February 26, 2025

Days of mundane, enjoyable, activity. DJ to the eye doctor. The clinic was enormous, shockingly well designed, and stacked to the walls with old people. Do the young so somewhere else? The crowd dismayed me, but the operation was efficient and many were seen to as I sat. A service dog sprawled on the rug nearby, looking very bored. I resent when there’s a dog and I can’t play with it. 

Got an estimate on cleaning up the yard– not from the hurricane, but from the cable pruners who left a mess afterwards. Turned into an estimate on cleaning up the rest of the wildness and opening all to the hand of the Gardener. I realized I was being led by the guy from Yard Bro, but his suggestions were things I wanted done but had imagined I’d have to do myself. The stock market has been diving since Little Hitler took over, so the thousands of the quote stagger me, but I’ll assume the approach of better times. I expressed my preference for Mexican workers (he is very Anglo) and he assured my all his workers with Latino. 

Chamber Choir back in rehearsal. The guy beside me was having trouble. I thought it was because he was a baritone and I a bass, and sometimes we had different notes. But he said, “I have trouble singing beside you even when we have the same notes. But it’s my problem. I’ll figure it out.” The guy on the other side had just said, “Thank God I was sitting by you.” Don’t know whether I’m a help or a hindrance. 

Blazing spring day. Turned off the heater in my studio. Pruned the laurel so it can be a tree rather than a bush. The landscape guy insisted that bay and laurels were different plants. Makes me worry. 

Tried to get to Reems Creek to shop for white rhododendrons, but the inexplicable Asheville traffic stopped I-26 west dead. Sat still for ten minutes, finally exited the exit after the one I entered. Turned north on Merrimon and was stopped dead there too. U-turned and went home, to shop another day. No fleeing to the north today.