Photo Copyright: Maggie May
This is the time of year when my Campanulas are in full bloom, cascading down the wall between our garden and the one next door.
When I first put in two tiny cuttings years and years ago, I was told that they wouldn't stand a chance of surviving that dry wall and now look at them. They have merged in as one and have spread between paving slabs and invaded borders and I have to pull them up when they get too prolific. However, because they are so lovely and bloom for a long time, I do let most of them alone.
Although today is cooler and I detected a drizzly feel earlier on when I went to the bin, we have had a couple of weeks of very hot weather and it has given me a new lease of life in the garden and cleaning up in the home, especially sorting out muddles. There doesn't really seem to be much to show for it, but I have cleaned out hidden rubbish and pulled out heavier furniture to the best of my ability.
I have taken armfuls of unwanted items to the Charity shops.
My paper shredder is nearly worn out from dealing with documents that are well out of date.
I have a long way to go, so I hope that this mood will stay.
One thing that seems to have happened to me as I've got older, is that I seem to have developed a bad reaction to sunlight. I come out in an itchy red rash on my arms lower legs and neck. I have to keep well covered. Whether it is the result of chemo or some of the drugs that I have had to take, I do not know.
It seems ironical that I spend most of the winter months longing for the sun and then find that I can't sit out in it.
Does anyone else have a problem with sunlight?
23 comments:
I have been cleaning and shredding too! That is a bummer about the rash from the sunlight!
Does sunscreen help?
I hope so
I have been looking forward to sunshine as well.
Hugs
SueAnn
it could be the meds :( love the picture
Some plants just don't listen to *the rules*.
Those flowers are beautiful, Maggie!! I would be so excited to have some like that cascading over a wall at my home. I've never seen them before. They are gorgeous (great photo!)
I am thinking that your reaction to the sun must be medicines, Maggie.
Does your doctor have any suggestions as to what you could do to help ease the discomforts?
I hug you from here.
Love,
Jackie
Beautiful blooms! Maggie, if you're taking any medications, you should look at the possible side effects that they list. You can pull them up online. You would be surprised how many meds can cause reactions to sunlight. Especially meds for autoimmune illnesses like arthritis, lupus and many others.
It's a shame that you've developed an allergy to the sun now that the weather is so nice. It may be from your nedication, but you'll probably have to keep taking it. You'll have to stick to the shade as much as possible and cover up. There's not always a good solution to every problem.
Your campanula is beautiful. I never managed to grow it that prolific. I probably lived in the wrong climate.
xox
Your campanulas are beautiful! I'd love to have this shade of blue cascading down my porch wall. I also wish I had some of your energy and motivation--I have a lot of "muddles" here waiting for me to sort through:)
I find that I am more sensitive to the sun than I used to be, or maybe it's just the heat that gets to me. I would imagine the meds you took have something to do with your sensitivity, though. Maybe a hat or long sleeves would help so that you can enjoy the sunlight.
I think possibly, as you said, your sensitivity to sunlight could be caused by the medication you have taken. Such a shame when you enjoy the sun. I have done little apart from gardening and reading in the garden for the past two weeks - I love the sun too. Love the picture. :)
Those flowers are just gorgeous!
Your flowers are beautiful! One of my daughters-in-law is very sensitive to the sun and gets an ugly, itching rash when she's out in it. In her case, it's not a medication she's taking, but I heard about sun sensitivity as a reaction to some drugs.
Hi Maggie, I'm new to your blog this May. Your purple campanulas are very lovely. Thanks for sharing your pretty flowers. Probably your bad reaction to the sunlight is from your medication. I live in Tucson, Arizona, fair skinned, and always wear a wide brim hat, long sleeve shirts, long pants, no shorts and carry lots of water. That's life in the hot desert. Well, nice to meet you on your blog. I'll follow you on Google. Would love to see photos of your two little dwarf rabbits.
Kindest regards,
Nanette
Funny you should say that Maggie but yes my arms itch now when I sit in the sun and I get an itchy rash or bumps that are not bites. Do you wear sun cream? I was wondering if the cream (I do) blocks the pores and therefore causes itching?
When I was young I'd sit in the sun for hours. Now I can't stand the heat so much (though the sun is much stronger now) and I also seem to have too much to do now to sit for long!
So glad you have felt like having a clear out! Amazing what good weather can do :-)
S x
My mother, who had chemo for her breast cancer, has trouble with sunlight, too. She has to be careful now to be covered or use lots of sunblock.
The flowers are just beautiful.
In our town there is a store that sells shirts and hats that are very light weight and handsome and protect from UV and all other heavy sun nastiness.
Can you get these in England? I will try and find a site so you can see them.
Wow! Great blue flowers.
I was told when I received the chemo -each time -that I should take care when outside, not to take in too much sunlight and try to wear hats, not wear skimpy clothing or to lay out in the direct sunlight as the chemo and sun don't always play nicely together. However, years earlier, I had the same problem you described with the itching and such anytime I was outside for any length of time -especially doing yard work. I mentioned this to my primary car physician at that time and he said it is an allergic reaction and we build up to that during our lives. (Sunshine never bothered me at all when I was younger but the itching began as I started down the aging road I guess! Anyway, maybe our ancestors with their big old sunbonnets were onto something there after all, huh?
Oh and by the way, those flowers are gorgeous, simply gorgeous and you are making me into one very envious old lady!
I have to say Maggie, that it's a beautiful photograph at the beginning of the post.
Bright light of any kind hurts my eyes because of my cataracts. But so far, my skin doesn't react negatively in exposure to sun. Sounds like you got spring fever in the summer time, but whenever it happens, it feels good to accomplish so much, good for you.
Cleaning out unwanted and un-needed things is good! I have been spending an unusual amount of time cleaning dead and dying wood from trees and shrubs...
Your flowers are lovely!
oy i am sorry for your reaction tot he sun...just seeing it though certainly brightens my spirits....i need to do some spring cleaning...we have just dont see it yet...til the yard sale and that will get rid of much...
We have those flowers in our garden too I love them!, a rash from the sunlight? That is awful. You'd be okay here in Ca - its pouring down at the moment!
I don't know how you bear to pull any of those glorious flowers up!!!! And you seem to be so busy...I'm still bedridden with my foot, but it heals wonderfully and I'll be able to do my own cleaning again just in time for fall cleaning...and as to the sunlight, Id be willing to bet it's your meds causing this reaction...talk to your doc
hugs
Sandi
There are quite a few drugs that cause reactions in the sun, and you've had to take a few, so... In any case, I hope it doesn't bother you too much. I'll say a prayer.
Your flowers are lovely.. so profuse.
As for your reaction to the sun... try Googling the name of each of your meds, one at a time along with "sun rash" and see if you can find the culprit. Then maybe your doctor would have a solution... an adjustment or a better barrier.
I hope you find some resolve so that you can enjoy your sunny days.
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