Preparation for the prolonged

The rainy season is upon us. The clouds hang low in the mountains and the mountains appear to make their own clouds as well, wafts rising from where the ground below the canopy of fir trees has yet to cool. Fog rolls in on the farm.

There is little left in the garden that can be harvested... No, that is not entirely true. More like there is much that can salvaged. Tomorrow is supposed to give us a break before the next day's rain, so there will be an effort made.

Ah, tomorrow is today. A technical point, really, not much more, yet keeping with the tone and topic. The fact of the matter is that sleep comes upon me in the same manner as the weather. I could don my rain gear while better solutions exist.

*

The prognosticator offered no apology, and seemed to ever-so-gently tell me to suck it up. I really had no other option.

There remains still more to do, yet of the tasks I managed: the remainder of the eggplant, two gallons of jalapeños (from two plants), some kale for friends, a couple cucumbers; removal of the moss accumulating around the dormers on our roof; spoke with my father-in-law and my mother; dropped off the kale; and, filled the gas tank on my rig. Those are the 'shoulds'. My clothes from today are drying on a rack. A little poker, reading and writing, and dinner is upon us, which I will prepare. But first, a little more poker. Then 500 words. More reading. Then more poker, but still under 100 hands total.

So, a little of this and that makes up for the lamentable moments of sloth (poker) from the past week, despite flopping the Steel Wheel in O8.

*

Day 3

Still raining.

Today we sit by the phone waiting for word while dad-in-law is in surgery. He and I talked yesterday. He's a firm believer in "Shit Happens" and "Hang in There." Still... It is perhaps easier for me to visualize than most, having seen a lot of what happens under the knife and what follows. I keep my own counsel except to remind him that trauma does not always require this. We have made him a t-shirt for the time he will not be able to speak, which reads: "Just because I'm quiet doesn't mean I'm listening."