Messages from Tom Cat - 2

[Earth Mother 2 Angels]

((((((Ralph)))))) ~

You will be in my thoughts tomorrow as you visit your GP. Please discuss the stomach/chest pains. You may need CT scans or cardio tests. My guess is that 40 years ago, doctors didn't hesitate to say that our symptoms were related to anxiety. Maybe they are, but if they are not, then we need testing to ensure that nothing is seriously wrong with us. Additionally, you are 40 years older, a Senior Citizen, and that is when things seem to start going South for most of us.

Another topic to address with your doctor is your medication. A review of your medication to determine whether there are any interactions between them, which would require dosage adjustment, could be enlightening.

I wish that you had someone to accompany you to your appointments. I also wish that you had someone, who checks in with you regularly to make sure that you are okay. As you did for Marty.

Thank you so much for your Mother's Day wishes. Sending prayers and healing, positive energy your way ~

Love & Light,

❤️❤️❤️❤️

Rose

[agate]

This is from Ralph, probably at 2: 30 AM today:

Hi Rose, Joan, and any of you that are up at this weird hour of the morning. This is starling bird time of day. They're the real early birds. I guess you could say they're as much night owls as early birds.. I need to get back to sleep, since my wake up biological clock will be going off at 5 AM. I do have a written-out form for my GP so I stay on tack when I see him in the morning. I am doing quite fine right now. Take care.

And this about 4 hours later:

Well, I'm getting ready to head out to the GP and the clinic, then the blood draw and the hemoglobin shot. And yes, Rose, a half century back or so they may have said what they didn't understand was anxiety. Or more likely "It's all in your head," eh?

Time to go. Take care.

[agate]

With a little sleuthing I've learned that Ralph's birthday was May 18. I asked him after noticing his Facebook page. So

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TOM CAT (RALPH)!

--if you're able to see this.

This is what he had to say about his birthday:

Yeah, I had a birthday on the 18th. I had a sandwich with Joe and wife at a local pub. That was about it. Got most of the main lawn around the house mowed and the paths through the prairies yesterday. The temperature was in the high 80's, but with a breeze, not bad. Trying to get more areas seeded in the prairie and maybe a small vegetable garden in. I'd like to get some snow peas in, and maybe some small onions. The wild and bulb flowers are finally starting to bloom.

I have one deer out there with a fawn. Only seen them once, but I'm sure they're around. Usually have 3 or 4 fawns each year. Have a pair of sandhill cranes in one field, but haven't seen any young birds yet. Have a red-headed woodpecker too. First I've seen on this property since we've been here.

Eyes are getting blurry, so need to take a break from writing. Take care.

[Virginia]

Ralph, a very happy belated birthday to you. I think having lunch with Joe and his wife might have at least broken up the day. Has anyone moved into Marty's house yet? It seems like it has been a long time. I know his sister was working on getting things in order and sometime with an estate that takes a lengthy period of time.

I don't know how you learned all the names of all these different critters that live on your property. I would not be able to remember all of them. However, I do know what a red-headed woodpecker is and I know that woodpeckers will eat your house until it falls down. So watch your friend from the wild. If you happen to hear anything up around your eves or around your house be sure to take a look to make sure everything is alright. I know you know all this better than I do, but it is just a friendly reminder.

I have been wondering how you are and how your health is. I hope you have been enjoying your Spring. Now it is summer and we will have to stay in out of the heat.

Take care,
Virginia

[agate]

Maybe it's time for a special plea here. Back in the day when this MS board had so many people with MS that we were almost stepping on one another's toes, there was strong sentiment in favor of reserving the board for people with diagnosed MS, people caring for people with MS and people with reasons for concern that they might have MS.

The picture has changed completely over time, and by now there are so few people here that we need all the friends we can get. How rare is it for someone who doesn't have MS to take a genuine interest in MS and in people who have it? In my experience it is very very rare. IMO we should treasure any and all friends here who are interested enough in us to come here and read and post. It takes time and energy that they could be spending doing something more enjoyable.

Tom Cat doesn't have MS but he spent decades helping his wife who did have MS, and he's still interested in us just because this board was one of Cat Dancer's favorite places to hang out. He hopes to become a registered member one of these days. COVID and his somewhat remote situation have slowed that process down.

Even if Cat Dancer wasn't your cup of tea, please give Tom Cat's posts a reading and feel free to reply if the spirit moves you. I transfer your posts over to him as Facebook messages (visible to no one but Tom Cat) and he replies with a Facebook message, and I transfer his words over here.

Reply from Tom Cat:

Hi Virginia! I'm not sure where you encountered woodpeckers, but they are mainly insect eaters. Only if you have wood or log siding that is infested with insects will they really destroy a house. Some do rap on siding, gutters, and downspouts to attract mates in early spring. Flickers do this in particular for a week or two, until they find a mate. Pileated woodpeckers will find an insect-infected tree and in removing the insects, may kill the tree. In most cases, the tree would die anyway. And they take chunks out that are the size of your little finger. They make cavities up to a foot deep, and 2 feet high for their nests. By removing insects, most woodpeckers do more good than harm. By all means you do want to get rid of them if they get into your attic. But until you get rid of the insects, they will be back.

