An old friend sometimes says “Fall back, regroup, and prepare for the next assault.” He was an infantryman in a former life. Although the context is substantially different, as are the risks, this is something I do just about every time a project comes to an end.

The last three months have been a story of increasing pressure to complete such a project. I first thought I was brought in to look at one specific task, a hydraulic model. The scope expanded substantially when I noticed a number of irregularities in a drainage network design. I was sucked in to the vortex of this project. It is self-inflicted; I am a team player and the team needed me.

The result is that my workload blossomed to the point of almost unbearable. I think the effort peaked last week with delivery of the second report draft. There is a workshop tomorrow that I hope will be the last effort on this one. This is good because another is waiting for a similar push.

There are a couple more waiting in the wings for my attention. They all have deadlines. Therefore, I will be quite busy for the next couple of months, maybe three.

I must be more careful about saying “yes.” I must be aware that boundaries are necessary and healthy.

In the meantime, I began doing some of the things that feed my soul. I have a couple captures of the spring cherry blossoms from the landscaping in my neighborhood. I noticed that the desert peach is blooming when I hiked with The Girl yesterday. The sagelands smell lovely right now, with the bitterbrush in bloom as well.

I will put the Fujinon 60mm macro lens on the X-T5 this week and get some images before the flowers fade for the season. I love the look of the desert peach blossoms. They are lovely.

So is life. I love my life with The Girl. I have enough. I am grateful. Life is good.