Garden Harvest Begins

  Harvest begins...here I'm digging under the most mature potato vine to "steal" a few Yukon Golds.

Took a Walla Walla, sweet too!

Breakfast featured fresh boysenberries on Bran Flakes. We had some yesterday over ice cream when family was here.

Cucumbers and Fortex pole beans are climbing; we are working hard to protect the pole beans from the pesky wabbits! Bush beans are behind me and will bear soon. (That's Uncle Charlie the scarecrow in the picture, not me!!!)

First planting of sweet corn looks great! Corn-on-the-cob within 2 weeks.

We have been picking the first tomatoes for a week now. Yumm!

This is the "back" garden. Yellow squash being picked now, butternut, cantaloupe, honeydew melons, watermelon, more cukes and pole beans, and late corn, with 1 more planting of corn plus pumpkins next week.

My 2 favorite modes of transportation: John Deere and the golf cart.

Medical Update

  Great news on the Pet scan last week. All normal! We are praising God for this. Started the chemo again last Wednesday after an extra week off. I was beginning to feel more "normal" but the chemo really knocked me back. I have trouble with fatigue and weak legs. Hard to walk very far at a time. Also had a pretty good bout of nausea. But we persevere, knowing the chemo is working and God has a plan. Pray that we stay faithful to Him...His plan...His timing.

Blossoms and Berries

   We had a very dry May but received a welcome 1.25" of rain the past 2 days. The weather is unsettled and we'll likely receive more rain.
   The Knock Out roses and day lilies are blooming profusely and the garden is jumping.

On the right are the first 2 plantings of sweet corn. 5 varieties that should ripen in sequence, the first in about 3 weeks.The Walla Walla onions are rounding nicely, the Yukon Gold potatoes are blooming and falling over....new potatoes soon! Bush beans, Fortex pole beans and cucumbers on the left.

Boysenberries are ripe. Tart but sweet! Blackberries are very late but we should have a good harvest soon.

   Blueberries still promising a nice harvest.

   Not shown is the "back garden" where cantaloupe, honeydew, watermelon, summer squash, butternut squash and more sweet corn plus pumpkins are doing well.

   We actually harvested one tomato and one summer squash already!

Medical Update

   Prayer needed!  I had a CT at Vanderbilt last week and Dr Gian sees some "suspicious" areas on my liver that need further attention. So rather than start the 4th month of chemo Wednesday, I will have a PET scan next Tuesday and we'll go from there when it is determined what is going on, if anything, on the liver. Thank you for your prayers.

Celebrating Granddaughters

   A major milestone this month as Brittany, our oldest granddaughter, graduated from Eagleville High School. Here is a little pictorial history of Brit and Katie since we moved to the South 9 years ago. How time flies!

Miss Brit will be a freshman at Middle Tennessee State this Fall, staying at home and commuting about 20 minutes.  Miss Katiebug will be a freshman at Eagleville.

This is 9 years ago at the airport as they first arrived for a new life in the South.

Southern ballerinas!

Here with cousin Jackson (now 10)

   We are so proud of these girls. They are both sweet, loving, family oriented and Jesus loving believers with a strong faith. And they are beautiful.....just like their Mother and Grandmother.  Just sayin'...from a proud Granddaddy.

More rain and cool, but garden is growing

   Rain clouds linger this morning as the owl and a whirlybird try to keep the birds away from the ripening strawberries. We may cover them with garden netting if this doesn't work. We got 1.5" of rain in the past 48 hours which was needed and appreciated. What isn't appreciated so much is 62 for highs and mid 40s for lows for a few days!

    Right, first planting of sweet corn, to it's left, second planting, just up a couple inches. These 2 beds will ripen every 5 days or so in July. 

    These 2 pictures above show the bean row, Annialator bush beans first pic and Sweet Slice cucumbers and Fortex pole beans on the fence. We have trouble with rabbits nipping the early seedlings off at the ground, so we covered with plastic mesh garden fencing. Seems to have worked! We have seen rabbits sitting alongside trying to figure out a way inside! 

                            Looks like we'll have some thornless boysenberry production this year.

                           And the thornless blackberries look good in spite of being late this year.

