Monday, January 18, 2016

These are the days of miracle and wonder

Been running an extended route to and from work these days. When leaving the station the other morning, I saw this on a bench by the front door. I confess, I've never noticed this bench before. What was the miracle story? The recipient must have been not of tall stature.

The time to run is fleeting. Do it while you can. Miracles are not guaranteed.

On another note, this bench is a cool idea.  On the run home I noticed how many benches there are downtown and in Riverfront Park. Some sit absurdly high. Some look pretty rickety. Others are in hidden spots like this beauty. Some have been removed to keep people from camping on them.






Friday, January 08, 2016

Another Haiku Friday

Here's the latest Haiku Friday! Seven poems - mostly fowl.



Please visit HaikuFriday.com  for all your Haiku Friday needs.

Thursday, January 07, 2016

New Year's De-evolutions

So begins another year. I am not a big New Year's resolutions guy. I have never had too much luck with them. Instead, I have, for the last 20 years, been big on to-do lists. I write down everything I would like to do that day. Usually, I skip workdays because I have another to-do source there. I know there are some things I won't get to, so I push them to the next day. Eventually, if I keep pushing a task, it drops off. I used to write the activities down on scraps of paper, but about 10 years ago I started using small notebooks.  I have kept them, and in a way, they serve as mini diaries. I've sometimes referred back to them to remember a date on a specific action. Here's a page from July 2015 in a very nice notebook that Sarah gave me:


Having a to-do list makes things happen for me in the wintertime especially. Because in the winter, I would rather be doing this, without the skiing part:


Much of my winter involves a lot of preparation for spring. For example, I will be starting the vegetables indoors pretty soon. I try to have a reason for running through the winter. This year, it's another springtime 50K. I like this distance - 31 miles. I can train for it without having every day dominated by a running schedule. I will be up to about 80 miles per week when I am ready to do it.  Last week, the runs were crazy cold and slippery. I had to protect my nose, which had some cancer surgery lacerations still healing. I know I am a visual spectacle when running. I think it's what people expect and I enjoy it. Even if someone is laughing at you, you still made their day a little better. 


I have had to stop and take pictures a lot. It slows me down, but really I'm not going that fast anyway.



What else is on my list besides running this winter? I need to get the poetry book to the publisher. My friend Eve, the editor, went through it, and now I need to get moving on putting the book out there (a little fear maybe?).  For my job, I have been studying more and learning more (sometimes the two don't correspond). I want to branch out from watercolors to oils and acrylics in painting. I've been playing the ukulele for 12 or so years but have not done much lately.  I want to change that. I'm going to eat better and drink more water. I am going to get rid of "stuff" - declutter. Sarah and I are going to see more movies. We're off to a good start on this. Watched Star Wars - the force awakens and The Danish Girl last week. I am working on more short stories and poems. I recently joined the hazmat team, and there are some things I've been working on to make things easier for all of us hazmateers. Sauna more. Stretch more. I am going to be able to do a hundred yards in tall grass walking on my hands with my feet strapped to the powerwheel.  Yesiree.

And it all starts with a to-do list!

Wednesday, January 06, 2016

It's a trap!

I will have more to follow on the Department of Fish and Wildlife's attempt to catch turkeys in our backyard. Just wanted to share this Star Wars tie-in, now.