The hallucinations/delusions/dreams mixed with reality finally calmed enough by about 3am this morning for her to get to sleep. The good news is that she stayed asleep long enough so that I could get caught up. I got up a little before 10am. She slept on until almost noon.
While she slept this morning, I filled a couple of feeders and then sat inside watching the activity outside on the deck, at the bird feeders and in the waterfall area. The experience reminded me of pictures of folks going through an aquarium that has an underwater tunnel allowing them to watch the fish from inside their environment. I sat in my little box (made of ticky-tacky??) as an observer, while they were foraging out in the open.
It was better than watching a huge high definition television screen. There was a new character who joined the cast this morning. It took me a few minutes to be sure what that flash of color was. It was a Baltimore Oriole in search of food. I had hung a Hummingbird feeder, an Oriole feeder and I had put out a dish of grape jelly, with little hope of actually enticing an Oriole to come by and spend some time.
The Oriole seemed a little confused. He fluttered back and forth toward the glass of the sun room. He moved to one of bushes next to a side window in the dining room and flew at that for a little. Then he fluttered over to the hummingbird feeder and hung pretty much upside down, apparently managing to get some of the sugar water.
Then he moved over to the rail just below the Oriole feeder and not far from the dish of jelly. Surprisingly, he just did not manage to spot the jelly, just two feet from where he was standing. He fluttered up to the Oriole feeder and did not drink any of the orange sugar water there, but found the little pockets of jelly around the edge of the feeder. By the way, I am using the word “flutter” very intentionally. It was not just flying he was doing, it was what looked like very haphazard fluttering of his wings, allowing him to fly in place while trying to figure out where and how to land.
After Mary Ann finally got up, she ate a normal breakfast (she had not eaten supper last evening). She was very subdued — almost completely non-verbal. After eating, she agreed to head out in the car to do a few things.
Of course the first stop was PT’s for a cup of coffee, a single origin Ethiopian this time. Then we went to a grocery that has a large seasonal garden center set up on their parking lot. There we found a favorite hanging plant with small deep blue blossoms (sorry, no tag on the plant with its name). Rather than hanging the plant, I put it right outside the lower window next to the sliding glass door to the deck. That is the spot the Robin used for staging his attacks on his reflection in that glass panel. The two spots on the deck on either side of the sliding glass door have provided the bonus of serving as perfect display areas for enjoying flowering plants from inside and outside.
After getting the plant (for Mother’s Day), we went to the farm produce store north of town to get asparagus. We usually get three or four pounds each time we go since the season is fairly short. The only other item they had that was from their own fields was Rhubarb. I couldn’t resist it. Mary Ann’s Rhubarb pie is so good that given the choice between a piece of that pie and a Turtle Sundae from G’s, I would eat the pie. Those of you who know me well understand just how good that pie must be. The problem with getting the Rhubarb is that there is a long way between a handful of Rhubarb stalks and a piece of that pie. Whether that long way will be traversed any time soon remains to be seen.
By the time we were back in town, Mary Ann was ready to have lunch. I had only had a banana for breakfast, so I was anxious to eat. We went to her favorite, Bobo’s, for a cheeseburger and fries. I had the more healthful fish sandwich, deep fried and slathered with tartar sauce. Mary Ann was able to handle the burger and fries with little help.
After lunch I stopped at the Wild Bird store to pick up a couple of things and get some lessons on Oriole and Hummingbird feeding. The message was, throw out the old sugar water and make new. That is what I did when we got home.
Mary Ann had started dozing in the car, so as soon as we got home, I got her in bed to nap.
While she was sleeping and after I finished redoing the feeders, I sat and watched the big screen nature channel provided by the sun room glass. One thing that I had noted when doing the feeders was that something had been at the grape jelly. After a time of watching, the Oriole returned and headed directly for the jelly. I hope he brings friends.
Mary Ann has slept straight through supper (I tried getting her up, but it didn’t work). At about 9pm I got her changed into her pajamas and and the nighttime pills taken. She still did not want to eat. She finally stirred a little about fifteen minutes ago (about 10:40pm). I sat her up and asked if she wanted something to eat. She chose a single serving container of applesauce. It turned out to be a bit of a new experience. As I put the second spoonful in her mouth, she seemed to resist. I went a few feet to get a nearby napkin. When I turned back around, she had fainted and was completely out, gratefully having fallen to the side, still on the bed.
I got her back up into a sitting position after she came around and continued to feed her the applesauce. She fainted again. This time I was sitting next to her on the downhill side, so I was able to hold her up. After she came around again, I resumed feeding her the applesauce. With only a spoonful left she went out again. This time I got her down to the pillow, moved her around into a comfortable position, where she is at the moment.
I am concerned that the daytime sleeping a third day in a row is fueling a switch between day and night for her, sleeping in the daytime and agitated at night with hallucinations, delusions and dreams confused with reality. I am not sure what to do about it, since when she sleeps during the day, it is not just a light sleep from which she can be kept awake by urging activity. She just shuts off. She can’t stay awake. The converse is also true. When she is awake at night, she just can’t make herself sleep and not dream or hallucinate or have delusional thoughts.
I am very grateful for the pleasure and the calming that comes with sitting and watching the activity outside those panels of glass in the sunroom. It does not seem to get boring since there is always the hope of some new cast member joining the regulars, the Mallards, Mourning Doves, Grackles, Robins, Blue Jays, Cardinals, House Sparrows, House Finches, Cowbirds and Fox Squirrels. The Possum only comes at night, so I have not enjoyed watching him, just dumping the Possum pellets out of the ground feeder in the morning.
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The Caregiver Calling 