In the beginning there soon came the middle and after that the end and this is the end of our trip.

I’m at an age where there might not be much left to live. I suspect that’s why I like hiking. It’s slow. It’s measured. It’s peaceful.

We got rain yesterday. A big storm blew through town just as we sat down for dinner. Gave us a nice cooling off. There was thunder and lightning all through the rest of the evening.

We had a quiet day yesterday. Drove to Balmorhea. Floated in the big pool. Drove back. Napped. Went to visit friends. There was music.

Big day yesterday. Drove into Big Bend. Went down to the river. I’m happy to report the Rio Grande is still flowing. I looked into Mexico. No one was out and about. It was too hot.

I admit. I’m stymied this morning. I went outside. Expected cool. Got warm. Almost hot. My ear still hurts. Just a bit. Things are drying up. Including me.

I usually sleep on my left side. And when my body requires a break, which it often does at night, I switch to the right. And back and forth I go.

For the second time in ninety days, I’ve had skin cancer removed. This was a Basel cell on my left ear. They did the procedure this morning. The anesthesia, such as it was, has worn off.

There’s a Barbie movie and everyone is talking about it. And I read an interesting article in Psychology Today, What "Barbie" Gets Right About Male Psychology. I never owned a Barbie, but I like Psychology Today, and I’m male.

The other day I drove through a neighborhood in Marble Falls. The lawns were patches of brown, desiccated grass. My own yard is mostly dirt. Everything looked dead and hot. Yesterday, I drove through a neighborhood in Pearland.

I love Houston. We’ve been into each other for more than 60 years. It’s a big town with big dreams. The place was always about tomorrow and overcoming the odds.

I watched a big old pickup bear down on me yesterday while driving on highway 290 on the road into Blanco from Spring Branch. It was obvious it was going somewhere in a hurry.

I’m going to pick grapes this morning. I have some mustang grapes on my fence, but these are merlot. I like merlot. It seems fitting that I should pick some grapes. I like wine, and I like the folks who run the vineyard where I’ll pick, Texas Heritage.

To begin again you often have to tear something down. A set of beliefs. A relationship. A fence. In my case it’s the latter. The old fence is coming down. I’m in phase two.

I did it. The hose reel came together. The Bluetooth headphones connected. Patience won. And sleep. It is odd to think that at an age when I have little time left, I now appreciate the benefit of taking my time.

Bought a bird bath yesterday. No birds are bathing yet. I imagine, as with the feeder it will take a little time. I bought the bath because I’d like to see more of the painted bunting, I read they like baths.

Last night as I was planning today’s words, I wanted to talk about happiness. Then I got a good night’s sleep and now I’m unsure if that’s still a path I’d like to take, partly because it feels as though it’s a platitude fest waiting to happen.

I’m building a fence. Or rather I’m re-building one. When we bought our property where I currently live there was a wooden fence along the back of the two lots. It was old when we moved in. Fourteen years later it’s older still.

They always say growing old is not for the faint of heart. And I believe them. Mostly as I’ve aged, I’ve ignored it. It never really mattered. I expected to die before I reached 50, anyhow…

I’ve had so much fun these last several days that I’m thinking about having a birthday every month. I could make it like a software update. My age point 1 and so on.