Down to the River

I doubt I will be able to row today and it makes me sad. I have so enjoyed the last three days, I can envisage rowing every morning, it is no effort at all, and the quiet of it, the mountain, the challenge of negotiating the curves, curiosity about the houses along the river, pleasure in the sun and the breezes, the discipline and the clutch at the heart when it tips - they are all delightful. Even washing the boat afterwards as carefully as I would wash a baby, murmuring comfortably, drying all the nooks and crannies then tucking it away on the rack safe and sound. I stop short at kissing it goodnight but I wouldn't put that past Norma.

Francisco is levelling Mary's terrace now and I have said I will stay and supervise, which really just means asking him to do this or that next. Progress.