A Hot and Slow Day

Tuesday was hot, even in the morning. We walked and then Her Highness went to the groomers. I raked the driveway and front lawn, and I cleaned the courtyard while she was cleaned up. I’ve got to try to get another stool sample this morning in hopes of getting her back to normal digestively speaking.

When we got home, we had lunch and then I proposed a walk. She did not want to go, but I politely insisted, and she went along with me. I knew that she would not walk in the late afternoon because it would be too hot for her, so walking on a shady trail mid-day was the way to go.

She loves being in the house. It’s now here favourite place to be because it is so wonderfully cool. She loves to lie on the wood floor because it feels so cool on her stomach. I wanted to fetch all the stuff I’d raked in the barrow and dump it, but it was just too hot. I’m doing that this morning before we walk with our friends.

It was odd, just doing nothing after days of such intense work. I did nada all afternoon, just puttering here and there in the garden and around the house. Finally, at 14:45, I sat on the chaise to read, feeling blessed to have my logs providing a kind of natural air conditioning.

Our night was the usual.

This morning has dawned cloudy, but it’s mighty warm for early morning. It’s 17° at 5:00! I must water my beds and Pete and Ali’s as well, and I have detritus to load into the barrow and dump in the back. It will be a pleasure to do it all. The raking I did yesterday has given Pinecone Park a makeover. Now I’ve to do the backyard.

I must also prep for the garbage delivery. Gabe Disposal is coming tomorrow to take away two old couches and many bags and boxes of stuff I want gone. And while I do that, I promised Dwight that I’d go through everything to look for a VHS tape of my show North Shore Live, produced in the late 1970s.

Lately, I’ve been feeling a little odd about being alone all the time. When Sheba and I have been walking with our friends, Sheba has been hanging back of the pack, so I’ve been walking with her, lessening my conversation with my friends considerably. I don’t think it’s coincidence that I am speaking better than I have in years! My friends are all noticing the improvement.

Fatigue Sets In

Sometimes, I wish I had anaesthetic in a spray so that I could spray some at Fred and Sheba at 4:00 in the morning. I cannot sleep in. Fred howls and Sheba whimpers and I feel obligated to get up. Most of my walking buddies rise at 8:00. We meet to walk at 9:30. When we meet, I’ve already been up for over five hours.

I did dishes, vacuumed the house, and put things away after three days of focusing on nothing but the wood and other duties. Then I had a leisurely spa followed by some watering of the garden beds before heading out with Her Highness to meet our friends.

It was a stunning morning. It was a cool 13° but sunny and bright. It’s rather cool in the shade and toasty warm in the sunshine. I love this weather. I’m dreading the arrival of hot weather. These cool nights and mornings are ideal.  

As soon as we got home, we had lunch. Lunch at 10:30 makes sense when you rise at 4:00. And then came watering. I took two hours. Next up was cleaning, folding and storing the enormous tarpaulin I use to protect the driveway from all the shite that has come with the wood in the past. But this year, Bob sent very clean wood so cleaning the tarp and putting it away was a breeze.

Compared to toting and stacking wood, watering is a breeze. I’m grateful for the work and for the pleasure and pride I feel when the work is done. When the weather is as pleasant as it is, everything brings joy. I feel like a responsible ‘dad’ to my floral friends. It’s particularly important for me to be attentive to the needs of the fruit trees and edible garden beds. I love eating food that I have cultivated.

I put the tarp into the shed and I was ready to rake, but it was just too hot and I was too tired. I wanted to rest, but my break lasted mere minutes because my hammock arrived and I got busy setting it up. Once up, I regretted buying it (it’s too small for my 1.8-meter body). But I can use it and my shorter friends may love it.

Just before 15:00, we went into the village to shop. It was 23° and I found it too hot even though 23° isn’t that warm. My days of naps in the sunshine are over, dappled or not. I’m a shade committed person now. After shopping, Her Highness and I went for an afternoon walk. It was short and shaded. Then we came home to assume the positions.

All evening, I was dragging. I was behaving as though I’d stacked 40 barrows of wood, but I’d done nothing requiring exertion. Perhaps I had accumulated fatigue from all the stacking. I was a walking zombie last night.

Today, I’ll spot water, and I may get some reading time for a change; it’s been two weeks since I read anything. Sheba goes to the groomer this morning and thank goodness because her long hair is bringing a lot of crap into the house. I must vacuum every day.

And I will stop at the vet’s office. Her diarrhea is not entirely gone, so I will be collecting another stool sample. Sigh. 

