April 25, 2025

Exhausting rehearsal last night. Most of the expenditure of energy is frenzy and misdirection, little remaining for music-making. Returned home, watched the movie Conclave, pertinent to today’s situation.

Today almost perfect. Night rain. Dream of visiting a beautiful city between mountains and the sea. Was invited to go swimming. There was no beach, but one jumped directly into surprisingly warm water. As I swam, a skate attached itself to and accompanied me. Excellent omen. Rose early and finished correcting Poets in Our Youth. Then rough gardening, which was a little planting but mostly strife with the bamboo thicket. Turns out that the big clippers I bought do shear through bamboo, if I make the right face. Sat on the porch listening to the birds, reading Whitman, drinking chilled vodka. I contemplated the fact that I was happy.