Walking - Sort of~

 I won't lie, July was another tough month.  After my first attempt to walk the woods, it was clear I had a long way to go.  I had to sit & watch as the weeds took over all my flower beds.  It was horrid how fast they grew. 

7-10 Sharkey's Revenge & Mighty Chestnut Daylily's~ 

The bright spot was when our Granddaughter Skyla, flew in on the eight!  She came with her brand-new drivers permit; she did the driving & we managed to have a good time in spite of my gimping around.

7-11 Skyla rides my eBike~

She was excited at the opportunity to ride my eBike.  She has an eScooter, but the bike is much faster & a lot of fun.  Away she went!  I knew she was heading for the square & the shop that sells fancy drinks.  I didn't expect her back for a while, but when she was out for over an hour, I started worrying.  I went out on the porch & soon saw her coming up the street pushing the bike & covered in sweat.  I should have known better than to have let her go without more lessons in shifting.  The chain was broken & gear cable out of sync.  Lucky for me, we have a new business in town, The Bike Garage.  I made a call, Matt came out within 15-min.  He picked up the bike & had it back to me repaired, the following day!

7-14 Grama Doris & Finn~

We visited Grama Doris a couple times during Skyla's visit, of course Finnigan went along.  Doris managed to take a fall the weekend we left for ND.  She broke her Tibia, so she was in misery along with me & Finn.  We agreed that Finn was handling his injury better than either of us!

7-15 Skyla at mat making~

We attended mat making & Skyla picked up crocheting like a pro!  She enjoyed the morning & said she was impressed with how stylish my friends were!  I know everyone enjoyed her visit.

7-16 Skyla, Butch & Maverick~

The 16th, Butch managed to make another long drive - arriving to see Skyla & spend a night at home!  We met in Council Bluffs for dinner, then Skyla rode in the semi & I drove the Bronco for the first time in ten weeks.  I found out quickly the muscle I need to keep my foot on the accelerator is the one that doesn't work.  Lots more PT, where I've been introduced to myostimulation.

7-21, Finn & me~

Friends took Skyla to Eppley on the 20th.  It was so hard to see her go...  Both for me & for Finn.  He'd enjoyed playing with her so much.  The house seemed so quiet...  We fell back into our recovery routine.  

I took my first steps without the walker on the 29th & my final follow-up with Dr. Seibler at UNMC was the same day.  I am ever so thankful for Kathy driving me to my appointments, both PT & Doctor visits!  Sue picked up groceries for me several times!  I think often of how lucky I am, to have so many giving, wonderful people as friends.  I'm still using the walker for stability & learning to use a cane for shorter distances. With both legs now full of implants, balance is an issue.

The 30th, I sprayed down with bug spray & hobbled down to the far side of the south fence to cut down two huge thistles going to seed.  I could see them from the deck & they were driving me nuts!  Making it back up the hill was not a pretty sight. That night, we received a badly needed 1.03 inches of rain.   

Butch will be home this coming week to attend class for his new gig driving the big yellow school bus!  He'll go back out with Maverick OTR one more time until mid-month when he'll return the semi to Nationwide.  I will have my husband home again after almost five years! 

First Woods Walk - this time Around~

 It was a hot & humid July morning.  It started out with cloud cover, but the sun kept burning through.  I decided I wanted to try to get the July flags hanging from the Cabin & lower corner.  I wasn't quite sure how I was going to accomplish it, but the try was there.

Start of the trail~

I'd been so exasperated, knowing the flowers were blooming & waiting to see if everything I'd transplanted last fall & earlier this spring had survived.  Butch had said that the mulch layer he & Madden had put down was thick.

Hosta's blooming~

I decided I'd take a few steps with the walker & see how I did.  I'd had Butch move the little bench we'd had at the far end of the Lowlands & put it along the trail where the hill flattens out.  Roughly half-way to the swing.

Looking north the way I'd come down ~

I was very thankful the bench was there & more than ready to sit down.  I had to be careful with the placement of the walker & be sure it was stable before I moved forward.  It was worth it!

South toward the swing & the bottom of the backyard~

I sat for several minutes, just enjoying the peace & quiet of being in the woods again.  

Tree down on the far side of the creek~

I hadn't been down here for two months!  In that time, we'd had a couple hard wind & rainstorms.  As usually happens, I find trash that's washed down the creek.  This time it's a full-size trash container!  I'm hoping Granddaughter Skyla can get it out for me when she comes to visit!  

East on Tinkle Branch trail~

I pulled out all the branches that had blown down I could reach & tossed them out on the trail.  I even waded in with my walker & pulled weeds getting 3' tall coming up through some of my favorite Hosta's.  Nothing along the trail & most of the woods hasn't been mowed.  I'd hoped the young man Butch had hired would be up to it, but he managed to break my mower the other day.  The backyard alone was enough for him on hot days.  

Thankfully Doris's neighbor across the street repairs mowers.  Bob picked it up yesterday morning & had it back to me running again & tuned up before noon!  I'm anxious to be able to mow again.  It'll take me the fall season to try to get things back to anywhere near where they were.  Until Butch retires & maybe for a while after, Troy will be doing it all.  He said he would rotate between the Marsh & Woods.  Each is time consuming even with his zero turn.  I much prefer the old-fashioned way of mowing & I think the grass looks much better.

"Mighty Chestnut daylily~

Once I was at the bottom of the hill & by the swing, I started up the east edge of the woods, where I've planted daylilies, flowers, shrubs etc.  I've been dividing the one above for several seasons now & it's a favorite.

Sharky's Revenge~

Half-way back up the hill, I was greeted with the above blooms!  Sharkey is going to be spectacular again this year.  There are enough buds there should still be blooms when Skyla arrives!  It's going to be hot & humid while she's here, but I hope she'll help me with the worst of the ever-growing weeds! 

From the front porch~

I was exhausted by the time I reached the front porch.  I didn't want to risk traversing the steep hill in the backyard yet.  Once I cooled off, I looked back at November of 2020 & realized I'd been eight weeks into healing when I'd walked the woods then!  That's the mark I reached today!  I still have a long way to go to walk unassisted, but I appreciate the small improvements as they come.