I call it Zip time. And I also have good news to report about the cannabis I am taking. (down below.)

At least once a day, I go into the barn to visit Zip. I don’t always see him at first, but he always appears shortly and hops onto the hay bales, waiting for me to come over.

That is our bonding session; I often give him a handful of cat treats, and then we commune. I rub him around the neck and forehead, his favorite spots, and I sit in the chair.

Sometimes, he hops into my lap; sometimes, he stays on the ground, and I lean over and massage him. We seem like old friends now. He was gone all morning, and I had no idea where he was; he just showed up in the afternoon. I admire his independence.

I admit to loving this cat as much as I have loved most of my dogs (except Rose Red and Zinnia). And I loved all the others. Zip and I connect; I assume you get the cat you need and the dogs. I did need him.

This week, Zip discovered the pasture out back and has been exploring the marshes, all kinds of stuff to hide there. Zip has energized me and the farm; I think he has helped me to make a healthy recovery. I’m near the end of it, except for some dizziness and fatigue. I continue to heal, and the progress is slow but steady.

This was a serious incident, and I take it seriously.

I spent two hours pulling out the dying flowers in my bed and giving Maria the annuals that will grow in her gardens next year. This has worked out well; I have beautiful flowers in the summer, and she gets her choices for her own garden. We both benefit.

Five or six of my flowers are hardy and blooming in great color; I used the new iPhone to capture these images today. When my flowers are gone for the winter, I’ll be posting unpublished photos of my flowers over the past two years. The flowers will not stop on the blog; I have a plant of beautiful flowers to publish for the first time that will get me through next May. We will continue to be a place of color and light.

I have a few weeks to go in my garden bed. I’m removing declining plants now, and Maria is getting all the annuals.

I wanted to report on my cannabis experiment (gummy bears), which has succeeded in my sleeping miraculously well. I bought two packets of cannabis-infused gummies with CBN/Indica/100 MG THC and CBN per package. The flavor is blueberry, in my case.

There are 20 gummy bears in each package, which costs $30 a package.

One gummy bear is a serving size; each gummy is 4 grams. The cannabis grower has a farm outside of Saratoga Springs. I’m not comfortable citing his name or the brand name he uses. These gummy bears are made for sleeping, and it says so on the package. I took small Valium pills for decades and rarely slept well.

I slept the first night I  used these; waking up feeling refreshed and rested is a new experience for me. And I know it’s good for my heart and my creativity. Maria has noticed a significant change.

I take two gummy bears a half hour before bedtime. There are 2 mg of sugar in each package, 3g of total carbohydrates, and 0 cholesterol. There are 5 grams of sodium and 0 total fat.

I have had trouble sleeping all my life; I have a racing mind traumatized by years of bed-wedding and anxiety. I was punished and scolded for bed wetting, and bedtime has always been an anxious time for me. I’m looking forward to it tonight.

I could not sleep as a child or an adult. Therapy has helped me, but no therapist has helped me sleep the way this cannabis has. It’s a big deal for me. Everyone is different. What works for me may not work for you. But it’s worth exploring, I think.

I started out with one gummy and now take two. I sleep for five to seven hours at a stretch, sometimes more. There are no side effects that I have noticed or felt. I understand that I need to go slowly and thoughtfully with this. I’m staying with this formula of two gummies a night, and I’ve been told sleeping like this will prolong my life.

The federal government, which seems unable these days to do anything much, is still at war to block the sale of cannabis, even though most states have legalized it. My bank won’t let me use a credit or debit card to buy it, so I have to bring cash. I assume this is true all over this dysfunctional country.

My begonias are gorgeous, and they are hardy. They seem to love the chill of fall. I see the head of a queen in this photo.

I’ve never known the name of these small and colorful flowers, but the Iphone can pick up their color and brightness in a new way.  My Leica has had a two-day rest. It’s coming out tomorrow. What a blessing to have these two cameras.

We’ve decided to buy reflective scare pigeon tape to push the pigeons out of our barn; they have become pests, and I’m committed to getting rid of them. The tape is human; it just scares them off with the sound it makes and the reflection it gives off. Hopefully, this will ignore or frighten the pigeons, and they will leave of their own accord.