Are you looking for me? Wondering why there are no new blog entries?
I'm on the road, wandering, hiking, feeding my photo desires, absorbing the sights of Death Valley National Park. If you'd like to follow along as I travel, visit my journal
What's in a name?
A wet Saturday, a perfect excuse for relaxing...
My preference was for dry pavement to support a wander on my bike, but that just didn't happen today. It was a day for staying home, for walking with a camera through mostly dry air, for gathering camera and clothes for my escape (tomorrow) to the west coast.
Sometimes, just relaxing is good.
Ah, what fun! A new addition to SmugMug allows me to present a slide show in the world outside of my photo galleries. Enjoy!
My fingers wandered to the Bike Friday site earlier today, and while I was there I saw that Gaylynn had lost her long battle with cancer a little over a month ago. I received a card from her in early September; as it turns out that was just before her death. I was so awed by her words when I received the card, and I wanted to post something about it. And yet, it didn't feel like the right time.
I'd like to honor her memory now by publishing her words to me. I know that I will remember Gaylynn, her attitude, and her strength, and I hope that I can honor others as she did with her words and her acts.
Now my days grow small. Know that when you see a pink sunset I have painted it for you.- Gaylynn
It was a weekend for visiting, a time for remembering, a time for wandering with camera in hand (as always!), a time for laughing at Bailey's antics...
You haven't met Bailey yet? He's the crazy dachshund who runs my parents' house! (More photos of Bailey's antics can be seen in his own gallery from a visit last August.)
It was a driving afternoon. I started the weekend a little early, heading out at 2 PM in order to miss the Friday afternoon exodus (heading west) from Boston along the Mass Pike.
Gray was the color of the day, getting darker and darker, unusually dark given the time of day, until rain started falling. The rain stayed with me until western Massachusetts, when I was treated with an incredible view. Water stopped falling from the sky, and the mist started lifting. Waves of mist were still visible, with bright autumn colors popping underneath the mist, highlighting the trees. What a beautiful sight.
I have to admit, it took a lot of self-control for me to not give in to the desire to stop and attempt to capture some of that beauty with my camera. But oh, stopping on a limited access highway with cars flying by at 70 to 80 miles per hour is really not a good idea. And yes, I did behave (this time). Photographs are only available in my mind.
...bark, bark!
Do you talk to the animals? I do!
I can't tell you when I started having discussions with strange animals I've met on the road, but yes, I do talk to them. I was walking down a quiet street when I passed an occupied yard. A dog was happily wandering. He sensed my presence and started barking. I didn't stop walking. I looked in his direction, and said "bark, bark! dog, bark, bark!".
Funny... He looked at me, and he stopped barking.
Of course I'll never know if his bark was a greeting and if he would have stopped on his own. I think I'll continue talking to the animals.
My afterwork activity has switched from biking to walking. I almost switched back again this afternoon, but it's a good thing that I didn't.
I suppose that you could call me overly cautious, but I really don't like being on the road on my bicycle around the edges of daylight. Yes, there are really good lights available, but even those lights don't get past the setting sun in your eyes syndrome.
I headed out walking in full daylight. As I was looping back towards home, dusk was hovering. Ah - I think it's time to start adorning myself with my "walk in the dark bright blinking lights" again. Tomorrow...
...remembering, sorrow and smiles, memories, a life ended too soon.
Neal, you've been gone for six weeks now. It feels like yesterday, yet if feels like forever too. And you know what? You may not be here (in person), but you're here. You're still in my thoughts; I think that you always will be.
I look up to see a picture of you flash across the corner of my (computer) screen. Funny stories wander through my head, childhood memories... I think of the love pouring out from you and to you from so many people. I think of your children and the memories of you that I'm sure that they treasure. I try not to think of the pain you experienced for too long, and I feel sorrow at the thought that the only way that the pain was removed was death. I wish that you were here, yet I'm so glad that your pain is gone.
I think of you often. You're not here (physically), but you're with me. I remember...
There are patches of (autumn) color, and patches of green. And there are still flowers showing life. Cooler weather, shortening days...
The sky was a tease this morning. The beautiful morning morphed into rain, but the morning sky? Amazing...
