Compost Pile and the Groundhog

I have a groundhog in my yard, if the giant wholes and my neighbor's sightings are anything to go by, which I think they are.

Additionally, I found some mighty big paw prints in my compost heap the last time I covered it in grass clippings (I'll take a picture next time, so you can see).

That being said; firstly, I don't know what I would do if I trapped it, I mean, really. Second, I can't very well fill in all the wholes as my neighbor says there's at least one in his shed. And, thirdly, another groundhog is likely to  move in. So far it hasn't gone after my garden, and I had only a little garden trouble last year, and that was only when the pumpkin vine crept outside the fence.

He seems to have left my neighbor's garden in peace so far, even after a week without a fence.

Now, my compost heap. It really is a heap. A heap of biodegrading stuff at the back of my big back yard. I pile on grass clippings when I mow to keep the smell down as I learned last summer that it could be quite pungent.

Fast forward, I have a trashcan that is very old, and the bottom is mostly rotted out. I have a small hand saw and can saw off the rest of the bottom and could effectively turn my compost heap into a compost bin.

But, if the groundhog is satisfying himself (and his family?) by absconding with my rotted apples and leafless stalks of kale, is it a good idea to then "bin" his food source? Will he leave, or will he look elsewhere nearby for food? Say, the garden with the flimsy bird net fencing? or the neighbor's garden with no fencing at all?

If anyone does, in fact, read my blog, I'd love your input.

Update on the Bite and on Generic Bactrim

Generic Bactrim (Sulfa something):

As I said, the antibiotic I am taking is a generic for Bactrim and the side effects area a bitch. Weird crawly itchy but-not-quite-itchy feeling ping-ponging all over my body starting 1-2 hours after taking it and lasting for about 10 hours. Also, headache, and loss of appetite, and I can't sleep for hours after laying down. Additionally, an hour or so after taking it I feel like I've lose about a dozen IQ points, like there's cotton between my synapses rather than the proper chemicals. And thirsty. Very thirsty. And I'm very grumpy. I don't know if that's just from being driven mad by the weird itching or if it's mood changes. Also, there were some uncontrolled thoughts the first couple days which kind of freaked me out because that has not happened, at all, in more than two years.

Spider bite:

It has now been exactly 1 week since the spider bite and the spot still itches. That being said, the inflammation has finally started to go down so only the original bite site is really warm, the rest of the ring (it got to about 3.5 inches at its largest diameter) is slightly warmer than the rest of my arm but over the last 18 or so hours has mostly returned to normal skin color. The center is still bright red. Did I mention it still itched? And my whole forearm is still tender to push on. I was also given a topical steroid which I think helped a lot with the inflammation and the joint aches in my elbow, shoulder, hands, and hips has gone away. Yesterday I was experiencing some muscle weakness in my arms, and trembling in my hands, but I don't know if that was from the antibiotic or left over effects from the spider venom. I'm prone to thinking it was the antibiotic. I am also prone to think the bite was from a brown recluse. Some time this week the cat will be spending a day outside and I will take the hamster with me and the house is getting bug bombed.

This is a picture taken on day 7 or 8. The diameter of the bite spread a just a little beyond the
furthest marker line before it finally began to retreat.

Additionally, I think I may have developed spider-sense because I was on my computer today and out of the corner of my eye saw movement on our brown and beige spotted carpet (I think they make carpets this color so you don't have to vacuum as often, it always looks dirty no matter what) and turned and smashed an orange/brown spider about the size of a nickle running across the carpet toward me. How did I even see that thing? Thank goodness, my reptile brain still seems to be intact. ;-)

Bug Bite getting Bigger?

Yeah,

The, uh, bite on my arm is getting bigger.

It's measuring exactly two inches by two inches and is now touching the crease of my elbow. The entire red area itches or alternately tingles and my shoulder and forearm feel sore though I'm not sure if that is real pain, pain from nursing the arm or psychosomatic.

I took another antibiotic, not amoxicillin anymore, they changed it to sulfamethoxazole. One at 4:45 and now one at 10 pm. The next one when I wake up and my appointment is at 10:45. I also took two more benadryl as the nurse practitioner who saw me suggested I not take more than that.

I have also drawn another series of dashes around the red area as the other ones I drew have rubbed off. Sharpies are not what they used to be.

I took my temperature, it was 98.6. which is 1 degree above my healthy normal but nothing serious.

At the clinic today the woman who saw me pushed on the bite quite a lot and said it looked like a bite that had gotten slightly infected. She tried to get it to drain some. She said tomorrow it would either be much better or much worse.

Why does being healthy not keep one from infection and/or toxin?

Now I Have Energy?

I just finished working out; I have more energy than I've had all day.

I'm not sure if that's just the "runner's high" or if the tiredness was/is...I don't even know but I'm definitely going to try working out when I wake up tomorrow morning/afternoon (I say that because of all the meds I just took, they make knock me out quite soundly). If it works and keeps me awake and sound of mind, wonderful. If it wears off and I'm exhausted and have to pull myself through work I'll know it was temporary.

