Saturday - 239th

What a day! Unforgettable! And that's an understatement. The weather, the election, the kids, their families, the walks, the sunset. All stunning.

It's very late. I have many photos to sort through and they're important. They include the young family whom I haven't seen since... July.

Today was all about meeting up in the new reality of the pandemic. I was up early, I fed the animals, Ed came down for breakfast...

 

... and then I drove down to Raven Glen, a forest preserve just south of the Wisconsin - Illinois border. Illinois residents cannot travel to Wisconsin without having to quarantine afterwards, but I surely can go there for an outdoor, distanced, masked meetup with the younger family. A couple of hours in the car and I am with them again.

(On the drive down, I hear the election call. Calm restored!)

The rest of the day can be told in photos. Lots of them, because I see the little girl so rarely now! She should command today's space on Ocean. And she does.

 (A game of soccer...)

 

 

 

(The hike)

(The lake)

(The picnic)

 

(A day of unicorns...)

 

(And eventually, of distanced hugs)

 

(Last wave good bye...)

Sigh...

Typically, I spend Saturday afternoons reading outside with Snowdrop, but today I arrive late and only for a few minutes...

(A good zoom lens is my photographic best friend these days... No mask required for the minutes that we are outdoors, some twenty feet apart)

 

 

 (Anything closer and the mask goes on...)

 

(It's late and so I only stay a short while. Long enough to give my eager listeners an account of how Primrose is faring...)

  

By the time I drive home, the sun has almost set.

 

 

 

Still, as I pull in, I find an Ed, ready for an early evening walk. To count steps, sure, but mostly to review everything. To exhale, with gratitude for this most beautiful day. 

With love...

Friday - 238th

We listened, we watched, we did our own number crunching until 3 a.m., when it seemed no longer necessary to do so. Up at 7, looking elsewhere on the election map to crunch some more and then it was no longer necessary to do that either. But of course, by then, it was time to be up, with the animals, with the sunshine.

 

 With breakfast on the porch. 

So much will be said and written about the elections! I wont add anything to that discussion here. We survived, us two! And you did too, I hope. One big exhale and a return to calm. We so do love calm. What, you say it's not over? For us, it's over. Now please, can we get on with solving the mega problems that have overtaken our lives? We'll celebrate when we've made inroads. But no wine glass raised by our next president. He shares this with the current occupant of the White House: both claim they have never had a potent drink in their lives.

Excuse me while I get up and pour myself a glass of wine and digest that trivial fact.

Returning to my day now, let me just say that, despite the lack of sleep and the tiredness that follows nights like the ones I've been having, I did manage to work outside for most of the daylight hours, digging upwards of 100 holes to plant spring bulbs and move perennials around.

It was evening before I put the shovel down.

I will still have some planting to do next week. And clipping, if I feel like it. But the garden is almost winter ready. These drop dead gorgeous days have made outside work a total joy. It clears the mind and repairs any tears in the soul. You emerge satisfied and content. 

Tomorrow is another beautiful day. Unbelievable! So many in a row! I promise, I'll do something new and different with it!

Until then, with love...

Thursday - 237th

It's like we are stuck: weather's great, there are no election results, Covid stubbornly keeps up the climb to record numbers. In other words, Tuesday looks like Wednesday looks like Thursday.

The world has plenty of very patient people in it. I am not one of them. If I can avoid a passive wait, I will.  I tend to rush to fix problems and get rid of nuisances. I switch courses, I try something new, I'll cajole, I'll compromise, all with the hope of moving on.

But, my hands are tied. Can't change anything, can't move away from the impasse. These are not easy days for the non-waiters among us!

But hey, the weather! We're setting records! Warmest November 5th here ever. 72F (22C). How can you not love a November day that is as warm as the first day of summer?

I don't take many photos. I'm breaking in a camera slowly and the old one is feeling a little funky these days.  Besides, we are in our trance, our waiting bubble and so photography takes a back seat to... waiting.

Over breakfast, on the porch...

 

Afterwards, we return to our path building. Out front, by the entrance to the farmhouse, where the yellow maple leaves are as pretty as a field of daffodils. Well, almost.

And I do start in on my annual bulb planting! Most have arrived by now. In go the English bluebells, the Fosteriana and Aveyron tulips (please, animals, stay away from them!), the Erlicheer and Butterfly daffodils. Tomorrow, I'll do the rest -- a massive digging in of more daffodils, more tulips, snowdrops, crocuses and allium. 

 (Ed, shouting out updates...)

 

 

By late afternoon, I put away my shovel and my garden gloves and return to our living room cocoon, where Ed and I patiently wait.

Wednesday - 236th

When did night end and the day begin? And while I'm at it, when did the day end and sleep take hold? 

It's been a confusing set of hours. Many of us kept an eye on election results late into the night, or into early morning, going strong until we just gave up, because sleep is too powerful to fend off, except then night turned into morning light and suddenly we're all wide awake, wanting to know what happened?!

