Archive for the ‘Chronicle’ Category
Today Arrived
It’s here! We have arrived to the day Saturday, August 17, 2024. If you haven’t been waiting for this day to happen, it might feel like just another Saturday. Maybe it is simply the first day of the weekend. I suppose a few birthdays fall on this date or maybe a few weddings were scheduled.
While I was walking this morning with Cyndie and Asher and we marveled anew over the grandeur of our surroundings. I asked Cyndie if she thought she would still be able to visualize the views along our Middle Trail in some future situation when we are no longer physically fit enough to walk these woods.
We are in our twelfth year of living on this land and I still feel awe over the fact we own a portion of a forest. This summer has been different than most since we moved here from the suburbs. It has been wetter and for longer than normal. The land reflects that in a variety of ways.
There are new levels of erosion and significant accumulation of the runoff soil downstream that disrupt our preferred flow through ditches. Meanwhile, plants and trees are growing strong. It requires a constant effort to control undesired invasives and keep vines from swallowing trees.
In that regard, today would be just another day for me.
I feel lucky to have the opportunity and the time to tend our fields and woods but I won’t be doing much of that this day. We have a lunch date in the Cities that will fill much of our time. Another luxury we enjoy of visiting with friends, some with whom we rarely spend time.
Our land will wait another day for attention from me.
I have a strong suspicion that Sunday, August 18, 2024, will be arriving soon, and with that, new opportunities galore as time keeps ticking away.
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Early Hints
In the wee hours of Monday morning, I stepped out on the deck at the lake to look for evidence of the Perseid Meteor shower. I had seen one meteor flash in the predawn hours a day earlier when looking through the bathroom window. It was the weekend of peak activity so I plotted to get a better view the next night. In roughly 10-12 minutes, I saw two streaks.
At 2 o’clock in the morning, that was not thrilling enough to keep me out of bed.
The arrival of the Perseids is a hint of the waning days of summer. Yesterday I noticed another early hint scattered on our driveway.
Those aren’t healthy green leaves that have fallen. The change in sunrise and sunset is just starting to be noticeable. The combination of these two phenomena amplifies the perception of the next season looming in our future.
Cyndie recently commented about how barren some spots on our forest floor are. I pointed out the areas of local farm fields where crops didn’t grow this year. The common factor in these areas is water saturation. Plenty of the low ground in our woods understory stayed so wet it drowned new growth.
I made two trips to River Falls yesterday, which took me past tree removal happening on the property of one of our nearby neighbors. They reported emerald ash borer was killing their big old ash trees. That’s an early hint of what is to come for ash trees everywhere around here.
My trek to River Falls was to consult with my doctor about two issues that I have failed to will away with wishful thinking. The shoulder I injured in a fall last February continues to give me enough pain and weakness that I need to find out if there is a tear that can’t heal on its own. More recently, I’ve started to experience pain that matches sciatica. The doctor suspects degenerating discs in my lower back are leading to pressure on the nerve.
I’ve got an appointment for an MRI to see what is going on in the shoulder, a prescription for a short round of steroids, and orders for physical therapy to address both the back and shoulder. Are my recent problems an early hint of my next level of aging?
News reports recently have featured a scientific study that claims people don’t age at a steady gradual rate. Apparently, we experience bursts of rapid aging in our mid-40s and early 60s. Oof.
The fact that I needed to show my new Medicare card at my clinic visit certainly helped to make me feel not as young as I used to be.
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Giant Paradise
Back in June, Cyndie received a present from Elysa and Ande of a giant bird of paradise plant they were repotting. Elysa had rescued the root-bound plant from her workplace when it was about to get discarded. Ande worked determinedly to untangle the mass and turn one pot into several.
It was quite a challenge for Elysa and Ande to tip down and fit our new transplant into her car for the trip to our house. It was also a challenge for us to find a place where it would fit indoors and keep it standing without an established root structure yet.
After it continually leaned too much, we decided to tie a line to the wall to hold it up while hoping the roots would soon get a grip to stabilize the tall shoots. I don’t know if that stability is happening yet, but this weekend a new shoot burst up and began to unfurl to a surprising degree.
