Results of the rains

Friday June 8 and Saturday June 9, 2012
Oscar Scherer State Park Site 89
Osprey, Florida

FRIDAY

 

 

HOO-RAY!!!!!
It is NOT raining when I wake up.  I can’t believe it.   I look outside and it’s true.  I look at the river out my window as I always do  The river is definitely rising.  The stump I sometimes rest my feet on is under water.  My little “beach” has shrunk.

 

 

 

 

Notice the cypress tree off to the right in all these pictures.

I have lots of shots of this tree in earlier blogs and of me sitting between the two stumps, one of which is now under water.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I go out to get a closer look.  These guys are playing right up next to the shore.   Who are they?   I’m so happy to see the sun I take a picture of my shadow just to prove that it is actually sunny as if the difficulty of taking these pictures isn’t proof enough.

 

But I can’t stay and marvel at this change, the heat is coming on and I must get running or face the consequences.  David goes for a walk, has his breakfast and gets ready to go to Brandon to get his last velcade shot before the transplant.  He has to be off all chemo drugs for a month before he can have it.  Sure hope his M-spike doesn’t double back on him in that time.

 

 

He takes his last dexamethazone and feels good enough to drive himself.  I make him some lunch to take along since following that appointment at 11:30 he has a 1:30 appointment with a dentist recommended by his hematologist.  I am trying to make sure he eats about every two hours or so to attempt to keep him from losing any more weight.  A dental clearance letter is required before the transplant.  The dentist is just down the street from his hematologist’s office,  but all this will take several hours plus driving time.

 

I enjoy my alone time reading and watching the river flow swiftly by.  A new view for me.  I really don’t do anything else for hours.  I love it.

 

 

When he gets back we have just enough time before they close to drive over to the Lithia Post Office and pick up a book we ordered written by Pat Killingsworth entitled Stem Cell Transplants: From a Patient’s Perspective.  It is the only book I know that takes you completely through the whole process from beginning to end in terms anyone can understand.  Pat has myeloma and knows first hand what the treatment process and transplant is like.  So if there is anyone, family or friends,  who wants to know what David will be going through you can get a copy of it here.   It’s an easy to read down to earth look at a harrowing process few people know anything about.  Pat’s story is powerful and the work he is now doing is an amazing transformation of his life.

 

I make a wild rice casserole for dinner and afterwards I begin reading the new book aloud while David does the dishes.   We are taking a break from Shadow Country even though we are less than 200 pages from the end of this 900 page book.  Pat’s book is an easy read and we want to have it read far in advance of all transplant appointments in case it provokes questions we want to ask. 

 

When the rains begin again around 7pm we realize that we have just had nearly an entire day, sun up to sun down without rain.  The first in a week.  Hope this is a new “Trend”. 

 

Saturday

 

 

I wake before sunrise and enjoy the sound of no rain.  Just birds and frogs. WOW!   I look out the window and and HOLY COW!   The place I sit and write and read and ponder on the mornings I am not running is gone.  It’s under water.  The water has risen over two feet.  A way bigger change from when I woke up yesterday. I can hardly wait to get outside and have a closer look.  Remember this tree yesterday???

 

 

 

And then I hear BOINGGGGGG.   I recognize that sound and sure enough when I go out to investigate one of the jack springs has broken.  You HAVE to be kidding?  Doesn’t the universe have any sympathy at all?  

We have the roof, the check engine light, the tires, the continuing insurance/paint problem at the farm, not to mention this small medical issue.

 

 

 

But before this day turns into another day of “business”, we go out for a walk to see what else has gone crazy over night.  We find this spring is not broken but it is closed.  The river has backed up into the spring and they close it when it does that.  Not sure why since this is the deepest I’ve ever seen the spring.  It would be great swimming.  I wouldn’t mind swimming in river/spring water.  I hope it’s not because of some contamination in the river water.   That sort of thing really depresses me.  Why do we tolerate such things??

 

Big change, there is no beach to spread out your blanket or put up your chairs.  The water goes all the way up to the “sea wall” on the back side.  The steps now take you right into the water.  Before the rains there was a good 10 feet of beach

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We walk on along the spring run.  Only one bird out. He’s sitting just outside the life guard hut preening and keeping a close eye on things.

 

 

 

 

 

At the natural secondary spring we find flowers in bloom and the depth level has risen 4 feet.  It’s now 10’ deep.   So many things have changed.

 

 

 

On our way back to Winnona we take the trail from the boat ramp to our site and find the water up over the bottom step and the entry ledge at the dock.

But things are even greener if that’s possible.

 

 

Love those knees!

 

 

From the path we can see that the river is definitely up and looking wide and deep.

 

But now we have to face the music and this nice non rainy day turns into multiple phone calls to find springs and a HURRY UP trip to get to Lazy Days to buy them before they close on this Saturday morning.   Thank goodness they had them at all.

 

Quick breakfast and off we go.  35 minutes later we are there and we buy two sets of pairs.  This won’t catch us unprepared again.  

 

 

Since we are out driving around in the car AGAIN (one of my fav things to do as you know), we decide just to go on over to Whole Foods and drop some big bucks on organic food.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Going to Whole Foods with David is like going to a toy store with a kid.  He’s “supposed” to help you shop.

He’ll grin and say things like “what can I go get”?   You tell him a few things from the list and off he goes.  And then you don’t see him for another 20 minutes.   He’s sampling.  Looking for things he didn’t know the food creators had created.  That he didn’t know the buyers had bought.  That he’s never seen or tasted…..and on and on……the reasons for disappearance are endless.   A trip to the grocery could take 3 hours if it weren’t for the fact that I actually focus on getting the things on the list we’ve come with and hope I can find him when it’s time to check out.  J

 

 

Anyone in their right mind who is retired from work and not forced to grocery shop on a Saturday knows better than to do that.  BUT if you are camping 27 miles away from that store and are forced into going somewhere about half way in that direction, you take your chances.   So when the lines were formed at every check out counter, we just relaxed and people watched.

 

Since we are leaving the area tomorrow,  and I’ve been such a good girl to do the buying while David shopped,  we stop on the way back at Campbell’s Dairyland where I treat myself to one scoop of German Chocolate Cake ice cream on a cone.  Yes I know, it was only two days ago that I had that Reece’s Sundae.  I really do have to stop doing this.  The more I eat the worse the craving becomes.  Roz is exactly right.  Hi, my name is Sherry and I’m a icecreamoholic.

 

Again today it doesn’t rain until later in the evening and then only for a short time.  I’m beginning to take heart that Florida is going to go back to its “normal” ways of afternoon showers during the summer “rainy season”. 

 

I’m sorry we have to leave tomorrow.  Now that the river is so far up, I was really looking forward to watching it flow and to seeing how it is different when it is high.  I suspect the kayakers and canoers will be out tomorrow.  I know I would be if we didn’t have to move.   But this will be our last “vacation” and I’ve been checking the weather to see where the heat and rain are going to be.  The beach looks like the best bet for the least of either so we’ll head down there and cross our fingers.