Last night I slept like a hibernating bear in January (good), then woke up at 3:30 with a headache that made my skull feel like a sloshing fishbowl (bad).

Fortunately coffee, ibuprofen, and antihistamines are improving the situation, as is the cool summer air sifting through the screens.

Yesterday I broke down and bought bean, cucumber, and okra plants, and a few flats of annual flowers, in hopes of reviving my sorry-looking front garden patch (aka the Breadbasket). Between the extreme dryness and whatever voracious invisible insects have been marauding among them, I have not been able to get my own seedlings to thrive. Let's hope these new arrivals are big enough to withstand the conditions. I'm almost afraid to look at them this morning.

We really need a soaking rain--several days of it. But today all we'll get is cloudiness. I've got editing to do, per usual, and I'd like to snatch some time to work on a few poem revisions. I've got to figure out how to hook up a web cam for the upcoming Frost Place Zoom marathon. I need to go to the bank and probably to the grocery store (ugh). The little chores feel like giant chores. The giant chores feel impossible.

Yesterday's poetry group meeting was good, though: strong drafts, precise conversation. The precision was a help. It's funny how structured thought can help a mind relax. Maybe I should take up calculus or Ancient Greek.