MS – Amy's Axons

April 2021

April Showers of Blessings

April 13, 2021April 13, 2021by amysaxons1 Comment

If you’ll remember, we’ve had some sick birds at our feeders. I submitted photos and information to the Missouri Dept of Conservation and they told me they think it is *salmonellosis*, a common problem among birds at feeders this year. Our feeders are still down but my feathered friends are still coming by to visit, which makes me happy 😊.

A couple of weeks ago I went to the lake near our house and enjoyed watching the pelicans and purple martins. The martins were very chatty and were all paired off into couples and busy making nests in the boxes. I have no idea who the kayaker is but she took a good picture.

I could hear the squirrel nibbling on the nut before I spied him on the fence near the blooming bushes and flowers. A pair of house finches have built their nest on top of our front door wreath. We can hear them chirping and chirring at all hours.

A carolina chickadee built a nest in one of our boxes for his lady love’s approval but, sadly for me, she chose another one of his offerings in the woods across the street.

Our skink is back! He’s been sunning himself a lot on the grill cover where he has been hanging out on warm, sunny days.

I am so grateful my Dad is still in good health and is able to go and do whatever he wants. We went to Austin to visit my sister and her family for a few days. Matter of fact, he’s driving us home as I write this. One of dad’s friends has a golf buddy in Georgetown so he rode down and back with us. It’s great for this bladder troubled MS gal to take road trips with a couple of old guys, they need the loo as often as I do 😉. My nephew Andrew is so grown up at nearly 16. He loves photography too!

My sister got a cake for all of the April bdays in the family. Hubby wasn’t able to come down with us to celebrate his special day so we each ate an extra piece of cake in his honor 🥳.

The wildflowers were in full bloom in Texas! What a beautiful and wonderful lasting legacy to Lady Bird Johnson, wife of the 36th president, Lyndon B. Johnson. Evening primrose, bluebonnets, prairie verbena, and Texas thistle.

The grasshopper was a lucky shot but this scissor-tail flycatcher was a permanent fixture on the wire in my sister’s backyard. I saw him gracefully swoop down, catch an insect, and then resettle on the wire countless times. ✌️

My first Northern Mockingbird! He sang every song in the book all day every day of our visit and made incredible displays to attract a mate. Wow, he was cool to watch and hear!! I saw another mockingbird with him the last evening we were there. I hope he found “the one”. My sister took this pic of me being “such a nerd”.

I’ve always wanted to try bubble tea and now I can say I have. I don’t need to have that experience again 😝.

The chewy tapioca balls were… interesting. Fun fact: I bit my tongue off when I was in a car accident in 1987. Can you see any of the suture scars?

My sister is a master of smoked meats, especially pork butt. Hubby requested some of her pork to bring back. So what did she do? Made a whole one just for him 😋❤️!

Doesn’t everyone have shooting tourneys in the kitchen?

Thanks for following along to the end of this post. May you go with God!

March 2021

Through My Lens

March 20, 2021March 20, 2021by amysaxons3 Comments

It’s a purple finch! It’s a purple finch! It’s a purple finch! Finally!! We had a purple finch for a couple of days earlier in the week, the first time ever. I thought we had one last year but I was wrong. I wondered if I would be able to tell if one ever came, I had a hard time telling them apart from house finches looking at them in a book. It was much easier to see the differences in person. Purple finches are more raspberry colored than house finches and don’t have brown streaks down their belly, the red goes farther down their abdomen too, and they have more red on their backs.

This gorgeous fella stayed for a good 20 minutes.

Heartbreaking 💔. This little goldfinch had avian conjunctivitis causing her to go blind and slowly die. She let me get within two feet of her for this picture. It’s easily spread at feeders between finches. I had to take the feeders down, sanitize them with 1/9 parts bleach to water, wash them with soapy water, and leave them down for a couple of weeks. I also raked up all the seed debris under the feeders and cleaned the area up. I am keeping a close eye on all the birds at the feeders now to make sure no one else has it. If you have feeders, please keep your eye out for the symptoms. I’ve included the link below for you to learn more. Feel free to contact me if you need more information. https://feederwatch.org/learn/house-finch-eye-disease/

Feeders down, getting ready to rake up the debris underneath.

