ITIWBS

Th 9 May 2013

Found one of the local wild orchids in the garden today, a rather nondescript mass of small (5/64" dia. x 1/2" long) florets that at its best somewhat resembles a magnolia cone.

This one is unusual in that its flowers are white, while usually the flowers are a complex mixture of brown red and violet streaks.

I've created a special area for it and will be nursing it along.




My first Tigridia flowered today.

Synopsis:

My brother and I have both got CPAP machines for obstructive sleep apnea, both observed that my Mom breathes very shallowly while sleeping and had agreed that we should get her checked out for sleep and breathing disorders with a view to getting her started on breathing support of her own.

Since I've got custody (she lives with me), I got the ball the rolling, got her scheduled for a sleep study, ran her through it, got the diagnostic work done, so finally, on the occasion of her most recent hospitalization, the Doctor was able to prescribe her a breathing machine on the basis of the sleep study, the diagnostic requirements of her insurance carrier having been met.

Results remarkably good.

She's much more lucid, has much more energy, is spending time on things like basic grooming tasks she'd been neglecting, is willing to go out for an occasional recreational outing.

Results not 100%, she does still have occasional manifestations of dementia, especially if she's been having trouble using the breathing machine (particularly, she's having trouble keeping the cannula nose piece in place while she's sleeping, on which account we're going to get her a breathing mask she can use during sleep.)

It takes about 6 months to a year before improvements begin to stabilize.

...its always darkest just before the groaning timbers over head give way and the roof of the drift caves in, leaving one tons of rubble and debris to tunnel out through, presuming one has room enough to pack the tailings behind as one moves...



Always gives me a lift looking in on h2g2.

The weather just shifted abruptly from moderately chill to decidedly warm, temperatures in the 90sF/32-38C range the past four days.

Hyacinths and tigridia putting up shoots, also the only daffodil in the garden.

Seeds beginning to germinate, pan evaporation rate extremely rapid, so keeping them watered adequately is becoming a struggle.

Tuna cactus has put out somewhat in excess of 150 flower buds and will probably set fruit on nearly all of them.

The opuntia basilaria cactus, showiest flower in my garden, is beginning to flower in profusion.

I've got an albino avocado seedling and I'm seriously considering budding or grafting it onto another plant to try saving it.

Stars visible at a glance tonight down to the 6th magnitude.




Mom had a tremendous upset earlier this week, I had a sore throat and a mild fever last week, and a routine medical exam Monday which had been scheduled 4 months ago.

However, the pattern matched two emergency hospitalizations I had the first week of August and mid September last when I was held 4 days with the first and 6 days with the second over urosepsis and endocrine storm problems both hospitalizations, rooted in type II diabetes but with thyroid and adrenal complications.

Mom has had two recent emergency hospitalizations of her own, Dec and Jan, and went into a blind panic thinking she was going to be left alone for a protracted time this time, though it was only a routine medical exam.

Harvested my first tomatoes yesterday.

Found that wrapping them in a white plastic bag helps to keeps the (voracious) pest birds from eating them.

It should also accelerate ripening, by slowing rate of loss of the fruit's ethylene.

The worms got one before I started wrapping them.