Here in Santa Cruz – & in most of the west, actually – we’re in another drought year: we can water our garden before 10 am or after 5 pm.  I don’t have a drip system in the yard, so on many mornings these days, on my way to or from retrieving the newspapers in the driveway (yes we’re of that generation), I might pause to pull a few weeds or turn on the hose so my blossoming plants can have a little drink.

I’m usually in my pajamas (& no, I’m not making a fashion statement like some young gals in the neighborhood.)  You need to know that this is one of the benefits of not having to get up & go into the office for work…you can hang out as long as you want in your pj’s.  I know this isn’t only a benefit of being ‘retired’ – people who work at home can enjoy morning pj time too.  (Also, just so you know, I try to be in street clothes by at least 10:30…in case there’s an earthquake or something….)

Our front yard is screened from the street by seven ancient junipers which were here when we moved in 25 years ago.  Then, junipers grew all around the house – over the years, we’ve taken most of them out, but kept the ones in front for privacy.   It looks like a dark green wall.  I have mixed feelings about this.  On the one hand, I’d prefer to have the front garden feel more open to the neighborhood, but on the other, our end of Live Oak Avenue functions as a parking lot for the apartments across the nearby street; those old junipers make them feel OK about parking in front of our home, & they make me feel OK about poking around the yard in my pj’s.

But you know – some days, I’d rather forgo the pj’s for work.  Not my days with Dante, of course, but on some of those other days when none of my myriad volunteer commitments is pressing, when the yard is looking overly groomed & friends are busy working, when I’ve already tried a (usually calming) walk & I just don’t want to sit around & read.  There’s something about that common sense of purpose & teamwork & feeling valued for it all that, some days, feels like a little hole in my life.  Just a little one.

In the meantime, there’s the draft EIR for the proposed desalination plant to read, leaky faucets to repair, Beatle songs to practice, wine to be bottled, Live Oak Neighbors walks to organize, low-cost trips to plan, laundry to fold, recipes to try, blogposts to write, primate evolution news to read, mah jongg to play, emails to respond to, sparkling sunny days & achingly beautiful sunsets to appreciate…life could be a lot worse, my dear.

Yeah, just another day in the life…(always) with a little help from the timeless Fab Four. Thank you, White Album Ensemble & Santa Cruz County Symphony, for a fantastic Strawberry Fields concert last Saturday.

Note to self: more dancing!