We took care of my Dad’s dog for a couple of days this week while he was out of town. She’s a sweet pup. I circled her favorite toy, a pair of socks tied together.

With my feeders down I needed a bird fix. I went to the park at the lake near our house and sat watching the birds and geese. It was a bit cold but I found some flowers blooming!

Today is March 20th, the first day of spring, and that means my Grandpa Frank would have been 129 years old today. Happy birthday, Grandpa ❤️!!

I hope you have a wonderful day and get out to enjoy a bit of nature wherever you are. God be with you! ❤️, Amy

March 2021

The Day After I Toothed My Brush

March 2, 2021March 2, 2021by amysaxons3 Comments

I was wiped out after 8 1/2 hours at the hospital getting my 4th Ocrevus infusion yesterday. The first three hours were spent waiting for the pharmacy to compound the drug and get it up to the unit for me to take. At a whopping $100,000 a pop they won’t start getting it ready until the nurses call and say they see the whites of my eyes.

Dangling an IV, waiting for the Ocrevus.

My head ached all afternoon and evening and I struggled to make sense. My favorite was when I told hubby I had “toothed my brush”and was ready for bed…at 8:30. I slept pretty good until about 4:40 this morning. – thanks, steroids I laid in bed daydreaming while snuggling Laudy and finally gave up and got out of bed around 5:40. I’d had three cups of coffee, eaten breakfast, read the news, showered, and was dressed all before I normally get up.

It’s been a long, slow day of flushing from the steroids and a still relentless headache as a side effect of the Ocrevus. It usually takes about 3-4 days to feel normal again. In the meantime, my arms are full of cats and there are plenty of birds at the feeders to entertain us.

The steroids are seeping out but the company is good.

I’ve pasted a link to my personal Walk MS page. Please consider making a donation, it would mean so much to me ☺️. I’m already a little more than halfway to meeting my $1000 goal. It’s way past time to find a cure! https://secure.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR/Walk/KSGWalkEvents?px=18236733&pg=personal&fr_id=31565

Thanks for stopping by. May God be with you! ❤️, Amy

February 2021

A Hairy Situation

February 26, 2021February 26, 2021by amysaxons2 Comments

WARNING: The following is an extremely exaggerated, fanciful description of a much less exciting story. No one was injured in the actual exploit. Names are not used to protect the identity of those involved.

She opened the top drawer of her cabinet and paused thoughtfully. She ran her fingers over the neatly aligned collection of scissors of various sizes, thicknesses, brands, and purposes. Nothing there seemed quite right. Suddenly, I saw the flash of inspiration turn her usually dull, milky-garnet eyes into lustrous gems. She quickly closed the drawer, bent down, reached under the cabinet, and pulled out a large plastic case. I heard the release of two clasps as she opened it on the ground directly behind me. Strangely, I noticed a faint whiff of gasoline mix with the scent of hairspray, botanical shampoos, and foamy mousses.

With absolutely no warning and the simultaneous feeling of fight or flight that only true terror can create, the whine of a two-stroke, single engine weed eater filled the retail space. The din reverberated off the mirrors, tiled floor, and rows of adjustable metal chairs. A deafening “thunk-tunk, thunk-tunk, thunk-tunk” whirred into life and ramped up into a high pitched scream just over my right shoulder. It swiftly came closer until I felt the very hair on my neck begin to move. I could tell the length of trimmer string was too long and was flicking past the protective case, like the tongue of a cobra tasting the air. Instinctively, I pulled away from the droning sound and was nearly out of the chair when I heard the stylist’s voice filtering somewhere through the bedlam. “Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing. I’ve done this hundreds of times and you’re going to love it!”.

Was she like a chainsaw artist and could sculpt ordinary hair into a beautiful pixie cut with this outrageously deadly tool? After all, I’d shown her a picture of what I wanted. Wasn’t that her license hanging right in front of me on the mirror saying she knew what she was doing?

It’s strange how much faith we put in a little slip of paper with an embossed seal. It gave me the courage to sit back down. As I felt the first chunk of hair whacked off, I squeezed my eyes as tightly as I could and hoped for the best. Thirty minutes passed and I was still alive when she told me she was done.

Because it was a really tired MS day and I didn’t want to be out any longer than absolutely necessary, I got a wet cut without having her blow out my hair and style it. I don’t know if she was trying to cover up the mess, but she showed the back of my hair to me through a small hand mirror. The little bit I saw looked pretty short but okay.

