That tree cutting job I mentioned in the last blog turned out to be quite a bit more than I counted on. The top of a large bay had broken off and I wanted to cut down the remaining 18” diameter trunk. I have a wimpy chain saw but the tree was dead so I decided to give it a go. By the time I was finally able to topple it, I was worn out, totally soaked in sweat, and had somehow pulled a muscle in my thigh. I headed for the lake, stripped down and dove in – my body needed instant cooling and that’s about as instant as you can get. The thigh cramp eased a bit so I was able to swim around until my temp stabilized at somewhere near normal. The bad part popped up a few hours later. I must have gotten involved with some foliage that I’m allergic to or is generically poisonous. From my wrists to my elbows, both arms, I started itching. By the evening it was swollen and I was coating it with every anti itching salve we had and popping Benadryl. The only relief was rubbing it down with ice cubes. Miserable night…………. I’ve had this several times before and it usually involves a trip to the doc to get a Z-Pack of prednisone and a shot of something. I got this even though I was wearing a long sleeve shirt and gloves just for this reason. I woke up Sunday morning and my face and arms had fairly well swelled so that my left eye was closed and my right about half way. Off to the emergency room for a shot of something, a dose pack of prednisone and some other anti itch pills, all of which are supposed to me stronger than the off the shelf stuff I’d been using to no particular end. I should have learned by now just to head to an instant care place as soon as the symptoms show up. This always seems to happen on a weekend or holiday to maximize the inconvenience.
We’re really getting the Florida summer experience. That means a serious rain storm every afternoon. By serious I mean we get an inch of rain in about 5 minutes then it slows down to produce a total of 1.5 to 2.0 over the next hour. We’ve had 5” in the last 3 days bringing the lake up to the highest of the year. If memory serves, this is the highest it’s been in about 7 years and if the current trend continues, we could be looking at all time highs.
Had a great few days when the Yearta’s, Lindsay, Charles, and Grace, visited. It’s really fun to see how Charles and Lindsay’s careers are blossoming and Grace is changing from a toddler to a full grown kidling. We did all the usual lake things, swimming, kayaking, and enjoying a cheese and wine social hour on the dock where we solved the world’s most pressing problems. Now that Lindsay has her doctorate and Charles is well on his way toward his, we can make the conversations slightly more intellectual when discussing what bait is best for bream. Grace caught 38 by the way and was feeding the fish from her hand out of the kayak. The turkey family did it’s job by showing up a couple of times. Ditto rabbits. Luckily we all missed a mid afternoon bear show about 2:30 Tuesday afternoon on my neighbors property. Grace spent a good deal of her time sewing with Aunt Nancy, who was more than a little impressed with Grace’s ability to “fussy cut” material. Apparently that is usually not something little people pick up so soon. Hope we see them again before next Easter.
Joe's Blog 