The cutting edge

A few months back, I read on Stephanie's blog that she had cut back her desert roses  severely because they had become long and lanky. Last Month,  I took the plunge and cut a few of mine back as well. Hubby complained that  I had cut too much off. Well  here it is now and flowering nicely too.

Two weeks ago, I had this Ficus tree at the front entrance trimmed after it was left ragged by Hurricane Tomas at the end of October.  I rented a cherry picker lift and hired two men with a truck to do the rest. It was not cheap but it had to be done.

On December 22nd  2010,  I was mowing the grass, it was wet and the chute was blocking up every now and again. I decided to give a helping hand. I disengaged the blade, raised the deck of the drive mower and got off to remove some grass. I lifted the cover and flicked some grass that was stuck on the corner of the deck with my finger. The blade had not come to a complete stop and it nearly took my finger off. I stared down at my bloody hand in disbelief, I said oh Sh!&%#. I turned off the mower and ran to the house where I shouted to Chuck that I had cut my finger with the mower and that I had to go to the emergency room. I rinsed my hand in cold water and wrapped it in some paper towels. I then went back to where I had left the mower( across the field) started it up and took it back into the shed where it was housed.  It was around  5.30pm when hubby drove me to the ER , it was the longest drive I had ever taken. Under normal circumstances it would have taken 15-20 minutes. Being Christmas the roads were jammed or there was some accident along the way. We had to take a detour and finally arrived at the ER around 6.30 pm.  The nail remains were removed after getting two stabs (between the middle finger) with a long needle  filled with  anesthetic to numb the area . It was awful to look at. Luckily the blade shaved the finger tip bone and missed the joint.  X-rays were taken and I got a few stitches. I was told to see the orthopedic surgeon the next day. He told me that it was an open fracture and that it will heal in about a month to six weeks. He said that the nail may grow back but it will not  be a smooth one because the nail bed was badly damaged. He said that I was very lucky. 

The dressing has to be changed every two days and luckily for me, my neighbour is a retired nurse and she has been doing that for me. I was told by a friend not use a lawn mower blade to cut my nails anymore. 

I am having an infestation of the frangipani moth caterpillars. They are devouring all the leaves of my frangipani trees and my allamandas. Many of my plants looks like they have been trimmed bare.

We have been having very heavy rain, very unusual since this is the start of our dry season. I had to cancel my Boxing day brunch due to heavy rainfall (and my finger). The day after my injury I was back on the mower finishing the job. This was a very painful lesson for me, I got too friendly with my mower, it is neither a friend nor a pet. I will respect it and fear it.