It’s starting…

Status:

I have no doubt we’ll get some snow or something in the next few weeks but today clearly marked the end of winter and the start of outdoors life. I can tell because all my neighbours are suddenly in their gardens.

Because the rabbits live in the shed at the bottom of the garden, every day come rain or shine we sit out with them as they run on the grass. But I remember the days before rabbits when the garden just didn’t exist for six months of the year, and it’s always entertaining to see the other humans emerge blinking from their back doors, edging their way onto their lawns and figuring out how the mower works again.

Soon the kids will be on the trampolines and that young couple a few fences down will be having their friends over in the evenings. I greet them like a wizened old hermit who’s been in these hills since before they were hills and think about getting my ear plugs.

Rest week continues. A couple of glitches in the brain department meant I had to stop and do my breathing exercises but otherwise I’ve been doing the prescribed pottering, as per the NHS advice. Fi was out for the afternoon and when I recounted the stuff I’d done around the house she said it seemed like a lot (I have historically accidentally done a lot and then crashed, so she’s right to be concerned) but I’d done everything slowly and in stages, taking what would seem to be excessive breaks between steps and listening to when my body says “go on, just another job” and telling it to fuck off.

The result is analogous to being on a canal barge, or watching a tortoise. It’s goes agonisingly slowly but before you know it it’s way over there. Slow and steady gets the small things done and hopefully avoids the crash.

That said I have a fair bit of tinnitus when writing this so definitely no more today.

Overnight listening:

• Pirate Enlightenment, or the Real Libertalia by David Graeber

Reading:

• What Was Music? - On the distinction between lo-fi and lofi.
• “Maud is Moving” is out! - Recommended by cartoonist friends of mine.
• Train Dreams review

Watching:

• Laura Kampf ‌(27:10)
• Full restoration of a 1930s doorbell ‌(18:02)

Telly:

• Vladimir - Still not sold on this. Really want to like it but something’s off.
• Star Trek: Strange New Worlds - Realised Fi hadn’t seen season 3.