Summer 2025 and a new war

Old and new roses

Last night, America began a new war with Iran. We don't know what the fallout will be, but it won't be good, that's for sure. The whole world is now awaiting the next steps. I am saddened and a little afraid, but in time we will know the effects and aftermath. I will stick with my own little life today. But I am filled with sorrow and trepidation. Stay tuned.

This week, I walked around the Cornwall Rose Garden noticing all the pretty roses in there at the beginning of the summer season. Even the spent rose is pretty to my eyes. Watching them come to life after having been gone since last fall has been delightful. This year, I didn't make it onto the trails around town to see any of this year's trillium, but they were there, and I've seen many posted by friends; now they are gone for yet another year. I'll just have to make do with these pretty roses as they show themselves during the coming months.

You wouldn't know it's summer here today. We had one of the driest late-spring seasons here in the Pacific Northwest in a long while, with so little rainfall that things were beginning to look rather parched, unless they got watered by hand. But for the last few days, we have gotten some much-needed rain and cool weather. While the Midwest is expected to have above-normal heat, we are not even making it to the low sixties, with 55-60 F being the high temperatures. I much prefer the coolness, so I am not complaining at all, feeling a little sorry for those of you expected to endure a real heat wave during the coming week. I suspect we will eventually have hot weather, but I'm in no hurry.

This past week I made my first real honest-to-goodness hike with the Senior Trailblazers. Although I've gone on some not-too-long and not-too-high hikes over the past weeks, this was the first one that really felt like I have gotten back to my previous ability to hike. I will never again attempt the hard hikes, since my new normal is nowhere near what I could once do. But it doesn't really matter to me, since I was afraid that I would never again attain this level of hiking ability, but I have, and I must remember to take it easy and not overdo. Now maybe I can work on getting ready of those extra pounds that seemed to take advantage of my inaction to magically make my pants fit tighter. It's not a huge amount of weight, but it's not the way I want my clothes to feel when I'm wearing them.

Enticing trail on the Interurban

I am so grateful to live in this part of the country, where the skies are mostly clear and cool, and the trails entice me to visit them. I don't know what future days will bring, but I will be here making the best of things. My life is rather circumspect these days, but I have so many really good friends, and my family seems to be doing quite well, even those living in the hottest parts of the country. Of course, we don't know how hot it will get, but if you look at maps of the expected heat wave, they show the Pacific Northwest holding firm with late spring temperatures, for now.

While nothing stays the same, a static universe isn't where we live. I can get onto one of my favorite sites, Astronomy Picture of the Day, and gaze at objects in our vast universe and marvel at this place we inhabit. I feel very fortunate to live during a period when astronomers are studying our galactic neighborhood and those places far, far away from us. When I feel stressed, I can visit a magnificent distant galaxy millions of light-years away and maybe harboring life, and it helps me to gain perspective. 

How about you? How do you cope with stressful situations? It's always interesting for me to learn how others cope. This morning, in a short while, John will pick me up in his truck and we'll head to Fairhaven for our usual Sunday morning breakfast. I don't think anything will be different, but I don't know that for sure. I cannot be the only one feeling this trepidation about current events. Later today, when it's warmer outside than it is right now, I'll go for a walk and that always makes me feel better and more grounded. 

I hope you, my dear friends, will find some way to enjoy the coming week, and that life will surround you with delightful treats, such as family, pets, and good food. Whatever is coming, we will get through it, together. Be well.

Cool weather and more

Poppies on their way out

Yesterday, while walking with my friend Steve in one of our favorite places, the Harbor, I saw these poppies looking rather, um, spent. I wasn't sure when I saw the big round balls whether they were getting ready to bloom, or had already done so. A passerby answered my question, and said that these are almost all past their bloom, and that they would be great to harvest and take out the seeds. She said that when they are completely ready, they would rattle. These were just plants growing wild by the side of the road, and although very pretty, I guess they are just unplanted weeds. (Shhh! I don't think they are really weeds, but I remember learning that any plants, no matter how beautiful, that are volunteers, are considered to be weeds by some.) We live in such an abundance of trees, flowers, and plants that don't actually seem to need anybody to deem them beautiful in order to flourish and beautify their surroundings. 

When we started our walk, it was downright cold, with a brisk wind and the temperature not even reaching the low fifties (10C). I was dressed for it but I was certainly surprised by the frigid conditions, considering that we are just a few days away from the summer solstice. It happens on the 20th at 7:42pm here, and then the days will slowly begin to shorten and the nights lengthen. I remember hearing, when I first moved here in 2008, that summer usually doesn't start until after Independence Day (July 4th). I think that may be accurate for this year. I sure hope we have a cool-ish mild summer, rather than the incredible heat waves that some places will experience. I much prefer the coolness and often retreat indoors to the cooler weather. The older I get, the more I seem to suffer from excess heat. 

