The antibiotic is really helping. She thinks she may have had a low grade infection for a while.

So what does she do?

The City delivered us a notice to lower our bushes by a certain amount at the corner and 75 feet along the roadway, and they’re old junipers that have been there at that corner for about 40 years. Well, it is a stopsign, and we’d hate to have someone have a wreck; but of course it’s been snowing-cold, and I have this sore arm and Jane has an abscess…and we have to do it by the 20th. Nice. So we start in. The preacher at the Methodist church spotted us, and came over and helped with some of it, and we have a pile of branches, some as thick as my wrist, and some as long as I am tall, in a pile at the curb that’s taller than I am, and the corner looks a nasty wreck of brown dirt and dead underside branches of some juniper as thick as your leg. The preacher said he’d help us cart away those branches, since the city won’t do it. It’s the Methodists to the rescue again, I’ll tell you. I’m very tempted to put a sign out at the corner that says: “This devastation brought to you by your City Council,” but that would be more work. I’d be happier if they enforced this all over the city; probably one person who complained.

We had burned hamburger for supper. It’s that kind of day.

But at least we’ve got the corner pared down.