Day 66

The wind certainly takes the fun out of walking north. South is OK. A tailwind works just fine. Today we’ll go early to the farm stand and hope for strawberries and new greens. Megan is going away for a celebration of her birthday with friends. I enjoyed talking about straw bale gardening yesterday. There is some special quality that makes me smile and feel good. Maybe it’s providing my family with fresh food from my own back yard. Life is good.

I’m through with haiku

Unless my brain keeps counting

Then maybe, one more

Day 65

Today is straw bale day. Karen is coming to work in hers, Laurie Minsal is coming to see what they are all about. Crystal is coming later. I’ll make contact with Debbie, the new neighbor, and Delia, to see if they want a writing group with Carol and me and Karen Quinell. Lots of socializing and I’m enjoying it all. I finally have the people, the opportunity, and the energy to do more than the necessary activities. Writing is happening too.

Garden talk today
Learning more - enjoying more
Gardens give lessons

Day 64

Still not 100% . Darn headaches and lack of energy are depressing. I do what I say I’ll do and get things done but without joy or enthusiasm. Today I’ll get an early walk. Strong cold wind is predicted for four days. The band will be at the senior center and it will be noisy. Noise seems to wear me out with the effort to hear people who want to tell me their stories. Maybe it’s time for a hearing test.

Slow start to my walk
Then picked up speed and spirit
I love my body

day 63

The group was okay. There are a couple of interesting people. I’m still going to pursue a tea and writing group here. Mother Nature watered the bales last night and is sprinkling on them this morning. My greens are growing well in spite of 40 degree nights. I know there is internal heat that helps them grow. I feel like writing today and will send Alicia an essay for the church newsletter. Also going to help with preparation for community dinner.

Misty morning walk
Moisturizer from heaven
Softens my wrinkles

Day 62

Yesterday was cranky. Wind? The senior center was loud, rude, critical, gossipy, and I was glad to get out of there. Drivers were nuts too. Hope for a calmer more polite day. After the board of supervisors meeting, Carol and I will go to the organizing meeting of the memoir writing group. Neither of us wants an evening meeting and I don’t want a critical group. I’m not interested in honing my writing skills. I just want to write for fun.

The strong cold wind blows

Takes away our gentler selves

Pray for a calm day

day 61

Family dinner was a success and a pleasure. Steak, prawns, potato salad, garlic broccoli, blue cheese on toast points, garlic bread, lemon meringue pie and birthday greetings for each other. It’s Marjorie Roberts birthday. She was my first BFF way back when we rode our bicycles to seventh grade. She shared her Grandma with me and her aunt Marge. We are 81 now. Doesn’t seem possible. Today I expect routine: walk, senior center duty, water orchids, maybe take dust off something.

Our "gang" - eighty-one
All six of us still close
Best friends forever

Day 60

Feeling a bit better. Vague headache still. Gloomy outside too. Hollie is fixing the family birthday dinner. We usually go out for this celebration but she wants to do the cooking. She asked us each what we wanted; I said potato salad, Megan said steak, Chuck wants barbecued chicken, and she is making herb brochettes for herself. Megan is baking a chocolate cake. She loves her oven. I will go to church and get at least a walk around the block.

Palm writing

When I was 15 years old I came home from school to find an old beat up car in front of our house. When my parents came home from work I asked them what it was doing there. They said they bought it for me. It belongs next to the garbage can, I said. It was old and ugly, looked like the red paint had been applied with a broom, raggy top, just plain not what a young girl wants. We had private property and I learned to drive there. I had to learn to advance the spark, pull out the choke, step down hard on the starter, and other old fashioned ways to get the engine to work. Once I had to crank it. I discovered that filling the rumble seat with friends, having others sitting on top of the seats and hanging off the back, and driving all over the place was fun. It leaked in the rain and had a hand driven windshield wiper that required skill to drive and see through the rain at the same time. Then I was 16 and drove the car to the DMV to get my license only the inspector wouldn’t get in it. He told me to come back with a “real car.” After I had my license I drove it to high school but parked two blocks away and walked, as it was an embarrassment, that is, until I learned that boys thought it was neat. It was my car until I graduated when my parents bought me a used 1949 Ford and the 1929 Model A Ford was purchased by a guy who made it into a hot rod, painted it hot pink, and showed it off at car shows.

