Life at the Aerie

Not a whole lot happening at the Aerie this week.

Sure, Terry and I went to Point Pleasant Beach, NJ last weekend for her high school class' 50th reunion and had a great time with a bunch of people from St. Mary's High School of whom I knew just three. But the bar was open almost all night so there's that. And the weather was gorgeous so we got to walk on the beach and boardwalk both Friday and Saturday. Waves were marvelous!

Then on Sunday we stopped at cousin Nancy's to meet up with lots of folks from Terry's side of the family to look at a bunch of old photographs. The goal was to ID as many people as possible. As I didn't know many of them (or plead the fifth), I sat on the side and watched while recovering from the high school reunion. (See above. re: "open bar".)

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I was keeping an careful eye on Irma as she tore through western Florida. I've relatives in Key LArgo and up the coast at Weeki Wachi. They all suffered minimal damage to their property and the folks in Key Largo were sane enough to have evacuated to areas around Orlando where they hunkered down. (And then went to Disney World immediately after since they couldn't get home.)

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Tuesday, Terry did a pre-op assessment over in Wellsboro and on Thursday she had her left knee scoped to remove debris and remove/repair a partially torn meniscus that has been troubling her since, well, the early '70s. She hurt it when we were going to climb Mt. Washington back then and reinjured it the next year when we went to climb Wildcat Ridge across the highway from Mt. Washington. Doctors back then pronounced it "hyperextended" and gave her some Tylenol, a pair of crutches, and sent her home. No MRI or anything. The current doc (who replaced both my knees in '13) said she also has arthritis and bone-on-bone contact on part of that knee may need a partial knee replacement if this surgery doesn't help.

Terry came home the same day (Thursday) and has been hobbling around the house with the occasional help of a cane. I'll be driving her down the hill to church on Sunday but she should be good to go on her own Monday or Tuesday.

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I've been knocking around the house doing some chores like cleaning out gutters and weeding the fallow garden beds in preparation for winter. I've also been mentally marking the trees I want to fell this winter for next year's firewood. (I'm still waiting for the power company to come through and do their right-of-way maintenance that they said they were going to do this summer. That might provide some additional wood.)

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I've also been plotting exactly how I'm to catch/nab/trap three 5-month old kittens to take them to the vets on Monday morning. I've been working on gaining their confidence so I can suddenly snatch them in an act of betrayal. One will be easy. (That's the one I played hide-and-seek with in the basement for 12 hours about a month ago.) A second is a possibility. (I've managed to actually pet that one a time or two. Granted it was only a quick stroke or two and very , very brief, but I think I can snatch that one.) They third.... Well, that's why they make have-a-heart traps. Tigger is a wily, wary one. My plans may be foiled, however, if they successfully bring down their own meals as they did last evening. A young, dumb bunny became an overnight snack that meant they really didn't need my can(s) of cat food.

Saw the Doctor (actually the orthopedic Physicians Assistant) Today

My right knee was x-rayed and examined by the PA (who is also a sports trainer). The verdict was that I had a strained quad. Probably when I slid on a snow covered rock while dropping a couple of trees in the yard back in early March. The  good news was two fold: 1) no damage to the knee joint, and 2) the strain seemed to be in the muscle not tendon/ligaments. With more blood flow in the muscle, there's quicker healing.

I was told to stay off my feet, avoid stairs and take some prescription anti-inflammatory. Double doses a day for the next two weeks and then single dose per day for another two weeks. If I must walk and or stand for lengthy periods, then I should ice the knee immediately afterwards to reduce inflammation. If, after a month, there is no improvement, I go back to the orthopedist. If things get better, then I see them in July for my knees' one year anniversary.

I'm baaaaack! (Sorta)

It’s been more than a month since I posted here. No excuses just not much drive to post upon the multitude of idiocies that have been going on in the world.

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The Tundra got its new brain. It took just a bit over an hour for the mechanic to install the (very expensive) computer. Everything seems to be going well.

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Dallas Seavey won the Iditarod by 2 minutes over Aliy Zerkle. The 2013 winner, Mitch Seavey, (Dallas’ dad) finished third more than three hours later.

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A plane disappeared somewhere in the Indian Ocean and the 24/7 cable news channels do nothing but speculate as to its fate. Day. After. Day. After. Day. (I’m glad I don’t bother to watch TV news unless it’s an occasional peek at what passes for local news here in the middle of nowhere.) 

Searching “Flight 370” (with the quotes) on the CNN website produces 754 results. A similar search on the MSNBC site yields 134 hits. And FOX News gives 149.

Speculation, and that’s all it really is and continues to be, as to what happened runs the gamut from mechanical failure to black holes. 

Meanwhile those same stations virtually ignore political corruption and gun smuggling occurring from coast to coast.

@Mayorof Charlotte resigns after public corruption, bribe charges

(He’s a Democrat, but you’d have a hard time finding that tidbit in this article.)

@Fewcan reconcile Leland Yee with the charges against him 

(He, too, is a Democrat and a California State Senator—who strongly pushed for strict gun control. You’d be hard pressed to find that in this article.)

