Yesterday I was at ALT a little after 10. Ray gave his last exam of the semester, although he has papers and tests to grade. I did some work in the office, arranging to get information about our bike ride to organizers of another ride today. I met him at Jittery Joe's at one, then went by a couple possible sponsors, and picked Ray up about 3. He had bought pizza for his class and I held the leftovers on my lap. Unfortunately, I felt obliged to eat two pieces cold on our way home.

We were home pretty early. It was warm but breezy. I felt a little uncomfortable from eating the pizza and neither of us did much. We sat on the porch and admired the chickens, the dog and the gardens. Eventually, I picked some chard and a few beet greens, thinning them some. No eggs at all today. A different hen is broody now and won't leave the nest box, except when I pick her up and put her on the ground.

Ray and I worked together to make noodles with Swiss chard and mushrooms (yum), and a small omelette with a few stalks of asparagus. It's still pretty fun to eat what you grow yourself. Bought things do not have as much appeal for me right now.

We had a quiet evening watching TV, and went to bed about 10. I slept well, not waking up until 6:30, when the sun was about to show over the horizon.

I have continued to get positive responses from people to my Letter to the Editor/poem, although I am not as euphoric as I was.

I spent some time at the Land Trust yesterday, arriving about 9:30, calling potential sponsors and either getting nos or leaving messages. Went to see Mr. Carter for the last time and enjoyed it quite well. Ray and I were home a little after 4, but he had to leave again for the Democratic Committee meeting. I went to the Kenney Ridge Cinco de Mayo celebration, a fund-raiser for the stained glass window for the community center. I refused to purchase one of their drinks for sale, because they were using disposable plastic cups! Man, if we can't get the environmental community to understand the importance of this, where is the hope for the rest? They told me they would recycle them. I said, "please let me know next time, I will be happy to wash glasses for the whole community."

Then we went to dinner at the Hilltop Grille, for Janna's birthday. It was fun, although not as fun as the week before. The food was good and cost much less, but the service was pretty bad. Ray and I were home by 9:30 and watched one or two shows before we went to bed.

I've been awake since before 5, but didn't let myself get up until 5:30. This is supposed to keep me from eventually falling asleep at 4 in the afternoon and waking up at midnight. It has been awhile since I woke up so early. I could be excited about being a Writer. Or I could be worried about this d**n bike ride.

My poem on Anger was published as a Letter to the Editor yesterday. I was nervous about doing it because of the negative responses I might get. I am carefully not reading the online comments. So far, the only comments I have gotten in person have been positive.

I was at the Land Trust a little after 10 yesterday morning. I did some work relating to the bike ride. At 12:30, I went and had lunch with Janna. It was a pleasant cool and sunny day, just about 70 degrees, and we ate outside. It was lovely, except for our conversation, which was in part about our parents, especially her Mom, who apparently doesn't realize she has had a life-threatening stroke and then almost died of pneumonia. She seems to be quite sharp in other ways and making progress in caring for herself. Janna (and her sister) is thinking about getting rid of some of her things (cooking and clothing items particularly) and moving her to a smaller apartment within Talmadge Terrace, so that she could afford around-the-clock care, if and when she is through with rehab. When she discussed it with her Mom, she said she didn't think that was necessary yet. Big question: at what point do your parents' wishes no longer govern your decisions about their lives? Janna has power of attorney, and therefore a legal right (and obligation?) to make decisions for her Mom. If she follows her mother's desires (and does nothing), and her mother is discharged from the rehab center, where will she go? Who will care for her? Who will pay for it? Fortunately, not my problem at this point. Although we may help with some of the packing and moving. I wish my back were stronger.

At 2, I went to a training on Volunteer Management for a couple hours. It was mildly useful, in particular, the handbooks used by other organizations that we had as samples. I had to go back to the Land Trust at 4 to meet with Mr. and Mrs. Todd, who are the ones who came up with the idea of a bike ride and are doing a lot of the work. However, as Heather pointed out, the bulk of it ends up falling on the staff, so they can't do their "real" jobs. They have not followed through on some of the things I mentioned to them. But I think we will be okay, except for the fact that the ride is two and a half weeks away, and we have three riders registered. We have no volunteers signed up; we have only a few sponsors. Nancy says if we have 50 riders, she'll be happy. I am really supposed to be working on volunteers (for yard work), but the ride is mostly what I am doing.

Ray went home, made macaroni and cheese, and came back to get me and  take me to potluck and choir. Singing was fun. We left early, because we will miss one Sunday, so don't need to learn that music. Watched a little TV and went to bed about 10.

Yesterday morning, Ray slept late and we didn't get to town until 11:30, when I met Becky for lunch. I got to ATL about 1, in time for the weekly staff meeting. Then I went to the writing workshop at 2. People really liked my piece about peas, which surprised me. It seemed on the boring side to me. The class was enjoyable. Some people wrote about more serious things, like the loss of childhood friends. 

Ray and I headed home; I visited the garden a bit, spent some time on the computer, made supper, and watched a little TV.  We let Cameron out to chase something and he didn't come back until this morning. I was worried.

