I’m grateful that the new covid booster is now available, and I got mine on Saturday. Only a sore arm for a couple of days and a little extra fatigue the first 24 hours, with no lingering effects. Except, I hope, protection from the virus as I head into surgery and more contact with people than I’ve had in a long time. I’m grateful for the exceptional courtesy I’ve received recently over the phone from the pharmacy clerk, whom I was delighted to thank in person and admire her bling nails and skeletal tattoo. And I’m grateful for the kindness and gentle good cheer of the woman who gave a nearly painless shot and a cool bandaid.

I’m grateful for more beautiful days. And for accomplishing some arduous and/or challenging tasks, and for a cheerful friend who helped get me motivated and made cleaning the patio fun. Two weeks to go, and only two chores ticked off my list. Oh well. And I’m grateful for mindfulness practice, which allows me to lie still with my restless thoughts at bedtime as they spin around and round: with “awareness still like a mountain,” the thoughts can spin without too much agitation, and eventually I fall asleep without trying.

I’m grateful for tomato toast and a hearty salad for lunch today, from the gifts of the weekend. And I’m ironically grateful for my corn harvest: there are around a dozen ears, which might have grown full and sweet but for the grasshoppers who ate their silks down as fast as they could grow. I’ll still steam this one and see what happens, maybe it will be a tasty treat. If not, it’s Biko’s lucky day!

It would be hard not to be grateful for the evening skies these past few days. The peach color comes not from smoke, or at least not from any overt or nearby smoke, but from the long, low light of September sunsets. Both ends of a tall rainbow dropped out of the clouds along with the virga last night.