Tomorrow officially Fall begins. It has been a hot dry summer, with a big deficit in moisture. When the maples shed leaves on account of heat stress I take note. I am ready for Fall. Should we not celebrate seasonal change by gathering a few friends together for quiet conversation, for sharing a found…
I walked north along the Fox River trail from Batavia to Geneva yesterday. In my estimation this is not a long walk, about two miles round trip. I could not fail to notice how low the river is presently. Due to a lack of rain you could walk across the shallows bank to bank,…
Could the second law of thermodynamics be the least abstract of all scientific principles? I am thinking of entropy, the arrow of time. Left to itself, a system, or a human being, or a city, a whole society, a solar system will reach a state of equilibrium. The principle was first formulated in 1824. Heat…
I am not the first, and this is not the first time the thought comes to mind. Yesterday, early evening, the moon was a sliver of fingernail behind a cloud low in the darkening sky. I hurried inside to get my camera. I knew the moment would not last. This morning on Fabyan Parkway…
Yesterday I took a late August bike ride. I followed the bike path along the Fox River from Batavia to Aurora. The asphalt path eased my fifteen mile journey, following the river under the trees, shaded from late summer sunlight. The journey concluded with a rest, reading for a while under a massive old…
Today promises to be hot, with the possibility of thunderstorms. The rain will be welcome, as the usual pattern of sunny days interspersed with rain are a memory. The summers are hotter and more dry. Illinois is under a mask mandate announced by the governor today. This measure is to prevent the depletion of…
It is Sunday. While at Starbucks I enjoyed a conversation with an acquaintance. The conversation ranged from the Le Mans race taking place in Europe while we conversed, to Formula1 racing and Drag racing. Both of us are gear-heads with a long standing interest in performance automobiles, engineering, and racing. Any Sunday spent at…
Yesterday I walked in the woods. My last attempt to enter Braeburn Marsh I was met with a phalanx of mosquitoes. Outnumbered my determination crumbled, I hastily returned to the house. This summer day I walked along the edge of the marsh paying attention, quietly absorbing the late summer wild flowers. Many things that…
Close enough …! I am thinking of the Blueberry Festival which we attended at the Windy Acres Farm in Geneva Sunday afternoon. The Festival was an immersive experience, as festivals must be. Present at a festival, once more I am reminded that I am not alone. Others are raising families, introducing children to the…
Perhaps you remember April 30, 1975, when NVA tanks rolled through the gates of the Presidential palace in Saigon? I was twenty six years old then. I still carry my draft card from that era in my wallet. That offensive put an end to our attempt to make Vietnam a client state, a colony…
