Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Arthritis, Changes & Quail

It's long been a dream of mine to have quail on our property. We live on the open, high desert and there were no trees, no bushes - only ground weeds.  Not exactly what the sweet, little birds want.  They like lots of ground cover, trees to roost in, and bushes to hide in.  My hubby has been working for many years to create an oasis on this high desert and he has succeeded!  I noticed the quail for the first time last year.  Just a couple, mind you, but they were quail!  I nurtured those two quail - providing food and water for them - and making sure that my precious doggies left them alone.  All my diligence paid off!  This year we have several families of quail, including the original couple from last year, and I have been totally excited about this!  They all have their favorite trees they roost in, several little hiding places in bushes and under trees with lots of irises, and plenty of food and water.  Every morning I wake up to the coos, whistles and other little sounds that the quail make.  I have a feeder right outside my window and every morning they come to feed with all their babies.  I'm not sure how many quail there are now - there's so many, I can't even keep count!  Yes, this is a little thing, but it blesses me so much!
 
I went to my pain management doctor today.  I told her about my latest, horrible pain I've had for over a week.  I don't know what I was expecting, but I guess, it wasn't what she said.  She said my arthritis is much worse and I'm having a flare up.  *sigh*  She is referring me to an arthritis specialist, so that's good, but what's bad, is that there's not a lot she could do for me.  I'm all ready taking an arthritis medication and obviously it's not doing enough of a job to prevent this flare up.  I didn't realize how really painful arthritis can be.  I, guess, too, I am getting older.  As my sweet hubby said to me today, "Well, you are almost 50!"  Yes, true, I'll be 49 next month, and thank you so much, dear hubby, for reminding me just how close I am to 50.  LOL

I'm in the process of doing some new and exciting things with my website, blog, and other things, so be watching for news of this! I'm hoping I'll have a lot of this done by the beginning of next week.  I can't wait to share all the new things with you!  I'm very excited and I hope you'll all like my changes, too.

God bless you - Julie

4 comments:

  1. Where in AZ are you? I think it is awesome that you have more quail coming back to visit. I love when the birds are in my back yard, but sadly, my dogs bark at them and chase them away.

    My arthritis is acting up as well. There are days I can hardly walk. I am seeing a rheumatologist but so far all she has done for me is give me lidacaine patches for my back. That doesn't help my neck, knees, feet, fingers, arms, etc. She did some pressure tests to see if it is fibro but I only had 8 or 9 areas that were sensitive. She said I would need 11 to be diagnosed with it.

    Let me know what you find out. I would love to find a solution to this pain. It is crazy and depressing.

    Praying for you!

    Hugs,

    Sue

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  2. Hi Sue:

    I left you a message on your blog. Email me!

    I know what you mean about the arthritis. I'm telling you, I haven't been in this much pain in a long time - not since I first had the herniated discs! I've just been unable to do much of anything because I'm in so much pain! I'm so sorry you're going through the same thing. :( I will definitely put you on my prayer list!

    Thank you for praying for me! It's so good to know that there are friends out there praying. I'm doing the same for you!

    Blessings ~ Julie

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  3. That's awesome about the birds. I am a bit bird crazy myself, so I know the feeling. We raised some blue jays this year. I say we, but the mama and papa bird did all the raising. I just bought tons of peanuts and put out fresh suet and water all summer. They still come for daily visits. I call them my babies. But then, you did not need to know all that!
    Jenn

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  4. Hi Julie,

    I'm so sorry you are struggling so with your arthritis right now. I'll be praying for you.

    Your blog background is so lovely. I love the colors, and the pretty header.

    I hope the specialist is able to help you get some relief from the pain.

    Take care, Kathryn

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