LIMINAL LIVING #23: 3 JUNE TO 9 JUNE 2024

Birds, Collector Garden, Community, Flowers, Food & Drink, Heterotopias, Insects & Arachnids, Liminal Life, Public Gardens & Parks, Sense of Place/Travel

LIMINAL LIVING #23: 3 JUNE TO 9 JUNE 2024

June 9, 2024

Weekly recap of my ritual of existence in this liminal space called life. (See here for more info.)

Weather

Daytimes temps were variable this week, I’d say. Highs ranged from 84.7°F to 62.4°F, with three days only reaching into the 60s, three days in the 80s, and one in the 70s, for a somewhat misleading average of 74.5°F, while lows were much less variable, ranging from 49.5°F to 59°F, averaging 54.7°F. We had a welcome 1.6 inches of rain — 70% of it fell on Sunday, about 20% on Thursday, and the rest in dribs and drabs on three other days.

Also, we’ve had tree pollen!

Beginnings/Firsts

I drove into Boston on Monday (and out on Wed.), something I don’t think I’ve ever done before; usually I take a bus or, on rare occasions in a car, someone else drives. Cannot recommend it. Happy to have Lyft drivers transport us through the bumper-to- bumper madness once we had parked at the hotel.

On Monday, for the first time, we visited The Garden at Elm Bank, Mass. Horticulture Society’s garden in Wellesley, MA, for about two hours on a sunny early afternoon in the mid-80°Fs. Highlights were the children’s garden,

the peony blooms and “Shirley” poppy blooms in the Italianate Garden,

the allium-lined labyrinth, even though the alliums had mostly gone by,

and the trees, some of which were magnificent.

A few other photos from the Garden at Elm Bank:

There’s easy parking, a good restroom, but no café, which was a bit disappointing; instead, they have tables and chairs in various places for people who bring their own food. There were very few visitors while we were there, maybe because temps were in the high 80s.

Also, back at home, peaches are really beginning!

Wild Flora, Fauna, Fungi

I don’t think I’ve ever noticed a Eupatorium Plume Moth (Oidaematophorus eupatorii) caterpillar/larva (or adult) before; this one was actually on a Joe Pye weed plant in the garden. I’m hoping to get a less blurry photo next week if they’re still here. Looks a bit like a spiky gherkin.

This white admiral butterfly settled onto a drying bathmat (see below re hot water heater leak) for over an hour. I don’t know if it was drinking, drying, or just resting.

Birds Merlin heard in eight minutes at Garden at Elm Bank in Wellesley, MA on Monday:

Birds heard in our garden and nearby in town on 6, 7, and 9 June:

Wandering

We drove to Cambridge/Boston on Monday, returned on Wed., for a medical appointment on Tuesday.

Some hotel shots (Cambridge, MA):

As mentioned above, we spent time exploring The Garden at Elm Bank in Wellesley on Monday, and Monday afternoon/evening we took a 2.5-mile walk in Cambridge and Boston. I walked around Beacon Hill on Tuesday, and I took short in-town walks at home on Wed., Friday (two walks), and Saturday.

Beacon Hill and nearby:

Walks in town:

Curiosity & Discoveries

It was fun “discovering” The Garden at Elm Bank on Monday. We also tried a couple of new restaurants in Wellesley and Boston on Monday, both with good outside seating, and both worthwhile finds.

The Cottage Wellesley

Ma Maison, Beacon Hill, Boston

Creating

Nothing.

Repairing and Maintaining (everything but the house & yard)

Body/Mind: My husband had a medical appt. in Boston this week. I had a (masked) haircut on Thursday and worked out 3 times (3 hours) this week. I walked more than 11,000 steps on five days, including 18,700 steps on Monday. I had negative Covid rapid tests on Wednesday afternoon and Friday morning.

Gardening/Yard

I spent 4-5 hours in the garden this week, watering, weeding, pruning (esp. the dwarf “River King” birch tree), and planting.

I planted two tomatoes (one chocolate cherry and one hopefully Sweet Million but possibly San Marzano paste), a cinnamon basil, two nasturtiums, and four zinnias on Saturday. The basil and tomatoes were from two friends (R & E) and the flowers from Foundwell Farm. I also planted a native perennial white indigo (from FF).

Next to go in will be the native perennials (green-headed echinacea, liatris spicata), annuals (zinnia elegans, cosmos bipinnatus, tithonia rotundifolia), and a shrub (lindera benzoin) from a local native plant grower, will be ready for pickup starting on Tuesday. I bought more cilantro seeds this week to re-seed next week (none came up from the first packet).

