A bit of a flower I used to have in my garden. It got pulled accidently one spring when I had help weeding the garden. I need to find one at a nursery and replant. I miss it’s little smiling face.
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Adventure-ho!
Thank you to all who read, liked, and/or commented on the previous post. It’s a heavy topic and several of you sent me articles and links outside the comment section as well. I don’t want any of you to think I took your responses lightly, I’m still processing some of it myself.
Meanwhile Katie and I are going camping for a few days. I think we’ll be mostly out of touch, but I’m sure you’ll hear from us when we return. Katie has been unusually quiet lately, and I’m sure she’ll have plenty to say when we get back.
Meanwhile, stay safe and be happy!
Conflicted
I don’t want to talk about this and maybe that’s the problem. Maybe no one wants to really talk about this, to leave our own biases behind and talk and then listen without interruption to the other side of the debate.
I wasn’t exposed to guns growing up. My parents didn’t hunt, I didn’t have any friends that hunted. I have cousins that hunt but I was never actively involved. The closest I’ve been was to walk by deer hanging in the back of a pole barn, and though the first time was startling, I didn’t have an objection, knowing they used every possible part of the deer as a food supply for their family and friends.
Tree peony at it’s peak.
Still, I’m not personally comfortable with guns. And sometimes that bothers me, because I don’t know how to understand both sides of the gun debate. I’ve even considered taking a lesson or two, in order to know what it feels like to shoot a gun. Though that feels a bit intimidating.
But I do question the need for the average citizen to own automatic weapons. And yes I know I don’t even know the differences between them. But weapons that allow a shooter to pull off multiple shots a minute, kill and injure so many in the first moments of an attack, well, I just don’t think those should be in the hands of anyone but active military.
Blue thoughts this morning.
We hear the arguments against banning assault rifles every time the topic comes up. The constitution gets waved and we’re reminded it guarantees gun ownership. And besides, we’re told, these weapons are already on the streets and we’d never get them away from the bad guys anyway.
But I don’t think the writers of the constitution, when they were giving us the right to bear arms, knew anything about the devastation created by an assault rifle. I doubt they could even imagine such a thing. Moreover, banning a certain type of weapon or accessory doesn’t ban all weapons, doesn’t take away a person’s right to bear arms.
And if we don’t begin somewhere, don’t attempt to make our country safer, then what?
Geranium looking for a bit of light.
Do we just continue down the road we’re on now, where every few months people, sometimes dozens of people, lose their lives for no apparent reason? People just doing their jobs, running their errands, going to school, seeing a movie, enjoying a concert? Attending their place of worship?
Do we just continue to watch the news, see their faces through a fresh sheen of tears, while inside giving thanks that it wasn’t someone we knew, no one from our family? And do we just keep saying, sometimes out loud, that someone ought to do something? And then let it slide from our mind as we go about our daily lives?
Virginia Beach victims, photo from the internet.
What will it take for people in this country to have an honest discussion about the whole problem. Not just the guns, I realize there’s a problem with our mental health system too, but guns can not be left out of the equation.
What will it take for all of us to leave our comfort zone behind, leave our assumptions and personal histories behind, what will it take for us to face this uncomfortable place where we sit across from family and friends with opposing views and just talk.
And then come up with some viable first step.
My bleeding heart is fading among the forget-me-nots. I am not immune to the irony of that.
Sandy Hook with it’s children and teachers lost should have been everyone’s last straw. That tragedy should have been the catalyst for change, but even that loss wasn’t enough for most of us to be brave.
It’s complicated. Change is hard. But this morning, as I wandered my gardens looking for a peace I didn’t find, I grew convinced we have to try.
Can we find the light?
Because how many lost is the magic number, how many shattered families are too many, what does it take for us to grow up and do the hard work to become a responsible nation?
Can’t we be the adults here and sit down with someone we know holds opposing views and talk? I think we have to.
It would be a start.
Forget-me-nots remind us to never forget.
Singing in the rain and other smiles
Early in the morning the sun begins to poke through.
On my list of fun and stupendous things to do in 2019 is to run or walk the 10 mile Crim race in Flint this coming August. I know it’s something I can walk, barring some sort of injury, but walking takes forever and I’m sure I’m going to want to run some of it.
So I’m trying to stick to a training schedule of sorts.
I’ve narrowed it down to one day a week of trying to run faster, (Don’t laugh) one day of running longer, and one day of just getting some miles in.
