“Remoted – Hybrid” – Day 796 (Saturday) – air quality

It was hot today. One source had the temperature at 90 degrees at around 1:30. The forecast for Sunday is 77 degrees, which will probably feel refreshing in comparison.

The neighbors embraced the weather early and had their power yard equipment cranking by 8:30. The cacophony of lawn mowers and blowers and pickup trucks coming and going was the soundtrack for most of the morning. Against the almost deafening wall of sound, I drank coffee inside and consulted the newly acquired gardening book for advice on peonies before taking the action to the front yard for the weekly dog poop harvest. The hollyhock was finally planted, under the belief it’s now safely past the danger of frost and ok for them to be in the ground.

More buds!

Later, while out running errands, the UMass Lowell sidewalks were full of pedestrians and there were graduates in caps and gowns posing for photos in front of buildings and on the lawns. A few streets away and halfway to my house, a dozen shirtless guys sat in a circle of lawn chairs in the driveway of an apartment building on the campus perimeter. Music blared from speakers. Warm weather sure is loud.

The air was fragrant. In the back yard, the smell of the lilacs hung in the air as I planted new bamboo stakes for the peonies. It was discovered that the columbine has sprouted a couple new buds on the recently desecrated stem, and a fresh coating of cayenne pepper was applied near the plant. Operation “Bud Watch” is back in effect. 

More salad, but with salmon.

Out front, once the neighbor’s yardwork was completed, their grills were activated and the aroma of grilled meats and veggies filled the air. As a next-door neighbor and I chatted while unloading our cars in our shared driveway, she said it smelled like sausage and peppers. Whatever it was, it smelled good, and it was a cruel disappointment heading inside for my boring and basic salad. Supper was more basic salad and a piece of salmon, which at least had some weight to it and was more filling than lightweight lettuce and salad stuff. Of course, the ice cream that followed likely negated all dietary benefits of the salads.

The great outdoors is still tormenting me with allergy symptoms which feel especially extra horrible this year with gritty, itchy eyes and freely flowing sinuses. Indoors, once the morning breezes died down the air inside was stuffy. The goal is to enjoy some time with neither heat nor A/C running to give the budget a break, but it was tough not putting the A/C on today because I was roasting. To add to the fun, the A/C in the car, even on the “Max A/C” setting is not exactly refreshing, as experienced while running errands. On the coldest possible setting, it feels far from maximum anything. Once accustomed to the conveniences of modern life, it's pretty hard to give them up.

In today’s mail was a Jeep|Mopar postcard reminding me of the importance of “getting any previously declined recommended services” and listing “Replace brake fluid.” Umm… excuse me and what the heck? When the car was brought in for the oil change about a month ago, there was zero conversation about replacing brake fluid, even when I asked if any other services beyond the oil change needed to be done. I most definitely did not “decline” brake service. Errrr. At least now the brake fluid replacement can be piggybacked with A/C service.