oooogh.

I've lost track a little bit, but June and July were rough bike riding months. I'm back on track now, at least I hope so!

If I'm tallying correctly, I'm around 550 miles, which means I need to do 225 miles each in August / September to meet my goal.

I actually rode from home this past week (37 miles round trip), so that is useful - if I can do that 1 time / week going forward, I should have no problems. In fact, if I did that and rode 1 other time on the normal route per week, I'd hit my goal. Something to think about!

Okay, I'm done now.

We've lost three dogs since the start of the year, and now Uncle Jim. My boss's mom and dad both are likely to die this year.

I know, I know, life goes in cycles, and we deal with what comes our way. But enough already, yes?

We can always look for signs, and interpret them to our favor; it may mean nothing. I was born in the same month as my dad, and the same day as my mother. My uncle jim died on the same day as my father (16) and the same month as my grandfather (july). One month (and 14 years) after my father, one week (and 22 years) before Grandpa. An interesting parallel, that.

Kwaheri, Uncle Jim; god bless you and god speed. The world is a better place for your having passed here.

The Curious Case of Suzy the Dog

Suzy was a wonderful dog. She was Dave's dog, quite young still when Dave came into all of our lives. Jenny and Dave lived in an out-of-the-way place in Winters, CA. There was a trampoline there, which Suzy learned how to jump on too. My favorite photo of the three of them is on the trampoline, all in mid-air.



When Dave got his job in Hawaii, everyone moved to Hawaii, and daily trips moved to the beach. Suzy went too, and learned how to surf. She would swim out so far, turn around, and wait for a wave to carry her back in. Afterward, we would rinse Suzy off, but with the humidity and heat, Suzy's fur was always vaguely damp and smelling of salt.



This time, the family went on Sabbatical, and moved to Bellingham. Suzy came along, nearly 14 years old now... back legs not doing so good, seemingly deaf, but man she could still pick off another dog at 20 paces. They had to fence the yard so Suzy wouldn't wander off without coming back, which happened early in the year. A neighbor picked her up and returned her.

As the year went along, it was clear that Suzy was nearing her end. Not in a drop-dead any second way, but in a, she's really getting old way. She still ate well, but her back legs betrayed her consistently and she would get stuck places. The only worse thing was trying to help her; that hurt her too.

The family was getting ready to go back to Hawaii. What to do with Suzy? The plane trip would be too much. Grandma said no, she wouldn't keep her. What do you do? They moved back to Tacoma for the last month of family visits and all before heading back to Hawaii. Suzy promptly broke a nail dragging her legs around. She would walk endlessly because she couldn't get her legs to cooperate for laying down.

The next day, she'd gone missing again. How? The yard is completely fenced. There's no way she jumped it. The family searched for her all day, finally stopping to take a swim break in the afternoon of a hot day. How long does a 14 year old dog have on a 90+ degree day?

There, under the pool cover, was Suzy.

Let me repeat... the yard is completely fenced. There's no sign of her having wiggled through any spot that she might have been capable of in her younger days. If she'd managed that, she would have crashed on the rest of the way down; there's no way her back legs handled the slope. There's no sign of that, either.

The obvious is that Suzy is gone, but I still don't get how it happened.

Suzy was an awesome dog.

I saw a firefly!

I'm in Chicago currently - and as usual, not taking any photos. Last night I was out with Grace Evans, one of my favorite people from my years of working with youth. We went to dinner, and then walked to Millenium Park. As we were about to part, I saw a wink! A little bug, blinking at me.

And I realized, I have never seen a firefly. I've read about them, but never seen one. What a lovely moment, in the middle of a city, to see a firefly. Twinkle! Twinkle!

What a beautiful moment.

It feels like forever...

Since I've done any real writing. It is now too hot for serious concentration, and I am frenetic until after next Wednesday.

I shall endeavour to write two travel logs... one for the Dungeness Spit trip, and definitely one for the backpacking to Lake Ozette.

And one an ode to Suzy the dog, who has passed on. Suzy trampolined, and surfed, and was an amazing doggy.