Lots of these in bloom today.
Today was my longer run day, and the plan was to do 8 miles at my local bike path through the woods park. Usually I kind of dread the ‘long run’ days, but this morning I woke up excited to see how it was going to go.
It’s done now and I thought maybe you’d wonder how it went, so I’ll tell you, mile by mile. Come on, let’s get started.
It’s a long and winding path.
Mile one started out a bit slow. My excuse is that I was several yards away from the car when I realized I was still wearing my glasses. For a moment I thought about leaving them on, but sweat and running and glasses just doesn’t work for me, so I turned around and tossed them in the car. I’m sure that’s why that first mile went a little long even though it’s almost all downhill, and I usually use it as my shakedown run, checking to see what parts of my body are not into running and might give me a bit of grief. This time there was just a tiny, vague twinge in my right knee.
All systems go!
A bit of fungus art.
Just past the one mile marker I was startled as a grackel (bird) exploded out of a tree and across the path right in front of me. I had been looking for my (as I tend to call him) Mr. Bluebird who has regularly sat in that tree watching me go by. Last time I was out there Mrs. Bluebird sat there and observed my slow progress. I guess they’re both busy right now with babies.
And beyond the two mile marker I stopped quickly to examine the wet tracks of something that had crossed the path not long before my arrival. Maybe a dog, but more likely a coyote. Though I’ve seen them before and they never bother me, I picked up my pace, from a slow hobble to what I like to call hobble+.
See those dark spots? Wet paw prints from something.
Shortly after the three mile marker I ran into two chipmunks goofing off, chasing each other on the path. I decided to call them Chip and Dale. They were having a lot of fun until they noticed me. Then they stood up on their hind legs and watched me. I stopped to watch them. Then I moved closer to try for a picture and they streaked off making all sorts of chipmunk noises to warn the woods about the big noisy clomping person out on the path. Their warning was at least three times as big as their little bodies!
A couple of people on bikes enjoying the morning.
The beginning of mile four goes through some deep woods, one of my favorite parts of this path. Less wet than before, so fewer mosquitoes, but still pretty, and shady for those summer runs. By the end of the mile, though, the woods give way to open meadow with a bit of a breeze that I enjoyed. I had a hard time deciding what to wear this morning, and ended up with shorts and a long sleeve technical shirt. It was a damp 52 when I started my run. Turns out long sleeves were a mistake, I should have worn a tank top even though I feel fat in tank tops.
The sky got a little worrisome.
I was watching the sky as I ran through the meadow, making note of ominous clouds way off to the west. As I hit the four mile marker I felt the first drop of rain. Of course. I was the furthest from the car that I could be. Wouldn’t matter if I turned around and went back or kept going forward, the distance would be the same. I kept going and smiled at a woman on a bike going the other way. We both shrugged our shoulders as if to say….”What are you gonna do when it rains, right?” I figured if she hustled she could make it back to the car before the rain truly hit. Me? Well, I ratcheted it up to hobble++.
During mile five I concentrated on getting along faster. That one rain drop had been a warning, and I knew it could be a downpour at any moment. But I stopped to take a picture of a swath of yellow flowers down in a swampy area. I don’t know what the flowers are, but I was pleasantly surprised by two duck-like birds that rose up out of them when I took my shot. I don’t know what they were either. They were the size of ducks, but were both dark. I didn’t stay to try and figure it out. Time was ticking, the clouds were rolling, and the mosquitoes were swarming every time I stopped.
Don’t know what that yellow stuff is. If you look close you can see some blurry birds flying out of the swamp.
Mile six put me back at what I now affectionately call chipmunk junction. As I approached I saw several chipmunks running from one side of the path to the other, chasing each other and having a good time. They began to scatter as I got close, but I think there were at least six of them. Lots of warnings went up as I hobbled through, and I’m sure they were glad to see the backside of me.
With two miles left to go a few more raindrops cooled my face. Just a gentle rain, as if someone knew I was hot and tired. I slowed my hobble down and smiled. And then I heard the slow flapping of something big off to my left. Something with really big wings was taking off, though I couldn’t see it. I figured it was a hawk, or maybe a crane. But a few minutes later two beautiful blue herons flew right overhead, low and slow, they were just beautiful. I smiled wider. And then, for the rest of that mile I whistled “Moon River” from our concert last Tuesday night…and eventually that made me laugh…the incongruity of a hot, sweaty, slightly overweight, middle aged woman hobbling slowly through the woods whistling while smiling at the birds.
