Everything Fred – Part 304

26 April 2024

I think I shocked the people at physical therapy today. I used my new walker. Shannon came running out of the facility and asked if I was OK. When I told her that two nurses had recommended I get a walker, she immediately replied “two non-PT professionals. She then brought out the two other models and explained that the one I had was for people that were in constant danger of falling. The one with two wheels on the front is for a more mobile person – like me – and the one with 4 wheels is the Cadillac and has a seat for people to rest if they like. She then told me I didn’t need a walker and the cane was just fine. My possibility of falling went from 46% to 38% from the last two evaluations. Of course, when I got home and started to clean leaves out of the pool, I fell the last few inches. My Apple Watch asked if I had fallen and did I need help. Nope. I finished cleaning out the leaves.

What’s interesting to me is I went to several websites and they explained the difference among the various types of walkers but very little was said who needed one and why. Shannon cleared that up for me. I may still use it in the middle of the night when I get up from bed and go to the bathroom.

My cousin Jimmie knows I haven’t been walking lately due to the sprained ankle (better today) so she sent me some flower photos from her walk!

Spring is certainly the time for Azaleas. Here’s a little known fact. Azalea is a common name. The scientific genus for Azalea is Rhododendron. So, Azaleas are of the genus Rhododendron and Rhododendrons are of the genus Rhododendron.

This is a member of the Caryophyllaceae family and if it looks a bit like a carnation, that’s because carnations belong to the same family. It’s commonly called Rainbow Pink or China Pink. The scientific name is Dianthus chinensis.

These used to grow in the yard of the house I was renting with three others when I was in graduate school at Ole Miss. It’s called a Dutch Iris but I have no idea why the moniker. I found them coming up at different points in the yard so I dug them up and lined the path to the front door with them.

This is Bearded Iris. When you look closely at the petals and they attach to the stem, there are short “hairs” and thus bearded. There were a lot of these planted in yards in the Burgundy region of France when I was there years ago but it is called the flour-de-lis. The Fleur-de-lis is based on an Iris but not the Bearded Iris. Instead, it is Iris pallida (Sweet Iris). To confuse you even more, Iris pallida is also a bearded Iris like above.

Thanks for sharing the photos! Spring has apparently sprung in most of the South. Here in South Florida, the weather stays pretty constant and we don’t really see a change in seasons.

Stay tuned!