Hello everyone, I thought you might like these photos of the heron casting his eye over the goslings in our garden. My husband runs out and shouts at him to scare him off…and the heron doesn’t budge from his perch! There are ducks and moorhens too, lots of lovely bird life who have made our pond their home. They are all so lovely to watch. I’ve not been on the forum for a while as I’ve undergone lots of tests and appointments and the outcome is Polymyalgia Rheumatica; the sister disease to my current diagnosis of GCA. So, just started to up the Pred to control the symptoms. A bit of a blow as I’d just managed to deflate my moon face to sensible proportions and convince the Pred Monster to stop tempting me into the larder late at night. Some cheering up is needed, love to all on here 💕
Spot the cheeky Heron?: Hello everyone, I thought... - LUPUS UK
Spot the cheeky Heron?
I am so very sorry to hear of your new diagnosis and the upping of the dreaded Prednisalone. I send you gentle hugs and lots of love. Your photos are beautiful xxx
Thanks so much CP - not looking forward to Pred increase particularly as it’s taken nearly 18 months to reduce from 30 mg to 9 mg with the help of Methotrexate and Tocilizumab along the way. This autoimmunity thing is like a game of snakes and ladders but with way more snakes in it! 🪜 🐍 Hope you are doing ok and your leg is improving? 🤗😘🤗
Bless you having been on prednisalone for six months I understand the battle and it is tough. I hope that you can tweak it to the lowest possible dose lovely. My leg is getting there thank you, I have managed to clean the bathroom , even though it took me three and a half hours hours because I had to keep sitting down but I felt so m. uch better for being able to contribute again. I also have baked bread and strawberry scones so there is a smile on my face again..baby steps. You take care of yourself xxx
Well done you with the baking! I find it so satisfying to produce yummy goodies and the making process is therapeutic too. It does need energy though and harder to do when we don’t have much of that. And as for the bathroom, bravo! It’s given me the incentive to crack on with mine - moderate steady exercise helps alleviate the symptoms of PMR - so no excuses! 🚿 🧽 Glad to hear your leg is on the mend, we get there in the end! Love and hugs to you CP 🍓 🥖 😘🤗😘
Oh God I really hope so. It is so disheartening when you recover from one thing and another one hits you . Big Cwtches to you too xxx
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surely the heron won't munch on the goslings, the other chicks might be in danger tho. I suppose it's a step forwards actually getting a diagnosis but then you have to deal with meds side effects 
I call "moonface" hamster cheeks as it sounds better but last time I had it it felt like having grapefruits put under my skin and I couldn't breathe through my nose, not that I can breathe at present as my hayfever is raging. the price I pay to live in the country. I don't need the pred monster to drag me to the fridge, I have the fatigue monster doing that. My delusional body thinks if I eat more I will have some energy. On a random thought [ I get plenty of those] did Zebedee have lupus? He was always saying "time for bed" Or maybe Dylan, come to think of it Ermintrude was weird for a cow. The magic roundabout could have been lupus generated it certainly fits my foggy brain. night.
good to have you back.
I think the writer of Magic Roundabout must have been in a random drug trial that failed 😃😃
seems to fit a lot of the side effects from our meds. fatigue and hallucinations of weird creatures.
Definitely! 👍
So sorry to hear that HW. I do hope the pred reaction isn't as strong as previously... is there anything you can take to counteract it? Or lay off to assist with that? Just thinking the caffeine etc.. but think you've really reduced that since the water test! 
. Just read about it to gen up.
I'm trying to think of something to cheer you up... Well, this evening I rescued two separate bumble bees from my salvias - they were clinging on as the rain started but at different times. I got v v clucky as I do love my bees... that's all the flowers I chose are for! I got the honey out and was feeding one on a spoon I managed to get it to climb onto for ages... Then it started to fly off, with more battery in it's boots but then kept flying back to me and back onto my spoon! It wasn't quite finished.. they ate tons of it ;).. Then the second one I took inside on the plate I'd put the cut plant it was really clinging onto. I put another blob of honey on the plate and filmed it for 2mins really guzzling it down. And after about 15mins of noshing it slowly started to flap it's wings a little.. this one was clearly on the older side. So then it slowly started to walk around the plate which I held near the open doors to my terrace... and then it drunkenly flew off... but into the rain.. I couldn't keep it in doors until it stopped... so I do hope it wasn't both of their last suppers... I have to say I was a bit tearful afterwards! We all really had a moment ;).
