Summer!

Look at that backyard! I feel rapture when the sun shines on Pinecone Park as it did today. Sunshine is a drug; I just can’t express how great I felt all day. At 1:55 it's 14° outside.

I went ‘round to all the Azaleas and Acers and the shoots of Narcissus and Daffodils like some kind of Disney cartoon character with an over-zealous penchant for plants, getting high from the sight of the height of the shoots and the plumpness of the buds. And knowing that the splendour of the day would hasten them all towards blooming added to the beauty of the day.

I had my earliest-ever hot tub — morning hot tubs are going to be a regular thing. I got undressed inside as always, put on my dressing gown and went outside and it was warm!!  It was 12° at 9:00 am! I could not believe it. The hot tub is rivalling the studio as my favourite accessory. Being in it with the sun shining on my face, steam rising in the sunlight and no sound but the birds (when I turn the jets off) is such an unbelievable and privileged way to start the day.

I worked on the fence — the centre panel. I’ve just begun so don’t judge it yet. I’ve created a thick jungle of branches for the smaller birds where the raptors can’t fly in; the centre panel is right below my bird feeders. I need to get more Aspen to finish the first panel.

It was lovely working in the warm air and Sheba is really good. She sticks around and does not wander far so I can let her out to be with me while I work.

I went into the village for some food and to check my mail and I bought a circular saw. My Butch factor went up a quarter of a point. It was cheap compared to the cost of a garbage hauler, easier than schlepping a million feet of wood to GIRO and I burn the product of my work. The previous owner left a lot of long used lumber — thick pieces, too, much of it — so I’m sawing it into burnable sizes. I get great heat and a tidier woodshed.

Next: Hot tub #2. I deserve it after a satisfying day of work. Tonight I chill before my trip to Vancouver to fetch the ladies.