Marty's sister Kay is still getting the house ready for sale. I think she has buyers already. They will be trying to sell it to someone who will want to maintain the prairie. Over half the property is in prairie.

Take care.

[Virginia]

Ralph, I didn't actually encounter any woodpeckers myself. I knew someone who said they were just pecking away at his house and he told me why he was worried about it. I am always astounded at how much you know about wildlife of all kinds. I don't know where you picked up so much knowledge, but I am sure just living on prairie lands would definitely cause you to have an interest in these things.

I hope whoever buys Marty's house and land will become a good friend to you. Since it will most likely be someone who loves the prairie, I think it is highly likely you will have a lot in common. I hope it will be someone who will check up on you now and then.

Virginia

[Virginia]

Agate, I agree we should try to keep Ralph engaged in our group. He has said in the past that we had kept him going and I am happy if we have helped in any way.

Thank you for doing all the transferring of both his and our post.

[agate]

From Tom Cat today:

It will be interesting to see who buys Marty's home. Kay (his sister) is here this week, taking care of the house and all the paper work that goes with it. I think she has someone in mind. I saw him last fall and went through the house and land with him . He's a member of the prairie group Ann and I belong to, as well as Marty did. He is all knowledgeable about the prairie plants. So I'm crossing my fingers.


I got my prairie planting area worked up yesterday and hope to get it in shortly. The lupines, different golden rods. and more are blooming right now now.

A cool, 50° morning, but should be warming up to the mid ,70's by noon. Sleeping better by last night and feeling pretty good this morning. I have a pair of ruby-throated hummingbirds now. I had a male around for about 3 weeks, and yesterday a female showed up. A few years back I had up to 5 hummingbirds, around all summer.
Just had my breakfast, and going to take a walk, before doing other things for the day. Take care.

[Ikoiko]

Hello to Tom Cat!

[Lazarus]

Hello Tomcat…
hard to believe but we are still farming. I just thought I would make yo jealous as we picked the first sugar snap peas yesterday. Although we have to search for them! When we were younger we would scour the field checking every plant to get the very few that were plump enough to pick…..just to be the first farmers at market with peas…. Now we will just wait until next week and pick when they are plentiful.

my husband is 85 now and every day is a struggle but the lives you and he are having are so rich and full!

[agate]

Deer in the back yard, about an hour ago.

Good morning! Bright out right now. Had a deer in the front and back of the house this morning, on a little corn I threw out. We're in the cool 50°s right now,but expect to hit the high 90°s in a couple of days. Still working on seeding a small 2 to 3,000 sq ft area in a prairie. Will be putting in a heavy seeding of mainly flowers. Still got about 60 bulb flowers to put in, in the front yard.

Just waking up. Take care.

This message is from Tom Cat (Monday). My apologies for the delay.

[Ikoiko]

Tell Tom Cat that we have plenty of deer in the suburbs of Washington, DC!

[Virginia]

We have a lot of deer around here too Ikoiko. It is hard to have a garden because they like to eat it.

Ralph, I hope you have enjoyed your spell of cooler weather. It has been in the 90s where I am and the last time I checked it was going to stay there or get a little hotter by the end of this week. I am having to stay in.

When was your last blood draw and were the results good? I just wish you had closer neighbors, and of course good ones.

Take care,
Virginia

[agate]

From Tom Cat today:

A storm came through about 4:30PM today. Up to 60 to 80mph wind gusts over about 45 min. Dropped 2 1/2 inches of rain. Got two 40 ft or so trees down across the drive, a few more off to the side.Will cut them up tomorrow, late morning. At least enough to get in and out. Not unusual getting this type of damage each year. Running an 18- inch commercial-type chain saw is all in a day's yard cleanup here. The 15-pound saw does get heavier every year. Especially when doing cuts above your shoulders.

Oh, yes the blood work with shots is still working fine. Some mornings after rushing to feed the cats and get some breakfast I do get light-headed and need a little time out.

Everything is bright green now, with more flowers coming up each day and different birds showing up. Besides the deer, there are several families of turkeys, bluebirds. Young Cooper hawks, etc. And I think I have a colony of red squirrels in part of the garage. Oh yes, we had a few days in the 90's, but this storm has cooled us off.

Take care, and thanks a million for all the correspondence. You all keep me in touch with the world, more than you know. Virtual hugs to you all.

[agate]

From Tom Cat Friday:

A bright morning sunrise around an hour or so ago. 68° here right now, but expecting around 90 by early afternoon, with high humidity.

Had my osteoporosis pills, so I can have a little breakfast shortly. The pills (2) are the size of Rolaids. You're supposed to dissolve them in juice and swallow them. Stirring them in juice for over 15 minutes does nothing. I grind them in a small mortar and pestle to a fine powder, and then you can swallow them in suspension. They never really dissolve. My head nurse was interested how I got the pills down. She asked how they tasted. I said like powdered chalk. I'm surprised that there were no instructions how to dissolve them.

I'm going to grab a little bit to eat before doing anything else. Take care, and more later.



Forgot to send this message yesterday. Good 70 to 80°, with a few showers, for most of the time through the 4th. Take care.