Tuesday, June 16th, found us halfway through our third month in the volunteer position in White, GA. That day I also went in for my third and final knee injection. I had some swelling in my right knee, so this time the injection REALLY hurt in that knee. I was limping out of the facility in pain, but by the time I was halfway back to the campsite it had eased up. Now we wait 4-6 weeks and if I get significant reduction or (hopefully) elimination of the arthritic pain, I am good to go until it returns. That is typically anywhere from 6 to 12 months. If I don’t get any relief, then I have to return to see what steps would have to be taken next.
We’re Expecting!
No, not THAT kind of expecting, lol!
I don’t think I’ve mentioned it before, but there is a Bluebird nesting box a short distance from our site. There is a volunteer who comes by every couple of weeks with a camera lens on a wire (like a spy cam) that she sticks into the box to monitor eggs, births, etc. Cindy wants that job in the worst way, lol! Today the volunteer came by, saw that the nest was empty, and removed it to encourage the Bluebirds to build a new one. Seems counter-intuitive to me, but I’m not an avian expert.
Anyway, we mentioned the nest that the Carolina Wrens had built in the hanging Fuscia plant, so she came over and stuck her spy cam inside the nest while mama wren was gone and observed 3 eggs inside.
I can’t believe we’re having triplets at our age!
Goodbye Smith
Ever since we got here there’s been a lady, maybe our age or a little older, who has been bringing her aged golden retriever named “Smith” here to walk him around the parking lot and lakeshore twice a week or so. Cindy and I grew attached to him immediately because…well, Bella of course. Smith is 16, so older than Bella was, and he was obviously having trouble walking and getting around even when we first met him. We would always give him treats when he came and he was such a good boy, scarfing them down and wagging his tail while smiling as we petted him and gave him love. During the 2 1/2 months we’ve been here we could see him declining more and more with each visit.
Today she came and told us she was taking him to the vet later in the day to end his suffering and pain. Oh, we know so well the heartbreak of what she had to do for him to leave this life in dignity. We gave him extra treats and spent as much time as we could loving on him, petting him and trying to make his last visit with us special. And we were so thankful to her for bringing him by one last time so we could say goodbye. She thanked us over and over for always welcoming him and treating him so kindly. But how could we do otherwise? Bella would not have been happy with us if we hadn’t given her cousin the same kind of love we shared with her.
Sorry, got something in my eye…
The Truth Is Out There
Later that same day we went to see Disclosure Day. We both really liked it. I see lots of reviews panning it but it was emotionally impactful for us, especially the last 20 minutes or so. There were a lot of the same Spielberg elements that you’re used to seeing in this kind of movie (Close Encounters of the Third Kind and E.T., for example) but top-notch performances by all. Yes, there were a couple of “Where’d THAT come from?” moments, but I think those were probably the result of editing to try and keep the run-time in the range they wanted.
Anyway, it was a nice “date” for us that we haven’t had in a while, so I’m sure that added to our enjoyment.
Happy Juneteenth on this Friday, June 19th. More lab tests for yours truly that morning. Afterward we grabbed breakfast out, Cindy got some things she needed from Michael’s and we went grocery shopping before heading back to the site.
I have noticed that my knees are not killing me when I get up in the mornings lately, but I still have pain that increases the longer I am on them during the day. Hoping that stops happening sooner rather than later.
Saturday was a busy, busy day. Grateful to Cindy for helping so much. I say that because this was my idea, not hers. We both worked our butts off and were both exhausted at the end of the day.
Sunday was a Happy Father’s Day. Enjoyed remembering my dad and maternal grandfather (never knew my paternal grandfather) and the positive influences they had on me. And thankful for the wonderful messages, gifts, texts and calls of love from my children and grandchildren.
Monday we enjoyed a nothing day of relaxing and recuperating. That night we watched John Oliver’s Last Week Tonight piece on Feral Hogs aka Wild Boar. We saw some of those back in November of 2021 in Floral CIty, Florida near the Withlacoochee River when we first started RV’ing. They are a little frightening to see in action and leave a trail of destruction in their wake. That was before we started this blog, so I have no link to share, but here is what I wrote for our Facebook post:
Our Wild Boar Encounter
As we pulled past the gates of the RV park around 8pm, our headlights picked up a wild boar hustling across the road. It wasn’t moving REAL fast, but we were so stunned that neither of us could grab our phone in time to take a photo before it disappeared into the woods on the side of the driveway. I had seen evidence of pigs rooting in the ground as Bella and I had walked around the park area the week I was “batching” it, but this was the first time I, or Cindy, had actually seen a wild boar in the flesh.
Florida is one of four states (along with California, Oklahoma and Texas) with the highest population of wild boars. They like wetlands areas (like the area we are currently in) and in addition to destroying plant life and tree roots, carry several diseases that could affect other animals and humans.