    The blueberries are loaded as well. We just keep pouring on the Miracle-Grow for acid loving plants. It's the only method we've found to keep them acid enough. 

    See the 4 Kildeer eggs in the center of the picture. Another set of 4 hatched out 2 weeks ago and we thought they were done, but here's more!

                              Just finished mowing this morning when another shower moved in. 

    Yesterday was the second of this set of 3 chemo treatments. Next Wednesday will be the 3rd, then the last week of May will be blood tests, a CT scan and appointment with Dr Parikh, my surgeon, along with Dr Gian to see where we go next.

    I feel good today. My blood counts are still low and I can't gain weight. I'm eating tons of protein at Dr.'s orders, but all in all, I am good and very thankful for each new day.

Garden Update

    I can't believe it's been 2 weeks since I posted. I guess we have been busy. The storms moving through this weekend were supposed to have totaled over 2" of rain, but have fizzled so far....maybe a tenth or so. Not enough to register in my big rain gauge. I have 2 repairs to make on my distribution water lines so I can turn the drip hoses on. It is quite dry now.
    My continuing lack of stamina from the chemo treatments limit me in what I can do, but Rita has been a real trooper and is doing much of the work. The potatoes are growing very well; I pulled all the loose dirt up to them last week and now we will mulch deeply with straw. The Walla Walla onions are growing well too. The first planting of corn is 4-5" tall and the second planting will be up this weekend, along with pole beans, cucumbers, summer squash and melons.Monday we hope to plant more sweet corn and butternut squash (the squash was waiting on a roto-tilling task). I will continue to plant sweet corn through June and make the last planting about the first of July, along with pumpkins at that time. That should allow for mature pumpkins and dried corn stalks in Oct/Nov. Wendy always gets some for her classroom, and last year I planted pumpkins too early and they were rotting before time to decorate with them.
    One of the easiest tasks for me to do is mowing, and I love to mow. But yesterday I about over did it. I got the John Deere fixed (needed a fuel filter and fuel lines blown out). The south pasture was over knee high in thick lush grass and clover. Oh my, how my cows would have relished it! But I bush hogged it and did about 4 acres total yesterday, which was too much bouncing and steering I guess. I was beaten down when I quit. But the pasture looks like a lawn this morning; very beautiful.
    I just completed the 2 week regimen of antibiotics and it was effective in stopping the clostridium diarrhea. We started the 3rd month of chemo last Wednesday, since there are still cancer cells present, we will do 3 more weeks of chemo. The last week of May I will have a CT and we'll see where we go from there.
    The GREAT NEWS is that the Ca 19-9 marker test is down some more. Remember, it skied to over 36,000, then dropped to 6000? Last weeks test was 2550! Going the right direction. "Normal" is 0-37, so we still have a ways to go, but the chemo is working. Praise God.

Spring showers

 This was the view from the driveway this morning when I picked up the newspaper. Our good neighbor's Grey and Rhiannon's horse farm after an overnight 1/2 inch shower. Gorgeous!

  Turning to my left, this view of our south pasture. I mowed yesterday. It sure hurts to mow off such beautiful pasture, but I know selling the herd was the right thing to do at this time.

  As I am still pretty limited as to what I can do (lack of strength and stamina, and occasional low blood pressure), Rita has been a trooper at the yard work. This area is rocky with thin soil, so she planted in these pots under the paper birch tree.

  This garden row is Walla Walla sweet onions and at the far end, Yukon Gold potatoes are up.

  This row was planted yesterday to 4 varieties of sweet corn with varying maturity dates....Quickie, Cloud 9, Kandy Korn and Peaches and Cream. Our intention is to make several plantings like this so we have sweet corn maturing all summer.

  I planted fewer tomatoes this year, so splurged and bought some big plants at Martin's Mennonite nursery.

  Blueberries in the foreground are blooming vigorously; the blackberries behind them are late this year and just starting to bud.

Medical Update

  Wednesday's chemo concluded the first 2 month regimen. Next week is an off week and then we start again. I am generally doing well. Have battled diarrhea the past 2 weeks which keeps me from maintaining my weight and strength. Have had 2 episodes of low blood pressure that needed to be treated with IV fluids. We are waiting on the lab results to see if I need an injection or an antibiotic. 

