January 1, 2017

Do we celebrate the end of the old year?  Or the beginning of the new year?

I won't admit what time I fell asleep on New Year's Eve, but will admit it was well before 12:00 AM on January 1, 2017.
This seems a fitting end to a year that was pleasant but unremarkable.  I probably prefer bringing in the new year in a more contemplative manner.

I sort of already wrote an end-of-year post that was just supposed to just be about cornbread pecan waffles.  I did start out the first morning of 2017 with some of them.

Like previous years, I time lapsed my back yard in 2016.  As with the year 2016, it is somewhat unremarkable.  There was some winter and spring snow.  Soybeans were planted in the spring.  There was lots of mowing and some swampage in the summer.  Soybeans were harvested and things started to die in the fall.  Winter came with one snowfall for December.

I've reached a point where I will never try to predict what 2017 will bring, nor will I set any major goals.  I'll spend too much time at work.  I plan on traveling at least enough to keep things interesting.  But I know that at this point, there are more unknowns than knowns.
That may be the magic of throwing away the old calendar - knowing that there is more continuity than novelty.  So celebrations near 11:59:59 on December 31 probably represent neither ends nor beginnings ... but something else altogether.

Hello 2015, But Lets Hold Off on the Resolutions Until Later

Goodbye 2014 and Hello 2015

It is tempting to be upbeat and suggest that 2015 will be better than 2014, that we'll all lose weight, make more money, read more books and make better friends.
More than likely, 2015 will be about the same as 2014 and potentially worse.  This is not something that is completely outside of anyone's control though.

There is a tendency to make "New Years Resolutions" on this day.  The changing of the calendar is an arbitrary time point, and probably not the best one to try to make big changes.
For some, this marks the end of the "holiday season" and just getting back to normal can be painful enough.  Meteorological winter has just started, but real winter is already going in full swing.  Now is the time when there is a justified tendency to sit back indoors, watch more TV, eat more food which may be less healthy, see more movies, etc.  I will argue, this is the worst time to try to make life changes in the form of New Years Resolutions, or any resolutions.
No time is a bad one to eat less potato chips or eat less marshmallows; one of the realities about life changes though is that it is too easy ensure failure by making changes that will be detested while changing too much at one time.

Winter is about death.  All the trees look dead, the lawn looks dead.  More wildlife dies in the winter because it is harder on animals than most people know.  Even many animals that hibernate will not return.
Spring is probably the best time to make resolutions in the form of anything beyond trivial changes.  Things come back to life in the spring.  The spring weather brings more excuses and opportunities to be outside.  The grey winter begins to change into warmer weather.  Spring comes with longer more frequent dog walks and (pedal) bike rides.  Spring is time to start riding motorcycles and thinking about vacations, about motorcycle touring.

I am ready to detox after the food fest that has been going on for the last several weeks.  But, I think I'll save the bigger changes for later.
Spring is the right time to make changes.  I'm going to put a Google Keep reminder in for Easter Resolutions.