A Visit From Mary

Last weekend, our good friend and Bellevue neighbor, Mary, came to visit. It was great to see her. We have been next door neighbors in Bellevue for almost 17 years and often talked about our Bozeman connections. It was fun to show Mary our home here.
We spent the day driving around town, where Mary had lived as a college student. She also met her husband-to-be, Mearl, in Bozeman, and they were married at her aunt and uncle's home on the south side of town (see photo). The current owners invited Mary in for a tour, which she really enjoyed. A delicious barbecue dinner by John finished up the day.

Another Nest

Okay, I know you are all getting tired of bird photos, but I just couldn't resist posting this one. I've known there was a Chipping Sparrow nest somewhere in the Mugo Pine in the front of our house, but I couldn't exactly locate it. Well, as I was standing out front, helping load our camper last Friday, I saw the adult fly in to the bush and two little heads popped up for a meal. Aha! I grabbed my camera and a step ladder and shot this photo. A perfect little grass nest with two nestlings. It amazes me that these sparrows are so tolerant of our comings and goings. They just go about raising their family. I'm glad they picked my yard to nest in.

Lou Ann

Owls!

Yesterday, John and I took a morning hike in the Bridger Mountains. About two miles up the trail, John spotted a large bird on the ground ahead of us. It was a young Great Gray Owl! In fact, there were three of them. As we approached slowly, they hopped up into the tree branches above the trail. John got a few photos. It's a special day when you see a Great Gray, let alone three. No sign of the parents, but I'm sure they were nearby.

Finished!

Well, I did it! I'm done with radiation treatment. It's been a long haul since my diagnosis way back in early December, but I made it through, and now hopefully, I can begin to return to a more normal life. I still have to take the estrogen inhibitor Tamoxifen for a few years, and get check-ups every few months, but the really hard part is behind me.

To all of you who have given me support and love through the past 7 months: I couldn't have done it without you! Thank you from the bottom of my heart. It goes without saying that my husband John took such good care of me and got me through all those tough days. He has always been my biggest supporter. Both of us now look forward to some summer camping, and travel in the coming months.

I will continue to work on getting my strength and stamina back to normal, as well as grow some hair! That hair thing is a constant reminder of my cancer, and the sooner it grows back, the better.

As to this blog, I will be posting less often, but will let you all know when something important happens.

Lou Ann

How Time Flies

An MSU college chum, Phil, came through town today, and we met for coffee and a quick visit. That's Phil on the right. I know, we look a lot alike, don't we?

It's been 28 years since we've seen one another! Phil hasn't changed a bit. In two years it will be 30 years since we graduated, which is really hard to believe. How time flies. There was talk about a reunion of our TV class of 1982. I hope it happens. It would be a lot of fun to see all those crazy folks again.

The Countdown Begins

I'm down to my last 5 radiation treatments. I can't believe it's almost over! It's almost time to celebrate! Yahoo! Now if my hair would start growing a little bit faster ....

Change in Radiation

I met with my radiation oncologist yesterday. He was a little bit concerned with how red my skin is getting around my collarbone and under my arm. So today, they started giving me my "booster" electron radiation, which only pinpoints my surgery area. I get 5 of these booster treatments, and they usually come the last week of radiation. But instead, I get them this week which will give my skin a rest. Only 8 more to go and I'm done!



Yesterday and today, I checked all my bluebird boxes. We found a few nestlings, and six of them were old enough to band. The cold, rainy weather has been tough on the bluebirds, but they should rebound with a second brood. The attached photos are courtesy of Janne Hayward, and show a male Mountain Bluebird delivering a tasty caterpiller to a nestling, a 4 day old nestling, and me banding an adult female bluebird with some help from Diane.

Bird Festival

I just returned from Missoula where I attended the state bird festival with friends Diane & Karen. We had a lot of fun, as always. We went on two field trips; one to the Mission Valley (see photos), which is so beautiful. The second was a 6 mile hike up Pattee Canyon. As I was talking to one of the other gals on the hike, she mentioned she lived in Jackson, WY. I told her my brother Dave lives there. Well, it turns out she knows Dave and Patsy, my sister-in-law. What a small world! But I guess Jackson is a small town.

It was also great fun to catch up with all my birding friends from around the state. I'm fortunate to know so many good people. I am completely exhausted, but it's a good tired. My pillow is calling ....

Celebrating Being A Survivor

Last night, I attended a celebration for cancer survivors. It was sponsored by the Cancer Support Community here in Bozeman. It was a great evening with delicious food, drink and music. Two of my biggest supporters, Diane and Teri came with me (John is out of town). I saw a lot of people I knew, including many I've met over the course of my treatment. All my doctors and nurses were there, too. I even saw my 4-H horse leader (from about 40 years ago!). I liked what the emcee said that once you've gotten a diagnosis of cancer, there's nothing else you want to be as much as a cancer survivor. How so very true.

Today was my 21st radiation treatment. Only 13 to go!