August 12, 2026

Wednesday. Left a little after ten. Blacksmith. Warm, not yet hot. Blue skies with blown-apart contrails and other white smudges. Moderate winds out of the east. Singel (neighborly chat) to Koningsweg and Wayen. At the Langeweg, one patch of stunted corn, followed by one where the crop looked normal. ARK with some fast-moving barges. One farm outside of Houten where they still find it necessary to run the sprinklers on the grass alongside their driveway. Schalkwijk bridge, then dead-ending into some roadwork on the kanaaldijk. The town of Schalkwijk. One modern windmill visible in the distance next to the church. The time is long past to worry about those kinds of things. Lange Uitweg to Lekdijk. A guy using a high-pressure hose to clean between the bricks at the end of his driveway. People seeking direct sun in the recreational area behind Tull en 't Waal. Lots of activity on the canal in front of the Beatrixsluizen. Barges and pleasure boats in line, other barges pushing off to join. It must still be possible to navigate west on the Lek. Jutphaas back to ARK and Gele brug. More river cruise ships moored than normal, probably because these really can't use their normal routes, such as the Rhine river. Into the city and Møs. Drought and solar eclipse news in the paper (AD), along with the story about the American president's double plane switch after the recent NATO summit in Turkey. There are many angles to this story, but one perhaps not discussed explicitly enough is Tehran's determination to take the fight to the enemy. This is not unprovoked by any means, but perhaps more significantly, it suggests that the regime's interest in a peaceful outcome to the war is low, just like its concern for the well-being of its population. A U.S. response to a successful attack on the president's plane is too horrible to contemplate, and yet, elements of the Iranian regime apparently worked hard to make such a strike possible. During the half-hour or so on the Kievitstraat side, three or four drivers violated the do-not-enter sign without so much as batting an eye.