It's been a minute since I've done anything on Hive. Life does that. Demands attention, like a parent who grabs a child's face by the jaw and says, "Look at me when I'm talking to you!"
So let's play catch up a bit.
I'm currently surviving extremely poor air quality conditions in Southern California because of fires in the area. The closest is about twenty miles north of me, with plenty of things to go through before it could ever be a threat. Also, the gusting winds of up to 100 miles and hour are not around me. That helps, because it's been embers for the burn areas that have triggered much of the damage. Think of the fire line as a progressing army, and the embers as spears reigning down on fresh territory.
The burn areas have destroyed a number of the hiking and trail work areas I frequent. Some of those include backcountry trails that we just recently finished repairing after the 2018 Woolsey Fire and the 2020 Bobcat Fire. These take a lot of effort, because we have to hike longer distances to get to them. Our general practice is to hide our tools until we return and continue our work. A crew of ten can refurbish one to two miles of nominally damaged trail in a workday. Repairing landslides and washouts can take one to two visits on their own. Since we're all volunteers, our efforts are limited to once a week.
In other news...
My writing and publishing came to a standstill, as family demands took up quite a bit of time. Part of that was an increasing amount of caregiving. That's not going to go away, and it caused me to drop some plans I had for 2025. It's said that sometimes, a door closes so a window can open. I'm still searching for that window. In the meantime, I have carved out time again to engage in PEAKD and other HIVE communities. That is very important to me, as other social platforms are being taken over by extremists like Musk and the incoming wanna-be dictator that added him to his cabinet. I feel bad for the people that have built their livelihoods on platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, etc. when they were safe places, but I won't be a part of that any longer.
There was a pleasurable trip to gather with family in late December, filled with joy, laughter and memories that will last longer that the cold I came back with. I hope. IT's not cooperating so far.
And then there are the people and pleasures that are often there to lean into, and remember that while simply treading water can be the most difficult task to perform, taking time to immerse myself in their solace and kindness can heal almost anything. I have abundant gratitude for that.
Enough! 2025 is upon us. I follow a lunar calendar, so my "new" year began at winter solstice. I promised myself that I'd complete 52 hikes this year, and I managed to do four before unsafe air conditions took over. I'm anxious to hit the trail again as soon as possible. Included in the 52 are a 43 mile hike across Catalina Island, and the 67 mile Backbone Trail. My trail work will likely lead to me repairing segments of the latter once these fires are put out. It's a grand purpose I look forward to.
Here's hoping you have a year of meaningful connection, and thrive towards the future you want to live in. I'll talk to you next week.