My Week that Was - June 22

Truax Field. 6/15/24 dwm photo

 We started the week after my trip to the gym with breakfast at the Jet Room restaurant. It's in the General Aviation building on the east side of the Dane County Airport.

 

 I had my longest ride of the year a day earlier (see Tuesday's blog) and the forecast included the chance of storms in the afternoon, so I didn't get on the bike, knowing I would get some miles in later this week.

 

 Sunday was Father's Day and the youngest son and his wife, took the two of us out for lunch at the Boathouse. It was a perfect setting and nice conversation.

 

The Brewers finished their road trip with three games in Detroit and six-games at home against Toronto and Cincinnati, winning an impressive six out of nine.  Starting Monday the Crew was on the road playing three with the Angels and four in San Diego.

 

Mallard Drakes. 6/16/24 dwm

Speaking of sports, the Olympic trials are going on, and it's fun to watch the athletes of the USA battle to represent our country. I'm impressed by the planning and logistics that went into installing an Olympic-size pool on the floor of Lucas Oil football stadium in Indianapolis.

Monday was a busy day because the work week was more disjointed than usual. Wednesday is a holiday with two work days on either side. I split the first two days between campuses. I made 15 calls, setting several appointments, worked on my report for Thursday's meeting, and pulled together donor information so board members can reach out to say thank you.

Tuesday I spent time working on stories for our newsletter, including an interview and getting information for two other stories I'd like to include. 

 

The printer I use when on the east campus is prone to acting up on occasion. This time, if I fed letterhead into the bypass tray like usual, it printed the letter in landscape instead of portrait, which is like reading these paragraphs if they were turned 90-degrees!

Badger State Trail. 6/19/24 dwm

 Ride 13 happened mid-morning on Wednesday, a day-off thanks to Juneteenth. It's been hot and humid all week, with chance of rain most days. There was a window with low chances of rain, so I got on the bike for a quick 32-mile ride. 

 

 I used the Military Ridge, Badger State, and Southwest Commuter Path for the trip. It was quick, I finished in under 2-hours. I was glad to get it in, since I didn't get opportunities to ride last weekend.

 After the ride, we watched several episodes from season three of Northern Exposure, writing greetings on birthday cards that will be mailed during July, August, and September.

 It was nice having the day off, the two days working, one day off, two days working is unusual, next time I'll add another day or two of paid time off to create a long weekend.

 Over the last month or so, co-workers and I watched a robin build a nest on top of an electric junction box. We were sure there were eggs, we saw her spending time on the nest, then she seemingly disappeared for periods of time during the day. 

A young robin in the nest. 6/20/24 dwm

Two weeks ago, there was something going on in that nest.  A door opens from our hall on to a cement landing where we can open a different door to either go down or climb the stairs. The birds weren't upset if you looked from the door a few minutes before you moved on.

 

The little ones are getting big. It won't be long before they leave the nest. Mamma bird made it clear it didn't care for me taking pictures but stayed perched on the branch of a small tree, just in case.  I didn't notice the big bird at first, but when I recognized she wanted me to leave, I left them alone. 

A concerned mamma scolds. 6/20/24 dwm

 

 Friday I met a friend and colleague for lunch to share ideas and talk shop. We're both fundraisers but don't compete for donors. We're both in small shops, so it's easy to relate. Over the last couple of years we've met every six months.

 It was a weird week with a holiday in the middle. In some ways it was like two short weeks instead of one. 

 However your week felt, I hope it went well and you're all set for the next one!