Steve D. Comes Today

I worked my but off yesterday. Cleaning the bar-b-que was a job I’d long put off, as was cutting down all the weeds in the un-landscaped part of my yard. I was so chuffed by all I’ve done of late, that I decided to get started on bringing order to my shed.

I broke at ten thirty to be part of a Zoom chat with long-time theatre friends and to walk Her Highness. Then I got back to work on the shed. Man-oh-man, the shed looks fab-u-ous! But hey, it’s just a shed, my true man cave full of tools, construction materials, wood and my generator and such. But it’s tidy!

Honestly, Pinecone Park just shines!

Last night, I tried to watch Wise Children, by the Bristol Old Vic Theatre Company on YouTube. I searched it out because The National is broadcasting Shakespeare this week, and as my blog followers know, we’ve broken up. But I could not engage with neither it nor Act One by Lincoln Centre. I’ll try again next week.

This morning I go on the small dog walk and then I’ll go shopping to get supplies for Steve’s visit. He arrives at one-thirty. 

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Below are photos from my walk at Happy Hour yesterday. The Daisies are out in full bloom right now, and everything is still so green. The open spaces are glades and they are all so beautiful. Dogs go mad in them; they run around like cats on catnip after the confinement of the trails.

Daisies fill every open spot.

Digitalis are in bloom everywhere too!

This is a forest of Stinging Nettles.

To the left of the trail is a huge grove of Thistles that will
soon fill the forest air with a sweet, sweet scent.

Hooray for Paul Mescal

It was great to hear from Steve and to arrange for his visit, tomorrow—and not have to warn him about my speech. I just realized yesterday that I don’t do that anymore. And Dr. Dorscheid, with whom I spoke yesterday, noticed how well I was speaking and conjectured that the move to the island has had a very positive effect on both my physical and my mental health.

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I have a courtyard that’s about five by six meters that’s made of concrete pavers. The pavers are in rows and there’s a one and a half-inch gap between each one on all four sides. I reckon I have a hundred and sixty meters of gap that I weed. And it’s not mindless weeding! I leave the Daisies and other flowers. Bend, pull, rise, dump; hour after hour. But it’s done.

And I edged the front lawn. I’ve done a bazillion things in the yard this year that I’ve never done before because I have no major project this year demanding all my time.

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Slugs! Pooey! Little tiny ones. They ate all my Sweet Pea and Basil seedlings. I’m going to buy some Basil plants to grow.

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I’m still hanging in with Normal People, and last night there was a scene wherein one of our protagonists, Connell (actor Paul Mescal), breaks down whilst talking with a therapist and it was one of the most moving and credible scenes of despair I have ever seen in a movie. The young Mr. Mescal is a genius actor.

I read online this morning that last month the BBC broadcast two additional episodes that show Connell and Maryanne some forty years on. Normal People broke records for the number of viewers on BBC3. It is the most-watched show in the channel’s history.

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It’s a beauty of a day. I got up at five am, ate a quick breakfast and got to work. By eight, I’d washed the porch floor, cleaned the bar-b-que grills, vacuumed the entire house and done a load of laundry and hung it on the line. 

Next is mowing the part of the yard I have not landscaped. I want to cut down all the weeds so that they can’t go to seed and spread into my lawn. Then I’ take Her Highness for a nice long warm summer walk.

Video Telappointment

The fountain is renewed and going better than ever. And as part of the cleaning process, I killed a bazillion Mosquito larvae. You’re welcome. It was a lovely soft gentle day on which to work; it was warm and bright, but slightly overcast and very, very comfortable. Then I edged the gardens close to the courtyard and cleaned up the courtyard.

I’m very conscious of not having any pressing project underway. I appreciate the lack of pressure every day to “keep at it.” Instead, I do a regular two-to-four hours work around here every day and I am easily and happily keeping up with all that needs to be done.

I appreciate the maintenance work around here. It gives me something to do, it keeps me active, and the result is a yard that looks like a park.

We went to the park in the afternoon and in the evening, I watched a pretty good documentary about trans people on Netflix called Disclosure.

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It rained during the night, so I don’t have to water today. And now, although it’s quite cloudy and looking ominous, the sun is starting to come out so I may get more done outdoors today. It’s predicted to clear up later and tomorrow is predicted to be hot and sunny.

This morning, I heard from a friend I haven’t see for a long time. Steve was the partner of my dear friend, Crystal, for many years. They had three kids together before splitting up and the kids are surrogates for me. I adore all three of them. 

I haven’t seen Steve sine long before my breakdown, so we’ll have lots to talk about. He’s coming Friday afternoon and leaving on Sunday.

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I had a video-phone appointment with my Asthma doctor this morning. It was a first for me and I’m more in love with Dr. Dorscheid than ever. Tonight: Two more episodes of Normal People.

Fountain Cleaning Day

I’ve never before had a power lawnmower. The one I have uses gasoline and makes a dreadful racket whilst I mow. I have four areas of lawn; I mow one at a time because I can’t stand the noise for too long and don’t want to disturb my neighbours for too long, either. Normally, I’d expect the lawns to be dying now, from drought, but this Spring has been cool and damp (and lovely) and so everything is growing in profusion.

My day in the gardens yesterday was glorious. I don’t mind this quarantining at all. Every day is wide open, to be lived as I please; I feel no pressure whatsoever about anything.

I kept working on things until it was time to take Sheba to Rollo park to play with the other dogs or chase the ball. It was a lovely, slow, soft, warm, cozy afternoon under cloudy skies and the smell of freshly cut grass in the park air. 

Then it was home to have a spa and make some Mulligatawny Soup for dinner.

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Today is yet another day of high thin cloud and warm temperatures. My task for the day is to disassemble and reassemble the fountain, to clean out the filters I installed. Tight now, as I look out at it, there’s a Hummingbird having a bath in the top tier and a Robin is drinking out of the bottom one.

My fountain, the three feeders, the suet bar and my many berries and blossoms make my yard a paradise for birds. I’m very happy about that; I am rewarded with song.