Well, the monsoons are still bringing evening rains, thank goodness! The afternoon highs dip quickly, even when it's just overcast, and the evening temperatures go down to the low 70s or high 60s. Quite tolerable!
One of the joys that came with this house is a flowering tree, which I think is called a Bird of Paradise tree (Caesalpinina gilliesii). Even the smallest seedlings can support this gorgeous, complex bloom; this happens to be on a recumbent branch, so it looks like it's coming out of the grass.
The poorer news part (better covered in Sandy's blog: sfeutz.blogspot.com) is that Sandy's infection flared up again Wednesday a week ago. Temperature spiked, redness increased, etc. The doctor who did drained the abscess was on vacation. So, Sandy contacted Dr. Wasif at the Mayo, who did the partial mastectomy, and he said, "Come on down." We left early Thursday, Sandy was seen by Dr. Wasif shortly after noon, got an ultrasound (which showed widespread inflammation) and she was scheduled for surgery early Friday afternoon. Dr. Wasif basically reamed out the opening, clearing it of all dead tissue and leaving a cavity with fresh, raw surfaces so the healing can be uniform and unimpeded by dead tissue. The wound care problems is much bigger now, in terms of volume of cavity to care for, and will probably take longer, but the process is the same, the redness is gone, the fever is gone ... all signs are good!
Hence the pictures of the Mayo Clinic Hospital just off N. Scottsdale Road in North Phoenix, where Sandy lived on IV antibiotics from Friday afternoon till Monday morning. The facade of the building hides the really beautiful "Angel and Paul Harvey Atrium" ... the rest of the story. The view north to the mountains from the seventh floor ain't bad, either!
And what could be more glorious than to arrive on the morning of Sandy's discharge and be greeted by a profusion of big, beautiful cereus cactus blooms (which only last a few hours)? The grounds of the hospital are really beautiful, with flowers and succulents everywhere, palo verde trees shading the parking areas and volunteers driving electric carts to help you get between your parking space and the entrance to the hospital, which I greatly appreciated when it was aroung 110 degrees!
Yes, I have a thing for bugs in blooms!
So, we got home Monday evening to 30 degrees cooler temperatures than when we left Phoenix. We found the curve-billed thrasher nest empty ... we're being positive and assuming the last remaining fledgling was able to fly away in our absence, not be carried away by a predator. The thrashers are still around, but it doesn't look like they're going to go for a third clutch this summer.
We're really enjoying the wildlife right around the house. In addition to the deer and the roadrunners and the thrashers, there are lovely bugs, like the tiger swallowtail butterfly I saw on the tree out front yesterday.
Yesterday we took a little jaunt out to Mimbres for their farmers market (good peaches, squash and green beans) and stopped briefly to look into the Chino Mine, where Santa Rita, NM, used to be. To get a perspective on the size of the shovel on the other side of the mine, those are pickup trucks parked to the left of it.
Time for the morning wound care. Maybe we'll venture downtown for the First Friday music, shenanigans and pet parade this evening. tv
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