I’ll be heading to the hospital with my kidney stone at dawn. I am unsure what shape I’ll be in when we return, but I plan to blog as soon as I am conscious and able. The toe amputation didn’t stop me from blogging one single day; I imagine this will be easier than that. But I’ll find out soon enough.

I will be anesthetized and prohibited from eating or drinking. Last time, the medicine made me pretty happy for a while. I rarely take painkilling medicine. I never trusted it. If it hurts, I take some over-the-counter headache pills, Tylenol or Ibuprofen. Usually, the anesthesia causes some intestinal problems.

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Today was perhaps the warmest day I can remember in 2023. Tomorrow will be hotter. I’ll be in a lovely cool operating suite, twitching and dreaming. Maria will be waiting just outside the OR door, a comforting thought.

According to the schedule, my operation is on the first or second of the day. I hope to be home sometime in the afternoon. I’ll be signing off until then.

I did a walk-around-with-the Leica to capture the feeling of the farm in the heat. Come and see; the photos tell the story, as they so often do. Come along, it’s a free photo show; I loved hanging out in the heat with the sheep and donkeys. If you sit with them long enough, they forget you are there and you can click away.

My favorite mystery series is P.D. James’ Adam  Dalgleish, her mysterious but relentless poet detective and the best one on-screen, along with Vera. The time is the 70s, before cell phones or the Internet.  The world was very different.

This is by far the most intelligent mystery series I know of, both in the books and this series.  Dalgleish couldn’t just turn on a computer to find the bad people; he actually had to go out there in the world and talk to people.

(Young Begonias in the afternoon sun.)

There are no tricks, horror, or endless ridiculous plot twists, just a brilliant plot line and fascinating detective.

P.D. James respected her readers, and the producers of this series did as well.

I love every minute of this relatively new series (the first one failed in the 50s); it is available on Amazon Prime, and I hope to watch it tonight. This series is precious to me, perfect for tonight. An evening with Dalgleish and Maria – it could hardly be better.

Biddie goes into the when the sun is strong and is still for hours. She is getting old now.

Zinnia chased the ball until she was wheezing. I then spray her with the hose. She loves chasing the ball of all things. It is only permitted outside.

Donkeys are guard animals, they protect the sheep, and Lulu keeps a sharp eye out for coyotes or stray dogs, even in the strong head of today.

Zinnia and I are pretty dull and straightforward regarding chasing balls. She is relentless but not exactly gracious, and neither am I. Maria and Fate, on the other hand, are a  beautiful kind of valley. I love watching Maria throw the ball along and see Fate get to it before it stops rolling. It’s like a ballet. See ya.