Here it is, the monsoon season. Monsoon is such a cool word – it brings to mind images of the tropics, and rain for days on end. Well, this is not a tropical rain. It’s a cold rain that chills if you aren’t dressed for it. The rain for days on end, well this qualifies definitionally. Maybe what we are experiencing is just a ‘soon.

Again, what I wrote yesterday, we got lucky in June, regarding the good weather. Now it’s anything but. This bodes poorly for Summer in the Park(s). My thought on this matter is this – we succeeded in what we set out to do – develop and implement a summer parks curriculum, one that was book based – or based on the number of books we had on various subjects. This, on my part, was an organizational feat. I had books on most subjects. And we came up with an organized program.

Our numbers of students started out high and then diminished. I think that with more advertising, and use of social media (which is the same thing) that we would have had more children and parents involved.

I am totally on the fence about doing this next year. I’d like to find others who might take a stab at running this program. It is possible. I have learned that money really talks. If you have enough money on hand, things get done because everything has a price.

In order to continue on at Bugge Park, the city needs to put in a real shelter. The numbers are there.

Yesterday, one of the children called the spinning metal carrousel the “child eater.” Pretty funny.

But today, we were again to do bicycles. Got to A-moosement Park and set up, just two of us, the other was gone, having a family obligation. The rain began falling hard and the wind picked up. We bagged the day’s plan before our regular set up time. We returned to the former banquet room of the historic Eagle hotel and there did planning for tomorrow – the materials are in order for both indoor and outdoor activity.

The afternoon was rather hectic – had a few volunteers. Then in walked Sarah Gotchall, with her mother. I hadn’t seen her in over a year. She had books. We talked books and horse catch up. She’s doing a lot of riding and is the ride manager for the upcoming CTR. And in August she’ll go to Fairbanks for an endurance ride.

Yes, of course I am envious. And yes, it does make me wonder why I continue to do so much work on this damnable project. But I am telling myself that things can and will change.

We have followed the proper protocol for getting additional funding. And we have, as of this evening, a new board member. Micah is a librarian at Mat-Su College – he’s a laid back fellow who gets things done.

So things are, as far as the big picture goes, on the upswing.

And who knows? There is an 80 percent chance of rain, which means that there is a 20 percent chance that it won’t rain.

Next: 191. 7/15/26: Mid-July, Mid-Summer