Low-lying gray clouds covered the horizon, but looking up I saw blue skies decorated with wisps and narrow, jagged bands of white clouds backlit by the sun, glowing, popping against the bright blue background. True beauty.
Pictures? Only word pictures this time...
Colors are really starting to pop. There are areas where the trees are wearing their autumn splendor (although it does seem to be slightly muted), areas where the trees are showing their summer shades of green, and there are wildflowers that continue to contribute their own brand of beauty.
I'm not ready for the bare branches that are in the not too distant future, but I have to admit that I do enjoy the autumn colors.
...my wanderings in Maine
The photos from my trip have come out of hiding! There are photos in my journal, and there are more in my (five) photo galleries at A coastline beckons - September 2007.
I've included a randomly generated photo from each of the five galleries below. You can click on a photo or the name of the gallery to access it directly, or you can use the link above to see the gallery grouping.
Yes, my camera accompanied me as I walked this afternoon. That really doesn't surprise you, does it?
And a little chipmunk very nicely posed for me. He looked at me, I obeyed his request that I not walk any closer, and he happily sat still for a few minutes.
Today's warm temperature almost made be believe that the season isn't changing. It is, as shown by the patches of color emerging from the still predominantly green trees.
Sometimes I wonder if I'll ever figure out the traffic patterns around here. I returned to work last week after my vacation and was faced immediately with non-summer traffic patterns. During the summer (school vacation, don't you know...) driving to work is quite a reasonable task. Of course during the summer I try to ride my bike in to work a couple of days a week, so I spend less time in my car anyway.
My post-vacation commute has been totally obnoxious - until this morning, that is. I've finally accepted that I need to be driving surface streets for my morning commute, and that sometimes I can take the faster highways home. My drive to work takes me over I-93 before the entrance ramp, so I can decide at the last minute which way (I think) is best.
It's Friday morning, and for some reason the Friday traffic patterns seem to differ from the rest of the week. I drove over I-93, saw that the traffic was flying, and opted to follow that fast road. 22 minutes! It took me 22 minutes to get to work today, instead of the 45 to 50 that it's been taking the rest of the week. No wonder I've been annoyed. And yes, I know, I need to calm down, adjust my "leave home" time, and just accept the traffic for what it is.
Heading home today? I know I'll follow the surface streets and not the highway. Friday afternoon is the time for everyone to head out in every possible direction for the weekend. Add to the day of the week the fact that Monday is a holiday for some, and I would expect the afternoon highway traffic to pretty much be at a standstill. Ah, the wonders of traffic...
Yes, I know it's fall. After all, the calendar says October. October!
Today was one of those special non-fall fall days. The sun was shining, and the temperature hovered in the low 80s. What a sweet day for a ride!
There was enough daylight left at the end of my work day to squeeze a ride in what I consider to be reasonable light conditions. It was a ride attired in summer shorts and a sleeveless jersey. Rolling down the road, happy...
I was absolutely soaked by the time I returned home. Funny, 81 degrees isn't that hot, but I think the combination of heat with humidity had something to do with my sweat levels.
Sweaty, but what a sweet ride!
I can tell it's fall though. Within an hour of my returning home, the temperature had dropped a good 10 degrees.
...clouds and late-season flowers in end-of-the-day sunlight!
With the continuing shrinkage of daylight, I've been walking after work instead of riding.
I do have to admit that I'm seriously thinking of squeezing in a short ride after work on Thursday and maybe Friday when the forecast calls for summer-like temperatures in the 80s. But for now, walking works.
Today I grabbed a camera as my feet hurried out for my walk. Cloud paintings and late season flowers made me glad that my camera joined me.
Why is it that when it is 60 degrees out (yes Fahrenheit!) in March or April it feels positively warm, but that same temperature in October has a bit of chill in it?
Yes, I know, we have entered the autumn equinox and the weather wizard is playing along with the season. But brrr! I headed out walking after work, dressed to fight the chill. It's a human adaptation thing; I know I'll be fine in a couple of weeks when I'm used to the declining temperatures.
And then I'll mess with my internal thermometer once more by heading to Death Valley to do some hiking at the end of the month. The average temperatures there are very different in October vs. November, and I'll be there a couple days in each month. I suppose I should just assume that the average will be sometime in between the two months.
From the weather & climate page on the Death Valley National Park web page:
