Weekly recap of my ritual of existence in this liminal space called life. (See here for more info.)
- Weather
Virtually no rain this week. High temperatures ranged from 74.8°F to 65.3°F, averaging 69.8°F. Lows ranged from 41.7°F to 52.5°F, averaging 45.3°F. No frost yet. I noticed some colour change in the trees on a drive to the Upper Valley this week.
- Beginnings/Firsts
The first of the ‘Bluebird’ asters began blooming this week on Tuesday.
I started my first (and only) beach vacation this season with friends RVN&ChN (and my sister for two days) this week!
- Wild Things (Flora, Fauna, Fungi) in addition to others elsewhere in this post
A sad thing. On Tuesday, a common yellowthroat hit a window (that has parachute cords vertically across it every 4 inches to prevent this) and sat on the ground nearby for quite a while. Eventually it moved a bit away, and then later it flew off, seeming intact, but I’m guessing it’s probably got some neurological damage. A beautiful and innocent creature.
Spotted several small monarch caterpillars on our milkweed this week. I hope they get growing and chrysalising quickly!
The motion camera caught a fox and porcupine on camera on Friday night. The fox seems to see the porcupine (and vice versa) and decides to run off.
more wild things this week
- Wandering
I wandered to Lebanon on Thursday to take someone to a medical appointment and I wandered via bus, train, and car to Boston, Baltimore, and Rehoboth Beach DE on Saturday and Sunday.
As far as walking goes, I walked in town on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday this week, and at a local nature park on Wednesday as well. I walked around the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center campus on Thursday. I walked around in Boston on Saturday morning between a bus ride and a train ride, and in Baltimore with a friend on Saturday evening. On Sunday, I walked in Baltimore with a friend, her son, and his kids and in the afternoon and evening I walked on the beach and in town at Rehoboth Beach, DE with a friend and my sister.
nature park
Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center
Boston
Baltimore
Rehoboth Beach DE (more to come next week)
- Curiosity & Discoveries
iNat didn’t know what these eggs (?) on a gladiolus are and neither do I.
- Creating …
… opportunities to spend time with friends and my sister.
- Repairing and Maintaining (everything but the house & yard)
Body/Mind: I worked out three times (3 hours) this week. I walked more than 12,000 steps on six days, more than 14,000 steps on three days, and hit a high this week of 19,765 steps on Sunday. My body and mind are getting some downtime this coming week at Rehoboth Beach with friends and, for a couple of days, my sister.
Cat: My husband made an appt. for the cat’s nails to be clipped next week. 🙀
- Gardening/Yard
It’s so dry in the yard. Crispy. Wilty. I’ve watered as much as I can but it’s not enough for most plants. My husband removed some vines from the “raspberry patch” on Wednesday afternoon. I harvested tomatoes on Thursday. That’s about it.
some pics from the garden this week
- Nesting
Cleaning/Maintenance: I watered the houseplants on Friday, did clothes laundry on Wed. and (a small load on) Friday, and vacuumed the kitchen on Thursday.
Admin/Financial:
I ordered my bus tickets to and from Boston on Wednesday online. I backed up my laptop before heading off to Baltimore and then the beach on Saturday. I Venmo’d my friend my share for the beach house on Thursday.
I spent more than 1/2 hour on the phone with our mortgage company, roping in our property insurance company, on Tuesday to make sure the mortgage company (to which our mortgage was transferred a year ago) would be receiving notification of our property insurance payments; some of this was related to the bank’s issue last week, but some was just that the mortgage co. and the insurance provider were not in communication. All sorted?
Supplies: I ordered cat litter bags on Monday as well as three books for my upcoming beach trip (I had finished my library books or they were due back).
Food: I continued eating the Indian takeout from Monday thru Wed. while my husband had grilled chicken and rice, and we both had the local summer squash/green beans/peppers & onion sauté, and on Wed. we added corn on the cob. Thursday was the palette-cleansing veggie burgers with cheese on arugula, with mac & cheese and corn on the cob. We ordered takeout from another local restaurant on Friday night, fish tacos for me and “baby burgers” for him. Saturday I was in Baltimore at my friends’ (RVN&ChN); they made a leek and potato frittata and sautéed kale and broccoli, all delicious and all available for breakfast the next day, too. On Sunday at the beach my friends and I and my sister went out to Claws Seafood House for dinner, where I had a real Maryland crabcake and hush puppies, and a gin & tonic.
- Sleeping & Dreaming
I slept an average of 7 hours 25 minutes per night this week, ranging from 8 hours 41 mins to 6 hours 20 mins. My sleep score averaged 85.4. REM seep accounted for 11 hours 45 mins, deep sleep for 7 hours. I had a nightmare on Friday morning that featured some folks I follow on Instagram and a couple taking over my hotel room, gaslighting me, and behaving threateningly.
- Reading / Words & Ideas / Listening / Watching
Reading
BOOKS
Finished Bad Wolf (Bodenstein & Kirchhoff, #6) by Nele Neuhaus this week. Warning for many: this one is about pedophiles and there are detailed descriptions of brutal rapes, torture, and murder. That said, I thought this plot was the best one yet: very twisty and suspenseful and yet thoughtful at the same time; multi-layered — three crimes, some from years ago, that eventually coalesce, plus friction and possible corruption among the (German) police; excellent characterisation even of some minor players. It all starts when the body of a teenaged girl, abused over many years and brutally murdered, washes up in a river, and then a TV newscaster is viciously attacked after she plans with some others to do a show about another child’s sexual abuse many years ago, its ongoing cover-up, and its sweeping ramifications. Meanwhile, Pia has reacquainted with an old friend, Emma, whose family, unbeknownst to Emma, is also caught up in these events.
Watching
“Death in Paradise” at home (season 5) and new episodes of “Only Murders in the Building” at the beach.
- Connections & Community
Local Support: My husband volunteered at the local car museum for a bit more than 11 hours this week. We shopped at the local farmstand on Wednesday (corn on the cob, cucumbers, peppers, small Asian pears) and I bought a few things at the regional co-op on Thursday while in the area. We bought a few goodies at the local bakery/café on Friday and we got takeout from a local restaurant on Friday night. My friends and my sister and I ate at a local (small chain) crab place in Rehoboth Beach and it was nice enough to eat outside.
Relationships: We dropped off a fixed solar light and a loaf of my husband’s homemade rye bread at a friend’s (ND) on Monday. Chatted for 10 mins or so with a neighbour (LT) and her bulldog (E) on a walk on Tuesday. I attended our monthly poetry group meeting on Tuesday afternoon for 1.5 hours — eight of us there! My husband was back at our friend ND’s on Thursday to help her set up the soundbar for their TV/Firestick. I took a friend (LV) to her medical appt. at Dartmouth-Hitchcock on Thursday and afterward we shopped at the co-op and got drinks at the new Starbucks. I Venmo’d my nephew some money for his birthday on Friday. We had Salon on Friday with five of us attending for two hours. One of my friends in Baltimore (ChN) picked me up on Sat. afternoon, and I had dinner with them, spent the night, and on Sunday morning we had breakfast, watered a tree nearby with their son and his kids and a friend of theirs (quite the procession of bicycle, cart with filled water containers, another container of water wobbling along attached by a rope, kids putting Russian sage, leaves, and mulch into the water, and so on), packed the car, and drove off to Rehoboth Beach, where we met my sister and took walks, had dinner, and watched “Only Murders in the Building” together.
- Endings/Harvest
Nothing comes to mind except the harvesting of some cherry tomatoes this week.
- All This Useless Beauty
this motion camera photo of the front yard
this beauty in the sun
the light on this coleus
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