Upside Down

Hi everybody.

How are you?

It kind of seems like everything is pretty upside-down, doesn't it? 

Ugh.

Lots of things are terrible. But some things aren't so bad. 

Right now, I'm sitting outside with my dad on his back deck in Indiana, where I'm visiting my family. There are good people and dogs here, and I have a view that includes lots of birds (including some hummingbirds), some rabbits, a chipmunk, and a creek. I took a nice walk this morning. I listened to a whole book on my drive here yesterday. 

Earlier this week, I had a great birthday. Daph was home. There was delicious Thai food, gelato, nice gifts, a walk at the river where we saw great egrets and an osprey. 

And lately the sky has been putting on quite a show. 

My mom made me a cake and some spaghetti. There will be multiple games of carbles this week, and at least one trip out to Mt. St. Francis, and pickleball, and more sitting on the deck watching the hummingbirds. 

Here are a few pictures from the last few days:

 

I went  to DC on Monday afternoon to pick up Daph at the train station. I walked around a little bit while I was waiting. The city is vibrant and beautiful. And now it's under occupation. There were checkpoints in the United States Capital last night. It is an absolute disgrace, and it's scary. It is significantly more dangerous now, under occupation, than it was three days ago before the Not So Secret police moved in. Nothing good can come of this. 

There is a group called FREE DC that you can follow and join if you're interested in taking action. Find time to sit on decks and watch hummingbirds. Pet all the dogs. But please stay engaged and active. It might seem like too much. That's on purpose. Because it IS too much, and it's designed to confuse and frustrate people to the point of giving up. Pick one thing to focus on, and then donate money or time or whatever you can. I am always available to give you ideas. But DO NOT GIVE UP.

Here is a FREE DC t-shirt  you can buy if you're interested. The same shop has lots of other stuff you might be interested in if you like that one. 

Onward.