  I have lost so much hair that I finally got the "chemo buzz cut" and 2 more hats! I will look much better when I can gain about 20 pounds, too. (I've never said that before in my life! Always the other way around!)

  But we continue to praise God for the positive results of the chemo treatments!

Birthday Boy

  We celebrated Caleb's first birthday last Sunday. He was 1 on March 28, but we had to wait until the whole family was cleared up of the snuffles, colds, etc. as my blood counts are low and I am supposed to avoid such things.

Good chocolate cake!

Brothers

  We have the boys again this afternoon as Katie needed to be at a business function with Dave.

  The weather is having a hard time deciding that Spring is here. Some beautiful days at 75-80 but next Tuesday is forecast at 52-32! What!

   I am trying to do as much as I can outside every day the weather allows, but my stamina is severely limited. I started the second month of chemo Wednesday. Side effects are really fairly minimal, but for stamina, hair loss and numbness of feet. 

  We continue to sell some unneeded things on Craig's List. Sold a lawn plug aerator yesterday for $120, then got a small load of topsoil delivered this morning for $100. We found some really nice 3 ft. blueberry bushes for $12.95 at Kroger, of all places, so we are replacing some that didn't make it. Also lost a lot of strawberry plants this winter.

  I am anxious to plant more garden, but my common sense tells me to be patient.

  I got a shot Wednesday that is supposed to help my body build more blood cells. I guess it is one of the PED drugs Lance Armstrong is accused of taking. Cost $3000! Thank goodness for insurance.

More Spring and Great Report !

  The forsythia is in full bloom and the redbuds are breaking out. Looks like Spring!

The first asparagus spear of 2014! I had been checking every few days; went out today to pull a few weeds and there it was!

  Rita and I planted the onion sets and potatoes last Monday. If temperatures turn out as forecast the next 2-3 weeks, I hope to plant corn, squash, tomatoes etc. before the end of April. Accu-weather says highs from 65-80 and lows mostly 45-58 so that would be wonderful.

  I must admire the gardeners in several blogs I read who live in the "North" who still have hard freezes and snow. Minus 6 a few days ago in North Dakota? I don't think I could stand it!

Medical Update

  We received wonderful news Friday at the doctor's appointment. First of all, my blood counts, which had been dropping down to near the transfusion level, had improved. But BEST of all, the CA19-9 pancreatic cancer blood marker test, which had been skyrocketing to 14,000 and then 36,000, had dropped to 6000! God is using the chemo as we have been praying to kill those bad cells.

  This was an off week from chemo and I feel more nearly "normal" than I have in many a day, but I have another repeat of the March chemo starting Wednesday April 9 for 4 weeks, with 4 more months to follow after April.

  Thank all of you who are praying. God hears and answers!

Hope SPRINGS Eternal !

Dwarf peach tree March 22. Four nights later we had to cover it when the low hit 19. Last night and tonight are about 33-34, then maybe spring arrives! 62 today, 70's the rest of the week with nights much warmer.

  Wendy & Steve came over the 22nd and did several jobs for us, including roto-tilling some of the garden beds. Rita and I hope to plant two 21' rows of Yukon Gold potatoes and two 21" rows of Walla Walla onions Mon  or Tues.
  I had to order the Walla Walla sets online. All the Lowes, Home Depot, Walmart etc. garden centers carry Bonnie plants and they only stock a generic "sweet" onion. I checked with the manager at our local Mennonite nursery and he had never heard of a Walla Walla. I explained that it was "the Vidalia of the West". It originated on the island of Corsica and was introduced to the Walla Walla Valley in Washington State in 1900; the Vidalia started in Georgia in the 1930's.
  Some say that you can't grow WWs this far south, but we had an excellent yield last year, outperforming Candy and Red Granex.
  April forecast is mostly 70's with a few 60's and 80's. Lows mostly 40's and 50's with maybe 2 or 3 high 30's. We'll get past this hard winter yet!

Update & Then Change Focus

  This spread is from last Saturday when we had a wonderful visit from my niece Laurie and her husband Wayne from California. More on that in a subsequent post. This was a lunch layout with deli sandwich fixin's, sausage cheese dip, buffalo chicken dip, potato salad, fruit and veggie trays, apple pie and more. Yummm!

  Here is the latest medical update and prayer request Then I hope to start making some "regular" posts more tilted toward gardening and such, as I feel stronger and Spring holds promise, in spite of this horribly long and cold winter.

  I had my second chemo treatment last Wednesday. The good news is that I have really had no side effects as yet from the chemo. The not so good news is that God is not finished healing me yet. The Ca 19-9 marker test was again greatly elevated and the PET scan was, in Dr. Gians words, "a mess". So I most likely have cancer still lingering somewhere in the abdominal area. Dr. Gian added Abraxane to my Gemzar chemo last Wednesday...the latest potent and expensive drug, I guess.
  Yesterday, I spent 2-3 hours with Rita's help cleaning up around the shop with 2 trips to the "dump". (The gutters were not correctly installed on the shop building and I had a lot of rot behind them. So had Terry (who built the shop for us (but not the gutters!) take them down, repair, and re-install correctly. So we cleaned up all the old and rotten wood. I may have overdone it; came in the house for a nap and next thing you know I had a 101 + temperature. Our doctor instructions were to call immediately if I ever had a temp over 100.5 because my white blood cell count is low. So.............a trip into the emergency room, 4 hour stay, x-rays and blood tests, IV anti-biotic, and then, thankfully, back home. Tests were all good, no infections, so just a cautious and preventative measure.

  I feel better and stronger than I have in months, but obviously I have a long way to go. Please continue to pray for healing. We serve a great God who is able. Praise and thank Him!

Farm Update and Medical Update

  Look carefully and you can see the stock trailer leaving the driveway with our bull, 5 cows and 3 babies. We do miss them but we got a fair price and greatly reduced the workload. I have also sold the last 7 round bales of hay, both hay rings, the 3 point hitch bale spear and the cattle feeding trough. All through word of mouth or Craig's list. We sure enjoyed seeing the first 3 baby calves. That is the best part of owning cattle.
  Still to sell: the tractor, bush hog, lawn aerator, lawn thatcher and various fence posts.
  Here are a few more farm pictures.

  And here is Rita's beautiful Christmas cactus and a couple shots of Caleb:

  Here is the latest medical update:

    Yesterday was my first chemo treatment and it was uneventful. No side effects and all was well.

 

    Several things to be praying about. My original CT at Vanderbilt showed a nodule in my lower lung. Dr. Parikh referred to a pulmonologist who said it was nothing to be concerned about. I had another CT at St Thomas Rutherford 2 weeks ago which showed my entire lungs and a second nodule near the top was seen. Again, referred to a pulmonologist and he said they are too small to be biopsied; probably nothing to be concerned about but he will monitor it.

 

    I saw Dr. Gian, my oncologist, yesterday before the first chemo. I have been having terrible lower back pain. Hydrocodone didn’t help and had side effects. I was taking Tylenol and it helped but I couldn’t take it often enough to cover 24 hours. Dr. Gian took me off Tylenol (hard on the l liver) and put me on Ibuprofen 3X / day. It has virtually stopped all pain and last night was the best night I have had in weeks. He said the pain is likely from muscles still healing from my surgery.

 

    The biggest concern is that the blood test from 2 weeks ago saw a greatly elevated Ca19-9 level. This generally means a metastasis, but can also be still a reaction to my surgery, as the pancreas, liver, stomach, small intestines and ductwork were all cut into during surgery. The test will be run weekly to see if it is rising or falling. A sample was taken Wednesday. We are just trusting that it is not a metastasis.

 

    I felt better today than I have for a long time. My weight loss bottomed out at 90# and I have regained 6, so that is positive. I sold the 3 point hay spear today and was outside for 30-40 minutes loading that and visiting. I found that I didn’t have the strength to lift myself up onto my tractor seat! Going to have to pace myself. 

 

    Specific prayer requests:

            * That future tests show the CA19-9 coming down indicating no spread of cancer.

            *  Please pray for Carol, a blogging friend in Washington state. She has a vigorous return of cancer after 5 years from her original colon cancer Please pray for strength and for God's touch.

 

    Once again, thank you all for your prayers and all expressions of concern.

 

Love,

 

Ray