At last......Summer

Springtime is always windy here, that's a given. To the east, the Sangre de Christo mountains show, in snow, what the old timers called "The Pigeon". "We'll have wind as long as you can make out the pigeon", they said. Actually, snow in a canyon gives the illusion of a pigeon's profile. Whether it's a cause & effect thing, or merely a coincidence, I don't know. But they're right: we still have wind, and will continue to do so until July, by the looks of "the pigeon".

I'm completing an interesting book about Captain James Cook. I've gotten use to having notes and primary source information; this current book has none. So I don't know whether the information is factual, or if the author is just a really great storyteller. But I've come to admire Cook. Like John Adams, Frank Lloyd Wright, and several other famous men, he was ambitious, making a name for himself. But as far as being a success as father and husband, -- not so much. Not that I have any room to judge, I've made my share of mistakes, and then some, in the father/husband area. But I'm merely interested in how their/his ambition, ego, and fame seem to take priority over relationships. They missed the boat, or so it seems to me.

Having said that, I have 2 required reads for an upcoming Summer Research Fellowship I'll be doing on the Era of George Washington at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. These books illustrate anew the unique character of Washington. Of all the founders, I still maintain he was the greatest. I look forward to this research and learning opportunity next month. Soon after, I'll be sailing on The Mary Day Schooner, a wonderful two-mast sailing ship harbored in Camden, Maine. I've wanted to sail for some time, so am taking advantage of a week long "Wooden Boat Sailing School" tour where I'll be an abled seaman. We're to have 4 different responsibilities on a rotation basis: 4 hours watch on/ 8 hour off. Obviously there is no engine, so the winds will determine our exact location, but the Atlantic Coast of northern Maine will be "home" for a while, which is fine: I love New England. For the last 20 years I've had some sort of feeling that I have a link to the sea: past life as a sailor? Ha. I don't know, but I'm really looking forward to this.

We have had wonderful Memorial Day Weekend ushering in this warmer summer. It's good to work in the yard, build a new fence, take advanced level classes, do some traveling, read and write, train for upcoming races, be a part of a small string quartet until the regular symphony season starts next fall, draw and make frames for my drawings (I'm planning a small art show this fall), before the regular school year resumes in about 10 short weeks from now. But unquestionably, having our granddaughter in our home for her first time, has by far, been the best part of the spring and/or summer. She's a light in our lives.
Be well, do good...