Both mean a lot to me.
In the last month or so, when other birds have been relatively scarce, I’ve spent quite a bit of time attempting to photograph this drake Redhead at one of the ponds I frequent. Typically he’s too far away for really good photos but on this day, January 15, he came in unusually close for an extended period of time.
He repeatedly…
dived…
for food, giving me several opportunities to photograph him diving at varying shooting angles.
Redheads typically feed on a mix of aquatic vegetation and invertebrates but on this day he was concentrating on submergent vegetation.
And he ate a lot of it.
Many birds can move their whole upper jaw, or parts of it, relative to their cranium, because of regions of thinner bone called “bending zones”. One of these forms of flexibility is called “distal rhynchokinesis“, where a section of the upper beak, near the tip, bends upward relative to the rest of the beak.
It happens quickly so it’s tricky to photograph but in this single photo I caught him bending the tip of his upper bill upward.
I’m not sure why I like this quirky photo but I do. I suppose it’s because of the peekaboo effect with his eye located perfectly between the tip of a wing feather and the shadow of that same feather.
OK, now onto some recent medical developments. And to the “blonde in my life”.
Back in 2017 I learned that I had a 3 cm aneurism on my descending aorta at about belly button level just below my kidneys. Hearing news like that will get your attention but I was told to just keep an eye on it by having it checked occasionally and if and when it ever reached a certain size (I can’t remember what size), I’d have to have it repaired.
Two years later, in 2019, the aneurism had grown to 3.5 cm but it still wasn’t large enough to risk being repaired.
Last week, more than six years after I learned I had the aneurism, my doctor told me it was past time to get it checked again so yesterday I had a CT scan to check its size. To say that I was tense and anxious about it is an understatement but the news was good. Following is part of what my doctor had written on my test report when I received it yesterday afternoon.
“Please let patient know that his CT angiogram shows that his aneurism grew by 2 mm over the last 5 years, which is essentially nothing.”
That news made me feel like I had a new lease on life.
Whenever I have another MRI or CT scan in my future I have the choice of three medical imaging centers but I always choose Millcreek Imaging because that’s where technician Bobbi Jaramillo works. Readers will remember that several years ago I was in a lot of pain because of my bad back but I couldn’t have back surgery until I had an MRI performed. But medical imaging centers were backed up for several months because of the pandemic.
That’s when Bobbi stepped in.
At the time I didn’t know Bobbi, but unbeknownst to me she’d been following my blog for years. So when I wrote about my dilemma on my blog, Bobbi emailed me and told me she could get me in for the MRI the very next day!
And she did.
Bobbi has been my MRI/ CT scan technician ever since and we’ve become great friends over, I believe, five different procedures (scans). She performed my CT scan yesterday too and it was nothing short of wonderful to see her again. In my state of anxiety, with her professional ways and medical knowledge combined with her warm greeting and friendly manner, she put me at ease – even before I knew the results of my scan. For which I’m very grateful.
OK, enough of that. Sorry for ‘going medical’ on my readers again but my blog is one of the primary ways I keep my out-of-town and out-of-state family and friends apprised of what’s going on in my life. On Feathered Photography, given my medical situation and my far-flung relatives and friends, that’s just the way it is.
Ron
Great news, Ron. Thank you for sharing it!
Thanks, Ryan. I wish I’d had time to stop and talk to you yesterday when I saw you walking your dog. It’s been a while…
Thanks, nice post, Ron. Hi there Bobbi, nice to meet you!
Glad you liked it, Susan.
Nice diving series and the peek a boo is cute. Glad to hear you have avoided more surgery!
Thanks, April.
Love the peek-a-boo shot! When I read your title today thought we would hear about Shannon ❤️. Bobbi is sure another angel in your life. You are a blessed man Ron 😇.
“thought we would hear about Shannon”
Shannon was the first one I called about the news, Kathleen. Of course, she was delighted with my scan results..
Now to get Bobbi to do similar acts of eating, paddling, grooming…
🙂
Great photos! Love the aquatic photos when the water is all glassy with those blue and metallic-like colors. I like that last one too.
You go medical anytime you want Ron. People care. Certainly Bobbi does. It may be an overstep, but after following you for a while, each morning I open your email I feel like I am checking in with a friend.
It isn’t overstep, Michael. After all this time I feel the same.
I didn’t realize I was holding my breath until I read the test report and, “Whoosh!” out it came. I can’t imagine what it was like for you and am so glad you have Bobbi in your corner — she’s a gem! ❤️
As for the redhead, I love that last shot! It looks like the feathers are a pair of forceps holding the eye away from his head. Perfect Trompe-l’oeil to start this rainy (and possibly floody) day.
