Bienvenidos mi Amigos:
“The leaves fall, the wind blows, and the farm country slowly changes from the summer cottons into its winter wools.” ………………………………………………………Henry Beston
“My baby and me we went down to the sea……gonna wash these sins from our hands” ……………………………………………………………………………………. Bruce Springsteen
“It’s been a long time comin’……gonna be a long time gone” …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………David Crosby
Sundays are the new Wednesdays- seems all the same these days for us……today dawned bright(nice) and high 20s (not so nice)……but got a new chainsaw and there is tree cutting to be done this afternoon, which would usually be followed by late day walk, backs permitting….last Sunday we took the late afternoon silent walk up (straight up, that is) Bowlesville Road to the viewpoint on top….dappled late day autumn sunlight falling down though the rippled ridges, small snow peaked mountain in the distance…amazingly- encountered two sets of human on the trail’s quietude….seemed like a walk through the suburbs?
The Last Supper? – We did outdoor lunch (vegan chili, cornbread, cobbler, cognac) with The Russian Spy and Beloved School Marm last Sunday, too……high 40s for a three-hour visit in the cold and muted sunshine……this may be the end of our social life for the foreseeable future…. shuttin’ down on the Mount????
Speaking of Trees……the planting of trees, shrubs and bushes have become The Queens latest obsession…. which means we go everywhere with a hoe and small shovel in the trunk…to dig up potential soulmates for our ever growing arbor…side of the road, mountain trails, graveyards, parks……all in play for the shovel…apparently the goal is to surround The inn with a moat like perimeter of trees…. pine, pine, everywhere a pine…
“Cases and Races” ………. both of which our fearless leader calls “Fake News” ……ten days and counting……saw online that my ballot had been received and counted, which had me drooling with ecstasy……Have you VOTED yet? Every soul must have its rest…. but the end is not in sight……
Back to pickin’ and grinnin’…. resumed going to the local hoedown on Monday night for the past month…. inside at the cavernous Odd Fellows (this is a real thing) Hall in town……six or seven of us in a room half the size of a football field…cavernous, but good acoustics….and everyone masked……have you ever tried to sing wearing a mask?
And, remember the Dentist thing?- made my horrified return trip to the Dentist in the Shopping Center on Tuesday, after reluctantly going the previous week to have my teeth cleaned (way, way overdue)…..and winding up the next day with what seemed like a cracked tooth……luckily, turned out to be a cracked filling which took all of twelve minutes to replace (this guy is making some real dough gliding from room to room on roller skates- apparently working to make his exodus from the shopping center to a new building he is erecting with my profits…..was glad to get in and out and make the throbbing stop, but thought it was caused by over aggressive scraping/cleaning…..are health pro types ever accountable for the secondary problems they may cause?
Off to The Sea, my son……Made our annual pilgrimage to the coast of Maine this week, our third and last outing of the Fall. Trip over was illuminating with Biden signs abounding (3 to 1 in Red New Hampshire, 10 to 1 in southern Maine). In 2016, we made the same trip, and, after living in the Vermont progressive cocoon all spring, summer, and fall- were shocked to find these same areas engorged with Trump signs…we had No Idea, and it was devastating to us….so THIS trip got off to a world class start this year
The Atlantic is very different than The Pacific, where The Prodigal resides….joy and ebullience are countered Down East by a somber, powerful undertoad….it is overwhelmingly powerful….and, this time of year…overwhelmingly devoid of humans….long walks on the misty and mystical empty beaches all up and down the coast from the NH border to north of Portland…abandoned Ferris wheels and play shacks, skeletal bungalows, quietude amongst the rollicking waves, lonely surfers out for a big squall….stayed in a family cottage (we qualified with Lucy in tow in )the village of Scarborough and combed the back roads for Lobsta Rolls……………..Mainers are fierce and independently rugged souls, though not unpleasantly so….returned home (after some mandatory stops for tree digging) with a hint of sadness at the looming end of Autumn and the coming of the bleak terrain of Stick Season….yet joy of joys-we got another burst of Magnifico fall foliage at the sea…before it gives way until next year……ahhhhh…..The Sea….
Let’s make a better world……
Papi
