Vultures Circling
Published October 5, 2011 | 
Oh yeah, I’m still circling the little lake like a dizzy vulture. I’ve got about 70 miles to go. At least the last few days have been pretty much perfect autumn days. Where else would you rather be than on the water? Oh, and speaking of vultures circling I just returned from my annual check up. I always post about it because way too many men are simply too scared to go each year, especially when you pass that 40th birthday. I’ll tell you one thing.. I’d rather go each year and act preventatively, than only go when nothing can be done. Now, I’m not going to say every minute of it is fun, but once it’s over I can get out the door and feel pretty good for the next 365 days or so… until the next check up…
impossible walls
Published September 28, 2011 | 
oh then it’s alright
when with every day another bit falls away
oh but it’s still alright, alright, alright
and like words together we can make some sense - Gabriel
What if you were the last person alive on earth? You could be standing out in a prairie somewhere watching low clouds scrape across the distant hills, feeling the chilled air of an autumn morning tingle at the tip of your nose. You could stare all you wanted to. You could try to lock every line, color, sense and sound into your mind with deep concentration. You could will your eyes to pull out every last detail of the panoramic image before you. It wouldn’t matter though. With the passing of just a few minutes, a few minor distractions, and the moment would fade. The problem with moments like these, is that they have to be experienced in their fullest as they happen and that can’t truly happen when you’ve got no one to share the moment with. Continue reading
/ˈskatər SHät /
Published September 2, 2011 |
Someone once said something to the effect that, “art is best appreciated on a full stomach”. It’s an issue of priorities. It’s hard for me to get jazzed up about the “cause du jour” when there are homeless right here in my little town (let alone everywhere else), kids without food, shelter or school supplies, mentally ill having their support funding cut, trash blowing around the parking-lots. . . on and on it goes. These days we’re so scatter shot in our focus, will and determination that it seems like we can’t solve even the most basic problems. I swear the whole herd has gone off the rails. Sorry, I know it’s not a fun subject.. just frustrating…. Needed to vent… vented.
BTW.. the video is from Serj Tankian, formerly of System of a Down.
Summers Passing
Published August 30, 2011 | 
I’m still young, but I know my days are numbered
1234567 and so on
But a time will come when these numbers have all ended
And all I’ve ever seen will be forgotten
- crash test dummies
It’s not autumn yet. Today’s photograph was actually taken 2 months from now, and a few years ago. So when you think about it that way, it’s not autumn anymore either. . . AND it’s not autumn yet. Be that as it may, it’s certainly starting to feel like autumn now. At least in the very early mornings. It’s the arrival of that strange fall effect where the mornings are very cool and damp, but with the rising of the sun, the day still becomes quite hot. Yet, even in the heat of the day, something feels off. The sun lacks radiance. The sky remains dark blue. Cold drafts seem to swirl around every corner like spirits, rustling leaves and causing sudden ghostly chills before once again disappearing into the ether. We are in the death throes of summer. We should take these last weeks to celebrate it’s existence and yet, this morning chill haunts me so. I find that I can’t help but begin to mourn the summers passing.
Faster Than…
Published August 20, 2011 | 
Went running again yesterday. I’m finally feeling back on task and back in the swing. Hilly trail, 4 miles, 3 days a week. Good, good. My lungs seem happy, my heart has found its comfort zone, my sprain finally has healed and even my legs seem content to carry my not-s0-tiny frame up and down the bluffs. I’ve been feeling pretty good. Each day, my goal is to add just a pinch more speed. You know the thing about that don’t you? It’s not that you need to out run the bear… you only need to out run the slowest person in your group . . .Puts a whole new spin on never going hiking alone… Happy Saturday!
**Image licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License.
Posted in My Weird Life, Nature & Wildlife, Outdoor Recreation, Quixotica, Random Thoughts | 
trail running | 
2 CommentsToday
Published August 10, 2011 | 
Today is Wednesday, August 10th, 2011. The heat wave that has gripped my little part of the world has broken. Well, It’s changed anyway. The Costa Rican humidity has passed and average high temperatures is back around 80 degrees Fahrenheit. Today I’m meeting a new rolling student who’s driving down from LaCrosse for a bit of coaching. I love private classes.. I also feel a bit humbled by the fact that someone would drive so far to hang out with me for a couple of hours. I’ll tell you one thing, I want to see her rolling before the days out. Now here’s a few more thoughts that popped into my crazy head this morning… Continue reading
Don’t wash the dirt off of your hands, doing the same mistake twice,
making the same mistake twice.
Come on over, don’t be so caught up,
it’s all about compromising. I see problems down the line, I know they’re not mine.
Don’t let the darkness eat you up. – 6pm
October rains remind me that all things are temporary. I tend to walk the trails a lot in October and November. I know I’m running out of time. Sure, I can get out the snow-shoes.. but winter is well, limbo. Winter is the time of year I spend trying to remember what a warm, wet, wind feels like. When late in the evening I sometimes strain to make my mind recall the sound of a thunderstorm or the earthy, tea aroma of a wet, autumn day. Late autumn sometimes feels like the last desperate opportunity to grasp the pulse of life. Continue reading →