Saturday morning

I think, just possibly, I have reached the first corner and begun, just begun, to edge my way around it - in terms of seeing a difference in my fatigue level. Yes, I still get tired, really flat out tired. But I also get up every day before 6:00 a.m., usually around 5:30. And I work 9-10 or more hours 5 days a week. So I try to be kind to myself and say that schedule would be tiring to anyone, let alone an almost-60 year old. My hair is growing, too. It is so liberating not to wear a hat indoors (mostly I still wear a baseball cap outdoors, either because I get cold or because I"m worrying about sunburn).

Jessie woke me up at 5:00 am this morning I refused to get up then and begged for more sleep. I did get up by 5:30 and we were at the park before 6:00 am. It's a beautiful morning and supposed to be a hot day - first in a while - and the park was already "full" of people (by my standards, meaning there were 4 or 5 cars there, a couple of joggers, a few photographers - the Rose Garden has reached and is peaking in its full glory, drawing photographers like honey bees).

We had a nice walk. We began at the pond searching for the heron - optimistically since H said she had seen her/him. But no luck. We did see a gaggle of Canada geese - several pairs of parents with offspring. The gosling Canada geese are almost as big as the adult Mallards. The pond was almost crowded.

The highlight of the walk was a downy woodpecker who landed on a branch of a pine tree about 4 feet from us and sat there for some time. So beautiful. Then he/she flew up into the branches of the pine. I could still see him/her, but not so clearly. Really beautiful.

We stopped in the Rock Garden and I went through my T'ai Chi form. Two chipmunks chased each other down the rock wall (good thing Jessie didn't see them--they are her particular weakness). Jessie sat and blinked in the sunshine. A pair of women photographers strolled through the Perennial Garden above us, murmuring.

The park is just bursting out in summer dress and song. I think today is some sort of ceremony marking the peak of the Rose Garden, not sure.

A good morning.

Peace, peace ... an oil free peace to all living things and the world we live in.