Hurdy gurdy

This weekend brought record-tying temperatures, and a visit from our friends Melanie and Lee. We welcomed both the weather and the friends. After a cold, late spring I am not going to complain about a little sunshine. Fortunately for us, the cottage, built in 1937, stays naturally cool without the need for air conditioning, and the rustic picnic table invites us to enjoy an early evening meal outside. We bought a chaise lounge on sale at REI and placed it under an apple tree… it is a perfect place for me to take an afternoon nap or read a good book. Melanie tagged along with Bob and me Saturday morning on our weekly visit to the Bellingham Farmer’s Market. More vendors, more people, more food, and more musicians… a lovely cello player, a grey bearded banjo player wearing a John Deere cap, and a man wearing a red fez who played a hurdy gurdy, also called a wheel fiddle. When there is so much energy and life going on around me, I want to take it all in, fill my eyes and ears with the bright colors, exotic sounds, children eating snow cones, a man dressed in a turquoise spangled fish suit, plastic buckets filled with cut flowers, a woman walking away from the market, in her hand a basket overflowing with leafy chard, a box of strawberries, and a branch of mock orange. My own energy cannot keep up with what goes on around me and I soon tire. But I will be back again next Saturday.

... PLM