Pond in the Snow

Orkney Springs, VA

This is a spring-fed pond, frozen with a coating of snow.

Benny acts weird, so we go to the vet

Ben C. Spaniel had been cranky and suffered from a digestive problem off and on since our return from California. Sunday night he tried to bite me when I too off his leash (!), so I made an appointment with his vet, and yesterday we took him in to see Dr. Beach.

Her examination revealed that Ben had an overgrowth of "bad" bacteria in his gut which had caused him diarrhea and pain. We left with three medications, one to kill the bad bacteria, one for inflammation, and one to replenish good bacteria. I started the first two medicines yesterday, and by this morning he was already feeling better. I can't say that he's back to his pleasant self, because he's not a particularly sweet dog, but at least he's not trying to bite and has stopped whining to go outside every few hours.

More Shabby than Chic

It's been cold here, often close to zero, and the casement window in the kitchen was noticeably cold. I hate to obscure the view, but a cold draft is unpleasant so we discussed putting up curtains for the remainder of the winter.

I stopped in Wal-Mart yesterday after we went to the veterinarian next door. I bought a couple of little tension rods for the kitchen windows but did not see curtains that I liked in anything near the right sizes. So I picked up some clip-on cafe' rings, figuring I might have something at home that would do for temporary curtains.

Sure enough, I found some pillow cases that the previous owners had left (the house was sold to us fully furnished). I clipped the rings onto the ends and presto - instant curtains! They're a wee bit faded but I kinda like them.

A Couple of Blog Directories

You can submit your blog to directories such as LS Blogs and GetBlogs.com Blog Directory /

Pileated Woodpecker

I hung a suet feeder in the yard and it's turned out to be popular with woodpeckers. Our largest woodpecker here is the pileated woodpecker, over a foot long with a handsome red crest.

Below you see one hanging onto the suet feeder, no doubt eating some yummy morsels.

Frank's site

I made some minor changes to Walcroft.com, mainly to reflect his current association with Creekside Realty in Basye. I'm sure he has some additional changes, and maybe we should change the picture to one with a beard. He has had a beard ever since we moved out to the mountains.

Guppy has a new coat

I got my dog a new coat. He doesn't like putting his paws through a sweater so I found a coat that fastens around him with Velcro. The only color Petco had in his size was blaze orange around the back. But I think he looks handsome, and he seems rather proud of it.

B-R-R-R-R

The weather's been frigid and tonight there's a wind chill advisory: AN ARCTIC AIRMASS WILL PROVIDE WIND CHILL VALUES OF 5 TO 10 BELOW ZERO LATE TONIGHT AND MONDAY MORNING.

This cold spell has been good for Bryce Resort because it brings out the skiers. Personally I long for warmer days... if it would just stay over 30 F I'd be satisfied.

Tufted titmice

The tufted titmouse is a bird, not a mouse.

Follow-up with the eye-doctor

This week I went back to the ophthalmologist for a check-up on the floaters that I mentioned before. Upon examination Dr. Viti could see that I still have floaters although they haven't bothered me in months. I also have adie's syndrome (basically an enlarged pupil) and I asked him if it could spread to the other eye, which I had read about on a website. He said that this was unlikely at my age, since Adie's is most likely to show up in a person's 30's or 40's. (However, I was in my 50's.)
If you look carefully you can see that my left pupil (to your right, of course) is larger than the other one. It stays large until I use prescription eye drops. I've written about adie's pupil before. If you think you might have this condition, see a doctor or ophthalmologist right way because an enlarged pupil can be a symptom of more serious conditions.

Marie is working in Egypt

My daughter Marie is now in Cairo. Check out her blog.

A California Squirrel

We saw lots of squirrels in California. This fellow is right in the middle of a palm tree.

See our other photos taken at Huntington Gardens.

Squirrel Staring

Black, green and red tea blues

Shortly before our trip I had a cold and it made my chronic cough worse. I always figured the cough was due to allergy, since I have so many allergies and dust and mold are impossible to avoid. The cough sounded pretty bad while we were in California, and my husband said I needed to see a doctor and get a chest x-ray. What, for an allergy?

