Winter Solstice Greetings

 Gentle Readers:

Once again, it is time to celebrate the shortest day of the year with our traditional Solstice quarry, the band tail pigeon of Mt. Palomar.  This year, due to medical adventure, your narrator was unable to join our holiday hunters, as Tommy and Tash were the only ones to answer the call of the mountain for this winter family ritual.  More on that later.

This year has provided another round of good times, as our summer culminated in a fabulous chance to get everyone together for Lizzy and David Freeman's big wedding in San Francisco.

We started this year's postings, suitably enough,  with greetings from the Summer Solstice in Utah, where Tommy and Amelia continue to find fish and snow with which to frolic.

WendyJo and your narrator joined David in Seattle for the NCAA swim finals in that fabulous town.

David swam fast and found food at the world famous fish market, where shady fish mongers hold corners like urban crack dealers.

Isaac and Haley celebrated Isaac's ordination as a minister with another year of spiritual growth in San Francisco.

Tommy and David made it home for the summer and got out a few times on epic trips with Secret Skipper

It was the year of huge personal best lingcod and tuna for the youngest duo of our salty crew, courtesy of Our Skipper.

We filled our freezer and enjoyed some fabulous feeds with our friends from the seafood/landfood kingdoms and the good company of their predators.

We had some epic days of  lucking out, fattening up and catching sunsets on the water.

We did get a chance to sneak up to Tahoe for a few days of finalizing plans for Lizzy and David's big Labor Day wedding weekend

While we were shutting up and staying out of the way as the girls planned wedding strategy, the boys got in a little fly fishing on the Truckee, where David was the high stick because Tommy was not there.

The dogs were able to get in a few outings as they are seen here waiting for the Amtrak Coastliner on the platform in San Clemente.

Tash kept a watchful eye for pirates at Baby Beach in Dana Point Harbor, 

while Dersu posed with his prematurely sugar-faced grin at the sacred family tile from 2000 at the seawall.

The wedding in the Presidio was a wonderful Labor Day weekend celebration as we lucked into three of the best days of weather that The City had seen all year, with the Golden Gate as the backdrop for a canon-infested line-up of festivities.

It was great to roam the grounds and renew our acquaintance with our old stomping grounds.

The wedding was a blast,

 as our family continues to expand by merger with the Freemans.

This year we have faced some dark days in our American reality. We continue to be subjected to the vulgarity of MAGA culture wars that smokescreen a kleptocracy, but we have seen signs of Hope for our Nation.  We have joined with others in celebrating our right to restore and maintain human decency.  Do not discount the importance of showing up to join the chorus of good people who gather to give voice to our values.

Even in Oz, there was hope that the journey would be guided by Reason. We have a chance to emerge into an enlightenment and rebirth, as the rhythm of optimistic voices begins to grow from a distance that gains volume and velocity as it beckons to us: 

You're out of the woods,

You're out of the dark,

You're out of the night.

Step into the Sun,

Step into the Light.

We hope that the Truth and Beauty that children can so plainly see inspires you to pursue Virtue...

as we gather with good friends to remind each other of the love and joy that is available to us right here, right now, when we take the chance to notice and share our time together....

and never forget that our dogs understand these virtues and sometimes seem to know what needs to be done to remind us all that

These are the Days