Well, that's not the way to start your day
Aug. 3rd, 2011 11:50 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
venetia_sassyMum still has the cold, slept badly and when she was playing tug of war with the dogs this morning, the dalmatian managed to grab Mum's thumb instead of the rope toy. Um, ow. Right to the bone. There was quite a lot of blood apparently (but no loud swearing, so I didn't wake up.) Mum wrapped it, then went to the doctor to get some antibiotics. The doctor was quite concerned, saying was Mum sure it wasn't a sign of aggression from the dog? And Mum's going, uh, no, really. This dog is thirteen years old and she's never made an aggressive move in her life. She's just ... well, she's old, and her eyesight isn't great and she was always clumsy, even more so now. But Mum did say that perhaps she'll let the dogs play tug of war by themselves after this!
And since neither a cold or a mangled thumb slows Mum down, she then got on with some gardening. Garden Guy came by today to mow the lawn, dig some holes, rip out some dead plants, etc. Basically he comes by every few weeks and helps Mum with whatever she can't manage on her own. (Since I am zero help whatsoever. Nothing like watching my sixty-something mother haul around twenty-kilo bags of potting soil to make me feel feeble and decrepit, even if she does collapse in a chair afterwards and announce, 'Well, I'm buggered.' But Mum has conceded that perhaps she is a leetle too old and arthritic in the hands to be swinging a pickaxe and digging up rocks. Hence Garden Guy. Seriously, if I tried to swing a pickaxe, I'm pretty sure I'd do major damage to myself and anyone around me.)
This relates to to my day by the fact that I got to enjoy the results of their labour. I woke up earlier than usual and it was daylight. And there was blue sky! It wasn't raining! Or freezing cold! And the garden looked great! So I sat on the back porch with my first cup of tea and watched the birds and did some writing and it was really nice. I can see why Mum likes to start her day that way when possible. There were some New Holland Honeyeaters splashing about in the birdbath, enjoying themselves mightily. And a little Red-browed Finch hopped around barely two metres from me. Then when Mum came out and we were talking about the new plants in the garden, we saw a bird land on the tortured willow. We weren't at a good angle, so Mum crouched down very quietly and then told me to do the same - it was a hawk! A small brown one, I can't remember the name but hey, there was a hawk in our backyard! ETA: After further discussion, we think it was a Brown Goshawk.
I was rather pleased by that.
And since neither a cold or a mangled thumb slows Mum down, she then got on with some gardening. Garden Guy came by today to mow the lawn, dig some holes, rip out some dead plants, etc. Basically he comes by every few weeks and helps Mum with whatever she can't manage on her own. (Since I am zero help whatsoever. Nothing like watching my sixty-something mother haul around twenty-kilo bags of potting soil to make me feel feeble and decrepit, even if she does collapse in a chair afterwards and announce, 'Well, I'm buggered.' But Mum has conceded that perhaps she is a leetle too old and arthritic in the hands to be swinging a pickaxe and digging up rocks. Hence Garden Guy. Seriously, if I tried to swing a pickaxe, I'm pretty sure I'd do major damage to myself and anyone around me.)
This relates to to my day by the fact that I got to enjoy the results of their labour. I woke up earlier than usual and it was daylight. And there was blue sky! It wasn't raining! Or freezing cold! And the garden looked great! So I sat on the back porch with my first cup of tea and watched the birds and did some writing and it was really nice. I can see why Mum likes to start her day that way when possible. There were some New Holland Honeyeaters splashing about in the birdbath, enjoying themselves mightily. And a little Red-browed Finch hopped around barely two metres from me. Then when Mum came out and we were talking about the new plants in the garden, we saw a bird land on the tortured willow. We weren't at a good angle, so Mum crouched down very quietly and then told me to do the same - it was a hawk! A small brown one, I can't remember the name but hey, there was a hawk in our backyard! ETA: After further discussion, we think it was a Brown Goshawk.
I was rather pleased by that.
(no subject)
Date: 2011-08-03 06:20 pm (UTC)Your mother sounds like my aunt. She's so disgustingly hearty when it comes to diggin in the garden and repairing the house and she's almost 70!
Such lovely birds! They're so colourful compared to most of ours. And you had a hawk in your garden, awsome!
(no subject)
Date: 2011-08-04 12:46 pm (UTC)As with above, maybe it's a gardener thing? All the most active older people I know enjoy gardening ...
We get a lot of birds here, it's great. And I'm still delighted by the hawk. After further discussion we think it was a brown goshawk.