Sick and or; a Health Update

Well, I've been having problems with tiredness and headaches and feelings of pressure in my face so I went to the doctor on Wednesday (Thursday? Wednesday? Gosh, I can't remember). I also talked to her about my migraines and asked if I might get some Topamax as it had helped me previously and helped my mom. She voiced some concern about the Topamax as I only get migraines a few times a month so I didn't think she'd written me a prescription for it, but when I got to the pharmacy she had. She also said I might have a sinus infection (or the allergies this year are going to kill me. Really, I have been eating raw, very local, honey for a year, has it not helped at all?) so I got antibiotics. She prescribed some nasal spray which I didn't buy because it was $30. O.o No, not paying that much for a bloody nasal spray. I have a saline spray I can use.

Then on Friday night I noticed a bite on my arm (my father, who used to be an RN, says it looks like a spider bite). It was pretty itchy by Saturday so I took two Benadryl last night.

So, to recap, last night was Amoxicillin, Benadryl, Topamax. Today the bite is bigger and itchier. I now have a circle drawn around it. It doesn't seem to be responding like cellulitis (heat is making it much much worse, not better) so I hope it isn't. I feel like my head is on a balloon. Very very dizzy and disoriented, but no fever.

My arm itches, and itches like mad if I start to move much.

Trying to make it to 8 pm before I got back to bed.

This is what the bite had become by day 3

Real Update on Garden and Healthy Life

Right.

So, first things first; my garden! It seems to actually be coming along now.

Yes, it still looks mostly like a garden of bottles, but things are growing under the bottles. See.
And, I actually have 3 broccoli plants that may live. Yay!

And my spinach is doing quite well.

I also have my first flower on a pea plant!

I now have kale, chard, lettuce, endive, peas, watermelon, cucumber, squash, broccoli, tomato, spinach, carrots, basil, and (maybe) stevia growing. I need to weed again and replant the pepper seeds. I also have several seedlings indoors. I'm waiting to let them get a little bigger and a little tougher before I figure out where to put them outside. I still have some spots where things could go, particularly in the partly shaded part of the garden things are more sparse, and I could add a few plants. I also need to plant a couple more basil, or actually give in and get some of the other herbs I've been considering. I've transplanted the thyme and the oregano into bigger pots as well.

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Healthy/healthy eating.

Still doing to no sweeteners thing, still loving it. Apparently I also lost 8 pounds last month, rather than the usual 5 that had been happening. I don't know how I feel about that. Part of me is very pleasantly surprised. Another part of me feels very obsessively greedy about this weight loss and wants it to continue at this pace for the rest of the summer and wants to count and recount the possible pounds I could lose (dysfunctional much? yeesh). The third part of me, seeing the second part, thinks that maybe anything other than minimal weight loss would be a bad thing and that I shouldn't step on a scale again for a few months.

I have also had the pleasure of being introduced to a local egg seller who sells a dozen eggs cheaper than the local grocery, even though her eggs are truly free range and humanely raised. Haha, and now I'm wondering where I'm going to find anything so awesome in DC.

Ate quite a few things that had sugar in them yesterday and felt quite sick for most of the day. Wasn't very hungry for most of today, but found myself positively starving at the end of the day. I've just resigned myself to go to bed with a growling stomach because it's not reasonable to eat more. I had a cup of milk, sauteed red potatoes, whole wheat noodles, several cups of steamed kale, a fruit leather, an orange, and beef. My stomach stopped making noises for all of two minutes before it started up again.

I'm a little concerned about my skin/muscle tone if I loose weight very quickly. I'm also afraid I'm going to stop losing, which is why I didn't want to even think about weight loss when I started.

I think I'm going to have to spend this week getting my goals strait again.

Ah, also, speaking of health, on the social health front; my friend R was lovely yesterday. I never leave hanging out with her except that I'm in awe of how great she is. Among other things she was very encouraging about my interest in doing Krav Maga when I get to DC and also in my change in health. She too, has gotten a little healthier lately and I think she looks quite nice. Her life situation has also gotten drastically less stressful recently and I think you can see that in her face and demeanor.

I also hung out with M. She is quite small; a size 0, if I'm not mistaken, and my comparison of us always triggers my stereotype threat. It's not her fault, it's mine. I'm very sensitive to size differences. I'm getting better about not being triggered around her, or other people, but it's still quite embarrassing that I feel it's there so I tend to bring it up. The elephant in my own room. I end up talking about weight virtually every time I'm with her. When I first met her it was horrible, I couldn't get myself to shut up.

Yesterday, in response to something I said, she said "I've always seen you as beautiful," which is very kind and such a vicious slap in the face to the (ugly, dysfunctional, wrong) voice in my head telling me she's only my friend because she pities the "fat girl" that I'm not entirely sure I didn't flinch when she said it. Then I said something self-effacing, which was neither right nor constructive. *sigh* Sometimes you have good days, sometimes bad days. Sometimes, I can't help but wonder why she puts up with me.

Update on Garden and Gatherings

Two things.

First, my garden is coming along. Things seem to be growing now, and most of the spots where I planted have living plants. I spent a good portion of Sunday weeding and I have more beer. I will post a picture as soon as I either A. get around to putting batteries in my big clunky digital POS camera, or B. clean my room enough that I can find my phone's memory card and put it back in the phone.

