Awake during the 3am worry hour this morning, I finally gave
up on sleep so was up well before sunrise. I went for a walk out the driveway,
mist rising off the field, a few remaining fireflies sparkling in the grass, a
couple of deer bounding away, and a couple of stray cats. Cardinals, blue jays,
and orioles singing. It is beautiful here.
I am back at Chippewa Pines while my dad recovers. He fell
in the bathtub and was there for eight, yes, eight days before being found. One
of the neighbors had tried to visit him two days in a row and couldn’t rouse
him, so called me. Police and ambulance ensued. Miraculously, no broken bones,
but he spent 5 days in the hospital and now is in rehab for an indeterminate
amount of time. Lots of colorful bruises and scrapes, and he is very weak, but
mentally still fine. He's now able to get around a bit with his walker but still can't get up and down on his own.
Doesn’t he have one of those life alert buttons? Yes, but
won’t wear it. Doesn’t he have a walk-in tub? Yes, but won’t use it. I suspect
both of those things will change now. At least I hope so.
It’s been so rainy that the hay fields here haven’t been
mowed yet, and they are full of wildflowers. The tall grass is just beginning to
turn golden-brown. I almost hate for the hay guy to come to mow.
When I got here the lawn was all overgrown into foot-high
weeds. Dad’s got probably close to an acre of lawn so of course there’s a
riding mower. (When we first moved here,almost 50 years ago, before we had a
riding mower, mom, dad and I used to take turns at the mowing, a couple of
loops each around the lawn.) Anyway, I got it about half mowed, did a tight
turn, and suddenly the dang mower won’t move anymore. Still runs fine, just
won’t move. Seems like something needs repair every time I’m here.
The late night that I got here, as soon as I walked in I
could hear loud mewling from the side porch. Two or possibly three brand new
kittens in the pet carrier that I have now christened the birthing house, as
this is the second batch that’s appeared there this year. Surely they must have
just been born that day, small as mice and still wet looking. After I went to
bed I heard the mother moving them, and haven’t seen them since. Not even sure
which cat is the mom. Pretty sure it’s got to be either Fluffy or Buffy, as
they are the only outside cats that are tame enough to come up on the porch.
But there are at least 2 other cats hanging around outside, and of course we’ve
got the three mostly-indoor residents Snoopy, Princess, and Tiger. They are all
very affectionate to my dad. But with me here, only Snoopy is friendly.
Princess is indifferent, and Tiger is fearful. I think Princess is really mourning for missing my dad, as she spends all of her time just lying at the foot of his bed.
Weather here has been perfect for the past few days, sunny, 75, humidity at a reasonable level. After riding the very pleasant 30 mile round trip out to see my dad, I spent yesterday afternoon napping in the hammock by the river.
