread ball with a meat shell. She then combined that with some pre-made patties and ended up mounding the "meatloaf" on the patties to make a kind of flat-bottomed dome-shaped meatball.
When these were black (she's recently gotten into the habit of putting things on the stove to cook and then walking away. The house smelled of burnt pizza crust for three days) she covered them in a sauce made entirely of concentrated tomato soup. Seeing as her sense of smell is pretty much gone (she hasn't noticed any of the burning odors) her sense of taste is going too, and since it looked like pasta sauce, she was satisfied.
She made enough for two.
The bottom pre-made patty turned out to be sausage, not beef.
Needed garlic. Otherwise, with plenty of baked beans and applesauce, it wasn't too bad. Not going to add it to my repertoire, though.
When these were black (she's recently gotten into the habit of putting things on the stove to cook and then walking away. The house smelled of burnt pizza crust for three days) she covered them in a sauce made entirely of concentrated tomato soup. Seeing as her sense of smell is pretty much gone (she hasn't noticed any of the burning odors) her sense of taste is going too, and since it looked like pasta sauce, she was satisfied.
She made enough for two.
The bottom pre-made patty turned out to be sausage, not beef.
Needed garlic. Otherwise, with plenty of baked beans and applesauce, it wasn't too bad. Not going to add it to my repertoire, though.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Failing Senses and Sharp Objects
Yesterday, Mom decided to cut up all the mangoes that have fallen over the last few days. With the daily thunderstorms and wind there have been a number of them and we've just been putting them in the refridgerator, so it was a good idea. Unfortunately, her eyesight is going so she peeled, mashed and pulped a peach along with the mangoes. With a very sharp knife.
Her eyes aren't the only things that are going. She's already lost most of her hearing and her sense of smell is pretty well shot (which means taste is dwindling, too). she can't hear the microwave dinging to let her know her coffee is ready. She can't smell the oil (or anything else) burning in the pan she put on the stove and then walked away from. I make it a point, when I fix dinner, to create a colorful presentation with tomatoes, carrots, various colored peppers, etc. and interesting shapes and sizes. I can't tell if she really tastes all the good stuff but she comments on how pretty the dishes look. That works at close range with big contrasts, anyway. I was surprised when we watched Fourth of July fireworks on TV and she remarked what a shame it was that they were broadcast in black and white!
Her eyes aren't the only things that are going. She's already lost most of her hearing and her sense of smell is pretty well shot (which means taste is dwindling, too). she can't hear the microwave dinging to let her know her coffee is ready. She can't smell the oil (or anything else) burning in the pan she put on the stove and then walked away from. I make it a point, when I fix dinner, to create a colorful presentation with tomatoes, carrots, various colored peppers, etc. and interesting shapes and sizes. I can't tell if she really tastes all the good stuff but she comments on how pretty the dishes look. That works at close range with big contrasts, anyway. I was surprised when we watched Fourth of July fireworks on TV and she remarked what a shame it was that they were broadcast in black and white!
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Suburban Zombie Dog-Walkng Lady, Part 2
Encountered the SZD-WL again this morning. It was being led around by the aging shephard. I noticed the bandages are off its leg, which can mean only one thing...
Regeneration/reanimation is going on here! Which can mean only one thing...
There is a secret zombie regeneration/reanimation lab somewhere in the neighborhood!! Which can mean only one thing...
I have a mission! I must/will find that lab.
Regeneration/reanimation is going on here! Which can mean only one thing...
There is a secret zombie regeneration/reanimation lab somewhere in the neighborhood!! Which can mean only one thing...
I have a mission! I must/will find that lab.
Friday, July 2, 2010
A Trip to the Doctor
Mom has a way of announcing things--just the headline, none of the details--that assumes we have discussed the subject before when, in fact, it is a completely new topic. Such as her 2:30 doctor's appointment which I found out about at 10:00 that morning when I was informed that if it was inconvenient for me, she would ask my brother to take her.
"Take you where?"
The appointment was not on her calendar. She had just made it that morning and had already packed an overnight bag with a change of clothes, a book and her pills (she takes surprisingly few pills for a woman her age) because the doctor would send her directly to the hospital from her* office for the procedure. The doctor was a substitute--her regular was on vacation. Mom informed me the doctor was a woman and her name was "Sue something, or maybe Dee. They don't speak clearly, there."
A trip to the hospital and a "procedure" were also news to me but I took her down to the doctor's office at the proper time where one of the names on the door was "Dr. D'Souza." Mr. Dr. D'Souza.
She was with Dr. D'Souza for the better part of an hour and I was mentally preparing myself for a trip to the hospital when she finally emerged with one new prescription, one old prescription cancelled and a note which she did not understand and did not show me until we got home.
So. Drama also cancelled.
When we got in the car she looked at the overnight bag, "It's a good thing I brought all those pills so the doctor knows what I'm taking." Of course, she had left the bag in the car. She also never mentioned the book or the change of clothes or any intention of staying at the hospital. So we went straight home where she showed me the note--which directed her to go to the hospital--where they would take and analyse a sample, a fifteen minute operation.
We go back to the doctor in three weeks.
"Take you where?"
The appointment was not on her calendar. She had just made it that morning and had already packed an overnight bag with a change of clothes, a book and her pills (she takes surprisingly few pills for a woman her age) because the doctor would send her directly to the hospital from her* office for the procedure. The doctor was a substitute--her regular was on vacation. Mom informed me the doctor was a woman and her name was "Sue something, or maybe Dee. They don't speak clearly, there."
A trip to the hospital and a "procedure" were also news to me but I took her down to the doctor's office at the proper time where one of the names on the door was "Dr. D'Souza." Mr. Dr. D'Souza.
She was with Dr. D'Souza for the better part of an hour and I was mentally preparing myself for a trip to the hospital when she finally emerged with one new prescription, one old prescription cancelled and a note which she did not understand and did not show me until we got home.
So. Drama also cancelled.
When we got in the car she looked at the overnight bag, "It's a good thing I brought all those pills so the doctor knows what I'm taking." Of course, she had left the bag in the car. She also never mentioned the book or the change of clothes or any intention of staying at the hospital. So we went straight home where she showed me the note--which directed her to go to the hospital--where they would take and analyse a sample, a fifteen minute operation.
We go back to the doctor in three weeks.
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