Hanging On...

I'm just going to say it--more than anything right now, I just can't wait for this election to be over.  If one side wins, my hope is the media can finally chill out a little and the national mood starts improving (or at least, perhaps a different group will be complaining--at this point any change seems good), and if the other side wins, I guess we just hunker down for four more years of division, hope for a COVID miracle, and invest in mental health care for more than half the country, because a lot of people are going to need it.  Either way, I am BURNED OUT.  Everything even remotely political online elicits venomous posts from either side.  I posted something the other day with a different perspective that I thought was interesting and might be helpful for a certain group that was struggling with a particular issue, and even when I requested that people not comment if the issue wasn't a particular struggle for them, of course I got dissenting comments from people that had to put in their two cents.  I only try to comment on others' posts if I feel like I can add a different perspective, and I try very hard to base it either on straight-up facts or on my personal experience.  And even then there are people that attack me.  I'm so sick of polarization, of assumptions, of generalizations, and of anyone who presents the extremists on either side as representative of the bulk of the party.  Those things only create more division and destroy any possible common ground to build off of.  This should be a quest to improve our country, and there isn't only one way to do that.  That's why there's division--because both sides think they have the "right" way.  However, the solution is more likely to be in between, and it's more likely to happen if both sides can compromise enough to get some of what each side wants.  With a completely split country, it's probably better if we're all a little happy than one side being totally happy and one side miserable, you know?  But no one seems willing to do that, and it's exhausting.  And dare I say--even though I dislike nearly all politicians (my mother-in-law is a good one, and I know there are others, but it gets harder to find the higher up you go)--that this is the knock on having a businessman in office instead of a politician.  Businessmen go for the win at all costs.  Politicians, by nature, at least used to be the ones who schmoozed and tried to keep everyone happy.  How they went about that wasn't always the best, but they at least understood that keeping the majority of constituents happy was not only key to staying in office, but usually better for the community.  It's only when ego and dominating the other side (long past the election) becomes more important that things start to implode, and I think that's part of what's happening now.  So, not only do I hope the next few weeks go quickly, I hope that the result is decisive and quickly agreed upon so we can just move on and face the next four years.  

In the meantime, self-preservation takes a lot of forms.  Staying away from media, trying to scroll quickly through Facebook to find the "good" stuff, escaping reality wherever possible, and seeking out the good little things in life are all "musts" currently.  Last Friday was a shockingly beautiful day.  After many days of cool and often cloudy weather (not to mention a windstorm), Friday was warm and sunny.  I cut out of work a little early (don't worry, I checked my email again after) to go for a pre-dinner bike ride.  I desperately wanted to ride along the canal to see how the leaves looked from that perspective.  For many years I would drive home from work over the canal, past the bike path, and wondered how the gorgeous fall leaves looked from down there.  This past summer I finally figured out how to get to that part of the path, and I really wanted to go back in the fall.  But cold weather bike riding isn't ideal, and the opportunity just hadn't presented itself since the leaves changed.  But Friday I finally did it.  It was definitely a cool ride. 

Gorgeous reddish-orange leaves in Greece Canal Park

Such a nice, peaceful ride and lots of color!

This is one section of the canal path I used to admire from afar.  You can just see the elevated highway to the left.

Closer to the overpass here...such gorgeous color!

Even with less color in this section, it was peaceful and pretty.

I rode past this spot in the spring and figured I needed an "after" picture with the fall color.  This is a different angle than the one I posted on the blog then, but I couldn't resist the colors in this one.  Through that bridge you can see the downtown Rochester skyline.  

I thought the graffiti was an interesting contrast to the peaceful view beyond it.

Such a pretty reflection.

Looking back at fall colors from under the bridge

It was a great 12-mile ride and it was nice to get back out there even if my legs weren't too happy about it.  I can tell I haven't done much vigorous exercise beyond the elliptical lately--mostly because I'm trying to rest my suspected high hamstring tendinopathy issue.  Probably about time to try for one more short run before confirming rest doesn't help and calling the chiropractor and getting some things checked out.

Saturday morning was another gorgeous one, although the winds were once again picking up.  I took a walk in the yard for the first time in a few days, mostly to check my garden.  The neighbor's tree, which is stunning some years and a bit more blah during others, is shaping up nicely!  It's so bright in person!

I finally gave up on the last remaining cucumbers in my garden and pulled the last viable cuke and mostly dead vines out.  There are still a few zucchinis trying to grow--albeit very slowly--so those stayed for now.  My tomato plants got snacked on by a deer a week or so ago, but they are still massive and there are a ton of tomatoes ready or coming.  I am not using many right now, though, so until we get a frost, there they stay!

Here are the two cute porch pumpkins we got last week at Stokoe...

 I observed in my social media post that I never used to like the warty ones, but they have grown on me with age--probably not coincidentally!  The flawed, funky ones are more fun!

My zinnias are still hanging in there.  The backyard ones are mostly tiny but they're still alive, and my porch ones have slowed down but are still blooming.  The older ones seem to be lasting forever, too, so they're still pretty.  This one shot off the same stem as my favorite watermelon-colored, frilly one (the first flower in this post), and it's nearly as pretty.

Friday and Saturday both felt like a funny intersection of summer and fall.  Warm weather, sun, and outdoor activities mixed with early sunsets, blustery winds, and the continuous evolution of plants and foliage as the seasons move along.  It makes me sad to see my summer labors of love start to die off, but I guess it's also nice to get a break from the constant care of them!  The shorter days are also a bummer, though I've settled nicely into jeans weather.  And in a year with so much sameness, I guess any change is sort of refreshing in its own way.  I'll admit I had a moment this morning where I was vacuuming my dining room and realizing that in only another month and a half I'll be putting Christmas tree #2 up in that spot, even though it feels like I was just taking it down.  We had about two months of "normal" post-tree time this year before we went into this holding pattern, and I guess it just seems like we can't be back to the holidays again so soon because we never did so many of the yearly rituals that usually mark the passage of time each year.  And before we know it, it'll be a full year of "wait-and-see" and this weird alternate reality.  I will say our current reality is a much more manageable one than what we dealt with from March until sometime in June, and there are even upsides to it, shockingly.  This is at least sustainable, at least for a while, but I still struggle with what our holidays might look like and what kind of risk we will be taking (or what risk we'll be encouraging older relatives to take) by gathering.  I lost uncles within a few weeks of Christmas two years in a row over the past three years, and I can't say I want to have a repeat due to COVID this coming year.  It's still scary, even if the virus isn't appearing as strong or deadly right now.  It only takes one case to start a domino effect, and I would never forgive myself if I was part of that.  So, I'm still not sure what lies ahead there.

In the meantime, we'll make the most of what good weather and outdoor activities still remain.  And after my morning walk around the yard on Saturday, Carter and I spent the afternoon on a great fall adventure to enjoy the summer-like day.  Stay tuned...