I am sitting in Barnes and Noble having my first cup of coffee in over two weeks, and I will have to admit that it is a bit of a disappointment. I decided to have one to celebrate a productive if difficult day, and I don’t think I will have another one soon.
In the morning was the visit to the hollow from Tamara Vance from VOF, Irv from Natural Heritage, and Tamara niece’s Maddie, who was very sweet. We did not find the Addison’s Leatherflower, but we did find Smooth Coneflower and a lily that Irv photographed. My knee hurt but I was able to get Irv and Tamara up to see the big rocks up the side hollow. I am sure my knee will be a problem tonight. Tamara was very nice but she made it clear that even with the Smooth Coneflower, it was the access issue that was the problem. She seemed to think there was a chance and Irv said she is going to argument of inclusion in VOF. I thought Irv was a lot of fun and very smart. We’ll see. We picked some wineberries at the end of the visit and they were very tasty.
After they left, I checked my messages and John called and Amtrak called to tell me that my trip from Chicago to Whitefish had been cancelled because of the flooding in North Dakota. I was exhausted and hungry so after some food and a nap, I drove to the pasture and found out that Gyorgyi couldn’t meet tonight but will meet me for lunch tomorrow. I then called Amtrak and found out that the best I could do was to switch to Denver and change my Hertz reservation. It all worked out but I will have to drive an extra 1600 miles. Fortunately it will be through Colorado and I am pretty sure I will go up the Poudre Canyon and maybe pass through Yellowstone. No loss there.

Today was a mediocre day. I need more things to occupy my time. I didn’t sleep well, waking up in the middle of the night and eating a sandwich and watching TV. When I finally got up around 8 I forced myself into my routine of the Neti pot, tridoshic oil, practice and doing chores around the house. Then I decided to try out my big pack on the New River Trail but that didn’t work well. The pack was too heavy with the waders and fishing boots in it and when I snuck down into a pasture to fish, I didn’t catch anything though I did get a couple of hits. When I got back to the truck I was exhausted and hungry so I stopped at a Bojangles to have dirty rice, spicy pintos, mac and cheese and mashed potatoes with gravy along with a biscuit, followed by a small blizzard at Dairy Queen, certainly not a Kripalu meal. I then took a nap in my office and did some work and then drove to Bburg to look at another condo. This was not as nice a setting and I didn’t like the entrance, so I will have Susan keep looking. I have to find out if the bank would even finance such a purchase. I then took a walk by the greenhouses at VT and the gardens were in full bloom. As I write this entry I am hoping that my creative juices will get going soon.

A productive morning, cleaning out more stuff from under the house, checking the batteries (1185, 1205, 1205, kind of low but not desperate), practicing, meditation, yoga and weights, using the battery trimmer to finish trimming around the house. When I went to put the screen back on, I noticed that the copperhead in the corner was sunning him or her self. I don't bother it and I hope it won't bother me.
I decided to head for the river again to kayak and it was very good again. I was even more stable than last time and I had a lot of fun.
After a nap I went off to play golf and played well although I lost my swing at the end and finished with a 50 from the white tees.
I have resigned myself to teaching core courses this fall but Kate Hawkins’ memo was very supportive and I will try to do a very good job. I have the 321 outline and rules done but I can’t do anything else until I find out my schedule.
My weight has stayed at about 216, which is much better than it was but I really want to get it below 210, with a goal of 205. I am not eating snacks between meals and if I can keep exercising a lot I will lose more weight.
Tamara from VOF and Irv the botanist come out on Wednesday and I hope that goes well. I would love to save the 7K by doing the easement with VOF instead of the Western Virginia Land Trust but I am going to do the easement no matter what.
I should see Gyorgyi this week and it will be fun to catch up. She seems to be doing well.

On Thursday, I got the power vent moved and they didn’t charge me even though I offered to pay some. It is much quieter in the bedroom now. I also was able to clear out some of the junk in the crawlspace, so that felt good.
I went kayaking for the first time since the gout hit this winter and I did very well. I paddled for about an hour, eventually surfed the big wave at Bluff City and helped rescue a fisherman who flipped over and got his anchor caught between both rapids. Heath, a kayaker I met, and I finally had to cut the anchor rope but the fellow was okay and we saved most of his gear.
Today I did some practicing, yoga and weights, then I decided to take the day off. I drove to the new river trail near Hiwassee and rode 10 miles. After that I needed a nap but I then drove out 100 to the Vest funeral home and dug some stairs and caught a dozen redeye bass. I did go further down than I had and the water was okay but not sensational.