Our family of four
Our four birthdays in a row
All close together

Day 59

Not well. I did go to Kathy’s event and stayed for an hour. Good company. Came home and went to bed. Woke up with a migraine and ears that don’t work well. I must do errands today or my dogs will starve. It’s Megan’s 33 birthday. I remember her birth and how Hollie asked to recreate her own birth as much as the hospital would allow. It was more natural in the labor room, low light, her dad and I close.

My morning glory
In need of medication
Not my favorite

Day 58

Wildflower show today. I’ll walk down in the showers. Our area is the wildflower capital of the world with more varieties than anywhere else due to the fact that it was never glaciated. Then there is house stuff needed. The wind blew rose petals all over the yard leaving a bright trail. The Giants lost again. Tonda says I’m in very good shape and doesn’t want to see me for six months. Will go to Kathy Murray’s campaign reception at 5.

Best of intentions
No energy to follow
Fuzzy robe instead

Day 57

Early walk again to start the day. Then I will visit with Tonda before duty at the senior center. Later, maybe the Giants will win a game. I know I’m supposed to be a supportive fan but I can’t get passed their enormous salaries for playing like fourth graders. Megan is staying in Arcata overnight to prepare for a big project in her accounting class. Only three more weeks of the term. Weather is changing. Rain in the forecast. It’s spring.

Moody dour morning
Pink streaks peek through dark gray clouds
I'm sunny inside

Day 56

I love mornings. Wake up at 4 AM well, energetic, ready for anything, and by noon, well, the bloom is off the rose. I wonder what I can do to extend the good feelings I wake up with. Yesterday Hollie gave me a laugh: She saw a ceramic piece in an antique store labeled “Soup latrine.” Words! Maybe a tad of housework after an early walk and a late breakfast. Later, Karen will use her magic massage to help me heal.

Walking junkie here
There are lots worse addictions
This one helps my bones

Day 55

Simple agenda today: walk, Dr. E. for a pressure check on my right eye, buy a chicken to share with Megan. Water the bales, sing to the peas, cabbages, potatoes, and all the others. Enjoy life. Find something silly to laugh about. Had a call from Senior News editor asking for my help. Sorry. I resigned. Part of my problem was having to solve the problems. Not my job. I do enjoy writing personal essays and will do so for myself.

Poor sleep, restless night

Fuzzy faced moon fog shrouded

Must have coffee NOW

Day 54

Monday again and another hot one. I do not enjoy 90 degrees or even 80. Give me a nice 65 any day. I’ll get out early for a walk. Then I’ll water orchids inside and bales outside. Off to the senior center for duty and visiting. The list of brief memories that started with Michael’s workshop continues to grow. One leads to another one. I have promised myself to write one on Sunday mornings and include them here in the blog.

Hooray, I found the key
Now to hunt for the treasure
What will it open?

Day 53

It was a lovely day in the yard, fewer weeds and baby plants grabbing hold for their journey into my dinner. I put the tomatoes on the bales like last year. Peas are coming up. Today, after church, more weeds will fall. I have a heap along the new fence that will eventually become soil. I didn’t take time for a “Palm of my hand” writing. I promise to do so today. I’ll start with the Reddy memory as it popped up first.

