Warm day. Lightning storm overnight. Trees down. Electric fences off. Phones out. Satellite Internet out. Drove to Dorset, Vermont, to have 8 a.m. breakfast with a friend. Came back for 9:30 appt and met Tom, the Caro-Vail rep about re-seeding the back pasture. His wife is ill, wants to see one of my dogs. Drove 15 miles to hardware store looking for phone, but they were out. Stopped and got milk and wheat bread and a newspaper (which I buy every day and never, ever read). Took blood sugar – 211. Drove to Cambridge to pick up Ida Jane from pre-school. Brought her back to the farm. We stopped and got flowers for the porch, a cookie, a toy at Gardenworks. Found an old phone in the basement, with a cord, which worked. Called Random House, took calls, called Paula and Emma, made dinner plans for the weekend. Studied my diabetic food plan and prepared grill fish and chicken for the weekend. Got water and cookies for next-day Saturday visitors, including five small kids. Ida and I had lunch, then took the four-wheeler into the woods with Rose and Izzy and Ida. Filled the bird feeders, fed the cats in the barn. Nice having kid around.

Talked to Anthony, who was talking to a customer in Malta. He and Holly and Ida are going to the water park in Lake George. Bought Holly some flowers, a Mother’s Day present, and got Ida some flowers for Mothers’ Day too.

We raced the dogs fast down a two-mile path through the woods. Did 28 mph, and could not catch up with them. The dogs won. Dogs are very tired, though, especially in this heat. Brought them inside, gave them cold water, energy biscuits. Moved the donkeys into the main pasture. Gave them carrots. Pulled ticks off of dogs. Watered the sheep trough in the meadow. Checked the water for the cows. Took the dogs for brief sheepherding. Made a snack for Ida, opened her box of plastic ponies, and took her to see the donkeys, then the sheep. Stopped with her at the Nursery to get flowers for the porch, and for the urn. Talked with Mary Jane about her winter. David Campbell, a neighbor stopped by to say hello, a spring ritual for the farmers. Don Coldwell pulled into the driveway to say hello. Ordered two window boxes for the old stone steps in the front of the house. Called Sean to talk about the mowing and re-seeding. Called Caro-Vail to set a date for re-seeding. Went to my office to work. Still no Internet. Started to work. It was not yet 2 p.m.