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My sister hosted a family reunion party at her house in New Jersey. Descendants of my Mother and her sisters gathered from Connecticut, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Cousins, their kids and grandkids along with various spouses got together. Those on the west coast and the south didn’t make it but we had a great time just the same. 

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Baseball season has started and I'll be following my Mets--at least until July fourth, longer if they start doing well. Unfortunately, my TV contract does not have MLB access and recently dropped the YES network. (I don't mind the latter unless the Mets are playing the Yanks.) I can watch the Pirates, Phillies and even the Cubs on a fairly regular schedule. 

I lost the nail on my frostbitten finger. A new one seems to be growing. It’s slightly deformed but we’ll have to see if it becomes more “normal” with time.

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The bears are back. We have had two visits: one from a mamma and her yearling cub and one by a two year old. As a result, the bird feeders have to come in at night.

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My knees were doing very well until about a month ago. Then I suddenly developed a sharp pain in the right knee just above the joint. It only happens when climbing or descending stairs but it’s enough to make me go to the orthopedist tomorrow.

 I started doing yard work in the form of felling a couple of trees along the edge of the yard, limbing them, cutting the larger into fire place lengths, and using the new chipper/shredder to clean up the smaller branches.And I slipped on some of the snow that was on the ground while I was cutting down the trees. Didn't think I hurt myself at the time, but ever since the pain has been getting worse.

I might have pushed too hard in the warm weather we’ve had in fits and spurts. I started doing lots of birding doing several walks on consecutive days.

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As far as birding goes, I did have a good time going to various spots in Tioga County, PA and even got up to the southern end of Seneca Lake (Watkins Glen) in New York. I took lots of photos and will be posting some of those in the days ahead. The birds that migrated south have begun returning and/or passing through on their way north so there’s plenty to see. I missed a few that have already gone by, like the Snow Geese (although I may have seen a flock or two wing overhead), but there are more showing up every day.

 The Goldfinches are getting more and more yellow, a sure sign of Spring(?) even if the peepers aren't sounding off and the Woodcock haven't returned to the mountain. (Some have been seen down in the valley, however.)

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Finally, March Madness has culminated in UConn vs. Kentucky for the National Championship as I type. On the women’s side it’s two undefeated teams (Connecticut (37-0) vs Notre Dame (35-0) squaring off in the title game Tuesday night.

Week 26: Cold. Very cold. Oh. And snowy.

Yesterday marked the 26th week since I had my knees replace. That's the six month mark and things are progressing swimmingly. The twins are performing well in all facets of life but one: I can't kneel down worth a damn! Putting the knees onto a hard surface like the floor is very, very painful. I'll have to invest in some serious knee pads soon. Or, at the very least, remember to roll up a thick coat, throw rug, or cat before I attempt to kneel even to fetch a bowl from the back of the cabinet.

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Terry got home around 5 PM Sunday, swapped out her clothes in her suitcase, grabbed a few hours sleep, and hit the road south at 6 AM Monday morning. She made it to Columbia, SC by 5 PM with only a few short stops along the way. The road was clear and she reported plenty of sunlight along the way. When she called to let me know she had made it, it was nearly 60 degrees (it was just 25 at the Aerie). This morning it was just 5 degrees here in the Northern Tier of PA and snowing again. (It's been lightly snowing since 11 AM on Monday.) At least there's no wind...yet. There IS a high wind warning for later today. She may not want to come home.

She and her cousins were taking all too much pleasure in mentioning the new palm tree they have in the yard...and the 60 degree temperatures. Wait until hurricane season!

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The light snow has accumulated only about an inch maybe two since yesterday which is fine by me. This particular storm, dubbed Juno by the folks at weather.com, is dumping much more snow to the east and south according to the forecast maps. Southeast PA and northern NJ may see up to a foot. Like I said, Terry may not want to come home.

The snow plow has been up and down our hill already this morning. It seemed to have trouble just on the lower edge of our property. Whether there was a patch of ice or the driver just had trouble getting the right gear, or setting up the cinder spreader correctly he had to back up several times to get a running start that carried him the rest of the way up the hill. I'll know more about his troubles when I go out in a bit to fetch the mail. Should be quite a bit between the post office being closed on Monday and my being occupied shoveling snow on Saturday.

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I spent the better part of Monday turning a bunch of semifrozen butternut squash into mash and then freezing the results for use in pies and soups. The garage turns out to be a poor choice for long term storage when the temperatures get down to single digits--or lower--for extended periods. That or the squash need some insulated protection if they are to reside there. Perhaps I should have put them in one of the styrofoam coolers. In any event, I got four containers of two cups each put into the freezer.

I'll be enjoying the small amount that was left over with a little brown sugar and butter as a side dish for my dinner today.

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While digging out the containers for freezing, I discovered the shelf in the cabinet was cock-eyed. I had to pull everything out, cut a couple of "legs" and put them in to support the shelf and then put everything back in. (Hence the complaint about kneeling above.) Conclusion: We have way too much stuff in there unless we are prepared to open a bakery. Why have five or six pie pans (metal, glass, ceramic), five or six muffin/cupcake pans, five bread loaf pans (again, metal, glass and ceramic), two bundt pans, a couple of specialty baking pans (heart shaped? Really?) and scadie-eight gazillion plastic Tupperware containers and their lids, not to mention at least eight different configurations on a frying pan?

