210721 Clouds Convalescence

July 21

Yesterday there was a haze over the Estrie: there was a smog warning for the area - smoke was blowing from forest fires in northern Ontario. The air was still, and I remembered how there is often a dead stillness before a storm. We almost never get such calm; always a breeze is blowing. The birds had even stopping singing. Sure enough, late in the day thunder began to roll around the valley, low, rumbling and steady. Several brilliant flashes of lightning brought rain at last. This morning new clouds are forming and drifting up like smoke from the hills. There is once again a wind moving the trees and the birds are going about their business. There are beginning to be glimpses of blue in the sky and the maple tree that shades the apron by the house rustles soft then loud; all the trees are stirring as if murmuring to each other.

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That bit of blue is gone now; the clouds are coming up from the valley obscuring even the closest hills. The trees are silent and still again. How is it that the mists seem so purposeful?

It is chilly and damp, and since I am feeling barely convalescent and frail I am thinking of a nice fire and some hot soup, though it is still early. How indulgent to be able to take the day off, be an invalid and baby myself. This three weeks is the longest I have been ill in my life.

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Yesterday I picked the first of the fruit from the property - raspberries, black raspberries and blueberries! It was the first time I have ever harvested anything of my own! Of course they were given freely by the earth; I did nothing towards their development. The bushes are still laden with unripe fruit. There are many patches of blackberries not nearly ripe, but the others will be ripening daily for the next while. The apples are coming along well.