Commonplace Book

A Commonplace Book. “Commonplace”, from the Latin 'locus communis', meaning “a theme or argument of general application.”  For me, it is a collection of thoughts, ideas, anecdotes, poems, observations, and quotes that stood out and caught my attention, some with comment, some without. Essentially a scrapbook, a repository of thoughts too good to just pass over and let go.

"A few little flowers will spring up briefly in the dry gully through which torrents of water pass occasionally. But it is steady streams that bring thick and needed crops. In the agriculture of the soul that has to do with nurturing attributes, flash floods are no substitute for regular irrigation."

(Neal A Maxwell, Not Withstanding my Weakness) 

“There are two influences ever present in the world. One is constructive and elevating and comes from our Heavenly Father; the other is destructive and debasing and comes from Lucifer. We have our agency and make our own choice in life subject to these unseen powers. There is a division line well defined that separates the Lord’s territory from Lucifer’s. If we live on the Lord’s side of the line Lucifer cannot come there to influence us, but if we cross the line into his territory we are in his power. By keeping the commandments of the Lord we are safe on His side of the line, but if we disobey His teachings we voluntarily cross into the zone of temptation and invite the destruction that is ever present there. Knowing this, how anxious we should always be to live on the Lord’s side of the line.”

(George Albert Smith, Improvement Era, May 1935, p. 278) 

"You can't make a drawing without shadows. Not a good one."

(Neal Shin, journalist played by Tim Kang, Madam Secretary, S4:E20, The Things We Get to Say)

"He will work with us if we will work with Him."

(Stake President, Stake Conference, 25 August 2019)

"It doesn't matter when you take the shot, what matters is that you take the shot."

(Kevin J Hathaway, of the Seventy, Stake Conference, 25 August 2019)

"If we seek to live with our Father in Heaven we must be like our Father in Heaven."

(Temple President, Stake Conference, 25 August 2019) 

"Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another."

(Apostle Paul, Romans 14:19) 

"Subdue your appetites, my dear, and you've conquered human nature."

(Charles Dickens, English author, 1811-1870) 

Another One Off the List

The other day I had an opportunity to ride another trail from my list.  It was specifically the trail that attracted me to this one.  The trail itself was just under two miles long so I had to add a bit to it to make it as long as I like to go.  But the trail was well worth the rest of it.

I rode past a little park where a whole bunch of soccer games were being played and then the trail turned into the trees and toward the river.

Just another little stretch down the trail something caught my eye, something resting in a knot hole of a tree.

On closer inspection, it turned out to be a painted rock.  This time I picked it up and stuck it in my pocket so I could re-hide it a little farther along the ride.

Some cool bridges along this trail. I really liked riding on this trail, it was a very nice, quiet place.

It took a ways before the trail got to the river.  But once it did, yeah, I like riding along the water.

Often I meet other people along the trails I ride, especially when they are in town.  But not  this evening.  The whole way along the river I had the trail all to myself.

After riding along the river a ways the trail came to a bridge over the river.  So up and over I went.

Up on the bridge I was able to see back on the river, where it went through some rapids before opening up by where the trail was.

The rest of the ride was not near as interesting.  Well, not totally boring, but trail riding is always more interesting than riding along the side of the street.  But to get to where I was headed I had to I had to travel a few miles at the side of the road.

After a few miles I came to my destination, my turn-around point; It was a small lake.

Cool thing about this lake, though.  Its named after my second son, Stachelbeere.  I never knew he had his own lake.  But he did; amazing.

Alas, at that point it was time to turn back and go back the way I had come.  And so I did.  And what was incredible was that when I got back to where I had left my car I noticed a really big field of sun flowers!  I had totally missed it when I had parked and started my ride.  Fields like this always amaze me, all those flowers looking the same direction.

 It was the perfect ending to a really nice evening.

More Bikey Fun with Family

The other day I was sitting at home, minding my own business, when Blaubeere suggested we get together for a bike ride.  Well, not being one to turn down an opportunity to go for a ride with some of my favorite people, I said yes! and we talked about where this bike ride might take place.  We finally settled on my turf because, well, let's be honest; there are some pretty darn okay trails on my turf.

Blaubeere's youngest, Peanut, is just learning to ride a bike on her own and gets pretty anxious about certain aspects of riding on the streets (like coming to a full stop, carefully looking both ways, and waiting for a biiiiig hole before proceeding) so we wanted to pick our route carefully.  We also needed to keep Peanut's endurance in mind, being a new rider she rides a little slower and not as far as the rest of us.

We settled on a route that is off-road trail all but the last few blocks, a ride of 2.7 miles there and then back the same way.

So we drove to the beginning and lined up for the customary "beginning of the ride" photo.  I had meant to bring my camera and tripod for this picture but I forgot so we had to improvise and do a "selfie".  I ended up doing the selfie and I'm not all that good at it - I end up concentrating on getting everyone in the picture, centered, and the background right, to the point that I frequently forget to smile.  Yeah, that's what happened.  But it turned out well enough.  We got our picture and then we were off through the forest!