Dare I say this -- none of the past 24 hours was out of the blue, unexpected. Not the trickling results, not the waiting at night and waiting again today (and maybe the next day), not the tiredness on the day after. Like an ordinary election moment.

Even though, of course, it was anything but ordinary.

And here is something else that is unusual to the core: we have another splendid day of sunshine and warmth before us. How can the weather be this un-Novemberish!

I'll take it!

Morning walk, half awake, sort of...

 

(Dance follows me...)

And breakfast, again on the porch, just because we can!

 

And then Ed and I go out to work together on the project of building a quirky path toward the new farmhouse front entrance. It's Ed's idea and our joint execution.

 

We'll finish it tomorrow because guess what -- we are to be given another sublime day of good, very good weather!

This afternoon, Ed returns to his Wednesday night biking (in November, in Wisconsin!) and I take a short walk, thinking calm thoughts, wondering if we really are entering a new era of less in your face politics, or if we haven't yet reached our fill...

I'm hoping that it's the former.

(Dance, still playing the dog, as she follows me.  From back to front, then back again...)

 

Supper, at home, with a candle burning, and a smile on my face.

With love.

Tuesday - 235th

Did you know that today is election day in the U.S.? You did? Right, well most everyone knows this. Here, we have been talking about the 2020 races for years. And finally, at long last, it's November 3rd and we're all voting. Well, that's not true: most of us have actually cast our ballot some time ago. COVID messed with everything, including pushing many of us to vote from our couches. So, there is an election in that after today, you can no longer vote. 

But I spend very little time during the day thinking about this. There has been so much coverage of these elections (with good reason!) that I feel myself to be saturated. I know about the candidates, I know about strategies to victory, I know nearly everyone's opinion about everything. These days, people like to share. 

Now, I'm as interested in results as the rest of you, but you don't actually get any results on election day and so thinking about it does you no good. Your work is done. You voted (if you didn't, you better have a good excuse, possibly not too hard to find in a country that forces you to vote during a work day rather than, say, the weekend). Maybe you helped with a campaign effort, or simply posted your views on candidates everywhere you could think of. But now it's done. Go do something else!

And I did just that: I did something else, on what happens to be the most beautiful November day we have ever had here in south central Wisconsin. Sunny, with a high of 68F (20C)! Unbelievably gorgeous!

 

(cheepers, gathering at their water fountain...)

Sure, the day starts off on the nippy side. That's to be expected. But hey, the climb toward spectacular is fast. We eat breakfast on the porch!

 

Well, Ed pushed for that: the cats came begging for company.

Next, both Ed and I set to work outside. I still don't have my bulbs to plant, but I have plenty of snipping and path laying work to keep me busy. Off with the jacket. Off with the sweatshirt. It's warm!

And still later in the afternoon, I visit with Snowdrop. Outside, distanced, masked. 

With a mermaid. 

 

 

 

In escorting the little girl back to her home, I pause for a little while to catch up with everyone. Since the kids have shed their masks by now, we maintain a *very* distanced distance! That's why you have a zoom lens on cameras, right?

 

(The whole gang...)

As I post this, we are still sort of watching elections results. (Mainly by keeping tabs open on our computers while we lose ourselves in a horrible crime drama series on TV. Three gruesome episodes in a row. Nothing like other people's gore and pain to take your mind off of, well, you know, the election.)

Will we stay up? Sure. I have to say, I am reminded of all previous presidential elections. Oftentimes, we would party away. My cooking magazines would have election supper ideas for a crowd of ten or twenty.

This year, dinner parties are out and even if it weren't for Covid, I don't think people watching the results trickle in are feeling particularly giddy or festive.

Okay, back to our show now. And if I fall asleep while watching the n'th episode of The Tunnel, well then, just wake me up when this is all over.

With love...

Monday - 234th

Well, we did double duty today! The weather is supposed to be unusually grand this week, starting right about now! Because I am still waiting for a bulb delivery, I cannot finish up (or even begin) my planting of the spring garden and so Ed and I pick this day to treat ourselves to an outing -- about as far from home as the two of us have gone together for many, many months. A whole 45 minute drive up north!

But first, a morning farmette walk. It's cold. Freezing in fact. But the sun holds promise.You have to go with convincing predictions! It is going to be a fine day, I'm sure of it.

Breakfast...

And the usual Monday mucking around with life's essentials and then, at noon, we take off!

Our plan is to do not one, but two hikes, both along the Ice Age Trail. They wont have the Fall color anymore, but both hold great sentimental value: Ed and I have done them probably every Fall we've been together. 

First is our climb up the "Rock of Gibraltar." Yes, we do pass maybe half a dozen people on this rather popular trail, but they are spread over our 4500 steps, so you can be sure there was plenty of distance. (Yes, I'm still on a step counting roll and between the two hikes, today surely gave me an easy win!)

It's just such a pretty climb and of course, the views from the top are superb. Total Wisconsin.

A selfie, for sure!

