Jan. 2, afternoon: The "looking forward" idea occurred to me in late November, probably during Thanksgiving break, when I spotted the first elaborate frost formations in my yard. There was significant rime ice forming on the fenceposts, lots of it growing vertically like miniature white ferns. Then on the "lawn" were similar-shaped formations growing horizontally along the ground. These reminded me of the many intriguing photos I've taken of frost on my windshield from the driver's seat while waiting for the defroster to do its job. So, I was looking forward to another season of frost photos, hoping to find frost in some new settings. I was also looking forward to some ray of hope that there'd be an awakening in our national politics which I've found both frightening and embarrassing these past few years. I guess the first shock, for me, after some years of nonchalance, was election night 2012 when only hours after Barack Obama's re-election, the Repugs announced their primary goal over the next four years was to make sure Obama failed. Mr. Trump has simply expanded this mentality exponentially. So, as I looked forward to a renewal of nature photography, I couldn't keep at bay my fears about the state of the national and the global natural environment. I do believe everything is connected to everything else.
I posted to this blog a couple of times toward the end of November, then nothing for the month of December. I must admit, I was tempted to quit blogging because I couldn't maintain a positive outlook. I was used to responding to what I saw in nature on many hikes around Plumas County, occasional trips to the coast, and drawing upon memories of past expeditions all over the USA, and parts of Latin America. I was always finding hope in the working of "mother" nature. During December I was losing hope. During the last week of December, it was actually my contemplating the wonderful titled of Obama's book, The Audacity of Hope, that has gotten me a bit pumped up again. But I'm getting ahead of my story. My adventures of December also included my first-ever ambulance ride, my first CAT scan and EKG, and a number of new holes poked into me to allow for the entry and exit of various medications and bodily fluids. I'll have to save those details for a later - possibly tomorrow- post. For now, let me say it was just the flu, resulting in getting dizzy and fainting. The resulting fall had my face looking like I did a face plant off a motorcycle and my wife and son, not to mention the paramedics, checking for worst-case scenarios like stroke, heart attack, and who knows what else. But, I'm fine. Face us healed, and I almost have enough energy back to want to hike most of the day.
The "looking forward" part of my agenda is now to try to mingle nature and political observations in in a way that makes for thoughtful and entertaining reading, and hopefully some thoughtful feedback. Happy New Year. Hasta manana. [I guess I'd better learn how to insert an 'en-yay' into the Spanish words that contain such.]
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