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Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Our little bit of Colorado

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone!

My health is still improving. I had my second baby bout with some bug or bugs in October and November. The sore throat lasted much longer than normal for me, probably due to my immune system still being in training.
Cat, Maddie and Dylan doing well too, all ready for the holiday vacation.

Last Thursday I had my most recent appointment with Doctor Jeffrey Andrey at Scripps Clinic. I had blood samples drawn on Wednesday. All systems are go. All blood counts are in the normal range with the exception of my Ferritin levels. All those blood transfusions loaded my system up with iron, the core element in hemoglobin. My Ferritin is still above normal, so I will start another 3 phlebotomies started in January. Each unit withdrawn will lower my Ferritin level. By April I should be in the normal range. My next appointment with Dr. Andrey is in May.

On January 9, 2010 I will pass a statistical milestone. The long term prognosis for 2 year stem cell survivors is very, very, very good. The graft took perfectly and I've twice been able to fight off common bugs that plague our everyday lives. But I must be respectful of the fates. I don't want to go overboard and jinx my upcoming birthday by presenting too rosy of an outlook.

Meanwhile, the 'treat' for my blog readers in this post will better be appreciated by those live in the North San Diego area. We have a wonderful scenic canyon here called Penasquitos Canyon. Hiking from I15 to I5 is a beautiful 5 mile, gently rolling, under the oaks and sycamores jaunt. In the middle of the hike is a small waterfall. It is the turn-back point for many hikers and runners who don't want to complete the entire 5 miles. San Diego does not get much rain. So our little waterfall does not make a big show. In fact, you can easily tip toe across the stream above the fall without getting your feet wet. In the summer, some of the flow is fed by a small spring a couple miles east, where the old ranch house still stands. The ranch house used to be the center of the Penasquitos cattle ranch around 90 years ago. But I'm afraid most of the water coming down the canyon in the summer is from urban runoff. The canyon is rimmed with houses built during the last 30 years. Many people over water their yards and have leaks in their irrigation system. Even so, there are places in the canyon where kids still throw their fishing lines.
I always wanted to see the canyon waterfall when it really was a waterfall and not just a bunch of gigantic rocks jutting out of the ground. So, a week ago Sunday morning I grabbed Cathie and the camera and hiked to the fall. It had rained heavy the night before. You can click on these images to see much larger versions.

I see indications by the shore that the river was a foot or 2 higher earlier in the morning.



You would definitely not want to tiptoe across this stream.


Not much, but it's our little bit of Colorado in North San Diego.


I'm going to go back for a visit after a REALLY big rain!



The wild torrents of Penasquitos Canyon.



Bye until next year,
Jim