May 4, 2025

 Left quarter past ten. A few raindrops prior. Blacksmith; knickers, long sleeves due to cool breeze out of the northwest. Partly cloudy. De Bilt, Zeist, Griftdijk, Haarweg (fast group for a little ways), Overberg. Hard work up the hill for a mediocre time. Leaves in the woods now almost at full strength. Along the way lots of beautiful colors on trees and bushes the names of which I do not know. Ginkelduin (season now in full swing) to Hoogstraat and Ruiterberg. Road still closed between the two, and without the cars (as always) it's a different world. Occasionally the sun dropped down beautifully through the light green leaves onto the forest floor. Maarnsegrindweg, Zeisterweg, de Bilt. Today we remember the war dead--as in World War II. The controversy over what else could be included is a bit silly given the sometimes explicit, but always implicit purpose of "never again." Anyone just superficially scanning the headlines (probably the majority in our time of scrolling) has to wonder what, if anything, we have learned.