Finally, just before we went to bed last night, there was a hard rain. I'm not sure it lasted long enough, but it's cooler this morning (48) and the garden looks happy for the moment. I slept pretty soundly and woke up when it was already light, from a dream involving teaching in an elementary school with Harriet. It took me a while to really wake up and I still feel a little muzzy.

Kick-Ass Radishes

 I went to Deb's for Small Group Ministry, where we talked about Change and Transformation. Interesting and personal stuff. Then I went by the hospital, where my Mom was having arthroscopic knee surgery. I didn't see her, but my Dad was in the waiting room and we went to the cafeteria so he could have some lunch. It was pretty bland, but he did eat.

I went on to the Land Trust for a couple of hours, working on the upcoming bike ride, looking for a band. There is a band that a couple of people liked, but its name is The Welfare Liners. We can't very well have an event and publicize that! We have leads, but would like to get that settled. How many riders have registered? Two. Trying not to be discouraged. I was still kind of tired and sore from the weekend and anxious about my Mom, so I left. I went to the t-shirt place, which is worth writing about in itself. Run by two sisters: Kathy and Jackie. Jackie made me eat ice cream and gave me a hug when I left.

When I got to the hospital, my Mom was just leaving. She was fairly alert and showed me her giant bandaged knee. I talked to my Dad later in the evening as he was making her bacon and eggs. She is supposed to walk on it a lot, oddly enough.

I bought a few things at Kroger and Ray met me there and we went home. Ah! The chickens, like pets, seemed to be mad at us for being gone all day (my parents weren't there either because my Mom had surgery). They had laid three eggs, but two were on the ground, dirty, and one had a cracked place. And the strawberries are getting smaller and fewer, sniff, and something is still eating some of them.

Harvest: mainly peas with broccoli and strawberries

A pound of peas

Last night I picked a pound of peas. It took me 45 minutes and I worked up a sweat. I was proud and elated. Then it took about an hour to shell them all. When I was done, there was just a pound. To grow your own peas, a whole pound of them, is amazing. Previously, we had about a mouthful each and froze three batches of half a cup.

Like any garden vegetable, the ground must be prepared and the seeds planted, weeds pulled, water applied regularly. These peas are a variety named Knight. They are the best we have grown here so far. Oddly, there are two types that came from the seed packet, a short earlier type and a taller one. Most of the small peas have been picked now, and we are starting to get the big ones. Some of the pods have as many as 9 or 10 peas in them. They are fascinating, like so much of Nature, in their variety. One pea in a little pod makes a funny bulgy short thing to pick. An overripe pod can be so full, the peas are square to fill every space. Some pods have small undeveloped peas, as well as normal-sized ones. Were they not fertilized? How does that work, since every pod develops from a flower that must have been pollinated (thank you, bees)? I am sure someone at the university could tell me. There are signs of a fungus or some other sort of infection in just a few of the pods, some crystalline growth that affected only 2 or 3 peas.

Here's the sad part. They were delicious, and I love growing my own. But was it worth it? A pound of frozen peas costs less than $2. Somehow, all their peas are the same, picked at the peak of perfection. Some of mine are a little gone by, dry and starchy; a few were too small to be really good.

There are lots of great things about growing peas. They are one of the first crops to be planted, as early as February, and ready in late April, when not much else is. Bugs don't usually bother them. Although something, maybe a cutworm, killed some of the mature plants at ground level. Not all the peas in a row, about 5 chosen at random. The tops suddenly came loose and died, and the pods didn't finish filling out. Kind of odd. They don't need a lot of fertilizer or care, compared to some things. And they're fun to watch growing, with their grasping tendrils. They will attach themselves to weeds or each other, as well as the fences my Dad put in place for them.

But I think, if I had to live on what I could raise myself, I might skip the peas.

After supper (one of our favorites, noodles with peas, and some delicious simply fried flounder), we froze a half pound of broccoli I had also picked, watched a little TV, read some, and slept pretty well until daylight.

Yesterday was a relatively quiet and calm day, even boring, but we didn't have much energy to do anything anyway.

In the morning, we were running late. My parents came by, but I didn't have much time to talk. I was ready before Ray, so we went in two cars. I hate being late, especially when other people are depending on me. We sang folky songs about justice...Let Peace Roll Down Like a Mighty Stream...and others. If you had an index card to write about race in 6 words, what would you say? Here's mine: there is no race but human. One person listed 6 black leaders like Parks and Obama.

There was a bake sale afterward to benefit the choir. I had made the brownies, but they still had to be cut up and put in baggies for sale. They did not cooperate. Although very yummy, they would not be cut in squares...but there was lots of other good stuff. In fact, it was the first time (I think) that we didn't sell everything. I brought most of it home and put it in my freezer. I bought $10 worth myself. The rest will come back to the Fellowship for some future event, like a choir party.

