2019 Life Logs, Day 146: Enjoying a Beautiful Day
Date: Sunday, May 26, 2019
Weather: Mostly Sunny; High 72, Low 58 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
Today was the second day in a row that could convince me that it is finally spring and that summer is right around the corner. It was deliciously sunny and warm, a repeat of yesterday. Ollie and I had a lovely morning together and I realized that he has the right name. He is Oliver, but his nickname is Ollie—my mother’s name. And in my family, Ollie’n around was a familiar phrase. My mother was famous for finding every way in the world to not get something done. And this morning, Ollie was Ollie’n around. But I just let that play out as he was as happy as a little boy can be. At his request, we played chess while eating a late breakfast. 
He eventually got dressed and went out to continue his Farmer Ollie job of using his little battery-operated tractor to deliver bricks to my house from Shirley’s across the drive-way. He got the job done, but he spent an enormous amount of time just driving in circles. He was Ollie’n around, but a little boy should have the time to do this, so I just let him drive in circles. When I thought it was time to take him home, he decided that he really needed to kayak for his first time this season. 
And so he did. I sat on the dock and watched him as he paddled out toward Wallers Island.
It is close enough that I could hear him call my name if he needed help, but usually Sam is out there with him, so this solo ride made me a bit nervous. I know he loves to try and kayak in the narrow cut through the island, and that is what he tried today. I couldn’t see him, but I could his orange-tipped paddle. As I suspected, he made it half-way through the cut and then started going backwards as he had gone aground. What I didn’t know is that when he got stuck, he simply stood up and turned his body around so that he could paddle his way out. When he got back to the dock, he was beaming with pride because people in the yard close to the cut had congratulated him on his ingenuity. I have to admit that I’m not sure I would have thought of doing that. Once I convinced him that it was time to head home, he announced that he needed to drive that tractor in a few more circles before we put it in the car headed home. It was almost 1 o’clock when we got there. I dropped Ollie off and then headed into Falmouth to buy some organic tomato plants for Heather. There is only one source of fully organic plants in Falmouth and it was closed . . . on Memorial Day Weekend. The woman who grows these plants is named Jenny and to be closed on this prime garden planting day on Cape Cod led me to believe that she has either sold out all of her plants for this year or some sudden personal issue came up. Whatever, I was now on a quest to find tomato plants that have not been sprayed with herbicides or pesticides. I went to a nursery that I thought would have the closest thing to certified organic plants and they did. BUT the place was crazy busy. I had not had lunch, so I decided to return to Heather’s, have lunch, and check with her as to whether these mostly organic plants would be okay before fending my way through the frenzy of people. After a lunch break, I was ready to go back into the fray. I took Heather’s van as Sam and Ollie advertising car washes and my car definitely needed a good cleaning. Heather was having neighbors over dinner and needed somethings from the grocery store, so I volunteered to do the food shopping while out to get the tomato plants. I accomplished my mission, but by the time I got back, I certainly didn’t have time to do any planting. Maybe tomorrow. Heather invited me to stay for dinner, which I did. I really enjoyed the dinner and the conversation with Heather’s neighbors, Jean Harper and Dan Hennen. Tomorrow morning begins with a Falmouth Memorial Day Parade and ceremony before we can get back to gardening. Hopefully by tomorrow evening, we will have most of Heather’s garden planted and mine as well. If not, I can finish up on Tuesday. On Wednesday morning, I head to Nyack, New York, to spend a couple of days with my friend Lynne Kirwin. She is moving from Nyack to Michigan the first of June, so I want to have one farewell visit. Michigan seems so far away, but I know we will find ways to continue seeing each other.
