We Made Smokey the Bear Sad
Mar. 30th, 2026 02:04 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
pshaw_ravenI had intended to update this sooner but we had some eventful times back here. A fire started up the road and spread quickly, considering how dry it is. Someone saw it early and started trying to put it out, the fire department was called, and Forestry showed up soon after. The chatter we overheard on their radios said it started at a trash pile, but it seems no one specifically started a fire - it may have been a discarded lithium ion battery or something that sparked off. As an aside - please dispose of those damn batteries properly.
By the time it was contained it had burned about 350 acres, and it came to within one thousand feet of our house. The winds were sort of working in our favor, as they usually blow west to east, from the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic, and so they pushed the fire away from our road and the homes of the people who live here. And the trees out in the state forest may actually appreciate the fire - it wasn't hot enough to kill them, and longleaf pine seems to "like" an occasional burn.
Still, it was quite an exciting afternoon. A sherrif's deupty even came out to let people know we needed to be ready to evacuate, and to gather names and contact numbers. Happily it didn't get that bad, though Fox and I grabbed the important things and moved our truck up the road about half a mile. Crowley was not thrilled about being in his crate, but he handled it very well and got lots of kitty treats when we got back home.
The fire also seems to have driven some wild Turkeys out of the woods and they are hanging around our yard. I see three hens and a tom almost every day. I've started putting out extra corn and peanuts for them. The Crows are also enjoying the peanuts and one even waits around in the morning for me to go put food out, and as soon as I'm inside it swoopes down to grab as many peanuts as it can.
I saw my new doctor this week and she had an interesting idea about my elevated liver numbers, especially in light of the fact that nothing but the ALT is out of whack, and I have no hepatitis or scarring. She wants an ultrasound of the gall bladder. While there's not much that can be done about it aside from a low-fat diet, she says it can cause the fluctuating ALT numbers I'm having, and the ultrasound is a more appealing alternative than the (painful, invasive) liver biopsy my previous doctor was pushing for. She suspects that any gall bladder problems are probably sub-clinical right now, and may remain that way if I stick to my generally healthy diet and exercise routine. Despite the impression I may give here, Fox and I actually eat a sort of Asian-ish version of the Mediterranean diet. Same principles, different flavor profiles.
That being said, it's almost time we had a burger night. :)
By the time it was contained it had burned about 350 acres, and it came to within one thousand feet of our house. The winds were sort of working in our favor, as they usually blow west to east, from the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic, and so they pushed the fire away from our road and the homes of the people who live here. And the trees out in the state forest may actually appreciate the fire - it wasn't hot enough to kill them, and longleaf pine seems to "like" an occasional burn.
Still, it was quite an exciting afternoon. A sherrif's deupty even came out to let people know we needed to be ready to evacuate, and to gather names and contact numbers. Happily it didn't get that bad, though Fox and I grabbed the important things and moved our truck up the road about half a mile. Crowley was not thrilled about being in his crate, but he handled it very well and got lots of kitty treats when we got back home.
The fire also seems to have driven some wild Turkeys out of the woods and they are hanging around our yard. I see three hens and a tom almost every day. I've started putting out extra corn and peanuts for them. The Crows are also enjoying the peanuts and one even waits around in the morning for me to go put food out, and as soon as I'm inside it swoopes down to grab as many peanuts as it can.
I saw my new doctor this week and she had an interesting idea about my elevated liver numbers, especially in light of the fact that nothing but the ALT is out of whack, and I have no hepatitis or scarring. She wants an ultrasound of the gall bladder. While there's not much that can be done about it aside from a low-fat diet, she says it can cause the fluctuating ALT numbers I'm having, and the ultrasound is a more appealing alternative than the (painful, invasive) liver biopsy my previous doctor was pushing for. She suspects that any gall bladder problems are probably sub-clinical right now, and may remain that way if I stick to my generally healthy diet and exercise routine. Despite the impression I may give here, Fox and I actually eat a sort of Asian-ish version of the Mediterranean diet. Same principles, different flavor profiles.
That being said, it's almost time we had a burger night. :)
no subject
Date: 2026-04-01 08:49 pm (UTC)Props to your dr! I kept being told I had a fatty liver. Turns out I do not; liver is fine. However I do have gallbladder issues!! Which finally makes sense because I kept being told either it was female issues or that it was all in my head & I needed to get on an antidepressant. So thanks to the ultrasound that was ordered for my liver & surrounding organs, this was finally sorted.