When I got home about 1:30, my parents were still there and we talked some about our weeks. Ray and I made salade nicoise for our lunch about 3 or so. (linner?) It was pretty warm out; I checked the garden and picked a few things, but didn't want to work in it. We actually took naps, which is pretty rare for me. I felt a little groggy when I woke up about 5:30. Then I did some weeding and a lot of sitting around watching the chickens and the dog until dark. There was a baby bird--maybe from a nest under the porch. Once I realized what Cameron was chasing, I told him to leave it alone and he did. I hope it is doing well. Ray said it was nearly fledged. Lots of birds and anoles (chameleon-like lizards) help keep our bug population down. There were lots of fuzzy caterpillars, but I don't see them any more. Still many small grasshoppers, although I am sure the chickens are helping. The first evening I was bothered by mosquitoes (they were huge).


Things to be eaten: peas, asparagus, lettuce, broccoli, radishes, many herbs...and of course, eggs.

I cooked the last of the baby bok choys and some brown rice for supper, which we ate about 9 and watched a little TV and went to bed.

I woke about 3 from a dream in which I couldn't breathe. My head ached and I suspect I really wasn't breathing. Not sure why, but I remember a roommate that I didn't know telling me that I was stopping breathing in my sleep and should tell a doctor. Maybe I will.

Yesterday was hard--how do I get myself into these things? I'm sore and going on 6 hours of sleep, but glad to be alive.

The good news is my parents showed up at the house a little after 9, seemingly in quite good health. My Dad thinks some medicine he was taking made him sick (so he stopped taking it). It was a great relief to me to have him better. We talked some about the garden and a few other things.

I made a double batch of brownies and ate breakfast. Ray and I took a walk, not too long, with Cameron. We showered and got dressed and left the house about 11 to sit all day at a table at the Twilight Criterium, selling raffle tickets on a cool bike, and telling people about our upcoming ride (in three weeks). You can see it on the Land Trust website.

It was a long day, but mostly pleasant. The temperature didn't hit 80 and we were under a tent, although it felt pretty warm late in the afternoon. I went in to Ben and Jerry's and got some black raspberry frozen yogurt (which entitled me to use their bathroom). We finished the sandwiches that we brought first thing. And I had a big cooler of water and cups. We raised about $100 in 6 hours, okay but not great--about the point at which you are not sure whether it is worth it. There was some boredom, relieved partly by having iPhone, although I stayed alert and paid attention to the potential supporters for the most part.

The hard part of the day came at 5:30. Remember how I was supposed to have 7 or 8 volunteers? It ended up being just me and Ray, although Nancy and Heather from the Land Trust staff and Laura-the-intern staffed our table while we became marshalls. This is sort of a cool thing. The Twilight Criterium is a really big deal, a professional bike race that comes to Athens and goes around and around the downtown area--about 12 blocks maybe. Really fast. Tons of people line the route and there are lots of opportunities for drinking in temporary sidewalk bars. It is kind of a cool thing, although I am not a big fan of large drunk crowds late at night. We have been several times, but not every year.

Ray and I and another woman were assigned to one particular crossing. We let people come and go when it was safe and blocked the way when it was not. Ray had a radio and they were supposed to tell him when they rounded the corner that we couldn't see, so we could stop traffic. It was pleasant enough and not too difficult up until the last (and biggest) race. The men zoom around so fast, there wasn't much time to let people through. The crowd backed up and they were ugly, almost like a riot. I began to be afraid someone would be killed. There were small children and one guy in a wheelchair. The people trying to cross blocked the people trying to come from the other side and it was a nightmare trying to keep them from hurting themselves or the riders. I could see the national headlines: Bike race will no longer be held in Athens after fatalities... We finally added another volunteer and three policemen to our crossing and cleared a space and made some order.

Personally, I don't see why they have to get across during the time the race is going. If you come downtown during a major event like that, you should know you can't get into that area. The interesting thing is that most of the people (especially the most obnoxious ones) were not there for the race. Not being a person who spends much time downtown late on Saturday nights, I did not realize (although I have read about it) the extent of the young people drinking. Why did I think there were so many bars? They just had to get through to meet their friends at such and such a place. They were swearing and pushing and said they didn't care if they got hit (of course we didn't care either, we just wanted to protect the cyclists). It was pretty scary and unpleasant. The other young volunteer who joined us, Kaitlyn, tried to keep me from getting too worked up. "It's not worth trying to engage them," she said, as I was explaining over and over why we were doing this.

In the end, we survived and no one was hurt (much) on our watch. The policemen are my friends... We got back to the headquarters in the parking garage and turned in our radio and our yellow vests about 11. We went up to our car on the third floor and drove it down, only to find we couldn't get out. The person we asked said it would be one o'clock before we could leave. Boy, were we mad! That was the final straw. We really wanted to go home and go to bed, maybe eating something first. Fortunately, it was only about half an hour before somebody moved aside one of the sections of fencing and we cautiously made our way out.

Almost home and my cell phone rings at nearly midnight. That was a surprise. Well, Nancy, our neighbor and director of the Land Trust, had her car die on the way home, only a mile away. So we went back to get her. Funny how things work out. If we hadn't been trapped in the garage for that extra time, we probably would have been already in bed. As it was, it was not a big deal to go back and get her.