May 28

Oh, my!!! how time has flown! Memorial Day weekend already and June coming up next week. Right now you wouldn't know how far along in the year we are because it is very cool and very wet. The cool temps will last through Sunday. The local "farm" market opens for the season on Tuesday, June 1. I put that in quotes because the market is a place for all kinds of local sellers and does an on line business all year. I am anxious to see what and who is going to be there after the last pandemic year. I think we went to two market days last year before we shut down almost all outside activity besides basic shopping which we also curtailed.

May 29

It is really cool this morning. I turned the furnace on this morning when I woke up. It just turned on again after I came in from looking at the gardens. But at least we have sun after rain most of yesterday and the night before. We saw a lake across the street on the parking side of the building and a small river running fast down the street in front. The only plants that looked unhappy by the cooler temps were the purple leaves of the sweet potato vines. I hope they perk up.

I have had absolutely no ambition for anything over the last couple of weeks. I was going to plants some seeds but finally decided to put in transplants instead. I still have 8 containers to fill. The open air market is supposed to start on Tuesday, as I said a couple of days ago and I hope I will find some interesting plants there.

I think part of my mood has been because both of my once favorite reading topics (politics and economics) are now frustrating, depressing or irritating--often all three at once. I read part of a book titled "The Last Great Senate" whose members entered in the late 60s and early 70s and finally faded in the mid 90s. Those senators managed to work across party lines to produce monumental legislation that changed the country. I am certain that the current crew will not be remembered so well. They couldn't even agree to pass a bi-partisan commission to study the Jan. 9 insurrection which a considerable number of Republicans now seem to remember as a mere inconvenience caused by a few rowdy tourists. Crap!!

On the economics front--our pundits tout every vague sign of "recovery" as if it really means that we will partying like it was thirty years ago and ignoring any signs that "new normal" will not be anything like the old one.

The local news isn't much better. Some time ago Mom said that nothing changes. They present what ever car crash is most dramatic, which ever shooting has the most emotional impact, and which ever multiple shooting has the highest body count.

And at the same time--on our local level--things seem to be settling into patterns that aren't really the old normal but not as abnormal as only a few weeks ago. We had to pick up a few things so we stopped at the close grocery store and found that all the signs abut masking and distancing had been removed. We still wore our masks and so did most customers and all the employees. When we did our usual shopping at our larger supermarket (major restocking the pantry) They had smaller signs telling customers they were required to wear masks but not the ones that occupied half the doorways. We are planning to go to my grand-nephew's graduation in two weeks--the first family gathering for over a year.