Hope that helped a little and you are resting... unlike naughty me.. still waiting for my sleep and pain tabs to kick in.. nearly there. Thinking of you and sending hugs. Night x
🐝
I love bees 🐝
Hi D - lovely to hear from you. Thanks so much for your bee revival story, very uplifting indeed! It’s amazing how they respond to us and that your first bee came back for more! He knew he could! My daughter rescues bees in the summer and like you, we watched as the bee popped his proboscis in the honey and we could see that as the amount of honey diminished on the plate his little tum grew bigger! It was amazing to watch! So satisfying to help them isn’t it? I’m feeling better about everything today, hope you are doing ok at the moment? Will catch up on your posts as they look v interesting 🐝 🍯 🌺🤗😘🤗
I’m glad feeling a little improved missus. V difficult times... and thank goodness you have your family around you. Your daughter sounds adorable. Bees need all help they can get these days! Just been to wonderful local wildlife area with newly planted area - so diverse! Was like a mini Kew.. lots of bees on everything but many v v dozy as it’s so cold. I began to get all clucky again 🙄. Hope they all get home soon.. ruddy freezing here compared to last week!
Hope you’re nice and warm, having a good weekend with yr clan and animals. Such a wonderful place!
Hugs xxx
Yes the drop in temp does have an effect on our buzzy buddies, I do hope they got home ok - it’s funny how we worry about them! Had a nice weekend pottering in the garden which was nice, thanks D, hope you had a nice weekend too. 🐝🌺🤗😘🤗
Thank you for the lovely photos, and sending you good vibes for coping with the increase in prednisone. Hopefully, when things are better controlled you will feel much better.
Thanks Lily, much appreciated. 😘🤗😘
Hope your lovely garden, pond and goslings cheer you up 😃
Yes I love watching the wildlife and feel blessed that they choose our garden to hang out in. Thank you 🤗😘🤗
Lovely pictures, stay positive, let nature help to cheer you up, it must be so nice to be surrounded by nature even during the difficult times🦄🕊🦆🦢🦉🐞💐🌻
It is uplifting to be amongst nature and the wildlife does do a lot to cheer me up, thank you Villagelife 🤗😘🤗
Those are beautiful photos horsewhisper as you say wonderful wild life you've got in your garden. Naughty heron wanting to spoil it. Do hope he can be controlled in some way. Your husband is kept busy trying to shoo him away. The goslings are delightful and soooo cute!.
Im very sorry at your news and new diagnosis of PMR. A big blow as you want /need to keep the pred to the minimum dose you can. Do hope your better soon. PMR can be cured by the pred but it takes time. You have enough to deal with with having GCA. Not easy illnesses!.
If you have a look at my 'cutie pic' this week horsewhisper i think you'll specially like it as it has good news for 2 different horse breeds!.
TAKE CARE and keep your pecker up. Xx
Thanks Misty - I’ve just seen your cutie pic post about the heavy horses - these breeds need protecting and I too saw the programme about Adam Henson’s Lexi and her mummy duties to help keep the breed going. Bit of a blow re: the PMR, I suppose we should be used to collecting additional diagnoses, but it’s never easy is it? Thanks for your support as ever! 🤗😘🤗
It is easy horsewhisper to collect extra illnesses and its a lot to deal with and we wonder how we'll manage but somehow we do!. You will be the same im sure. Lots of tlc and processing needed and you will feel much better. Specially so when the steroids work their magic!. Its tough as i know the steroids are such a double edged treatment!.
Keep safe and posting. Xx🐴❤🐴❤🐴
Nice to be back - yes at least I know what it is and I can now deal with it. Sorry to hear about your really bad hay fever, not a great thing to have with having the sensation of grapefruits under your skin, difficult to draw breath through your nose for sure. I think Zebedee may have been on high dose Pred too - he was always boinging around a lot before going to bed - and as for Dylan, he was probably on CBD oil for the pain! 😆 🤪 oh well that’s cheered me up! Thanks Suzannah! Hope you are keeping well. 😘🤗😘
You poor thing - I hope you manage to get it under control soon.
