A&E and Yowling Animals

Our Japanese maple is a ball of crimson at this time of year!

Totoro appreciates the colorful leaves. He needs a bath again, doesn't he?

Yesterday, my boss pulled together a little birthday celebration for me in the afternoon with my co-workers, which felt really good. We've gotten away from celebrating birthdays in recent years so I'm glad we're apparently back on track with that -- it seems like a small thing but I think it helps with team-building and morale. I got a stack of chocolate chip cookies which I will never refuse!

I also learned, to my chagrin, that I'm supposed to participate in an upcoming meeting that will help write a mission statement for my department. One of my co-workers will be there too. Neither of us is thrilled about this, and it seems especially silly when I'm on my way out the door, but hey, I'll do whatever I have to do.

The day took a turn on my walk home from work. Dave had gone to the doctor for a checkup because he felt over the weekend that he'd been struggling with "brain fog," and some of the immunological symptoms associated with his Crohn's (and its treatments) were flaring up again. He gets really red, puffy eyes, for example, and they were bothering him. The doctor checked his blood pressure as a matter of course and found that Dave's heart rate was 136 beats per minute, which is quite high. He sent Dave off to the hospital for an ECG and blood tests.

Dave called me on my walk home from work to deliver this news, so I altered course and met him in the hospital's A&E (accident and emergency) department, which we in the states would call the ER. His heart rate was still high there, though slightly slower -- around 131 -- and his blood pressure was a bit elevated. The ECG was normal and his blood tests revealed nothing. The doctor ordered an additional scan to make sure he hadn't had a small stroke, which seemed a very remote possibility, and again, nothing was found.

Needless to say, it was a LONG evening of sitting in a waiting room. I read blogs on my phone (I didn't comment because I wasn't signed in -- but thanks for the shout-out, YP!), multiple newspapers, and in a sure sign that I was desperate for entertainment, I watched Facebook reels of cute animals and of guys doing parkour. (They're always very muscular and often shirtless -- a different type of cute animal, I suppose.) We had dinner from the hospital cafe. When Dave was there last year for his hernia surgery I got a cup of mango every evening for dinner, so I did the same last night. As I told Dave, "I'm always happy to have mango at the hospital!"

I finally left after five hours because I knew Dave was more or less OK and I'd never be able to get up and go to work today if I didn't get some sleep. Dave was about an hour and a half behind me. The doctors said the tests were all normal but they want an MRI, again to check for stroke risk. We still have to figure out the heart rate issue, but Dave also gets no exercise. I told him, "Your heart would probably be healthier and stronger if you used it!"

On a happier note, I have more footage from the garden cam. This includes an excellent daytime look at our stalking fox, and also some evidence of conflict among the creatures in our little woodland oasis. WARNING: Turn down the sound on your computer at the end, particularly if you have cats nearby!

The video starts with a nighttime shot of the fox, practically invisible behind shrubbery at the left of the screen.
-- At 0:18, we have some amusing squirrel shenanigans.
-- At 0:40,  Bell the Bengal walks by, followed just six minutes later by Pale Cat.
-- At 0:57, things really get good. We get some excellent daytime footage of Q-Tip, the fox with the white-tipped tail. He/she lingers by the camera and unsuccessfully stalks a nearby critter, probably a pigeon.
-- At 2:07, the brown-tailed fox (Brownie?) goes by.
-- At 2:27, Pale Cat turns up with a prominent bandage on his forehead. Obviously he's been out scrapping.
-- At 2:40, Brownie trots by in the rain.
-- At 2:47 Bell the Bengal turns up, followed just two minutes later (!) by Brownie.
-- At 3:06 we see Q-Tip in the rain.
-- At 3:20, Pale Cat shows up again. The bandage has been removed but he/she seems to have a bald spot.
-- At 3:35 Bell the Bengal is on a leisurely stroll; Pale Cat follows his/her exact path one minute later!
Clearly these animals are keeping an eye on one another.
-- Finally, at 4:20, some off-camera conflict. Pale Cat goes on alert, followed by hellacious feline yowling. We were awake when that was going on but surprisingly, we didn't hear them. I do occasionally hear yowling cats out there, though.