anchor for the corner of the deck

A brilliant blue sky and blazing sun drew me out of bed early - not 5am early, but early for me - the swing was calling its siren song, luring me with the promise of a gentle rock to start my day. With a steaming cup of coffee in hand I sat back and let the birdsong brush the last of the cobwebs from my brain. I was groggy from a bad night's sleep but there was no turning back from the joy of a pre-summer day.

There wasn’t much on the agenda today except to assemble an extraordinarily heavy bench for the back deck. We’ve had 2 of the same ones sitting out there for years, and had purchased a third one but never got around to putting it together. A bit of blood, sweat, and tears and the darn thing is anchoring a corner of the deck. We have lots of seating now, too bad we won’t be able to have any company for months :-(

Once we were done that Carm headed out in the car for a few curbside pickups - I thought I’d play music and enjoy the deck but ended up half asleep on the sofa. A sure side-effect of getting up so early!

We zoomed with the family to celebrate Freya’s birthday tonight - it seems that most of the family has their birthday during the lockdown.

Headline tonight:  1,187,288 cases with 68,568 deaths in the US. There are a total of 59,474 (56,714 yesterday) cases of Covid-19 in Canada today, with 3,682 (3,566 yesterday) deaths to date.

“One of the strange things about living in the world is that it is only now and then one is quite sure one is going to live forever and ever and ever. 

One knows it sometimes when one gets up at the tender solemn dawn-time and goes out and stands alone and throws one’s head far back and looks up and up and watches the pale sky slowly changing and flushing and marvelous unknown things happening until the East almost makes one cry out and one’s heart stands still at the strange unchanging majesty of the rising of the sun—which has been happening every morning for thousands and thousands and thousands of years. 

One knows it then for a moment or so. 

And one knows it sometimes when one stands by oneself in a wood at sunset and the mysterious deep gold stillness slanting through and under the branches seems to be saying slowly again and again something one cannot quite hear, however much one tries. 

Then sometimes the immense quiet of the dark blue at night with millions of stars waiting and watching makes one sure; and sometimes a sound of far-off music makes it true; and sometimes a look in some one’s eyes.”

~Secret Garden