This is one vigorous tropical beauty.
We are thrilled to see this new evidence of that vigor and feel optimistic about the future of this beauty of an indoor plant in the corner where it now resides.
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Extra Day
Since circumstances led to Cyndie and me each having a car up at the lake over the weekend, we didn’t need to go home at the same time. I asked for an extra day at the lake and Cyndie headed home to relieve the animal sitters. With no responsibilities, I opted for a bike ride in the middle of a Monday in the north woods of Wisconsin.
There are some wonderful stretches of good pavement passing through wooded acres that offer a rewarding combination of forest bathing while sailing along on two wheels. It feeds my mind, body, and soul.
Returning to the Wildwood driveway brought me up to the empty house where I could enjoy the best of everything it provides in precious solitude. After a quick dip in the lake, followed by a shower, I stretched out diagonally across the bed under the sunshine coming through the skylight window for a luxurious nap.
For those of us who don’t live alone, having a spare day every so often when you can leave a trail of your belongings anywhere you please and eat and sleep when the whim arrives is invigorating. I also chose to watch a movie in the middle of the afternoon while eating a sandwich and some West’s Dairy Praline and Caramel ice cream.
Sure, having pets can add a lot to a person’s life, but being free from any need to tend to precious critters often gives me just as much joy. I wouldn’t have been able to finish a full-length movie while devouring delicious bite-sized portions of ice cream if Asher had been staring up at me with his big eyes and whining to play.
How do you describe eating ice cream from a spoon (I’m not usually a cone person), but not ever biting it? I don’t actually lick it. Am I lipping it? Sliding the spoon back out from my mouth while silently scraping a portion of the creamy goodness with my lips to be held back for my tongue and mouth to absorb it with glee. The spoon then goes back in for a second pass, maybe a third before it is clean and ready to be reloaded for another iteration.
Maybe there is a word that better describes the technique. If I weren’t so inclined to avoid interacting with AI sites, I might find such a descriptor by searching.
The movie I watched lasted much longer than my ice cream and it was almost as much fun, given the subject of Sherpas and Mount Everest. I highly recommend the documentary film, “Mountain Queen – The Summits of Lhakpa Sherpa,” which I found on Netflix.
Lhakpa was the first Nepali woman to climb Everest and survive. She holds the record for most Everest summits by a woman. What she has accomplished in her life outside of climbing is maybe even more remarkable. She is an inspiration of great strength, both physical and emotional.
She and her children deserve much broader recognition, which I hope this film will bring.
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Modest Wealth
I saw a headline referring to MN Gov. Tim Walz as having “modest wealth” and it struck me as a good description for the luxury Cyndie and I enjoy of having enough retirement income to cover our very comfortable lifestyle. I would also apply the modest wealth phrase to my physical and mental health. Staying just healthy enough to function effectively, but short of excessive riches in either realm.
What average person doesn’t feel some covetousness for the physique of Olympic swimmers, divers, or gymnasts’ bodies? I’m probably more active than the average 65-year-old but still maintain more of a “dad-bod” middle than the sculpted exposed torsos we get repeated views of every 4 years of the summer games.
Mentally, I’m happy to have learned the value of hearing the tone of my self-talk and quickly altering the direction when it slants toward the dysfunction of depressive thinking, but the fact I need to repeatedly practice the skill reveals a shortage of infinite mental health wealth, as if there were such a thing.
I like the concept of modesty when it comes to wealth, wherever it is measured. Today, I feel extremely rich in entertainment value because I get to watch the US Women’s Gold Medal Olympic Football match. It wouldn’t surprise me if such a simple joy were overlooked by others for its wealth.
It’s all relative, but the measurement of “modest” is one that I like as an offset to any embarrassment of riches.
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No Hurry
The luxury I enjoy to come and go as I please is not lost on me. In the absence of a time constraint on my drive to the lake, I was saved from any stress when I caught up to a long train of vehicles following a giant farm tractor at around 38 mph.
