"Marga hears too much!"

Finally summer, going outside!

Being outside, oh, how I used to like to sit in the garden in summer. As soon as it was nice and warm, I liked nothing more than sitting outside. Admittedly, in the shade. Being lazy, so to speak. I was able to do that very well. In the summer I had time for it. Armed with a good book, a bottle of sunburn, a litre of cold water, in a lazy lounger. Possibly with some music. Delicious. I wasn’t tired of that very quickly.
Working in the garden, that was of course also necessary in the summer, because the weeds also loves good weather … And with a vegetable garden, well, you have often what to do in the growing season!

Walking in the polder
My sweetheart and I used to walk a lot. Preferably in the forest, preferably trips of a day or several days. Staying overnight in a hotel. Walking shoes on, backpack and go! Armed with the GPS. And drinking enough, of course. When it got warmer than 22, 23 degrees, it got too hot for us under our feet. Then we had to bring far too many liters (read kilograms) of water with us. But in the low season, and also in winter, we regularly went for a walk!
Going out, yes. Earlier, when I didn’t have a tinnitus and hyperacusis* yet. Nowadays we still go outside. If I can, I want to be outside for a while every day. But nowadays it is a bit more planned and prepared. Nowadays not in the forest, because of the shrill whistling birds. Cute creatures admittedly, but that whistling hurts my head.
In the polder you can also walk. This is how I get to know places in the neighbourhood where I had never been before….
And on days when it’s possible, I go into the garden for a while. Just pick something here and there. Monitor the growth of the beans. Or remove some thieves in tomato plants. But that never lasts long, unfortunately, being outside. We are far too busy to do that. Too much, for me, annoying traffic noise. Of course, I could always put on my headphones. But that is not a sensible thing to do. Then my tinnitus and hyperacusis become more intense, unfortunately….

My more serious vegetable garden moments usually fall on Sunday morning, that’s what I wrote before. Then it’s quiet nearby, everyone sleeps out. I get up early on purpose. And as soon as the bird’s hunt is over, I’m outside. Then I can go about an hour and a half ahead!

Inside a seat at the window
And if you can’t go outside, then you think up something else. For example, I have a very quiet exercise bike. This allows me to improve my poor condition a little.
And we have changed the interior a bit. At the large window (with triple glazing) we made a seat. There I can look out undisturbed. Without traffic noise. With a booklet, a pot of tea next to it. Radio often in the background soft to the touch. Read a little, write a little. And then keep an eye on those who come along, haha. It would make you curious…

* Hyperacusis, literally “I hear too much”, is a condition in which you are hypersensitive to ordinary everyday sounds. “The volume control of ambient noise is permanently set to too high a level for a person with hyperacusis.”For me, the higher frequencies are particularly annoying and hurt my head.
Hyperacusis occurs in many forms. And often also in combination with tinnitus; as is the case with me.