Little dogs make me smile

I treasure each morning that I can ride my bike to work, especially this late in August when the edges of daylight creep ever later. It was cool yet comfortable this morning. The forecast of a warm afternoon had me don a sleeveless jersey, covered with my bright pink (bolero) arm warmer.

I stopped for a light, and looked into the car waiting next to me to see a funny little dog popping around the front seat. His owner rolled down the window to tell me how visible I was in my bright colors and to introduce his doggy companion to the cyclist standing next to the car.

What a cute dog - I could have happily reached out to hug him!

Calm waters

Sometimes it feels like a good idea to get lost in a reflection...

Early colors

It seems that someone (was that you, weather wizard?) told some of the trees around here that it is time to start changing colors. I suppose last week's too cool for August temperatures were the trigger. I really like autumn colors, but it's much too early.

The small patches of yellow and red are beautiful - even though I'm not ready for them.

Emerging...

...fluffy, floating, seeds from spiky flowers.

Vacation postponed

I made my decision to wander in Maine (starting on September 2nd) before my brother received his bad news just a week ago.

Ever since I heard the news, I've been fighting with myself over my plans. Should I leave the plans as is and potentially need to cancel at the last minute, or need to come home in mid-trip to be with family? Or should I change the dates?

Plans can be changed, vacation dates can be moved, but I need to make that decision now. Why? Because I have B&B reservations, and B&B reservations typically come with a very restrictive cancellation policy. Of the four B&Bs where I have reservations, two have a 14-day cancellation policy, and two have a 10-day cancellation policy. At first I was just going to leave the reservations as is, knowing that if I needed to be with my family during my planned vacation that I would lose my deposits. But as the days creep by, it just feels like my timing is really off. When I compared the cancellation policies and today's date, I realized that if I cancel now I will only lose one deposit.

As the days moved by, the timing of my planned trip started to feel really off. I thought and I thought. I agonized, and I thought some more. What should I do? I finally decided this morning to try to move my trip out further into September. Time for the telephone... I canceled reservations at two of the B&Bs, and I moved the other two. One of those was the reservation where I was already inside of the 14-day cancellation window, but the B&B owner was wonderful and just moved my reservation without charging me for the canceled reservation. How nice! I don't know if that was because I started the conversation by acknowledging that I knew they wouldn't refund my 1-night deposit, or if that's an unstated policy if the reservation is moved as opposed to cancelled. No matter the reason, that made my day! And I was lucky to find four consecutive days available at the B&B in Bar Harbor. I'll be staying in two different rooms, but my original reservation had that quirk as well.

I suppose that given my brother's life situation that my vacation isn't really important. It may be selfish, but it still feels important to me.

My moved Maine trip is still not too far off, starting on September 18th instead of September 2nd.

A camera hello

Well really, it was a hello because of my camera!

A gray day, a gray mood, walking, fast walking, my late afternoon exercise... I thought about grabbing my camera, but I didn't. Rain wasn't in the forecast, but it was so gray... I was moving quickly when a car pulled to the curb, stopped, and the driver rolled down the passenger-side window. I stopped to see if she needed directions. Instead, the driver asked me if I was the person she often saw in the area walking with a camera. That's me!

She stopped to offer her garden as a place to play with my camera. Her house is surrounded by flowers, and her back yard has a small pond too. What a wonderful offer, one that I will be sure to use. I'm always looking for interesting places to photograph.

A smile, courtesy of a stranger who has seen me wandering with camera in hand, mood lifting...

So sad...

A few weeks back, I planned a quick trip to Philadelphia for this weekend - for the sole purpose of visiting with my brother. I suppose that timing is everything; I needed to be there, to see him once more, to hug him, to let him know in person that I care.

This isn't mine to write about, but sometimes I need to let my thoughts flow...

It appears that he's nearing the end of a losing battle, a battle that he has been fighting for over a year and a half, a battle with stage IV cancer. He still wants to live, he doesn't want to give up, he hasn't given up.

Watching him solidifies my thoughts about how (I think) I will react when it is me going through this stage of life. Somehow, I think that my thoughts may not be right though - because this is something that you can't live for someone else, that you can't imagine unless you are going through it yourself. What do I want? Honestly, I think I want an off-switch so that I can decide when enough is enough instead of waiting for the inevitable, instead of living with severe pain, instead of living with "life limitations". (And it's too bad that we don't often get to make that choice ourselves.) Don't get me wrong - I want to live. I just want a quality of life that continues to make me happy. And no, I'm not trying to pass my thoughts on to my brother. I honor his strength of character, his love for his family, and his desire to continue living in spite of everything.

Is it even possible to ever be ready?

Tears flow down my face when I least expect them. I'm clearly not in control of my feelings, but honestly, I think that is perfectly normal at this point in time.

Tears, sadness, memories...

Riding, fingers crossed!

Yesterday afternoon the weather forecast for today showed a dry day. Later at night, the possibility of thunderstorms popped up once again. Hmmm... what to do?

This morning the forecast was for a dry day, so my bicycle decided to be my mode of transportation for the day. I donned blinking red lights to fight the gray morning, to ensure that the drivers would realize that I was on the road, and I headed out. It was a reasonably cool morning from a temperature standpoint, but sweat was dripping down my face by the time I arrived at work. The humidity? According to the National Weather Service current conditions for the area, the humidity was at 88%!

And guess what? The forecast has changed once more to show a 20% chance of afternoon thunderstorms. I hope it's not, but it may just be a wet ride home today.

Tall trees & light beams

The positive side of my not riding to work today is that I had a camera with me when I headed out on my bike in the late afternoon. While I might have my baby camera with me when I commute, my DSLR with its stash of lenses usually doesn't jump in my bag.

My pleasant ride was interspersed with chunks of time standing still, playing with my camera, learning the intricacies of yet another lens. Yes, I gave in to lens lust once again and added an ultra-wide zoom lens to my collection. It's a lens that will get more use as I wander further from home to view wide open spaces, but I can certainly find some places that fit the sweet spot of the lens closer to home.

Trees, light beams shooting through the trunks of trees living in the forest, standing still, looking up, towering tree tops...

Weather forecast, real or not?

I guess I have to stop believing the weather forecast. If I want to ride my bike in to work, I get up an hour earlier than I do when I'm planning to drive. That gets me to the office at (about) the same time each day, regardless of my transportation method.

When I checked the weather forecast Tuesday before I headed off to bed, it showed rain for Wednesday. Wednesday morning dawned, and the forecast had changed to a good riding day. Oops, not enough time! Last night, the forecast showed a 40% chance of thunderstorms for this afternoon. This morning? It showed a beautiful day. And yet... I wasn't up and moving about early enough to ride in.

Lesson learned! I'll ride late this afternoon, and tomorrow morning? I think - no, I know - I'll set my alarm as if I'm going to be able to ride in to work. I can hope, can't I?