A loud t-storm woke me up so here I am, writing about yesterday’s mundane gardening, while hundreds of miles away, hundreds of people showed up at a huge funeral and reception for my cousin.  It’s like a different world; hard to imagine.  Of course, she lived her life (wore it out) doing good deeds and caring for people, without fanfare or taking credit, impacting countless lives.  She earned that show of respect.  She left behind many close family members and friends devastated by her loss.

Not that there’s any comparison, but I don’t even know, let alone impact, hundreds of people, and if I died, it would just be another day!  A minor ripple.  Not that I’d be around to care.  Anyway, about that mundane gardening…

I planted more flowers in various places: in each of the small square beds, in Y’s rock garden, and completed the row of sunflowers behind the veg garden.  I added a couple of blue water bowls to the shade natives area.  I still have a lot of veg seedlings to bring out and plant when they’re ready, and veg seeds to direct-sow, but then most of the work will shift to outdoor maintenance and enjoying the results.  More to the point, others will hopefully get to enjoy it.

Maybe the baby birds’ death was an omen.

My cousin died overnight, while I was sleepless at Avdi’s.  That’s when I happened upon the obit.  She was conscious and aware of the family around her, then later slipped into unconsciousness.  I guess that’s the way to go.  It’s given me an opportunity to reconnect with the other cousins a little, as death tends to do.

I’m too tired to talk, so here are lots of flowers in the rain, the new sofa, and kids.

Yesterday on the way to Avdi’s, a small mother bird flew from the nest, so that was good news.  Two of the babies were still alive, but one looked near death.  At least the mother was around.  But when I returned in the evening, I found the nest tumbled onto the ground, and no sign of baby birds.  Life can be harsh.

In better news, I baked the first challot after Pesach, and haven’t lost my touch.  I also made Asian-style bbq chicken, an Asian-style marinated salad, and a sesame matzah kugel.  Everyone (who was there) seemed to enjoy it.

The flowers!!  Look at these irises that bloomed together.  We’re entering spring primetime.  Conveniently, it keeps suddenly t-storming, so I don’t have to water.

Al Pacino is my hero.  He’s much older than me, but we come from the same background, Italian Americans and Jews in NY and CA, like cousins, struggling to make it.  He speaks our language, and represents our cultures.  He put his soul into his acting roles, and we love him for it.

To my knowledge, I’ve never had a dream about him, until early this morning.  He was doing a big public appearance, probably one of his last.  I finally had the honor of meeting him, shaking his hand, exchanging a few respectful words.  He looked so tired, like someone on his way out of the limelight, but still willing to make the effort to please his fans.  The older fans, like me, kind of worshipped him, but the younger ones didn’t get him.  I told them, it’s because you think he’s “old”.  As he left, I felt deeply sad, because we’d probably never see him again, but I was so honored to have met him.

I woke up, looked him up online just to see how old he really is, and lo and behold, it was his birthday!  What are the chances?  How could that be a coincidence?  Some unexplainable thing shot me up with his presence.  I’m nobody, but I wish I could have met him in this lifetime.

Anyway, Al Pacino, though you’ll never read this, Happy Birthday, and many more.

This morning the baby birds were still there in the nest, looking lethargic and hungry, but still surviving.  Maybe the mom has been feeding them.

This evening, still three babies, still very hungry, but still alive.  They appeared slightly more active and developed, so maybe there’s hope.  When I spoke to them, they responded, feed us!!.  I felt so bad for them, but there’s nothing I could do that would improve the situation.  At least it’s warm out, and the nest is very deep and cozy (and creatively decorated!).  Nature has to play itself out.

As for me, I did stuff, not a whole ton.  I’m always exhausted, but I push myself.  After all, I have incentives to stay alive.

Note the black and the white irises right next to each other–what are the chances?

Yesterday at Avdi’s I replanted a couple of veg rows that weren’t producing, with more lettuces.  I transplanted some native flower seedlings to various beds.  I started some others downstairs.  I cleaned up the large shade natives area to “liberate” ferns and ephemerals that were getting crowded out by aggressive natives.  I discovered the corn and beans just starting to emerge, and lots more natives/etc beginning to flower.

