“Don’t base your decisions on the advice of those who don’t have to deal with the results.” -Unknown

“The earth is the cradle of humanity, but mankind cannot stay in the cradle forever.” – Konstantin Tsiolkovosky

“Nobody knows what is impossible, for the dream of yesterday is the hope of today and the reality of tomorrow.” -Robert Goddard

“Doing as task is usually easy. Thinking about a task makes it hard.” Ajahn Brahm

Well September has come. And now it is almost gone. Cannot believe that it is already Fall. Where did the summer go? I mean really where did the summer go? Lol. Oh well I am looking forward to ski season, especially cross country and back county. I do not think I will get to the “Downhill ski areas” as much this year – having a young dog changes things. Our last dog, Neige, was a part of our family while the kids were still relatively young and she participated in most of the outdoor stuff the kids did, like hiking, cross country skiing, etc… She was included all the time. My plan is to do the same with Marvin, minus the kids. Lol.

As Neige got older and the kids moved out, things changed for both of us. I found myself with a lot more free time for “longer” outdoor activities, like ultra running and cross country mountain biking. For Neige, as long as she still got several walks down to the river each week she seemed to be content to sit the rest of the week out. So I could easily leave her at home for a longer foray into the outdoors a few times each week. Now fast forward to Marvin and that is not the case. He is a young and growing dog that demands lots of exercise but in moderation. At 8 months old his joints still need time to develop along with his social and obedience skills. So for the time being, if I want to include him in outdoor activities, it comes down to shorter walks and runs with several focusing on human and canine socialization. It’s a trade off, but one that I am willing to make.

So far this year I have done more walking with Marvin than running, again due to his young age. We are up to about 5+ miles at a time. I don’t walk/run him everyday, but alternate it with the dog park. Which seems to be good for him. Lots and lots of canine socialization at the dog park. And on the days he doesn’t walk I get in a bike ride at night. This has been fun and interesting to say the least. One aspect is just the amount of wildlife that you never see during the day. Owls, foxes, skunks, a multitude of raccoons, deer, frogs and toads, and one that is not really wild, but the most numerous, the proverbial house cat. I usually see several different cats on each ride. Lol.

The “Marvin Schedule” has also allowed me to work on house projects this year. And that has been a good thing. I finished repairing the deck over the garage and added a roof to it. This space has turned out to be one of my favorite places of the house when the weather is cooperative. I have also been enclosing a back patio and tiling the floor of said patio. The goal of this is to eventually remove the dividing wall and open up the entire space. But that part will have to wait until next year.

The month of September has been one of little rain. In fact by the end of the month a lot of the state was consider to be in “drought conditions” to varying degrees. There were the usual afternoon thunderstorms but they were “spotty” at best for the Cities along the Front Range. It did seem like communities further east from the foothills did a little better. One bonus of this was not much cloud cover and this made for some beautiful sunset pictures.

Sooooo, life is good and I cannot complain too much at the moment. And that is the truth. Good and bad things happen to us all, but living in the good old USA does have its advantages compared to some parts of the world. I guess for me the biggest is the ability to change as a country, for good or bad. A freedom that none of us should take lightly – as the last election proved depending on your point of view. It will be interesting to see how things in the next 5 to 10 years pan out. Some of us will still be alive to either say “I told you so” or to say “Well damn, I guess I was wrong.” For me, I am hoping that I am wrong about a lot of things….

1. I hope that I am wrong about Global Warming. That it is not going to get a lot worse, much faster, than any of us ever realized. That the death toll will be in the 100s of millions around the globe in the next 10 years. I hope that I am wrong and it was all a “Liberal Hoax.”
2. I hope that I am wrong about the gun debate. That 1000s of innocent individuals will not lose their lives in the coming years due to continued civilian use of assault weapons.
3. I hope that I am wrong that the rates of certain Cancers will dramatically increase due loosening of rules on exposure to toxic chemicals in our environment. That untold thousands will suffer a horrible, terrible, fatal disease all in the name of “profit.”
4. I hope that I am wrong about America’s coming involvement in “another” conflict in the middle east. That 1000s and 1000s of kids right out of high school and college get suckered into a rich-man’s amoral war over fossil fuels.
5. I hope that I am wrong about the Religious Right and their mythology. That they will not take us down an “Antiscience Path” that can only end in endless suffering and death for millions and millions of individuals around the world.
6. I hope that I a wrong…. about a lot of things….

Well I could go on and on about this but I think you get the picture. We all have a vested interest in protecting the planet and all of its inhabitants. There is no sitting this one out. Take care my friends. Hopefully I will see you out there on the trail or more likely the dog park!! Lol