Whenever I get too far backed up with this my posts tend to turn into photo montages, as I rely heavily on my camera to remember what I’ve been up to. Thought I’d go for a change of pace today and fast forward past The Month That Never Was, which I’ll revisit in subsequent installments.

My day today started like all the others of the last week, alone in my house. Shambled downstairs, ate some cereal, read some Hacker News. At 11:30 I got a video call from the sister missionaries, who had asked that I be a part of their virtual lesson that day with an investigator. I had to mute my video temporarily while I ditched the robe and donned a shirt. No Pants Meetings are the best.

Topic was tithing and fast offering, and the lesson reminded me I had fallen a bit behind on mine, so while they were demonstrating how to pay online I was actually doing it – served as a nice little practical demonstration for him.

Spent the next while working on refining Hayden’s graduation video into something suitable for submission into this quarantine film festival put on by the Tribune. Here’s the finished product:

After bumming around for a bit more I set out on a walk/run/jog around the neighborhood. It had been pretty rainy earlier in the day but had calmed down by this time. Had a delightful time. Hadn’t left the house much since the previous Saturday, so I spent most of the jaunt walking just to be able to take it all in. And being in my jogging clothes I hadn’t brought my phone, so, no pics.

Took a relatively little-used route and passed some houses with lovely trees that were covered in blooms. There was a nature preserve area nestled between a couple of apartment buildings, with a very small river running through it. The recent rain had led to a lot of water moving through what at other times were more dry-looking areas.

Next up was the most amazing shrub I’ve ever seen, out in front of a closed dentist’s office. Its right side was mostly a vivid green, but from right-to-left the green gave way to tiny blossoms, until the left side was a vivid monochrome pink.

Reminded me of Tom’s reaction to abstract art:

The shrub was so striking I kind of wanted to preserve it, somehow.

But I wondered how much of the shrub’s beauty was tied up in its ephemerality. Like amazing sunsets, there’s only so much you can preserve on film, and at some point it’s best just to watch it go by without trying to freeze it in time.

I was in a medical plaza of sorts at the time. Wandered around back behind the closed offices to find a lawn area next to a river. Across the river was a small neighborhood, where I spotted a kid piloting a DJI Phantom quadcopter. A bird nearby was flying sorties at the thing, trying to scare it off.

From there I meandered towards some upscale Totem Lake apartments and eateries, an area I never frequent. Very odd that that place exists so close to my quiet corner.

I wanted to get a look at some new construction I’d seen going on at Juanita Beach, so that was the next stop. Before I arrived I could see some windsurfer kites flitting around, and I hightailed it over to see what was up. Looked like maybe a dozen so windsurfers had congregated at Juanita to take advantage of the windy weather. Very very cool.

The exit path from the beach went along a route that took me through a wooded area next to the water. At that time the sun peeked out from behind the clouds and between the branches of the trees. It was breathtaking – the sunlight on the trees, juxtaposed over the deep blue of the rain-heavy clouds behind them.

Dashed back to make it in time for a catch-up phone call with a friend, had dinner, watched another Starcraft 2 pro match on YouTube, wrote this post, then called it a night.