Only in Sebastopol

It occurred to us this morning that with the warm, dry weather continuing, we could go to Ragle Park in Sebastopol and walk around the marsh, which is usually underwater at this time of year. There was still enough water in the creek for Ozzie to wade in and dredge up a 4 foot long "stick", heavy and waterlogged, which he couldn't even get up the narrow trail through the undergrowth. The brightest color was the sky which was bright blue. Everything else has turned a sort of dun color--even the mistletoe, clearly visible clumps among the leafless branches of the trees, is turning yellow and drying up.

We visited our old friend Annie, the Cheese Lady at Pacific Market, and Sebastopol Hardware--an old fashioned hardware store which has everything from plumbing, electrical and carpentry and garden supplies, kitchenware, including several shelves full of colorful Le Creuset cast iron pots, and piles of stock tanks and half wine barrels, which people use as planters. Next to the piled bags of potting soil, we ran into Sasquatch getting ready to fill his wheelbarrow. His expression indicates that he is not a gardener....

OilMan has changed back into his shorts to tackle today's garden chores, while I broke down and vacuumed, a chore I hate and which seemed fairly pointless with all the work going on in the bathroom. Now everything is finished except for the backordered items. The medicine cabinets, sinks, lighting and shower door have been installed, and OilMan is hunting through all the empty boxes outside our bedroom door for the instructions for programming the thermostat. I'd rather look at the empty cardboard boxes than the toilet, which has been reinstalled in its rightful spot.