Wading on a Hot Day

Summer appears to have arrived. Yesterday's daytime temperatures were in the mid-80's (F) and it's been sunny and dry for quite a while. So far the garden has been holding its own, but I've been watering to keep the potted plants happy. We could use some rain.

As you can see, the roses are blooming away, as are the bright magenta peonies in the foreground. Olga seizes every possible sunbathing moment.

I spent yesterday morning mostly reading "The Magic Kingdom." I'm within striking distance of the end. I don't dislike the book, exactly, but I am troubled by some things. As I've mentioned before, it takes place at a Shaker colony near St. Cloud in Florida, and that colony really existed at the beginning of the 20th Century. But the author seems confused about St. Cloud's location -- he makes repeated references to Lake Okeechobee and the Everglades, which are about 100 miles to the south. He also mentions Tampa being northwest of St. Cloud, which is wrong -- it's southwest. He seems to believe St. Cloud is much farther south than it really is.

On a less nitpicky level, the narrative is very even, and I don't necessarily mean that in a good way. The story is told through the construct of an old man recounting his life into a tape recorder, and that can seem somewhat limiting. But I'd still recommend it to anyone who's interested in Florida.

Dave went to our school's graduation ceremonies in the afternoon, and I took Olga to Hampstead Heath. I thought she might like a swim. It was a very slow walk -- because that's how she moves these days -- but we got there in the end.

I shot this video in "cinematic mode," which is supposed to offer more depth-of-field, for one thing. I've never used it before and I'm not sure I like it. I think I like my videos to be sharper all around. Oh well -- live and learn. (And yes, Olga got her ball back.)

I got some shocking news last night. My friend Christopher, who I met more than 20 years ago when I first moved to New York, died yesterday in Los Angeles. I knew he was ill -- he told me about a year ago he had colorectal cancer, and he'd had other health issues before that -- but I was still stunned by this outcome. He and I were messaging just a few weeks ago and he said nothing about his illness having progressed. I guess this is what happens when you move far away. People are there, and then they're not, and all that happens in between is obscured by that veil of time and distance.

Anyway, I feel genuinely shaken. I visited Christopher and his partner Gerry several times in LA (many years ago) and used to hang out with them a lot in New York before they moved. I always intended to visit them again with Dave at some undetermined point in the future. I guess I mistakenly, rather passively believed that they would always be there. There is no always, is there?