You know what I'm ready for? The first deep frost. It always kills off the mosquitoes for the year. You start to enjoy the great outdoors once again. In fact, can anyone think of one bad thing to say about autumn? Yes, that's our habit here, at the farmette: we always look forward to the joys of the next season.
In the mean time I'm slowly returning to a less weakened state. So much so that I happily agreed to have Snowdrop here for a chunk of the day. But that comes later. First, the dreadful walk through a buggy garden (but, enjoying, too, the last golden lilies and the royal purple phlox)...
Then a breakfast indoors, solo, because it's another hot and steamy day and Ed is sleepy and who am I to wake a tired guy...
The croissant is a frozen thing that you bake yourself. Sounds good, but has no taste. Heap on the jam!
I take it easy still. Weak and underfed and under-watered, I do not think I am a candidate for plunging into the hot, soupy air. Nonetheless, I take out the bike. Just for a short loop. And as so often on these rides, my head fills with the melody of a song I first heard when I was 6. My sister and I went to see a live performance of Snow White in Poland. You've watched the musical perhaps? It's been around since 1937. This particular performance though was in Polish, and on stage, and I will never forget the utter joy of hearing A Smile and a Song. I swear the Polish lyrics were about the happiness at seeing the beauty in this world. The English lyrics are close to this as well:
With a smile and a song
Life is just a bright sunny day
Your cares fade away
And your heart is young.
With a smile and a song
All the world seems to waken anew
Rejoicing with you
As the song is sung
There's no use in grumbling
When the raindrops come tumbling
Remember you're the one
Who can fill the world with sunshine
When you smile and you sing
All the world is in tune and it's spring
And life flows along
With a smile and a song
I cannot tell you how many times I've set out on my e-bike and that theme has exploded in my head. I let it do that today as well.
Snowdrop comes for lunch, which for some reason she really loves here, at the farmhouse, even though she always asks for pasta -- presumably the same as she could have anywhere else on this planet. Afterward, we read, finishing up the Firefly Summer (such a good story!), which feels so perfect as we amble towards the end of our own summer season.
(we're trying to get her to push her hair away from her face; today she agreed to a loose French braid that her mommy pleated for her; let's hope she gets hooked on it!)
(this is before pillows started to fly...)
The young family has loads of car trouble so I lent them mine for the day. Not that I need Blue Moon. I haven't been in that car since I came back from Chicago. The fact is, if it weren't for my shuttling of the kids and trips to Chicago, I'd probably not use the car more than once or twice a month in the warmer months. The bikes and motorbikes are perfect for short trips to nearby places.)
Toward the eve, Snowdrop gets picked up, I return to cooking supper -- this time trying hard to make a dent in our tomato haul which is threatening to spill out of the big box freezer in the basement -- it's that copious this year!
(tomatoes picked just yesterday...)
We're more or less back on track to a calmer normal. For a couple of days anyway!
With love...
