Day 2351

Monday March 11th 2024:

Dear Journal:

Can 6:10 be considered sleeping in? Whether yes or no, this morning I woke up to dawn in the Arizona desert, it was light enough that it just felt like time to get up. I made my way to the galley to get Mister Sam his morning treats, check the coach temperature 61ºF (16ºC), chilly enough to prompt me to start the heater, to just take the chill off. At 6:39 I’m standing on our patio in my housecoat to snap the above photo, well most of you folks have just endured another time shift for daylight saving time, a practice that Arizona has decided not to participate in and it is great, no worrying about being late to events, oh we still get lots of clock adjustments as we travel and we now have three hours to adjust for as we head back to Ontario next month.

Miss Laurie has been recruited to help in the garden this morning as with the wet winter has a surplus of unwanted growth (weeds) in the gardens in front of the Arboretum visitor center. Everyone looks for Miss Laurie to help in so many areas of the Arboretum, she has been taught most tasks around the visitor center and of course she finds weeding to be relaxing, which makes her a hero with the horticulture staff. I on the other hand, I’m not nearly in as much demand, which works out ok for me, I have some projects in the coach today, and a book to read, possibly a beverage or two that I need to consume before heading back north. I know sounds like a tough job but I am up for the task.

With Miss Laurie starting work this morning at eight o’clock, it make me feel a little guilty so I will tackle some of my projects earlier than normal. It is not lost on me that we are heading north in less than a month, and I have so many things that need to be done before we start the trek. And this is going to be a few weeks of so many little updates and repairs.

Miss Laurie didn’t make it back to the coach till after two in the afternoon, as usual she ended up finishing the weeding on her own as the other volunteer had to leave before eleven o’clock. Then she offered to cover for some of the staff lunches in the gift shop.

The afternoon was spent with Mister Sam and Miss Laurie napping on the bed and me ordering some items from Amazon and reading. Mondays are our down day after a weekend of volunteering in the admission booth.