Friday Again

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I am amazed at how quickly Friday has arrived to laugh at me and promise something new and different for the weekend behind it.

I am glad that I don't have a lot of plans for this weekend because they are all changing. Change is not a bad thing--it is just change. It gives me a chance to refocus and decide what is really important.

It is going to be a great weekend focused upon things that really matter rather than peripheral activities.

I was reminded of this butterfly that I imaged during a walk at a marine wildlife center during my vacation. I was being assaulted by millions of ravenous mosquitoes--even the bug spray seemed to attract them; yet, this butterfly was placid and unaffected. 

Take away? Despite the fact that my life may be in turmoil, there are peaceful places which can be found. I just need to find them.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

August, Die She Must

Starfish in the Inter coastal

It is August 15th and the temperature this morning is a warm 57 degrees. The summer that wouldn't start has decided to depart early and we are already in early Autumn--which doesn't officially begin for over another month.

The pool is beginning to cool and my interest is waning in outdoor activities because of the coolness.

It is frustrating--the season that I most enjoy is fizzling around me and there is nothing I can do except sit on the deck in the evening with a glass of wine in my hand and enjoy the crisp autumn weather. 

I am beginning to feel like the starfish I imaged this summer, during July, who had crawled out of the receding tide and was hunting like a fish out of water, so to speak. Summer has been the same way. I've been looking for summer in all of the wrong places. 

At least I have been enjoying what summer there has been. I just wish there were more of it and that I could still feel the heat. I am reminded of the Paul Simon song April Come She Will, in which the final stanza is about the demise of summer:

August, die she must, 

The autumn winds blow chilly and cold; 

September I´ll remember. 

A love once new has now grown old.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Chillin' at the End of the Day

Me, Makayla, Riordin

The chaos in the room was everywhere as children played and adults interacted. After a long day, I needed a break and in the middle of it all I took a time out. It seems as though Makayla and Riordin also needed a time out and found it in my lap or sitting very near to me. 

It is not often that Makayla actually sits with me and then to have Riordin crawl up next to us was an added benefit. 

Funny, I didn't even have a glass of wine in my possession at this point in the afternoon, but with three grandsons were playing loudly not six feet away from the apparent serenity of this scene is deceiving.

I guess that amid the noise and chaos I had carved out a small island of tranquility. Anyway, Nicole thought it worthy of an image and so here it is. 

Me and my best buds. Funny, there wasn't even a baseball game on TV yet.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Vint Hill Winery - A Review

Vint Hill Tasting Room

I ran across a new and exciting winery on Sunday while passing through Northern Virginia with Mom and Dad. The winery is Vint Hill and the site that it is on has a WW2 history that appeals to me.

And, they make some really rockin' wines.  Although it appears that they have a web site, the URL was not working for me when I went back.

The winery specializes in craft style, small vintage wines. It is located in an old farm which was used as a signals relay station during WW2. I was amazed by the history of the site and I was also pleased by the variety of wines and their complexity.

Vint Hill makes a wide variety of wines using grapes from throughout Virginia, Washington State and California. The key is that they buy grapes from many sources and make some very tasty wines.

Vint Hill is located in Northern Virginia just over an hours drive from Baltimore. The tasting room is located in the upstairs loft of a barn--we did not see an elevator and so this winery is not suitable for disabled vinophiles. They have a nice variety of wines from whites to reds and including a few dessert wines. Many of the labels hearken back to the site's WW2 history and provide a setting for history and a bit of learning while enjoying wines.

The winery offers two levels of tastings--$10 and $15. I recommend a couple take one of each and swap the wines while tasting.

RECOMMENDATION: Visit this winery and enjoy not only the wines, but a piece of American history. CAUTION: The tasting room is on the second floor and not easily accessible by the handicapped. I did not find an elevator.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Monday Musings - August 12, 2013

1. It is amazing how quickly and entire day can change just based on one significant event.

2. Wine tasting in Northern Virginia on a beautiful afternoon, meeting many similarly disposed people. What could be better, especially when discovering previously unvisited wineries?

3. Orioles? August? Pennant push? It is happening!

4. I was sad to see NFL football on TV this weekend, it means that summer is drawing to a close and the dark days are plotting their return.

5. I read that more than 100,000 people signed up for the opportunity to take a one way trip to Mars. 

6. It is tough to write a blog when the dog needs to go out. Ugh!

7. I've been playing with using a larger font for my blogs and have received no comments. Like or not like?

8. MY cat Riordin, the cat that came back, is crazy fro a golf ball in a cat toy. I guess he doesn't get that it just travels in a circle.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Spectacular Ending to the Day

Driving home from a community concert last evening, I was treated to a day ending, sunset performance in the clouds that I haven't enjoyed in quite a while.

The sky was bright and colorful as the sun slipped out of view beyond the horizon. It was the exclamation point ending to a day that had begun gloomy and overcast, but finished on a high note with typically hot August temperatures and clear skies.

I even made it into the pool for a while during the afternoon to take a quick nap on a floatie and enjoy the warm sun. It was idyllic.

In the sky, the ending to the day was magnificent. The sliver of the moon was visible--although I couldn't get a very good image of it from the moving car. Thankfully, I wasn't driving.

I know that power lines do not make for a very pleasant image, but the color and texture of the clouds was captured as I remember it.

