Maddy came up for her birthday; the peach tree, Year Two; my sweet neighbors, Sasha and Kyrie

How to Retire Happily: start multiple projects that you have no real expertise in, and learn on the go. And naps. Take plenty of naps. I live Siesta Culture.

Spring is busting out everywhere here, and I lost a night’s sleep and an entire day to allergy suffering. I went through two boxes of tissue yesterday, and sneezed so often and so hard that today, my back hurts. Vicki watches the local news, and she tells me it’s time to put the mask back on, and to shut the windows and doors. But I can’t do that. Spring is so seductive; I cannot resist, plus there’s lots of work to do outside. I went around the property recently, taking photos of all the wildflowers popping up — I have enrolled in a botanical drawing class, and I’m aiming to document what grows native here. This is one of the first things Maddy recommended that I do, and I remember looking at her at the time, thinking, “WTF? How am I going to do that?” Turns out that she’s smarter than I am. And really, how can you live in a place and not know what is growing under your feet?

I have lots to do today, so I’m going to keep this short, dear Reader. I just wanted you to know that you live in my imagination, and I am thinking of you.

This weekend, I hope to burn a pile of branches and plant detritus from winter, and paint the bee hives. Vince put the electric fence up to deter bears (more on this later!); Maddy built the hive stand and built the bee boxes; her dad assembled the frames. It’s getting close to the time to pick up the bees!