We can always talk about the weather when it is such a mixed bag. The rain is welcome and the light show on Saturday after midnight was something to watch. There was one flash after another at the height of the storm. The noise of the thunder woke most people. It had rained ahead of that.
The concession was open on the weekend and there were lots of people moving about, so hope they showed support for the service available there. The campground is partly open, using every second site and with restrictions.
Store hours for summer are 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday. I believe the hotel is open for meals again. Phone ahead. Our family enjoyed a delicious meal there Saturday night and did the social spacing, somewhat, too.
Svend Christiansen turned 90 years old recently and his family held an outdoor party for him Saturday at the acreage where he and Cora live. Several of his family members and a few friends joined to wish him a happy birthday, and made it a day to remember. While the weather could have been nicer it didn't rain and the wind was their only complaint.
Cemetery cleanup day was held at the local cemetery and also up at the Idylwild Cemetery, north of Bapaume. They both look much better, but the grass is growing really fast with the rain and heat and keeping everyone on their toes to keep ahead of it. Most yards around Meota are looking tidy and the flowers are starting to put on their show, also.
Yard work was being done in several sites on the weekend and for many it was a working weekend, as they opened up their summer homes and get things in order. It is good to see "sold" signs appearing here and there, so the picture changes constantly, but there are several places or empty lots still on the market.
The trip to town last week showed much more traffic than there has been for the last few months, almost back to normal. Now we have to wait to see if the second wave happens or not. Social distancing is being observed in most cases and many people are wearing masks.
To curb the growing environmental concerns around plastic waste, the European Union has set ambitious goals for recycling. By the year 2029 E.U. countries will be required to recycle at least 90 per cent of the plastic they use. Norway has already blown past this target with a 97 per cent recycling rate and has done so a decade ahead of schedule. The secret to their success is a robust and near universal deposit system in which buyers pay a few cents more for their purchases then return empties for a refund at conveniently located reverse vending machines. In Lithuania where the same system was adopted, plastic recycling jumped from 34 to 92 per cent in just two years. We can only hope our system, which sounds similar, can produce similar results. I think it's a matter of educating people to be more responsible.
Your mind is a garden, your thoughts are the seeds, You can grow flowers or you can grow weeds.