Love my time outside
Muddy knees attest to care
Down to earth person

Palm of my hand

We are sitting in the car outside a lumber yard in Eureka. The kids are 7 and 5. Hollis is in the yard talking about his project. There are dogs barking somewhere close by. The children want to find the dogs so we get out and walk toward the sound. It is the pound. We walk down the fence and look at all the dogs. One dog attracts our attention. Fuzzy red, medium sized, quiet in the midst of the noise. The keeper comes out and asks if we are looking for a dog. I say No, the kids say Yes. We point out the red dog. “He has been on a merchant ship and Captain Pedderson can’t keep him any longer. The Captain is hoping a family will adopt him.” We do. He is called Reddy. At home we get used to having a dog and this dog is exceptionally well mannered. He doesn’t bark, stays out of walkways, goes under tables, answers to his name, sits, etc. The Captain has given us a wonderful dog. Hollie takes to him immediately and shows him that he can sleep on her bed. She tries not to move so he won’t jump down. He stays until she goes to sleep. Reddy was an intact male and we did have to have him neutered as he made a couple of amorous disappearances that troubled us. When Dave came into our lives, he brought Herbie. The two had a couple of fights that needed to be broken up with the hose and then they coexisted. In Klamath, after Herbie died, we found Charlotte. Reddy liked the puppy who often curled up between his paws. Reddy moved with us to Crescent City. He developed a liver problem and left a huge hole in all our lives. I cannot remember many times in my life when there was not a dog in the family. Reddy stands out because of how he came into our lives. He, and indeed, all our four leggers have been special.

Day 52

Carol and I enjoyed the writing workshop. The method is easy to understand and follow: begin with a list of spontaneous memories and then choose one and write one page. The cabbages and marigolds are in the ground. Today all the kales and chards will be in the bales and I’ll put the tomatoes in a container. Then it’s time to plant seeds too. I’ll weed around the lilac tree. I will get a walk with myself and with the dogs. 

My time - early morning
Day and I are fresh and new
Come on, get busy

Day 51

Carol and I attended a delightful poetry reading with Michael Czarecki and today we will go to his workshop on memoir writing. Fun to do something different and inspiring. His model: creativity, natural world, and people. I looked back on my haiku and noticed that I follow that triangle. Busy day today, dog wash, shopping and errands, Dr. E for a pressure check, the workshop, and planting!  I like waking up knowing that I feel well and can accomplish my goals.

I show who I am
By where my attention goes
People and nature

Day 50

The back porch used up my energy yesterday. Moved the hot tub platform and found a mess of old water, dirt, and things I didn’t examine closely. The room is clean and tidy now. Then I moved a bunch of weeds into the space near the new fence. I wanted it done before the weather changed. It is a wintery storm and is cool this morning. Tomorrow all the plants will go into the bales. I’m excited. My body serves well.

Wind before the storm

Creates a pink blossom squall

I feel like twirling

Day 49

It was early to bed last night. Very tired after a weed pulling fest. Both lemon trees are now visible. All the rain has made beautiful flowering trees, roses, and thistles and ramps too. This morning I’m ready to do it again. I will move all the piles of weeds by the new fence so the mulch will fill in the depression where the old fence was. Rain tonight and tomorrow and then all the plants go in the bales.

Still clear cool morning
Ocean's roar, sea lions barking
I get to live here

Day 48

Board of supervisors meeting this morning. I learn a lot from attending, particularly the history of projects that seem to drag on forever. I get a look at the red tape and hoops they must jumps through. The house needs a little TLC. I may at least sweep and dust mop. Minnie is shedding handfuls of her silky black fur. We will walk today. It’s good for us to walk together. The dogs are getting slightly less food and more exercise.

Go North, Vee of Geese
Proclaim the news that it's spring time
Rouse our excitement

Day 47

My dogs have had a couple of long walks. Della does fine as long as I plan where to walk. She stumbled on a curb and I did carry her up the front steps. Her blindness gives me lessons every day on how to bump into something and change course. I couldn’t wait and planted the curly kale. Today I may feel compelled to plant more babies. First the orchids will get tended to before I go to the senior center.

Perky curly kale
Spent the night out on a bale
Ready to grow up

Day 46

Woke up well. No headache this morning and I’m grateful for it. I did clear most of the rose garden and have the thorn scratches to prove it. Today more weeds will tumble into the mulch heap. Much as I love working outside, I’m looking for something else to do. I’ll keep waving my antennae in hopes of locating a stimulating new activity, person, or attitude. It’s the ease of the comfort zone that calls me. I want more than routine.