I also did countless laundry loads of towels.  They do go through the towels over there!  E made a wonderful dinner of steak and eggs and zucchini with peppers, which Avdi, S, and I ate out on the patio, while watching Y and friend climb the tree, which we think is some kind of atypical native oak, like shingle oak, but strangely without acorns ever.

On my walk home, just as I passed the school, a little girl motioned me to quietly approach the big old tree, where there was a nest full of newborn baby birds right in the hole in the bark, apparently without their mother.  They were tiny, consisting of just big yellow mouths!  It was a magical moment.  I advised her to wait and come back tomorrow to see if the mother had returned.

My younger cousin has been given a few weeks to live.  Her cancer didn’t show symptoms until it was too late to treat it, so she’s just being kept as pain-free as possible.  This form of cancer insidiously creeps up and takes over until it’s too late.

But the worst cancer is trump/musk/etc.  They intend to set back cancer research and prevention, along with every other good progress we’ve made, for decades to come.  This kind of treacherous cancer can and must be cut out and eradicated.

My type of cancer can’t be treated, but allows me to live indefinitely with it, so I intend to do just that, with added incentive from my cousin– live to see the worst cancer in our country’s history be terminated.

I didn’t really get much done today because I wasn’t feeling so well.  I made a few stabs at doing things in the garden and house, then just lay down and actually fell asleep for a short time.  I think I’m sleep-deprived.

I’ve decided I have to stay alive to witness the following, not necessarily in this order: the utter destruction and downfall of trump and co.; the native flowers I planted eventually coming up; and Avdi not just surviving but really living again.  So I guess I’ll just stick around for that.

Here’s a weird encounter: I’d been wondering what happened to all the rabbits I used to see.  On my walk to Avdi’s, suddenly all these rabbits were jumping around and practically coming at me!  Like a herd of them.  Maybe they waited until Easter was over!  It was creepy, as wild rabbits tend to be.

Today, sort of by accident, I got to meet the former owner of Avdi’s property who was responsible for the beautiful landscape full of natives, perennials, and trees.  He had inquired on the swap group after the availability of free elderberry trees and solomon’s seal, and then realized it was his old property and plantings! I always feel like I’m the lowly caretaker of the brilliant garden he and his wife designed and installed, and now I finally got to show him around, talk shop, ask all my questions, and appreciate what they created.  He was as excited as I was to see how everything was being taken care of and preserved and thriving, not destroyed.  We talked plants and explored for a long time, and he got to dig up specimens for his current garden.  It was like full circle.

Then I got a lot done in the garden.  I planted the tomato plants in the veg garden and the basils in the herb garden.  I brought out some more seedlings to harden off.  I hoed and raked the raised beds for future melons and squashes.  I cleaned up the front entrance garden and direct-sowed an assortment of flowers.  Mostly I just soaked up the sun and surroundings.

Saturday it was deluging again, so I was in my element, exploring the swamp.  I cut bluebells for the neighbors, and they gave me some cuttings of wisteria to try propagating.  I was happy to see the perennial bed I had raised was staying above water level, while all around it was a lake.

In the evening, we made matzah pizzas, as per tradition, and then I spent the night while Avdi went out.  Of course I didn’t sleep half the night, then finally dropped off to be awakened by loud blasts of thunder.

Sunday was the last day of Pesach, so naturally (also as per the kids’ tradition) we did their version of Easter, filling plastic eggs with candy, hiding them out back, then releasing the troops to find them.  It was quite an operation.  Then they all came back in and ate all the candy, while the three youngest actually sat together gaming without war breaking out.

This beautiful snake was just hanging out in the wet ferns.  Everyone, including the other neighbors’ new puppy (an Italian water dog), was happy to see it.

Later, as Pesach ended, Avdi and I drank some chametz (finally!), and we had the weekly charcuterie family meeting.  This time I took notes.  As usual, we were supposedly under a tornado watch, reduced to just a severe t-storm, so just a typical day in STL.

Obviously I still can’t sleep (what’s up with that) so here are the minutes of the weekend, with plenty of wet photos.