This is actually one of my favorites stretches of trail around here.  I end up on it quite a bit every summer.  Its quiet, its pretty, its not too strenuous, and just a genuinely nice ride.

So we rode through the woods, stopping for an occasional water break.  It was a good time.

A few weeks ago we had a pretty serious storm come through the area and thousands of trees were damaged.  This trail was closed for a couple of weeks while they cleared and cleaned and got it back into shape.

We saw plenty of damage as we rode along.  Not only were trees knocked down, but portions of the trail had washed out, too, and had to be resurfaced and repaired.

One part of the ride that everyone had fun with was the rumbly bridge we crossed.

Up and over, everyone had fun on that one.

Our destination, our "turn-around point" was, of course, our favorite ice cream place.  Can't do anything with grandpa without some how working ice cream into the equation.  I don't usually have to talk very hard to get here, though, when family comes to visit.  I like that.

There was a train crossing on the trip.  It was clear when we came in but as we were leaving to go back there was a train coming into town, blocking our way back.  When they are leaving town they usually get going pretty fast, picking up speed and clearing out quickly so you don't have to wait long.  But when they're coming into town they can be pretty slow.  This one was coming in so we found a nearby playground to pass the time.  Fortunately, we didn't have to wait very long before we were back on our way.

Pretty soon we were on our way back.  The trail was just as pretty going back as it was going in.

The nice thing about this ride was that we just had to follow the trail.  For the most part there were no intersections where you had to know which way to go, just follow the trial.

Little Peanut did really well at peddling along.  She even got to lead the pack for a little ways.  I think she enjoyed that.

And so we rode though the woods, scaring away the wildlife with all our noise, having a grand time.

Not quite five and a half miles later we were back at the cars, happy and just enough tired to know we had fun. A nice thing about riding in the woods is its a little cooler.  When we were out on the streets in the middle of the ride we were noticing that the day had turned out a little warmer than expected but it hadn't really mattered because we'd been in the trees for most of the time.  That was pretty nice.

We're going to have to do this again.  This was a lot of fun!

Commonplace Book

A Commonplace Book. “Commonplace”, from the Latin 'locus communis', meaning “a theme or argument of general application.”  For me, it is a collection of thoughts, ideas, anecdotes, poems, observations, and quotes that stood out and caught my attention, some with comment, some without. Essentially a scrapbook, a repository of thoughts too good to just pass over and let go.

"As we consider our commitment to the Savior, are we careful or casual? Because of our mortal nature, don’t we sometimes rationalize our behavior, at times referring to our actions as being in the gray, or mixing good with something that’s not so good? Anytime we say, “however,” “except,” or “but” when it applies to following the counsel of our prophet leaders or living the gospel carefully, we are in fact saying, “That counsel does not apply to me.” We can rationalize all we want, but the fact is, there is not a right way to do the wrong thing!"

(Becky Craven, Careful versus Casual, April Conference 2019) 

"The atonement of Jesus Christ is both redemptive and enabling."

(Stake President, 6/23/2019)

"It seems to me that the essence of our lives is distilled down to these two brief elements in these opening scenes of the Savior’s mortal ministry. One element is the question, to every one of us, “What seek ye? What do you want?” The second is his answer as to how to get that. Whoever we are, and whatever our problems, his response is always the same, forever: “Come unto me.” Come see what I do and how I spend my time. Learn of me, follow me, and in the process I will give you answers to your prayers and rest to your souls."

(Jeffrey R Holland, Come Unto Me, BYU Devotional, 2 March 1997) 

"And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works"

(Hebrews 10:24) 

"What's one thing you would do if your spiritual house was completely in order? Do it anyway."

(Zandra Vranes, Facebook post as Sistas in Zion, 30 June 2019) 

"While basic guidelines can be helpful when they’re accurate, human health is far too complicated to be reduced to a long chain of numerical imperatives."

(Amanda Mull, What 10,000 Steps Will Really Get You, The Atlantic, May 31, 2019) 

"Some people feel the rain — others just get wet."

(Roger Miller, 1936-1992, American singer-songwriter, musician, and actor) 

"Prayer is not just for times of trouble."

(Thomas S Monson, We Never Walk Alone, October Conference 2013)

A Fun Bikey Day Trip

Some time ago I learned of a boardwalk near Madison, Wisconsin that billed itself as "the longest inland boardwalk bridge built solely for non-motorized transportation in North America."  Dane County, where the boardwalk is found, says the boardwalk is a mile long.  Well, of course I knew I would have to some day ride my bike across that boardwalk so it went on my list.   And then, the opportunity arose to take that ride.  Happy day!

This marvelous boardwalk is found on the Lower Yahara River Trail.  Before going I checked the map to see what else of interest was along the trail.  I found that the entire trail is only 2.5 miles long, much shorter than I like to go when I'm out riding.  But Dane County has a whole bunch of state, county, and city trails that interconnect so putting together a longer ride wasn't hard at all.  At the west end of the Lower Yahara River trial you can move onto the Capitol City Trail without missing a beat.  The Capitol City Trail is 17 miles long but I wasn't going to do the whole trail.

