Some time last night it rained. The sides of the streets were still wet when I woke up. The air will be heavy with moisture today. 80˚will be the high. It was 70˚ just a little bit ago, but now is already 73˚. The heat is moving in fast.

Last night I heard a banging sound but no breaking sound so I ignored the bang. Later, on my way to the kitchen, I glanced into the living room and saw Nala chewing on a branch about three feet long. Around her were pieces of the branch she had already chewed off the big one. Henry was watching. The bang was the limb hitting the floor from the dog door. That was what amazed me. Nala had figured out how to bring a stick, a long stick, through the dog door. I threw the stick out but not far enough. I was in the kitchen when I saw the end of that branch appear through the dog door. I got to see Nala maneuver her branch through the door. She is a smart girl, annoying but smart. I wish she could learn to vacuum.

When I was a kid, my mother got a huge vacuum cleaner which was never easily moved. It caught on rugs, especially scatter rugs. The vacuum sucked up the tops and sides of the scatter rugs thus rendering itself immobile. My mother was determined to free her vacuum. She’d yank the vacuum cord while simultaneously stepping on the scatter rug until finally the vacuum was freed.

Much later, in a different house, my mother had a vacuum system installed. One of the main vacuum holes was in the living room. My mother was dog sitting Shauna, my first boxer. She decided to vacuum. Shauna hated vacuums. She always attacked mine. She’d whack it with her paws and try to eat it. My mother didn’t know. When Shauna went vacuum crazy, my mother tried to vacuum anyway. Shauna caught the vacuum cleaner. In retaliation, it ate Shauna’s tongue. My mother scrambled to turn off the machine and free Shauna’s tongue. At first, once freed, the tongue sort of just laid there. My mother checked it. The tongue appeared unharmed. Shauna was fine. My mother didn’t tell me for a long time.

Henri decided to go elsewhere and bypassed the Cape. We had wind but nothing extraordinary. We had a few minutes of rain. This morning it rained for another five minutes. Now we have a beautiful sunny day. The humidity is nearly gone. The breeze is refreshing.

I need to trash pick my yard today. When I went out on the deck, I could see evidence in the backyard of petty theft. Pieces of plastic, flattened boxes, the remnants of my bagels and some unidentifiable pieces of paper are strewn about the yard just below the deck. I brought in one pile of already collected trash and bagged it.

I vacuumed while the coffee was brewing. The rugs and floors have bits of pine branches all over. As soon as I throw one branch, Nala brings in another. I’ve given branch mess some thought. I could shut the door and eliminate access to the dog door, but Nala and Henry both go out that door. Do I really want to get up every time Nala wants out or in? Nope, the door stays accessible. I have no answer. I’m just going to have to quit complaining and keep the vacuum at hand.

Last night it was the voices of people staying next door and the sound of water falling into a pot which open my memory drawer. Nights in Ghana were never really quiet. Early on, when I went to town in the evenings, I could hear voices, the muted voices of women chatting in FraFra and selling mostly food on the sides of the street and the deep male voices coming from the tables outside the bar in the middle of town, from outside the Super Service Inn. I don’t know how well I can describe how neat these evenings were. After dark, lanterns twinkled up and down the street. Behind each lantern was a woman selling something. They’d call to entice us to stop. We often did and often bought plantain and yam chips and whatever meat concoction we’d find. We’d buy small groundnuts to have as snacks with the Cokes we bought every couple of days from the DPW, yup, the Department of Public Works. It had a small store around the corner from my school.

On school grounds, in the early mornings, I could hear sweeping sounds. Students swept the grounds and the classrooms every day. The loudest sound was tap water flowing into the empty metal buckets the students were filling for their morning baths after chores. The students’ voices were always part of the morning.

These wonderful memories come easily prompted by a sound or a smell or a feeling.

I need to trash pick my yard today. When I went out on the deck, I could see evidence in the backyard of petty theft. Pieces of plastic, flattened boxes, the remnants of my bagels and some unidentifiable pieces of paper are strewn about the yard just below the deck. I brought in one pile of already collected trash and bagged it.

I vacuumed while the coffee was brewing. The rugs and floors have bits of pine branches all over. As soon as I throw one branch, Nala brings in another. I’ve given branch mess some thought. I could shut the door and eliminate access to the dog door, but Nala and Henry both go out that door. Do I really want to get up every time Nala wants out or in. Nope, the door stays accessible. I have no answer. I’m just going to have to quit complaining and keep the vacuum at hand.

I have no energy left today. I emptied baskets and bags and put them in the car and hauled in a package from Chewy, 24 cans of dog food. That was more than enough exertion for today, that one box. I’m taking a shower later and then I’m headed to Hyannis for my uke concert. It’s Beatles Night. “I wanna hold your hand.”