PHOTO-A-DAY CHALLENGE
Surgery, Fall Weather, Crafts, and Pollinators
September 18–24, 2023
This week began with a surgery. My husband wants to get away from Peritoneal Dialysis so he can start at-home Hemodialysis. I took the day off work so I could drive him to and from the hospital in Reno. His surgery was an outpatient procedure, but he was still put under general anesthesia.
The purpose of the surgery was to merge a vein and an artery in his right arm. Dave only had a small bandage to cover the wound, but he was told not to use that arm to lift anything or to sleep on that side, even after it was healed.
The AV Fistula surgery only took around two hours, including recovery, but we were at the hospital for most of the day. Check-in was 9:30 a.m. They took him back for surgery just before 1 p.m. We got home a little after 4 p.m. That was a long day, sitting in the hospital!
Dave said for him it went quickly. Once he fell asleep, he said he felt like he woke up immediately, even though it was hours later. I didn’t have the same experience — I took a knitting project with me to pass the time.
I’ve mentioned this before, but I’m trying different tube sock patterns for Christmas gifts this year. I finished one on Tuesday night — a loom-knit pattern that I found on YouTube. Once I had a finished sock, I liked how it looked but not how it fit. Onto the next pattern! (At some point, I’m going to have to find one that I actually like before it’s too late to make them for Christmas gifts…)
I was off work on Wednesday. I have to use some of my annual leave before December 31 or it goes away. It’s called “use it or lose it time,” so I’m taking off a day or two here and there until I’m down to the amount of time that will carry over into the next year.
My husband had the week off due to his surgery, so we took the dogs for a drive up and around Lake Tahoe. We stopped to walk them at Van Sickle Bi-State Park, on the border of California and Nevada. The gondolas for a popular ski resort pass right over the park so I stopped for a picture.
On Thursday morning, my husband decided he wanted to go for a hike near Lake Tahoe. We didn’t take the dogs because of his arm. With his recent surgery, he needed to rest his arm instead of trying to walk with Charlie, who needs to investigate everything and say “hi” to all the other dogs on the trail.
We drove up to the trailhead, got out, and realized how cold it was up in the mountains. Summer is over! It was only 45°F that morning. I would have been okay doing the hike — I was dressed in jeans and a long-sleeved t-shirt. My husband was wearing shorts.
We looked around for a few minutes, found some flowers that were still blooming, then drove back into town.
My husband wanted the kitchen for long enough to make a few day’s worth of breakfast burritos, so I went for a walk. Once he was finished with the kitchen, I needed some time to make a few batches of soap.
My usual walk around the neighborhood proved that Fall really is here. Crab Apples were ripening on the trees, and the sidewalks were already covered in fruit that the wind had knocked down.
As I drove into the park on Saturday morning, my eyes immediately picked out a caterpillar before I’d even pulled into my parking spot. I didn’t know what kind it was until I got out of my car and took a closer look.
This small green caterpillar belongs to the Two-tailed Swallowtail Butterfly, a gorgeous yellow and black butterfly that’s common to the Western United States.
Before I left the office on Saturday, I tried to keep an eye on a Monarch chrysalis that looked like a butterfly was ready to emerge.
I missed it again! During the time that it took to walk into the office, drop off a few things and leave, the butterfly emerged and was resting on the milkweed before it could fly away.
If you look closely at the photo, you can see the empty chrysalis just to the left of the adult Monarch butterfly. There is also a newly-formed green chrysalis on the left side of the photo. I will have at least one more chance to see a butterfly emerge this year. Wish me luck!
On Sunday, I was able to help out at another local park during a special event. Once my shift was over and we were packing up for the day, I walked over to the flower bed for some pictures.
I remembered Barb Dalton’s recent Photo-a-Day story that included her picture of “dead-looking” flowers, so I took my own, intending to highlight the fact that Fall has finally arrived. I might not like admitting that this summer really is over, but I can’t deny it either.
This was my week in photographs! Dennett started this Photo-a-Day Challenge during the summer of 2020, and since then, many others have joined, including Anne Bonfert, Erika Burkhalter, Susan Alison, Barb Dalton, Penny Grubb, K. Barrett, Sandra B, Jane Frost (Jane Grows Garden Rooms), Jillian Amatt - Artistic Voyages, and more!