I'm sure Terry has some justification for all of the above. If not she'll just point to my fishing/hunting/wood working gear and say, "Well?"

Week 25: Knees, Fingers and More

Approaching six months since I had both knees replaced and things are going just swell! The only hint of pain I still experience comes from climbing stairs snd even that is les than I was having in the weeks prior to surgery. Once the weather cooperates and I can get out there walking the trails and woods I expect that even that will disappear.

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Meanwhile, I had a follow up withthe doctor about my frostbit fingers. The thumb, index and ring fingers are still numb at the tips--almost like a callus--but they are normal in color and seem to be recovering. The middle finger is another story. The blisters I photographed last week are shrinking as the liquid is being reabsorbed but the entire pad and tip of the finger is numb and a rainbow of colors--predominately purple. The doc was not optomistic about my saving all of the finger. His prognosis is that theres a lot of dead tissue and deep. That could lead to infection or worse. He referred me to a hand specialist/plastic surgeon in the orthopedic offices in Corning. I've an appointment set up for Thursday.

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The weather here at the Aerie has been, shall we say, changable. A week ago Saturday we saw minus 13.5 degrees and then this Saturday it was positive 48 degrees. A 61+ degree swing. While things have cooled off a bit, it has been into the high 30s and mid 40s the Sunday and Monday. As a result, nearly all the snow and ice has melted. The grass in the lawn is once more exposed and deer and rabbits are taking advantage of the fresh forage.

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I've been taking advantage of my forced idleness to peruse the Burpee's Seed Catalog. One of the most difficult things about this time of year is standing on the deck and looking down on the gardens and thinking of what I would like to plant this spring only to realize I won't be able to even turn the soil until the middle of April--if I'm lucky.

Still, looking at the pictures of vegetables, fruits and flowers--both annuals and perennials--lifts the spirit. I always seem to go way overboard when I order from the catalogs which is why I've been picking up seeds and plants at Agway and Lowes the last few years. Besides, finding a window or setting up a light system with trays and heat to propagate seeds with four cats who like to chew on greenery is problematic. Might do it anyway.

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The water from the well is running clear. It's a pleasure to have not a hint of red or gray coming from the taps or even going into the cistern. It even tastes excellent.

Week 24: Knees? What knees?

Monday marks the 24th week since I had both my knees replaced. And it's been one hell of a week!

Wednesday night into and through Thursday we got snow. About 8 inches of light, powdery snow. Why was it so light and powdery? Because we also got really, really cold air. Like minus 8 degree air. At least we didn't get the high winds that they were predicting...until Friday night into Saturday. Even then the winds came from the south and had little impact on the Aerie which is protected from that direction by Armenia Mountain Ridge.

This was the second large storm of the season. After the first one we had several days of warmth that melted all the snow. This time we won't be so lucky. After nearly reaching 40 degrees today, we will be getting rain, freezing rain and cold air. Long range forecasts aren't promising any warmth in the near future.

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I spent four hours on Friday in bright sunshine but cold, cold air clearing the driveway using the tractor. The job wasn't difficult but I paid a price just the same. The glove on my left hand kept slipping off my finger tips and I got  a severe case of frostbite. The middle finger of my left hand turned deep purple and is now one giant blister. It looks like I stuck it in the fire for a couple of minutes. Whether I lose any part of that finger and/or need a skin graft won't be known for a couple of weeks according to the doctor at the ER over at the new Guthrie Hospital in Troy. Three other fingers (index, ring finger and thumb) are also a bit tingly but they never changed color or blistered

I'll call my doctor Monday morning for a follow-up consultation. I'll be seeing him on Wednesday anyway for a colonoscopy...which has been scheduled and rescheduled several times. The last cancellation being Friday morning.

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Terry and I signed  a contract to purchase four acres adjacent to ours. We're overpaying for the lot considering the seller is keeping the mineral rights, but there's a flat area near the road with electric brought into that spot. There's also a building site that has had a perk test in the back end of the lot and a home built there would pretty much close our land to any hunting as well as sandwich us between two neighbors. 

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Oh, and my neck is still sore as heck. Heat hasn't helped. And pain pills haven't helped (Although they--the pills--probably don't know what they should target. *sigh*)

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The well is doing as good as you might expect. There's some sediment still coming through but the filter has been stopping nearly all of that crap and the water going into the cistern  and out of our faucets is clear.

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My knees? What about them? They have been doing great! Either the other pains have distracted me or they really are virtually pain free...even on the stairs.

Week…23 (?)

It’s been almost two weeks since I last posted anything here. That’s partly due to this being a slow time of year and partly due to laziness. Oh…we’ve been doing stuff, but it’s been mostly dull routine stuff.

