Beautiful bright and sunny day today. The wind chimes are singing loud enough to drown out the bird symphony. The sky is Feltman Brother’s baby blue. No clouds drawn in yet. My birds are all over the yard — goldfinches, cardinals, purple finches, downy woodpeckers, chickadees, wrens, titmice, and one brown headed cowbird and two wood thrushes. The porch is so pleasant but my house is cold. Need a sweater in the house but it’s too hot on the porch with a sweater on. Counted seven lizards sunbathing on the porch bannister. I do not like those critters and the one who was eating his shedding skin needs to move away from my home!

Penelope had to go to vet brother’s clinic today. She had the croupy cough she gets when she eats something in the yard that a yard dog would love. I’m still not used to her delicate digestion. She got a shot and an antibiotic. I got a lecture from middle brother to watch her better when she’s out in the yard. I think it was the BBQ potato chips she scarfed down when I dropped my plate on the swing. I tried to get them before she got there but she was faster than me when her shark and vulture blood kicked in. She is a crumb monger. She doesn’t care if the Hershey kiss is gone from the tin foil wrapper, she’ll just eat the empty wrapper. And she’s sneaky and determined to ruin your snacks if you don’t share. You can’t distract her with doggie bacon, either. That poor, deprived puppy dog look is so hard to ignore.

Instead of pondering in the swing today, I’ve been vegetating in the swing. I’ve been porching. A term I stumbled upon on the internet that means spending the whole day on the porch. Ate lunch out here. Didn’t eat breakfast today. Added some scrambled eggs to my bagel and fruit and called it lunch at 1 o’clock. I’m really enjoying the fresh eggs my friends gave me. Guess since I’m retired I can vegetate all I want. I don’t feel like a retiree, I just feel like someone who doesn’t get up and go to work each day. Oldest sister-in-law calls everyday and asks me, “What’re you doing today?” “Sitting around and slobbering,” I reply back. I did sweep the house today and put some extra dirt in my pansy pots and filled up a few bird feeders. Made a quick grocery run. I’m enjoying these beautiful, sunny days on the porch. Won’t belong before I’ll be tending to my vegetables and zinnias and sunflowers. My antique sunflowers were so beautiful last summer. I let the birds eat the seeds. In hindsight, I should have saved some seeds.

I looked up the word retiree. A retiree is defined as a person who has stopped working in regular paid employment because of age. The government has made retirement age older, it’s no longer 62. I always wondered, if you draw your spouse’s social security why your own social security can’t have a beneficiary? You pay all your life and if you don’t draw it, it’s just gone. Doesn’t feel fair to me. But I’m no financial scholar. Most retirees under estimate their actual financial needs. With groceries costs so high, I’m sure lots of retirees struggle. I’m fortunate that I don’t have any prescriptions and don’t take any medication.

The sun is almost down and the few wispy clouds have a pink tint to them. So pretty! I’ve actually spent the whole day on the porch! I love porching!

“If the kitchen is the heart of our house, the porch is its soul.” — Julia Steffens