lip update...then get lost in the woods...

for those of you who read my last post,

here's a quick update on my lip...

surgery was on may 19th. i don't need to go on and on about how nervous i was...

but this Dr was so gentle and understanding of my fear...

that after the first injection of numbing agent...i felt absolutely nothing.

until of course it started to wear off. the stitches on the inside of my lower lip were

such a nuisance...i had to drink everything through a straw...could only eat what

i could pick up with a fork, and pass over my (FAT) lower lip, and put in my mouth...

warm salt water rinses, had to sleep with my head elevated & on my back!

besides THAT, one of the hardest things to get used to 

was drinking coffee through a straw.

OH! and not talking too much...doing THAT always caused my lip to throb.

finally. a week later. may 26th. back to Dr for follow-up visit.

most of the stitches had dissolved...but there were still 2 that hung on.

the Dr snipped them out...OUCH!  but what a relief!

my lip felt so much better. i started drinking without a straw...

just had to be careful not to lean whatever i was drinking from...against my lower lip.

there's still a little 'angelina jolee' going on in my lip...

but the swelling is subsiding day by day. thank goodness!

NOW i just have to deal with an abnormal fear of biting my lip while eating...

and starting the whole cycle all over again.     i wonder if there's a name for that FEAR?

i could be the first.      they could name it after me!

i might have to start eating with some kind of lip guard.

just kidding...

i'll just have to slow down...i'll try NOT to always be the LAST one to fill my plate 

and the FIRST one finished eating!

so, ONE MORE Dr follow-up visit on june 2nd...just to be sure everything looks good.

they should have the biopsy results by then too. 

i'm NOT worried about that. after all...it wasn't a growth on my lip...

it was scar tissue that developed from biting...NO, GOUGING my lip...

repeatedly!

**THANKS everyone...for your support...concern...healing thoughts...

well wishes...and for just hanging in there with me! i needed that!**

:)

"We are all travelers in the wilderness of this world, 

and the best we can find in our travels is an honest friend."  

-Robert Louis Stevenson

NOW, on to OTHER things!

oOo

a few weeks ago sam and i did a spur of the moment get-away.

stress was mounting...and we just needed to head to the woods.

we ended up at one of our favorite florida parks - O'Leno State Park. 

only about a 45 minute drive from home. we stayed there 3 nights.

O'Leno is one of the oldest state parks in florida. 

it was developed by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in the 1930's.

O'Leno is located on the banks of the Santa Fe River,

which is a tributary of the Suwannee River. 

as the river travels through the park, 

it disappears underground ("River Sink") 

and then reemerges over three miles away ("River Rise").

O'Leno is loaded with sinkholes, harwood hammocks, river swamps and sandhills.

don't worry. i have no desire at all to go swimming! not here anyway!

we did lots of hiking.

it was a much needed time for relaxation.

so...go ahead...i'll leave you alone. i've talked enough.

so sit back. slow down. get into nature. 

and wander through the park...

and i 'll only interject an explanation now and then!

(the OLD creaky suspension bridge, built by the CCC...

spanning the Santa Fe River.  the river is so low here...you can walk across it.)

(cypress knees along the bank)

(added later: since cypress trees usually grow in wet and swampy water...

they send up these big roots...up out of the water...so they can breathe)

(Red Shouldered Hawk)

(if you look REALLY closely...you can see a baby deer nursing...)

  

(i walked off the beaten path to get a pic of this coral bean plant.

when i got back ON the path, i felt something on my leg. it was a tick.

i plucked it off. then i felt something else on my leg. i looked down.

yeah, another tick...but not just ONE...i must've walked through a tick colony...

because there was at least a dozen of them...crawling on my sneakers! UGH!)

(TRACKS!!  deer. raccoon. vehicles. shoes. bike.)

 (turtle party of five. look closely. you can spot a tiny turtle on the branch.

i didn't even see that turtle until the picture was enlarged on my comp.)

 (Prickly Pear Cactus)

(Red Headed Woodpecker)

(some kind of  loooong legged spider...)

(a smiley trunk...with lizard...)

 

(this is the first time i've seen this bird! 

we decided to go for an EARLY morning  hike...down by the river. 

this is a Yellow-crowned Night-Heron!

usually nocturnal, we were lucky to see him still hanging out by the water)

(a couple of  structures built by the CCC)

  

 (i just love it when turtles try to fly. 

i was lucky enough to get this picture before it took off!)

 (make a wish....)

(hmmm...really odd looking fungus growing on a downed tree...)

 up by the Ranger Station.

don't forget to look both ways!

wasn't able to get a gopher picture this time. 

we saw a few, but they were too close to their burrows...

and they scurried back in too quickly!

(added later: gopher tortoise...not little furry gopher! i took a pic of a gopher

tortoise in previous 'suwannee river' post)

POOP!

one of my favorite things to see while out hiking!

i know, i know...that's a little weird...

but you don't always see the wildlife that's around you.

BUT if you notice the SCAT and the TRACKS...then you can ID later

and know what you can't see.

at first we thought...bobcat. but it has a little taper at the end...and lots of fur.

we decided on Coyote.

 (Zebra Swallowtail)

(this picture is a reflection of the underside of the suspension bridge.

see the rock and cypress knees in the foreground...for perspective...)

well...our long weekend adventure came to an end.

reality check. it was time to go home...

milo wanted to stay too...but she finally gave in and loaded up!

(yes! milo's getting a little tubby in her old age!)

it was time for me to work up the courage...and find a Dr to work on my lip.

and now you know the end to THAT story.

OH...and we spotted some wild turkeys on the way home...

that's it...for now.

oh yeah...just one more thing...

(sure...famous last words...'one more thing'...i've heard that one before...)

i made these little Forest Filled Vials...necklaces...

with forest floor, tiny acorns, air ferns, feathers, leaves, rock pieces..

"may the woods be with you"

(i'm keeping my fingers...and toes...crossed...for good luck...

that when i click on PUBLISH POST...it will do just that!

google's been having LOTS of problems lately...)

have a safe journey & enjoy the ride.

:] laura

"Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see." 

~Mark Twain 

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