Back to the Urban Oasis
In total, I ended up spending four days cutting sprouts out of places they shouldn't be and replacing terrace tile risers to the places that they should be. Along the way, I saw five eagles fighting for dinner over a deer carcass resting in one of the fields. It was a long ways from this field where there is a world class eagle nest up at the top that probably weights hundreds of pounds in construction material. It's been a few years since I've been around during eaglet raising time to see if it is still being used but I'm guessing the answer is yes.
It was nice to see all the corners of the farm again and not once, was I ever bored. Quitting time just seemed to arrive way to early every day. I understand why farmers never leave the land, at least short of a body bag. I nearly got caught myself while looking for a wayward tile riser in tall canary grass. I somehow snagged either my pants or shoelaces on a hidden fence post and spent what felt like 2 minutes frantically jerking my leg like a dog trying to scratch his ear as I slowly fell over the post and hit the ground hard on the other side. I have a pretty good contusion and swelling on that leg now but nothing broken but my pride. As mom would say, the wound is a long way from my heart.
Glad you weren't hurt in your fall. That's a funny expression from your mom. That eagle nest looks very tidy, so, like you, I suspect it is still in use.
ReplyDeleteIt was her was of reassuring me that I wasn't going to die and to get on with life.
DeleteI like your mom's saying. There is something very satisfying about working the land. I get a small dose of it working in my yard.
ReplyDeleteA yard has the advantage of being much nearer and more accessible!
DeleteI've taken a few spills on my morning walks and I'm reaching a point in life where I know that could spell disaster. My initial reaction was to quickly look around for dogs/cows while in such a vulnerable position!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad it wasn't too serious for you. It'll all heal, including your pride. ;)
Something like four years ago I slipped and fell down break three ribs in the process. That was the first thing that popped into my mind this time.
DeleteThat was a close one! You had angels watching over you to soften the blow. It would be neat to see inside the nest - maybe with a drone?
ReplyDeleteI was thinking an eagle camera but it would take someone much braver than I to install it!
DeleteI like your mom's saying--a way to reduce the tension about a non-life threatening injury.
ReplyDeleteI hated it as a kid but find myself saying the same thing to my children!
DeleteGosh, Ed, it's fortunate your fall wasn't worse. I hope you're healing quickly! Really nice about spotting the eagles, though. And the nest. There's something about birds' nests that is absolutely fascinating, as in, how do they get them to hold together without nails and glue!
ReplyDeleteI fought four days of swelling and infection but it is starting to itch and scab over now so I'm heading in the right direction. Unfortunately it is on the thin skinned area of my shin which always heals slowly so I will probably have signs of it until the wee days of spring. But it is pants season again so my timing was good.
DeleteDr Schulze (herbdoc.com) has an anti-infection formula that really works. It has garlic, cayenne and other healing herbs and it stings like the dickens when applied but kills off the bacteria immediately. I have used it on my kids (screaming for a few seconds) and myself and it stops and seals the open cuts and wounds which never get infected.
DeleteWhile in high school soccer, my daughter did a slide tackle on a dirt field which resulted in deep skin abrasions on her thigh all the way up to her lower hip. The trainer put lidocaine and light gauze on it and had her reapply over the next days. After a week of suffering and puss, my son told her to put anti-infection on it because it wasn't healing - just getting worse. She was in extreme pain as the gauze was removed and the layer of puss was wiped away. I put a spray top on the bottle (very very small bottle) and sprayed the area, needing 2 people to hold her leg down as she screamed. Almost immediately, the wound started to heal. The outer edges lost their raw-ness and the pussing stopped. A layer of scabbing took over and within a week, all infection was gone and she could go back to playing again.
Now that I have a grandson, I apply it to his little wounds as he shakes with the initial pain. But he understands that the pain will soon subside and the cut will soon be fine. When it is needed on other adults, he pats them and tells them not to be scared.
Sounds like a safer version of the stuff that my mom used to apply on me that was a kid. It turned my skin yellow and stung really bad for awhile. I think it has long fallen out of favor with today's modern antibiotics.
DeleteHoo boy. Sounds like mercurochrome or merthiolate. We used to hide injuries from our mother because she'd immediately head for the medicine cabinet and her 'magic' bottle. I swear that sometimes that stuff hurt worse than the injury itself.
DeleteI wasn’t sure which of those stung or both but it definitely was one off them. We did the same hiding of wounds as well.
DeleteThat's quite a nest and a bad enough tumble.
ReplyDeleteGood thing I don't live in your house. Sue and I would be a rough looking pair! Might give your neighbors the wrong impression of you!
DeleteMy father-in-law is a farmer and that is most likely how he is going out. Still at it at the age of 76 and showing no signs of slowing down. Glad your accident wasn't too bad. Take care and I thought I would let you know about Kyle's cross country season since you asked about it on my last update. He finished up all of the sanctioned high school cross country races around mid-October. This was an invitational put on by Nike that allowed him train for a few more weeks.
ReplyDeleteThat makes sense! Around here, farmers only left the farm in a wooden coffin until recent years. Now they aren’t actively doing day to day operations but still running things until the wooden coffin. Progress!
DeleteGood thing you were only wounded a little. I was thinking "Yellowstone" where the lady deputy falls off a horse and is impaled by a fence post.
ReplyDeleteFortunately, this fence post had been run over and was horizontal to the ground!
DeleteOh yikes! OUCH! I hope you heal quickly. The nest is several hundred pounds? That is a surprise. I guess the deer died of old age. I'm trying to imagine what kind of predators a deer would have in your area.
ReplyDeleteI think some archery seasons are open now so it could have been a lost opportunity. We do have coyotes here but I don’t think they can drag down a full sized healthy deer.
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