The eastern trail-head for the Lower Yahara River Trail is located in McDaniel Park in McFarland, WI.  So that's were I went to start.

At the beginning of the trail, which is only a dozen yards from where the boardwalk bridge begins, I stopped for a quick picture and then took off across the bridge.

Just a little jog at the beginning and then it went out around Lake Waubesa, actually, it curved around the northeast part of the lake, between the lake and some train tracks.  I was hoping a train would go by, the information I saw said it was an active track, but no train.

As soon as the bridge ended the trail went into some woods, part of the William G Lunney Lake Farm County Park.

One of the points of interest I had found was an observation tower.  It wasn't right on the trail, I had to go a half mile or so off on a side trail to get to it.

This tower was different from the usual towers found in state parks and recreations areas. This tower was patterned after a castle turret. Pretty slick, I thought.

Instead of being an open, wooden tower, this one was enclosed, a short hike up some stairs but no view as you go up and up to the top.

That was okay, though.  It was a cool climb, 40 steps to be exact.

I had the top all to myself for the first little while.  Eventually, though, others came.  It wasn't surprising considering what a nice day it was and what a popular trail this was on. There were plenty of others out enjoying the trail and wonderful weather.  At the top you could look around and see quite a ways.

The tower had a nice view out across the country-side.

This was looking back in the direction I had come to get to the tower.  Coming down and getting back onto the trial, I soon came into the Capitol Springs State Recreation Area.  About a mile after the tower I came to the end of the Lower Yahara River Trail and moved onto the Capitol City Trail.  The next point of interest I had planned on stopping at was an observation deck out in the middle of some wetlands.  This observation deck was in the Nine Springs area, a bird observation area.

Unfortunately, when I got to the spot in the trail where you turned to go out to the observation deck, there was a sign that said it was closed to bikes.

I suppose I could have walked my bike out, or left it and walked out without it.  But the boardwalk out to the deck was narrow and long, and there wasn't much space at the junction, and no bike rack, so I decided not to go out.

However, sitting there on the bench where the walk-way out to the deck  began was a little painted rock.  Painting rocks with positive, uplifting messages have become pretty popular recently.  I was hoping I might stumble across one while out on my ride.  And, sure enough, there it was!  Cool!  So I  left it there and continued on my way.

I had studied the route I planned to take ahead of time but I still had to stop a couple of times to figure out where I was and how to get to where I wanted to go next.  Not long after the observation deck was one of those places.  But pretty soon I was back on my way.  As I continued on, Capitol City Trail winds around the southwest part of Lake Monona. This lake is bigger than Lake Waubesa.

My next stop was Olin Park, at a place called Olin Park Vantage.  When I got there I found out right away why it was called that.  The vantage point was at the top of a hill in Olin Park where you could see out across the lake, including to the downtown part of Madison, which includes the state capitol building.

Continuing on I followed the Capitol City Trail until I came to North Broom Street.  At that point I left the trail and turned west, going along North Broom Street.  I kind of stair-stepped my way north and west until I came to West Washington Avenue.  Then I turned north and headed up the hill toward the capitol building.  Lots of cars, people, traffic lights, and a big hill.  The going was slow but before long I arrived at the south steps of the capitol building.  That had been the goal for the "turn-around" point before heading back.

There was a big farmers market there around the steps; I thought about looking around for a little while.  But all the stalls were cramped and crowded, and there were a lot of people.  And I had a bike I would need to keep out of the way if I were to browse.  So I skipped it and started back.

I had seen that there were several one-way streets as you approach the capitol building so I decided not to take exactly the same route back.  Besides, I wasn't entirely sure I could find it.  All these streets looked the same.  So I went straight out West Washington Avenue until it intersected with North Broom Street.  I was glad I did.  As I was waiting for a light, a "Pedal Pub" went rolling by.  They were laughing, drinking, and pedaling, making their way slowly up the street.

They looked like they were having a grand time. I was glad to see that behind the bar was one person serving, and another person driving, while all the guests pedaled, moving the rolling pub forward.  A very interesting contraption.  I thought it interesting, and probably a real good idea, that everyone was wearing seat belts.

The ride back always seems to go faster than the ride out.  Maybe that's because going out it was all new territory and coming back you've seen it all before.  Anyway, before long I was back at the beginning of the boardwalk at Lake Waubesa.

Right at the beginning of the boardwalk is a small observation deck, a turn out with a bench, so I stopped and enjoyed the view for a few minutes.  Yes, I was tired and this was taking a rest.  But it was also a very nice day and the lake looked nice.

Right to the side of the turn-out was a gap where boats would pass back and forth from Lake Monona and Lake Waubesa.  They were fun to watch.

But the day was wearing on and I needed to get back so pretty soon I was back on my bike for the last mile across the boardwalk and to the park.  It was a good ride.  It was 16.8 miles long and parts of it had been pretty strenuous, particularly getting up the hill to the capitol building. I even had a chain issue at one point that I had to stop and take care of before continuing.  But all in all, it had been a good ride and I was glad I had gone.  So I crossed another place off my list and had a fun time!