Today I had a doctor's appointment in Bakersfield, about 50 miles away. Gone are the days when my doctors were right next door to my office at UCLA. These days, to see a specialist, a road trip is involved. I have stayed home all summer because I don't like to like to leave the dogs alone at home during fire season. I didn't really want to go today either, but once I was on my way I remembered that I love to hit the road. I stopped to take a few pictures, too bad I didn't notice the trash in the foreground.
Coming off the mountain involves driving down a steep mountain highway for about 25 miles.......
surrounded by these guys, who no way stick to the suggested 45 MPH.
As I drove down the mountain, I thought about the turkey buzzards that will be coming through the pass any day now by the tens of thousands. I didn't see any in the mountains, but when I reached the city and was about to merge on to the on-ramp of the 99 freeway, I happened to look up and there they were. Hundreds of them soaring above the busy freeway! An awesome sight!
Today, I saw my ophthalmologist (I hope I got that spelling right) for my annual visit to ensure that my eyes and the retinas of my eyes are OK. This annual visit is a MUST for all people with diabetes. While waiting for the doctor, I studied this chart that depicted how you would see a particular view
depending on what was wrong with your eyes. A detached retina view is at the lower right side and that view is black. A strong reminder to keep my blood sugars under control.
After having my vision examined, it was time to check behind the eyes. I was so happy to learn that this office now has a camera for this purpose, so no need to have my eyes dilated. Whew! I always hated that in the past.
After the pictures were taken, they were uploaded to this computer. So those are my eyes and the doctor went over the photos with me. She explained the various parts of the eye and what it would look like if any bleeding had occurred (another diabetic problem). Fortunately, my eyes were perfectly fine and so was my vision. A very good visit for me!
On my way home, I usually stop at this farmer's market and buy fruit or veggies in season.
I parked in the shade of this palm tree to eat some snacks for lunch. As I looked up, I saw these interesting fruits, or whatever they are, and I just had to take a picture.
Aren't they beautiful?
After I finished eating, I walked over to the petting zoo and looked at the peacocks, chickens, ducks, and little goats.
This is the store and, in America, there is one basic vegetable in season in October.
And here they are, little ones, big ones, and even bigger ones. Aren't the colors just gorgeous? I wasn't after pumpkins, so I just bought a one-pound bag of walnuts, but I really enjoyed the colorful displays of the season.
Here is a view of sunflowers growing in a field of corn. It was a lovely sight. Sunflowers must be the most cheerful of all flowers. You can't help but get happy looking at them.
This is how the foothills look this time of the year. The green forms are oaks. Different kinds of oaks grow here, valley oak, blue oak are some of them. As you may have figured, a naturalist I'm not, just a nature lover. But as I keep blogging, I'm sure I will take the time to learn many of these things. In the spring, these hills are green and covered in wildflowers.
When I was almost home, a snake....a rattlesnake or a gopher snake crossed the road. I managed to not run over it and it was almost at the side of the road, so I hope it made it. I was surprised to see a snake since it has been in the 20s and 30s at night up here. I'm glad I did so I know I still have to be careful during the warmer part of the day.
When I got home, I was greeted by three happy doggies and almost got kissed by this!!!
