“So long as the people do not care to exercise their freedom, those who wish to tyrannize will do so; for tyrants are active and ardent, and will devote themselves in the name of any number of gods, religious and otherwise, to put shackles upon sleeping men.”
-Voltaire
My friend Paul and I decided to ride our bicycles into work again, and on this ride, I thought about all the people I wanted to give thanks to.
I’m thankful to my wife and son for getting up early with me and sharing a breakfast meal with me before I went to work.
I’m thankful to the workers who made the clothes and shoes I put on today.
I’m thankful to all the people involved in the building of my home as well as the furniture and appliances within.
As I rode my bike into work this morning, I thought about how grateful I was to be able to live close enough to work to ride my bike there and back.
Then I thought about how grateful I was to be bathed in the golden rays of the morning sun with the cool morning air moving over my body.
Then I saw a falcon on the trail carry off her prey in her talons, then shortly after that I caught a glimpse of a fleeting white tailed deer run off into the forest, and I thought about how grateful I was to be there to witness these things.
Then I thought about how grateful I was to be able to share this ride and experience with a friend like Paul, and then I realized that life does not get any better than this.
This morning, as I walked into work, I noticed some pink appearing around the outside of a grouping of Queen Anne’s Lace that is normally white.
Later that day, I saw a threesome of mud wasps.
When I got home, I noticed the cherry tomatoes in my garden had ripened, so I picked them.
Then I went for a walk with Sally. It was hot, so she decided to cool off in the splash pad.
On our way home from our walk, we saw a bunny munching on some clover.
For the Canada Day long weekend and week, we decided to enjoy a week long adventure at Arrohead Provincial Park.
It rained on Saturday, but we didn’t mind; we are waterproof.
Our son joined us for the weekend. The best place for cell phone reception was down by the lake.
It rained on Sunday as well for part of the day.
I met up with my friend Paul this morning, and we decided to ride our bikes into work. The travel distance one way on our route was around 19.5 kilometers for me.
On the way there, I decided to beat this guy who was riding an ebike on the sidewalk.
He’s just passing that telephone pole way back there in the last shot as I’m looking back.