The Long Walk

Late spring, in the hills

May 14

The path up from the river is muddier than usual this year. Twice I had to put a hand on a tree to stay upright; the second time, the bark came away in a long curl that smelled faintly of cedar. I sat down on a stump and ate an apple. There was no sound except for water.

Later, near the ridge, I startled a small deer. It looked at me with that completely unalarmed, completely cautious expression deer have, then walked away the way deer walk away — not running, just no longer there.

On the new kettle

May 3

My old electric kettle finally died after, I think, eleven years. The replacement is identical in almost every way and yet pours noticeably worse. There is a lesson in this about industrial design and perhaps about getting older, but I am too tired to draw it out.

What I have been reading

April 22

• The Peregrine, J. A. Baker. Slow start; the kind of book that rewards you for not giving up.
• A Pattern Language, Alexander et al. Re-reading.
• Various essays in a 1992 issue of Granta I found in a shoebox.