Oxallis

They say that a weed is something that grows in a place where you don't want it to grow. Well this IS a weed because now matter where it grows it tends to be a place where you don't want it and it is difficult to eradicate. But I had to admire this plucky little specimen which is growing in a crack in the wall and seems to be doing quite well. It even had little flowers at one time, but they are gone and only the little seed pods remain. It is a real opportunist....

I woke up this morning wondering how we were going to get through the things that needed to be done today. Part of it was lethargy, due to the heat, part the Monday holiday which made today feel like Monday and part, I suppose, was needing to do a bunch of things I really didn't want to do. Heading that list was going to Walgreens and picking up two prescriptions one of which was ready before I needed it, and one of which wasn't  ready at all. Trying to communicate with them is rather like running in a squirrel cage....

I think the elephant in the room of this strange lethargy is ... you guessed it...the current state of affairs in this country. I tell myself that I won't watch the news or think about it but that is just not possible. It's a little like someone telling you, 'don't think of a black cat' and then of course all you can think about is a black cat. I liked Blipper Energia's comment when somebody asked her how she was. Her reply was, "No American with a brain and a heart is really ok right now." The mental exhaustion of trying not to think about things one can't ignore but can't do anything about leads to physical exhaustion. And here I am going on about it again...

Our garden crew came today and worked their way through the growing list of things we can't do anymore. They are awesome and do them cheerfully and efficiently despite the fact that the pressures they are living under must be ten times worse. I told Pedro we had decided to plant an agave under our kitchen window and admitted that there was one there when we moved here and we took it out. I think he probably thinks we're crazy gringos but he just smiles his little smile and goes ahead and gets it done.

He'll be back to put up a rope handrail (thank you Blipper Dakers for the suggestion) next to the 32 stairs to the veggie boxes. We're harvesting the last of the tomatoes now and the figs are getting ripe. It's a race with the birds for them.