Sunday, September 12, 2021

September Sweeps - Day 589

This doesn't count as a hike, but my nephew begged me to take him up the canyon to see if we could catch any frogs or salamanders.  I'm always a sucker for that stuff, so I loaded him in (along with a net and a bucket), and we drove first to the town where my sister lives, to see if there were any at the golf course there (my brother-in-law says he sees tons of salamanders when he goes golfing there).

My nephew was super nervous about us going there, sure we were gonna get caught, thrown out, arrested, or hit with golf balls.  I told him no one was going to care, and indeed, the only time anyone even noticed us was when they zoomed by on their golf carts, even then not noting we didn't have clubs with us.  I hadn't been to that golf course in years and years--I remember jumping in the water hazard pond as a teenager, which is only slightly less mature than I am as an old man--but I was surprised to find deer walking around between the holes, lazily looking up as the two of us walked past, then going back to grazing.

After that, we went up the canyon, caught a few fish (minnows) for him to feed to his remaining two frogs, and then headed to the next town, where construction got us lost for about twenty minutes (the main road into town was closed down, so we took a back road that eventually took us miles out of our way and into another town completely.  We caught a few more fish there, and then it was time for him to get home, since he has school tomorrow morning.

Like I said, I'm not counting it as my hike for the month . . . but I could.

Sit-ups Today: 111
Sit-ups In September: 1338

Push-ups Today: 140
Push-ups In September: 1569

Darn, I really ought to write something about it being twenty years since September 11th.  It was truly a life-changing day, and I still remember how it started, and how it ended with me calling my mom to patch things up after we'd had a fight over religion.  There were so many tributes, so many people sharing their feelings and memories, and SO many memes on social media that I just didn't feel like I had anything to contribute.  Still don't.

Words Today: 107
Words In September: 8901

I know it's close to nothing, the words I've written these last few days, but I'm honestly fine with it.  I had planned to quit writing completely, so any little bit is something.  I set up my microphone in the afternoon, planning to start recording another story or book (either "Hatchling" or "Underdecorated" or "Winter Break"), but my nephew demanded I take him somewhere "before it got too late," and I totally gave in.

At the end of the night, my mic was still plugged in, so I sat down and started recording "Underdecorated," the shortest of the three projects, thinking I might be able to get it done that very night.

However, I had stayed up until nearly six in the morning the night before (thanks to my extensive nap), and I paid for it trying to record an audiobook.  After twenty minutes, I started getting sloppy, and by half an hour, I was falling asleep at the computer.

I stood up, knowing I still had push-ups to do (I think I was supposed to do 219 today), but went in the other room, got a big drink of water, then came into the room to check the internet.  And that was it--I conked out with the lights on and the laptop next to me.  Whoops.


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