Ideally, this journal would be an uplifting record of my happiest days, filled with nature and art and beauty. But the world hasn’t been especially cooperative lately, making it hard to ignore the clouds of bitterness and anxiety darkening our horizon.

There’s no need to add my voice to the outpouring of grief and anger following the recent presidential election, since it should be obvious to everyone where I stand in terms of politics, and since I doubt my expressions of sorrow would change any minds or make anyone feel any better.

I will say only that I loved this quote from Hillary’s concession speech: “To all the little girls watching…never doubt that you are valuable and powerful & deserving of every chance & opportunity in the world.”

I hope that little girls everywhere know they have a right to walk in the sun.

And now for some uplifting photos:

Arches National Park is a magical place to rise and shine. We woke before dawn, put on headlamps, and hiked in the darkness to get this sunrise photo of the Delicate Arch.

On the western slope of the Rockies, there’s a little place called the Potawatomi Trading Post, where I bought organic peaches and befriended a mostly-feral cat. Speaking of feral cats…

The Wild Animal Sanctuary is one of my favorite charities. They have miles of elevated ramps running above 720 acres of sunny habitat, enabling visitors to observe the exotic animals they’ve rescued from captivity and abuse.

Tiger, tiger, burning bright!

Enough with the cats. Here are some photos of Dulcinea, visiting a narrow gauge railroad in Kansas, posing with pumpkins at a cider mill, and modeling a hand-knit Halloween kerchief.

Dulcinea would make everything better if she could.

Take care, everyone. May we walk in the sun and live to see better days.