June is here already

You don't say!

The little leprechaun actually didn't say anything as he sat inside one of the sandstone hollows on the Rock trail. I remember the first time we saw those holes, and somebody decided to yell inside to see what happened. I was surprised to find that they are quite deep, and once we trekked by to see lots of feet sticking out, which turned out to be a bunch of teenagers daring each other to check out the depressions. In the picture, one of the Trailblazers last week carried the little guy with her and set him up for the photo shoot. I didn't know the photographer took it and captured the moment so well.

This was my third excursion with Group 2 of the Senior Trailblazers, and I am pleased to have learned that I will not have to stop hiking completely, once Melanie moves away. She put her home on the market last Wednesday, and she already has two offers above her asking price. She has signed a pending agreement with one of them, and once home inspection has been made and signed off on, she will need to be out of there by the end of July at the latest. She figures it will probably be in the middle of the month by the time she gets everything all sorted out and packed up.

We walked yesterday morning as she told me all about it, and she is happy that I am doing so well with the new group, but I realized as we talked how much I am going to miss her. She reminded me that she will be back to visit often, and that she will be much closer to her family, which makes her happy too. It won't be the same, but change is inevitable and unavoidable.

I figure after she leaves, I will still do the same Saturday walks, probably by myself or maybe with one other friend. But it is now part of my weekly routine, and I won't want to leave the activity behind, just because she's not there. She suggested that I rejoin the Saturday walking group of ladies, but they start an hour earlier, and she's shown me how nice it is to enjoy the morning in a more leisurely way. Plus, they walk way too fast for me these days. 

I pondered last night what I might write about this morning, and nothing much came to mind. First I thought about books I've recently finished, but they are all the same stuff, some Buddhist nonfiction, and a few others that are not all that interesting to write about. Maybe it would be fun to recall some of my more exciting adventures over the years, but nothing seems to be popping out to present itself. So I guess I'll just riff on one of my favorite themes: gratitude.

As a healthy senior living in the beautiful Pacific Northwest, I have plenty to be grateful for. I have countless places within walking distance that are lovely and majestic, forests and parks with ancient trees, shady and filled with birds of every sort. And squirrels. I noticed on my last walk that there seem to be way more of them than this time last year, chasing each other and somehow mostly managing to evade the cars as they cross the streets. And I often share the trails with deer, who also seem quite healthy and robust in an urban environment.

I am also happy to have found some new friends in various avenues of my daily life. At the coffee shop, I've made a new friend who sits at the table next to John and me. Steve is a science instructor at the local college and sits with papers to grade most mornings, and we've gotten to know each other over coffee and conversation. By the time he arrives, he has already worked the daily Wordle, so as I sit there pondering what the solution might be, he keeps the solution to himself until I solve it. Then we discuss it. Our friend RJ sometimes shows up to join in the fun. He usually has coffee and a breakfast sandwich, so we have established a new and enjoyable routine at our newest coffee shop adventure. 

I walk to the bus on weekday mornings and catch it to downtown, and I know all the usual people who ride the same bus, but I don't talk with any of them. It's partly because I still wear a mask on the bus, along with a few others. I wonder where they are going, to work probably, since they are there almost every day. A few of them are students going off to school, I suspect. School is still in session here, but it must be just about time for summer break, so I should stop seeing them soon. So many people on the bus never look up from their phones, and I sometimes wonder what is so interesting and absorbing. Occasionally I can look over the seat at the person in front of me, and mostly it seems like endless scrolling through some app or other.

Although it's later than usual for me, I finally finished potting all the flowers in my front porch garden. And I also decided that I will not plant anything in our community garden this year, because I am really tired of dealing with the slugs for not much gain. John grows asparagus and has gifted us with plenty of it, and there are so many expensive but abundant veggies at our local store that I just don't feel like doing it any more. Perhaps if money were tighter for us, I'd be happy to continue digging around in the community garden. For now, we're doing fine.

This year's front porch garden

I just now went out to the front porch to take a picture of the flowers, so you can see them. They should continue to grow and expand a bit more, but I didn't get any geraniums this year and will be content with petunias and pansies, along with some other pretty gems. In any event, I am very happy to be enjoying the perfect spring weather as we move into June.

My dear partner still sleeps next to me, and my tea is gone and I'll thinking about getting up for good and starting my daily routine, now that this gentle and rather rambling post is finished. I do hope the coming week will bring you something to be happy and grateful for. If you look, I'm sure you will find there are plenty of reasons to say THANK YOU for your life. You certainly do add much to mine, and I am definitely grateful for your friendship. Be well, dear friends.