This is a great title for a poem. It could be a part of a garden sequence; one in which some vegetables thrive and some do not. It appears as though it was a good garden year. Pete said tonight that he will now focus on harvesting. Last year he did not get the potatoes out in time, nor the beets. The beets were all partially eaten by something with huge chompers.

There are now rabbits in the hood. They have not appeared here, in our yard, but it’s just a matter of time.

Another very full day. I did write for an hour this morning – I revised the first portion of the chapter on the senior center, then began work on the second portion of this chapter. I hope to finish this and move on tomorrow. Then I will fit in a chapter on the books to the village program.

So today we went to the audiologist. On the way there I lost my hearing aid in the car, but of course I found it.

I needed an update. Then Pete went through the entire song and dance exam/assessment. Now this time I got to see how it was all done. I was most interested in the cognitive portion of his exam. One does have to wonder just how reliable this particular test is. I sat slightly behind him and watched how he was doing. I wonder if the second time around, it’s easier and the score for this reason is higher.

Together, we came back into the room after Pete took the cognitive test – I was the first to see the pair of hearing aids on Elizabeth’s desk. It was déjà vu all over because I noticed that there were two hearing aids on her desk after I had my exam.

Pete sat down and I said, “He needs hearing aids, doesn’t he?” “Yep,” Elizabeth said. Pete, hearing this, had a look of disbelief on his face that did not go away. I knew what he was thinking, which was, do I really need hearing aids? He finally decided that he would bite the bullet rather than attempt to dodge it and sprung for the devices.

He did say that dealing with these things is going to be a pain in the ass – this was the backatcha moment, meaning that he is now having to deal with what I’ve been dealing with for five years. I do feel empathy for him because I am a very empathetic individual.

I called and we arranged to pick up Read on the Fly books at the airport. We were late, so Robin dropped them off at the audiologists’ parking lot.

Next: 213. 8/9/25: Good timing