Tag Archive | sunset

Don’t Worry, I’m Alive!

May4

I’m here!  I’m not dead!  I know I’ve been quiet for the last few weeks, but I’m alive!

I’m in the middle of a stressful, trying time at work, and getting towards the end of a big project in my personal life.  It’s been a lot of work on both fronts, and I just haven’t had much time to sit down at a computer in my off hours.  But I’m here, and I’m ok, I promise! 

I’ve been neglecting my friends, and I haven’t even had the time to do my evening walks, so you know things are intense!

I’m trying to stay focused on the end goal amid the exhaustion and stress.  Soon, soon, soon, things will settle down a bit and I will have more time.  I’m looking forward to it! 

Meanwhile check out this beautiful sunset I caught last week from a park close to home. So pretty!

I hope you all are doing well! 

COVID Diaries: Day 94

Jun19

Hard to believe it’s been over 3 months of being mostly locked down.

I continue doing my long walks, sometimes with a friend and sometimes alone, and I hiked last Sunday.

Me on Stewart Mountain
Ingrid and Me (photo cred: Lelani)
WWU sky

I have been venturing out more into the world of indoor spaces – I went for cocktails with friends last weekend, and a late lunch after the Sunday hike.  Restaurants – what a concept!

Besides that, I have just been working – the pace has been a bit grueling as I have one less-than-pleasant project that seems to just be getting bigger by the day.  I am still enjoying my schedule of having every other Friday off – it is nice to have that extra day even if I’m not really going anywhere on those long weekends.  Hopefully that will change soon!

COVID Diaries: Day 73

May30

It’s the weekend!  Which often in the Pacific Northwest means rain, and today is no different.  We did have thunder and lightning to go with the downpour though, a rarity for us!

I can’t complain too much – we had sunny gorgeous weather for the last several days, and I did have a chance to sit on the deck with a book a couple of times, as well as to go on some long evening walks in the sun.  I guess that just means that I need to work on some indoor things today.

Our Governor finally loosened the restrictions on case count that will allow my county to move into Phase 2 of reopening.  County officials still have to submit the application and be approved by the state, but we now meet the criteria.  Some non-essential businesses will be allowed to re-open with strict protocols in place.  It is a start.  My own work is phasing back into having more people on site, but it will still be a while before I’m in the office with any regularity.  Cora appreciates that I will still be home most of the time!

And!  Some camping will be reopening!  There may be hope for some summer recreation and travel yet!  Being stuck at home for the last two and a half months is taking its toll, so I’m so happy that we will finally be able to get out more.

How is COVID in your area?

 

 

COVID Diaries, Day 20

Apr7

I’ve been sad the last couple of days.  Sad about all the people dying, sad that I can’t see my friends and my family, sad about all the people who have lost their jobs, sad about all the people who just don’t get it, and even sad about all the people who think it’s their job in life to publicly shame the people who just don’t get it.  As if that’s going to make them get it.

I’m sad about my horse too.  I’m mostly ok, but then I think about a memory, and lose it all over again.  30 years is a long, long time…

Yesterday after my very first remote, video-conference public Board meeting (surprise! no one from the public “attended”), I still had time to walk up to the now empty university campus to watch the sunset.  The perks of working from home.  Hearing the birds chirp, and the seagulls squawking and seeing the sun going down over the bay, as it does every night, made me feel better.

Circus Trip 2018: Badlands Evening

Jun18

Day 12, Friday, July 27, 2018

After my visit to Ellsworth Air Force Base, I continued on my way to Wall, South Dakota and got a space at the Sleepy Hollow campground.  It was $15 plus tax for a tent site, one of the cheapest campgrounds on my trip.  I set up my tent, took a nap and then went to Badlands National Park nearby to see if I could find any wildlife.

Tenting it in Mellow Yellow

I wasn’t planning to stay that long at Badlands, as there was a thunderstorm in the distance – and I would be spending more time there the next day. It was interesting to see the storm approaching on the horizon – that light!

I drove slowly down the Sage Rim Road, where I found Bighorn Sheep!  They are so cute! And those babies!  I loved just watching them amble by.

It was too dark for good photos, so I made my back towards camp and stumbled upon one of my favorite photos of my entire road trip.  The recent rain had soaked the road, making it shine like chrome.  The road, the sky, and my car hood made for a spectacular but unexpected subject.  I still love this photo!

Back at camp, I had left-over sausage and rice, along with a Huckleberry lager.  And I did laundry.  Because not every evening on a road trip can have over-the-top excitement…  It was a great day!

My Huckleberry Lager – this was a pretty good beer!

 

Sunset Solitude

Feb13

The sunset last night was a stunner.  I walked out of work a few minutes before 6, and saw the light beginning to fill the sky; at the time I thought the light was fading and that the sun had already set…  I chatted with a friend who happened along as I was standing there watching, talking about the light. I then walked to my car, noticing the light was getting brighter and more colorful.

Had I made it to the beach just a few minutes earlier, the light would have been a bit more beautiful, and had I had more than just my cell phone with me… But I was happy to be greeted with this…

The peace and solace one finds when standing on a beach watching a particularly beautiful sunset.  It must be God’s way of saying, “You can keep going.  You got this…”

 

Hawaiʻi 2017: Beach Walk

Jan8

Day 5, Sunday, May 14, 2017

After I swam with dolphins, Jay dropped me off back at the condo and that afternoon Brent and I wandered over to the market across the street and checked out the wares.  I didn’t buy anything then, but checked out things for gifts at home.  We also had shave ice!  So yummy!  Straight sugar and ice!  There were about 50,000 different syrup flavors (give or take a few), and I’m not sure I can really even tell the difference between most of them, but shave ice is so good!

Brent getting ready to dig in…

 

A gecko licking a peanut M&M (M&M not supplied by me)

We then went for a walk along the beach to work off our sugar high; it isn’t a sand beach but a lava beach.  I picked up some shells and coral and we poked around in the tide pools.  There is a historic kōnane board on the beach there too; it is interesting to think you are sharing space where people walked hundreds of years ago. We also saw some the rich houses that are nearby the condo.

This crab was dead. It just died upright like that. How?

 

The underside of a Helmet sea urchin

As we got back, there was a sea turtle munching on the algae just on the other side of the sea wall!  He was so close!  All in all, it was a relaxing way to spend a few hours.

A sea turtle at the condo

That evening, we made a dinner of BBQ burgers, salad and fresh papaya!  Yum! We made a pitcher of margaritas too and took them outside to the beach!  We chatted in the evening with some women who were vacationing in one of the other condos – they happened to be from Washington too!  Brent knew one of the women from previous trips because they had stayed at the same condo before.  Meanwhile, I chatted with the gang about astronomy and volcanoes.

We saw a toad!

We watched a beautiful sunset from the condo sea wall.  Such great company and an absolutely gorgeous view.

A boat and the sunset

 

Sunset from the sea wall