A mixed bag for Thursday

Skydive formation in Arizona

I really had to work to forgive myself for not making a Tuesday post. I thought of it several times during the day, and then promptly forgot about it when I started binge-watching on my laptop. My bad! And I know I said I'd write a blog post about my skydiving days, but I'll just put a few pictures in as snippets among some "photo safari" shots I took this week. Both me and SG are in this picture: I'm on the far left in purple, with his white legs directly underneath me. It's a favorite shot.

Lake Padden this morning

I decided to take one more week off from hiking with the Trailblazers, because my lower spine is still sore, but I really think I could have done it today. Instead, I walked around Lake Padden, and I did just fine, even if I'm not a speed demon (yet). The uphills were the only times I felt discomfort, but it was minimal, really. I was very happy to discover that. You can see that it's overcast, and the fisherman had just arrived on the dock to get started. A beautiful morning.

Fishermen's Memorial at Squalicum Harbor

Last Sunday Lily and I had a really nice walk around Squalicum Harbor together, a couple of miles, I'd guess, and I saw this cute little bird taking a look around from the top of the fisherman's head. Makes me smile every time I see this picture. The memorial is entitled "Safe Return," and lists many fishermen who didn't come home.

Boats in the harbor, with summer flowers

It was a lovely day, and we did enjoy ourselves. It's always a treat to have some time to spend with Lily, since she works every other weekend and I don't get to see her nearly often enough.

Moooo!

This morning at the coffee shop, one of the regulars, R.J., decided to show the cover of the most recent Cascadia Weekly. He is MUCH better looking than this guy.

Lily, me, John, looking pretty goofy

And another day when we were playing with that silly Messenger app, I got this picture and was looking for a good time to share it. We do have fun playing together; you would never know we are two old fogies and one quinquagenarian (yes, she really is in her fifties).

Landing after a skydive

I'll finish with this other favorite picture from my skydiving days. I had just had a wonderful skydive with a student who is still in the air. I suspect that fellow is watching her set up her landing pattern, but I don't remember for sure. I was an instructor for twelve years and enjoyed it very much.

I haven't made a skydive since 2015, and it's amazing that I don't miss it any more than I do. Every once in awhile I'll see something on Facebook that brings back memories, but my life has moved on. Twenty-five years was just enough. I've only been hiking for eleven and truly hope I've got more years yet to come to dance in the forests.
:-)