Dealing With Black Dogs

I’ve never been a great writer, but enjoy writing; thus, the continued publication of this blog. Sorry?

However, in the past couple of months, my posts have become more subpar than usual. One of the major factors has been the appearance of Lola (the dog) in my life. I love her, but she’s a puppy and puppies need near constant attention lest ye have your living room shat upon and chewed to bits. Every week she gets a little better, but finding moments of peace to sit down and write can be difficult when home alone.

B driving us to Bundy Hill for a rainy hike in the woods.

Other reasons for the further dip in quality posts is my lack of riding and hiking, followed by working more at the shop, and a busy end to B’s school year and spring soccer season, as well as my attempt to get some things sorted with my ongoing battle with the “black dog.” The black dog that makes me want to lie down in the woods and sob about my lack of career and societal contributions, bloated face, continued weight gain, and self-loathing, not the one that chews our furniture and shits in our house.

Wet leaf on log.

Started with a drizzle then started raining hard. Real hard.

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Trail and ferns.

So much wetness, so many ferns.

With all that said, things are calming down, I’m hopeful that my mood is back on track, and that with the school year and soccer season over with I will find more time to take proper care of myself.

Favorite portrait

Possibly one of my fave pics of B thus far. See notes below for more.

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Forest trails

My fave grove at Bundy in black and white.

With that proper self-care and attitude, I hope that there will be more time in the saddle and walking in the woods with my camera which in turn will make these posts more enjoyable to create.

PART II: OTHER PICS AND NOTES

The photo of B above is one of my favorite pics of him that I’ve taken. This shot was the first I took before asking him to try to smile. Those were OK, but the initial shot remained my favorite and once edited in black and white, I fell even more in love with it. The tones and contrast remind me of the work by Anton Corbijn. If you’re a music nerd like me, you hav surely seen his work for music mags and bands like Depeche Mode, Nick Cave, U2, and many others. I found some short films about him on YouTube that are worth checking out. HERE and HERE.

I was in the shop for a bit on Friday and had my Richo GR with me.

suntour roller cam brakes

The first pic (above) is of some Suntour roller cam brakes that were on a “vintage” mountain bike being worked on Friday morning.

The second photo is of Rod’s Surly Big Dummy with baby dog trailer attached. If you live in the Alma area, you’ve surely seen Rod riding around town with his dog Baxter. This rig tops out at an estimated 13 feet in length. I tried to measure it, but the tape only went to 12 feet! 

I’m off for another wet walk in the woods, followed by getting B to tryouts for the 2020 clubs season.

Later.

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