Saturday, I took the longest hike in a long time – just under three miles with two dogs in tow. Or rather being towed by one dog and staying out of the way of the other.
In the past couple of years, I’ve gone on shorter hikes but I haven’t been getting out for longer hikes for more than a while. It’s a new year for the Take a Hike Challenge from the forest preserve and I skipped ’23 and ‘24’s challenges but I am back this year.
outward bound Herrick Lake Forest Preserve, Wheaton, IL September 6, 2025 3:53 EDT
Saturday Fern, Nova, and I walked through Herrick Lake Forest Preserve. It’s a favorite of mine, it’s close and a good length with forest and prairie landscapes with just enough up and down to get the heart moving while the feet are following each other round moving me from start to finish.
on the way back to the trailhead. Herrick Lake Forest Preserve, Wheaton, IL September 6, 2025 4:22 EDT
When I got home, I had enough energy to refresh the bird feeders and a few other chores before calling it a day. Fern and Nova were completely spent, too.
It is Wednesday and today is going to be a wonderful Wednesday. It’s the middle of the week and school has a late start with a faculty gathering first thing at 7:30 AM. The bells will ring before I know it, so I’d better jump up, jump in, and seize the day. Making the Days Count, one day at a time, one foot after another is way to tackle life.
Is there something you’ve recently re-started that you’ve been avoiding?
the other side says welcome back, but this side is blank, like me…..
Sometimes it happens. Maybe I wasn’t looking in the right place, or I had so much on my plate I did not see one. The fact is I came up blank.
It’s been a busy week with school and home and the end of summer.
Last night, my daughter and I drove to the lake to put an end to summer for another year. Friday night drives always seem to take forever, but last night’s was only an hour longer than the norm.
Friday night traffic leaving Chicagoland is always a grind, especially on a three-day weekend. Once we crossed the Indiana state line and passed the 65 split, traffic lightened up and we were able to drive the speed limit into the night.
It was pitch black when we arrived and I was too tired to look up at the stars, but I am sure they were there.
This morning, I sipped my coffee and stared out at the fog as it lifted in the early morning light thinking about all we’ll accomplish before the sun dips below the horizon later this evening. And before we return home Monday afternoon.
the fog slowly lifts and yes, those are my toes
August is going to leave us with a whimper. It began hot as blazes with skies shrouded with western wildfire smoke and it finishes with clear skies and chilly fog filled mornings.
Today is going to be a great day. It will be busy with errands, to-dos, and time spent together like so many Labor Day weekends by the lake. So, I’d better jump up, jump in, and seize the day. Making the Days Count, one day at a time remembering to be purposeful. How is your August finishing?
The week’s Sign of the Week is a throwback to last week.
I passed by Wiesbrook Elementary’s sign Thursday evening and found a gem and then went back in time to find some old photos.
Time flies…. when I was posting to Instagram, I added the song, Don’t Blink by Kenny Chesney,
Don’t blink, you just might miss Your babies growing like mine did Turning into moms and dads
Dads yes, have twin grandsons who are then months old tomorrow. Moms NO, unless you count the dogs, because she is a dog mom to two. But she’s grown and starting to test her wings.
This week flew past and when I blinked, it was Friday morning, the Saturday.
School’s back in session and I really made this last week count. It’s Saturday morning and I am off to Loaves and Fishes to serve others, but I’ll be home to make the afternoon count with the ’21 grad and dinner and maybe a walk with the dogs at one of my favorite forest preserves.
This could possibly be the best day ever
And the forecast says that tomorrow will likely be
A million and six times better So make every minute count
Jump up, jump in and seize the day
Making the Days Count, one day at a time, looking back to see where I’ve been, but keeping my feet firmly planted in the present.
W^2 or W squared for Wordless Wednesday, August 20, 2025
Monday afternoon was hot, humid, and still.
Then the atmosphere exploded, and the temperature dropped 15 degrees (9C), the wind picked up, lightning and thunder flashed and crashed, and the rain fell.
