Old Friends and Jumping Mice
No rain in sight for the next 10 days at least. But the humidity that was so enervating and oppressive has lessened today. I don’t even have the air conditioning on this afternoon for the first day in a long time. The mosquitoes are still waiting in swarms as soon as we step out, but at least the house is comfortable, the cats are lively and happy so are we. We did what should be out last tomato canning this week. Enough for the winter. That is all unless there’s some weird surge later on that produce so many we have to can again. But next I will dehydrate tomatoes. I love to add dried tomatoes to sauces and stews.
Three friends are on the Cape in a two week rental. I have known them since the days in the NY Regional Office of Students for the Democratic Society in the 60’s.
I never lost touch even when they were underground and when Kathy was in prison. It was great to see them. We always have a good time catching up. Usually we see them at least once a year, often twice, but Covid kept everyone holed up.
I think tomatoes are slowly down a bit and so are the zucchini and pattypans. We’ve decided to stop growing yellow summer squash, since we like pattypans so much more. We have only so much space in our three vegetable gardens. They look huge to visitors, but not to us. The beans are coming every other day but less furiously. The hummingbird is nesting in the scarlet runner beans. If we try to pick those beans, she go at us like tiny fighter planes.
The basil is finally plentiful. It grew slowly this year but finally took off last week. This afternoon, I’ll make and freeze pesto, after we freeze beans. Because of the heat and the drought, I see some colors on various trees. They’re stressed.
Not a good sign.
The Cape is so crowded that Woody has to figure out when he can get into his office [situated next to the most popular restaurant in town] and if he has to leave, can he get back in. Our life is ruled by traffic. I am a bit worried about seeing my osteopath Dr. Libby in Harwich this Wednesday, as Carnival is on in Ptown and often the roads are totally backed up. This year , no parade but many parties and events. Maybe the fear or Covid will keep the crowds down, but I doubt it. Ptown got a bad rap after the scourge of the overcrowded 4th of July, but they have put on a mask mandate and cases have slowed to the trickle they were before. Nothing much has changed in Wellfleet Covid-wise, but we are packed to the sky with summer people and tourists. Some of them are very entitled and expect locals to get out of their way, as they are so much more important than us.
At least temporarily, the mice have stopped coming into the house. You’d think they could smell three cats. We had a successful mouse hunt that is, Willow and Schartzie did – for four nights in a row. Once night I got up to pee and saw both of them in the bathtub staring at the ceiling.A jumping house was clinging to the top of the wall.Jumping mice are hard for cats to catch as they can climb walls and run around the molding.They also don’t taste as good as regular mice, so they just display them in some prominent spot.Willow once brought a mice whose neck she had broken to me in bed and tried to feed it to me. I screamed so loud she ran off with it and has never tried again to take care of me that way.