Last summer, I was looking forward to a bumper crop of apricots after our tree took a hiatus in 2020. We had a ton of blossoms and a ton of fruit on the tree.
And then...July came. And the apricots never ripened. Instead, the tree just up and died. We had it for my entire life. That means it was an old tree, and maybe it was its time to go, but I think the drought had something to do with it. That is one way that climate change has personally affected me. So many apricot memories. And what's really sad is that not only did our own tree die, but our neighbors cut down their apricot tree that hung into our yard. And some neighbors around the block redid their landscape and cut down their apricot tree. Will I ever eat an apricot again?
Anyway, my dad cut down the tree this week. I didn't help because I was at work. But I got to see his daily progress cutting down the tree. Sigh.
Our plum tree had a lot of blossoms this year. But that tree is also old and ailing, and given this year's water supply, I wouldn't be surprised if it died too.
On Wednesday, I was feeling a little bored with the usual nearby trails, so I decided to run up the Sessions Mountain Trail by the Bountiful Temple, which I haven't been to in six years. I only ran about a half hour. It reminded me why I don't go there—not only is it farther, but it is very steep, and the trail is not in good shape. Parts of it are slippery, and parts of it are more of a ravine. But it looks like there might be a new trail there that I didn't notice before, so I might have to go back sometime. It's just not a priority when I already know that I like the closer trails.
I recently noticed a large growth on my face (temple), but it's behind the frame of my glasses, so it's not someplace I pay much attention to. I thought it might be good to get it looked at, so I made an appointment with a dermatologist. The copay was $40, since it was a specialist. The doctor came in with a light and told me it was a pimple growing on top of a mole. Completely benign. The doctor quipped that it took me longer to park my car than it took him to look at it. I feel silly that I spent all that money to have him look at something that ended up being nothing. Oh well, at least I know I don't have skin cancer.
Friday was Earth Day, but I didn't do anything actually beneficial to the earth, partly because it was rainy. (It was a good excuse to watch the new Earth Day Peanuts specials.) But I did make veggie burgers, since meat is detrimental, though they had egg so they weren't vegan. I try to do my part every day, and I have made a lot of decisions to reduce my carbon footprint. But it is frustrating that I spend so much effort doing my part, but my efforts will mainly be fruitless without the help of others.
For example: when I was in Primary, we once had an Earth Day activity where we had worms-and-dirt dessert. This year, Dairy Queen has a dirt pie Blizzard. Even though Earth Day isn't one of my canonized holidays, I decided I could go get the Blizzard. I specifically told them I didn't need a spoon, because I brought my own. And yet I still ended up with a spoon, since the person taking my order was not the one making it. That made it kind of an anti–Earth Day. This happens a lot of the time, perhaps even a majority of the time, and it is very, very frustrating. But it isn't my fault. If the companies quit dispensing single-use plastic, I wouldn't have to ask and then have my efforts frustrated. I can't do this alone.
No comments:
Post a Comment