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every morning i check on the status of my seedlings, and this morning i saw one of the tomatoes had germinated. it was the only thing that grew, still waiting for all the other seeds i planted to sprout. i figured with the heat pad that they'd emerge in just a few days, but today marks day 5. nevertheless, it's still faster than without a heat pad. the seed packet info said 7-10 days to germinate, so i've at least gotten a 2 day head start if not more. here's hoping the other seeds will germinate soon as well.

i promised myself i'd do some bike repairs this morning, but there simply wasn't enough time from the moment i got out of bed to when i had to leave for the cafe. i did however oil the chain, which was looking particularly rusty. and know what? that seemed to have fixed the grinding sound! at least it bought me some time from having to do a serious overhaul of the bike and i can ride it in peace for the time being.

i didn't need to leave early today since it wasn't raining, go to the cafe right at 11am. the signpost where i usually lock up my bike, i noticed since yesterday there was a smear of partially cleaned dog dropping. first thing i did when i arrived was to hook up the hose and spray clean the sidewalk. the short hose was barely enough to reach but i managed.

once noontime came around, there was a steady stream of customers, similar to yesterday. it wasn't too busy, but yet at the same time there was enough to do that we worked non-stop. mostly ready-made meals, which is good, didn't have to cook up any last minute. and when there wasn't customers, we prepared future ingredients so they'd be ready for the next orders. for instance, i made more tea eggs again. they sell fast, they almost don't have time to steep in the tea brine for the eggs to absorb all the flavors.

there was a bit of a lull around 3pm, enough time for me to fly my drone from the parking lot. i flew to radcliffe and back, then up to tour the mansions on the hill of appleton-highland-reservoir. i flew until i got the low battery warning (about 5 minutes left of charge), in which time i brought down the drone. i finally left around 3:45pm.

i stopped at the house briefly to drop off my things before heading to market basket again to get a few things for the cafe. i also brought some cans to return for deposits, all the aluminums were accepted, but all the plastic bottles were rejected. i simply threw those away in the recycling bin, didn't have time to bother taking them to a different recycling place that might accept them. i got some whole wheat bread, peanuts, celery, and diet IBC root beer. i haven't seen diet IBC root beer since the start of the pandemic, so i take that as a good sign that they're back in stock.

of course i stopped to admire some of the cherry blossoms i saw along the way. the dark pink blossoms on properzi way, i still have no idea what kind they are. i don't think they're cherries because yesterday i saw the dried fruit and they're much large, like a plum. but all the stuff i've read says they're not plums at all. they're definitely not peaches, which usually have a pink blossoms with a deep pink center. i also stopped to admire some weeping flowering cherries on beacon street.

seeing all these flowering cherries inspired me to grab my dSLR and go back outside on a blossom photography tour. i have a mental map of the best places nearby to see some pretty blossoms. first, all the autumnalis cherries planted on beacon street. they're pretty in the spring, but they're just as interesting in the fall when they flower again (though nowhere as abundant as spring blossoms). then there's a grove of light and dark pink blossoms on spring street. i've visited this place many times, always hoping to catch the owner of the house so i can ask them about the trees. these seem to be the same dark pink blossoms as the ones on properzi way. finally, that little park by bleachery court has a stand of light pink yoshino cherries that are like pink clouds. the bees were loving it, the sky buzzing with pollinators.

i stopped by dollar tree on my way back, hoping to find these glass containers with plastic lids that my mother bought before but i've never once seem them myself. no such luck, i left with a few unhealthy snacks.

i checked my seeds again, now all the tomatoes (6) have germinated, which is a relief, because i was starting to get worried that there was something wrong with my setup. every spring there's always that leap of faith from when i plant my seeds to when they germinate. i wait and wait, and nothing seems to be happening, then the magic of life and the seeds finally do sprout.

at the end of the day i checked the square status and found out not only did the cafe make the second most amount this month, but actually the second most day this year. we still haven't done online ordering or delivery yet, which will generate more profit. we're just afraid it might be too successful, and we don't be able to keep up with the demand. but that's one of those "not a bad problem to have" sort of situation for a business.

i confess, i ate a lot of garbage once i got home, from watermelon seeds, to gummy candy, to rice crackers, to slim jims. so of course i wasn't hungry heading into the evening, even though i didn't eat anything today. around 9:30pm i finally made myself a sandwich: peppered ham with provolone cheese on multi-grain bread with sliced tomatoes, lettuce, and kewpie mayo.