Relative Something

In the wee hours of Monday morning, I stepped out on the deck at the lake to look for evidence of the Perseid Meteor shower. I had seen one meteor flash in the predawn hours a day earlier when looking through the bathroom window. It was the weekend of peak activity so I plotted to get a better view the next night. In roughly 10-12 minutes, I saw two streaks.

At 2 o’clock in the morning, that was not thrilling enough to keep me out of bed.

The arrival of the Perseids is a hint of the waning days of summer. Yesterday I noticed another early hint scattered on our driveway.

Those aren’t healthy green leaves that have fallen. The change in sunrise and sunset is just starting to be noticeable. The combination of these two phenomena amplifies the perception of the next season looming in our future.

Cyndie recently commented about how barren some spots on our forest floor are. I pointed out the areas of local farm fields where crops didn’t grow this year. The common factor in these areas is water saturation. Plenty of the low ground in our woods understory stayed so wet it drowned new growth.

I made two trips to River Falls yesterday, which took me past tree removal happening on the property of one of our nearby neighbors. They reported emerald ash borer was killing their big old ash trees. That’s an early hint of what is to come for ash trees everywhere around here.

My trek to River Falls was to consult with my doctor about two issues that I have failed to will away with wishful thinking. The shoulder I injured in a fall last February continues to give me enough pain and weakness that I need to find out if there is a tear that can’t heal on its own. More recently, I’ve started to experience pain that matches sciatica. The doctor suspects degenerating discs in my lower back are leading to pressure on the nerve.

I’ve got an appointment for an MRI to see what is going on in the shoulder, a prescription for a short round of steroids, and orders for physical therapy to address both the back and shoulder. Are my recent problems an early hint of my next level of aging?

News reports recently have featured a scientific study that claims people don’t age at a steady gradual rate. Apparently, we experience bursts of rapid aging in our mid-40s and early 60s. Oof.

The fact that I needed to show my new Medicare card at my clinic visit certainly helped to make me feel not as young as I used to be.

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