Weekly recap of my ritual of existence in this liminal space called life. (See here for more info.)
- Weather
Warmish this week! High temperatures fell within a narrowish range from 88.2°F to 77.0°F, averaging 83.1°F. Lows varied more widely, from 47.1°F to 67.1°F, averaging 58°F. We got a little more than 3/4 of an inch of rain this week. The drought map released on Thursday, with data ending on Tuesday morning, shows us in moderate drought now instead of a severe one! Yay?
- Beginnings/Firsts
My husband installed the A/C in the bedroom on Friday and we used it that day, night, and the next day.
- Wild Things (Flora, Fauna, Fungi) in addition to others elsewhere in this post
While at The Fells we saw two loons near their nest on Lake Sunapee. A couple in a canoe was quite close. (My photos may look close but they’re taken with a camera from on the shoreline trail, behind foliage.)
At the bog, we were lucky enough to see a largish garter snake fleeing at our approach.
more photos of wild things
- Wandering
Walked at The Fells on Monday, at the bog on Saturday, and in town every other day. Stayed pretty close to home in general this week (as often).
in town
The Fells
the bog
- Curiosity & Discoveries
Not a surprise, based on past experience, but I discovered that deer ate the tops off my white turtlehead (Chelone glabra) on Thurs. or early Friday. Waaaaa.
A concerning discovery was that killdeer are nesting very close to the grocery store and the chicks are running through the parking lot to find their parents by a retention pond. I didn’t have my camera with me, so it’s a bit hard to see the birds.
A happier surprise was discovering that there’s a hazelnut volunteer growing in between the two I planted in 2014 at either end of the rock wall. Now there are three!
- Creating
I’m still pleased to be remembering and carving out time for meditation every day.
- Repairing and Maintaining the human(s), the cat, and the cars
Human: I again meditated every evening this week, for a total of 4 hours. I attended Dharma Sunday on Zoom with Lama Willa leading meditation and teaching on Radical Presence, an eternal now that is always present, not sandwiched between past and future on a linear timeline. I resumed working out this week, three times (3 hours). I walked more than 10,000 steps every day, more than 12,000 on three days, with a high of 15,043 on Wednesday. I got my hair cut on Thurs.
Cars: My husband spent some time on Monday working on the BMW’s A/C to no avail. We took it to a local shop for that a issue on Thursday, and picked it up on Friday, though neither the A/C nor the newly diagnosed valve cover leak are fixed; they have to check on parts and write an estimate.
Cat: Nothing to report but isn’t he a darling?
- Nesting
Cleaning/Maintenance: I did several loads of laundry this week: towels on Wed. (before our 1/2-hour power outage), clothes on Friday, and sheets and bed blankets on Sunday. I watered the houseplants on Friday.
Financial/Admin: Nothing I can think of but I need to back up the laptop.
Supplies: I ordered two pairs of summer socks from Darn Tough (free shipping) and several items from Nuts.com (also free shipping) this week: roasted Brazil nuts, English walnuts, Turkish apricots, and Healthy Trail Mix.
Food: We had leftover veggie curry and homemade naan on Monday and Tuesday, and I finished it on Wed. while my husband had a chicken sandwich for dinner. We grilled hot dogs (soy, beef) on Thurs., which we ate along with corn, mac & cheese, and fresh/local cukes and tomatoes. I made the penne with asparagus/pine nut dish on Friday (husband added grilled chicken) and we had local cukes, too. Same on Sat. except this time my husband grilled some salmon for his. Sunday we had veggie burgers with arugula, corn and peas, and leftover mac & cheese from Thursday. Not the most imaginative food week.
- Garden
I have a little hiatus now between planting and more planting, once the rest of my native plants are ready at the local nursery (should be soon). Mostly I’m just watering and weeding, on which I spent six hours this week. I also cleaned and refilled the birdbath on Sunday. My husband pulled invasives from the raspberry patch on Wed. for an hour or two (and found 4 more Jack in the pulpits!). He went to the brush dump with previously pulled and desiccated invasives on Sunday and he mowed the lawn that evening. He also fixed a windchime that had broken.
in the garden this week
- Sleeping & Dreaming
Slept well this week, with an average (Samsung Fit 3) sleep score of 92.1. I slept an average of 7 hours 45 mins per night, with REM accounting for 14 hours 45 mins and deep sleep for 7 hours 15 mins.
- Reading / Words & Ideas / Listening / Watching
Reading
BOOKS: I finished re-reading Fever Beach by Carl Hiaasen this week for a bookgroup. I also read it last year, finishing it on 6/10. It’s great if you love hilarious over-the-top political satire set in Florida!
OTHER: Some essays/articles I found interesting or enjoyable this week.
“Hyperfascism: Some notes toward a theory of Trumpism” by Ned Resnikoff at Public Comment on 1 June 2026. “Make no mistake: hyperfascism is still fascism. But it is a shallow sort of fascism, obsessed with outward appearances and completely uninterested in everything else. It is as if the architects of the Trump regime had cribbed their entire governing agenda from cheap cyberpunk thrillers about fascist dystopias.”
“You Love Your Native Garden. But Will Buyers Love It Too?” by Jessie Graham in the NYT (gifted link), 10 June 2026. “Mr. Morier accepted an offer that was $20,000 over list price before the first open house. The buyers said the garden was a selling point and asked for a list of plants before they moved in. Mr. Morier provided it, along with a month-by-month guide to maintaining the garden.” Be still, my heart.
“Without hope of resolution” by Sasha Chapin, 11 June 2026, in his newsletter. “There is a phrase from the writing of therapist Bruce Tift that, to me, is one of the most sanity-generating combinations of words in the English language. It is: “without hope of resolution.” If that phrase doesn’t wash over your whole tortured mind like a cool breeze, I don’t think you’re yet internalizing how beautiful and liberating it is.”
Listening:
Some songs Shazam’d this week
Watching:
“Schitt$ Creek” (season 3 into 4) and some dvr’d “House Hunters” this week.
- Connections & Community
Local Support: My husband volunteered at a local museum for 8.5+ hours this week, also helping with and participating in a cars & coffee event there on Sat. for almost 5 hours. I bought a sandwich for a friend and a smoothie for me from a local restaurant on Tuesday. I bought a cucumber, crackers, and Yukon Golds at the local farmstand on Wed., more cukes there on Friday, and a lemon on Sat. I bought canned chick peas and asparagus at the local co-op on Friday. My husband and I had breakfast outside at a local bakery/café on Thursday morning. We bought some grilling accessories at the local consignment store on Friday.
Relationships: I spent two hours visiting a friend (RL) on Tuesday and my husband and I visited another friend (ND) for 20 mins that evening. My monthly poetry group met on Tuesday afternoon for two hours with 5 of us, sharing our own and others’ poetry. I had my hair cut on Thurs. and caught up with my stylist/friend (GV). That afternoon I attended a monthly bookgroup (discussing Carl Hiaasen’s satirical novel Fever Beach with 9 others) for 1.5 hours and got a ride with a friend (LM). Salon met on Friday for two hours with 6 of us. I visited my friend (RL) for two hours on Saturday. The usual texting etc.
- Endings
The end of not needing the window A/C since last summer?
- All This Useless Beauty
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