Tuesday, January 18, 2022
At 9:00, E had her Zoom exercise class, the first one of the new term. It was hard work, she says. At 10:00 we talked with Claudio about our planned paver driveway. We put down a large deposit. Gulp. We had planned to do concrete. But as it turns out, concrete projects are crazy expensive these days. So pavers it is. They seem more earth-friendly anyway.
In other news, we’ve made a reservation to stay at the coast next month in a state park near the mouth of the Umqua River. We’re going to stay two nights in a yurt. But not a regular yurt–a deluxe yurt. We’re not quite sure what those are, but apparently they have microwaves and bathrooms. We’ll see.
Wednesday, January 19, 2022
M worked on R’s book project for an hour or two and then watched the final episode of Frontera Verde, a Colombian series on Netflix. (Eight episodes, in Spanish and indigenous languages, with English subtitles) It’s an atmospheric crime drama set in the Amazon River section of Colombia. Good quality production with some wonderful cinematography. The basis of the story is only semi-comprehensible, but it doesn’t matter. It’s a way of opening a window onto a fascinating part of the world, a place with a dark past and a problematic present. When they talk about rubber plantation slavery in the relatively recent past and criminal logging in the present, they’re not just making things up.
And what was E doing while M was wandering around South America? In the morning she was doing yard work: transplanting, pruning and weeding. It seems odd to be pulling weeds at this time of year, but there they are staring at us and they do come out easily when the soil is wet. Later on, she went to visit her seamstress, whose workshop happens to be just across the street from one of her favorite clothing stores…
Thursday, January 20, 2022
Damp weather for the last couple of days. Warm at times, with highs in the 50’s and lows in the 40’s. We had coffee with J and R today and it was quite pleasant out in the tent at Coffee Culture.
We’re not sitting indoors in restaurants much these days, but we did make a quick visit to Sada to pick up an online order. We shared a bento box. The bentos at Sada are big; ours had miso soup, green salad, seaweed salad, gyoza, salmon, tempura, rice, cheesecake and fruit. One was quite sufficient. Pro tip: wash it down with gin.
Friday, January 21, 2022
We got up at seven this morning, just in time for some striking sunrise colors to the east. By eight, though, we were fogged in and could barely make out the far end of the street. After breakfast, E went out and did bird feeder chores. At 10:00 we set out for the Finley Refuge, planning to walk the Mill Hill Loop. It was still foggy when we found the turn-off to the refuge but five minutes later the sun broke through. We were just in time to see a few traces of mist drifting over the ponds.
The first part of the trail leads through one of the biggest oak forests around. Oaks and firs are competitors at these elevations, and they say that if you leave things alone, the firs will outgrow and displace the oaks. That’s what has been happening here for the past 175 years. But now, at least in conservation areas like this, people are starting to intervene on the side of the oaks. We passed more than one fir stump today.
After the hike, we went to E’s favorite coffee shop for take-out lunch. You can get a nice healthy sandwich there–if you don’t get distracted and have one of their pastries instead. Not that we personally would ever do that, at least not very often.
Saturday, January 22, 2022
E went to the Co-op for groceries and tended to her correspondence. M went off to Albany to get bricks.
For dinner M made enchiladas and E baked an acorn squash. Nice. Pro tip: wash it down with gin.
At this point we have both read The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane. The story begins in the early 1990’s in a very remote tea-growing area of China. The inhabitants are members of an ethnic minority who are quite different from the dominant Han Chinese in appearance, language, and culture. The story strains credulity in many ways, but who cares, learning about the culture is still fascinating and you still want to see what happens.
Sunday, January 23, 2022
M’s latest project is an expansion of Hummock #1. Seems he can’t leave well enough alone.
Monday, January 24, 2022
B and B are coming for dinner. We’re preparing a meze with tabouleh salad, white beans, pickles, humus, pita, olives, dolmas, lentil soup, grilled haloumi, and kebabs. No gin.
Tuesday, January 25, 2022
We travelled east this morning, going deep into Linn County to the town of Lebanon. We went there because we have learned that there are 42 places named Lebanon in the U.S. and we’ve decided that we’re going to visit ev– No, wait, that wasn’t it.
We went there to walk the trails around Cheadle Lake and see what we could see. Originally a swampy area with a few seasonal ponds, the site was heavily excavated and reformed in the 1930’s to make a large and complicated log pond for a lumber mill. The mill buildings and equipment are long gone , but the pond remains. The pond/lake covers 11 acres and has a maximum depth of 40 feet. At this point the lake and the area around it form a de facto nature reserve. There are a couple of miles of easy trails and lots of birds. We saw redwing blackbirds, Canada geese, two kinds of ducks, a pair of mergansers, an egret, and a mysterious something that looked like a cormorant.
Wednesday, January 26, 2022
Progress continues on Hummock #1.5. Also pruning. E met with her HEPAJ group.
Thursday, January 27, 2022
Tertulia with J and R as usual. A little cold out under the canopy, about 30 degrees. Had to zip home quick for E’s jumping around class, as she calls it. Later on, we fetched the little car from storage and squeezed it back into the garage. M took a little drive just to make sure the car still worked.
Friday, January 28, 2022
M went to the dentist. E went to the DMV. Sounds bad, but in fact both were painless. E went to apply for her new Real ID license and was in and out in 15 minutes!
Saturday, January 29, 2022
Cold nights these days, down into the teens. Sunny and mid forties in the afternoons. A nice time to work outside, once the ground thaws. Good thing too, because there’s work to be done prepping for the driveway project. Several nice plants need to be moved out of harm’s way.
Sunday, January 30, 2022
Pie!
Oooo that pie looks good!!
Love the oak/fir tale. I love oak trees..I don’t see them here in the northern Adirondacks. Will have to attempt to grow one or two. Northern Adk hardwoods are mainly Beech, Birch, and Maple. I want Oak!
Oh, yes, that pie looks good! Even the professional baker say so.
The absence of pandemic data — a sign of hope?
Was there some kind of editing glitch in this installment? January 25 had an entry, but with no mention of the Robbie Burns birthdate, let alone a Burns Supper! Bot interference? Sabatoge?
Otherwise, thoroughly enjoyable. Thanks.
Pandemic Diary recognizes the importance of the occasion mentioned and regrets having been unable to cover it adequately. In fact, we are thinking of establishing the position of Pandemic Diary Special Correspondent for Poetical Affairs. We know of a good candidate; but while he is certainly poetical, he is also a slippery character. We thought we had tracked him down to his latest hideout in the north woods, but he seems to have slipped the noose and flown the coop. We hear rumors that he is in South Carolina… M
Well, the water tower evoked so many memories! We used to have one visible from our back porch; it belonged to the knitting mill that operated in Chadwicks at the turn of the 20th century and into some decades thereafter. The mill employed folks relocating from Pennsylvania—among them my widowed grandmother with her eight children. I fondly remember gazing at it many many times. Thanks for the pic and the memory! 🌿
Pie looks wonderful! My Mom makes really delicious pies, my favorite is fresh blueberry pie.