May 12, 2025

 Left a little after ten. Blacksmith. Sunny, mild, winds out of the northeast. Bridge in the Adelaarstraat was open, so Troelstra toward Rode Brug, then westside of the Vecht to Daalseweg and Op-Buren. Back on the east side of the river I should have gone right, but instead went left and then, on a whim, turned onto the Sluyswijck, just before the highway underpass (new road). It proved to be a lousy choice, because it led to the highway exit and the N 404. I took that back to the Daalsweg (round-about). Then back on the bike path toward and around the Maarsseveense Plas. People approaching the water, but nobody in or on it. Molenpolder and some baby waterfowl, Nedereindsevaart, to Tienhoven. The trail along the canal beautiful, with on the right very low water where perhaps normally there's more. I don't go there enough to be certain, but it looked like a confirmation of our drought. Egelshoek to Hollandse Rading. Before Maartensdijk the sheep were hiding from the sun behind the barn. Volkskrant at Van der Neut, and home. In the paper, more evidence of populists not delivering, and one plea in a letter-to-the-editor not to be manipulated all the time (I'm putting my own spin on it) by the way these people keep throwing new stuff out every day, just so that they can direct and dominate--be the center of--public debates. The news cycle becomes the thing, most people are distracted or confused, and the con is not exposed.