Maybe August isn't going to be a total washout.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Bees and Time Magazine

I subscribe to Time magazine. Yes, I know that in the world of electronic media that seems a bit archaic and legacy, but I enjoy opening the postbox every Friday and seeing the magazine laying there to enlighten me about some topic that I hadn't though about lately, or at all. 

Imagine my surprise this week when one of my not too distant cousins, Jim Doan, was featured in an article about the plight of bees and the dire consequences for the world. My Dad let me know that I had met Jim at a family reunion some years ago and he had recently toured the bee keeping and honey producing operation in Upstate NY.

I have been reading for sometime about the decline of the honeybee and the consequences if the losses are not mitigated. 

It seems that the time has arrived for action. 

There are a lot of articles on line about the importance of honey bees and the problems caused by new pesticides--which are decimating the honeybee populations. I recommend this one about the plight of the honeybees. 

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Rain, Cool and Pool

Chris and I in the Magic Kingdom

This August seems more like September, I am longing for some heat and humidity.

That written, the mosquitoes do not seem to mind the cool, damp season we are having. They feast on me every time I head outside to try to enjoy the times when rain is not falling from the sky.

Fortunately, I enjoy playing a sport which is an indoor sport and so I can at least enjoy racquetball--even if the month off I took during July is making it hard to regain my questionable form.  I still enjoy crawling onto the court at 5:30 AM and working out the kinks in preparation for the day.

Every day is a new adventure it seems.

I wish it were warmer so that I could enjoy my pool a bit more. I spend a lot of time and money every season on the pool and it is a shame not to be able to use it to its fullest. It is hard to get excited about the pool when the skies are gray and the water cool. I suppose I just need to take the plunge and get onto a floatie.

Despite the prevalent gloom of overcast skies, I still find ways to appreciate each day. There are great things that happen--and of course there can be some sadness too.

Today is a special day. Chris and I celebrate our anniversary--more years than I care to count or ever would have believed when it started so long ago as two kids looked into each other's eyes and said, "I do" to each other.

It was a hot August day back then. Times were tough, I was in college and we really didn't have a clue about what was ahead. But, taking each day as it came and making the best of every situation has helped us through.

Some day I hope we will get it right.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Gathering the Family to Celebrate and to Mourn

I love seeing and spending time with my extended family. I don't enjoy, though, the reasons that sometimes I get to see my family--like yesterday.

Growing up together, which of us ever thought we would have to gather like we did yesterday to mourn the passing of a spouse who was a father, a grandfather, a great man. A man whose life was cut short before his time. It was hard.

And then when someone remarked that he was "in a better place," I was reminded of a song I know--which so deeply expresses the conflict of being left behind as we are,while holding onto the memories of someone who has crossed over as we all look forward to doing. Even though I know about being in a better place, I don't find those words especially comforting, because I'm here and they're not. It is just too ephemeral to be real when we are standing in middle of shock and grief. This song, I  have found, helps me understand my emotions about losing loved ones.

The song was performed by Mercyme, and is called Homesick.

The words of the song go as follow:

You're in a better place, I've heard a thousand times
And at least a thousand times I've rejoiced for you
But the reason why I'm broken, the reason why I cry
Is how long must I wait to be with you

I close my eyes and I see your face
If home's where my heart is then I'm out of place
Lord, won't you give me strength to make it through somehow
I've never been more homesick than now

Help me Lord cause I don't understand your ways
The reason why I wonder if I'll ever know
But, even if you showed me, the hurt would be the same
Cause I'm still here so far away from home

I close my eyes and I see your face
If home's where my heart is then I'm out of place
Lord, won't you give me strength to make it through somehow
I've never been more homesick than now

In Christ, there are no goodbye
And in Christ, there is no end
So I'll hold onto Jesus with all that I have
To see you again
To see you again

And I close my eyes and I see your face
If home's where my heart is then I'm out of place
Lord, won't you give me strength to make it through somehow
Won't you give me strength to make it through somehow
Won't you give me strength to make it through somehow

I've never been more homesick than now


It is hard to be the one left behind even though we know and are convinced of the promise because it doesn't take away the pain of being apart.

Sometimes life just doesn't make any sense.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Under the Stars

Last evening I took the opportunity to lay on the damp, dew covered cool ground for a while and reacquaint myself with the stars and the constellations. Heading out shortly after dark was a treat because I spied about ten satellites, saw five meteors, and just looked into space at the Milky Way and the constellations that I have always considered to be my nightime friends.

I don't get to do that so much at home in Elkridge because of the ground light from the urban area in which I live and the trees which surround the small piece of earth that I came mine. I enjoy returning to the area where I grew up and being reassured that all of the stars are still there.

I remember growing up becoming familiar with the stars and dreaming of being an astronaut. While that never happened, my love of space has never waned. I have grown to comprehend more about orbits and satellites and things in space, but as I gain more knowledge my awe and wonder at how it all works has remained. It is so much more an physics and science, it is a wonderfully constructed canvas upon which creation is painted.

Staring into space is looking back into history. The light from the stars that I saw last evening began the journey to my eye long ago in the past. Even the light from our sun takes 8 or more minutes to get to Earth.

And so, for a for a few minutes I was transported back into my childhood looking at the stars while standing on the shore of Cayuga Lake at Boy Scout camp being taught the constellations, many of which I still remember.

It was peaceful, lying in the cool damp grass hearing the peepers and frogs while being transported into my memories.

-- Bob Doan, writing from Ithaca, NY