“The heat is too hot, and we wait for clouds each day, like pilgrims. Which will arrive first: our relief, or our salvation? Surely one is a way station, on route, to the other. This has been a month of borrowed cars, unexpected visitors, copious staking of peonies (as well as the fastidious cleanup of their petals), lost tools, missed & mixed messages, local tragedies, clearing of paths, soaking wet things, and air conditioned stores. The surprises have varied between pleasant, and not so much. My work partner broke her arm. Trees crashed onto dirt roads, blocking my way, but maybe I was meant to loiter, to watch the town excavator move logs, in the filtered, early morning sunlight. I found an old, wooden bridge to nowhere, and also, beaver ponds, in new locations. I was late to work, or later than I’d intended. There is so much to do, in June, as its cranks its way into July. Miraculously, we were able to replace the tail light covers we’d broken last year, on the Kubota 4x4. We got into it, during a thunderstorm, having retreated to the garage. It took two brains, I guess. This time of year, getting dirty has nothing to do with getting cold, and for this, I am grateful. Unless cold is the pure running water, of mountain streams. My brother, my nephew and I made a quick trip into pools, few know. I consider them “my pools”, though over the years of population booming in rural Vermont, “my pools” have been partially claimed by others. So be it. Nothing belongs to any of us anyway. But for certain time periods, gates can open to us, to pristine places. Who knows how this access, really works. I used this river for my bathing, living without running water in my cabin, around 1985. Walking there, I almost never met cars on the road. I felt, well, alone with nature. It’s a harder to do that in Vermont, these days, no judgment, just a sense of loss. And then, just as readily, a sense of adventure, as things open up in other ways. One savvy gardener we know is growing golden seal, germander, lenten rose, and a few things we’ve never seen before. Another friend, & neighbor is mourning the loss of her son and cleaning out her barn. Down at the general store carpenters have reinstalled, the old doors Sandwiches at the gas station in Rochester keep getting better and better. I miss the life I used to have, but this one’s even better.”
