#SoCS: Profound and Pink

She steps out into the morning sun, a growing child of five, taking in the warmth of spring and new beginnings. The child heads to her love, a pink bike that sits in the corner of the yard, the one thing that brings adventure to her life as the tires spin across the grass and gravel. The sun beckons her down the block, across the cracks of sidewalk cement and slowly, across decades, she ages into her real self, theRead more

What Day is it?

Today is Labor Day in the United States, so I’ll start off by saying “thank you” to those who are enjoying a day off from their jobs. As of September 1st, I haven’t had to acknowledge this holiday for two years, unless an invitation to a picnic is involved. It’s just another day off to anyone who is retired. Every so often, I wake up in a need-for-caffeine fog and wonder, “What day is it?” Because one can lose senseRead more

SoCS: All Over the Place

Ubiquitous: Everywhere. In mind and body, this summer has been packed with places to go and things to do. I feel as if I’ve been all over the place the past eight or nine weeks. In other words…everywhere. Vacation, meet-ups with friends, appointments, keeping a kitten occupied, a music festival, watering flowers, walking at night with the neighbors, and volunteering for a week-long arts camp for kids through the church I attend. In between laundry, house cleaning, grocery shopping, etc.Read more

SoCS: Bagging the Last Two Weeks

Gibbs bagged himself a spot on the couch arm recently, and hung out. He was happy his human was home from vacation, but nevertheless gave that “poor, poor me” vibe. Things would turn worse, unfortunately, when the poor soul went to the vet for dental and had two incisors pulled. They are smaller teeth between the canines on the upper and lower jaw. I had a cat once that had all of his lower incisors pulled and afterward, he hadRead more

#SoCS: A Day Such as This

I aspire to a day such as this When blue meets blue and autumn is barely kicking When the geese aren’t sure if they’re supposed to stay or go When a summer-like breeze mixes with a waft of fallen leaves And Mother Nature spares us from her killing frost I am inspired on a day such as this To hop on a bicycle and ride ’til it hurts To follow a trail littered with leaves and invisible footprints To breatheRead more

Never Ever

“I could never in a hundred summers get tired of this.” ~Susan Branch~ One last summer hurrah That is all I need Til the season rolls around again And I am on my steed Summers tend to feel short in Wisconsin, but we northerners take advantage of the season as much as possible. Biking buddy and I had two wonderful days of wheeling in the sun over the past weekend, with unseasonably mild temps in the 70’s and 80’s F.Read more

#SoCS: Luck be a Whiner at Home

“Mooommmeeeooowww!” “Oh Gibbs…” “What Mooommmeeeooowww?” “Why are you whining so dang much?” “I’m not whining, I’m crying.” “Cats don’t cry, not in the human sense.” “My heart is breaking.” “Why?” “You’ve been gone far too much lately. Not home. Absent from the couch, where I lay on your lap.” “I’m living my life and enjoying the summer with other humans.” “What about meeeeeeeee?” “Gibbs, I can’t stay home 24 hours a day, every day. That would be boring and unhealthy.”Read more

Busy by Sinatra

Some weeks there is not much happening on the retirement calendar, but August is turning out very differently. After spending five days biking in the Milwaukee area toward the end of July, then relaxing/catching up a few days last week, it appears the agenda will soon be escalating with personal appointments, volunteer work, an out-of-town girlfriend visit, coffee with a new pastor and an outdoor music festival in Appleton that fires up this Thursday. I may not be publishing prize-winningRead more

Killing Two Trails with Two Wheels

Let’s sit down with a fish fry and malty ale and catch up on a biking adventure, shall we? On July 2nd, bike and I headed to Kewaunee, a small city on the shores of Lake Michigan, to explore a southern section of the Ahnapee State Trail. A few years ago, biking buddy and I rode the northern part of the trail, from Sturgeon Bay to Algoma, which ended up to be about 32 miles. This time it would beRead more

#SoCS: Hot and Dry

The photo above is one of Little Lake Butte des Morts on June 16th. Another day without rain, but a perfect summer day. The above-normal heat of June had subsided, but the slime green is a telltale sign of how our weather has been. The lake thinks it’s August, the dog days of summer, not the waning days of spring. Too many hot hours in the upper 80’s and low 90’s F (30-34C), without rain, have lowered water levels, madeRead more

#SoCS: I Drive to this Place

I drive to the forest I hide in the forest Breathing in cool air I know in this place It is a safe space For a grumbly soul to bare I ride past a thousand trees The blue of lake’s seas And give two legs a dare Twists and turns abound Up and down without sound In sync with a gravelly stare I drive because I must The heat at home an angry bust The heart finds its weather loveRead more

I Remember…

“Nothing is ever really lost to us as long as we remember it.” ― L.M. Montgomery When my parents were living independently, I started an annual tradition with mom on Mother’s Day. I would go to a local greenhouse and buy a large, beautiful potted geranium in the brightest color possible for the woman who gave me life. Fuchsia was a favorite color, but red came in second. The geranium always thrived through the summer and in September or October, dadRead more