And it didn’t stop.
I was volunteering at Loaves and Fishes, and we decided due to lightning to close early. I think our clients new it was better to go home and try another day.
The storms came in two waves and by the time it was over, we had gotten 3.5 inches of rain at my house and some places around the area got up to 7 inches. One of our neighboring schools had to close Tuesday because their a few of their schools had been flooded.
Tuesday morning was our first day of school with kids this year and even though the skies were cloudy, it was a bright sunny day inside.
This could possibility be the best day ever! (This could possibility be the best day ever,) And the forecast says that tomorrow will likely be a million and six times better. So make every minute count, jump up, jump in, and seize the day, And let’s make sure that in every single possible way, Today is gonna be a great day!
It’s Wednesday morning and we’re headed back for day 2 and building routines, remembering names, and spreading kindness. It’s going to be a great year, and the sun is going to shine today!
my first day photo for my 27th year as a teacher, Wheaton, IL August 19, 2025 6:57 AM CDT
Today is going to be AMAZING. I know it and I can feel it, so I’d better jump up, jump in, and seize the day. Making the Days Count, one day at a time, making new friends, learning new names, and spreading kindness.
W^2 or W squared for Wordless Wednesday, August 13, 2025
The Great hall – Union Station, Chicago, IL Sunday, August 10, 2025 5:10 CDT
Summer break is finished. Every year when I get to this point, this day on the calendar, and I ask myself the question,
Did I do enough?
This year, I can answer yes.
Of course there are things I didn’t do, but I did a lot.
This past summer I passed through several train stations – Paddington, Swansea, St. Pancras, Gare du Nord, Amsterdam’s Schiphol, Central, and North, and this past Sunday – Chicago’s Union Station.
Sunday, I used public transit to attend a baseball game on the southside. It was a good game and getting to the city and back was easy and efficient.
After the game, I sat in the Great Hall of Union Station waiting for my train and mind wandered and I thought of another great hall, the main hall of the Musée d’ Orsay, which was once a train station. As I sat and took in the hall, I went back to look at the photos I took when I visited Paris. There were similarities.
Musée d’ Orsay main hall, Paris, France July 17, 9:50 GMT-1
Union Station, the Great Hall, Chicago, IL August 10, 2025 5:03 PM
Musée d’ Orsay the main hall Paris, France,July 17, 2025 9:55 GMT-1
While the Musée d’ Orsay is significantly larger the two stations were built in similar time periods at a time when train travel was the only way travel long distances.
Musée d’ Orsay, Paris, France July 17, 2025 10:00 GMT-1
Union Station, Chicago, IL 5:14 CDT
I wondered what these stations might have looked like in their heydays.
Musée d’ Orsay, Paris, France July 17, 2025 10:07 GMT-1
Musée d’ Orsay, Paris, France July 17, 2025 10:07 GMT-1
I am partial to the black and white, which do you prefer?
It’s the last day of summer break and I am going to finish strong and be ready when the alarm rings early tomorrow morning. Today is going to be like the last sixty-nine days have been – AMAZING. I know it and I can feel it, so I’d better jump up, jump in, and seize the day. Making the Days Count, one day at a time, especially when a last day leads to a first day.
This past weekend I completed one of my bucket list items – I made to Boston and Fenway Park to watch a baseball game and my thirtieth MLB franchise. I have been looking forward to this game since last season. It was a great weekend, and I watched all three games between the Hoston Astros and the Boston Red Sox before flying home Sunday night. It was a full weekend.
Boston Logan peaks at me through the clouds
Fenway Park is the oldest ballpark in the major leagues and has been used by the Boston Red Sox since 1912. The Chicago Cubs home Wrigley Field is the second oldest having been in use since 1914.
Every ballpark is different. Each ballpark has its own traditions and routines, but in the end it’s that brings us all together. All the fans I interacted with over the weekend were friendly and fun to talk with during the game. They knew the game and enjoyed baseball and were passionate about their team.
Singing “Sweet Caroline” is one of the traditions at Fenway. It is sung in the eighth inning, and it is sung with gusto. I remember learning to play “Sweet Caroline” in seventh grade band. I was so excited to play something fun and upbeat, and my trombone part included playing the tune, rather than in the playing in the background which many of the scores we played had for the trombone.
Where it began I can’t begin to knowin’ But then I know it’s growin’ strong
I didn’t last long in band and quit when high school started. Like many of my peers, I was drifting and wouldn’t really find myself or my place until my junior year.
Sweet Caroline Good times never seemed so good I’ve been inclined To believe they never would
I took an early flight to Boston and landed before noon. I had hoped to use public transit to get to the hotel but was confused and chose a ride share to get to my hotel. It wasn’t until I left Sunday that I realized my mistake! Next time I’ll get it right.
Boston is one of the oldest cities in America, but its history pales in comparison to the cities I had visited in Europe – London, Paris, and Amsterdam. I spent Friday afternoon walking the historical areas in downtown Boston before the game Friday. It was a lovely afternoon, perfect for walking and exploring.
the Boston massacre Memorial on the Boston Common
‘The Embrace’ a memorial the Martin Luther King, Jr and his wife Coretta Scott King
The 54th Massachusetts Memorial – an all black regiment with fought in the Civil War, led by Bostonite Robert Gould Shaw
Benjamin Frankin was born in Boston
the Old City Hall
the memorial to visitors of the Irish Famine 1948-49
the old South Meeting House where the ‘Good Trouble’ began the original ‘resist’ movement
the site of the Boston Massacre, memorialized
I had great seats for Friday’s game – 7 rows behind home plate and on the aisle! There was a family behind me; the grandpa and I talked baseball throughout the game. Sadly, the Astros lost the game in extras 2-1, but it was the best game of the weekend.
the view from the ‘Green Monster’ the 37 foot high left field wall
pre-game view from my seat
the classic peanut photo….
And before I knew it, Friday melted into Saturday morning. Saturday’s game was a 4:10 start and I wanted to arrive early enough to walk the ballpark and take it all in, so I decided to go visit the Boston Museum of Fine Arts which has a special exhibit I wanted to see.
Yes, you guessed it Van Gogh. The exhibit highlighted the artist’s work in the south of France in the last few years of his life. He painted a postal worker and his family while living in the yellow house. I enjoyed the exhibit very much.
yep, it’s me
the postal worker – Joseph Moulin
the famous bedroom
another Van Gogh selfie..
and another selfie with a selfie
Joseph Moulin’s wife, Augustine
another Van Gogh selfie.. they are all very different
Joseph Roulin, the postman
Augustine and her newborn daughter, Marcelle
Saturday’s original plan was to go to the game directly from the museum, but I needed to return to the hotel before the game, and it worked out as I befriended a couple at the tram stop near the hotel. We ended up having a beer before the game.
I tried to connect with my favorite player, but was too late and batting practice was over when I arrived, but I did run into the Friday’s evening’s usher who recognized me and he exclaimed,
“You’re back!”
to which I replied, “You’re back, too!
And we laughed. The grandpa from Friday night had mentioned that he and the usher had gone to high school together and I mentioned it to the usher, and he said,
“Yes, but he went to Harvard.”
I asked where he went, and he replied,
“Williams.”
I smiled and I replied,
“Which is better?”
and he replied,
“Williams!”
And both we laughed.
Then I was off to Saturday afternoon’s seat. I decided to sit in the right field bleachers for Saturday’s game. I found my seat and talked with the usher, Ed, about Fenway and baseball. It is always fun to engage with folks at the ballpark.
Saturday’s game was fun, but like Friday my team ended up on the short side of the score 7-3.
