the tree, the downed cable, they were all still there this morning. i heard some commotion earlier, but i didn't hear the telltale noises of a wood chipper, so i had a feeling no progress had been made. but then at 10am the cambridge road crew arrived with the wood chipper truck and they finally removed the tree. i thought chainsaws would be involved, but the branches were already broken off from the main trunk. they tied the cable of a wench and simply pulled the tree branches into the feeding mouth of the chipper. it was quick, about 10 minutes and they were finished.

however, that was not the end of the obstruction. the tree was gone, but the downed cable still remained, dangling low enough that a passing car could still easily snag it and snap the cable or worse. so the street would still be closed for the time being, caution tape flapping in the breeze. the rest of the day i watched as cars raced down, pause briefly to assess the situation, then turn down the only remaining street they can go.

i walked to the community garden to water my plants. it probably wasn't all that necessary considering the deluge of rain we experienced yesterday. i wasn't expecting any damage but apparently large branches from a tree on the left side of the garden had been sheared off.

as for my own garden plot, my larkspurs are doing well, taller than any of the other "adopted" larkspurs i've seen in other plots. they should be flowering soon. i also seem to be the only gardener with foxgloves, and i didn't even plant them, they were left behind by the previous owner. coincidentally, both larkspurs and foxgloves are poisonous. also poisonous: monkshood, which i also have in my garden.

pokemon go is holding another event, this time for fire mons. i suspected something was happening when i caught a cyndaquil (i'd only seen one once before and it escaped) and a houndour.

for lunch i finished the last of the sweet dates zongzi. in the early afternoon i rode the motorcycle to visit the inner belt cambridge marshalls to look for another accent rug. they had some of the same rugs i saw at tj maxx, but nothing i liked. i left empty-handed, although i did spent a long time looking at the insulated travel mugs and nearly bought one. next door was a dollar tree and i went in to pick up some baking soda and soap. but when i saw the long line and only one register was opened, i put everything back and left.

coming back, i passed by the somerville target and stopped inside to look for rugs. they had a few but i didn't like any of them. besides, they cost too much, $30 at least for a tiny ugly rug. i did eyeball a blue ottoman that was on sale for $30, to replace my broken ottoman. i like that they could also be used for storage. i would've bought it right there but i couldn't carry it back on my motorcycle. finally, i went next door to fallas discount store. they had some home furnishing goods as well (though nothing as namebrand as marshalls or tj maxx). i didn't find the accent rug i wanted, but i did buy a long woven runner rug for only $8.

after i arrived in belmont, my mother and i went to the arsenal mall marshalls to look for rugs. we were also leaving because my father made a home appointment for a solar power energy representative at 4pm. i managed to find a decent rug for $16.99. they also had an assortment of insulated travel mugs but not as much as marshalls i visited earlier. in no rush to go home quite yet, my mother and i wandered the rest of the mall, discovering that many of the stores had closed. suddenly i remembered reading something about a new development at the arsenal mall, and that they were going to tear down sections of it to make an apartment complex shopping plaza, sort of like the watertown version of assembly row. upstairs in the food court, my mother bought a 6" spicy italian subway sub. we walked all the way to the other end of the mall, to the old navy outlet. the chinese cashier told us they were closing as well by next month, but there wouldn't be any significant clearance sale since old navy can divert their unsold stock to other stores. i ended up getting two polo shirts (white and navy).

back at the house, the solar energy consultant was just finishing up with my father. my mother and i didn't see the woman, but her strong perfume saturated the house even after she left. my father put two slabs of ribs on the barbecue grill while i went around the backyard watering the plants.