python

We did not wash away in the 10.35 inches of rain, but oh my was it wet yesterday. All the rivers of water up to my ankle in various places in the yard and drive -- and this morning it was all absorbed or run off.

https://vimeo.com/1099352304?share=copy#t=0

Today we went out for lunch, then into Raleigh to pick up an Edible Art fancy almond birthday cake for Christine's sister's birthday. It does not feel like it was 25 days ago that B-- died, but Christine's COVID then other infection and then my vacation certainly all created different time experiences. D--'s studio may have flooded three feet last night: hopefully a birthday party will ... be OK? Help with grief? Let her know she's loved?

Back to work and paying attention to time tomorrow. And trying to do the things that i am supposed to do instead of letting whim take the lead. Not sure i will be able to get in the yard all week except maybe sitting on the deck in the morning. Tomorrow's weather is a sauna, Wednesday is our grocery night ,and then the rest of the week is evening thunderstorms.

Yesterday's research dive was into how the heart works specifically - i knew generally,  - so i could understand Dad's echo report that has found the mitral valve failing (prolapsed) and blood being back washed into the lung.  And i've read up on the surgeries and what could happen if he doesn't opt for treatment. The recovery period is daunting. It seems he'll need people to stay with him, where people are me and my sister perhaps? Although i can hardly care for myself....

I rush ahead though. His next study is on the 29th, his consult (i will join him that day) is on 6 August.

I am off work again, but this time with no health emergency, just a long break over the fourth of July holiday. Rest. And i should go use the weed burner since we had a quarter inch of rain last night. And the mowing that i need to do. Thank heavens there's plenty i can do with the wheeled string trimmer, for which wet grass is not a challenge. I did some mowing last night with the grass mower. Too much of the grassy zones in the orchard have gone over to stilt grass. If i could be confident of rain, i'd scalp everything and hope the fescues would get ahead.

Meanwhile, blueberries are coming in fast; mulberries are ripening, too. Might get enough mulberries to make a dehydrator tray worth while in the next few days. And figs are ripening, to my startlement. The persimmon has dropped lots of fruit, self thinning, still looking loaded. The single remaining Aunt Rachel's apple has fallen from the tree, and i found it with a worm sticking out and wriggling. Fie. One Grimes Golden apple remains: this is mainly due to the late frost, but generally i do not have a good site for apples.

I found one of the Tahitian squash vines had actually set a fruit, as big as a usual mature summer yellow squash already. I picked it to eat now, expecting i will see more fruit to allow to grow to winter keeping sizes. The yellow butter cube squash have had male flowers like mad, but no fruit. The plants have stayed tiny.

The Early Girl tomato has some nice set green fruit; the Better Boy has started as well. A forest of Matt's wild tomato volunteers have come up in the past weeks and i intend to move them to a place with high deer exposure in the hopes that they'll accept some pruning.

One of my new native shrubs, a St John's Wort "Sunburst", was pruned back severely by deer. I think it will be for the best, but i am miffed as it seems they never browse the many wild St John's worts.

A doe has been visible in the yard periodically - somehow i manage to dissociate the sight of the doe from the herbivory in my mind -- and cotton tails have been common disappearing into high growth. Haven't seen the hawk.  Humming birds are visiting the glads and hummingbird mint, clouds of tiger swallowtails on the Joe Pye weed.

I missed seeing my nephew D, niece S, and sister in law M last week as their visit coincided with Christine in the hospital. I had thought S & M  would be here this weekend, but no. They will be with nephew Z in Tampa.  D is in ROTC training and i will get to see him on his return with my brother.

I worry about my siblings' job/financial situations. If i lost my job today, i think Christine and i could limp by with retirement savings. (I don't know how easily i could transfer my experience into something generally employable.) But my siblings are looking for work, more or less, and i don't get the sense it's an easy time to look.

Christine is home as of Wednesday evening and broadly much better (although this instant she is recovering from a panic attack during a migraine). Antibiotics remain a miracle. Also, thanks for our capabilities to culture bacteria.  Thursday morning her doctor called to let her know that Arecoccus urinae was cultured and she'd need a different antibiotic from the one she was sent home with on Wednesday and no, the one she was sent home with on Monday wouldn't work either.

This does explain the one Monday dose having no effect.

I think she got the call while i was giving a division wide talk, that seemed reasonably received: crickets from the audience. Too basic? Too much? Always hard to tell.

Yesterday was B--'s memorial. I took the whole day as bereavement, and have scheduled much of next week off (2nd & 3rd as vacation, 4th a holiday, 5th & 6th weekend, and 7th more vacation and my sister in law's birthday)

I continued to test negative through all of this, but my cough is acting up, which annoys.