Longtime readers might remember that every October many of us bloggers deliberately take a walk, then post a few (or a lot) of images and descriptions. Robin, over at Breezes at Dawn, hosts the Walktober, compiling everyone’s posts into one at the end of the month.
This year the official dates for Walktober are October 8th through October 24th. But if you need a little bit more time just let Robin know and she’ll try to accommodate you.
Let’s go on a walk!
It’s so much fun to take you all along on a walk. And it’s fun to read everyone else’s post, to explore a part of the country, or the world, that we might never get to visit any other way.
In the last couple of weeks I’ve been on two walks, complete with friends and their dogs and I’ve considered whether I should use those walks as my official Walktober.
Deuce and Ace patiently posing.
After all, I was walking, and it was October, and better yet, there were dogs!
But ultimately, though these were both really fun walks, I decided to take you with me to a place I’d never been before. And today I explored a new park.
Jasper enjoys a spot of sunlight.
But today’s images aren’t ready for the public yet, and I knew you wouldn’t want to miss pictures of dogs…so I’m sharing those here.
Maybe you’ve done a Walktober in previous years, or maybe you haven’t but think it would be fun. Either way, I encourage you to take some time out of your day and get outside.
Robin’s rules are easy. Take a walk or ride a bike, jog or go for a drive, just get outside, grab an image or two and then post about your experience. Link your post to this post of hers and she’ll be sure to add you to her list of people enjoying the beautiful October outdoors.
A dignified Jasper pauses for a pose.
And if you’re worried that you don’t have any country trails to share, maybe no autumnal color, well, one year I took everyone to downtown Detroit for my Walktober submission, and had a wonderful time showing you that a city is a great place to walk too.
There are plenty of beautiful days left in October!
Look around you, there’s bound to be something, perhaps your own yard, that you’d like to show us.
Let’s spend October sharing our wonderful worlds with each other. I can’t wait to see something of your part of the world!
The maple trees around here are turning colors. They are brilliant reds and oranges and golds this year.
Out on the main road is this little pond. It puts on a show every fall.
Each year I notice how beautiful they are, each year I think the colors are the prettiest ever.
In our small local cemetery the sun focused on a single branch.
Just like this year.
But today I also feel tinges of sadness as fall progresses because my little girl, the one who loved fall and who believed the trees turned color just for her isn’t here to enjoy it.
Ms. Downy Woodpecker spent a lot of time on the new feeder yesterday.
They wait every morning, growing more impatient every hour I’m late, for their feeders to be filled.
She was curious about me, just inside the window, but not frightened.
Yes feeders. As in multiple.
They already had an oiler feeder, a thistle feeder, a flat feeder and an oriole and/or hummer feeder, depending on the season.
I love capturing her fuzzy fluffy feathers.
But I follow a bird photographer who just purchased a new feeder that seemed to be a bird favorite, so I ordered one too.
Then Mr. Downy showed up, chasing her off. He thinks he’s special I guess.
The birds love it. I don’t know if it’s just because it’s new, or because the bigger birds who can’t fit through my caged feeder have a new source of snacks.
He’s fuzzy too.
Yesterday it enticed three different types of woodpeckers to spend time near our windows.
And then Ms Red-bellied arrived, chasing Mr. Downy off the feeder.
I hope you enjoyed seeing them as much as we did!
And Ms. Hairy Woodpecker arrived too, with her long beak. She at least shared the feeder with the little birds.
And go over and read Backyard Bird Nerd’s blog. You’ll love the variety of birds that she attracts to her yard!
Hey! What about ME? I’m pretty too….but they won’t let me on the popular feeder.
I’m looking forward to spending more time with my birds, but I’ll try to get up earlier to get those feeders filled before they go on strike and demand one treat per image taken. It’s possible Katie left them a copy of her contract and I don’t want that kind of thought process to spread.
I’m new around here (red breasted nuthatch, I’ve never seen here before!), so I’ll just look for seeds over on the railing.
It all started early one morning when we noticed a visitor breakfasting in the back yard.But wait! Look who else has arrived!A young buck enjoys our house special, succulent turf du jour.Are you looking at me, lady?Just a moment…do I hear something over there?I guess it’s nothing. If that lady is going to be taking pictures I better spruce up a bit.Meanwhile, another visitor approaches the buffet.Just one moment! Who are YOU?Why, no one important, sir!OK then. Just so it’s clear who’s the big buck around here.Yes sir, of course sir!Shhhhh! Just a word of warning, watch out for the big guy over there.Thanks for the tip!And another thing, you two youngsters need to show more respect!I swear, this younger generation has no idea. The things I had to put up with when I was a kid. Why I walked to school in blizzards, uphill both ways!I’ll just grab a quick snack to go…Need to find me a quiet place for a nap.Kids today…gotta keep em in line. Yep, always something….
