Lucky twos!

On this 22nd day of July, I finally got my lifer Hackberry Emperor. He's on page 222 of my Butterfly guide (by Jim Brock & Kenn Kaufman). Total surprise, too. I was rushing around watering some stuff in the garden here in Alpine and filling hummingbird feeders since I'll be at CMO for the next couple of days. Got a glimpse of a yellowish butterfly a couple of times but it didn't land. Around 7 PM, making my last trip outside I saw it land on the trunk of a mulberry tree. I ran inside for my camera just in case it wasn't an Empress Leilia and was able to relocate it perched on a nearby grapevine.

That makes a lifer two days in a row.

Earlier this morning I visited an elderly neighbor in the hospital. She used to be a nurse and after she told me she had a bad night due to hip pain, we got to talking about my hip pain yesterday. She told me I have sciatica, not arthritis, when I described it and showed her where the pain originated. Hip-hip-horray! So much better to have that. That's what my sister had her surgery for. It's a much easier surgery than hip replacement. So, if worst comes to worst, I'll get the surgery. Gonna try to agitate it less. For one thing, I'm always carrying my heavy camera on my left shoulder. Can't carry it on the right shoulder because it's drooped and the strap wouldn't stay on. I guess because of the damage I've wreaked upon the rotator cuff or whatever. No more trail building, and cleaning the tank ever so slowly. Sitting is the most painful thing, so gonna spend less time at the computer and try different cushions, etc. And I'll carry my camera in my right hand and just lay it down when I need to move a hose or something. I've had back pain for 35 yrs ever since my invinsible back was carrying a one inch sheet of plywood. A dust devil came along and whipped it around. I should have just let the plywood go. Bad decision to hang onto it. Ten years ago I was told my back is severely degenerated (MRI). So, at this point, I can't complain.