The Changing Season – May 2019

Here we are again facing a Changing Season as May walks out the door taking Spring with it and Summer sneaks in with June.

The month started out shitty. The UNCC shooting was both an act of violence and terrorism that hit very close to home. My husband teaches at UNCC as an adjunct professor. Had the incident happened 24 hours later than it did, he would’ve been on campus, under lock down, barricaded in a classroom. There are no words for me to say that haven’t already been said and there are no arguments to make that haven’t already been argued. And so we heal, moving forward with the knowledge that none of us are immune and this reality is true for all of us.

A picture I took on UNCC’s campus this past Fall. It is a break from “The Changing Seasons” rules to use a non-current picture, but I felt the circumstance would allow for an exception.

A couple of days after the shooting, the first healing step hubby & I took was after work one night. We took the kayaks over to a lake not far from the house. The winds were calm which made for smooth glass like water, the temperature was also accommodating in that it was warm enough that we didn’t mind the refreshing water splashing on us but we didn’t cook in the boats either. It was peaceful and perfect.

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I got my deck pots planted this month. One of my great pleasures in life is to sit on our back deck in the early mornings and drink my coffee. This treat is even sweeter in the Spring and Summer months when I am surrounded by pretty flowers, singing birds and fluttering butterflies. This year, I added the cutest metal horse sculpture to these surroundings and he brings me great joy. My hubby may not find him as adorable after hauling him around for an hour to get him back to the car.

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Unfortunately as much as I enjoy to admire my flowers. My dogs enjoy to dig them up! Not 24 hours after I had them in the pots, I found one uprooted and all of them the objects of great curiosity.

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  #heisabaddog

I got a very exciting new camera this month. It wasn’t really planned and it is more than I “need” but I’ve been having a heck of a good time figuring it all out. The first day I had it, I went to the Botanic Gardens to test it out. What better subjects to experiment with than ones that cannot move and just sit around being pretty all day.

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This month hubby flew off to Germany & Prague for work. He was gone three weeks. This was the perfect opportunity to clean the garage and throw things away. No questions asked and no pleading that we need to keep that item that doesn’t work and hasn’t been touched in YEARS. Bye bye JUNK!

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Mid-month I took my new toy to The NC Zoo. The temps were in the mid-70’s and I figured this would be one of the last days before the heat of Summer set in which causes the animals to get less active. They did not disappointment and I enjoyed my day wandering from exhibit to exhibit.

I spent a hot Saturday afternoon sitting in the large beer garden of one our local breweries. I’m not much of a drinker and I’m really not into the brewery scene that seems to have taken over our city, but, my employer was sponsoring a corn hole tournament and several of our employees were participating so I figured showing up for a beer and offering some support would be a nice change of pace.

On the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend I took a second paddling trip at Morrow Mountain State Park. I used to ride at this park frequently over the Summers, but sadly, ever since the hurricanes came through last Fall they have not cleaned and rebuilt the bridle paths. It was strange to pull in the park without Tucker in tow, but I was excited to see it from a new perspective. It was a beautiful lake to paddle and I felt as if I spent the day floating around in a Monet painting. We were treated to several bird sightings including heron, egrets and even an inflight osprey.

On Memorial Day Monday I spent a very HOT and very entertaining day at the US National Whitewater Center. I didn’t participate in any of their many activities but I did sit by the river for a bit and enjoyed watching the facial expressions of the rafters and kayakers as they came through the rapids.