Today is National Teacher Day. Give one a hug—or buy a round—for any teacher you know, those who have had continued to be dedicated to their students during these times.

Have yet to feel any side effects from the covid shot yesterday. Both of us feel fine, if not a little tired. I took the day off work anyway, just to take it easy. Here’s hoping the virus doesn’t sneak up on us tomorrow. We’ll be lucky if all we end up with is a sore arm.

The contractors starting digging today. There’s an eight-foot-deep pit outside our bedroom window, the beginnings of our basement walkout in preparation for finally getting the basement finished (work to begin end of July). But their Bobcat, which is inches from our bedroom window, broke down, and toward the end of the day, the skies opened and dumped on us for a brief spell. The guys had to cover the pit with sheets of plywood and rig up drainage pipes from the downspouts to carry the water away from the house. It’s supposed to rain most of tomorrow as well, so we may end up with a swimming pool instead. Amid all this, our yellow flag irises are now blooming as are the lily-of-the-valley, their heady fragrance a treat every time you walk past.

A college pal of mine dropped by this evening to get some garden veg, bringing his 18-year-old stepson with him. Norm and I have known each other for 37 years, meeting at the University of Montana when we were barely beyond the teenage years ourselves (actually he was a teenager, just 18, and I was 21). It’s funny that we both ended up living near each other on the other side of the country. He and I hitchhiked through Wales for a week when we were visiting the UK together in college. He saved my life—more or less—by pulling me out of a bog I had started sinking into while hiking at Brecon Beacons National Park. I didn’t know about bogs then, how they can easily suck you in, and how quickly (let this be a lesson if you ever hike on the moors of Britain). Three cheers for teachers and old friends; to those who help us out of the mire when we need them most.