No Problems

I just had my 6 month mammogram today and everything looks okay. In fact, the radiologist said if my next mammo is normal, I can return to having one every year instead of every 6 months. Yahoo!

In The Media

This past spring, I received a call from a reporter at the Bozeman Chronicle. She wanted to do an article on my bluebird trail for the Montana Quarterly magazine. So we took her out and showed her some of the nest boxes and told her what we did. The following week a photographer joined us. Since it was too early for the bluebirds to be nesting, I had to provide most of the photos. John's beautiful photo of a male Mountain Bluebird (with a grasshopper) was the feature photo for the article. It was very well written and I've received so many nice compliments. Here's the link to the article: http://sacajaweaaudubon.org/2012/07/sacajawea-audubon-bluebird-trail-featured-in-article/ Enjoy!

Cramming 10 lbs. into a 5 lb. bag

That pretty much sums up the spring/summer for me. Here's what I did: - Travelled to Ohio/Ontario to see migrating warblers - Led five field trips - Banded 150 mountain bluebirds - Attended three weddings (WA, ID, UT) - Camped in Yellowstone - Went to the state bird festival in Kalispell - Monitored a peregrine falcon nest site - Helped remove and then install the engine and transmission into our Mustang - Started a burdock removal project along local nature trails (for Audubon) And the summer isn't over yet! This is the fastest summer I can ever remember.

Time to Spring Forward

As the Earth continues it's tilt toward the sun, you start to feel Spring in the air. Today was such a day in Montana. A surprisingly toasty 65 degrees had humans and animals alike outside enjoying the day. I went for a tour of the north end of the Gallatin Valley with hubby John on a search for our first bluebird of the season. We were not disappointed! We saw about 10 bright blue male Mountain Bluebirds flitting about near some of our bluebird nest boxes. The males usually arrive first to establish their territories, then the females come a bit later to choose their favored nesting location. Whatever male bluebird has claimed that location is the one she will mate with. You know what they say, "location, location, location".

March 2012 - Health Update

I just finished up my last 3 month check-up this week. Now I only have to go into the oncologist every 6 months. Everything came out fine, but the mammo was very painful for some reason. I think who does it makes a big difference. I am also switching to an aromatase inhibitor, Arimidex, instead of the Tamoxifen that I have taken for almost 2 years. It's list of side-effects reads like a horror film, but I hope that I don't experience any of them! The most troubling is extreme joint and muscle pain. But the benefits outweigh the cons, the biggest being it is more effective in fighting a recurrence of breast cancer. Tomorrow is my 52nd birthday and I guess I have to feel pretty good about where I am physically and mentally. Here's to another year well-lived!