The fierce rainstorm and work stress sent me to bed early with a painful headache, but on the other side of that is getting up early and enjoying a pre-dawn walk for a change.
Interesting to note that I mark the change of seasons by when I shower — in winter I shower at night so that in the morning I am not changing clothes multiple times in cold weather. But the other three seasons mean bug spray and sweat so I tend to shower both at night and in the morning. As I doused myself with insecticide before our walk, I realized that winter has truly departed.
To hammer that home, the ducks are finally showing up with their broods. Lots of little ducklings flopping around and chasing after their parents, which is adorable of course. The big Canada geese flocks have also re-appeared with their goslings in tow, some more fluffy than others, but everyone hissing and blocking the sidewalks like they always do. Keely, as I have said, gives them a very wide berth.
She was happy to be out, despite everything still being damp from the storm, since the storms last night meant she did not get a before-bed walk at all. Neither one of us wanted to wander around in stormy weather! At the very least though the rain helped plump up Lake Ella a bit, so it is not just a puddle anymore.
I’m noticing more evidence of businesses reopening, as well. The hair salon and the barber shop in the cottages both have very full trash bins, I assume from the onslaught of customers who desperately needed their hair done. I do wonder if when the “reopening glut” dies off those businesses will be making enough to stay open…