Thursday, June 3, 2010

" Time Marches On "

Well Hello There ! I think most of you had given up on me ever posting again, it's been a month!
A full moon has come and gone!Let's see, where do I start? Remember back when we planted the three "courtyard beds" ? It was on Friday, April 23rd. I didn't mention it in my last post on May 1st but I was REALLY in bad shape! The morning after all the planting I could barely move, a disc in my lower back bulged, pressed out on my Sciatic nerve and stayed there for three weeks!
















Now I was already suffering from pain in my center back and shoulder which was limiting my time on the computer but this was a whole different ball game!
I'm talking so bad I had to use a walker! I had never experienced Sciatica and I hope I never do again! So I went through 2 MRI's, lots of X-rays and some physical therapy. In the course of it all it was determined that my center back pain and shoulder pain was from a nerve caught in a facet joint. This past Tuesday I had a shot of Lydocaine injected in the facet joint which stopped the pain for about 5 hours and it has not yet come back full force. On June 13th I will get a epidural injection in it that should deaden it for about a year! YEAH! I have also cured my Sinus problem on my own with MEGA doses of Vitamin C ( 3,000 mg a day)
I really haven't felt like blogging as the everyday chores around here have kept me busy and exhausted!
Time marches on however and I can't believe the garden is starting to come in! It seems like yesterday I was canning, canning, canning! This is my sweet potato bed.



Cucumbers....................




We have, as my granddaughter would say, a gazillion tomatoes on the vines!





Potatoes, Okra and Onions.........................







The potatoes are doing great!






TA DA !!! Yesterday's harvest! We have been eating squash,onions, potatoes and peppers for over a week. We've gotten 3 ripe tomatoes and we'll have fried green tomatoes tonight.









This is my Herb bed................









My flowers are doing great also. This is my Hydrangea...........










One of the Oleanders...............












LOVE those Gardenia's...................












I've got beautiful roses everywhere!












The Hibiscus bed is my favorite of all!















The plants are full of blooms..................
















This bloom was 9 inches across!!

















It will be next year though before they fill in and make a wall against the fence. :(



















JUST BEAUTIFUL !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



















The Elephant Ears are coming along................






















As are the Cannas.........................






















My Grandmother grew gorgeous Hollyhocks! I've tried many times, seed, plants, but was never successful. These I started from seed in the greenhouse then transplanted to this bed and they are thriving! YEAH!























My Banana Trees................

























Red Verbena and Mexican Petunias....................
























This bed has petunias, foxglove, lilies and angel trumpets in it...............

























The Rose bed is doing good..............



























The Pond House is gorgeous!!!




























We still have all 8 of the peeps who are now full fledged biddies! Here are 3, it's almost impossible to get them all in one picture!






























Let's hope another Full Moon doesn't come and go before I post again. I'm walking, doing Yoga,
and reading,reading, reading trying to do a lifestyle change for health reasons so I won't post as much as I once did but I also won't lose touch with all of you either. By the way, I'm down to 163 lbs. from 180! NO size 16 for me! HA!




























I plan on doing a post later at the BOOK HOUSE blog about all the books I've been reading so check in there! Have a great week everyone! XOXOXOXOXO

28 comments:

Rosaria Williams said...

Oh, Carol, I was afraid it was your back! Darn! Take it easy. I can see you've been working hard before you had to stop. You're already harvesting; we haven't even planted because of the constant rain. Yesterday, we had 3 inches of rain in one day! A cold one too. Whatever I had planted before this, is now waterlogged.

Hope to see you more often.
Love all your pictures.

Becca's Dirt said...

Sorry to hear you have had such a hard time with your back. I have had sciatic pain. My mom suffers with her back a lot and receives epidurals regular as they will give them. They do a lot for her. I hope this will help you to ease back into doing what you'd like to do. Your gardens are thriving there. I love the way you have separated and divided your gardens. You really get a good show from a group of the same plant and yours don't look crowded either. Hope you feel better soon. Miss you when you aren't posting on your blog.

BlueRidge Boomer said...

Yummmy.....what night should we come for dinner..!!??

Beautiful gardens.....don't over do....baby that back!

Enjoy

Vicki Lane said...

Glad you're back and feeling better! -- those gardens are beautiful!

My Joseph's Coat is blooming and gorgeous!

Marguerite said...

So glad that you're feeling better and that you will be getting the epidural, soon. That will help a lot. Your veggie, herb, and flower gardens are beautiful! Love the tomato plants and hibiscus! Cheers, cher!

Janet, said...

Glad you are feeling better. My dad has had sciatic nerve pain for a long time. I wish I had a gazillion tomatoes! Can't wait for ours to start producing. I'm glad your hollyhocks are growing. I have them come up every year on their own around our storage building, I love them, too.

Thistle Cove Farm said...

Goodness! So glad you're feeling better and please, be careful! Spring is a great time of year to overdo.

Pat in east TN said...

I'm so glad to hear your doing better ... my goodness but your place looks absolutely beautiful and your garden is definitely thriving!

NitWit1 said...

YOU HAVE CERTAINLY BUSY!

I think it is great to already have produce.

My husband container planted tomatoes, beans and peppers. Beans have yet to bloom.

Hope back gets even better. Sciatica is miserable. SO is slipped disks which I have occasionally.

