My Wheelchair Crash!

Thursday, on my way out to lunch, my wheelchair crashed, right off a cliff!  Ok, so the cliff was only 18" tall, but in a power chair weighing something over 200 lb. it was a big crash, and I was trapped!

To understand this dramatic story, you need to know that we have no ramp leading up to our front door.  Instead we have a very simple lift inside the garage.  It's just like the open platform of a small elevator.  It lifts me up 18" going into the house and down 18" going out.  Works well; I've probably used it 2000 times in 7 years.

I typically roll through the garage door from the kitchen into the garage, onto a small landing where I can stop, make sure the door has closed behind me, and press the button to open the garage door.  Then I drive forward 4 feet until I'm parked on the lift, and down I go.  It's obviously essential that anyone using it has left it in the upper position.  (I'm normally the only one who uses it).

But Thursday Mrs. F.G. had left first; she was running a workshop on fabric bowl-making for the Quilting Guild.  She had a lot of stuff with her, including a very heavy sewing machine, so she used the lift to get it down, loaded the van, and left.

You've probably guessed by now.  Yes, she left the lift in the down position, first time in 7 years.  I rolled into the dark garage, pulled the door closed behind me, pressed the button to open the garage door, and started forward.  With the lift in the down position I went right over the edge, and the wheelchair went with me!

I was trapped under a heavy wheelchair, paralyzed from the chest down.  After mentally checking to see if anything seemed broken, (bones I mean) I asked myself, how the hell was I going to get out of here!  Eventually I was able to reach back and undo my seatbelt.  My body fell down and I was able to drag myself a few inches forward on my elbows.

Luckily I had reserved a ride with Meaford Moves, and within minutes he had arrived.  Seeing me flat on the garage floor, he came running.  By grabbing my arms he was able to drag me forward a foot or two, and then lift the wheelchair into its normal upright position.  It took me about 5 seconds to realize we needed help, so I called 911, expecting to ask for the fire department.  

Turns out it's the paramedics who deal with falls, and we live three blocks from the hospital, so they were there pretty quick!  First they asked me questions, then they rolled me onto my back, then they asked me more questions.  Did I hit my head? (no).  Is there any bleeding? (no), do I hurt anywhere? (no), etc.  They took my blood pressure, which was a little high, and then they positioned me and lifted me back into my chair in about 3 seconds.  They said they'd had lots of practice; it's their most common callout.

I mosied around the garage a bit, reassured them I felt fine, and said they didn't need to hang around.  They did make me sign an electronic form saying I had declined the opportunity t go to the hospital.  They said to watch for any swelling.

Then the ambulance left and I went for a short ride on the street.  I felt mostly recovered, even if I was in shock!  After a few deep breaths I decided I was going to head out for lunch anyway, and I did!

Sandhill Cranes in the Past

 Just so you don't think I'm fooling you, these are some pictures from past years, all from the last week of October or the firsat of November.  They are quite incredible birds, and have been increasing in numbers around here quite quickly!

Birds we saw near where we visited with the cattle in my last post, 2024.

\A long line of cranes against a dark fencerow, from 2024.

A closer look, 2021!

Cranes in flight, 2021!

Cranes we saw the first year we went looking, 2018.

Perhaps we'll have better luck next year!

In Search of Sandhill Cranes

Well we went searching for Sandhill Cranes, as we have every year at this time, but we didn't find a single one!  We drove past a dozen spots where we've seen them in recent years, but nada, nothing - just a few beef cattle and lots of rural farms northwest of Owen Sound.   

In past years the cranes have gathered in huge flocks in the last week of October or the first of November.  I've posted pictures for several years now.  Have they left early, or is their migration late this year?

We were driving down a sideroad where we've seen the cranes off in the distance, but the only thing we saw was this herd of cattle just beyond the fence.

Cattle are always curious in my experience, and they turned our way or lumbered to their feet.  It reminded me of taking university students out to visit a farm, some of whom had never seen live cattle before.

Mrs. F.G. took all these photos from the car.  It made me want to get out and position myself to get the photos, but of course no such luck.

Across the road was a smaller herd of Holstein steers - but no Sandhill Cranes!  Thanks to Mrs. F.G. for the great photos!

Old Man Winter Just Arrived!

 The seasons have changed, fall is behind us, winter is paying its first visit with a drifting of that white stuff.  The grass was still showing, but things did look white, much to my disgust!  So the hibernation has begun.  I look forward to next April when life can begin anew.  

