parched earth

101 Dalmatians… oops, I mean 101 days of covid-19 isolation… we are well into the groove of physical distancing and have been doing all that we can to stay safe. Are we being paranoid or careful - it’s hard to tell as the line is so narrow. Even with the members of our small social circle (my family), we’ve been maintaining physical distance for the most part. How about you? Are you keen to start closely socializing with others?

The last several days have been a series of hot, sultry days spent on the swing with frequent dips into the pool. The heat slightly addled my brain which is why I haven’t written a proper post for so long. After a languid day it’s hard to feel smart enough to find words.

Before the peonies fully lost their blooms (some are still desperately hanging onto theirs), I harvested a few handfuls of the beautiful petals. I had 2 projects in mind: an infusion with vodka, and a simple syrup made in the instant pot the same way I did the rhubarb. Well… the simple syrup was a bust. The flavour didn’t come through, instead it tasted slightly burnt. The vodka was perhaps better but it’s not great enough to make another batch. I only tasted a spoon - perhaps it would be nicer in a mixed drink?

The strength of our satellite tv signal has been flakey lately so with chainsaw in hand Carm started felling trees. The little ones were easy but unfortunately didn’t do the trick so he started after the huge manitoba maple. We’d wanted that tree down anyway… I hate the chainsaw and stand at a safe distance watching with phone in hand. He got through much of the 16” tree when the saw ran out of gas. He took a short rest, filled up the saw, and then as we were walking back to the tree I saw it come down. I thanked whatever spirit that was around and went to check the signal. Unfortunately it was not much better.

We looked through the window at the satellite dish and figured that maybe a few branches of lilac also had to come down… yes… better signal. Yay! 

The ground is screaming for water. Wide gaping cracks have opened up in the parched earth. I’ve not seen a drought like this outside the worst of the dry summers, and certainly not so early in the summer.

I was looking for a photo for my Dad and came across this one of me in William Wordsworth’s house in the Lake District of England.

Headline tonight: Most new cases in the US since it all started. 2,463,128 cases with 124,279 deaths in the US. There are a total of 102,242 (101,286 yesterday) cases of Covid-19 in Canada today, with 8,484 (8,430 yesterday) deaths today.

“I had melancholy thoughts...

a strangeness in my mind,

A feeling that I was not for that hour,

Nor for that place.”

~William Wordsworth