A younger me would have grown increasingly frustrated that the tractor was traveling for so many miles on this road without bothering to pull over and let some of the backed-up traffic pass. Yesterday, I didn’t let it bother me. I had packed snacks and had them well within reach since I was traveling at lunchtime.
The slower speed gave me a good opportunity to munch while driving and listening to a random shuffle of my music library.
The large pickup truck that raced to pass many vehicles in the train caused me no concern, unlike the driver of the car ahead of me who sped up in an attempt to block the truck from getting back in our lane ahead of him or her. It is really pleasant to not need to be in a hurry and to not care about other people causing delays.
Upon arrival at Wildwood, I found Cyndie on the deck doing some painting in the sunshine.
We were alone for a night but expecting to see Elysa and Ande later this afternoon to add a little family energy to the weekend. It’s quite a contrast from the vibe of 13 rowdy guys here a week ago.
One common feature is the multiple channels of Olympic competition available for viewing. There’s less swimming and more track and field but the same energy of medal-seeking international athletes pushing for their best and chasing record times/scores.
No hurry, but I’m chomping at the bit to watch the Men’s gold medal Football match between France and Spain.
Allez, allez!
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Asher Observes
It was day two of entertaining our dog, Asher yesterday while trying to complete my mowing goals before departing for the lake today. By the time it started to sprinkle on us with some light rain, I just had the back hill left to cut. Weather radar indicated significant rain was not an immediate threat, so I mowed despite the dampness.
That meant Asher needed to entertain himself in the house. He seemed satisfied with that after hanging out with me earlier in the day while I trimmed along the north loop trail. Asher nestled in the tall grass so that it looked like he was hiding.
He was very patient while I toiled away so I let him choose the route for a long walk after I finished trimming. When we reached a vantage point where Asher could see all the horses grazing in the hay field, he sat down to watch them. While he was happy being stationary, I waited with him and finished my daily word games on my phone.
During our last walk of the day, after he had waited inside while I finished mowing, Asher again sat down and observed the horses.
This is such a satisfying behavior for us. Maybe someday we can allow him to sit and observe the world without being leashed. Last week, Cyndie was working on training Asher to be off-leash and respect our property boundaries and twice she ended up needing to retrieve him from the neighbor’s yard. I’ve kept him tethered full-time this week during my days of solo supervision.
At least he’s grown out of the urge to constantly chew through any leash constraining his freedom.
I’m looking forward to some freedom from dog duty for a few days. Our friends, Pam and John will be here to care for our animals again over the weekend.
Asher will be observing their cat –from a safe distance. Their little princess, Pumba, stays behind a closed door since Asher is not reliably friendly with visiting pets, especially not ones of the feline variety.
Off to the lake, I go once more!
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Feel-Good Moments
It’s been a long time since there’s been much to hope for in the US political scene. Yesterday, Kamala Harris announced her choice for running mate was Minnesota Governor, Tim Walz. It’s given fresh hope to all the people exhausted with the negative energy that has dominated the scene for far too long.
The thrilling crowd response to the appearance of the pair at their rally in Philadelphia could be felt through my TV. The ovation was robust and sustained.
It was a definite feel-good moment. I hope the good energy survives the attacks that will get hurled at them by opponents throughout the rest of the campaign.
I don’t know if they will be able to convince skeptics that the Earth is not flat, but there should be no reason for reasonable people to misunderstand the message of hope for the future expressed in their campaign speeches.
Asher and I cooperated in accomplishing some feel-good moments of our own yesterday. I brought him along to cut down a leaning tree across one of our trails and leashed him to the barn so he could watch me do some mowing. The rest of the day he patiently lounged around in the house until I returned. When I stopped for lunch, I was able to catch the end of the US Women’s Soccer win over Germany and later, I got back to the house in time to see Kamala Harris introduce Tim Walz at the rally.
It’s not easy accomplishing such a range of desires in a limited time when I’m home alone. I’ve still got a lot of mowing to do and there’s always exciting Olympic competition to see on TV at the same time as needing to entertain Asher and tend to the horses. Our trails need more trimming, too, but I won’t get to everything before it’s time to join Cyndie at the lake again tomorrow.
