ENT Visit and Stuff

I had my three year/six month Ear Nose and Throat checkup on Wednesday.  He did not address my latest problems as he just seems to deal with my throat. He said that looked normal. As normal as a throat can which has had seven weeks of radiation.  I have to get checkups every six months until my fifth year. And then once a year.  But, I needed medication to calm down my panic attacks. He did not help with that. And medication to get me through all the coming horrendous dental appointments and work coming up.  He didn't want to prescribe any.  He sent me to have blood work. I have lost about five pounds.  He said appetite is affected by taste buds being lost, and no saliva.  He said head and neck radiation is disastrous to the salivary glands and the teeth. I can see my teeth just crumbling. Pieces just fall off and they are all turning yellow.

So, I may need to see a nutritionist for my other concerns.  What ever happened to doctors who really listen to your concerns,  seem compassionate.  Not so clinical.  Where did those doctors go.

We have a new puppy.  Tiny is adjusting.  We got her at the Pet Fair. She was turned in to animal control. Her name is Bonnie.  She reminds us of our old coon dog, Girl.  So we call her Bonnie Girl.  She is only one years old.  Our back hill is getting so thick and high.  The Vet who came to give Bonnie her heartworm test said she knew a woman who was reducing her stock and could give us a sheep to eat
the back hill. I love this thistle that is growing in the back.  Now I have daylily blooming. There is always something in this yard. I wish I could have met Dave who planted and planned this entire yard. His wife

told me it looked like a paradise when he was living.  Oddly, David was an Ear, Nose and Throat doctor. He was only 59 when he passed away.  I think he may have been over weight and diabetic.  We lost some flowers on hydrangea due to the two late freezes.  So I will have to wait until next spring to see those.  A few photo's of Bonnie.  And the thistle.  Later.

New Chicken Coop

I totally forgot to post photographs of the chicken coop.  The chickens love their bigger pen. Soon they can go into the new coop out in the front garden.

Le Chen Coop

I think that Chen is French for Chicken.  If not, please correct me.  We have the chicken coop in place. The one month and one week old chickens are now in a bigger pen in our garage. They can go out into the big coop in three to four more weeks.  As soon as the man comes to build the chicken run.  They have all their feathers, but nothing on their heads.  I miss hearing them warble in the laundry room.  But Tiny is glad they are gone.  He was getting very jealous of the baby talk I would say to them.  Very jealous.

It has been very hot here for April/May.  Unseasonably hot.  We are breaking records.  At least up here
in Franklin we are even two degree's cooler than Asheville.  But still hotter than I like. I cannot tolerate
heat.  I have an appointment with my new ENT next week, May 9th.  I told them my heart has been racing, I am losing weight, have anxiety issues, panic attacks.  They must find out if my thyroid is unstable.  I had seven weeks of neck radiation and my thyroid will fail eventually.  Or so they say.
My son and his wife were here for a visit.  It was so nice to have some family.  I didn't realize I would miss my children in Florida so much living up here in the mountains.  Tiny is not enjoying this hot weather.  He has a luxurious fur coat now from winter living. And he likes the cold weather better.

Happy summer everyone.  Picture of my other flowers.  And my son and his wife and me.  And swallows in my bird house and an old WWII plane at our airport.

Getting Bigger, much Bigger.

I had no idea how much baby chickens can poop.  It is amazing.  They have gotten so big that they are flying out of their pen.  So, we expanded out into the laundry room. Which makes it hard when we
have to wash clothes. And we took them out in the yard in a pen for two hours. We gave them earth
worms to play with and eat.  We bought a chicken coop. It will be delivered on Friday. I will take
photographs.  We had a late cold freeze. It would have not been so bad if it had only been one night or
one night and a few nights later another. But it was three nights of below freezing. The Iris you see in
this blog survived. But the holly bushes, crepe myrtles, maples, largely everything which had just leafed
out was burnt.  Very burnt.  Everything that had been growing all along was fine, my verbena flowers

