The Return Of A 4 Legged Friend

I have been putting out a bunch of cracked corn out behind our residence.
I put it out there so that when the deer decide to visit, they will have something to eat and the piles of cracked corn are strategically located right outside our computer room window that is on the ground floor.
Unfortunately we have not had any deer that have paid us a visit in about months.
There are more people out and about with the warmer weather along with the landscaping/mowing crews.
With more people being out, the deer have relocated to a quieter and less populated location, at least temporarily.
I have continued putting out the piles of cracked corn but the only animals that have been benefiting from me doing so have been the birds.
Then today, much to my surprise, I caught the sight of a deer out of the corner of my eye and he was eating the cracked corn that I had placed outside of our computer window.
This deer was so focused on eating the corn, I was able to open the drapes, watch him/her eat the corn and take several photos and videos. Only being about 2 feet away from this deer had no impact at all and it stayed around for about 10 minutes or so.
Hopefully this deer will brings its friends for the corn buffet that we serve on a daily basis around here.

Here are a couple of videos that I took. Unfortunately I had to take the video through the mesh screen that is on the window.



This Really Has Become Old

I sure could use a breath of fresh air.
Everyday has become a repeat of the day before.
There is no escaping it.
It even sneaks into the house through whatever small cracks, crevices and gaps that it can find.
No it isn't one of those creepy monsters that you find in some scary movie that invades your residence and drags your screaming body out into the night..
It is that darn smoky air that gets blown our direction every time we have a breeze coming from the South. That darn Pains Bay fire yet again.
This is what the Weather Channel keeps giving us on the computer. Day after day after day after day....

Issued by The National Weather Service

Newport, NC
2:37 pm EDT, Sat., Jun. 11, 2011

... AIR QUALITY ALERT IN EFFECT UNTIL 3 PM EDT SUNDAY...
THE NORTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL AND NATURAL RESOURCES IN RALEIGH NC HAS ISSUED A CODE RED AIR QUALITY ACTION DAY FOR FINE PARTICULATES... IN EFFECT UNTIL 3 PM EDT SUNDAY.
AIR QUALITY IS EXPECTED TO REACH CODE RED... WHICH IS UNHEALTHY... AND MEANS EVERYONE SHOULD AVOID PROLONGED OR HEAVY OUTDOOR EXERTION. THOSE WITH RESPIRATORY AND/OR HEART AILMENTS MAY EXPERIENCE MORE SERIOUS HEALTH EFFECTS.
AN AIR QUALITY ACTION DAY MEANS THAT FINE PARTICULATES CONCENTRATIONS WITHIN THE REGION MAY APPROACH OR EXCEED UNHEALTHY STANDARDS.

Here are some more photos...yes I know...they look exactly like the ones I posted a couple of days ago. That's the point...they are basically the same...only the day has changed.
Now if you will excuse me. I need to take a good long hit off of that oxygen bar that I purchased the other day off of Ebay.

That is the sun at 7PM..t doesn't set for another 1 1/2 hours.

Here is a story that was reported in the OuterBanks Sentinel...the very last sentence of this story speaks volumes:

Rain needed for Pains Bay Fire suppression

BY SANDY SEMANS

SENTINEL STAFF

How much rain will it take to bring the area out of a drought?

According to David Greathouse, fire behavior analyst with the North Carolina Forest Resources, the area needs 5.72 inches of rain "to get back where we need to be."

Greathouse delivered that news to residents of Stumpy Point, who gathered at the village's community center to receive an update on the Pains Bay Fire, which has threatened the community for the past month.

The Pains Bay fire, first spotted on May 4 near Parched Corn Bay, has spread to an estimated 45,000 acres stretching north and west across Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge and the Dare Bombing Range owned by the US Department of Defense.

Much of the firefighting is focused on the area west and northwest of the village in an effort to keep the fire from jumping US 264 and entering the community from the north.

In working to predict fire behavior, Greathouse said that he considers both fuel conditions and weather. Of added concern with this fire is the large presence of peat - organic matter that burns down into the ground until it reaches the water table. The ground fires tend to spread out as they burn underground and can resurface at considerable distances from the point of origin. Because of the drought, the water table is down 17 inches.

Using pumps and sprinkling systems, the water table is being brought closer to the surface in the areas where availability of water and accessibility for fire vehicles allow. Specific areas are flooded and then drainage canals are dammed to keep the water level high.

Wind speed and direction influences the fire and the resulting smoke pattern, said Greathouse.

When fires run up trees and reach near the top, "sloughing" can occur. This is when pine cones and other burned debris fly through the air. "This ... could send slough a quarter mile away," said Greathouse.

Although the region often has high humidity, it doesn't help the way it does in the western part of the state, said Greathouse.

