Saturday, May 8, 2021

Street Work and Mystery Weeds


Well, let that be a lesson to me! I will never again write a hasty ten-minute blog post without fully considering how my words might be interpreted. You'll be happy to know that I am not having blurry vision this morning, nor seeing double, nor suffering debilitating chest pains or anything else that should cause alarm.

Seriously, thanks to those of you who urged me to seek medical attention, but I really did know that what I was experiencing was no big deal. Believe me, I harbor no macho resistance when it comes to seeking out medical care. In fact, as my brother will readily tell you, I have had a long-standing hypochondriac streak since childhood, when I could simultaneously dream up the mildest of symptoms and turn them into a fatal disease. Even today, when anything odd happens to my body, my first thought is often that I am dying.

But I didn't have that thought yesterday, which shows you how inconsequential my situation really was.

I think I probably do need to get an eye exam, if only to get a new pair of glasses. The reading glasses I use now I've had for five years (!) and they may need an update. Maybe I can get that taken care of over summer break.


This is the street in front of our house, where Thames Water has been working on a huge project for a couple of weeks now. I think they're replacing the water pipes, which, as you may remember, are prone to bursting. Every few feet they've opened a giant hole in the street and traffic is down to one lane, controlled by temporary stoplights.


Unfortunately this restricts all vehicles to a narrow lane very close to the curb, and large ones like garbage trucks have been whacking limbs off the street trees -- including the pathetic, sick once-viney tree, which has lost several. That poor thing can't catch a break.


Finally, here are a couple of mystery plants that have come up in the garden this year. I think this one is plain ol' borage or green alkanet, but I can't really tell. It will become obvious soon enough!


This one is practically out in the lawn. Again, it could be some kind of borage, or maybe even foxglove? It looks like a teasel, but the leaves are fuzzier than on our other teasels. (I keep hoping our foxgloves will naturally re-seed but they never do -- I think it's hard for seedlings to get a foothold in the dry, clayey soil of our garden.)

This morning, rain! Woo hoo!

(Top photo: My late-afternoon reflection in our living room windows.)

40 comments:

  1. This morning? Rain indeed. The Angel on a hiking trip across Snowdonia/Wales, tenting it, on his own, in the middle of nowhere. Well, a man has to do what a man has to do. And what men tend to do is pitching themselves against the elements. At least the Angel won't have to do a Lawrence Oates (Scott Expedition, South Pole) whose parting words were "I am just going outside. I may be a while". That's what frostbite and a social conscience does to you. You die.

    Anyway, I'd be lying if I said I am sorry I came across as strongly as did yesterday. I am not. What I am sorry about is that I went back to the Eye Clinic and a can of worms (nothing to do with eyes) was opened right there and then. Sometimes ignorance is bliss, Steve. If only to give you a (false) sense of security. Now I have a worry (well hidden) in the back of my mind. Never mind. Some people die before they are barely born. Before I am misunderstood: I am as fit as a fiddle. On the outside. The machinations, inside, are a mystery. Let them do what they do, I say. And whatever else YOU do, Steve, not least since you self identify as a latent hypochondriac: Do NOT google any symptoms. That way a friend of mine finds himself on his permanent deathbed. Once he will be dead (truly dead) he'll be outraged. "Told you so", he'll say.

    Your greenery, as usual, delightful, balm to the soul,
    U

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    1. You are so right about Googling symptoms -- nothing good ever comes of it! I learned long ago to avoid that particular behavior. Hope the Angel has stayed dry, more or less.

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  2. Could the mystery plants be Lungwort and Dock? They sound like Lawyers.😄

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    1. They DO sound like a law firm, LOL! We have lungwort in our garden and I believe there may be some in that top mystery plant photo -- next to the big plant, which was my focus. That lower one isn't dock, though. The leaves are hairy and dock leaves are smooth.

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  3. I have taken the precaution of arranging for an ambulance to come and pick you up later today. Better safe than sorry. To use a quaint English expression, it is "pissing it down" in Sheffield today.

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    1. It was pissing down here too. About time! It's been so dry lately. It's warmer here, too.

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  4. I can't say I'm sorry either since blurry vision is associated with a range of things some of which can lead to loss of vision. And, speaking of jumping to conclusions, I can recall when a couple of bloggers I know did that...one said I sounded morbid...

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    1. Well, I guess it's hard to gauge people's tone when you're reading the written word!

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  5. I too am disappointed that my foxgloves haven't seeded themselves around. Luckily I took the precaution of sowing some of the seeds last year in a seed tray, and I have got quite a lot of little plants, some of which have already been planted out ( and some to give away to the place where I walk the dog....YWAM in Harpenden. They want to brighten up their outdoor prayer space!)
    Glad to hear that your eyes sorted themselves out..you can't be too careful. A few years ago I developed GCA, which can lead to blindness if not treated very quickly ,so I am a bit sensitive about eye things!

