The last leaves of fall have almost dropped from the trees. We were up in the California Foothills last week and it was warm and 70 degrees, but very dry. I took a picture of a little stream with the oak trees in the background to show that even here in California we get fall color!
Below the stream photo, I focused on the pond itself to show some fish and a goose enjoying the last of the fall season.
The other day we were driving through the Gold Country here in California and what a glorious day! It was 70 degrees, clear as a bell, but oh so dry. The lack of rain has caused the oak trees to stay in their fall color a lot longer; so even though it looks beautiful across the rolling hills, we really need rain.
Much of California gets its water from the Sierras when the snow melts. The water goes into a series of dams that are at different elevations and is distributed from there. One lake (or dam) that we went over is called New Melones Lake. There are many such dams in California and most of them are used for recreation as well as water distribution. We noticed that the water was very low. In fact, someone there was saying he’d been coming to the lake for 25 years and had never seen it that low.
Here you can see I went under the bridge to take a picture not only to show the waterline which you can see right above the red clay but just because I thought it was a cool shot. 😛
Today I went out shopping at Nordstrom for some new workout apparel. First, let me say that it feels sooo good to be able to go shopping again! I couldn’t even dream of walking into a department store before my replacement, especially since I couldn’t even get to the front door from the car. That mode of saving money is not something I recommend! 😛
As I was browsing, I struck up a conversation with a woman there who was probably around 50 years old or so. Our conversation started out about athletic clothing and then somehow we ended up talking about knee replacements. Evidently she also has terrible knees and needs both of them replaced. She said she can barely stand for her job there and started telling me how worried and afraid she was of the operation. The fear in her eyes showed, and I really wanted to help by reassuring her that it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made and how much it changed my life.
We talked about how long it took me to achieve certain milestones like when I first walked and when I could finally drive. I told her that if *I* can do it, anybody can, because I was pretty nervous about having it prior to making the decision to actually go forward with it. I also shared with her my thoughts about physical therapy and how important it is to find a good PT! She asked me what surgeon I had, so I shared his name with her since she lives in the same city as I do.
Another question she asked about was having a double knee replacement. I gave her my own personal view of it which is that I never would’ve chosen it for myself and neither did my doctor recommend it for me mainly because I had so many other issues going on. I really think that if someone is healthy in every other way and the knees are the ONLY issue then perhaps it could be the right thing to do.
As we said our good-bye’s, I saw a bit of relief wash over her face and it made me feel good that I might’ve made her decision just a tiny bit easier. I hope I did!
Laura Macky Photography 