Groundhog Saturday

Today was a fairly routine Saturday. I'd hoped there might be some interest in going out to DC to see the cherry blossoms, but instead we all treked out to work on the most expensive vacation home that never gets visited in history. Before that little trip, I chased a sunrise that I'd gotten behind by about 20 minutes.

Sunrise over the Severn with ELF Towers on Greenbury Point

Not a bad view, but if you miss a sunrise it's pretty pointless to chase it. Given the late hour (at least as judged by the height of Sol), I was a bit surprised to come upon three deer that had not yet made their way back to the treeline and were placidly grazing out near the fringe of the road.

Three Does at Naval Station Annapolis

I followed up the morning ambulation with a two hour nap and then made the trip down to paint the expensive non-vacation house.

The day wrapped up reasonably well with a sunset and an eight man (actually woman I believe) crew shell.

College Creek Sunset with Hubbard Hall

Cloud cover and a light breeze precluded the burning sun views that are frequent from this vantage point, but it was still pretty in a more subdued way.

Who is...?

On my way back from the sunset, I happened across this crew shell. This picture with the accompanying caption elicited some chuckles. I've decided that making at least one person laugh every day is a worthwhile goal. Mission accomplished today, so we'll see what tomorrow might roll down my alley.

Any Given Friday

Today started off normally enough with a shortish hike down the Anacostia River Trail.

Yards Park Bridge Undulating into the Darkness

The weather is warming up nicely, and spring is most certainly in the air. The breeze is still cool, and this is probably one of the most pleasant times of the year to walk. With the passing of Daylight Savings Time it's now possible for me to catch the sunrise before hurrying into the first meeting of the day, and I welcome the return of the light to start the day with a splash of color.

Anacostia Waterfront with USS Barry

I happened to be running a little early this morning, so it was a dusky backdrop when I captured the daily shot of the USS Barry.  We have just a little over a month before she makes her way down the river. 

Later this afternoon, I went for the first jog that I've done since getting out of the boot on my left foot. Five weeks of downtime has led to a degradation in my fitness level that I'm not too keen about. This was particularly obvious because one of my running partners has used her time wisely and has put in some pretty serious distance over the last month. She says she doesn't feel fit or in shape, but she's cut one minute a mile off her split times, and I'm pretty sure she was holding back as I struggled along. Fortunately for me, I'm still about on par with the other partner because it appears he's not taken full advantage of the time to outdistance me.

During the jog, we were crossing the bridge over the railroad tracks near Pennsylvania Avenue, SE, and we came across a man laying in the road surrounded by the police. I'm pretty sure he was dead because no one was really attending to him, he was very still, and on our way back the ambulance left without the lights and siren. It is not the first time I've seen something like that, but it was a little unsettling.

On my commute back from work the family requested a Taco Bell run, and when I pulled up to the drive through I noticed that the mulch surrounding the ordering speaker was involved in a smoldering fire about two feet in diameter. I dispatched the smoky flames with the application of two liters of water and two liters of seltzer from the the back of the car. I made my order, made sure my bean burritos and soft tacos were on their way, and then reported my firefighting efforts to the cashier.  She said that I was the second person to report the smoldering smudge of a fire, and that someone had been dispatched to make sure it had been fully contained.

I've grown to expect some pretty fantastic vistas, although instead of becoming routine I'm growing to appreciate the subtle nuances of these land and waterscapes the more frequently I encounter them.  I didn't expect to run across a man having what appeared to be a relatively unfortunate end ot the afternoon, and after seeing that, I was totally surprised by the opportunity to practice my firefighting skills.

I've said it before, but life is a really remarkable experience when I'm able to focus on being right there in the moments that happen as it unfolds. Looking forward to whatever tomorrow might bring.

Gratitude Thursday

As has become my occasional habit when I tend to run low on inspiration, I fall back on the good old gratitude day to tide me over until something else grabs my attention. Today is one of those days.

I am grateful that I woke up this morning. I rediscovered a new little nook at a slightly different time of the day, and this is what I saw.

Anacostia Waterfront at Daybreak with the USS Barry

I am grateful for the visionaries, the financiers, and the people with a dream that have transformed Southeast Washington, DC from a run-down, crime blighted area into something that is going to be truly stunning and mostly publicly accessible. It already is very nice, and I'm looking forward to attending summer concerts in "The Yards" park. They were good last year, but they will be particularly interesting this year when the water access via the new recreational boating docks are finished.

The Yards Park Bridge framing the Setting Moon on the Anacostia

I'm grateful to have been born in a country brimming with opportunity.

I'm grateful for the freedom to fail and still manage a recovery in relatively short order.

I'm grateful that I'm learning that happiness is a choice and is within the grasp of just about anyone. This is a lesson that I had heard, but I've finally gotten enough life experience to begin to feel the truth of it.

I'm grateful for the folks at work that put up with my speechifying, passionate outbursts, and even my brief stints of moodiness.

I'm grateful for a budding spiritual connection to the larger universe, the fact that walking has made this transition local and not overwhelming, and being surrounded by a group of seekers that are pursuing this connection in their own way.

I'm grateful that I finally learned to skip the television and get out of the house and start living.

I'm grateful for working cats.

For a day that felt a bit bereft of inspiration, I'm grateful to be able to fall back into this occasional part of my daily practice and come out on the other side feeling inspired. This gratitude thing really works, and as always, I'm looking forward to what tomorrow may reveal.