Rural

It is a good example of the fishbowl we are living in that I was standing at the bathroom sink this morning and saw, reflected in the mirror, cars going up the hill on Los Alamos Drive behind us. Much too far away for anybody to be able to see me, but nevertheless a new reality to get used to. John and I both agree that we are much happier with the view offered by the new fence.

The lot next door has been cleared and they cleared away the pile of charred remains of the shed which was right outside our bedroom door, but they didn't take the foundation. It looks like it needs a table and chairs on it. I don't think they will be building another shed there as it's not anywhere near the house site or their garden.

Dana has declared our restorative work done in our garden as soon as we purchase another plant like the one we bought last week, and plant it in the last of the big pots, so we piled Spike in the car and drove back down to Cottage Garden to purchase one before they sold out. We saw two people coming out with two of them as we drove into the parking and John, convinced we were about to be done out of our final purchase, leapt out of the car and ran in to see if there were any left. In the meantime Spike showed little interest in getting out of the car. I think he thought we were taking him back to the vet...or at least he was unable to ascertain from the back of the car where we had taken him. I finally coaxed him out of the car and he loved exploring the pristine paths

In the meantime, John  got the last plant....

We still need to replace all the outdoor furniture that either burned (the wooden things)  melted (plastic and aluminum) or was full of ember holes....no rush on that as I don't think winter is over yet. We are, however getting much hardier when it comes to sitting outside in the cold weather. After 11 months, our county has finally been promoted from the purple tier (the most restrictive) to the red one, although we're not really too sure what that means...

I feel for the people in Texas and elsewhere who are without power and running water due to an Arctic cold front and freak weather. We are well aware of how difficult it is and we weren't freezing! I think what we are all learning is the lesson of climate change denial/inaction. It's a powerful lesson and I sincerely hope that it is finally being heeded....