May 28, 2026

Thursday. Nederhorst den Berg. Started a little after eleven after a dip in the Spiegelplas. Nikor. The old commute, the old territory, on a glorious summer day. Sunny, warming up quickly to about 26 C, moderate winds out of the east. More expensive new houses in Nederhorst den Berg, now at the Reeweg. They don't look bad. The old estate on the east side of the Vecht, near Weesp, now also finished and inhabited, with a new structure next to it. It is the evidence backing up the recurring reports--for years now--of growing numbers of very wealthy people in this country (and, judging from election results, so many others aspiring to join their ranks). The developing back yards behind the new expensive mansions at the levee outside of Muiden are more evidence of this change: they all look different from each other, some are very far along, others almost barren, and in this they're a 2020s version of the garden plots that used to be there. Ten odd years ago, those users posted signs that they weren't going anywhere. But their plots are long gone, and it is anybody's guess where they went. IJburg to Javaplein and the newspaper. Ukrainian military now confirming that the tide is turning in the war, although also emphasizing that they're in no position to launch a major offensive. It's Russia that is faltering, and the theory (disproved for the Americans in Vietnam) is that Ukraine is killing and wounding Russian troops faster than Moscow can replace them. It is a fact that the Russian system (top-down, corrupt) is just not as adaptable as the people fighting for survival. The Ukrainian interviewed also suggested a time-line, at least for how things may go between the two militaries: Ukraine's new mobilization measures only will begin to produce results (more trained soldiers) some time next winter. It's not over by a long shot, unless someone manages to get to the Russian president, who, for his part, seems perfectly willing to escalate to the level of ballistic missile strikes on Ukrainian cities. Busy city to Bushuis. Return around six in classic summer evening conditions. From IJburg to Muiden in a small group of summer evening warriors. Then toward the Keverdijk and Nederhorst den Berg. Hay being baled in the Heintjesrak- en Broekerpolder to complete the picture.