Second-best weekend of the year

Of all the weekends in the year, I think Memorial Day is my second favorite. (Thanksgiving weekend is my first.)

And I feel like this is my first real Memorial Day weekend since 2017. I always worked Memorial Day at This Is the Place, and of course in 2020 it was always the weekend.

It is the best time of the year for the trails, which are all green and wildflowery. I was on the trails four days this week, which was less than I would have liked at this perfect time of year, but it's better than nothing.

Palmer's penstemon, which are pleasantly fragrant

Tufted evening primrose

Utah sweetpea

mulesear and longleaf phlox

First sego lilies of the season!

Tufted evening primrose

Silvery lupine, photobombed by mulesears

Western waterleaf

And more mulesears, the king of May and June

This week I donated $150 to Everytown for Gun Safety. I don't usually do my alms to be seen before men, but we need to normalize supporting gun safety measures.

Thursday evening, I helped clean the Bountiful Temple. There are paid cleaners, but they have us volunteers help with vacuuming, wiping, etc. The Church could pay for more cleaners (if they could find the labor), but I think this way helps it be more personal. The early Saints had to help build the temples with their own time and money, which was a big sacrifice but made the temples belong to them. I think it's good we no longer have to pay for the temples ourselves, but cleaning them is one way they can belong to us.

As I drove home after midnight, it was officially the Friday before Memorial Day, which is my arbitrary day for beginning the Fourth of July season, which also incorporates Memorial Day, Flag Day, and now Juneteenth. So I started listening to my Fourth of July music on the way home. Yesterday I got all the red, white, and blue decorations up. And, of course, it is now the season for Independence Day foods. Of all the holidays, Fourth of July has a substantial amount of relevant foods, but very few, if any, that are unequivocally, exclusively July 4 foods. For example, the question that has been pressing on my mind the last few weeks is "Are s'mores a Fourth of July food?" I have spent more time thinking about it than any rational person should, and I haven't come to an official conclusion yet.

And my dad's birthday is around (and sometimes on) Memorial Day, so I always make sure his birthday cake has red, white, and blue sprinkles.

Part of me feels guilty for having fun on Memorial Day, because it was originally meant to be a somber, reflective holiday.