My Day was a Blessing

 Sunday, My Day, began with a spa, and then Her Highness and I went for a long, wonderful, very leisurely walk through the 707 Park. We were out very early, so we saw no one on the trails until the very end when we came upon two bicyclists. 

When we got home, I got busy and toted the final five barrow loads of kindling and what I call ‘turds.’ Turds are very short, thick, irregular pieces of wood that cannot be stacked. I put them on end in the shed to dry out, and they will be the first wood I burn, along with some of the kindling pieces.

I had a bit of a euphoric feeling as I unloaded the last barrow. The tarps are still down on the driveway. They must be swept clean and then folded before going back into the shed until next year when I order more wood. I had no time for them yesterday, as I had to go to Pete and Ali’s when the toting and stacking was done. I had to water several of their garden beds for them while they are away.

When that was done, I cleaned and folded one of the tarpaulins and then I had a wee chill in the recliner in the sunshine (15 minutes) and then another indoors. At 14:15, we headed off to Eoin and François’ place to see their new ducks. I always enjoy visiting their place and seeing all the work that they have done on their place. The big change was their new duck pond. It’s amazing. It has a huge filtering system, aerators, and François is the skimmer (he uses a net to collect leaves off the pond surface).

After a brief visit chez eux, we went for a walk with our dogs (Eoin and François have two adorable Whippets). We walked the Elder Cedar trail and had a nice chat as we walked and then Her Highness and I came home to assume our positions for evening rituals.

It was a great day, and the evening was stunning. It was so bright and sunny, and it lasted so late in the day, it’s a magical time of the year. I love the comfortable temperatures provided by the cool wind. I earned my place on the chaise now that all the wood is stacked and drying.

The yard is a mess. All over the island there are billions and billions of growth caps. They’re little brown things that are the size of bees. There are piles of them in Nester’s lot. And there are lots of cones. We had a serious windstorm late yesterday afternoon, so there’s been a big dump of mother natures on the yard. So, I’m thinking, yard clean-up is next now that the wood is stacked.

I’m in constant motion. I realize what’s happening. I get addicted to activity. It happens every year, but it’s still shocking to feel it settle in each warm season. I remember vividly one September as the weather was turning, I worried about how I would possibly survive the indoor season. I get hooked on being active. Pinecone Park is my playpen.

Today, the tarps get put away and I start on the yard. I will be raking all the growth caps and cones up all over the yard and then toting the detritus to the dumping ground. We’ll walk with our friends, and I’ll enjoy a brief rest in the sunshine. There’s cloudy weather coming on Wednesday, according to the forecast, and maybe rain (ha!) on Saturday.

François (left) and Eoin and their new duck pond. The edges and landscaping
have yet to be completed. These boys can do anything. I admire them!

They have Indian Runners and Pekins. They are full of personality.

The new babies.

Pete is a gardener with relentless energy. Their entire yard
is a massive garden. I'm in awe!

Behind that big Gunera in the background is a Paulownia. 

The front of their home.

Their little lawn. Everywhere you look is beautiful.

Their driveway into their property.

A Chill Day

I fed the brood at 4:30 and then posted and tidied up a bit. By 5:00, I was in the spa hoping to heal my aching body a bit before walking Her Highness and then attending to watering all the garden beds and fruit and flowering trees and shrubs. It’s a big job, watering, but at least it doesn’t make anything hurt.

We walked early. We were on the trail by 7:30 in chilly air. It was only 10°, but it felt good to be back to walking for a decent distance on one of our regular trails after two days of short walks while I focused on stacking wood. When we got home, I started watering the beds. My hands were freezing when I came in for a break and to warm up.

When I finished watering everywhere, it was lunch time, and once that was done, I got started on stacking the last few barrow loads of wood, and then I started on the kindling. My aching body rebelled; I did a couple of barrow loads of kindling, but my heart wasn’t in it, and neither were my arms and hands. We chilled, we went shopping, I did a couple more loads and then we went walking.

I chose to ease up yesterday because I have lots of time to tote the remaining few loads of kindling. If I overdue things, my symptoms flare up. It was a terrific day yesterday knowing that toting and stacking was largely behind me for another year. I am chuffed by my capacity for work—thank you Tezspire—and happy to have only light garden and yard work ahead of me for the balance of the Summer and Fall.

Sheba had no interest in walking in the afternoon. I took her to a favourite trail, but she would not get out of the car. She is one strong willed dog! So, we came back home, I had a spa and she slept. Our evening was the usual.

Today is another sunny and bright day. I must water Pete and Alis’s plants, I must tote the last of the kindling sized wood, and this afternoon Sheba and I will go to Eoin and François’ place to meet their new ducks and to walk out dogs together.