Wow! Sun!

Sunthing we haven't seen in weeks!

And while the predicted high for today was seven degrees C (44.6 F) at 1:12 we are sitting at a balmy 10 C (50 F). Ahhhhh.... feels like Spring!

In the garden a few brave sprigs of green appear from under the blanket of leaves, including this "hen and chick". I buoy myself with the knowledge that gardening season is not far off now.

Yesterday was shopping and errand day. When I got to the grocer's there were no parking spots in the lot. I had to circle the lot like a vulture waiting for someone to pull out when I was close enough to get to the spot before someone else did. I ended up parking Betsy in a tight spot which had a concrete "bumper" to protect the adjacent sidewalk. When I pulled in the tires were turned slightly to the left, and when I stopped they were in place against the bumper. I should have known better -

Betsy has a weird feature. I don't know if it's common or an idiosyncratic quirk, but in certain positions the steering wheel locks in place, and when it does you can't turn the key.

I shopped, paid, loaded my groceries into the cart, and then from the cart to the back of the truck, returned my cart to the lineup and got in the truck. I was getting a bit weary by this point, as I had already run several errands before getting to the grocer.

Hoisted myself into the truck, belt on, dropped the steering wheel. The key wouldn't turn. Tried to move the wheel the inch or so it takes to unlock it normally. It would not budge. It was set in concrete.

I wrestled with the wheel, an ant against SuperTruck. Truck won. I sat with my head on the steering wheel, waiting for the pain in my chest to die down. What to do?

After a few minutes I went back into the store and asked the cashier who had just served me if there were two young strong guys I could enlist briefly. She called and two stock boys came on the trot, both about 17. I explained my situation, and that what I really needed was the truck pushed backward just the inch it took to straighten the tires.

They came and pushed, and rocked and pushed. No luck no luck no luck. But finally Betsy saw sense and at the height of one of the pushes I was able to move the wheel to the right enough to disengage the lock. Whew! I gave the boys $20. They were delighted. I was delighted.

One more errand and I was home, but done like dinner.

This morning, Salvador was being teased by "Mr Blue", the eight-month-old mouser/cat-monkey who has the run of the park. Blue is frequently seen on roof tops and up trees, and this morning he was taunting Sal (who was on the deck) by walking the edge of the roof next door.

This apparently was one taunt too many, and being something of a monkey himself, Sal put his claws to work and climbed the mesh the six feet from the covered shelving to the roof overhang, which is not meshed in. I heard his claws scrabbling at the plastic, and when I looked out all that was inside was his furry bum and tail, swishing madly.

I yelled at him. He turned and jumped back inside, but we had to keep him in, because when he went out on the deck he immediately began looking for an escape route.

So, that's why this afternoon I was on a ladder with mesh in one hand and staple gun in the other, meshing in the overhang in those places he has any possibility of breaching. He was visibly disappointed.

And now I am sitting, probably for the rest of the day. But I had my housework done anyway, and the sun is coming in the windows. And who could complain with weather like that?