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    1. Bravo for growing some foxgloves to give away! Spread the beauty!

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  6. Oh no! I need to get to Emergency immediately. That photo looks so blurry... Oh, never mind.

    The construction looks very unpleasant. Hope it doesn't take as long as it sounds like it might.

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    1. It's not too bad, honestly, because it's a bit down the street and not RIGHT in front of our house. I suppose it might come this way, though. At least we don't have to deal with on-street parking, since we don't have a car.

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  7. I never thought you would be lined up for a white cane or a dog in a harness. Such things happen as you age.

    "including the pathetic, sick once-viney tree, which has lost several." The truck prune might help the tree. Less limbs to feed?

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    1. I wondered about that! A blessing in disguise? It's a pretty ragged-looking prune, though.

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  8. My eyes blur up in the morning too - it's an adjustment thing. But I do so hate having poor vision as `i get older and wish I could wear contacts but they are not suitable for my vision.
    Nice photo of the roadworks - which is an odd sort of compliment - but you'll know what I mean. Well seen.

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    1. I had 20-20 vision until I was about 50, so I know what you mean about older eyes. I don't mind glasses except I can never remember where I put them!

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  9. Okay, thanks to a lifetime of Agatha Christie, I've heard of foxglove. And borage sounds vaguely familiar (or am I thinking of Borax?) but teasel? Now you're just making things up.

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    1. I swear I am not! Teasels are pretty remarkable actually, so called because their spiny pods were once used to tease apart wool for spinning thread. (As I understand it.)

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  10. Except for the construction, you live on a lovely street.
    And this ..."Even today, when anything odd happens to my body, my first thought is often that I am dying." ... is me, too!

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    1. I'm glad to hear others suffer from that same tendency! My family always mocked me for it when I was younger.

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  11. You absolutely do live on a pretty street! One wonders how long it will take to replace all those pipes. What a job! Aging is hell both for the human body and for infrastructure.

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    1. Not for sissies, as they say! (Probably not an appropriate thing to say in this day and age!)

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  12. The street where you live really is so lovely. Looks like a very big job for replacing all the pipelines there.
    I hope you do identify those plants. I'm really curious about them.

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    1. I will keep you posted! I'm virtually certain the first one is alkanet, which is a very common weed, but that second one is a mystery.

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  13. Yes, I've had myself on death's door many a time, so I can totally relate to that feeling. Funny thing is... now that I do actually have a chronic disease (along with another chronic condition) that shouldn't kill me anytime soon, any new symptom I get I tend to blame on one of those conditions and try to ignore it. I'm not sure if that's good or bad. Give Olga a pat on the head for me. :)

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    1. I guess that makes sense -- to suspect any change is an outgrowth of a condition you already know you have. As long as you're getting regular doctor's care, just in case something new pops up! (God forbid)

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  14. Sometimes we get some plants in our yards that can spread very quickly.

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    1. Yeah, and we usually just let them spread, as long as they're not too ugly. Ha!

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  15. I bet you are glad that you don't have a car that needs to get up and down that road. You are getting some infrastructure needs taken care of. I sure hope that Biden's plan for that very thing gets past the stupid, road-blocking Republicans. What a clan of misfits they are. (There, that's my political rant for the day.)

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    1. Yeah, that's for sure. I just can't believe how crazy Republicanism has become. My grandfather (who voted Republican) wouldn't recognize it in its modern incarnation.

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  16. I seem to have missed all the excitement and will have to catch up. I'm glad that you're well, though!

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  17. Polka-dot and green leaf are what I would call those plants. Why CAN'T we give them simpler names? :)

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    1. I'm with you, although I suppose "green leaf" could cover a lot of other plants too. LOL

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  18. Your first photo is a perfect commentary on your vision problems in the previous day's post. 😉

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    1. Maybe that's why I'm always attracted to reflections and shadows -- my slowly-becoming-more-dubious eyesight!

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  19. When we were living just east of Seattle in the foothills, fox glove is a weed. It's everywhere. If it's growing in the sun, it's tall, in the shade, it's short. Glad the vision cleared up. I am currently struggling with a new contact lens prescription and new reading glasses to go over the contacts and it's not working well just yet.

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    1. I've heard this about foxglove -- it grows wild here too, but for some reason, it never sprouts on its own in our garden!

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  20. I agree about spotty Lungwort...a possibility...and hairy Borage...looking forward to seeing the flowers!

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