Hoping to avoid the hassle of an x-ray, I looked for a local allergist who might do extensive allergy testing. While researching allergists online, I recalled my previous allergy tests and all the things I was supposed to avoid. The last time I had extensive testing, I was looking for the cause of a cough. Oh, now I remember! The tests showed I was allergic to black tea and black pepper, in addition to all the allergens previously uncovered. And I gave up black tea and pepper (mostly - it is very difficult to avoid pepper in restaurant food). But I experimented with green tea and found two brands that I seemed to tolerate. They were decaffeinated since I am supposed to avoid caffeine.

But maybe green tea is part of the problem. And probably chocolate is part of the problem too - a little chocolate often sets off a coughing spell. So I decided to give up green tea and chocolate for a while. But I miss it especially since the weather is cold and tea and cocoa are warming and comforting. I can drink a little decaf but more than a cup gives me heartburn.

The cough improved. I decided the try rooibos (red bush) tea which is from a completely different plan than black and green teas. I bought some in Winchester and was looking forward to a nice hot cup. Well, just a couple of swallows set off a violent cough. I coughed and coughed until I threw up. My throat fell like it might be swelling so I took some liquid Bendryl. Within a few minutes I started feeling better.

I've been off tea for six days now and my cough is definitely much better. But it's not entirely gone. I may still have to go to a doctor. We shall see.

P.S. I just had a hunch - I've had reactions to fluoride before and black tea is high in fluoride. So I just looked up "fluoride in rooibos tea" and sure enough: Rooibos contains the minerals, copper, iron and potassium, calcium, fluoride, zinc, manganese, and magnesium. Well, whether or not that's the problem, I won't be drinking rooibos tea again.

Joseph Mercola writes about fluoride at high concentrations in tea and points out the risks of consuming too much fluoride, including hypothyroidism.

Benny got a haircut!

The kennel (7 Bends) where we left our dogs is associated with a pet grooming salon in the same building. Our cocker spaniel does not behave with groomers but I asked them to give him a try while we were away. As you can see, they succeeded and he looks handsome (although slightly chubby).

He was somewhat traumatized though, and did not want anyone to pet him for a couple of days. He also whimpered quite a bit, which is unusual for him. Now he seems to be okay though.

The trip home

Our flight home from California was uneventful. Security did not hassle me about my little cans of tuna and salmon, probably because I cooperatively placed them in a zip-lock bag and left them out for inspection. My husband did not fare so well. He had placed some tiny bottles of toiletries in his carry-on bag instead of his checked luggage, and they were confiscated because he failed to put them in a zip-lock bag. Ah, the joys of flying...

I do recommend flying Jetblue into Long Beach when you go to LA. The price was good and Long Beach Airport is small so you don't have to walk far. It was built around 1929 and it feels historic.

The flight had satellite TV and I wound up watching La Bamba, the Richie Valens film. Perhaps it wasn't the wisest choice for inflight entertainment - it begins and ends with a plane crash! But you don't see the one at the end, you see his brother's shocked reaction to the news on the radio.

I thought the actors who played Richie's brother and mother gave strong performances. Unfortunately the headphones that the airline provides are pretty awful so the music was pretty much ruined. Still, it was a diversion for a long flight.

Max shares his sofa

Thanks, Max.

Two more Pt. Vicente Photos

Along the cliffs in Palos Verdes you see these signs:

Dangerous Condition
Do Not Climb On
Or Over Railing
Don't Even Think About It!

I took this lighthouse picture at sunset but the colors weren't quite like this. For some reason the colors shifted in my digital camera. Special effects is the photographic term for such errors, right?

Point Vicente Lighthouse

The Point Vicente Lighthouse is near Wayfarer's Chapel in Palos Verdes. The lighthouse itself is fenced off but the nearby visitors' center is open.

You can see why a lighthouse was needed to keep ships from wrecking on the rocks. The light still operates.

Frank decided to stay until sunset so we had time to take a lot of pictures. The lighthouse is very photogenic and I've had trouble deciding which pictures to show or not show. Please excuse the multiple views... better still, let me know your favorite.

The sound of the surf...

...and what's that other sound?

I've signed up for YouTube so I can post little videos like Susan and Doug do. Frank's camera shoots short videos (sometimes when you don't mean to; you just press the wrong button).

This shows the waves coming in belong the cliffs at Point Vicente. It's nothing without the sound though.

To start, just press the triangle/arrow.