 

What? You prefer one with a view toward something other than just us? Okay! On a timed release!

Our second hike isn't too far from the Rock: we pick up another segment of the Ice Age trail close to where the Merrimac Ferry crosses the great Wisconsin River. This trail takes us up the hill and through the woods...

... and then across a segment of a prairie that has been here since the glacier that covered the north and eastern part of the state, receded some 13,000 years ago.

Here, we are alone. We rarely pass anyone on this hiking trail. Just us, the sunlight, the birds, and the increasingly bare trees.

We end the day's outing with a ferry crossing. Just for the hell of it. There and back.

Last year on this day Ed was setting out into the Atlantic with his buddies to sail a boat south for the winter. My, have things changed since then!

 

 

It's nearly dark by the time we get home. Walked out, refreshed, hungry. Yes, there will be popcorn tonight after dinner. With chocolate. And a glass of wine.

Sunday - 233rd

My bear side is emerging. I look outside, glance at the thermometer to confirm what I see, and think -- now that's where I don't want to be! Light me a candle, pour me something warm, and leave me alone indoors until spring.

Of course, this mood does pass. I'm not total bear and hibernation is not really in the books. But on days without a schedule and without many options (want to hang out at Finca Coffee Shop? Not gonna happen...), the temptation to stick to the warmth of the farmhouse is huge.

The morning walk -- late, despite the extra hour in bed -- shows me what I already know: the dazzling colors of Fall are behind us. We're entering the season of naked trees.

The winds today are something fierce. All the more reason to walk briskly and return home.

Ed is huddled upstairs under the quilt even longer and it truly is embarrassing to admit the hour of our breakfast.

 

We're getting one last hurrah of unseasonably warm-ish temperatures this week (before we plunge into the abyss off winter weather) and I put off all farmette work until then. Bulbs to plant, weeds to remove, winter beds to prepare -- that will all be piled onto the next few days. For the time being, I note the solid ice in the cheeper water dish, shake my head and go inside.

Still, I hate to start a new month with so few steps. Ed and I finally do force ourselves to do a walk along the road by the lake. It's our least taxing stroll. Totally mindless, in fact. Right up there with a hike through the construction sites of the new development, except there's nothing new and interesting going on here, by the lake. It's an established community with established homes which we have looked at so many times, even as none stand out. 

 

Still, the bracing air knocks out some of our late Fall lethargy. We appreciate the sun (even if it does recede a whole hour earlier than yesterday), the quiet, the occasional bird that shares the space with us. 

At home, I cook Sunday supper for the young family. 

A quick hello at their back door and a very blurred photo, prompting me to kick myself for not getting my camera's low light settings in place today. I mean, I knew the elimination of daylight savings time would give us darkness at dinnertime...

At home again, Ed and I eat our share of the prepared food and make plans for more time outside tomorrow. The winds die down, the night is quiet and the moon -- large and luminous.

Saturday - 232nd

 Last year, Halloween was bitter cold. There was snow on the ground, ice in the gutters. The kids were at the farmhouse after school and I took them sledding in the back of the barn. Evening trick-or-treating was slippery!

This year, Halloween is so different! You could say that it's been modified to meet the moment. My three grandkids are all dressed up in costumes, and I'm sure they'll sink their teeth in more than one piece of candy, but running from door to door and ringing doorbells is not happening. Primrose (aka Miguel from Coco) had a distanced outside Halloween meetup early in the day. Snowdrop (mermaid) and Sparrow (ghost) went back to the neighborhood of their school, where they were invited to trick-or-treat in homes that had chutes: cool long tubes that served as distanced transfers of candy, straight into your pumpkin or Halloween bag. 

What struck me was how clever people could be in creating something special for kids and still keep everyone safe. Outside. Masked. Distanced. Oh, how much easier this winter would be if those three words were markers of unity and determination!

Of course, here in Wisconsin, the weather more than cooperated. Lovely skies, gusty winds, and for the last day of October -- beautiful temperatures! (56F or 13C).

But let's go back a little. Early in the day, there was the usual walk, to the back, to the front...

 

And, too, I had a sweet FaceTime with Primrose! (Playing school...)

(constructing skyscrapers)

And today's breakfast? Late!

In the early afternoon, I go over to read and play with Snowdrop. Distanced and outside. 

She is in costume. Of course! She has been wearing it on and off for days!  (Jacket comes off. But not for too long.)

 

 

Today, she resists keeping her mask on all the time and given the fierce wind, I let her shed it, though I tell her I'll have to triple the distance between us!

Between the wind and our separation, my reading is more like me shouting into a hurricane, chapter after chapter. I'm surprised she catches my words. I suppose I got an assist from the wind!

Toward evening, Ed and I once again go for a walk in our county park. I admit it -- my step goals drove me to it! I'm not about to lose my October challenge on the last day of the month!

 

 

Night. Full moon, blue moon, somewhere out there, shining on us brightly tonight. On you as well, I hope. 

With love...