came through it fine as they have been blooming since March. This unseasonably warm weather in March in which things started leafing out like it was late April, and then the late freeze is just totally wrong. Mother Nature is confused. The birds are confused. Our little house wren when it go so cold, she abandoned her eggs.  No one can tell me that global warming is not changing the face of the earth.  The penguin and polar bears know it.  This yard I live in has been planted with such love. The man who did all this David (passed away at age 59) I don't know what he died of. But he was an Ear Nose and Throat doctor in Atlanta, and I think he was under a lot of stress and he ate too much.  David must have loved flowers because they are blooming everywhere.  I hope all my friends who read this are well. Oh, and I now have a compost bin, complete with knats.

Baby Chicks

Well, as Ralph said.  Oh crap, we're chicken farmers.  And so four little 1 week old babies moved into the garage.  But then it got cold and they moved into the laundry room.  Eat, sleep and poop. Just like real human week old babies.  They are called golden comets.  Not what I wanted.  I think they are sex linked which means you can't breed them with another comet and get a comet. But I am not planning on showing birds or breeding them.  Ralph made them a little perch.  We will get a chicken coop when they are big enough.  Spring has been very warm for up here.  But they say you can get a frost all the way into May 1.  We live near an airport. thus the lear jet.

Ralph was mowing the left side of yard on ride on and ran over a baby bunny nest.  He was just ready to move.  So today I went out and ran a rake through the other side of the lawn and flushed out another rabbit. I didn't see any nests.  We have had a lot of rain.  So much, that Ralph could not mow.  The lawn got so high.  We had so many violets  More later.

Cherry Blossoms and Day Lilies

We have single cherry tree blossoms, now double cherry blossoms, weeping cherry tree's and dogwoods. Whoever owned this house, loved flowers.  And I can see that there are daylilies getting ready to bloom in a few months.  The farm store is supposed to get new baby chicks in on Wednesday.  I am hoping they have some orpingtons this time.  They had black and white chicks last time but sold them all.  We have a new well. But we had to put our iron filter back on because our iron is two times over the limit.  This is upsetting my husband as he wonders, if it's over the allowable limit, why did the health dept. pass the well. So he is checking with the EPA.  If we have to change the media in the filter often, it will cost too much.  I believe I need bee hives.

I think we are going to need two goats to eat the weeds on the steep hill. We just can't mow it.  Here are the spring flowers. enjoy.

I believe Spring has arrived.

We have robins galore.  Forsythia, cherry blossoms, grape hyacinth and redbud blooms.  And a lot of rain. Our new well is full of iron.  Jugs of water turn orange. We are going to have to put the water softener and filter back on.  The well water we were temporarily getting from the school next door was crystal clear.  Water is so strange and fickle in the mountains.  Move two inches over and you get an entirely different well.  I do not have my baby chicks yet.  And if I don't hurry up, they will all be gone and I will be out of luck.  Sigh.  We need so much here and have run out of money until one of our houses sells in Florida.  I miss my children.  It is so beautiful here.  I need to learn how to drive around town. I need to get orientated.  Birds know.  Just sing a song.  Don't worry if its not good enough.

Sing, sing a song
Sing out loud
Sing out strong
Sing of good things, not bad
Sing of happy, not sad.

Sing, sing a song
Make it simple
To last your whole life long
Don't worry that it's not good enough
for anyone else to hear
Just sing, sing a song.

and stop letting my husband take me everywhere.  I feel like a prisoner in my home.  I have yet to drive in to town. They have a beautiful senior community center and I haven't even investigated.  My husband does a bit of outdoor work, then sits on his computer playing games all day.  Retirement has not been good for him. I have been working out on my treadmill 30 minutes a day. And I feel so much better.  Also lifting weights and exercise.  Walking on these country roads is out.  Too narrow.  I could get killed.  Must get a humidifier for next winter.  Too dry in the house with heat.  Enjoy.