Fenway is on the national Register of Historic Places and there are plaques and markers throughout the park
pre-game photo from my seat
scouting Sunday’s seat on Saturday
a great sign and good advice, and I love the colors of the wall it makes the sign standout, much like to colors in an art museum…
The game ended around 7 PM and I decided it was a nice evening for a walk back to the hotel.
Sunday’s game was an 11:35 AM start and I needed to cleanup, pack up, and checkout of the hotel before going to the game.
I was able to write a few postcards before checking out and taking the tram to the game.
I chose to sit along the first base side in the right field stands for Sunday’s game. I had scouted the seat Saturday and decided where I was going to sit the day before. There were two seats available – seats 12 and 13. I am funny about the number 13, so I chose seat 12. I also, thought (secretly hoped) no one would purchase seat 13. I was wrong, but the person who bought the ticket never showed up; nor did my team and they lost a third game in a row, 7-1.
another sign, filled with great advice
Sunday’s game view
another peanut photo for the collection
seen on the way out – we all have different name. An excellent 70th birthday gift for a baseball fan…
Sweet Caroline Good times never seemed so good I’ve been inclined To believe they never would, oh, no, no
That’s baseball. The season is 162 games long, which is a long time. The season begins in late March and finishes at the end of September followed by a month of playoffs ending in the World Series and a serason’s champion. It’s a long haul, much like my bucket list journey. It started with my first game in the 1970s and I added a second stadium in 1986, then a third in ’87, a fourth in ’88, and many more finishing in Boston. It has been fun; and I’ve enjoyed the travel, the people I’ve met, and the games I’ve seen.
a view of Boston Harbor on the way home…
Today is going to be a great day and it could be a million and six times better than yesterday. So, I’d better jump up, jump in, and seize the day. Making the Days Count, one day at a time, looking back and savoring the experiences, but with an eye on the present.
Do you have a bucket list? If so, what is it?
“Sweet Caroline”
Was in the spring
And spring became the summer
Who’d have believed you’d come along
Hands, touchin’ hands
Reachin’ out, touchin’ me, touchin’ you
Sweet Caroline
Good times never seemed so good
I’ve been inclined
To believe they never would
But now I…
…look at the night
And it don’t seem so lonely
We fill it up with only two
And when I hurt
Hurtin’ runs off my shoulders
How can I hurt when holdin’ you?
Warm, touchin’ warm
Reachin’ out, touchin’ me, touchin’ you
Sweet Caroline
Good times never seemed so good
I’ve been inclined
To believe they never would
Oh, no, no
Sweet Caroline
Good times never seemed so good
Sweet Caroline
I believed they never could
Sweet Caroline
Good times never seemed so good
Written by Neil Diamond
a great sign and good advice, and I love the colors of the wall it makes the sign standout, much like to colors in an art museum…
I pass this place on my way to and from the lake house. When it is open, there is often a line to get in, sometimes the line stretches down the block and tests your resolve about whether the ‘exercise’ is worth the wait. But it’s summer and ice cream is refreshing and tasty.
It was National Ice Cream on Sunday, July 20th. We celebrated early with an ice cream treat in Paris at Berthillon on Ile St-Louis. It was delicious and there was a line to get a treat, but it was worth it as we waited patiently in the shade with other ice cream lovers on a warm Parisian Friday afternoon.
it’s the best exercise… Tasty Treat, Lake City, Michigan, July 25, 2025
It’s Friday and today is going to be an amazing day. This morning I am off to Boston to complete my bucket list at Fenway Park, three days and three baseball games, then home to finish summer and getting ready for school to restart in a couple of weeks. Where does summer break go? Making the Days Count, one day at a time, enjoying an ice cream cone while it’s summer.
W^2 or W squared for Wordless Wednesday, July 30, 2025
a monarch stops for a nibble a long the lake. Grayling, MI, Saturday July 26, 2025 6:39 PM EDT
My wife replanted the garden along the path from the driveway to the cottage this summer and the butterfly bushes are already receiving visitors. Spotted this monarch enjoy a nibble this past Saturday evening.
