More thoughts in the time of COVID-19 …
Mornings are noticeably cooler … in the low 40s. We may even have had a frost. There is a bit of snow on the top of the Mountain with more predicted for the future.
Still, after all those years of learning how to live in this house, my room stays where I am comfortable. I open the east window halfway at bedtime, close it when I get up, open the windows into the solarium as soon as sunlight hits the front of the house, close them as the sun goes down. Heat all day, fresh air (when there is no smoke) as I sleep. Habit …
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Last monday, at 2:30, was the 68th anniversary of the day I said “I do” and promised ‘til death do us part … for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, in bad times and in good.
I choose to break the time limit.
Vows and memories.
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Yesterday was a busy one.
It started before dawn when Siku met a skunk. Fortunately, it wasn’t near the hen house. Skunks used to occasionally decide they liked eggs, but that’s been some time ago. Result of the meeting? Siku is banned from the house to kennel jail for a time.
It was the last of the produce Tailgate food sharing for this year. I did my regular sign-in thing without any challenges over masks. We provided fresh produce for 198 people in the local area. The weather was nice. I left home with three layers of clothing and dropped only one all day. This last sharing included Lots of corn on the cob, a Huge number of huge bell peppers, apples, pears, frozen strawberries, yams, and potatoes. Next tailgate won’t be until April.
Then went to Yreka to do some research for HLA and for our water situation. As I was going through the check point. as I entered the Courthouse, I was stopped by the beeper. I’d forgotten I still had my knife in my pocket (the one I use to open sacks of chicken feed). Oops … but they just set it aside to return to me as I left the building. Guess I don’t fit the terrorist profile.
I was able to get a copy of the deed for the property beside the reservoir which has been causing problems with trespass and parking in road space for years. I had called the local title company to ask about ordering a copy and they said they’d do it, but the price would be $500.00 !!! So I went to the County Recorder’s office and got a copy for $7.00.
Also went to the office of the State Superior Court and ordered a copy of the decision in a water case from back before the turn of the century. That will cost me about $25.00.
An hour drive in each direction, but that’s thinking time. And stopped to get take-out for dinner. By the time I got the chickens put away, I was pooped and ready for bed.
BUT … that lasted until about 8:30 when the dog started barking. Must have been a bear rambling through.
Oh well …
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The red carpet under the maple tree is about two-thirds done. The tree still looks full of leaves, but the ground is pretty well covered.
The catalpa is 95% yellow-green and the birches are starting to turn a lovely orange-yellow.
And the roads are edged with milkweed fluff like white lace.
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I have fallen waaaaaaaaaaaaay behind in the German classes. I do want to get back to them as soon as life slows down a bit. I can’t decide whether first thing each day or just before bedtime will work best. But if I am to keep a place in the dinner table conversations as Paul gains proficiency, I’d better start again soon.
Today is the Weed Food Assistance sharing day, followed by the library, a trip to the grocery for some orange juice, and a visit with my friend Neera.
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Have been reading “Mexican Gothic” … sort of a gaslighting, haunted house thing set in the silver mining area of central Mexico. Not a bad read. And there was a dash of the past as I read. One of the characters was described as resembling Katy Jurado. It reminded me of the time back in 1961, when we were living in Milwaukee, Wisconsin while George was on a research assignment.
Katy Jurado had starred, along with Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly in the film “High Noon”. A radio announcer on one of the local stations was doing a movie report and mangling Sra. Jurado’s name … he was doing something like Kay’ tee Ger’aw ta (a bit like Geritol). I called the station and spent twenty minutes or so trying to teach the announcer how to say Caw’ tee Hur ah’doe. He never did get it and I finally gave up.
What surprised me about seeing the reference in the book was that the author is too young to have known about Sra. Jurado’s Hollywood time. Still, reminders of pleasant times are always welcome.
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The chickens are in full molt and egg production varies from 3 to 7 a day.
To close this week … a reminder from Camus …
Autumn is a second Spring when every leaf is a flower.
So … ‘til next week …