i finally woke up for good around 9:30am. having been on a steady stream of 7-8am wake up times, getting up at 9:30am seemed downright decadent. i used the bathroom and showered, leaving for belmont before 10:30am. i was hoping to get there before my mother went out for her walk, but by the time i arrived, both my parents were already gone. i checked their location on google maps, they were on the opposite side of fresh pond, most likely to see the lotus pond.
i took the opportunity to swap out the plastic hose mender and replace it with a brass one i bought from amazon. it came with hose clamps, but i was able to use a metal zinc clamp that came with the order hose repair kit (before it broke). i also finally measured the inner diameter of the hose - looks to be a 5/8" garden hose and not a 3/4". either way, the repair worked well, no leaks.
i then watered the garden, while also allowed me to inspect the plants. that's when i spotted several infestations of squash bug nymphs. i went inside and grabbed some duct tape to trap them, but there were so many that on few of the leaves, i ended up cutting off the leaves and drowning the bugs in water.
i continued watering, working my way to the western side of the house, underneath the bitter melon trellis. that's when my parents finally got back around 11:30am. my mother said she spotted a green heron, and that the place was full of photographers taking photos of the bird.
my parents made omelettes for lunch. i brought some additional ingredients, including some habanero salsa and a packet of shredded parmesan cheese. my father ended up cooking the omelettes. first one looked the worst, but by the time he got to the third and last omelette, that one looked the best.
i introduced my mother to the 7-episode hijack series, which she spent the rest of the day watching. i went down into the basement to collect the clothes from the dryer when they were done. my father monitored his lithium iron phosphate batteries while they charged the portable fridge cooler.
later in the afternoon my father and i were outside doing yard work. he was busy pruning grapevines, squash vines, and pruning the jasmines. i was watering a second time then mixed a 2L bottle of neem oil to spray the handful of old squash leaves infected with powdery mildew. some of the reliance grapes have changed colors; i tried one of the purple ones, they're still pretty sour. i don't think i've ever seen our reliance grapes produce viable fruits; if they do this season it'll be a first.
my father made dinner while my mother was busy watching the final episode of hijack and couldn't be bothered to do anything else. my father made a smoked ham & mushroom & peppers stirfry as well as a blue bean & pork & zucchini stew. my mother came out of her cave to collect some food into a rice bowl and went back to watching her show. she came out a bit later after she finished the series.
i left for cambridge around 7pm. with my roommate gone and jeff not back until another 2 weeks, i had the house all to myself. it's so quiet the silence is almost deafening. i showered then spent the rest of the night processing some retroactive blog post photos from march 2023.