Avoidance

Please note, this is an observation, not a complaint and I have no doubt the situation will soon be reversed, in which case I might consider complaining.

Despite heaters and sweaters and warm beverages, I am unable to get warm. It’s as if my bones have turned to ice. Fingers and toes frozen, yet I am certain that the temperature in the house is similar to what it was all winter when I was perfectly comfortable.

My feeling colder in summer than in winter has always been the case, but back on Long Island it was merely a matter of excessive air-conditioning in the terminal where I worked. Perhaps my system got hard-wired to “freeze” in summer!

It is, in any event, preferable to feeling over-heated. As far as I am concerned.

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Sunday morning’s temperature hovered only a degree or two above freezing and considering what I have just said, it may seem strange that I should go out in search of ice cream.

All the more so because I am lactose intolerant and as you can see from the above photograph, the day did not exactly cheer up.

As a kid, I loved ice cream and I don’t remember being intolerant of it then, though occasionally I recall having what they called an “ice cream headache”. However food intolerances tend to cure cravings and I have not felt deprived.

Ice cream is one of Grant’s weaknesses and as he is diabetic, it can only be an occasional treat. He is careful about his diet, so the occasions are fairly regular. They involve going out with our neighbour who has similar tastes.

Yesterday, though, the neighbour was otherwise occupied, so wouldn’t I like to go for a ride?

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We always arrive everywhere too early, and the dairy farm was no exception.

So we had to kill 45 minutes which is never a problem.

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We went off in the direction of Vermont, along leafy lanes.

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Even for a Sunday, it was remarkably quiet.

When finally other vehicles came into view, there were three in a row, all red.

Which is of no significance, I suppose. Just – ?

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We found ourselves over in West Rupert where I once took pictures of pussy willow, which we now discovered is sadly in the process of dying from some sort of blight.

Dames rocket, however, is flourishing.

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Looking it up recently, I learned that it is invasive and I can confirm that it is everywhere.

Literally, everywhere.

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Yellow and white rocket.

When we first lived here, I used to watch out for these flowers so I could take a photo. Now, they are in abundance more or less anywhere we stop.

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The problem is that it overwhelms native flora and disrupts the wildlife food chain.

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Growing beside a stream, this was something different.

PlantNet identifies it as horseradish!

Who am I to argue? Looking it up online, I note the flowers do look the same.

Long ago, before I turned veg, I used to enjoy a dab of horseradish with roast or corned beef. I recall that you used it sparingly and that it had the effect of clearing the sinuses quite nicely!

In the absence of horseradish, English mustard would do and a bit of chutney went well with cold meat. delights that are all lost to me now, along with fish and chips which is what I certainly miss most.

It is no hardship.

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Back in the days when I occasionally attended a social function, I didn’t want to impose my vegetarian requirements on anyone else, so I simply accepted whatever was served and if it was meat or fish, I said a silent “thank you” to the animal that had given its life to feed me.

A strict vegetarian would likely scoff at this, but it satisfied my personal code of ethics.

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Even more abundant than Dames rocket – cow parsley or Queen Anne’s lace is easily confused with poison hemlock and is therefore dangerous.

Additionally, there is wild parsley which can cause serious skin conditions.

Unlike non-veg meals, best to avoid it altogether!

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