Bazillion photos and medical stuff

All afternoon yesterday my desktop weather alert was flashing to make sure I knew there would be a frost warning in effect last night. My response, take a break and go outside to shoot another bazillion photographs. Covering the garden is not an option at this point. It was a relief to awaken this morning and see that it was 1 degree above freezing and everything looked fine. Tonight we have another frost warning but I'm betting it will once again stay a tad above freezing. If I'm wrong, I can immerse myself in my gazillion photos to remember what it was like before the last blast of winter wrecked havoc on the vulnerable blooms .It's a good thing I'm trying to get into better shape. If I gain much more weight, I won't be able to slide into the narrow space between my wall of flowers and the gate which is how I enter my garden from the driveway. I can also enter via my deck but I often go in through the gate. I prefer it when I only have a narrow space between the open gate and the overgrown azalea. I think it creates a better, you're entering the secret garden, feel than if I cut back a wider entrance. Or maybe I'm too lazy to prune the bushes. I'll let you guess about which is the case. Perhaps a little bit of both.
My rose covered storage building seems to think it's about June. Even as early as everything was last year coming into bloom, this year has been faster still. I don't worry so much about my garden as I do about the farmers. Last year the NC orchards were hit very hard by a late April freeze and that is dominating the local news this week as they are trying to predict whether there will be a repeat of last year. Hopefully not. If we make it past tonight I think we'll be warming up to the point where the risk will be low.
I went to get my vitamin D tested this week at my rheumatologist's office and while I was there I asked for a copy of my bone density scan which was done the first week in March. I assumed that there weren't any problems because they hadn't called me about the scan but I've gotten in the habit of asking for copies of reports, so while I was there I asked for it. Turns out I have osteopenia which isn't so bad. Much better than osteoporosis. Still you would have thought they would have let me know since my doctor wrote and signed the report on March 4 and had recommendations which I haven't been told about. It's not a big deal but surprised me not to have heard back about it.It mentioned there was a moderate risk for fracture in a couple of places in the lumbar spine and in my hips. That wasn't particularly surprising because MRIs of the spine and pelvic region as well as PET scans and bone scans have shown issues in the same spots. However, since they weren't suggestive of cancer, the oncologist wasn't interested. The pain doc had tried some nerve blocks after he did the MRI of the lumbar but that was of limited use and not followed up further.
I'm probably going to wait and see if my rheumatologist's nurse mentions the bone density scan results when she calls about the vitamin D. I don't see the doctor again until July and he is a very thorough doctor whom I like and respect. I know the nurse will call about the vitamin D results to let me know what supplemental regime to go on for the next 6 to 8 weeks until I'm tested again. I guess I want to give them a chance to tell me about the osteopenia before I say, so why haven't you let me know about this. Before I was a melanoma patient it never would have occurred to me to ask for reports. I didn't even come up with that myself. At my first oncology appointment at UNC after a PET/CT scan, they walked in with a copy of the scan report and handed it to me. After my sentinel node biopsy post op appointment, the surgical oncologist walked in with a copy of the biopsy report and handed it to me.
I've had a lot of scans and and a few surgeries at UNC since those early ones, and the NP or surgical oncologist who follow me always give me copies of reports at the office visits. I've learned that although my other doctors and hospital cancer center don't automatically give me reports, I can request them directly without involving playing telephone tag with doctors or nurses. Sometimes I wish I didn't do this but to an extent there is no turning back. In some ways it's better that I went ahead and got the bone density report and have had time to get over being annoyed they didn't call and let me know sooner.
I have barely scratched the surface of what's blooming in my secret garden but I'm sure I'll feel gabby again soon and will sprinkle some more of my meandering posts with photos of my meandering garden.