A couple of days later we saw that park management had set up a trap/cage in a section where we had seen extensive rooting by the critter(s). As of yesterday morning, none had been captured.
And we never saw any trapped by the time we left.
You’re Kidneying Me!
Wednesday morning, June 24th, I had a follow up appointment with my nephrologist after all those labs several days earlier. Happy to hear there was some improvement; some good numbers went up and some bad numbers went down. Waiting on the genetic test results to rule out hereditary causes, but it’s a 90-95% chance mine are because of my health issues, as I mentioned in the previous post. He also wants to do an MRI of my kidneys, as a sonogram showed a couple of small cysts or lesions in or on the left kidney.
I’m still deciding about that recommendation.
It’s Always Something
Thursday was a tasks/errands day. First, I drove into town to refill our empty propane tank. Ever since we bought Nomad I have liked having the convenience of two propane tanks onboard so that when one runs out I can immediately switch to the full one and take the empty one to get refilled. I always try to refill the empty one within a day or two of it running out so I don’t get other things on my mind and forget.
Also did our monthly tasks around Nomad, albeit a little later in the month due to my knee pain. But I’m happy to note that the past day or so (8 days since my last injection) that I’m experiencing perhaps another 10-15% decrease in my pain level. That makes a 40% decrease since my second injection. I still have pain when walking, sitting, or standing, and if I’m on my legs for a long period of time, but at least I no longer have just this constant pain in my knees like I did before. This makes me hopeful that the technician’s mantra of “Just trust the process” and her prediction that I would be in good shape 4- 6 weeks after the third and final injection will be true.
But I had to do some crawling under the slide-out to lube the rails, and be up on the ladder clearing leaves off the top of the slide-out, and cleaning/lubing the sliding window tracks, so my knees were not happy with me for the rest of the day.
We Have Babies – Birds, That Is
We’ve been seeing mama and daddy wren bringing worms to the nest the past day or two. Trying to decide if we should have a gender-reveal party.
I’m up to episode 5 in the first season of Star Trek: The Animated Series. It’s OK, but definitely not great. Having doubts I will finish the series, but it’s only 2 seasons so maybe I’ll push through it anyway.
Friday I started watching Con Man with Alan Tudyk at the suggestion of my friend Kirk. It’s a different humor show with appearences by lots of people you love such as Leslie Jordan (RIP), Felicia Day, Nathan Fillion, Tricia Helfer, Lou Ferrigno, Sean Astin, Wil Wheaton and others.
Saturday was, as usual, a VERY busy day at the ramp. Cindy does her best to keep me from having to walk a great deal, but even with her assistance there are times it just can’t be helped. Another night of early to bed because we have to rise early on Sunday.
Sunday was thankfully NOT as busy as usual. We were wondering if the heat dome had anything to do with it. Air temperatures of 93 or so but the heat index was in the 100’s. Anyway, we were both glad not to have to be out in the lot directing traffic under the brutal sun all day. We just roasted in the screen room instead, lol!
Star Trek and Comic Books
That night I started reading the second volume of The Fifty-Year Mission: The Next 25 Years. This two-volume dead tree set was a great gift from Cindy, as all of hers are, lol! So, of course, I am enjoying it immensely. A lot of behind the scenes information and input from folks involved in the grand myth of Star Trek.
Monday, June 29th, is, according to the DC Comics’ official calendar, the day that Superman’s pet dog Krypto arrived on Earth, so I wrote a little about it over on my personal blog.
During the day I got a photo of one of the new wren-babies in the nest with its mouth open begging for another worm.
That night we watched John Oliver’s Last Week Tonight with a good show about gerrymandering. I’ve never liked it and wish they could come up with some independent committee to draw districts, but I guess someone would always find a way to manipulate such a body to their own ends. Kind of like how the Supreme Court has evolved.
I finished Con Man. Unfortunately, it left Prime Video on June 30th so you can no longer see it there. But maybe some other streaming service will pick it up. It was a fun show, better than I first expected it to be. All the episodes are 10-15 minutes in length, so the two seasons go by quickly.
Rocky Raccoon
On Tuesday, around midday, Cindy heard the chicken making a racket and opened the door to see what was going on. She didn’t see the chicken but she did see a raccoon at the edge of the woods that was startled away when she opened the door. She was worried that “Rocky” got the chicken (she looked it up and found that raccoons attack chickens, rip their heads off and really like to eat the crop or comb) and I was worried that the raccoon might be rabid (we’ve seen raccoons in other locations during the day, but they’re normally a nocturnal adventurer). However she said it wasn’t aggressive and ran when she opened the door, so it was probably not.
Fortunately, a few minutes later she looked on the other side of our site and saw chicken hunting and pecking on the ground, so she felt relieved.
And this post wraps up our third month in this volunteer position. Halfway through!