NELSON'S NOTES #48

Enfield, Connecticut

July 16, 2005

A BIG IMPROVEMENT

Our son-in-law, Ken, 10 months after he had a major stroke.

Ken has recovered 94% of his function and continues to gain strength and mobility. When we left Florida last October, he needed a hemi-brace for his right shoulder and a rigid ankle-foot orthosis for his right leg. Now, the shoulder muscles are strong enough to keep his shoulder in its socket. and when he wears a leg brace it's a modified version that allows more movement of the ankle. In addition to being stronger, Ken is also slimmer. Recently, he lost 35 lbs on the South Beach diet and he is still losing.

CHRISTOPHER & BANKS, HERE WE ARE!

Daughters Kristi (L) and Teri (R), shopping with me for summer sales at our favorite clothing store, Christopher & Banks. Since Kristi is the only one who lives near a C & B store, we decided to shop there the week we were all together.

A COOL PLACE TO READ A BOOK

Granddaughter Abby, age 12, reading in the maple tree in her front yard.

MARIGOLD, A CUTE PET

Marigold, the Rat, held by Abby

Some of the books Abby reads are about animals, and lately they've been about pet rats in particular. Abby has learned that domesticated fancy rats make great pets. When she decided she'd like to have one, she knew she had to convince her father first. At night she'd leave library books about rat pets on the kitchen table where he was bound to see them in the morning. Then she gave him an article she'd written about why rats make good pets.

Abby's tactics worked. A month later she had her father's permission to buy a rat and a cage with a $50 gift certificate she'd won in a pet photo contest. Her new pet, which she named Marigold, is everything the books say a pet rat is supposed to be: friendly, small, easy to care for, and clean.

I love to watch Marigold grooming herself, something she does quite often. As long as I look at her pert face and pretty fur, rather than her long pink hairless tail, I think she's cute. Her tail is the only thing that reminds me she's a rat. Otherwise, she's friendly, even with Abby's three cats, which she tries to play with from the safety of her cage.

HAVE NET, WILL TRAVEL

Our grandson Matthew, catches a Question Mark butterfly.

This six-year-old doesn't go far without a net to catch butterflies or a jar to catch and study insects and frogs. Matthew can tell me the names of butterflies and insects and things about them that I never learned.

NORTHWEST PARK ANIMAL BARN

Our daughter, Kristi, chases ducks into the barn for the night. While Abby feeds two burros, Hector and Hercules, David and Matthew look after other animals in the barn and pasture.

Since September, 2004, the Sweeny family has participated in a volunteer program to feed farm animals at Northwest Park in Windsor, Connecticut. Caring for goats, sheep, cows, chickens, ducks and other animals is routine in the mid-west where there are many livestock farms, but here in the densely populated northeast where there are few farms, it's unusual. Even more unusual is that Northwest Park raises Heritage Breeds of domestic livestock and poultry--animals whose genetic structure has not been altered. Many of these historic old breeds originated in Europe and were brought to the U.S. by colonial settlers. Windsor, which was first settled in 1633, is Connecticut's oldest town, and thus a fitting place to conserve historical breeds through education, active breeding and product awareness. The program is partially supported by the Rotary.

Photos by Bruce and Marianna Nelson, Kristi Sweeney, and a saleslady at Christopher & Banks.

Text by Marianna Nelson

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