My late mother-in-law loved monarchs. Every time I see one, I think of her and think she’s visiting and checking on us.
Today is going to be a great day, especially when there is someone watching over me. Today could be a million and six times better than yesterday, but I am going to take it as it comes. Making the Days Count, one day at a time, looking around and paying attention to nature’s beauty – sometimes it’s a sign.
Today’s sign of the week is from the streets of Amsterdam. There are bicycles everywhere in Amsterdam, everywhere. My wife warned me to pay attention to the bike lane and I came close a couple of times, but I learned quickly – stay out of the bike lane and look left AND right when crossing it.
the sign reads, Moped not Allowed, but it really means you are in the bike lane, move to the right.
I had only been to Amsterdam once before this trip, it was when I was four in 1966. My dad had taken a six-month long assignment and moved us to Paris. My memory of our time in Europe is pretty limited. I do remember we flew from Houston to Amsterdam on KLM with a stop in Montreal. Somewhere I may have slides my dad took from our time in Europe.
Amsterdam is much easier to navigate than Paris or London. Amsterdam is smaller and one-eighth the size of Paris in terms of population but the trams and metro are easy to use. Also, there are fewer automobiles. The city is very walkable especially when you pay attention to the bike lanes.
Below is a clip from Ted Lasso, season 3 when Rebecca (Hannah Waddingham) discovers the bike lane.
Though our time in Amsterdam was short – three full days. We packed in quite a bit, much of it I am still processing.
But I did learn, be careful in the bike lane.
Today is going to be an amazing day. I am on the move again, this time to the lake and back Sunday. There are twenty days remaining in summer break and I am going to make and each an every one of them count, just as I have with the previous fifty. Making the Days Count, one day at a time, reading the signs and being careful.
W^2 or W squared for Wordless Wednesday, July 23, 2025
This is going to be the last post from Europe. It has been fun and we’ve seen and visited some amazing places in London, Swansea, Paris, and Amsterdam and places in between.
Me in a selfie with Van Gogh’s ‘Almond Blossoms’ in the background
We visited five art museums while we were exploring Europe. I saw lots of paintings, drawings, and I saw several of the thirty-five known Vincent Van Gogh self portraits. Neither of us created the selfie, it was around long before either of us. We just did it. Many years ago my friends ribbed me for the one-eyed selfie I would use with my social media posts.
One of the things I learned while wandering the museums and looking at paintings is that often the artist wasn’t painting a painting, they were practicing their craft. Yesterday, we arrived at the Vincent Van Gogh Museum to see the collection. I learned even more about Van Gogh while we toured the collection, then I found this – Vincent Van Gogh and the self portrait.
Seen at the Musee D’Orsay in Paris… Tuesday, July 15th
Seen at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, July 20th
Sunday, while touring the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, I was feeling a little silly and thought I’d capture me with Vincent Van Gogh so I took a selfie, with a selfie. I did it again yesterday.
The first selfie with a selfie
My second selfie with a selfie
Self-portrait, Vincent Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, July 22nd
It’s the one-eyed selfie! Actually, the photos are edited to show more of Van Gogh’s work than the original photo.
“The only time I feel alive is when I’m painting.”
Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890)
I read the quote in the Van Gogh Museum and it made me think. Really think. It was sad really, he was brilliant, creative, and deeply troubled. There are so many of us who look like we’ve got it together. I think sometimes making the days count helps me focus on the times when my days were a minus, not a plus.
These past couple of weeks have been awesome. Today we fly home, tomorrow morning I will awake bright-eyed and bushy tailed at three or four in the morning and spend a couple of days getting over the jet lag of a seven hour time change.
Today is going to be an amazing day, so I’d better jump up, jump in and seize the day. I am looking forward to sleeping in my own bed, unpacking, and putting away my suitcase. Making the Days Count, one day at a time, reflecting on being better every day, even a little bit.