Today is Daddy's Day, for all the dads around the country. Is it global, this celebration, or is it something that people made up to sell stuff? I'm not sure, but I have been thinking about my own dad, who left us long ago (back in 1979) of a heart attack. The bane of our genetic family history: my sister also died prematurely from it, as well as my son Chris, and it's one of the reasons I started jogging in my thirties, to keep my heart healthy. I also don't eat red meat and haven't for decades now. My cholesterol is kept in check by a statin, and I don't have high blood pressure any more. At one time I did and the other day it was high at the dentist's office. I put some new batteries into my home BP cuff and have been keeping track of it since. It's normal once again, most of the time right around 125/70. Not bad for an octogenarian.

Yesterday was the rally that some called "No Kings" Day, to coincide with the events in Washington, DC, to celebrate the 250th birthday of the Army. It also was Trump's birthday, and although it rained at times, there were countless troops and tanks at the Washington Mall. At the same time, thousands of protest rallies were being held across the country, with somewhere around six million people marching. Here in our little town of Bellingham, we had a huge turnout, and by the early afternoon the clouds dissipated and the sun warmed the air.

Bellingham's No Kings rally

I snagged this picture off of a Facebook post. I didn't actually march myself, as I stayed home after our walk, feeling a little bit of pain in my left knee. I figured there would be plenty of participants, and I was right. It didn't start until late in the afternoon, and by that time I was ensconced in my favorite chair and ready to unwind from a very full day.

John will come to get me in an hour, and we'll head off to Fairhaven to enjoy our usual Sunday breakfast. Being a creature of habit, I sure did miss John last week, when he went out with some other friends, leaving me to have breakfast a little later than usual with my sweetheart at home. I do hope that John and I will once again visit our favorite restaurant today. I hope you have a wonderful week ahead, and that you will also find some family, or critters, or whoever to enjoy it with. Life is stressful for many of us these days, but things are looking up. Until we meet again next week, dear friends, I wish you all good things. Be well.

Hold on, hang on, looking forward

Steve at Squalicum Harbor yesterday

Do you like the looks of those stratus clouds behind Steve's head? I sure do. And I saw them first thing yesterday morning when I went out to do my morning exercise on the front porch. They attracted my attention then, and after I got to the coffee shop and had my usual double-short Americano and visited with Steve for awhile, we set out for a really nice five-mile walk around Squalicum Harbor. It's been awhile since I felt ready for the entire walk, but I did fine, with no pain in the right hip/leg, and simply perfect weather, cool to start and then getting on the warm side. Well, for me anyway: it got all the way up to the mid-70s before it was all over, and I never felt too hot, especially while the cool breeze wafted up from the bay.

It was our second-year anniversary of starting these Saturday walks, and I've continued to enjoy them very much. Time seems to fly by these days, as I find the days, weeks, and months whizz right on by and I don't seem to be able to catch up; another one is gone before I even have a chance to say hello!

Today I need to figure out what I'm going to write about before running out of time. It's already later than I usually start out my post, since I once again overslept. I remember waking up several times during the night listening to SG snore, but then I fell back asleep and left him alone. Ever since he started taking chemo treatments for his cancer, I have worried that he's not sleeping enough, so I am reluctant to wake him if he's fast asleep enough to actually snore. I love him and can't do much else to help, so not waking him is my secret, don't tell.

Yesterday evening we watched the Broadway show Good Night and Good Luck on our TV, which aired for free all over the world. George Clooney starred in this show about Edward R. Murrow and Joe McCarthy. Adapted from a 2005 movie that was written and directed by Clooney, in this version he played Murrow. I am old enough to remember when these events happened in real time, but of course I wasn't interested back then in anything political. I was a young teenager then, after all.

CNN aired the production live from the Winter Garden Theatre in New York City. The telecast marked the first time in history a Broadway show was broadcast live on national television. More than 20 cameras were positioned throughout the theater to bring the play to audiences at home, CNN correspondent Anderson Cooper said during pre-show coverage (the Independent).

It was on March 9, 1954 that the network first aired the show, See It Now, that looked at McCarthy's and Murrow's live television coverage. But I sure do remember all the controversy over those people who were blackballed by McCarthy for being communist sympathizers. I remember years ago seeing a production of Dalton Trumbo's struggles and eventual recognition for his works. In the end, Trumbo was eventually acknowledged as being an exceptional writer and director. Wikipedia has a very interesting post about him. You can read all about him here.

While watching the show, I was struck by the amazing parallels between what happened back then and what is happening right now in my country. So many people are being blackballed by the Trump administration for believing in DEI, which has become almost as unacceptable in our society as being a communist sympathizer was in those days. Maybe it's a phenomenon that just keeps coming up because of the way our society works: something becomes popular and then is brought down by its opposite. 

This morning my friend John will not be coming to take me to breakfast in Fairhaven, as someone has asked him to attend a gathering of old friends. I will miss him, since I am definitely a creature of habit, but I'll see him later in the week at the coffee shop. We are all growing older, and I cherish each and every day that I am still able to enjoy my routines. One of them that is happening right now is writing this post early on Sunday morning. Sometimes I am at a bit of an impasse, not being able to think about what might emerge from my mind, and as you might be able to tell, this is one of them.