When I was about 10 years old I remember my Mom telling the stylist to cut my uber thick, long, blonde hair into something more manageable. Somehow the lady translated that into a female mullet. I cried uncontrollably until Mom took me back an hour later and had the stylist rid all traces of Liza Minnelli from my head. I haven’t felt like crying about my hair for 40 years. I tell that story because this is what I saw when I got a closer, fuller view in the mirror at home…

Obviously, I couldn’t leave it like that and I certainly wasn’t going to go back and let her take another whack at it (😜😂). Though I’ve trimmed up my own hair before, this was way beyond my skills. Besides, it’s hard to see what you’re doing through misty eyes. So, I ended up going to my Hubby’s barber. Though I had to wait my turn for two hours, he was able to get me in on the same day as the disast-hair and, well, see for yourself…

Ahh, much better! Hey, local friends, do you have any recommendations for a good stylist who can handle short hair?

Photos from the last few weeks.

Southwest Missouri got a lot of snow last week, about 5-6 inches in our backyard.

All the snow had melted by the middle of this week. These are the last few water droplets draining from our gutters. Isn’t that a pretty piece of bark? It reminds me of a tunnel.

We have had some beautiful birds at the feeders this week. These are a few of my favorites.

I read that American Goldfinches weigh about the same as five teaspoons of granulated sugar.

Early in the week I added this corn holder to give the squirrels their own feeding spot. They still prefer to eat under the bird feeders. 🙄

I had a moderate amount of energy on Monday so I decided to squander it by going to the lake near our house. (And I do mean squander. I’m still recovering 😒.) Though it was still a bit cold, the sun was shining and it felt good to sit in it by the edge of the water. The lake was still frozen over but the ducks and geese didn’t seem to care.

There’s always one who doesn’t like to get in line.

I’ve been practicing using portrait mode with my camera this week. It’s impossible to take a bad picture of these two beauties 😻!

I get the next dose of Ocrevus for my MS on Monday of this coming week. I have to wait three months after I get the infusion, but then I will FINALLY be able to get a Covid vaccine, Lord willing. I wish you health and happiness! ❤️, Amy

February 2021

The Great Backyard Bird Count

February 15, 2021February 15, 2021by amysaxonsLeave a Comment

This weekend, from the comfort of our own living room, I joined bird enthusiasts from around the world to count species and track their populations in a group effort sponsored by The Audubon Society and led by The Cornell Lab. The app “eBird” made it easy-peasy as I watched birds come to our backyard feeders. There was a cool global map that lit up in real time as people from around the world turned in their lists. The most flashes were in North America, Europe, and Asia during the times I looked, but I saw some from Australia and South America too. I kept data from Friday through today, Monday. I saw the most birds Sunday with 15 different varieties and a total count of 42 individuals in about 45 minutes. I imagine the freezing temps and constant snow made for a larger than normal number of birds at our feeders. You can see a bit of the progression of the storm in the pictures below.

I had help counting on Friday morning which was a mildly icy day.

Our first visitor. I couldn’t turn anyone away in such nasty weather.

I think we ended up with four individual Fox Sparrows. It was pretty exciting to see them since they’ve never been to the feeders before.

A flyover 😉. For any photographers out there, I went Manual this weekend for the first time ever. I played around and learned a lot by trial and error. That is, I made a million errors and it was very trying.

By far the biggest number of birds at the feeders were White-throated Sparrows.

I spread a lot of sunflower seeds on the ground and many of the birds camped out there to eat during the day. Birds need lots of food when it is so cold.

Look at the sweet little Junco’s eye, frosty from the blowing snow 😢. The are two Northern Cardinals in the background braving the wind as well as a Sparrow.

I usually shoo away the European Starlings because they are aggressive and a non-native species, but I didn’t have the heart in the bitter weather this weekend. This little fella has his feathers all fluffed out and his beak in his wing in an effort to stay warm.

Although the lighting in this pic is not right, it does highlight the snow stuck on the Cardinal and shows the blizzard-like conditions.

This Junco is pecking through the snow in search of seeds.

This White-throated Sparrow dove into the snow and scratched out a spot to sit in.

Here he is all settled in and fluffed out.

