2023 Life Logs, Day 329: Chilly Day on Cape Cod
Date: Saturday, November 25, 2023
Weather: Sunny: High 37, Low 28 F; Sunset 4:18 pm; Sunset 4:17 pm (-1 min)
Location: At the Goldstones, Falmouth, MA
If my memory serves me correctly, this is the first day this fall where the daytime high temperature did not climb out of the 30’s. It was just a reminder that winter is on its way. But the forecast shows that for the next nine days, the daytime temps will stay mostly in the 40’s. So back to fall weather.
I did not a lot today as the nerve pain from my herniated disks was back. I feel truly blessed that yesterday was such a good day. Just wish it could have lasted a little longer. I had lunch with good friend Jane Woodin today. She has a long history of back issues and was able to give me some advice. She has a pain management specialist at Brigham and Women’s in Boston that has been very helpful. I will call on Monday and see if I can get an appointment. In the meantime, I wait until December 8 to get the MRI and then go from there. But back to lunch with Jane. She and Bruce just returned from a trip to Italy. They flew to Milan, on to Rome, and then a cruise through the Mediterranean ending in the Bahamas. They had some ups and downs on the trip, but managed to enjoy the trip despite the ‘downs’. It was great to see Jane and catch up on life.
This afternoon I spent time going through photos from my trip to Puerto Rico. Like Bruce and Jane, my trip also had some ups and downs, but nothing kept me from having a wonderful time with Justin, Jo, Ziggy, and Coco. I love their little farm, Finca Maravilla. It is such a special place on this earth with all the plants and animals that live there. I spent my early mornings sitting outside and just taking in the scenery of a barnyard waking up in the morning—the horses,
the chickens, the pig, the cats, and the dogs. There are two horses, Hopi and Cacique,
numerous chickens and one hen with a baby chick,
the miniature pig that is not a mini,
cats—Mango, Cosmo, Hattie, Neema,
Baby, and Smudge, and dogs—Lenny, Maya Moon, Honey, Maddie, and Bluebell.
And Justin has a gerbil named Meena
and Ziggy has two goldfish, Gillbert and one yet unnamed.
Apologies if I didn’t get all of that correct, but I know I am in the ballpark.
Then there are the trees and various tropical plants of Finca Maravilla. One evening when we were around a fire outside, I asked everyone to name their favorite tree on the property. Jo and Coco both named the ylang-ylang, one of the tallest trees on the property with wonderfully fragrant blossoms.
Justin’s favorite is a tree called monkey-ear in Puerto Rico. This tree can have an expansive, spherical crown and seed pods that have a curious shape like monkey ears. The bark is gray but has red fissures running vertically making it look a rusty red. Ziggy loves the mango trees because he loves mangos.
And my favorite is their starfruit tree because I love the fruit.
But that was a hard choice for me because I also love the leaves of the breadfruit tree, so majestic.
There are so many different plants, all exotic and beautiful, but the passion fruit was in bloom at this time of year,
and the blossoms and the fruit both rate at the top of my list of favorite plants.
We had a wonderful week preparing for Thanksgiving and then enjoying a full-blown feast. And I was delighted that Coco and Ziggy wanted to get the Christmas tree while I was there so I could be a part of their Christmas celebration.
Despite my back issues and the not so perfect weather, it was a fabulous week of family togetherness.
I am thankful for many things in things in this world, but I am most thankful for my family—Heather, Jed, Sam, Jonah, and Ollie—Justin, Jo, Ziggy, and Coco. Just like the plants and trees of Finca Maravilla, every member of my family is a distinct species, all bonded together with love.
