October 19, 2026

Monday. Left at 10:22. Blacksmith. Cool, overcast, moderate winds out of the southeast. Gradually clearing skies, then clouding over again. Detour at Oudenoord, so Merwedekanaal to Vreeswijk and Lekdijk. All of the corn has been cut. The grass is still very green, and just a few trees and bushes have bright colors on them. It's either early, or there won't be many colors due to the drought. The reeds are brown, and they looked fantastic in the sun against their green background. Busy on the river, with multiple fully-loaded barges. Another detour at Lopik. Eventually an escape onto the Wielsekade. Flat, quiet, and green to Polsbroekerdam and Oudewater. Passing the cemetery on the way out of town, up and behind the hedge, a burial in progress. Snelrewaard to Montfoort quiet, as were Mastwijk and the Blindeweg. Harmelen, De Meern, and De Meernbrug back into town. Møs is no longer, but all over the news more evidence of Ukraine being pressured by Washington. Intelligence sharing gets turned on and off, so as to remind Kyiv who has the power. Moscow, meanwhile tries to take full advantage by launching ballistic missiles at an increasing rate to terrorize Ukraine into submission. This may not succeed very soon, but it's even harder to see how Moscow will come to the conclusion that it cannot prevail in its assault now that the American president openly has chosen its side. More evidence of the latter are the confirmed reports of explorations for a three-way meeting between the presidents of Russia, China, and the United States to "end" the war. Americans will have an opportunity next month to show what they make of this betrayal of what their country is supposed to stand for; Europeans, meanwhile, have to understand that they're on their own vis-à-vis Moscow. Many still think that "the Russians aren't coming," as witness statements by the leaders of the French RN and German AfD parties that aid to Ukraine will have to stop. Others may still believe that Ukraine is Europe's first line of defense, as it is. Even those people, however, will have difficulty pursuing that line of thought to its logical conclusion. If Ukraine can't lose--for our sake--and the situation gets desperate (we're getting there), Europeans will have to increase their involvement, they will have to escalate their conflict with Moscow.