Oh the excitement

First peas peeking up at me
Reward for patience

Day 45

In spite of negative events yesterday: misses, messes, glitches, losses, the day ended happily with dinner at the Greek restaurant with Gil. I walked more than seven miles and over 16 K steps. Woke up from the best sleep I’ve had in weeks! Today I want to finish weeding in Megan’s yard and the rose garden. We will go to the farm stand and catch up errands. A nice older guy took the hot tub and was happy to have it.

Saturday farm stand
Looking for fresh spring produce
always worth the trip

Day 44

Yesterday was hot and noisy at the senior center. It is a relief to get home to quiet. I watched the Giants game with its opening ceremonies and enjoyed it all. Today I expect the phone to start ringing with people interested in taking the hot tub. Hollie and Chuck will be home from Portland and later will take the futon frame and the kitchen unit to the transfer station. Karen advises waiting a little longer before planting. I am impatient.

Good-bye old hot tub

Thanks for the hours of soothing warmth

Now help someone else

Day 43

Cleaned out the hot tub and then decided to give it away. I may replace it later. I haven’t used it for months and it’s been sitting empty. I have been giving away a lot of things that I no longer use or have interest in owning. Lots of books, movies, music, art supplies etc. all gone and not missed. Simplicity is what I want. When I look at something, I know it still has a place in my daily life.

Perfect morning walk
Fragrant warm breeze blowing by
Wonderful spring day

Day 42

It’s a warm morning and I have closed up the house as I do not like heat. I live here for its temperate climate, never too hot, never too cold. Lots of errands to do. I will checks to deliver to local places. The IRS checks can wait another week. I learned how to check my bank account by messaging. It’s quick. I’m waiting for the annuity deposit as I have spent a lot of money lately and need the transfusion.

East wind doth blow warm
Close the house, make lemonade
Ninety is too hot

Day 41

I shared my blog books with CJ yesterday. I enjoy having them and they certainly help with sequencing events since my memory tends to blur out details. Megan brought baby plants from Miller Farms yesterday. She shopped for them on her way home from Humboldt. The wind is cold today so I probably won’t plant them until later this week. I get impatient and that’s when Karen reminds me that there is plenty of time. The bales get better with time.

Sun, water, and dirt

Planning, planting, quiet humming

Color me content

Day 40

Rained all night and that’s a good thing for the bales and the newly planted pea seeds. Today another row of peas will go into the ground. The patchwork net and wire will serve well. Today is senior center duty. I invited Jan Martin to come. She may be a person who would write with our little group. Connected with Janet through Facebook. She was my kindergarten aide back in 1977. She went on to teach special ed for 32 years.

On my knees for peas
Climbing wire is hammered in
Ouch! one purple thumb

Day 39

Finished Megan’s yard and started to put the wire on the fence for the peas and that was it for the day. I have accomplished what I wanted to and today I can finish the project. Will also massage fertilizer and water the bales. They are looking good. Church this morning, feed the orchids, and walk, I enjoy bending and stretching, pulling weeds while sitting on the ground, wheeling the weeds to the pile. It’s good for my spirit and body.

Dirty fingernails
My proof of righteous labor
Nature's spring tonic

day 38

I amassed an impressive pile of weeds from Megan’s yard. I’m ready to go at it again today. Rose garden and lemon trees will feel free of ramps and other weeds. I enjoyed watching the spider hatch yesterday. The tiny babies scrambled around the net of webs left by their mother. Nature is amazing. Reminded me of Charlotte’s Web. Outdoor exercise brings sound sleep and good mornings. I wake up with plans that I can accomplish when the sun is shining.

Weeds weeds everywhere
Plants I did not choose to grow
Now become compost

Day 37

I have changed pharmacies but not before I was articulate about why I was through with Walgreen’s. Karen and I massaged fertilizer into our bales and they are beginning to cook internally. We can plant in a week. Megan will bring baby plants from Miller Farms on Monday on her way home from Humboldt. Today is weed fest day and I’m ready to pull. Lots of places need attention. I need chicken wire for the pea patch. I’m ready for spring.

haiku

From a tiny ball

Life emerged and moved freely

Welcome spring spiders