Second, I have been to two more social outings with bread and products with sugar in them. Both times it resulted in stomach cramping and not being hungry the next day. I'm beginning to contemplate whether I should just stop eating those things all together, or whether allowing it sometimes is what is going to allow me to keep up the no sweeteners thing at all other times.

Had a spot of weight/beauty obsession the last couple days. Hopefully it's done with now.

I'm serious people, and this is something I have to tell myself as well, there is no such thing as a "standard of beauty." All things can be beautiful. And there is no such thing as a "healthy weight" if you're truly healthy, your weight is healthy.

Be happy.

What is this?

It's growing in my row of kale, but it doesn't look like any of the other kale. I had it under a bottle so at some point it must have looked like the others.
I tried looking it up and the closest I came to a similar kale plant is red russian kale. Interestingly, I didn't buy any packages of red russian kale. So, did a red russian seed get mixed amongst the others or is this a mimic week?

Is it Russian Kale,or an imposter?

Garden Slugs and Garden Plants

I have pictures! Please forgive the poor quality, my cell phone's camera sucks and I lost my Photoshop when my old computer crashed. Wait, there's an online program for that.. Heh, the next ones will probably be better then!

First, I set out the beer traps last night and this is what I found this morning.

Lots of them in the saucers. They appear to prefer Bud Lite to Guinness (thank God).
Scooped them out and left them to dry in the sun.
These ones were mostly between an inch and an inch and a half though
in some of the other containers there were two inch ones. Ick



More slugs in beer filled saucers

Still more slugs in a beer filled saucer. I have six of these out, plus two
beer bottles with the dregs left in. I hope these slimy frat boys drown in
their own vomit (as opposed to real frat boys, who I hope outgrow drinking).

 This is my sage from last year that I planted near the house. It seems to be doing quite well and has started to put out little leaves, you can see them as the bright green ones and I'm very hopeful that it will grow quite well. I'm considering whether or not I should buy some other herbs, such as lavender or rosemary,or just stick with my oregano, thyme, basil, cilantro, and mint. 

This is a shot of my garden. It still looks leafy and brown in this (terrible) picture but I assure you things *are* growing. Fro some reason when the sun is up my camera completely washes out the color . That being said, if you look in the bottom center of the picture you can see my peas growing.

 

This is actually one of my small spinach plants. See! things are growing. I feel as though they're growing very slowly though. Speaking of growing, I read up on broccoli and I think I may have put mine out while they were too small. That might explain why they were gobbled up. I'm still trying. Hopefully it's not too late for them.

 My yard. I know, it needs mowing, but it's all purple and white with the pretty little flowers! Awwww!

 And Finally, my cat, sitting outside in the flowers with me, and enjoying the company. He loves to wander around and distract me while I'm in the garden. He thinks it's wonderful.

General Update on all things Healthy (slugs, onions, exhaustion)

Well, I've lost a little more weight. It's not the goal (not the goal, not the goal, not the goal), but it's nice to know. I wonder if I'm nursing a migraine this week, because I've been quite tired and I feel a little strange. I haven't worked out much, though I've tried to make sure I walk a little more, stand a little more, and I got on the throwing wheel for a while yesterday, so that I'm getting some exercise in. I just feel really tired.

It could be allergies (all the trees have bloomed) or stress (big test this weekend, finances), or hormones (it could always be hormones), or it could be that I haven't slept solidly in about 4 days. I thought that little bit of trouble would be a one night phenomena, but apparently not. I had begun to take vitamins before bed so I'm going to try not taking them before bed and see if the sleep returns to what it should be (note: I have gone through periods of months where sleep was broken/difficult almost constantly. It was horrible and I'm eager to avoid a repeat).

I went to Burnheim forest again, though only ended up staying a few hours because...poop! Yes, my tummy was very rumbly (test stress?) and pooping in an outhouse without tp and running water is not appealing.

I have also been craving strong vegetables today; onions, mushroom, pickles. I can't get enough of them. I've noticed a craving for fresh onions and mushrooms the last few days. As well as sweets. I actually caved today and bought a small lemon-glazed biscuit today, because I could. It was delicious. I just sat in the car and enjoyed it.

I also bought beer. Bud lite. Ick. But, it's not for me; it's for the slugs. Those nasty nasty slugs. I hope their livers explode. I have saucers laid out around the edge of the garden as well as a couple of the beer bottles with just a little at the bottom set in the garden. I talked to one of the gardeners at the Otte garden center (gosh, have they gotten a lot of my money, but they actually seem to have people who know what they're talking about) and he said that it's almost too late to plant broccoli. So, I hope they come up, or that the ones I'm still growing indoors will not die when I put them outside.

The lawn also needs mowing.

On a pleasant note; my grocery bill was quite small this week because I didn't seem to use up as much food as usual. Quite possibly I'm subsisting off lattes and cafeteria salads. I should probably make extra effort to eat only from home this week.

And, finally, I am looking forward to summer, even though I do *HATE* the heat.