Apparently chilly weather was wanting to roar in, so thankfully I was able to get out in the sun a few times over the long weekend. Little accomplishments when there’s always temptations to do nothing. It’s seeming that I am going for more and more walks recently instead of just trying to jog. I think this is a good thing as I tend to go for a much longer time, and I don’t seem to have as many aches and pains from it. That sounds like something that someone would say as they are getting older…

On one of the excursions, I found these African marigolds. I was awfully proud of myself because I thought they were marigolds before I even looked them up, as I really am clueless at identifying plants and flowers. African marigolds are known to repel insects, rabbits, and deer. They were treated as a sacred being by the Aztec people and were used to decorate temples. This is why they are also called Aztec marigolds.

Between outdoor activities over the weekend, I caught a song that always requires the volume to be turned up. “Float On,” by Modest Mouse. It was released clear back in 2004, and it was nominated for a Grammy for Best Rock Song. The band actually formed in 1992, and this was there first mainstream hit.

“Don’t worry, even if things get heavy
We’ll all float on alright”

Shit happens. Sometimes a lot of it. I feel like it’s raining down on me sometimes. We keep going. Things will be alright. Maybe not tomorrow, but they will be. In the meantime we have songs that we can turn on, and turn up. We can sing along to the 10 words we know, and mumble through the parts that we hoped maybe we magically knew.

A turn around on a dead end. It always means I’ve made it a half of a mile. So if I quit and walk back, I’d still have gone a mile in total. I think the backdrop of Iowa is pretty fantastic. Just looking at the photo I can hear the birds and feel the sun.

One of the evenings, I took a night walk. I took a photo that was basically at the same spot as the half mile dead end point above. I was happy with how the Big Dipper showed up. It’s 7 stars make up the constellation Ursa Major (Great Bear). It is the 3rd largest of the 88 modern constellation.

Overall, it seemed like a fairly productive long weekend. And when that cold hit me while heading to work, I was happy with myself for venturing out into the sun these past few days.