You drop threads, because nobody plans to be sick. I was miserable enough there are days I don’t remember. Now I’m back to normal and I’ve got it all moving again. Trust me. We’re going to keep this book on time.

We did get some gardening done—one of those must-do’s, because the pond has to start running, fish have to be fed, trees have to be trimmed and fertilized. We planted a new crab apple ‘Prairiefire’ in front, completing our tree additions. We’re all pinks right now—the cherries and quince are in bloom.

I do need to get out there and feed the koi and set up the chair the wind blew over. We inevitably get a wind when we’ve just planted a tree, eh? Ordinarily it’s calm. Plant a tree and we get a gale.