Beautiful morning after a good rain yesterday and probably overnight. The dirt is slightly wet but has a dry granular feel to it. Every is bright green as opposed to Florida on the multiple golf courses. Glad to be back from there, by the way. Lots of wild flowers, mostly Violets and Dandelions. For agriculture in our yard, we have already harvested a huge crop of asparagus: 3 in total. That’s good for us. I have 6 rhubarb plants growing. We have 3 large clumps of Chives. For energy, we have the heat pump which has been consistently the mode rather than the furnace due to temperatures over 35 degrees. We have a huge solar array which will be providing power to the city with the hopeful decrease in coal use. I remember a recent report of a fire that was caused by a spark of some kind rather than cigarette. I know that’s not helpful. It took some time to extinguish it. For plants, we have one Tulip, about 10 clumps of Daffodils, rows of Hostas, Astilbe, Day Lilies, and other perennials I don’t know the name of. Birds have included Mockingbirds, Grosbeaks, Cardinals, Nuthatches Sparrows, and Redwing Blackbirds. Squirrels are here, but haven’t seen chipmunks. No restrictions for water. Fire is still a concern due to mostly drought conditions. The recent rains haven’t contributed much towards relieving the drought. I think people are encouraged to wear masks in hospitals and doctors offices, but it’s not mandatory, as far as I know. Caught a cold on our trip back from Boston from a person on our bus. Grrr. No mask would’ve prevented that. With recent snowfall up north, hikers are advised to bring shelter, food, water, warm clothing, clamp-ons (for ice), maps. Also advised to make sure someone knows they’re hiking. Merrimack River is and has been quite low.