"Going Green"

Or is that blue?




There's something very Ghandi-ish about putting your clothes out on a line to dry. Maybe it's not going to be quite the annoyance I thought it would be when Claudette first announced this new "dryerless" policy. I did draw the line (no pun intended) at socks and underwear, so that should tell you who's unmentionables you see in the picture. It won't really be that much of a transition for me anyway because I always hang my pants, many of my shirts and all my workout clothes on hangers, rather than putting them in the dryer. And if allowed I think I can go at least 3 months with the same towel. I'm actually most interested to see how Adrain makes out since he has more clothes than Claudette and I put together.

Maybe this extra effort and the corrseponding savings will help alleviate my guilt feelings over my expensive new Michelins. Aren't they a pretty blue? I am going to see if I can get some handlebar tape the same colour, and coincidentally they happen to be almost the exact same shade of blue as my tri suit. So even if I suck I will still look good eh! They will be my race tires only. After the half next sunday the old ones will go back on and stay on until we head out west in August.

Either way, green or blue I'm trying to add a little colour into my life. Or rather maybe I'm trying to alter the colours a little bit. Trying to get rid of the yellow of fear, the red of anger, and maybe most importantly the black of depression. Some days I seem to be doing a little better, but I still have much, much room for self improvement. Speaking of which, green is still one of my problems in terms of a different metaphor. I'm too often green with envy and I wish to conquer this useless attitude. And maybe I need to work on blue as well, in terms of low mood and how it impacts those around me. I promise to work hard on these things. At 53 I'm still learning.

Back to green again, I felt like a criminal today while committing an act that went against everything instinct that a farm boy ever possessed. I got out the mower and took out 2 complete rows of beautiful healthy corn just to make a lane to the back of the farm. It hurt to do it but this is the way farmer Bill wishes it. He would rather just plant everything and then have us take out what we need to, simply because it's so much easier for him with his large equipment.

Todays workout report. Sixty-five kilometres on the bike this morning, and weights this evening, both of which went reasonably well.

I wish to dedicate day 285 to the above mentioned Bill Walters, who rather than being a "gentleman farmer", is a both gentleman and a farmer.

“Colors, like features, follow the changes of the emotions."---Pablo Picasso

“Shades of grey wherever I go
The more I find out the less that I know
Black and white is how it should be
But shades of grey are the colors I see."---Billy Joel

“Actually, all education is self-education. A teacher is only a guide, to point out the way, and no school, no matter how excellent, can give you education. What you receive is like the outlines in a child’s coloring book. You must fill in the colors yourself."---Louis L'Amour

"It ain't easy being green."---Kermit the Frog

love
peter