A Lovely Late Afternoon Walk

Wednesday was a lovely soft day that was bright and sunny, but not at all hot. At its hottest, it was 17°, but that is perfect weather for napping in the sunshine. We walked with our friends in the morning, and I did weed whacking in the afternoon. I quit working at 3:00 for a soak, then I dressed and took Her Highness to Drumbeg for a walk before we went to Nancy’s for dinner.

Drumbeg was beautiful. There was only one car there, but we never saw the people. We had the entire park to ourselves. And what a gorgeous early evening it was! At Nancy’s, we ate outside, which was lovely, but I was dreadfully poor at speaking. I was terribly frustrated and unhappy, but Kris and Nancy were insistent that it didn’t matter. They are blessed. It started getting cool at 8:30. We lasted until 9:00 and then Sheba and I rolled home to go to bed early.

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Thursday was as stunning a day as Tuesday was. Her Highness would not walk in the morning, so we went directly to the village for grocery supplies, and then I came home to water the back garden. It takes forever to do, but I’m at peace with it because it’s like feeding pets. As I watered, I saw lots of pruning that needs to be done, so that will be next on my list.

In the afternoon, she would walk, probably because we went to a trail she loves. And then I came home to water the front and edible gardens. I’m relieved to have all my floral pals well soaked. There’s a chance we’ll have showers to today; I hope that we do. And rain is predicted for tomorrow and clouds for Sunday (the day I go to Nanoose to visit with Dianne). So, no more watering for me until Tuesday or Wednesday.

I called my friend, Beth, to tell her that her Facebook account had been duplicated by a scammer who’d asked me to friend him/her. I cannot comprehend the kind of person who plots to steal from others. But although it was hard to speak with her, it was lovely to see her and have a chat. 

The comics in newspapers never interested me. I thought they were all pretty stupid. But I must have read some of them because I remember that Dick Tracey, who was a cop or a private investigator, had a phone, or perhaps even a video phone, on his wrist. How stupid, I thought, that’ll never happen.

I feel terribly lucky to have waited to fall apart in old age. Zoom, FaceTime, Skype, WhatsApp, etc., allow me to use a phone. I cannot functionally speak on my land line. I need to see someone to enable speech, so every time I use one of these services, I am aware of how grateful I am for them. E-mail as well, is a Godsend for me. It is for everyone, but for someone who can’t speak, it’s a miracle.

I went to bed feeling good about life again. I always feel better after seeing Dr. S. I’m happy to understand why I can speak to strangers and its so much harder with friends. She says that the more I like someone, the more my brain goes on alert, anticipating betrayal/abandonment. And she figures the incident involving Chris and Frani—particularly Frani—has made my symptoms worse. Somehow, it feels easier to live with when there’s a rational explanation for the behavior.

Besides all that which is in my head, I’m also happy to be back at work in the yard every day. Everything looks so much tidier when I am done. There’s lots more to be done, and so I’ll be at it again today and Saturday. (Sunday, I go to Nanoose Bay to visit Dianne.) Having watered everything, I feel in control, on top of things, and that feels really good in my broken brain.

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Whoa, it rained during the night and this morning we have thick clouds overhead. I’m rather thrilled because I so thoroughly watered yesterday, this rain will ensure that the weed cover gets a good soak, and my gardens will be good for several days. Showers are predicted for tomorrow, as well! The sun won’t be back until Monday. Regardless of the wetness, I may be able to do some pruning today, otherwise I’ll be reading.

Here are some photos from yesterday afternoon’s walk:

we began on a little used trail that we like.
The path is narrow.

Her Highness is dwarfed by the Ferns.

The first meadow; from here on, the trail is wider.

Sadly, you cannot easily see that this part of the trail is filled
with tall Digitalis plants that are grand. Perhaps you can see
them if you click on the image to enlarge it.

Digitalis.

I could never return to city life, not after living with trails
like this right at the end of my street.

In this area, the understory is almost entirely Ferns.

The other side of the trail: More Ferns!

These gorgeous little flowers are everywhere.

The second meadow.

It's Daisy time. The forest is full of them.

The third meadow.

The Alders are beautiful in this part of the forest.