June events

This week, I had Monday off for Juneteenth. When I wake up in the mornings, I turn on the news while I mentally prepare myself to get out of bed, and Monday I was wondering where I wanted to run for my day off. And on the news they announced that there was a Juneteenth 5k right here in North Salt Lake! So I decided to register and participate, because I felt like I had to do something for Juneteenth. It was put on by Black Physicians of Utah, and it was their first time. It was pretty small and low-key. It was on the Legacy Parkway Trail, which is paved and has no shade, so I'm more likely to go there in the winter. 5ks are so short that they're not usually worth my time, but I'm glad I went to this one.

This is the picture the event people took of me approaching the finish line

Juneteenth, of course, is a relatively new holiday in Utah. For my job with Utah Historical Quarterly, I verify sources, so I spend a lot of time in old newspapers. And I found an article in the Salt Lake Tribune from 1900 where the Black community in Salt Lake City celebrated September 22, which was when Lincoln promised to free the slaves, one hundred days before officially issuing the Emancipation Proclamation.

I'm in charge of service projects for my ward, and I organized a litter cleanup along the Jordan River Trail for Monday evening. There's a boat launch in North Salt Lake called Porter's Landing, which is where I had us meet. Several people said they didn't know it was there, and they seemed happy to discover it. We stood around in a circle and had an opening prayer, and when we opened our eyes, there was a chicken in the middle of the circle!

We found more trash near the freeway overpasses, where there were also a lot of bird nests. 

I was sad to see all the trash that our current society produces. We have so much plastic, even though plastic can't realistically be recycled in any meaningful way. Our concept of single-use plastic and throwaway culture began in the 1950s. (So much for "Greatest Generation"!) 

One of my ward members found a snake skin, which was flapping in the wind like one of those noodley guys outside of businesses.

It was unusually cold that evening, so the turnout was better than I expected. I was pleased with the project.

I also spent several hours this week pitting cherries, which stained my fingers. I put the cherries in the freezer, but I used some to make cherry upside-down cake and cherry salsa. 

And yesterday, I had to make sure I had time for a North Canyon run, because it is my very favorite place. This time I was so pleased with all the different shades of pink on the Nootka roses.

Try not to melt this week!