And I'm going to throw my schedule for posting out the window; I can't let such a big seasonal marker like this pass by un-noted.  Even if it really will be gone by the end of the week, when temperatures are supposed to hit 10°C!

This is the view out my window, a view that was the colour of fallen leaves ang green, is suddenly white.

The flakes accumulated on the branches of the spruce.

We rarely have snow when the Norway Maples still have their leaves.

Can you see the white flakes against the dark background?  I could when I took the photo, but I confess I can't see it in the picture.

I'm always intrigued by the pattern of the white stuff on the red deck chair.

It's hard to believe that this Hellebore will stay green under the white blanket and be ready to bloom in early spring.

Ok, this isn't the same thing, but I was intrigued by the pattern of tracks left by vehicles on our street.  If you can see it, the central tracks seem to show some light brown.  This is the sand spread by the town, and it will still be there in the spring when I'm out there to pick up the grit in my wheels!

At any rate, our Snow Crane got its first taste of winter, and is ready to mark the progress of the seasons.

The Fall Garden

We're leaving the Sugar Maples behind now, though we'll have to return to the Norway Maples, whose leaves hang on til nearly December.  A great deal of effort has been expended over the past month to 'put the garden to bed' for the winter, with enormous help from our gardener.  I'm only sorry that I can't help much.

The six of our raised beds have all been cleared, and covered with leaves under a protective screen of wire mesh.

An enormous amount has been cleared out, packed up, and taken to our local yard waste depot.  This sculpture has emerged from the tall plants to become visible again.

To take this one example, this wall of our shed was almost covered by a huge Clematis.  It's been clipped off and away it went.  Let me warn you, different Clematis varieties require being left unclipped or clipped, depending on their bloom pattern, so you need to know what you're working with.

Obviously we depend heavily on our gardener, since I can't do much.  He's the nephew of our neighbours, and has been with us since I returned from the hospital.  Mrs. F.G. has shared her knowledge of horticulture from the beginning, so he's very capable now.

This is one of the Clematis plants that does not get trimmed.

I just love these seed heads of this Clematis.

the bright orange Calendula and our red Rose are the brightest blooming flowers left in the garden.

Our Magnolia plant, acquired 6 years ago, has finally grown tall enough this summer to outgrow the rabbit's nibbles.  We look forward to its blooms in the spring.

The Japanese Maple is the brightest patch of colour now.  It has grown horizontally more than vertically!

All of these photos were taken just ten days ago.

And with this post I'm reverting to my usual loose schedule of posting every other day.

The Last of our Sugar Maples

 You'll be glad to know this is the last of my posts featuring our Sugar Maples and their fall colour.  And I've suddenly realized that I will soon run out of pictures to share.  You'll have to help me decide what comes next.  But I hope you enjoy these, no need for more comments from me.

A Drive Through the Valley

 Every year recently we have driven back down into the Beaver Valley, to see the fall colours.  The colours this year are very subdued, but we went for the drive anyway.    The best red colours come from the Sugar Maples, which tend to grow halfway up the slope, so that's what we were looking for.

The Amik subdivision is a curving road heading up the escarpment slope, just north of the Talisman property.  Built when Talisman was an active, popular ski resort, it was built up in ski chalets, many of which have been expanded and modernized since.  A number are now year-round homes, but this road gets you up the slope where the Sugar Maples grow.

You could see the colours looking into the woods between the chalets.

I don't usual;y show private homes, but this struck me as too nice not to share.

This Burning Bush was brilliant!

Back down at the bottom just before the village of Kimberley, you get a great view up to Old Baldy.  At the cliff face, the dark trees are cedars, but there are lots of Sugar Maples on the long slope below.

South of the village you get a view up to the hill now known as Eagle's Summit.  Purchased by the Bruce Trail last year this is where a friend has led the effort to design and create a new network of trails leading up the slope and along the top.  The view here is even better than that at Old Baldy!  Sorry about all the wires, but shooting out the front window leaves little chance to avoid that!

We continued up the slope, and every now and then I'd get a view of bright trees looking downslope, even though overall the colour did seem definitely subdued compared to recent years.

Eventually we ended up back at home, where I caught the leaves out back in the evening sun.

And just to give you a comparison, this is the slope just north of Amik three years ago.  Talk about bright  colou