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Thanks Meg, hope you are doing ok? Xxx
Going through a bit of a diagnosis dilemma myself, HW. I'll know more when they tell me more 😌
Oh no, not a nice time with the uncertainty and not knowing, fingers crossed for good outcomes Meg, thoughts and hugs to you right now 🤞🙏🤗😘🤗
What a cheeky heron indeed. But what a beautiful garden you have and how lovely to have such a wonderful pond providing a habitat and home to so many species of birds, insects and no doubt wee mammals too. Lovely. Not so lovey to have your new diagnosis. I’m so sorry to hear that HW. Keep fighting off that Pred Monster every time he leads you to the larder. Not easy I know, but worth the effort. 🤺⚔️ Sending you love and hugs.🤗😘💝xx
Yes he is very cheeky and is becoming braver each week. He is amazing to watch, reminds me of a pterodactyl the way he moves, quite spooky as if he belongs to another era! I think I’ve got to grips with the Pred Monster again and ignored his temptations to lure me towards the larder last night! 👍🤪I’m
banking that win! Thank you Spotty for your kind words as always 🌺😘🤗😘
Well done taking a detour from the larder and ignoring the temptations Pred Monstor put your way. That shows real will power! We had a heron come here regularly when the wee burn had eels in it but we haven’t seen any in years. He also used to fish from our neighbours large fish pond and succeeded in puncturing the lining! Oops! Bob then covered the pond and the heron eventually gave up. So we haven’t seen him since. The last time I saw one flying towards the woods he had 3 crows in hot pursuit so perhaps he’d been eyeing up their rookery? 🤷🏼♀️ Nature is always entertaining isn’t it? 😁 😘xx
Cheeky heron and good for the crows! Always plenty to enjoy with nature. I’ve been taking advantage of the Pred energy boost this morning and helped clear some weed out of the pond, so just treated myself to two, yes just the two, Digestive biscuits with my mint tea. Feeling good! Hope you’re having a nice weekend 🌺💕🌺
Oh wow, I’m impressed! Not just helping to clear weed out of the pond but limiting yourself to only 2 digestives! 😳 That is excellent going HW and puts me to shame. I’ve put on a lot of weight over the last year and enjoy my afternoon tea too much with a piece of shortbread, a choc digestive or two and either a mini battenburg or a cherry Bakewell tart. 😋 No wonder the weight isn’t shifting! And I don’t even have the excuse of a steroid although I did read that Pregabalin increases your appetite too and my dose was doubled 3 months ago. So that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it!😉 Yes, we are having a good weekend thanks HW . Hoping you have a good week. 🙏🏻 So glad you are back with us. 👍🏻👍🏻🤗😘xx
Hi Horsewhisper we missed you on here thanks for posting the wonderful picture , it’s so lovely for you to see all this wildlife right on your doorstep. Just recently a Heron came into my mums garden and ate all the fish from her pond, she even had a plastic Heron to ward the real Heron off but he was one very intelligent bird 😂 so sorry that you’ve had to go on steroids again 😩♥️
Thank you SV - yes the herons are ruthless, it has spiked a couple of big carp that were probably too big for the heron to carry off so they were left dead floating in the pond. Such a waste. I suppose that’s nature for you though…and something we humans have to accept! 🐟 😘🤗😘
Love the photos.... Never knew that about herons...
Seems the chick eaters here are those beautiful, but lethal birds of prey, in particular peragrine & sparrow hawk....
Our lovely resident crows seem to protecting our little birds as they have young fledgling....yah crows....
Thanks for jumping into the group & giving us an update 🤗 . Ml
It was the way he was looking at them….not sure if he would actually try and take one, unlike the other creatures residing here - we have a pike in the pond and a few years ago he grabbed a gosling and pulled it under the water. Even the crows have had a go at them! Nice to be back and will keep you posted. Hope you are ok at the mo? Xxx
Oh poor gosling...what a way to go...😳... Do keep us informed...Right now I get badger visitor & saw this year's youngster! What a treat...Thanks for asking, chasing specialist down & battling through specialist nurses to find out why my recovery is so problematic post cancer treatment & lupee/sjogren flares 😬...
Been meaning to post to this lovely community....ml
Cheeky heron indeed 🤣 the goslings are beautiful 🤩 So sorry you’ve been through a tough time, I’m pleased you got the tests though and an outcome though sorry to hear 🤗
I hope as rough as the steroids are they will give some relief.
I know what you mean on how you feel about moon face, I get lots of facial swellings, my eye is not going to lift now after this time and I often feel like the elephant man and I’m not taking anything .🤣
Look on the bright side , you will taper off steroids at some point and your beauty return, besides youre beautiful inside .
Hope you find more ladders and less snakes , hopefully the summer and it’s glory will help you too, 🙏 take care and best wishes 😘🤗🤗🤝xx
Thank you for your kind words as ever, Stiff, things are improving a bit which is good and feeling stronger thanks to all the support and positivity on here. I’m on the look out for more ladders to climb and as for those snakes, I’ll set the heron onto them! 😂. Hope you are as well as you can be at the mo. All the best if wishes back to you and yours 🤗😘🤗🌺
Pleased to hear things are improving a bit and that you’ve had much support 👍🙌🏻I’ll send the chooks to get the snake , they got one in the garden a few weeks ago 🙀
Take care 😘🤗xx
You have brave chooks Stiff! They are a brave gang of girls! 💪 🥰
brave maybe but stupid yes 😂😂😂😂 funny not for the snake but Tsuki was running round with it for a good 5 minutes with me and 3 other cooks chasing her for it, me to rescue it and them ........well.🤷♀️😂 Sadly I couldn't rescue it and nature took its course, just glad it was a grass snake and not an adder, like my son held not knowing what was 😩😩😂xx
Coping with husbands cancer
First NHS appointment at The Kellgren Centre MRI
My son - photosensitive rash? 
THE LUPUS FITNESS DVD mentioned in a blog from Twist
Feel useless!! 