Some of you know I was in Washington DC last week, but do you know why? Long term readers might remember the story of my dad who was killed December 23rd of 2004 while slowed in traffic when he was hit from behind by a semi driven by a sleepy driver. I and other members of my family have been working on truck safety issues ever since.
Looking for change from our political leaders.
Last weekend the Truck Safety Coalition held our biannual Sorrow to Strength conference, where survivors and families of victims from across the country met, provided emotional support to each other, and became educated on the issues.
Saturday and Sunday we spent listening to each other and preparing for the meetings to come.
Working the halls of Congress.
Monday and Tuesday we spread out in small groups across Capitol Hill, talking to staff and members of Congress about what happened to us, and the solutions we want implemented in order to save lives.
It is hard but necessary work.
Some of us gathering before our first meetings.
Almost 5,600 people died in commercial truck crashes in 2021. That’s a 13% increase in fatalities over 2020. And over 146,000 people are injured every single year.
Obviously there is much work still to be done. To bring it down to a more human scale, let me tell you the stories of two women, each bearing the unimaginable consequences of the trucking industry’s drive for profits.
Sometimes the sheer size of government can make a person feel unimportant.
Alexandra is a young woman married only two years when she and her husband moved from Idaho to Atlanta where she planned to attend law school. Last November her husband was sitting at a red light when his vehicle was hit from behind by a semi. He is now paralyzed from the neck down and unable to do anything for himself. Alexandra and her mother-in-law have been taking turns sitting with him and advocating for his care in several hospitals and rehab facilities.
But our stories ARE important.My sister and me before her meeting.
She’s a strong woman, Alexandra. She talks about the crash, about the care she provides for her husband, about their impending move back to Idaho to be closer to family. But when she talks about fighting with insurance carriers and the almost $5 million in medical debts she and her husband now owe, she begins to cry.
We have to tell the world.
The minimum amount of liability insurance a carrier has to have is $750,000. That was set in 1980 and has never been increased over the more than 40 years since. Though there’s probably no amount of required insurance that would cover all of the medical costs for Alexandra and her husband, certainly they deserve to have their expenses covered. He deserves to get the best care and therapy available, and he won’t get that if they are on Medicaid.
He was sitting at a red light.
We all sit at red lights.
It’s OUR government, intended to work for all of us.
And then there’s Elise. Her four children were visiting their father in another state, driving to a relative’s house to enjoy summer fun in a backyard pool on a hot July day in 2020. Their dad slowed down entering a construction zone. The semi behind was driven by a man who was high on meth and fentanyl. He hit the family’s car going over 70 mph. It was pushed into the semi in front of them and then into the guard rail where it burst into flame. The children’s dad was pulled out of the car, badly burned. But no one could see the four children in the smoke and flames.
All four of Elise’s children died in that crash.
When I reflect on my life Dad’s death was pivotal.
Elise told her story over and over during our two days on the Hill. She calls herself a mother with no children. I witnessed her dissolve into tears, then take a deep breath and continue on to ask for automatic emergency brakes on all trucks. She does this, with courage, in memory of her children. The least we can do to listen.
More families, more grief, more sharing, more requests for change.
Starting the rule making process for automatic emergency brakes on trucks was part of the last infrastructure bill, but only for the biggest trucks, class 7 and 8. Smaller commercial trucks were not included, and we all know those trucks are buzzing around our neighborhoods every day.
Elise’s children were slowed in a construction zone. We all slow down in construction zones.
It takes a lot of walking, a lot of talking, a lot of LISTENING to make change.
We can listen to these stories and hundreds, thousands of similar stories and send positive thoughts and prayers. That’s nice. But what these two women really want is change. It’s what all of us attending the conference want, change, so that fewer people die and get injured in preventable commercial truck crashes.
But change is hard.
There are bills in the House and Senate ( For example, HR 2687 for raising insurance minimums, HR 1622/S 605 for underride protection on trucks) to make change revolving around several of our issues. But this session of Congress is wrapping up and in the new year we will have to start asking for bills to be reintroduced.
You can help by calling your Senator or House Representative when things heat up again. And you can count on me to let you know all about it.
Some members of Congress are listening. This is Rep. Bustos from Illinois.
Dad’s, and all these stories continue, forever in our hearts.
Miss you, dad. Watch over us as we push forward, OK?
Change Is Hard 