After nearly two weeks of operation, the water from the new well has cleared up and there’s no color—red or gray—when it goes through the filter. Having gone through several cycles of filling the cistern, even the water in the 500 gallon tank is clearing up. Guess there’s some truth to the saying: “Dilution IS the solution to pollution.” (I’m fully aware that that is NOT what the saying is, but in this case it works!)

 

Finally we can wash clothes and dishes, shower, flush...all things we took for granted but which became a constant worry when the old well was misbehaving. 

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Terry and I drove into New Jersey to celebrate Christmas Eve with my sister and her family. Unfortunately my Grand-niece, Sami, came down with chicken pox the day before so she and her dad had to stay home. My other Grand-niece, Emilee, was there, but being just a few months old, seemed totally unimpressed with the goings on. Still, it was nice to visit with family.

We stayed that night at Mom’s house in Linden and cleaned a few more items out of the garage and cupboards. There’s very little left that we need to remove before we close on the sale of the house.

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We had no Christmas Tree at the Aerie this year. We were afraid of what the cats might do. One or two of them tend to chew on and eat any greenery in the house. And then throw up. We've got too many ornaments to allow the furry ones to dictate our deisre for a little holiday decoration, however. Besides, we need the extra Christmas Cheer a tree will instill. The sun just arrives too late in the morning--when it arrives at all.

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Speaking of removal…A crew was hard at work today removing the old oil tank buried in the front yards. They discovered there was a small hole in that tank and, despite having been drained and filled with sand nearly 10 years ago, there was some soil contamination. Exactly how much will be determined as they work to clean it up. Hopefully, there isn’t much and they will be done in a day or two. We already have a contract on the house and the closing should take place before Presidents' Day.

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We had that eight inch snowfall two weeks ago but that was followed by heavy rains and near 60 degrees so that by the following Monday (one week ago) all the snow was gone. Aah, but that was merely a temporary condition. Since then we’ve had two smaller, two inch snowfalls sandwiched around a couple of days of 40 degrees. Things are looking much colder later this week with lows in the negative area possible on Friday.

 

One of the most dispiriting things this time of year is to stand on the deck and look at the gardens and realize that I can do nothing until at least April 15th when the soil is no longer covered by snow and has thawed sufficiently to make working it possible.

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So far, we've only had the usual crew of winter birds coming to the feeders. Goldfinches, chickadees, nuthatches, blue jays, juncoes...the usuals. One day we did have some purple finches but just one day. With the weather, the well, and dealing with Mom's home in New Jersey, I've not gotten out to do any birding in the field. That will be changing. Our Audubon chapter will be doing its Christmas Bird Count on January 1st. One of my New Year's Resolutions will be to spend at least five hours at least once a week out in the field bird watching. Another will be to regularly keep a check list of the birds I see on every outing and a running tally throughout the year. With the improvement of my knees, I want to take full advantage of them.

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As the title of this post indicates, my knees are now 23 weeks old. They couldn’t feel better. Still a little pain going down the stairs, but they are feeling just fine. I need to remind myself to exercise more often but more importantly do stretching exercises daily.

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I hope your Christmas was a Joyous one and that the New Year brings you Happiness and Joy.

Week 21: Feelin' Good!

The knees are now 21 weeks old (four months actually) and are feeling pretty good. Stairs continue to be a problem but it's getting easier to go up and down. Walking on flat surfaces and even rough terrain and slippery slopes presents no difficulty. Looking forward to the day I won't think about going up and down the steps.

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The well drillers worked hard on Friday and punched down to a depth of 320-340 feet. They were disappointed that the recharge rate was only 3 gallons per minute, but that's still a gallon per minute higher than we have in the current shallow (132 feet) well.

Today they pulled the bit and packed up the drill rig. Tomorrow (weather permitting) they'll install the pump. Hopefully we'll have water running later this week.

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Saturday's storm produced 8 inches of light, fluffy snow. Sunday, Terry cleared the deck and the area in front of the front door. I used the tractor to clear the driveway. With the need to scoop and dump with the bucket loader, it took me close to three hours of driving around. Then another hour was needed to brush the snow off the roofs of the Tundra, Jeep and Aveo and shovel the snow that was too close to the vehicles and RV to use the tractor. A long morning!

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Additional snow is forecast from several quick moving fronts this week. "They" say we'll have 2-5 inches from them--even as "they" are saying the temperatures will be in the 40s this weekend. We're likely to be having a white Christmas this year. And a Ground Hog Day (February 2nd), Valentine's Day (February 14th), Presidents' Day (February 17th), Saint Patrick's Day (March 17th) and maybe even Easter (April 20th). Global warming my a$$!

Week 20: Knees vs StairsNot Hunting

While I still haven't gotten to the point where I feel no pain, things are steadily improving. So far the stairs are the only sore spot in my recovery. Especially going down stairs. Walking on rough terrain or smooth surfaces like parking lots or WalMart, produces little or no pain or difficulties.

Stairs are a differnt animal. Going up yields some discomfort in the left knee. Going down is even worse. If I do some work nthe stationary bike it loosens things up a little more and the pain is less. IF I were to do my exercises, I'm sure things would be even better.

