Jun 17, 2014
More visitors
I went to the eye doctor today as my left eye has been burning and is constantly irritated when at my desk, on the computer and in the sun. I have been using those Artificial Tears by Refresh. I can add drops every 30 minutes and still no relief. I had this problem last fall in September and October in mostly my left eye with a bit here and there in my right eye. While we were on the Isla all winter, I had no problems at all. Shortly after returning home I started getting the odd twinge in just the left eye. The past two weeks have been miserable. Working at my desk and the computer seems to be the trigger. I decided to check it out and was fortunate to snag an appointment this afternoon due to a cancellation. She checked my RX and all was well, redid a vision test and again I was alright. On checking my eyes with intense magnification she spotted a layer of dry cells near the bottom of my left eye. Possibly caused by the dryness here in Kelowna as opposed to Mazatlan where it is very humid or by not blinking enough. Apparently many people don’t fully blink or blink often enough when on the computer.
The good news is that it can be repaired. I just have to give my cornea a chance to rebuild new cells that won’t be wiped away like a wiper blade on a car windshield. I am now using eye drops ( that you can get over the counter ) 3 times a day but they are thick and oily and create blurriness for the first little while. At night, just before I go to sleep, I will have to get Colin to apply a gel like ointment that will keep my eyes lubricated as I sleep. That will only last until the first time I have to get up to go to the bathroom 🙁 Nothing I can do about that. Anyway in two to three weeks I should be better. If not I will return for some heavy duty anti-inflammatory eyedrops.
A few weeks ago we started to hear a lovely bird melody. I don’t recall hearing it before. Finally we got a glimpse of orange. This bird never sat still for a minute. After repeated sightings and observing and noting down the colors, the size, where there was a slash of orange or white on the body, we were able to identify our visitor.
It is a Bullock Oriole.
It never stayed in one place long enough to get a good photo. It did sit on our tree for a bit and seemed to prefer the cedar hedge. It came early in the morning and late in the afternoon.
These photos came from the internet but there was no name to give credit to.
The red on the map is their summer breeding area.
We are just on the edge of the red at the top left. We so enjoyed these visitors but sadly they have moved on. We do get orioles on the Isla but I have never identified them. I will make an effort this winter as the map shows their winter area ( in blue ), exactly where we are. Always nice to have visitors, both here and in Mexico.
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Good luck with your dry eye issue, soon be good as new.
Well George, it has been a tough day, but I’m realizing that if I force myself to blink, it really helps.
Hola Marty, so nice to be able to spot the unusual bird here and there. Ee do get Orioles on the Isla and now I will make an effort to ID them, I know we do have a few different ones. Yup, dry eye is the worst.
We get the Bullock’s too, but about ten years ago we were sitting on the porch and spied a Baltimore oriole in the tree across the street. We grabbed our Stokes book to be sure, and sure enough, a Baltimore! Never saw a mate, it sat in the tree for about n hour, then flew away. Not sure why it was so far away from its normal migration pattern, but it was fun to watch. Right now we have a pair of wrens building a nest in the finch house. Such darling birds and lovely singers, too. I hope your eye heals quickly, nothing worse than dry, sore eyes.