February 20, 2026

 Friday. Left a little after ten. Nikor. Gray, overcast with some gray clouds moving through underneath the higher layer. Moderate winds out of the southwest. Chilly, but well above freezing. Pavement still damp from early morning showers. Blauwkapel to Groenedijk and Korssesteeg. On the trails, hardly a soul, but in the fields and on the water, the waterfowl seemingly getting ready for spring. Korssesteeg with its farmers playing victim. Airfield to Oud Loosdrecht. Mini croci coming up in the strip between bike path and roadway at the Molenmeent. The evidence of the rich and infamous in Loosdrecht. The new, off-the-scale apartment building is only the latest, but probably also the ugliest example. Then right. The  Loenderveense plas lapping at the bike path. Moleneind. Left toward Vreeland, then the west side of the Vecht to Loenen. Dorpstraat to the very end, then straatweg past Nieuwersluis. Too many cars on the short section to Nieuwersluis. Then ARK to Maarssen. Wind, barges, and dog people. Straatweg back into the city. A decent winter day, with the first taste of spring supposedly just around the corner. In a yard in Loosdrecht, there was what could have been a forsythia, already looking quite yellow. Snow bells in some places also, of course, and daffodils--although all still very sparse. In the news, more talk of Europeans doing more together on defense and intelligence sharing, but also new reports on how the Germans and the French can't agree on how to develop a new fighter plane. An older report also on how Europeans and Americans together have been more aggressive against Russia's shadow fleet of oil tankers and how it's hurting Moscow's ability to finance its economy and its war. But rather than focus on changing Moscow's calculations vis-a-vis its war against Ukraine, Washington seems intent on launching new attacks on Iran's military and nuclear infrastructure. That seems like a distraction, not just from Ukraine, but also, and likely intentionally, from some domestic troubles facing the White House. It's hard to detect a coherent strategy behind it all, other than a preoccupation with headlines and domination of the so-called news cycle. Compared to that, Europe's conditional and cumbersome steps toward greater collaboration and independence don't look quite so inadequate.