Flowers along the harbor

I hope you can see how pretty the flowers are along Squalicum Harbor right now. I am not sure, since my eyesight has lost much of its ability to see bright colors. The pink and white did catch my eye, so I hope you can enjoy the colors, too. I live in such a beautiful part of the country, and for that I am very grateful. It's been a perfect place for us, and for many years to come, I hope we will be able to continue to enjoy the seasons as they come and go. There is much to appreciate in my older days, so I'll do that, ignore the rest, and keep on keepin' on.

I hope the week ahead will bring you joy and happiness, too. Until we meet again next week, dear friends, look for the bright side of life and be sure to remember to tell your loved ones how much you love them. I'll do the same. Be well.

Loved ones gone too soon

Me and Emily on Graduation Day

It's been more than two decades since Emily died attempting a risky landing at Mile-Hi Skydiving Center in Colorado. She was such a gifted person in every way, and after I moved away and came to Washington State, we still had frequent phone calls and never really lost touch with one another. However, once I was gone, she began hanging out with people who I think pushed her too quickly to downsize her canopy and take risks I would never have thought she would. But one day in December 2010, I received a call from a mutual friend that Emily was in the hospital and not expected to survive. She had a very very bad landing after performing a "hook turn" and had extensive head and neck trauma and two broken femurs. She did not survive.

I was devastated, and although it was almost Christmas, I flew to Colorado and stayed with a dear friend who was also close to Emily. I wrote about the experience here, and reading about it once again brought back the memories of how it was to be there under those circumstances. And now, more than two decades of being in Bellingham, I realize that we all have memories that will never leave us. 

Last night I dreamed almost the whole night about skydiving friends, and Emily was there, among others, and it was such a delightful reunion, feeling just as real as sitting here writing this post. I often dream in color, and last night I was inundated with lots of purple and magenta (which I associate with Emily, for some reason). I made my last actual skydive more than a decade ago, but it was such a significant part of my life that it will always come back to visit me again and again. I can recall the sound of her voice, and it seems possible that she might just call me again some days. I would know her voice instantly. I remember once when she called me to ask about what it was like to get older. She was in her late thirties when she died, but she wondered how she would cope with the loss of beauty and her amazing abilities. She never got old enough to find out, and it reminds me that none of us know what the future holds, but here I am well into my eighties and I also wonder the same thing, as I begin to lose faculties I have always taken for granted, like sight. The others feel almost insignificant in relation to that crucial ability.

I can still feel the loss of many of my dearest friends and family, but they are never really gone, as long as my mental synapses continue to fire. It is what life teaches us if we live long enough. We are all in this together.

We call that person who has lost his father, an orphan; and a widower that man who has lost his wife. But that man who has known the immense unhappiness of losing a friend, by what name do we call him? Here every language is silent and holds its peace in impotence. —Joseph Roux

I am no stranger to the loss of family and friends. You just deal with it, everybody has to find a way through grief, the opposite side of joy and happiness. They go together, always have and always will. When I think of the 8 billion people alive today, on this June morning, each of us will one day die, and in the interim we will say goodbye to one another in myriad ways. It's part of being alive.

Estimates suggest that approximately 108 to 110 billion humans have died since the dawn of humanity. This number doesn't include the roughly 8 billion people alive today. The total number of humans who have ever lived is estimated to be around 117 billion. 

When I went to Google to find out this information, I learned it was something compiled by AI, with no references supplied. It also told me that this estimate represents 94% of all humanity. The first humans had to learn how to live and how to die, without anybody giving them any clues about how to endure the pain of loss, and how to die gracefully. There have been a few guideposts, landmark people in history, who still inspire us today: such as Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, and of course religious icons such as Jesus and Buddha. I have read many books by inspirational people, and many of the lessons I have learned over the years have become part of my own life's journey. I think this is true of many of us, as we navigate our individual ways, and each one of us seems unique in our approach to deal with the vicissitudes of life.

 Although I have lost much during my lifetime, I have also experienced and gained much as well. When I think of the decades of life I've already lived through, I could concentrate on any particular aspect and find both joy and sorrow in abundance, and that gives me so much pleasure to contemplate. I am blessed to have lived through a period of immense change, giving me a perspective on today that many younger people do not have. And I have gained a family comprised of digital connections that is new and exciting, don't you think? You are reading my thoughts that are created and written down just this moment. I have read the news of the day, from all over the world, almost instantaneously. It's a colossal world, filled with amazing creations that I am privy to. I am astounded when I think of it, and now I can press the "publish" button and be connected with thousands, perhaps millions of souls, just like that!

My sweet partner still sleeps next to me, quietly breathing in and out, and I realize it's time to get ready for the rest of my day. Holidays are behind us, so I can join John at our favorite Sunday morning breakfast spot. I am looking forward to the rest of this unique, perfect, joyous day. Until we meet again, dear friends, I wish you all good things. Be well.