I've been something of a slacker the last few weeks. All the round trips into New Jersey, the going up and down stairs at Mom's house as we cleaned things out, moving that same stuff up and down stairs at the Aerie, going up and down the hill to hunt, etc. provided plenty of exercise...I thought. I'll have to get back to a daily routine of stretches and exercises.

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Joe, from Andrews Well Drilling, showed up today to mark the site of our new well and get a signed contract. They'll be coming on Wednesday unstead of Tuesday. The company's owner died at age 79 on Friday after a lengthy bout with cancer.

This afternoon and part of tomorrow I'll be moving things around so they can get their drilling rig into the area. If things go with out a hitch, we should have clean water this weekend.

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We got just a tiny bit of snow Sunday night capped by a crust of ice. The soft snow made cleaning off the windshield of the Tundra easy. Heck, even the driveway was easy to shovel. Early in the day we had some freezing fog that left a coating of ice on the upper portion of the trees around the Aerie and a glistening coating onthe goldenrod fields down the bottom of the hills. After I got the driveway shoveled, the TOAD trailer (the one that hauls the Aveo behind the RV) moved, and Terry to move the Aveo out of its winter parking spot, it started snowing. Terry was on the phone with a firend who lives jsut 10 miles away and she said she had blue skies. We never got those blue skies. THe best we got was a high temperature of 36 degrees.

Some snow is forecast for tonight and tomorrow morning but there shouldn't be much. Overcast skies, snow flurries and dropping temperatures will be our lot this week. Should make well drilling interesting.

First Day of Deer Season

Got up bright and early this morning to don my hunting clothes and weapon and head out in hopes of bagging a buck on PA's opening day. I was well layered as I headed out in 30 degree weather with anticipation of being nice and toasty all day as the temps were forecast to reach the 40 degree mark. Didn't happen. It was overcast and dull all morning with no sign of sunlight until around 2 PM. At that point it DID reach 39 degrees on the Aerie's deck.

Me? I was shivering. I should have been warm but I wasn't and I place some of the blame on having lost 20-25 pounds after the knee surgery. No personal insulation.

Before I left the Aerie I noticed that the bear had been back and knocked down on of the bird feeders I had carelessly left on the deck. Paw prints were all over the fresh dusting of snow and the metal hook upon which the feeder hangs was laying on the deck. (I would find out later that the feeder was intact and that the bear had chosen the lawn instead of the woods as its bathroom--again.)The knowledge that the sow and her cubs might not have denned up yet would have my head on a swivel whenever there was a louder than usual noise form snow falling from the pines and hemlocks.

Going up and down the hill on layers of ice, snow atop shale was no more difficult than it was before I had my knees replaced. Might have been easier, in fact. The loss of weight and the physical therapy may have made the climb less stressful.

I didn't get my buck, either. Though I did see four deer between 12:10 and 12:20. Two went up the hill on the other side of the powerline right of way and, though I could see through my rifle scope that neither had horns, I had no shot through the web of beech brush on each side of the cut. Just as they went out of sight to my right, there was a stomp to my left and I turned to see two more antlerless deer standing 10 and 25 yards away. The closer animal was stomping it's forehooves and sniffing the air over an unfamiliar smell (me) but had no idea I was standing so close as there was a 12 inch diameter tree between us.The more distant critter was looking right at me and, after a brief staring contest, I must have blinked. It decided it was better to be THERE than HERE and bounded off down the hill and across the cove. The puzzled nearer animal followed its pal.

The days shooting commenced a bit before the legal hour when someone fired at 6:45 AM other shots soon followed from a variety of directions. As most were single shots, I assume people were getting their deer. (Old Indian saying: "One shot, deer. Two shots, maybe deer. Three shots, no deer." There were a couple cases of "three shots" today but not many in those opening minutes.) Things got really quiet after 9 AM and there weren't any shots at all from 1 PM through 3:30 PM when twilight began to seep up from the deeper coves and valleys. I returned to the Aerie with the same number of shells as I had when I left. Hey! Ammunition is expensive!

All I saw, besides the four deer, were three grey squirrels, lots of birds and one hunter coming down the wood road on the other side of the cove. He came down around 9:30 AM and turned toward the homes to the northwest of us. For most of the day I had this song by Paul Anka running through my head.

Week 19:The Knees Please MeA Hunting We Will Go!

Monday marks the 19th week I've had my new knees and I must say that they have been pleasing me no end. They're doing extra fine on flat surfaces and even on the ice and snow covered slanted driveway and up stairs. The only trouble has been going down stairs--and that's getting better.

Monday morning they will carry me up the hill to sit during the opening day of rifle season for whitetail here in PA. With any luck, all the other hunters from the suddenly occupied camps will send a nice legal buck my way. It will only take one with three points on one antler to make me happy. In the zone I'm sitting in a buck with at least three points is the only thing you can shoot during the first week. I've not seen one in the yard with those requirements. Does? Yes. Bucks? No.

There have been several antlerless deer passing through the yard and even eating things off the compost heap. I've seen as many as six during one evening. Among the antlerless deer is at least one button buck who is not considered legal as a buck and, until the second week of the season, illegal as it has no antlers just little bumps on its head. (It and its sister are small to boot, having been born this spring. Not much meat on their bones.) 

I have some hope that there's a larger buck out there. There are several saplings that have been rubbed by a buck trying to get the itchy velvet off its antlers. And there are several spots along the logging road where a deer has scraped the earth and nibbled the branches directly above leaving its scent behind to mark a territory. All I need is to have that larger buck come back to its "safety zone" when other hunters start moving about.

The weather has been really cold but it's supposed to warm up starting Monday. In fact, the temperature has been rising much of Sunday evening. There's a layer of icy snow on the ground so things will go "crunch" as they walk and any blood trail--if I need to follow one--should stand out on the white.The chance of new precipitation during the day is given as 30% but it's supposed to be overcast all day.

Week 18 The Knees and More

I spent many hours behind the wheel of the Tundra this week driving back and forth between the Aerie and Mom's house in Linden, NJ. It's 250 miles one way and I made three trips in eight days. Add the trip to and fro for Mom's funeral and since October 28th I tallied 2000 miles. With each one-way trip taking approximately 4.5 hours, that's some 36 hours. That didn't leave a lot of time for exercises but, once I was at Mom's, climbing up and down stairs, toting boxes and bags and furniture more than made up for my lack of routine. Back at the Aerie, unloading much of that stuff and hauling the rest to the dump also had me doing what I call "occupational therapy."

That said, I've got to report that there are days when I (almost) don't notice any pain in either knee. The left is still complaining more than the right, however, so there is still some room for improvement.

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We got our first really cold weather of the season yesterday as the low temperature was 8.8 degrees at 6:45 in the morning. That day it got all the way up to 22 degrees. Today was slightly warmer with a low of 11.5 degrees and a high 30.9 degrees. The thermometer making these readings is on the porch just eight feet from the house and on the sunny side to boot so there may be some heat island effect going on.

We're forecast to get a bit of serious snow starting Tuesday night and all day on Wednesday. It's supposed to be warming late in the day on Tuesday causing the snow to switch to mixed precipitation which will affect the amount of snow. Maps currently show us in the 3-6 inch zone but that 6+ area is less than 75 miles to the west so a slight shift in either the temperature or the storm system could bring us more.

Our nephew, Brian, is supposed to fly into NJ Wednesday morning to pick up the car Mom left to him and then drive out here for Thanksgiving. The weather's likely to affect his flight and decision to drive northwest. Vicki, his wife, will be flying into Corning/Elmira on Saturday, renting a SUV and coming for a second Thanksgiving dinner before they both drive home to Milwaukee hauling several large pieces of furniture (hence the SUV).

Once again, the best plans aft gang astray.

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Terry and I made one more trip to the dump today with ten or so bags of trash from Mom's house as well as some of our own. There's still a good deal of sorting and decision making to be made as well as some old paints that need to be made safe for disposal, so there will be more trips to the dump in the future.

Terry also took care of some banking stuff in connection with her role as executrix. After I shifted stuff around in the garage, I turned the tractor around to prepare for "The Snow" they say is coming. Some of the stuff I had to move included folding chairs--lots of folding chairs--we didn't need. Terry took them and a couple bags of clothes to My Neighbors' Closet in Mansfield and they were very happy to receive them.

Week 17 Knees and More are Growing Old(er)

The knees are growing older--and less painful. With the well acting up this week, I was up and down the basement steps--a lot. Then going in to NJ to clean up Terry's Mom's house meant more up and down stairs and toting stuff. (More below on those activities.)I can't say that they don't hurt at all, but they almost hurt less than before surgery and they are getting better as compared to their getting worse weekly prior to surgery. And, with rifel deer season just around the corner, that's important to me.

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We're spending this week doing some work in NJ cleaning up Terry's Mom's home. I went in on Saturday and Terry and Lucille came in on Sunday night. Time to pack up all the odds and ends we didn't throw away, move some of the furniture out to open up space, and do those things that will make the house more salable.

Today, while the girls did some packing and met with a realtor and lawyer, I hauled some stuff back to PA. Some of it will go to the dump tomorrow (Linden doesn't pick up anything but kitchen garbage until December 18th without a fee), some will make its way to a second hand store in Mansfield, and some will go into the pantry. (Mom may not have been a prepper, but she sure took advantage of sales at the grocery stores: canned goods, aluminum foil, Saran wrap, Kleenex, paper towels and toilet paper abound. We may not have to purchase any of those items until April.) 

Terry says the realty representative was impressed with the size of the interior (looks much smaller on the outside--not quite Tardis-like but still larger inside than it appears) and all the recent improvements Mom had made within the last 5-10 years: new roof, new carpets, converting from oil to gas and the new furnace that entails, new paint job upstairs, etc.





Terry and Lucille took Mom's auto (10 years old and just 25,800 miles) to a mechanic to get it checked out. It was making some peculiar sounds when we went back and forth to the airport two weeks ago. We need to make sure it's in fine condition before we get the title transferred to Brian next week. He and his wife, Vicki, will fly in for Thanksgiving and drive the car back to Milwaukee. 

