The Years To Remember

  Recovery Day 1 I should not be doing anything, much less writing in this blog as I recover from the general anesthesia from this morning's ear surgery. I was delighted to wake up alive in the recovery room! I asked a million questions which seemed to amuse the nurse. My dear friend Dale kept me company through everything except the actual surgery. The surgeon remembered Dale as my former teaching colleague, having met her six months ago for ten minutes - I was just amazed at his memory.  The 1.5 hour surgery went well, I have a new piece of titanium in my ear, it's full of packing, and I can't hear a thing for now. Six weeks of healing should reveal its degree of success or failure. My other ear is doing all the hearing thank goodness. As I sit here researching the recovery process, it seems my post surgery behavior was a bit cavalier with the December surgery. I intend to take this one much more seriously to ensure a positive outcome. I also noted that a resident partic...

Before I left for my trip, I watered the garden well to withstand two days of 90°+  weather. The newer deep purple iris I liberated from a roadside ditch.  We certainly filled our four days on the cape with fun and activity. The weather was more like summer the first two days. My car thermometer hit 97° F on the drive down, but dropped into the 70°'s once I hit the coast. Driving up to the Bourne Bridge - we were meeting at the Canal Trail bike path on the other side for our first adventure.  The drive to the Cape was a little over three hours and I saw AJ's car somewhere on the Mass Pike. We couldn't check in to our rental until 4pm, so we started off with a 16 mile bike ride on the Cape Cod Canal Trail.  We parked by the elevated railroad bridge seen here in the distance under the Bourne Bridge. It was a great ride, but everyone we passed kept commenting on the difficulty of the return trip due to the wind.   We rode off towards the Cape Cod Bay and had a wond...

 For three straight days, I have not been away from home. I've been in the garden pruning, planting, mowing, and mulching. Yes, I do love it and I consider it a "work out" as I hauled rocks, branches, and 40 lb. bags of mulch, rocks, and soil this week.  Forget-me-nots in a (purposely) wild corner of the yard. This beauty is for the woodland border under the spruce trees. I couldn't resist the leaves. Susan invited me to see the comedian Nate Bargatze at the Knick arena. We drove into Albany early to avoid the crowds, but ended up walking a couple of miles in search of a bar for a pre-show drink. I live six miles from the state capitol's downtown, but rarely go there. The show included three opening comedians who were all surprisingly funny! I guess I had low expectations.  I watched a Netflix special of an earlier tour to see what his comedy was about. This live show was even better! My roadside find for free, but the supplies for the rehab ran about $30. The Rus...

  The last of the tulips and daffodils with some fragrant viburnum flowers. "Time is of the essence" is a common phrase to indicate a sense of urgency. I have been feeling this as I contemplate my garden plans, my mortality, and just what activities I want to engage in to fill my time. I'm not obsessed with these thoughts, but as I dig and drag, chop and transplant, I have to wonder if I'm spending my time wisely or foolishly. I've noticed that as the early mornings grow warmer, it is my habit to walk the grounds and admire the gardens I have worked on over the years. I love this little coffee walk ritual. Ten  to fifteen years ago, I mowed down everything except a few trees and shrubs in the back yard, in order to make its upkeep more manageable. Now, I want to create more of a garden/woodlands walk with flowers and plantings that encourage pollinators, and possibly a spot to sit for a while.  Today is a perfect gardening day, and with rain predicted for the next...

 There are renovations happening with the garden and with me this month. Keeping busy and creating are bringing me joy and purpose in my retired state.  I say hello to this girl each day in the garden. She's a bigger garter snake that I usually see, so that means she's been here for a while. I'm trying to think of a nice name for her.  Maybe Violet? The garden is getting some renewal this spring. I've been digging out a planting bed in back and now I've found a metal aquarium stand (for free!) that I will renovate and use as a plant stand on the patio in summer, and indoor salad garden stand in winter. It is the perfect size for both applications. After rust removal and paint, a series of ceramic floor tiles should make a decent table top. I've got a stack of those from leftover flooring jobs in the house. Or perhaps I'll pick up a few fancy ones from the ReStore. This crabapple tree sat in a patch of thyme and grass. I'm tired of mowing so I dug out thi...