Dear Mom:
Yesterday was the 4th of July. We went to the parade in Mendocino, as we have every year since the early seventies. It was packed in town, and the day was unusually hot. Peter played drums on a float and swing dancers danced along behind them.
It was a far cry from those earlier years when the parade was sort of a joke and Cat Mother played on a flat bed truck with the kids playing and dancing on the truck with them, and the rest of us dancing along behind. Remember how they used to play and then go out to the Headlands so they could keep on going? The parade was so short then it would go around two or three times so that people would know it was actually a parade.
I couldn’t go to Friendship Park this year, but I heard it was packed as usual. I went back to Albion right after the parade, where the farmers market was in full swing and I opened the tea house in case anyone wanted to come by and taste tea.
I had gone to the Reunion at Big River Beach on Saturday and seen a bunch of former students from my days teaching high school and invited them to come by. Sure enough, about eight of them showed up which was wonderful. I’m so glad I didn’t stay in Mendo.
After the tea house, we went to a pot luck at our neighbors. I think they asked us at least in part because they are taking care of a little dog who loves our little dog. Anyway, the dogs played and had a swell time with a great meal and good company. We left in time to put the chickens in before dark.
At the party someone told us that a friend would be setting off fireworks from a boat around dark, so we drove down to the Ledford House to watch them. It was a beautiful clear night and there was a sweetness to the display, like it must have been in days gone past when neighbors entertained neighbors in the best way they could. It filled my heart to be there on the deck with my friends and neighbors cheering for the goodness of the night.
Today was foggy for the first time since last weekend. We had a good long hot spell, which was great because it rained well into June this year. We needed it. All of the gardens are behind this year, but doing quite well because of all the water.
This year is different for my garden because our chickens are in it. They eat everything in sight, right after they trample it. I have a little greenhouse that they aren’t allow into, and every time I go in they sneak in right behind me. They are so quiet they tip me off. All the rest of the time they cluck and talk, but when they come into the greenhouse they don’t make a sound. Today the cat followed me in as well. Once they were all in, they had trouble deciding who should leave first. Finally it was two chickens, then the cat, then the other four chickens, reluctantly.
I hope things are good for you, wherever you are. I love you and I think about you often.