NitWit1 said...

YOU HAVE CERTAINLY BUSY!

I think it is great to already have produce.

My husband container planted tomatoes, beans and peppers. Beans have yet to bloom.

Hope back gets even better. Sciatica is miserable. SO is slipped disks which I have occasionally.

Kat said...

Good to hear from you! Sorry you are having so many health problems. Hope that back gets better soon. My back hurts all the time. Congrats on the weight loss too. The gardens are lovely.
I did not do much gardening this year. Was sick with respitory infection and 2 trips for the past 2 months.

Tiffany Norris said...

Welcome back! Hope you are much, much better! Your fresh veggies look incredibly delicious. I think I'm going to have to hit the farmers' market this weekend. :)

cottage garden farmer said...

I know from experience how awful a bad back can be, so well done you for coping so well! Garden looks fab, your "pond" looks like a lake to me, and your growing spaces seem enormous, but all looks great, well done!

Callie Brady said...

I was hoping you were on a long vacation. So glad to hear you are on the mend. Hope the shots will take care of the pain.

Your gardens are stupendous! Beautiful! Time for you to sit back and enjoy the fruits of your labor.

Debra said...

Hey Carol, So sorry to hear about your back troubles, that can be such a bummer!

I read a book recently and thought it might be one you would find interesting. Only thing it is Non-fiction. It's called "In the Sanctuary of Outcast" by Neil White. It's about a hospital for Lepers located in Carville, La that was eventually shared with Federal prisioners. Quite interesting. Certainly did not know that the only Leper coloney in the US was located right there in Carville La. It's a museum now. I would love to visit it someday.

Anyway, good to see you back,
Blessings,
Debra

NCmountainwoman said...

Glad you are improving from your ordeal. Take care of yourself and keep up with the back exercises which are so important.

Wonderful garden. Can't wait for the book update.

T. Powell Coltrin said...

Sorry for your misery. You are going on my prayer list. But, your farm is thriving. So beautiful your flowers.

Take care
Teresa

journalingwoman.blogspot.com
theruralhood.blogspot.com/

Anonymous said...

Garden is beautiful. Back pain isn't funny, but the pictures. . . ! LOL!

The garden results do not look in sync with the back pain. Slow down.

Kathryn Magendie said...

I thought of you yesterday - the book fair was not well attended as expected - I felt so bad for the volunteers and staff and etc... after last year's success, this year was such a disappointment, I am sure....I hope they can pull it up for next year's!

As for your back - ARGH! Feel better, friend.

RNSANE said...

What a fabulous garden!! I wish I could have some of that okra...one of my favorite vegetable and I even like it slimy!!!

I can commiserate about back pain. 25 years ago, I had a two level, bilateral laminectomy and fusion after I slipped on hydraulic fluid that leaked from a hydraulic table in the operating room where I worked. I slid and fell when racing out of the room to get blood...three months later, I was in the same OR, having surgery. I've had chronic problems ever since.


At 65, I've done it! My poetry book - Life's Journey by Carmen Henesy - is out on Amazon!
( Poems about the things that have been important to me in my journey through life, some humorous, some sad, some that may have meaning to you as well )
http://www.amazon.com/Lifes-Journey-1-Carmen-Henesy/dp/1451547366/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1274652997&sr=1-1

Arkansas Patti said...

Soooo sorry about your back.Been there with a herniated disk. Congrats on the weight loss. That is probably the one thing we can do for our selves to help our backs. That and the specific exercises to strenghen our core.
I am so sorry you have suffered so but it sounds like you are on the mend.
Your garden is amazing and of course I am thrilled with the chicken visit.
Post when you feel like it. Your posts are worth the wait.
Take care, be well and enjoy.

Merisi said...

I am so sorry your back has been torturing you so much! I hope you are regaining your strength with a well-chosen diet of books.

Your garden looks fabulous wherever I look. Love the hibiscus bed, never seen so many together.

Best wishes and a big hug,
Merisi

Midlife Roadtripper said...

Can't wait to hear about the books.

I am circling your neck of the woods. Came through MEridian today. In Tuscaloosa now and the next few days for freshmen disorientation. Had hoped to visit the beaches on the way home, but will pump some money in the New Orleans economy instead.

I just love your little chickens. Hope your back gets better very soon.

Rosaria Williams said...

Hi again, missed you!

Sherry Austin said...

Lawsy, Biscuti! You been so sick but still so busy!!!!!!!

janice said...

Just dropping by from Anchorage Alaska.

Love your garden pictures, they are so beautiful! My Lilac's are beginning to bloom and peonies will burst forth in a few weeks.

Been there with back - I have 3 disc's that are bulging and pushing on the Sciatic nerve. Geeting by with a little help from my friends - the pain doc and his epidural shots!

Be blessed and enjoy the fruits of your labor.

I_am_Tulsa said...

Carol,
I really hope your back get better. My back is not in the best of shape either (hernia) but I have learned to deal with it and light yoga has helped me as well!

I think we have both been away from blog-land but I will keep my eyes peeled for new posts!
all the best!
Tulsa

Brenda said...

So sorry about your back, Carol; I know what THAT'S like.

Your gardens are beautiful! (Thinking of fried green tomatoes made my mouth water. Love 'em!)