12 Oakdale

Peg and Bob really enjoyed bluegrass music, going to festivals and even paying for SiriusXM radio* so they could listen to it at their house and while driving. When the Withlacoochee Bluegrass Festival came up, I said I’d be her Plus 1. Peg warned me she went to all the acts all three days, but I assured her I was up for it. And we did.  Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, from noon to 9:00 PM, we were in our reserved spots (Row G, #11 & #12, BYO Chair) under the big pole barn, listening to amazing players and singers. Of course, I knew none of the bands, but Peg did. She also knew the songs, and one, “Tall Weeds and Rust”, is her current favorite. To my surprise, the tunes were originals, not just covers of the old Lester Flatts and Earl Scruggs songs. Peg said it is called “newgrass”. With a couple exceptions, the bands were fiddle, banjo, mandolin, upright bass and guitar. Two or three members sang, and most everyone could play all the instruments. I guess to artists at this lev...

One of the super powers I claim is my ability to sleep anywhere. Nice beds, wooden floors, camp cots, all are fine. While I prefer to snuggle down in sheets fresh off the clothesline, that isn’t necessary. I even made true believers of my companions on our Belize birding trip when I fell asleep in the van’s jump seat as we rattled home on rough limestone roads after a night expedition to find owls.  But my super power had been sorely tested this last year with all my aches and pains. For months I couldn’t pull up the sheets because my shoulders ached so bad when I tried to extend my arms. I was a human T. rex, with my elbows tucked in to my side, and only my forearms available to use. And forget turning over. Between my hips and my shoulders, that’s was misery. I was not happy.  But those nights are gone. I’m back! I was sharing a tent with Deb at the Full Moon Daughters’ winter camp out at Lake Griffin State Park. Spending a night sleeping on the ground and having my Thermare...

After a year, I finally feel good. It’s been a year since I bought my Hobbie kayak and hurt myself trying to move it to the porch. Where it remains. Now my shoulders are relatively pain-free, and I no longer worry about my hamstrings every time I walk up a few stairs. I was incredulous when the orth doctor said it could take a year to heal and, of course, added, “At your age…” But it’s done.  Now the work continues to keep as strong as I am (not very) and to grow stronger. I just failed my Dexa bone density scan, with scores of osteopenia in my hips (-1.4 for the left, -2.1 for the right) and osteoporosis for my spine (-2.5) and femur tops (-2.6 left, -3.0 right). I may have Steph paint these numbers on a sign, so I can see them every time I don’t want to do my exercises.  And to remind me I’ve made a commitment to take my calcium and Vitamin D for a year until my next scan. As I understand it, I have no hope of improving my scores, just trying to flatten the curve of my disin...