Our feeders about 2:00 Monday afternoon. There’s about 3-4 inches of snow with more supposed to come in overnight and again Tuesday night. I’m glad we got birdseed last week!

The indispensable tools of the trade, my specs and trusty binoculars.

I plan to continue to keep track of the birds that visit us using the eBird app, it was fun. And, you know I will be taking more bird pics soon! Thanks for stopping by! ❤️Amy

February 2021

Winter Walk By the Lake

February 9, 2021by amysaxonsLeave a Comment

One day back in mid-January I took a nearly mile-long walk by the lake near our house. There was a blisteringly cold wind that froze my fingers and stabbed my lungs with each breath, but made me feel very alive. It didn’t matter because my legs were working that day and the call of nature was beckoning. Her voice is always so sweet and calming, it’s a delight to wander at her bidding.

I think this was the dried leaf of lily pad that had blown out of the lake. I saw several in the grass along the trail.

Delicate but solid. Open, but empty of life. Waiting for the promise of Spring.

Cirrus clouds stretching across the blue.

Vertical concrete against horizontal metal.

I got a wide-angle lens for Christmas. Can you tell?

“Eight. Eight ducks.” ~ The Count of Sesame Street

I’ve been taking P.T. of late to work on my balance and walking. This Canadian Goose can stand on one leg MUCH longer than I can 😜.

I wasn’t the only one trying to stay warm.

Green, yellow, brown, white, black, orange… mallards are a symphony of color!

December 2020

Chocolates and Pelicans

December 8, 2020December 8, 2020by amysaxonsLeave a Comment

The first week of December is in the books, and I can hardly wait for each new day to hurry up and get here. I got myself an “Oh, Nuts!” chocolate advent calendar to enjoy. Mmm, Mmm! Here are a few of my favorites so far!

I know many people put their trees up early this year, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. My Mom always had us girls decorate the tree the day after Thanksgiving. Somehow, now that she is gone, it makes her feel closer to follow familiar traditions. She gave me many of the ornaments, and I love the memories each of them brings back.

My sister surprised me last week by sending me the adorable Cat’s Christmas tea towel. She saw it as she was Christmas shopping and thought I needed it to “add a bit of Christmas cheer”. I have the best sister in the world and I know it!!

I have a niece who is going to love this little doll bed with a rag quilt and matching pillowcase. It’s a special gift because the doll bed was my stepmom’s when she was growing up. She bought the fabric herself to make up, but wasn’t able to get it done before she passed away last month. My Dad is going to give it to my niece “from Grandma” ❤️. It was my first attempt at making a rag quilt – it took FIVE lint roller papers to clean myself up 😂!

Hubby and I drove by the river near our house as we came home from grocery shopping this past Saturday and saw several American Pelicans floating around. I got home, grabbed my camera, and drove back as fast as I could hoping not to miss them. I needn’t have worried, they weren’t in any hurry. The fishing was apparently good because they snacked all afternoon. Wow, it was fun to watch them throw their heads down, bring up a fish, and watch it wiggle down their necks!

I wasn’t the only one who took an unexpected break in their Saturday to enjoy the pelicans.

I sat and watched the pelicans for about an hour and started back along the walkway to my car when I heard a rustle in the bushes and trees. There were several bluebirds eating berries not five feet from me! I got as many shots as I could of them before the sound of my camera scared the group off, these were the best two images. It was just as exciting for me to see them as the pelicans.

I got in the car and drove just a bit further down the road to another access spot by the river and took a few more snaps before heading home. I was running out of energy and only stayed 10 minutes or so, but every second by a river is bliss to me and I’m not going to waste it.

I think these shots are proof positive that there is beauty in every season. As a matter of fact, there’s beauty in everything and in everyone, if you look for it. I am going to try to remember to look for the beautiful in the world around me. I’m especially reminded during the holiday season to be grateful God saw beauty and worth in His creation, enough so that He sent Christ to redeem us. God be with you! ❤️Amy

December 2020

Worth It!

December 1, 2020December 1, 2020by amysaxonsLeave a Comment

I hope you had a good Thanksgiving and enjoyed a bit of down time. The weather here in The Ozarks has been mostly mild for the time of year and begged for a stroll around the lake near our house. It was a good MS day so I chanced hiking halfway up a short trail for a few photos.

