not hot
The heat wave has finally broken. There's a
breeze. It feels like the kind of day to get outside and do
all the recreational activities you've ever wanted to do.
The dry cool air makes me feel filled with energy. What a
difference a day makes!
yesterday
I left out some stuff from yesterday's entry.
I was so tired when I got home I just wanted to curl up in
the freezer and go into cryogenic slumber until we reach the
outer edge of the Milky Way.
rescue mission
At Artworks camp, a baby bird fell out of the nest next
to the doorway of the art studio. I was walking over there
to check out Elizabeth's works in the art show when I heard
"Aunt Janet, Aunt Janet!" A bird crisis. Who ya gonna call?
Sounds like a job for Aunt Janet! Just try and get these
little artsy types not to touch the baby bird! I took
over the scene - keeping campers, counselors and parents at
bay until somebody could get some latex gloves from the art
building to handle the bird and a chair to stand on to reach
the nest.
Odd how kids and parents and counselors kept asking if it
was alive, when you could see it breathing and see its
little heart beating. Usually, breathing and heartbeat are
signs of being alive. Maybe not in the artiste community.
The bird should've been wearing black and sporting a goatee
and a nose ring?
Aunt Janet to the rescue. Bird replaced in nest with the
assistance of one of the counselors who is considerably
taller than me and who actually listened to me. So, we'll
see. I suspect it may have been a case of attempted
fratricide and the perpetrators will strike again. There's
also the possibility one of the "siblings" in the nest was
actually a brown headed cowbird -they specialize in pushing
the rightful babies out of their nests.
This is not a nature camp.
Groton links
The camp is at the
Groton school
in the town of
Groton.
Rich kids go there. It has that distinctive New England prep
school feel. The auditorium is not air conditioned. No
wonder we were all very hot yesterday.
against medical advice
And now, back to today. I dragged myself out
of bed, grabbed some breakfast, dropped several weeks worth
of laundry at Cleancraft, and headed over to Rita's for a
walk and lunch.
walking
According to the orthopod, continuing to walk for
exercise will continue to tear up my knee. So, going to this
little walking gathering is a little like signing myself out
of the looney bin against medical advice. Except that I
guess I'd rather continue shredding the knee than become a
shut-in. With the
Daypro,
I am getting around fine and walking doesn't hurt nearly as
much.
Besides, I haven't been able to come up with a way to
defend the orthopod's advice to my fanatical walking
buddies. And I feel guilty if I don't walk with Joan-east -
who has been ordered to walk by her rheumatologist
for her lupus. She had been complaining to the doctor that
she wasn't getting her walking in because of my knee...
Of course the route at Rita's condo is the hardest of all
the routes we do, but what the hell. This is the first time
all 5 of us have been together since Harold (Priscilla's
husband) had his stroke. It's a occasion.
Rita and Claire took off way ahead of us. When we got
near the top of the hill, I begged off the loop to the top.
A young couple with twin infant boys in those baby packs was
walking two dogs, one tiny little "frankfurter" (as
Priscilla called it) and one big fluffy dog that looks
exactly like my friend Bonnie's dog, Hobo. The Hobo look
alike immediately curled up against my legs. I stroked its
fur while we asked about the babies and how the dogs got
along with them and waited until Rita and Claire came back
down. Then we finished the route.
Lawrence for Lawrence
Priscilla's son-in-law, whose name is Richard Lawrence,
is running for mayor of
the
city of Lawrence. She has a Lawrence for Mayor bumper
sticker on her car. Just imagine the news commentators if
Richard gets elected: "Lawrence Mayor Lawrence..."
ginger nan
After walking I was very tired. What else is
new? I seem to be chronically very tired. Also depressed. By
the time I got to Nancy's house, all I wanted to do was
sleep but it was too nice a night for that. After much
discussion, we settled on Cafe India - in its Hope Street
incarnation - for dinner because I really like the honey and
ginger nan bread. Also the veggie vindaloo blasts any
remaining depression toxins out through the sweaty pores of
my head. So we went to Cafe India, got the ginger nan and
veggie vindaloo, and found renewed energy for exploring RI.
one good tern deserves another
We headed to India Point Park, that being the
closest place to sit by the bay - given how tired I am
sitting is about all I could manage. We sat on a bench
overlooking the bay and watched the summer evening unfold.
For once, we were not too hot.
tern watching
A
common
tern put on a breathtaking show of diving for fish.
Terns and humans seem to know that evening is the best time
to catch fish. The tern swooped and plunged and surfaced
with fish hanging from its beak then headed off toward the
gas tanks near the electric company. It did this several
times. Enough that we started to think it was a parent
providing for its young. Wonder if there are baby terns on
that ugly tiny island across from the gas tanks?
Nancy's standard line on spotting a tern is "one good
tern deserves another". Sure enough, we soon noticed there
were 2 terns. No idea whether they were a pair. Both
swooped and dove and in general put on an air show that
would put the Blue Angels and the Thunderbirds to shame. I
could watch these birds for hours - they're that
entertaining.
the ferry from block island
In between watching terns, we watched boats come in. The
Block
Island Ferry, Nelesco, arrived and unloaded
sunburned beach goers. One young woman fell on the gangway
getting off the ferry and cried hysterically and
uncontrollably for maybe 10 minutes. Another woman tried to
comfort her but she just sobbed more. She didn't appear
physically injured but she just kept crying. The rest of the
passengers disembarked without incident carrying coolers and
beach chairs.
The ferry only goes to/from India Point during the summer
months. The rest of the year, you have to drive to Galilee
to get to the ferry. We've never taken the ferry to Block
Island. In fact, I don't think I've ever been to Block
Island. This needs to be remedied!
listen to the cool
The breeze picked up and the air continued to cool off.
It felt so good, so indescribably sensually goooooddddd.
A little Cape Verdean boy was flying a kite in the park.
He got it up fairly high and sent it out over the bay. It
was up for sometime before it plunged into the water. He
recruited another even smaller boy to help him reel the kite
in. I don't know if he finally got it. The kite was plastic
and created a lot of drag in the water.
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