Tomorrow I'll be driving back to NJ to rejoin the girls and pick up another load of stuff to be hauled westward. 

All this back and forth with a truckload of stuff reminds me of 2006 when we moved out of NJ and had to store our stuff either at a facility in Mansfield or up in the Adirondacks. It's 250 miles one way just like it was back then. Lots of time to think while I'm driving. Still, seeing the same 150 mile stretch of I-80 time after time grows old quick. Makes me want to make a new, different road trip.

Week 16, Terry's Travels, and SNOW!

My knees celebrated their 16th week yesterday and I put them to good use as I finally got around to cutting the other half of the lawn and spread some lime. Good thing I got that done too, as last night the temperature dropped to 20 degrees and this morning there were one and a half inches of snow on the deck and the lawn was covered--the driveway too, as yesterday's temperature was low enough to suck the remaining heat out of the dirt and rocks.

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Terry got home yesterday about noon. She covered just about 2700 miles from California to home chewing off 700 or so miles a day as she drove dawn to dusk.  Dead heading like that is not fun. It was a long, eventful three weeks with across-country round-trip flight thrown in for good measure. SAGA Convention near Dallas, visit with daughter in Anaheim, funeral for Mother in NJ (on the opposite coast from the daughter), a second visit with daughter (again in Anaheim), visits with niece and sister on the north end of SF Bay, and a long drive home. She made it safely and with no unusual road stories.

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We have had problems with our well since day one. Very fine red clay (colloidal in nature) comes out of the shale with the water and into the well. About once a year that red clay overwhelms our filtration system (with a 1 micron filter) and fills the cistern with red water. Turn the faucet on and it's a scene out of Psycho with red water swirling around the drain. At that time I need to drain the cistern and flush the entire well before slowly refilling the tank. That takes time and filters. Lots of time and many filters. I've only got four on hand and that ain't enough. I've ordered more but for now it looks like a run to Wally World for bottled water for cooking and drinking.

Week 15

Yesterday was the 15th week after surgery and all is going well.

With all the running around this week, my exercise routine has gone down the tubes. It doesn't seem to have affected my knees too much, however. Perhaps going up and down the stairs at Mom's house, all the standing and sitting during the wake and mass (I don't/won't/can't do any kneeling) has replaced some of the exercises. Whatever, things are feeling pretty good. The knees are doing well. In fact, the only real pain I've experienced came from standing too long, and that was back pain at the belt line.

Week 14

After a couple of days of aches and pains due in part to the very changeable weather we were having, the knees are behaving very well today. I've been able to walk up and down stairs with only a little reminder of my surgery.

Everyone keeps telling me that if I continue to do my exercises, either at home or at the therapists, I should see major improvement between six and eight months. And, after a year, I should need to be reminded that I had surgery. That would put it around the middle of January (six months) at the earliest.

Believe me when I say that I will be doing my exercises on a regular basis.

Weekly Report from the Aerie

It's been a quiet week with Terry off on her Grand Tour. Since Wednesday, the weather has been...well changeable. If you didn't like what was happening, all you had to do was drive five miles or wait 15 minutes. It was spitting rain, snow and sleet between periods of sun--sometimes while the rain was falling--and grand blue skies. Friday afternoon that spelled a beautiful rainbow that lasted for all of five minutes before the clouds got in front of the sun. Daytime temps have been in the low 40s and it has dropped to around 30 over night. And the nights are definitely longer each and every day. Autumn has certainly arrived.

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Terry's SAGA Convention in Frisco, TX has ended and she headed west today. Went 300 miles and she's STILL in Texas. She plans on being in Anaheim, CA on Tuesday to visit with Jessica for a couple of days. (And empty the Jeep!)

After that, she's heading up the coast to visit her sister Lucille and niece Laura. There might be some guys involved there too, but the only one I remember is Laura's baby Matthew. ;-)

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Thursday I drove down to my buddy Joe's place to return a jacket Terry had repaired for him. I brought my S&W M&P .40 with me and we ran through a box of ammo. I'm still searching for the "right" ammo for that pistol. I've not shot it a great deal, but the Winchester 165 gr JHP seems to be better than the 180 gr I bought when I first got the gun. Still shoots a little low, but at least I could get it on the paper this time.

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Friday was PT at Elite. I've got just two more session paid for by the insurance company (unless they give the okay for more) so it looks like I'll be "graduating" to self torture. I have the option of paying a small fee to use their facilities under the guidance of a tech. For just $60 a month I'd have two land sessions a week. For $90 I can go in the pool twice a week. And for $75 I can have one-and-one. I'm thinking about it for both the use of the machines and also the socialization.

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Saturday and Sunday have been wall to wall football. If that means I missed the end of WS Game 2 well, so be it. I don't need to spend time looking at the pitcher's nose hairs before every pitch. Or listening to an announcer tell me what's happening when I can see it right in front of me. (Things are different in football, basketball and hockey. So many people are involved in every play and the action is so quick that you need some one to tell you what's happening. Heck, even the announcers have spotters in those sports to tell them WHO is involved. Think a baseball announcer NEEDS a spotter?)

