Wednesday 27 November 2019

The Gales of November

Man it was windy last night and this morning!! It was just a miserable, wet, very windy day. However, all the snow has gone (the header picture is from a little while ago) and the temperatures were actually mild (for late November). Here and there, people lost their power due to trees falling on hydro lines.

Today, I had an appointment at the orthodontist. I am now in the third week of Invisalign (clear trays that do the same thing as braces). I wish I could say it is all fine and dandy, but alas, by the end of the day, the rubbing on the inside of my bottom lip and a couple spots on the top still cause me pain. I have an arsenal of treatments that I do to try to help my mouth heal and guard it from further distress. If I could just rest it and not talk, I'd likely be much better, but it is rather hard to teach a class of kids without moving one's mouth. I told the good people at my orthodontist clinic about this and they were surprised and said nobody's ever complained about this particular discomfort before. Funny, there are plenty of people on the internet who have.

Regardless, it was time to have the "buttons" put on my teeth. I had 14 of these little square protruding things chemically attached to the outside of my teeth. They match little bump-outs on my Invisalign trays. It is all part of forcing my teeth in the directions they are supposed to go. Because they are brand new, these little buttons (evokes kind of a cute image) are sharp as hell and rough like sandpaper. So, when you pry your trays out of your mouth to eat, the action of chewing now shreds new "death by a thousand cuts" in other parts of my mouth. I've read (because you must google these things) that the act of removing and re-inserting your trays helps to smooth out these nasty protrusions over time, so they become less deadly. I can't wait.

However.... all was not lost. My drive to the orthodontist is about a half an hour through the countryside and I saw no less than THREE snowy owls!! I was so excited. I pulled over and took a picture of one on the way there. I saw another one, but did not take a picture. Then, on the way back home, I saw three of them, so I did stop for more pictures. No doubt, these were the same ones I saw both ways, but still very exciting! I wonder if they are related? They make me think of Hedwig from Harry Potter. The extreme wind had died down at this point in the afternoon, but it was still pretty breezy. Despite that, they were perched high atop hydro poles, no doubt waiting patiently to spot some unsuspecting rodent.



They didn't even seem to mind that I pulled my vehicle over, and for the one above, I got out and walked as close as I dared to take the picture. I had never seen a snowy owl before last year (I posted about it then), and now I can say I've seen a total of four!

32 comments:

  1. So sorry for the pain you are going through....I am hoping when all is accomplished you will be glad you did it. And how exciting to see three snowy owls and get such a good photo of one of them. I've seen one for a few seconds and more than 40 years ago...Still exciting to recall!

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    1. These pictures are actually two different owls. It was very exciting, but I love seeing any kind of bird of prey.

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  2. Oh, the snowy owls would help make both the drive and the visit a little more palatable. Wow. I've never seen one and so impressed.

    But the pain -- that's not good at all. I hope you will be able to adjust and continue the process. I admire your doing it at all, that takes guts!

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    1. It is a pain, but it's a pain I signed up for, and I'm paying for... so there's no turning back now , ha ha!

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  3. And we are roasting in 30 degree weather in South Island NZ....not usual for spring...

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    1. It was above zero - so that's considered mild for this time of year, here.

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  4. I have never seen a snowy owl - I don't suppose we have them in the UK, do we?

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    1. I rather doubt it. We normally don't have them this far south as they tend to be more arctic birds. It's the daytime sighting that's wonderful about snowy owls.

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  5. Envious of your Snowy Owl sightings. I do hope that you get some help with your mouth piece very soon, especially since the season of treats & yummy goodies is upon us. ... Mary-Lou =^..^=

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    1. Well, actually you just have to let your mouth toughen up apparently.

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  6. Just to say..Yes!
    Snowy owls have been spotted in three areas
    of southern England...Cornwall, Alderney and
    Guernsey...thousands of miles from their
    usual feeding grounds. The birds usually
    live in the far north around the Arctic circle
    and when they do venture south it is to northern
    Scotland...Amazing looking bird to..Lovely..! :).
    ☕🍰☕🍰☕ ☕🍰☕🍰☕ ☕🍰☕🍰☕

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  7. Oh my gosh, what an amazing sighting! I've never seen these birds in person. That would be a treat.

    Sorry about the pain. Hope it goes away and you can relax.

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    1. It was just amazing to be able to see three in one day!

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  8. Wow! I've never seen a snowy owl. Awesome! I hope the pain subsides soon. You have a wonderful Thanksgiving Day. Hugs, Edna B.

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    1. Thank you for the sweet wishes, Edna. Here in Canada, we celebrate Thanksgiving in October, so ours is already done and gone.

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  9. How amazing to see all those snowy owls!!! I hope the Invisaligns are worth the pain.

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    1. I really do think it will be worth it in the end - I've tended to be a "closed mouth smiler" all these years - it's a treat to myself. (Cheaper than plastic surgery, I guess).

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  10. Exactly where I've seen my lone snowy, several years in a row. Right up on the electric pole, surveying a farm field.

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    1. When I saw a snowy owl last year, it was also on top of a hydro pole. Best vantage point.

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  11. I think the snowy owls came by to make you forget (at least for a bit) your mouth pain. Hard to believe it now, but you will forget the pain and be so happy with your teeth (and smile) that you'll never smile with a closed mouth again! Good for you going through this procedure.

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  12. Hoe lucky you are. I've never seen a snowy owl. Great photos.

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    1. Do you have them in your area? You always have such great wildlife pictures on your blog.

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  13. Oh-those Invisaligns are miserable for a while. I know a couple of people that got a sore mouth-that eventually went away and they were fine. The bonus?Both of them lost weight!! lol
    Love the snowy owls. I haven't seen one in years. xo Diana

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    1. Ha ha, I've been saying that, that I'm on the Invisalign diet. It's such a pain to take the trays out, then brush your teeth afterward that you really think twice about having a quick snack. We went to the movies last night and I didn't even consider popcorn!

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  14. What a wonderful experience and how good that the owls lifted your spirit at a time when you are battling teeth! Can I cheer you up further by saying that although your teeth are, for now, all crooked at least they are all present! In the last few years some of mine have cracked and fallen to bits. Dentistry in England for much of my life has been pretty basic as my smile would tell you - the teeth that I have left are all over the place!

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  15. Perhaps as some others have suggested, the owls made an appearance to make you forget the purpose of your country drive, but then that's not very likely. Hope the discomfort eases up after awhile.

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  16. I hate mouth pain - it's the worse because you can't ignore it. It might be a good time to introduce ASL to your students....just saying. :) How amazing to see THREE snowy owls! They are beautiful!

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  17. Oh those braces sound absolutely awful!! I'm so sorry, I'm sure at times you want to just cancel the whole thing!!!!

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  18. This sounds terrible. I do hope it's worth all the pain and aggravation. Maybe some good whiskey would help soothe the pain? At least make you forgey about it!

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  19. Hi Jenn :) The owls are beautiful what a great bit of luck! I've never seen one!! Oh my gosh the invisalign sounds like a nightmare. They don't advertise that part of the process do they? I remember when I wore a mouth guard on my upper jaw many years ago. Sorry if this is grosse...my teeth basically bathed in a pool of saliva all night and were discoloured in the morning. Happened every morning and took hours to get the colour back. I told my dentist who "never heard of that" B.S. I think that's their standard response. Just like our vet this week "never heard of" herbal remedies that work on animals. Sorry for the rant lol!

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