Garden photos this week:

The baptisia are really catching my eye this year. The only variety I have a name for is the Cherries Jubilee, the reddish orange one, which is the least robust, unfortunately.

Nesting

Cleaning/Maintenance: When we returned home on Wed. we found that the on-demand hot water under the main bathroom sink had sprung a leak and soaked a bathmat, the inside of the cabinet, and part of the floor; my husband unplugged it and ordered a new one (which arrived on Thursday and will hopefully be installed by a plumber next week) and I cleaned up. I did clothes laundry on Wed. and towel laundry on Thurs. We ran the robovac in the bedroom on Friday and I vacuumed the kitchen on Saturday. My husband repaired a casement window that wasn’t closing/locking completely, on Saturday.

Supplies: I ordered a set of new bed sheets on Thursday from The Company Store, a stash of hair products from Grow Gorgeous for me on Friday, and ten more KN95 masks from WellBefore on Friday — I re-use a mask multiple times when it’s just seeing action in an uncrowded grocery store or the library for 5 or 10 mins at a time, but when they get heavy use, such as in a jury duty pool room or in a busy hospital for a day, into the trash they go after one wear.

Food: Nice lunch out on the patio of The Cottage in Wellesley, MA, on Monday (fish tacos for me, grilled chicken sandwich for him, + lovely French fries and iced teas) and romantic dinner outside at Ma Maison in Beacon Hill on Monday night (pan-seared native bluefish with corn and lobster sauce, + asparagus, for him; vegan lentil cake of faro and quinoa, + asparagus, for me). (Photos above)

Tuesday dinner was leftovers from Ma Maison for him while I had fried fish (in a sort of cornbread crumb, interestingly sweet) from the MGH cafeteria. Wednesday and Thursday’s dinner was a premade veggie quiche I’d bought at the regional co-op the week before, w/ cucumbers + red peppers on the side.

Friends sent us a Spoonful of Comfort package on Friday!, so that night my husband had half the chicken noodle soup and a roll, and I had 1/2 cup mac & cheese along with peas and soy chicken, and a roll. Saturday, my dinner was a veggie burger with gobs of arugula, while husband had half of a Too Good To Go caprese sandwich, and we both had steamed asparagus and 1/2 cup mac & cheese. Sunday my husband finished the Spoonful of Comfort chicken noodle soup + roll + steamed asparagus and I had Progresso tortellini soup and a roll. Also on Sunday, a friend gave us freshly baked blueberry scones!

Sleeping & Dreaming

A bad sleep week, probably the worst since I got the FitBit nine years ago. My average sleep score was a 78 (range of 72 to 85, very low for me) and my average time asleep was 6 hours 56 mins, with one night less than 6 hours, two nights a bit more than 6 hours, and no nights of over 7.5 hours. My weekly REM sleep was 10 hours 38 mins; my deep sleep was 9.5 hours.

Reading / Words & Ideas / Listening / Watching

I’m reading Anita Brookner’s The Debut (1981). All her books so far feel old-fashioned.

Found this on Instagram but have no idea who the author is.

Connections & Community

Local Support: We ate at two independent local restaurants, in Wellesley and Boston, on Monday. I bought veggies and fruit at the local farmstand on Friday. We bought a Too Good To Go bag from a local bakery/café on Saturday. I also bought donuts from a local donut shop, Blackbird Doughnuts, in Beacon Hill on Tuesday.

Relationships: I skipped the Zoom permaculture meeting on Thursday, but attended the in-person Salon on Friday afternoon on a friend’s screened porch (5 of us locals). Friends (R&B) sent us a Spoonful of Comfort package on Friday, which was a lovely surprise. Coincidentally, I ordered a Spoonful of Comfort package, also on Friday, for delivery to my aunt, uncle, and cousin next Wed., from me and my sisters. Met two friends (R and E) on Thursday afternoon for almost 2 hours for tea, homemade rhubarb coffee cake, and to take home some of their excess vegetable seedlings. A friend (R) lent us a wedge pillow on Friday, which has been very handy. Ran into a friend (A) on Saturday and chatted briefly. Ran a tiny errand for another friend (G) on Thursday morning. A friend (N) gave us several blueberry scones she’d just made on Sunday afternoon, and when I went over to pick them up we chatted for about a half-hour, mostly about gardening.

Endings

The on-demand hot water heater (our 3rd one I think) has met its end, alas. It’s great when it works — no wasting water by running it for two minutes to get it hot — but it’s a pain when it fails and leaks, which seems to occur either when we are away or on the eve of going away.