Today started out as a very good day. I woke up and did my peti pot and tridosha oil, did a meditation, practiced, did yoga and weights, started working on the outline of the 321 course, which already has enough students in it. The solstice was a 1:16 and I was pretty much done with everything by 12:45, and restless man that I am, I decided to try to move the old fan so Dodson could put in the new power vent on Thursday. I should have waited till after the solstice but I didn’t. The work was going okay when I slammed my head into a pipe hanging down and I really hurt myself. I started crying and bewailing my fate, yelling that I can’t do this anymore, that why is this happening, and realizing how much I missed Tracy. It was the first time I really cried about my situation and I just sat there weeping loudly for several minutes. I soon began to realize that I had overdone things a little, and I went back upstairs to wait for the solstice, my tears done and my psyche much calmer. My head has a long bump on it and I hope I don’t have a concussion. After the solstice passed, I went back under and finished up the job, duct taping some cloth to the pipe, and even purging the water filter. I felt much better but was unsure about going kayaking at Bluff City that afternoon, just in case I passed out.
I am still worried a little about the burning smell from my truck but it seems to only come at very high speeds for extended periods. My computer was also acting up so I thought to head to Radford on the highway and see if the smell came back. It didn’t and the computer people thought it might be a sticky key and not the word program.
I then decided to play golf while the weather was okay, and played in very hot conditions and still shot a 50 from the whites and it could easily have been a 48.
I did talk to NOC about hiring a private instructor and it will cost 160 for a half day, which is a lot. I am pretty sure I can paddle for an hour, but any longer will not happen so it will be a lot of money for an hour’s paddling.
I was able to help Claire yesterday at Quest and Cathy was appreciative. I also called Dolores and told her all the info I got from UC Davis, and she was very appreciative. I thanked her for suggesting the movie Bridesmaids, which was quite funny.
Overall a good day with a big lump.

As I was driving home yesterday, the weather cleared and I decided to play golf at Vista Links, a new course near Buena Vista. I played from the gold tees and though it was a tough course, hilly with a lot of traps, I shot a 47, even with a 7 on the last hole. After that I drove into Lexington to have lunch at the Natural Food Co-op and it was quite good. After that I decided to take a nap near Acadia and that was needed. I was right by the stream so I put on my tevas and took a quick dip in the cold water. I stopped at Starbucks and had a green tea and did more work on my computer. Then it was time to drive home and when I got there everything was in pretty good shape. After unloading most of the truck, I made dinner of salad and a cheese and peanut butter sandwich and practiced briefly. The solar was 99% but the TV wasn’t working (I did get it fixed later) but the power vent doesn’t seem to have done much for the humidity. It was 91% when I left and two weeks later it was 90%. I will give it a chance but I don’t think it is going to do much. I then drove in to watch Green Lantern, which was entertaining enough.
In the morning I did more cleaning up of the truck and house and then when Rob called, I drove in to go for a hike with him to Pandapus Pond. He is doing okay with Noah moving to Fay’s and Rachel moving in with him. I told him Noah will be back soon enough.
My schedule for the fall is in question. I don’t have enough students in either 202 and my Environmental Literature course also hasn’t made. I may have to teach earlier and it is likely I will have to teach freshman at least next semester.
I should hear about the VOF decision by Thursday. I am not that hopeful but I will just have to move on to Western Virginia Land Trust.

My last full day at Kripalu was intense. I went to three different sessions (one an Ayurvedic consultation with Lauren, one a sacral cranial session with Sandy, and another long energy work session with Sandra). I learned a lot but I was a little confused since Sandra said she would have evaluated me slightly differently than Lauren. I still think the main things about diet, yoga, spirit are all consistent and will be helpful. I have given up coffee and I am only eating three times a day with no snacks and I feel better already.
On Friday, it was raining so I decided to leave early and after using my petti pot and putting in my nose drops and then showering, I had my final meal at Kripalu and it was excellent. I drove and drove with the weather always threatening but I did get a bike ride in and then I was able to play golf at Monroe Valley near Harrisburg. I started out with a 7, 6, 6 and thought I would be lucky to hit 52 but I birdied the next par 3, and ended up with a 45, which is very impressive.
I talked to Rob and things are not so good so I will see him tomorrow for dinner and we can chat some more.
I made it to Wincester yesterday and got a room at the Sleep Inn there (I was pretty tired and I just wanted to relax, and I should now get a free night. The poem was nice and the room was very comfortable.
I got up pretty early and then started driving. When I got to JMU, I stopped for a 5 mile bike ride and that felt good. Home in a few more hours.