My analogy is this – doing as much as is humanly possible around the solstice is like wringing a wet towel. I want to get as much out of the days as is humanly possible. Is there such a thing as animally possible?

I’ll be in Fairbanks on June 21, the solstice. I am going to have to resist the urge to ride my bicycle all night long, only because I could overdo it and hurt myself. As it is, I am going to have to force myself to take frequent breaks.

Pete spent a better portion of his day getting my bicycle road ready. And I spent a better portion of my day getting my gear ready. It was tough at my end – I

Ryder and Shadow play tug

felt like I was simply puttering. Here a sock, there a cook stove, and oh there’s a soap dish. Actually, no soap dish materialized, so I am using a Ziploc Bag. Bummer.

We went to the recycling center and I picked up Bright Lights informational fliers. I will stop in towns, at libraries, and pass on the information. This will give my trip a much-needed purpose.

I did not find my rain pants, so we went to Wasilla and there I purchased a new pair. We took both dogs with us. Shadow is becoming a good car traveler. And Ryder is starting to warm up to her. They played some today.

Tonight I did get Tinni out for my annual pre-solstice ride. He was full of pep and a little bolty. I did not get the others out. I felt bad about this. I am going to continue to feel bad about this. And therein lies the problem, which is that I feel the weight of considerable responsibility upon my already too rounded shoulders.

The three times a week good morning yoga online class is doing me a world of good. I am also going to miss this while on my trip. My shoulders are more open, and I am more cognizant of my scapula and clavicles. I’m also returning to the breath more often than I used to and this is further opening up the joints in these areas.

So the question is, am I looking forward to this trip? Right at this minute, no. I know how much we have to do here and feel like I’m deserting the good ship Squalor Holler.

Pete is being a really good sport about this. I can’t figure out why he is at times so selfless. He simply has to say to me that he is overwhelmed and can’t give a hand, but he never does. He simply resumes prioritizing.

Tonight I thoroughly cleaned all the animal pens, so this should make things easier for him, at least in the upper quadrant. There are more mosquitoes here than usual, so I have been very diligent about getting the animal waste into the compost stations. And yes, it is looking like this is going to be a good compost and a good hay year.

Time to now catch some zzzs.

Next: 171. 6/20/20: Doing the Day Justice