A very early wake up. A little deliberate (I have a very early appointment), but also unpleasantly provoked: Ed came in, and soon a cat started complaining, very loudly, that it was shut out of the room. Annoying cat.
Wait. I never want to complain about the cats. We dont keep a litter box (they go outside) and they aren't destructive. And most importantly, they have reduced the farmette mice population from great abundance to zero. You dont know how awful mice can be until you have to live with them. Talk about a destructive little beast! And the smell! The disease! So, I love our cats. Except when they complain loudly at being shut out.
The morning walk is so pretty! It's our first real-summer-weather day! Warm and a bit muggy. Yes, there are bugs, but we've seen worse. A few more ticks than usual, but again -- manageable. And the sun is so lovely! You want to sing out a good morning to all the plants that are waking up to its gifts!
(I've looked at life from both sides now...)
(From up and down...)
(...and still somehow...)
Appointment at 7:10 -- then quickly done. Honestly, I've had such a good run of med/dental visits. Even the dental hygienist was full of compliments (yesterday) -- a rare thing, since these guys always complain that you dont do enough for your teeth. I have changed none of my habits for the past twenty years, but still, this time she was all smiles.
By 7:45 I am at Madison Sourdough to pick up bread for Ed and treats for breakfast. They dont open until 8, but I dont mind sitting outside and waiting, taking in the activities of a bakery cafe staff preparing to open up. It reminds me of the years I was on the baking team at L'Etoile. The one that made croissants and gougeres for the market. There's something delicious about starting your day with sticking cheese puffs and viennoiseries (croissants, pain au chocolat) in the oven, though I'm sure glad I am on the buying end these days. Those early bakers hours are brutal!
Okay, open!
I pick flowers from our meadow for our table. Time for breakfast!
Since it's going to be a hot day, I need to refresh the annuals in the tubs and refill all the drinking stations for the animals. This always takes longer than you'd think, because along the way I study the garden and do some spot weeding and chipping when I notice trouble spots (I always notice trouble spots). And again, because it is the first really warm day, I so enjoy feeling that sun on my still primed-for-winter back. There will soon come the day when I've had enough of the heat. But not this morning.
In the early afternoon, Ed and I do a modest bike and hike. To our county park, where we walk the prairie, then pedal back again.
And then I have the most leisurely and awesome couple of hours on the porch, with my computer and my friend. In Poland. Because she sweetly matches up with my schedule and I a tiny bit with hers and you would never know that we live at a seven hour time delay.
Toward the end of our Zoom chat, the winds pick up outside. Say what? Were we supposed to have storms? Isn't this Wednesday -- the day for Ed's bike ride? Didn't I water plants this morning in anticipation of a hot dry spell? The weather can be like a small child -- calm one minute, in tears the next. Never mind. It was warm, it was beautiful. The rest is trim.
with love...