Tempting to sit for a spell…but it’s going to rain.
When I hit the 7 mile marker, with only one mile left to go, I stopped for a second and itched the mosquito bite behind my right knee. Then I took a big breath and contemplated the long hill before me, that last mile, mostly up, and started the slow process of getting back to my car.
And out of the woods came my Mr. Bluebird, just a quick flit out to the path, a bank of brilliant wings, and he was gone. But I smiled to see him and picked up my pace.
When I hit the steepest part of the hill I upped the game to hobble++, smiling all the way. At the top of the hill, with a quarter mile to go, two flickers flew ahead of me, the white triangles on their behinds showing me the way. I stomped in celebration on the 8 mile mark painted on the path and skipped the short bit back to the car as rain beginning to fall in earnest.
Hurry! The rain is coming!
I beat the storm with my own two feet, no bike required. The lessons learned from this run? Well, definitely that two motivators are mosquitoes and impending weather. Summer is closing in fast, no doubt about it and I’m going to have to get faster…
…because I know from experience it’s hard to outrun a black fly.
Lots of these in bloom today too.
Wordless Wednesday and Cee’s Black and White Challenge: Small Things
Running toward the past
Once upon a time, more than two decades ago, I joined a online group of women who wanted to run. I met some of them out at Kensington, my favorite park, and that first day we walked and ran around the lake, eight miles. We walked the uphills and ran the downhills and had a great time talking.
Today I ran behind this guy for quite awhile, but at 3 miles I turned back and he kept going.
Over the years we’ve run plenty of training runs either together in person or together in cyberspace. Plenty of races too, including several half and full marathons. We’ve even been on a few road trips to do races, those are the most fun!
And after each race or long run I’d post my ‘nature report,’ things I’d seen along the way. Even in marathons I could usually remember one thing from each mile to comment on in my race report delivered to our common website after I was home.
The cowslips and most of the trillium are gone, but I found a few still blooming.
Then, ten years ago I ended up with a stress fracture in my right foot, training for a local half marathon, and the running, for me, stopped. I stayed in touch with the group though, cheering on those who were still running, celebrating life events like children’s weddings and the birth of grandchildren too.
The group is much smaller now, but they still support my attempts to get back to running. On my 60th birthday I met some of them for a race in a small town several miles away. Some of them did a half marathon, I did the 5K and then waited to cheer them in after their race. (If you want a giggle, read the post at the link above.)
I don’t know what this is, it was about knee high, all these blossoms are connected to one stem.
Still, even after that I didn’t get back into the running groove. And time moved on.
I miss my friends, I miss the comradery of preparing for a race together, even if it is online. I miss writing my nature reports.
There’s quite a bit of this, reminds me of perennial geranium in my garden.
So a couple of months ago I registered for a local race. It’s a 10 mile race in Flint Michigan at the end of August, and I used to run it all the time – I think the first time I ran it was 1990. In the past decade I’ve run the 5 mile event, and I’ve walked the 10 mile, but I haven’t really trained to run the long, hot and humid race.
And now that I’m registered, well, I have to get cracking. So for several weeks I’ve been trying to get out the door every other day at least for a long walk. And in this past month or so I’ve been adding running bits.
This little whippersnapper passed me a couple of times. Then she’d walk and I’d pass her.
At first just a quarter within each mile. Sometimes not even that. Some days are just walk days. But this week I had a four mile run/walk where I ran the middle two quarters of each mile back to back. A half a mile each mile run.
OK, so run might not be exactly the right word. It’s not that I’m fast. But still.
Then she got further ahead and when I went around the next corner she was long gone.
Some weeks are better than others, and I’m worried that I’m nowhere near ready to do 10 miles, but I’m trying not to get injured, so I’m going slow.
I’ll be traveling a lot this summer which always makes it more difficult for me to train. But I hope that we’ll be doing lots of walking and somehow I’ll stay in shape.
Hot and sweaty but still smiling.
Once I get in shape of course.
Set the phone camera on ‘selfie’ and held it under the may-apple leaves, shooting up.
Wordless Wednesday combined with Cee’s black and white photo challenge: Hands, Feet or Paws.
Paw during nap.
What the heck is a Dequindre Cut? The answer will make you smile.
The Dequindre Cut is a beautiful paved bike path and walkway.
If you’re not from around here Dequindre probably isn’t even a word. Heck, even if you are from around here you probably don’t know that the street in metro Detroit was named after a hero in the war of 1812.
