The months are like slippery salmon, they are illusive, near impossible to catch. I remember wading out into streams and having great fun attempting to lift salmon out of the water. They were slippery, muscular, heavy, and amazingly strong.

The months are like this in that I can’t get a grasp on them. Now here it is, mid-August. Out on the trail the fireweed is topping out. The Monks Hood flowers, bright blue, are in abundance. And the watermelon berries are now over-ripe. I like the berries. The horses like the vines. They grab them and walk along, chewing them as if they were long strands of licorice.

Watermelon berries

The leaves on the trees are dark green. The cow parsnip, in abundance, is now starting to yellow. Hemp nettle, a scourge, is in abundance. Pete said that it came here on an old manure trailer we had on the property. It took off and did not stop. Tonight I thought about taking a day and going around pulling it – but this would barely put a dent in it. Instead, I cleaned the outer goat pen.

The days are getting shorter. Pretty soon, gulp, it will be December. Seems to me that it was just May.

This business of time going by faster makes me think of the importance of immediacy – of enjoying the moment because time itself is so fleeting.

Today I went to Valley Imaging and had x-rays done of my hips and S.I. joints. The place is off the Parks Highway, seemingly out in the middle of nowhere, as these medical parks often are. The interior was what I call white aseptic. The waiting area walls were silhouettes of trees, in green and grey. The receptionist was friendly; Pete and I were even friendlier. It works this way, always.

Pete, thinking on his feet, figured out the best way to pay our bil,l which was to pay direct and not go with the insurance because we won’t likely meet the deductible, and there’s a 70% discount to pay cash.

The radiation assistance was equally friendly – I had to put on sweats (I wore sweats yesterday, dang it), and she had me get on a flat table under a machine. I was on my back. She repeatedly adjusted my legs and got images of my hips and S.I. joints. Of course, I am not at all a big fan of x-rays – this can’t be good for you – but the dangers of x-rays right now might not be as dangerous as the danger of continuing to get about with missed up hips.

I was back in street clothes in ten minutes time (I did want to keep those sweats) and then out the door. I thanked Pete repeatedly for being the motivator and then taking me to this far off place because I did not want to go there. I knew that getting an X-Ray would not be painful, but I continued to be in denial about dealing with this issue. I just want to ignore it. This is not something you do when you don’t have much time.

Next: 223. 8/16/24: Days On, Days Off