A bit of good news delivered by the fire behavior specialist is that a cold front is expected to come through on Sunday, and with it perhaps a little rain. The winds next week are expected to shift to the northwest, which will bring some relief from the smoke, which not only has impacted the mainland, but also Roanoke Island and the Outer Banks.

Greathouse also noted that "super fog" can be a serious problem. "It's like driving through milk," he said. The mixture of fog and particulates from smoke are the ingredients that make up the phenomenon. Moisture attaches to the smoke and creates a white-out type condition.

Brandon Moore, National Park Service ranger from the Everglades National Park in Florida, told the crowd that he knows first-hand the dangers of driving in super fog. Moore is head of security for the fire and spends his time from the afternoon of one day to that of the next, driving back and forth on US 264 between Stomper Road near Hyde County line to the junction of US 264 and US 64.

Moore, who is authorized to shut down access to US 264 from Stumpy Point to Stomper Road, looks for safety issues such as dense smoke, super fog, firefighting activity taking place along the road, and even fire.

"The purpose of the closures is to ensure the safety of the firefighters and the public," said Moore. If he finds safety issues along US 264 between Stumpy Point and Manns Harbor, he notifies the Dare County Sheriff's Office, which has jurisdiction over that portion of the highway.

Both Moore and Greathouse were emphatic about the need of motorists to pull over to the side of the road and put on their vehicle's flashers if they find themselves in super fog.

Early last Tuesday morning, a super fog formed that was so dense that, Moore said, a fellow law enforcement officer patrolling the road had to wrap a towel around his head and mouth and open the vehicle door so that he could use a flashlight to try to find the center-line to assure himself that he was on the highway.

When Moore encountered the super fog north of Stumpy Point, he immediately called Dare County Central Communications to report the problem. The road was closed and residents of Stumpy Point were kept in the village until 9 a.m.

Super fog isn't the only hazard, said Michael Good, of North Carolina Forest Resources, who is the fire's field operations chief. As ground fires continue to burn tree roots, there is growing concern about firefighters' safety related to falling trees. "Some trees have three feet of roots exposed because of the ground fire," said Good. "We are trying to stay away from those."

Good said that much of the smoke is coming from the ground fires. Although it is difficult to come up with an estimate, he said, there appears to be about 3700 acres of ground fires, most in the southern portion of the fire footprint.

Roads are being used as containment lines - in areas that have roads. Much of the interior fire will have to burn itself out, because there is no way to access it safely.

Greathouse noted that there seems to be some confusion about the word "containment." That isn't the same as control. Containment is establishing a line around the fire. Control is being able to put the fire out. The fire is 75 percent contained.

sandy@obsentinel.com

The Ins And Outs Of A Prostate Biopsy....No Pun Intended

I was planning on writing a blog entry about all of the information about a Prostate Biopsy that I obtained from my Urologist.
My Urologist gave me a pamphlet explaining the Prostate Biopsy procedure, so I figured that it would be easier just to put the whole pamphlet into my blog entry.
Additional information and clarification of the ins and outs of this procedure are as follows:
You can eat a light breakfast or lunch before and after the procedure.
You will need to use a Fleet enema a couple of hours before the procedure.
Antibiotics will most likely be prescribed to you and should be taken from a day or two prior to the procedure through a day or two after the procedure.
My Urologist does not prescribe anything before the procedure to relax you nor will he give me anything like the type of anesthesia that I had for my colonoscopy. I was given something intravenously that for the most part allowed me to sleep through that procedure and I could not remember a thing when it was over with.
My Urologist is willing to do general anesthesia but I would have to be in the hospital to have that done and he felt that there was no need for me to do that.
My Urologist does not prescribe anything for pain after the procedure either. He told me that whatever pain and discomfort that I might have after the procedure, should normally only last a couple of days. Each person is different as to the lingering effects of the procedure and each Urologist is different as far as what medication is given. There are some Urologist out there that might be willing to put you close to a general anesthesia..what I would call conscious sedation but you will have to go searching for these doctors
Luckily I have some leftover relaxation pills and some leftover pain medication from previous assorted medical issues, that I should be all set should I need any of them.
The only other thing that I should mention is that the probe that is inserted approximately 4 inches into the rectum has the capacity to deliver the local anesthesia where it is needed and that the probe takes 12 samples via small biopsy needles.
6 samples are taken on each side of the prostate and they are usually taken where prostate cancer is most likely found on the prostate, if there is any cancer there.
Unfortunately because the biopsy samples are only taken from a rather small portion of the prostate compared to the overall size of the prostate, that there is always a chance that the biopsy needles could totally miss a cancerous area, if there is one on the prostate.
This whole type procedure is not an exact science to say the least but unfortunately it is the best that is available at this time.
Here is the pamphlet. You can click on the picture to get it larger for easier reading: