Moles. And not the 4-legged kind

My family practice doctor found a couple of suspicious moles.  She said she could burn them off.  Or I could get a second opinion from a dermatologist.  I have new insurance coverage with a triple digit deductible so I figured, what the heck, I may as well rack up so more charges and go see a dermatologist.

Today I went to Dr. Derm.  While I’m lying on the table he is speaking medicalese to his assistant who is typing it into my record.  It all sounds very impressive.  Or fatal.  I’m not sure, so I ask for an interpretation.  He tells me this mole, here, is a (insert medialese) but in any case he’s not seen many of them.   Which gets me sitting up to take a look.

Wait one cotton pickin’ minute.  That’s not even the mole my doctor was concerned about!  I’ve had that funky mole all of my life and it hasn’t changed.  Dr. Derm says he could remove the funky mole but if I’ve had it for years, with no change, leave it alone.  As for the other moles that concerned my doc, not to worry about them either. Everything looks fine.

Just keep an eye on Funky Mole.

The visit was worth the extra money.  And I get to keep all my moles.

Bloom Where You Are Planted

I’d believed Punxsutawney Phil when he told us, not even three weeks ago, that spring would be early this year.  But this morning it was below freezing.  Come on, Phil!

But the sub freezing temperature did allow me to see this very curious thing:  Frost billowing up on a branch on the side of the road. But it wasn’t just the frost.  It was how limited it was. There was no frost on the grasses, the frost was not on all of the branch, nor was there frost on the other branches. The frost was just in a couple of places on the one branch.

I’m sure there is a scientific explanation for this.  But for me it says, “Bloom where you are planted.”  It doesn’t matter that your fellow ice molecules don’t form frost on the sticks.  If your talent is to form frost, do it, where ever you are!

Quiet Hummingbirds and Singing Frogs

It’s quiet on the farm now that we are in our no-pet phase.  This frees us up to come and go as we please.  We have no vet bills and we don’t have to stop at the feed store for grain or dog food. Some of it’s not too bad.  But it is pretty quiet.

I fed the hummingbirds last summer.  Turns out there are hummingbirds that stay around here all winter,too.  What do they eat?  Boggles my mind.  They clearly have things under control but I decided to be the nice guy and continue feeding them during the winter.  I’ve only seen him (or her or them) a couple of times.  Then again, it’s winter and I’m not sitting outside watching for them.  How do these tiny creatures stay warm all winter?  I’m inside by my fire but they’re out there somewhere in the cold.  I like to think I’m helping them a bit.

But it is pretty quiet.  So I’m excited about the warmer days which herald the beginning of the frog chorus.  When the sun goes down, the choir starts up.  It’s beautiful.  Sing on!

It’s Spring!

It’s spring!  Phil says spring will arrive early and he should know.  He’s the spring-arrival expert groundhog.

And I think he’s right. The grass is green, the sky is blue, the crocus are blooming yellow and purple, the daffodils are coming up.  And the absolute proof positive?  My Pacific tree frogs are out!

Well, they aren’t “mine.” But I like to think they are singing just me.

It’s the music of spring.