summer stories

Today, I start a new Ultimate Blogging Challenge. In my last challenge, I chose to document life during the pandemic. But I was self quarantining in a house by myself. When the loneliness became too much for me, I let my imagination take over, and I started an imaginary trip around the world.

It is now July, and I am out of quarantine. Since late May, I have been working part-time as a gardener at Buffalo Harbor State Park. I love my job, and I am so grateful for the opportunity.

I get to work in a beautiful space right on Lake Erie. I see people walking, bicycling, riding skateboards, or roller blading on the trails. And I see dogs. So many dogs. Big dogs, little dogs, happy dogs, even happier dogs. I see the boats and the people at the marina.

Today, I was pruning shrubbery in a garden behind the park office and I was watching the insect life because why not? Insects are pretty cool. I saw a green dragonfly on a leaf. It sat for a while but, alas,

I didn't have my camera so I can only maintain the memory of that dragonfly in my head and my heart. Then I saw busy honeybees in the blossoms.

They traveled from blossom to blossom, poking their heads inside each one before moving on. One lone bumblebee showed up and then buzzed away.

Later, I saw a black and gray dragonfly that seemed to be stuck to the side of the building. I wondered why the dragonfly didn't fly away. Then I noticed that the dragonfly appeared to be stuck on an old cobweb. There was no spider, just the trapped dragonfly. I gently pulled away the cobweb until it was gone. 

"You're free," I told the dragonfly, even though I was certain that it did not speak English.

Or maybe, it understood me after all. It immediately flew away. I celebrated the dragonfly's freedom as I returned to my activity... uh... job. 

So, it's July, and life is good and the air is warm. COVID-19 is still a threat that not everyone takes seriously. The king wanna be with a fake spray tan, who lives in a white house behind many fences, says that, if more people are tested, we have more cases of the disease. I guess that you couldn't possibly have COVID-19 if you don't get a test. Right? President Bitter Orange certainly says so. Well, unnamed disease that causes dramatic lung damage and heart problems can't be COVID-19 if no one officially pronounces it to be so. Um. Er. Okay. It's hardly a surprise that the European Union has banned Americans from visiting their countries. I would ban us, too. 

Since I can't travel for practical reasons (the job) and I can't visit places because I am a banned American, I have decided to continue the imaginary trip around the world. We will resume where we left off, in Khazakhstan. Stay tuned for tomorrow's post!