Getting the essential tasks done is a little less dreary after this burst of positive energy on the US political scene. Here’s hoping it just continues to build for the next three months and then carries on for years beyond that. You betcha.
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Sleep Deprivation
All day long the rain came down. Every so often there were rumbles of thunder. Periodically, downpours would roar or big winds blew. If I didn’t speak, those were the predominant sounds beyond the energized reporting of Olympic sports commentators droning from the TV. I’m home alone with the animals for a few days.
If I didn’t have the Olympic broadcasts keeping me company, I’d probably do a lot more talking to myself. Asher isn’t much of a conversationalist.
I’m feeling rather short of words lately. Hanging out with Asher and the horses doesn’t require me to talk much. One might think that would result in more mental resources for writing but I’m not finding that to be the case right now.
It would be nice if that mental blankness would allow me to sleep soundly but Sunday night’s dream saga of me striving to achieve something that continuously eluded success and appeared to consume way more time than was available was unsettling. I would slide toward consciousness from the dream and lament that it felt like I was mentally working so hard, then fall back to sleep and into more of the same type of dream. It became exhausting when I was supposed to be resting.
One thing that the annoying overnight dream-disturbed sleep made easier was falling into naps all day yesterday, even when I didn’t intend to. Since Asher wasn’t feeling at all like napping, his whining was able to disrupt any serious sleep recovery a reasonable nap would have provided. With nothing but falling rain happening outside, it would have been a great day to nap.
Instead, I found myself getting soaked while giving Asher chances to stop whining on walks in the rain.
I sure am glad the horses don’t need me to take them for walks.
Let’s hear it for the rejuvinating benefits of a sound night’s sleep with nothing but sweet dreams throughout.
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Great Rides
I had one job to do this weekend: go for bike rides with Paul. The rest of the hours were agenda-free and I made the best of my time by relaxing to the maximum degree. While the twelve other guys were golfing, I had the place to myself, which rarely happens at the lake. The solitude was magnificent. I had a range of Olympic event options for sports spectating keeping me company indoors and gorgeous weather to lure me outside where I explored the surroundings alone.
Friday morning started with a mysterious sound coming from the woods in the pre-dawn hours that my waking self took a long time to diagnose. I deduced it was coming from somewhere very close so I forced my eyes open and spied through the trees to catch a glimpse of movement on the roof of the property next door. There was a crew of guys ripping off the old shingles. The rest of the day was filled with the repeating rat-tat-tat of new shingles getting nailed.
I walked the mini-labyrinth Cyndie and I created in the woods and soaked up sunshine on the deck. A short nap might have happened to the rhythmic sounds of a roofing crew hard at work.
When Paul returned in the mid-afternoon, it was time to ride. On Friday, we started on gravel which was a challenge on my Trek Domane with slick tires. Paul has a new gravel bike that handled it well. I felt like I was trying to hold my bike on the edge of a ski boat wake and more than once had to muscle the front wheel back in place to avoid calamity. When we popped out onto pavement at the end of the fire lane road, the smooth ride felt like a new world. We sailed along for more miles than we’d planned because the roads and surroundings were so nice.
On Saturday, the radar indicated we had limited time before a storm would be arriving so we skipped the gravel and chose a different route that still connected with the latter half of Friday’s ride to enjoy that great rolling ribbon of pavement a second time. Made it back before raindrops started to fall.
This weekend was the first time I’ve been on my bike since riding the Tour of Minnesota in June. I surprised myself with how strong I felt on our Friday jaunt. My muscles in the latter half of yesterday’s excursion let me know they hadn’t been used at that intensity on consecutive days since June.
The legs get a rest today. I’ll be driving home this morning to trade places with Cyndie as she comes up for a few days with a friend.
This year’s guys’ golf weekend has been a treat, made all the more special for me by two great bike rides in the woods with Paul. I’m lucky the group has included me in their long-running annual tradition.
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Relative Something 