random thoughts – Day 2,260 (Monday) – books and such

The day, which began with rain, redeemed itself later with sunshine and humidity. This did not stop me from wearing a sweatshirt while taking a walk or pruning the azalea in front the house. It was on brand. I am also the person who once sat poolside in Florida summer heat and humidity wearing long jeans and a hoodie, while my family enjoyed swimming.

Neighborhood library box.

The walk was to return a book to the Little Library box near the mailboxes at the end of the street. So far this year, I have read 14 books, and 10 of them have come from the Little Library box. My neighbors have been putting in some great books that I likely never would have known of. There was no intention of getting another book until I finish the one I'm reading, but one caught my eye and is now on my kitchen counter awaiting its turn.

The book currently underway is a collection of short stories in the style of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes. Technically, I guess it’s fan fiction by modern writers and the stories are really good. The morning rain left me unbothered as I went on some reading adventures with Holmes and Watson. Worked for me.

Later, I got busy and made fruit salad with cantaloupe, pineapple, mandarin oranges, and grapes, then later still, brought some over to Mom’s house, along with about a third of the bag of mandarins. A three-pound bag of tiny orange treats is a lot of tiny oranges, and the last bag I bought saw about six of them end up in the trash after getting gross and mushy. This time I brough Mom some before the same thing had a chance to happen again. I like mandarins, but I can’t eat that many of them.

Tiny toad hedge tenant.

The improved weather got me outside to trim the recently flowered and now sad looking azalea. I consulted some sources before beginning to cut, and took out the obviously dead branches, and cut back some wildly gangly ones. 

While working on the azalea, I spotted a cute, tiny, grayish-brown toad on top of the neighboring hedge. It was calmly sitting there while I carefully cut from the neighboring plant and made every effort to not disturb it. I guess now I know the source of the recent evening serenades that sounded like they were right outside the bedroom window.