13 Weeks

My knees turned 13 weeks old today.

My visit to the surgeon's on Friday morning was extremely positive. He told me that the one-month xrays were perfect. Everything was where it should be and the flexibility I demonstrated was excellent. The pain I'm still experiencing--especially going down stairs--is normal. It will take time and exercises to strengthen the muscles around the knees and one day, about three or four months from now, POOF! the pain will be gone! (Yeah. Right.)

Meanwhile, I'm feeling pretty good...except for when I'm going down the stairs. Elite Physical Therapy has been very, very good for me. Except for the pain part.

Quiet at the Aerie

Been kind of quiet around here with just me and the cats.

Terry was in Louisville for an Embroiderer's Guild of America convention. She returned last evening and said she had a good time but complained of a knot in her shoulder blades from holding her stitching materials too long.One of her classes was a beading class and she returned with a very pretty necklace.

She'll be hitting the road again next weekend heading to Texas (Smocking Arts Guild of America) and then California (Anaheim for Jess and north of SF Bay for her sister and niece). As we tend to do when not in a rush, she's driving. It's a great way to see the country and appreciate the beauty and size of the US of A. First she took her little yellow Aveo to Kentucky. Next, because she will have to haul some stuff out to Anaheim, she'll be taking the Jeep Compass. And the 4-wheel drive might be necessary as she heads up to American Canyon, CA before turning east and heading through the mountains and the plains to come home in early November.

Me? I'm the stay-at-home cat carer. I've also been rehabbing my knees (12-weks old tomorrow). And they are doing better now that I'm sure to do my exercises daily. I'm still having pain as I head down the stairs, but depending upon the day--and time of day--it's better. Going up stairs is much better but still slow going. Flat surfaces are a piece of cake and even walking over some uneven surfaces (the lawn, not the woods) is relatively painless.

This week I've two sessions of physical therapy, a visit to the surgeon (last follow-up session), an Audubon Club meeting, and the RV has to be taken to get a couple of things done. Other than that, there's not much happening.

Knees Things I Want to Talk About.

My new knees were ten weeks old on Monday, but after the workout they got during Friday's physical therapy session and the swelling and pain I felt all weekend, I would have pegged them as only 6 or 7 weeks of age.

A lot of the pain and suffering was a result of me being lax vis-a-vis my exercise habits while off to Portland for 5 days. Yeah, I did some stretching and spent time on the stationary bike at the hotel, but it obviously was not enough.

This morning I had a session in the therapist's pool and things went pretty well. There's still some pain going up and down stairs even with the water providing some support, but walking on the submerged treadmill--mush of the rest of the workout--was relatively painless.

I'll be back on dry land for Friday's PT bu this time I will have two days of long exercise sessions done at home to support me. Hopefully I'll see some progress, I'm told insurance will only cover PT through the 16th (approximately three months).

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The leaves around the Northern Tier are really starting to turn. There's lots of purples, reds and oranges showing up. The bright yellow of aspen and maple haven't really "popped" yet with the exception of a few trees here and there. If the weather continues nice, I may have to go back out to Leonard Harrison SP at the Grand Canyon to snap a few pictures.

The forecast is for clear skies the next few days and highs approaching 80 degrees by the weekend so, if you're a leaf peeper, this might be a good time to hit the road--or, if you're lucky enough to live in the midst of the fall bounty, take a long look around. I figure you've got about two weeks max.

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Terry and I went out passed Wellsboro yesterday to a produce stand on Rt. 287 to pick up some Cortland apples. Bruce and Sue had brought about a peck of Cortlands with them when they visited a few weeks ago and apples were available at the farmers' market in Mansfield last weekend. We didn't do anything with Bruce and Sue's supply until to day when Terry baked an apple pie with a few of them. The apples at the farmers' market were a tad pricey for me but Pagomar's had the Cortlands for $17 a bushel. I'll turn them into apple sauce within the next day or two. Should produce at least 24 pints for storage.

We also took inventory of our canned goods. Plenty of relish, garlic dill pickles, regular dill pickles, peaches, strawberry jam, blueberry jam as well as some grape jelly still on the shelves alongside the quarts of tomato sauce. Since some of the pickles and jams are several years old, I'm hoping they aged well. I KNOW they will be eaten now that we're more aware of their presence.

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I hear there's a government "shutdown" going on. From the list of agencies and personnel furloughed, all I can say is, "Good! Change the locks while they're away." And while they're at it, there's plenty more under the heading of "Czar" that could probably be slashed--permanently.

I also hear that today was the first day to sign up at the exchanges for Obomacare. Many of the websites designed for that have crashed. Talk about not ready for prime time! Whether because so many people are trying to sign up or are curious about whether they have to sign up; or because the sites were poorly designed, a crash is indicative of the whole ACA. From "We have to pass it to find out what's in it," to the myriad of broken promises ("If you like your healthcare, you'll get to keep your healthcare." "This is going to lower the cost of healthcare in America."), to the number of exemptions granted--illegally--by the administration, this whole thing has been one major screw-up.