And even if you know all that, well, it’s possible that you have never heard of the Dequindre Cut.
Graffiti art adorns all the bridgework along the mile and a half walk.
I hadn’t either, until someone who worked in my department talked about it a few years ago. It sounded intriguing, and for several years it’s been on my list of things to investigate “when I had the time.”
Well, it turns out I needed to make the time.
Some of the paintings have some sort of message to give.
This past January, instead of making a resolution I put together a list of “Interesting, Stupendous and Fun Things” to do. It sounded more fun than resolutions, and so far it has been!
Others are more traditional graffiti.
In late January I was able to check the first item, making a winter visit to a lighthouse in northern Michigan, off the list.
There were lots of people out walking and biking.
And I’m definitely training (slowly) to do the 10 mile Crim race in August.
“A star is born through immense pressure and we have had our fair share. That beacon of light you see in the dark is our fair city rising from the night sky.”
Plus I’m keeping pace to read 50 books by the end of the year.
I waited for a person on a bike to ride by this, thought it would make a great picture, but wouldn’t you know, no one did. I think someone on a red bike would have been perfect!
And you know I’m working on my photography skills with the new Nikon.
But I want to tell you about this past weekend when I had a really really fun time walking and photographing the Dequindre Cut in downtown Detroit. It’s an old railroad bed that has been turned into a bike and walking path.
And the best part?
There was great music playing near this mural.
The best part is that the developers left much of the original graffiti on the bridge walls!
A friend and I went down to explore it and were very impressed by how wonderful it was. The walk goes from the Detroit River Walk all the way north about a mile and a half to the Eastern Farmers Market.
Layers and layers of art was everywhere.
And wouldn’t you know, we walked it, unknowingly, on Flower Day weekend, when the Eastern Market is flooded with vendors and people all focused on getting their flowers and plants for spring planting!
A building up at street level had this great red shark looming over the walk.
We started down by the river, and when we came out at the other end I started to recognize that we were near the market. And then we saw people hauling flats of annuals, and wagons full of larger plants and I knew we just had to walk over there and see it.
Up at street level, on the way to the farmers’ market.
It was only a couple more blocks, and it was so much fun to watch all the activity. Plus there are lots of painted buildings there too!
People everywhere buying flowers, enjoying the music amidst the brilliant painted buildings.
We didn’t buy any plants because we were parked a mile and a half away! But we did buy some raspberries and bananas from a vendor because by then we were starving!
This city has so much talent!
We scarfed those down on our walk back to the car.
The Detroit Lions (football) are going to be great this year. Really. We’re not kidding.
All in all it was a very good day. We saw some really cool art, and some beautiful flowers. And you can’t beat Flower Day at the Eastern Market for people watching.
The music was pretty good too.
I’d go again and probably will, maybe combine it with a trip out to Belle Isle in the Detroit River.
Detroit. There’s a lot more here than what you’ve heard.
If you like, you can come along! It’s guaranteed to make you smile!
This phoenix is rising.
Nancy’s photo a week challenge: Circles and Squares
Most of my photography is nature related. Plus Katie, of course. Not things that generally lend themselves to circles and especially not things that lend themselves to squares.
Still…I filed this challenge in the back of my head and pretty much forgot about it. Until I was walking Katie on the neighbor’s property this week and she was sniffing around the back of their old chicken coop.
And as I turned to call her I saw it.
All squares are rectangles, but not all rectangles are squares. Or is it the other way around?
The round kiddy pool propped up against the shed, with the square nesting boxes leaning there next to it.
Made me laugh out loud.
And then Saturday a friend and I were eating lunch at a restaurant and I noticed the big round lampshade against the grid of the black ceiling.
But the black squares didn’t show up well in my phone camera shot. And as I was putting the phone away, explaining to my friend why I was taking a picture of the ceiling, she said…
…”don’t you see it? Look at that other lampshade right next to the big white one.” And there were the squares.
So this week it’s a two-fer. And a lesson learned; if you just keep your mind and eyes open you’re likely to see the most unlikely things.
PS
Katy here again. (If you didn’t read it, I did the previous post too. Just saying.)
I bugged and bugged mama this morning, whining to go outside. At 6 a.m. In the rain.
And because of me she got to see this. It lasted less than a minute.
You can thank me later. She already did. As is appropriate.
Your gal, the damp but still beautiful Katie-girl.
Change Is Hard 