And a look forward September has always been a pivotal month for me. There’s a back-to-school energy, now enhanced by not actually having to go back to school. Here on the island, most of the “summer people” are packing up the beach cabins, the ferry lines have become more reasonable, and we’re getting our island back. We have some rain after a very dry summer. September’s also the month of my birthday, actually today, and my 72nd, if you’re counting. The start of a new trip around the sun coinciding with the change in seasons makes it a perfect time … Continue reading Birthday reflections

A three hour tour… “Just sit right back, and you’ll hear a tale, a tale of a fateful trip” – a boating adventure We though we would try the cabin’s inflatable boat. The owner had asked us a couple of times if we’d used it, so we broke down and gave it a try. Our host recorded videos about the house, the e-bikes, and the rubber boat, as he called it. We watched the video and started to prepare. We located the main battery – essentially a car battery – and set it to charge. The charger said it was … Continue reading Finland by water, part two

Postcard from Finland Water has run through everything I’ve done, thought, or read this week. Here, I’ll try to pull some of those streams together. I’m leaning heavily and gratefully on links and quotes this week, as I’m supposed to be on vacation! Water, in the form of fog, delayed the start of this year’s Ironman 70.3 World Championship women’s race in Lahti, Finland. For those who are following, my wife finished the race in a very respectable time. See my Instagram for some videos. I’m so proud of her! Sadly, water also took a life in that race. A … Continue reading Water follows me everywhere