The natural stone path was easier to climb up than down.

I’ll have to remember to bring a lunch next time to enjoy the surrounding views.

There were several people fishing along the bank. I think Santa went incognito and took the afternoon off to drop a quick line 😉.

There were several male Mallards clustered together along the shoreline and let me get awfully close.

There were also a few female Mallards waddling here and there.

It felt very mellow to see the remains of summer’s decay floating in and on the water.

A few members of our family shared a cozy, delicious turkey dinner with all the fixings on Thanksgiving Day.

Waiting for the last bits of the turkey to arrive before digging in.

Our very own smoked turkey guru. Apple-sage 😋

The kids enjoyed making all manner of things from pipe cleaners.

As the title suggests, the energy expended to hike and walk around the riverbank as well as to cook all the sides for Thanksgiving was worth it. They cost me a few days of serious rest and struggle walking, but I am incredibly grateful to still be able to do these things. So many people who have had MS for 30 years no longer have the choice of doing these seemingly mundane, everyday things. The blessing that I still can do them, no matter how many days I pay for it, is not lost on me.

I took the final three photos below over the last few days as I’ve been recovering. I am so happy the juncos are back for the winter, they are one of my favorites.

Though I hope to write again soon, I don’t want to miss the chance to wish you a very merry, festive Christmas season! ❤️Amy

November 2020

The Blahs

November 19, 2020November 19, 2020by amysaxonsLeave a Comment

I’ve got a case of The Blahs, not to be confused with The Blues – which I don’t have.

MS has been busy fatiguing me of late without allowing me to pursue much sewing or exploring around to enjoy photo taking. The weather has turned cooler so most of my bird watching has been through the windows instead of on the back patio. I did get a few snaps with my phone of the cats doing cute things. Well, they’re cute to me, anyway.

This doesn’t happen very often so it was worth documenting.

Pip’s position and back legs up in the air crack me up 😹!

After a long 35 year battle with breast cancer, my stepmother passed away a couple of weeks ago. She had suffered so much that it was a blessing to know her pain was over and she had gone to her heavenly reward. Of course, my sister and her family came up from Texas for a few days in two consecutive weeks. They got to say “goodbye” the first week and were here for the funeral later the following week.

Puppy K.C. came up the first week. She’s a hoot!

Doing 9th grade online while they were here the 2nd time.

My Dad always gets his Model-Ts out when my nephew is here.

My sister brought some hot chocolate bombs for the kids to try out. The verdict was unanimous – 😋!

Covid made Halloween kinda different this year.

I did get this sweet finch one sunny afternoon a few weeks ago.

I’ve been putting a lot of puzzles together while listening to Charles Dickens novels. So far, Bleak House and A Tale of Two Cities (both of which made me cry) have been my favorites. I just finished Great Expectations and am only three hours (out of 23) into The Old Curiosity Shop. I have A Christmas Carol, Nicholas Nickleby, and The Pickwick Papers waiting in the wings. I’ve read some of these before but am enjoying how they sound as audiobooks with wonderful readers speaking life into the characters as they do all the different voices.

(American) Thanksgiving will be a much smaller affair than usual but we’re looking forward to seeing my Dad and my step-sister’s family. In the true spirit of the holiday, they are each bring a couple of dishes while hubby and I do the rest. Despite all the troubles in the world around us, we have so many blessings for which to give thanks. I hope you find many blessings to be thankful for too.

God be with you. ❤️ Amy

October 2020

An Unspoiled Autumnal Walk

October 19, 2020October 19, 2020by amysaxons2 Comments

This past Friday I got in the car and drove to an opening in the woods just down the road from our house. Although the spot was less than a quarter mile away, and any other person would have walked, I drove in an effort to reserve as much energy as possible so I could do a bit of exploring. With my trusty cane in my right hand and my camera around my neck, I entered the forest along a well-maintained track. I’d never been to this area before, though I had been planning to check it out since noticing it after we moved earlier this year. The first half of the pictures below are some of the things I discovered. I wish I could share the smell and sound of the leaves crunching beneath my feet; the birds calling and flying in the canopy above; the babbling of the small, mossy spring where dragonflies were sunning themselves; and the joyful feeling that I had stepped out of the real world and into a children’s fantasy book.