Lazy Days Well Spent

Spring was slow and stubborn in coming, this after a long, snowy winter that was the opposite of the first one we spent in this house, and I was impatient for it to show a sign, any sign. The flowers were late, or rather, were their normal selves, but I had been falsely deceived by the spring of 2010, which started about 5 weeks early and went straight into a July I spent roasting in Europe.

This year, it is much different, and the languid pace is suiting me nicely. The humidity and haze managed to hold off as I finished the school year, closed my classroom for what will be a full year away, and the hot spell hit the calendar on the very last day of work. Since then, we had been completely blessed by the weather gods, with hints of thunderstorms in the late afternoon and early evening, or long after the sun has gone down for the night. The days have been sunny and warm, although the breezes of last week are now gone and we are in the midst of a muggy phase that it quite typical of July in this part of the country. For those not used to the annual ritual, it is the kind of weather that forced people indoors to the comfort of air conditioning, but for those of us who have grown up here, it is to be embraces, because we know all too well that the season does not last more than a few months, if we are lucky, and that its counterpart can often match the temperatures of the day, but with a nasty minus sign in front of the number.

What have I done so far, since the summer holidays started three weeks ago? Truthfully and happily, very little. I am reading more than I ever have the chance during the school year, most recently a very fascinating book called Globish, which traces the history of the English language from obscurity to its current status as the official language of globalization. Through it all, I learned a lot about how other native tongues added to its vocabulary and got a few good history lessons about England, America, and how the colonies enriched the language of their imperial power. Highly recommended if you are a linguistics or history buff. I am also starting to reread one of my two uncompleted novels so that I can pick up the pen again soon. I cannot believe my last blog entry for it was from May 2010, but am determined to get it finished long before May 2012. My other novel blog is slightly more alarming- last entry posted is February 2009. The current plan is that all three of my novels will be done, edited, and e-published by the time my sabbatical is up. To those of you who have helped me by reading and critiquing, you might be back in business helping me out again, please and thank you.

The rest of the days have been spent in those delightful summer indulgences- time with visiting friends and family, walking to and from the local swimming pool or the dog park, dining out on the deck under the cooling umbrella of the century old walnut tree that makes the yard so inviting. I have not been completely idle, though, having helped my sister with her cottage renovations and our own little home improvements here. In the yard, our fence walls are complete on the both sides, but the gate and back fences are still incomplete. However, the old shed has been demolished and my hand is needed back there to level the ground beneath where it once stood. In the process, I learned just how industrious pack-rats are, having found their plastic milk bag and paper flower stuffing under the wooden base. More science lessons on the fly, I say. I also learned that you need a tetanus shot within 72 hours of the rusty nail scrape, and that leaving it to 71 will get you a stern lecture from the clinic doctor. Of course, my current philosophy is to set one small goal for the day and strive to do nothing much more than that one little thing. Yesterday, it was to brush the dog's thick, shedding coat (done!) and to sweep the dander of all the animals from the main floor (done!). At this pace, being successful is not difficult.

Canadians know how short the summer can be, and so, for the first time in many years, I am in the fortunate position of not having to pack it all in before September, and it feels so much more relaxed than even the usual. I am going back outside, to the deck, for a afternoon read before considering the task of the day- removing the rocks from the old shed base so that I can level the ground on some future day. One small job a day, and the living is easy.

Late afternoon edit: In digging out under the old shed base, I found some interesting bone fragments, which I have added on here. Can anyone identify them at all? I am thinking this was a family cat that was buried as we were all wont to do many years ago, but the skull is almost too slick for that. A small dog perhaps? I am not really sure.