“Trompe-l’oeil”
Well, that sent me to Google, Marty. And it’s useful too, so thanks.
Any time. And it’s usually the other way around. 😉 You know the saying, “They can take the teacher out of the classroom…” 🥂
^ What Joanne and Everett said ^. We all enjoy human stories about everyday heroes. Cheers, all around. Thanks and take care, Ron.
Thanks, Ellen.
In reference to Bobbi, In Rhode Island we say “We gotta a guy ” short for we know someone who can take care of that for us !!
I’m glad that you “Gotta a guy” at Millcreek !!
I like that way of putting it. Thanks, Gary.
I’ve been having to see doctors since I’ve been13..65 now so when you find great medical staff you hang on to them. Sounds like you have a good doctor monitoring your aneurysm and you’re taking it serious as you should. Wishing my mom took hers as serious😒
Take care Ron
Diana, sorry to hear about what’s implied in your comment about your mom. When I hear the word aneurism, “serious” always goes hand in hand with it.
Ron, as always it was great to see you yesterday. I wish it wasn’t because you needed a scan, but always the highlight of my day to catch up with you. Such great news and I’m so glad for that! You’re one of a kind and I’m grateful that we’ve become such good friends. You know your blog posts are the best part of my day 😊
“You’re one of a kind”
Bobbi, I’ve been told that before but it hasn’t always been a compliment… 🙂
Thanks very much again, for being who you are and doing what you do.
Hey! My next door neighbors are Jaramillos. They are just the best. 🙂
This one sure is.
Glad to see these (as usual) interesting, fine photos and to hear your positive medical news!! By the way, have you ever hear the song, which my Tennessee/Kentucky Grandfather taught my Mom, “One Day I Went Out Walking”? If not I’d like to sing it to you, I think you’d enjoy it! Best wishes to you, Mary
Thank you, Mary. Nope, I’m not familar with the song.
Wonderful post! Love everyday heroes!
Thanks, Joanne.
The Redhead is excellent and so is the Blonde. Just like the education you add to your photos, your occasional very human stories are always welcome. Definitely remember Bobbi from past posts. People like her in the medical profession are so very important to all of us. Many of those who work in that field are natural born caregivers and I am betting she is one of those.
Your first sentence made me smile, Everett. Concise and to the point.
Bobbi is “one of those”, for sure.
Good news!! And these days, we need all the good news we can get, right???
Absolutely, Sue.
I’m so glad that you have a friend in Bobbi–clearly a SMART blonde–
as she’ s a follower of Feathered Photography– and a caring one,
too, as she’s able to put you at ease in a scary situation. That
“peekaboo” shot is one of the weirdest images I’ve ever seen..
Even with your explanation, I still struggle to make visual sense of it !
“Even with your explanation, I still struggle to make visual sense of it.”
So do (did) I, Kris. That’s one of the reasons I’m intrigued by that photo.
Bobbi is indeed “smart”.
Richard: we enjoy hearing about aspects of your life that you are comfortable sharing. (I do share some of them).
Clever title on today’s blog – thanks for the smile. And thanks for all the people in the world like Bobbi.
“And thanks for all the people in the world like Bobbi.”
I wish there were more of them, Richard. But I guess their relative scarcity is one of the reasons I appreciate Bobbi so much.
What a wonderful friend to have. You are admired for your photos, ability to educate and being a genuinely nice person.
I am glad the aneurism is behaving.
Take Care,
Kaye
“I am glad the aneurism is behaving.”
Thank you, Kaye. It goes without saying, so am I.
WHEW! Glad the aneurism is more or less “behaving” – they are no joke. Good they know it’s there and keeping an eye on it. Also glad you have Bobbi in your life. 🙂 When you said “blond” Shannon popped into my mind……
#2 Redhead particularly appeals to me. Vaguely remember something about some birds/fowl being able to move their upper jaw.
“Glad the aneurism is more or less “behaving” – they are no joke.”
They sure aren’t, Judy. Especially when they’re on the aorta. Or in the heart or brain.
Great shots of the redhead, and happy to hear your aneurism is mostly stable.
Thanks, Brett. When it comes to aortic aneurisms, “mostly stable” works for me.
Everyone following your blog grows to caring about you, Ron. Very glad the news is good. You’re very lucky to have Bobbi as a fan. Keep up the great contribution you make to all your followers’ lives.
Thanks, Burrdoo. I don’t believe in angels but if I did, Bobbi would be one.